Book Reader Magazine

  • Featured Books
  • Submit Your Book
  • Submit an Author Interview
  • Subscribe To Newsletter
You are here: Home / Archives for Christine Liston

Featured Author Nina de Beurs

Featured Interview With Nina de Beurs

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in New Zealand to a Maori mother and a Dutch father. I was raised in a small town outside of Auckland. I’m currently living in Auckland City as I am studying Sociology and Politics at University.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I realized my fascination books at the age of nine. My childhood best friend got me into Jacqueline Wilson’s novels and I was hooked with reading from then on. I have boxes and boxes filled with novels.
I started writing when I was around nine, but I was never serious about it. Writing for me then was just a hobby and I’d only do it for fun. I was also terrible at it.
When I was fourteen I started to write more and I actually to see it as something I could do as a career.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors to read are Jodi Picoult, Gillian Flynn, and Becky Albertalli. I would say Jodi Picoult inspires me the most out of those authors, but I love them all. They’re all brilliant writers.
My other inspirations are my parents, and my beautiful nanny who passed away a little over a year ago. I think my real life experiences inspire me the most. If I didn’t have the experiences that I have had my writing style would probably be different.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book Broken follows Matariki, a Maori boy who struggles to understand love, his identity, and his sexuality in a thick-skinned New Zealand community that is constantly pre-defining people. Matariki is a shy and introverted kid. He’s a lanky soft-spoken kid who isn’t violent or sporty, and that is why he struggles to fit in. In order to be considered a ‘real man’ in his community you have to be aggressive, ‘macho’, and hard-skinned. He’s always searching for love and affection, but it’s not always easy for him to trust people. This is further complicated by his strong feelings for his best friend, and the powerful influence of toxic masculinity which causes his friend to drift away from him as soon as he realizes that his manhood could be put to question.
It took me almost six months to write this novel. It was inspired my one of my friends who happens to be gay. He wanted me to write a novel that talked about hyper masculinity in New Zealand. Although there are novels and movies (such as Moonlight) that acknowledge hyper masculinity, there aren’t many New Zealand novels that talk about hyper masculinity in New Zealand. He wanted to read a story that was similar to his and a lot of others in New Zealand.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Nina de Beurs Twitter Account

Featured Author Clara Winter

Clara WinterFeatured Interview With Clara Winter

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a wife and mom to one boy and two Siberian Huskies. We’ve had five huskies over the years. They are goofy, loveable, and so much fun. I have a Master’s Degree in Counseling, and was a school counselor for seven years. I have written here and there, but about two years ago decided I was going to buckle down and write seriously. My debut novel, Deepest Midnight, was accepted by Inkspell Publishing and will release on June 25, 2018. Deepest Midnight is a paranormal romance. I am from Colorado Springs, Co and currently reside in Mission Viejo, Ca.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination with books began as a young child. My first chapters books, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, are books I still love today. I began writing bits and pieces in high school, but did not become serious until my late 30’s. Better late than never, right?

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have so many loved books, it’s hard to pick favorites. I love everything; classics, sci-fi, paranormal, horror, you name it. My favorite authors are Anne Rice, Jane Austen, Stephen King, Ayn Rand, and the Bronte sisters. How’s that for eclectic? I would say my writing is inspired by authors like Anne Rice and Emily Bronte, paranormal and gothic.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Deepest Midnight is about Millicent, a once French noblewoman turned vampire, who lost the love of her life before she became immortal. She spends the next two centuries with her maker Alexandre, and her vampire sister, Annie. Alexandre is a bit of a mystery and Annie was once a Culper Spy during the Revolutionary War. Millicent is consumed by her grief, until, in modern day Savannah Ga, she locks eyes with a man who looks exactly like her dead love. Sparks fly and they spend their nights in each other’s arms. The situation becomes complicated by this man’s mortality, and the insistence of her maker that she end her romance. It took about a year from start to finish for me to write this book.


If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.B

Featured Author Maggie Oakes

Featured Interview With Maggie Oakes

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hi, I’m Maggie 🙂
I’m a nerdy young woman with a positive attitude towards life. I thrive on helping other people. I have suffered years from anxiety and panic attacks, and thus have started writing self-helps books to help people who have the same problems that I used to have.

I was raised in a good family with good values. We have been living in a city for all my life, but now we also have a country home and I feel that my heart yearns for the countryside. I don’t currently have any pets, but am thinking of loaning some chickens for the summer

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I used to read a lot as a youngster (the Hobbit was my favorite), but then developed other hobbies in my teens (making short movies). Now I am back to reading and enjoying books. I first seriously started writing in August 2017.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My current favorite authors are Umberto Eco and Tolkien. Tolkien has swept me away with his fantasy worlds and intricate research. My favorite genre is fantasy, mystery and psychological thrillers. If you have any recommendations, do let me know 😉

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is named – Your Journey to Calm: A Guide to Leaving Anxiety and Panic Attacks Behind.
I was inspired to write it by my own years of struggles with both anxiety and panic attacks. Now I am a medical doctor and have helped out many others with their anxieties. So I feel that I have many useful tips to share.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Maggie Oakes’s Website

Maggie Oakes Facebook Page

Maggie Oakes Twitter Account

Featured Author Jaime Leah Marchon

Featured Interview With Jaime Leah Marchon

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a Maine girl, born and raised and still here even though I’m looking to move to the mountains of New Hampshire (it’s where my heart is). My kitty Simon Rey is a little a-hole but his Muddahs and Faddahs can usually get a little love out of the little guy, especially if food is involved.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been reading and writing since I learned how. My 3rd grade teacher predicted that I would be a writer someday, although I found the idea crazy at the time. I spent my summers writing books about me and the members of Backstreet Boys. Yeah, aging myself a bit here but… authenticity.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author to read is Matthew Marchon (my hubby) not just because I get to dictate the storylines I love or loathe and there may or may not have been characters I’ve brought back from the dead. Yes, multiple.
I love indie authors like BT Urruela, JJ Knight and Addison Moore. I feel like I’m discovering authors that my friends may not have heard of. These authors write in a way that you can picture these characters being my best friends. They talk how I talk, think like I think and their lives are messy.
Stephen King is and always has been an influence even though our genres could not be more different. I’ve always loved that he writes how you would talk to a friend and he’s never been afraid to push the envelope.
I love reading memoirs and biographies, self-help and fitness books but my love will always be contemporary romance with modern characters. Don’t be ashamed to love romance, especially with all the other subplots in these books nowadays.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a young adult/teen fiction romance. It’s multiple perspective so you get to hear from Elli, her best friend Jenna, her ex-boyfriend Eric and her current crush who also happens to be her ex’s best friend, Jagger. Jagger is the hard partying, bad boy type so not the type Elli shoudl be falling for. And she doesn’t try. it’s just that he shows interest in her, and not just behind closed doors. Jagger may or may not know (even he doesn’t know) if Eric’s into Elli but he knows she is/was into Eric. And Jenna? She’s right in the middle of the action, trying not to fall completely and totally in love with Eric as her own maybe boyfriend disappoints her time after time. Get all that? They each get you to tell their side of the story and we’ll all fall in love with different members of #thesquad

 

Featured Author Evie Snow

Evie SnowFeatured Interview With Evie Snow

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
We’re a husband and wife writing team. Georgina Penney (George) spent most of her childhood gallivanting around the Australian Outback, wrestling cows, staring down reptiles and reading far too many romance novels. Tony Johnson (AKA The Kraken) spent his childhood in the city being refined, cultivated and learning a whole lot about Dungeons and Dragons. Having met at an amusement park in Sydney in 2000, we’ve since managed to live in Saudi Arabia, Brunei Darussalam, Bahrain, and Scotland, and have traveled a bunch more besides. Our main hobbies include chatting with random people (George), being gleefully surly (Tony) and searching out the perfect scone.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
We both discovered books at a really early age and bonded on first meeting over George’s shameful confession that at age ten, she once (gasp) didn’t return a school library book for a whole three months!

George was the first one to start writing ten years ago when we found ourselves living in Saudi Arabia for Tony’s job in the oil industry. Realising that writing was a heck of a lot more fun than getting oil out of the ground, Tony soon started putting pen to paper, which leads us to where we are now. (This talking about two people in the third person thing is rather interesting…)

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Everything is inspiring and that’s the problem! We’ve got so many ideas coming from so many angles. We’re both omnivores with our reading taste with George reading a bunch of romance, crime, literary fiction, and philosophy, whereas Tony’s a big fan of fantasy, science fiction and anything on astrophysics. We both love webcomics with our current favorites being XKCD, OGLAF, and Slackwyrm

Tell us a little about your latest book?
George is a trained hypnotherapist, so it was an absolute hoot to write our latest romantic comedy, California Dreaming, which features an insomniac war veteran and a meditation expert. There are so many opportunities for both fun and sexy things to happen with hypnosis and we included as many as we could in this story. We also set it in a fictional town in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, the Californian coast, with a bunch of eccentric characters, many inspired by the wonderful people we’ve met in our travels around the globe.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Evie Snow Facebook Page

Evie Snow Twitter Account


If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.

Featured Author JP Cawood

Featured Interview With JP Cawood

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m originally from Milwaukee, WI. I love to travel and have lived for short periods in France, India, and the UK. I currently reside in Los Angeles with my husband and cat. Los Angeles has a lot of storytelling opportunities, and I’ve worked in television development for over ten years.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been writing stories since I was a little kid. I loved making my friends laugh with funny little stories. I used to read like crazy when I was a kid – specifically the Goosebumps series. As I grew older, I found I preferred to read non-fiction self-improvement books as well as fiction. I wrote my first book two years ago and now have four books available. Writing for books is much different than writing for TV and film, but now I am hooked!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’ve recently fell in love with John Demartini who wrote The Values Factor. His message is so simple yet so profound. Learn to listen to what you truly value in order to achieve your goals. A great self-improvement book that has exercises built into the reading. I also recently read A Touch of Joy by Jyotish Novack. It’s a collection of short stories/allegories that are uplifting and inspirational. It could be read all at once or you could read one excerpt per day. I love little reminders about how joyful life can be.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My new book is a collection of short stories called Tales from the 4th Dimension. All of the ideas came to me during meditation. I loved the challenge of creating several stories with a strong beginning, middle, and end – a twist ending to be exact! I wrote seven stories, but only five of them made the book because two of them didn’t have a strong enough twist. I’ve explored virtual reality, alternate reality, aliens, spirits, and other dimensions all within a quick and easy read.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

JP Cawood’s Website

JP Cawood Facebook Page

JP Cawood Twitter Account

Featured Author Sarah R. Molder

Featured Interview With Sarah R. Molder

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in California, moved to Indiana for a few years and now back in California. I have one German Shepherd dog. I love going to Disneyland and Universal. I play a lot of video games and watch a ton of movies and tv shows.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination with books came when I started reading Harry Potter. I don’t really know when I started writing or how old I was. I just woke up one day and just started writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genre is Fantasy. J. K. Rowling had inspired me, not only in writing but also in reading. I hated reading until I read Harry Potter and slowly from there I started writing. My favorite authors are J. K. Rowling, Sarah J. Maas, Cassandra Clare and Leigh Bardugo. Just to name a few.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Cataclysmic Ascension is a book about a Dragon Queen learning to rule in a time of war. Forging alliances with other races, some more trusting then others. This story is full of action with sword fights and magic. Creatures of horrors and some majestic, like Dragons and Fairy’s. You may even come across some Pirates and Gorgons! At the heart of the story, it really is about family and friendship. Though, it doesn’t hurt to have some snakes mixed into it.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Sarah R. Molder Twitter Account

Featured Author Kelly Rey

Featured Interview With Kelly Rey

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I have deep roots in the Northeast, but I also have a love for traveling, animals and books, not necessarily in that order. Right now, I share my house with two Keeshonden, fish, a testy lovebird, and oh, yes, my husband.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve had a love affair with books from the time I learned to read, and I read everything I could get my hands on, including cereal boxes and my dad’s Chilton’s manuals. My library card became one of my most prized possessions. Encouraged by a grandmother who used to write ghost stories, I started writing when I was in first or second grade (my epic A Scary Adventure, self-illustrated, was distributed school-wide and it still makes me laugh although it’s not a comedy) and I’ve never stopped. Although hopefully, I’ve gotten a little more skilled.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
All my life, I’ve been a fan of mysteries and capers, but I also enjoy thrillers, contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and humor. The advent of the e-reader has really opened up the opportunity to discover authors I might not have otherwise found, which is exciting. My enduring favorites have been Donald E. Westlake, Robert B. Parker, Janet Evanovich, Mary Kay Andrews, Dean Koontz, Lisa Lutz, Lisa Scottoline…stop me when you’ve had enough.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A Playboy in Peril was maybe the most fun book of the Jamie Winters series to write, but it was also one of the more frustrating, because there was a bit of stop-and-go with it and I missed my deadline and some sleep as a result. Sometimes characters refuse to do what I want them to, and in Playboy, my original killer just flat out told me to forget it. I’m what they call a “pantser” meaning I don’t outline; I just start with a crime, a victim, a killer, and an oddball group of suspects, and I let them run with it. Sometimes they run in circles. And of course, Maizy and Jamie, my two detectives, can be counted on to screw something up along the way.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Kelly Rey’s Website

Featured Author Peter A. Schoemann

Featured Interview With Peter A. Schoemann

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Peter Schoemann. Since moving to Florida at 13 years old, I’ve spent most of the last 35 years living in Florida (except for the two years we lived in Washington D.C.). I’m married to the love of my life-my wife, Christine Eckstein. Together, we’re raising four wonderful children-Kate’, David, Kenny, and Ava. Like any family, we’ve had our challenges. Our boys were diagnosed as autistic at a young age and they and Ava have the same kidney disease that forced my wife, two of her siblings, and their father to get kidney transplants.

We do not view the autism or kidney disease as a negative (although Kenny now experiencing kidney failure presents a new obstacle to overcome). Instead, these challenges have inspired us to help people with disabilities and show what they can do.

In 2011, our family formed Breaking Barriers Martial Arts-a taekwondo school for people with special needs. Since then, eight of our students have earned black belts. While we’re proud of their lofty achievements, it’s been far more rewarding to witness the growth in each of the dozens of students–not only in terms of their physical development, but in terms of their social, intellectual, and leadership development.

Our children continue to amaze us. David is a rising sophomore at the University of North Florida. He is studying to become a writer. Together, he and I wrote the short story Project RM: The Code. In late June or July, we will launch this sequel to Project RM: Genesis. David and Ava are helping with the writing and many other aspects of Project RM. Kenny is a high school junior who loves digital animation. He’s working on his first cartoons, which are very funny (yes, I’m biased). Our oldest, Katarina, is a rising senior at the University of Florida. She’s the odd one, studying pre-med.

With three of my children interested in telling stories through books and animation, Project RM has become the launching pad for Eck-Schoe Productions and Publications, LLC. My dream is for Eck-Schoe to be there for them long after I retire.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I realized I love books in my thirties, when I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorceer’s Stone and could’t put it down. Before that, reading and writing felt like a necessity-I’m a corporate and tax lawyer. My fascination with writing began in February 2010. During lunch one day, I sat at my desk reading a sports or some other news article. Suddenly, a thought popped into my head. What if an extinction level event were to occur? This is not my regular thought process, but a story began to form. What if in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis the government had created a secret society of Renaissance men and women who could maintain civilization if such an event could not be prevented? Without them, any survivors likely would lose many advances we consider essential-power, medicine, food and water distribution, security, etc. They’d be thrown back into the dark ages. A story about the son of two of these RMs flowed through my head. I knew immediately this was a story that had to be written. I’ve taken the last eight years to transform my legal writing into novel writing. I’ve learned from editors, a writing group, and others. Through the ups and downs, I’ve never wavered. This story has to be told.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As I mention above I became a reader as an adult. J.K. Rowling’s writing captivated me. I then turned to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series. Since then, I’ve read Tolkien (Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit), Veronica Roth (Divergent Series), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game universe of books), Neal Stephenson (Anathem), and many more. Can you see a theme? I love to read science fiction and fantasy. Many of the above authors inspire my writing, especially the first two. Their stories present a fictional struggle and center on how various real personalities react. I hope that is how others feel about Project Renaissance Man.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Last month, I released Project Renaissance Man, a coming of age dystopian novel. Synopsis: 17 years after billions die in an apocalypse, the few hundred survivors are the most brilliant (Renaissance Men and Women, called RMs) and their less brilliant, Stepford-like children. What will happen when a small band of the teenagers, led by the President’s subservient son (Matthew Cane) and loner Sophie Jackson, learn the truth about their harmonious society?

Set in Washington D.C. in 2037, the story includes young romance, high-tech devices, and martial arts, but the core of the story focuses on the relationships between Matthew (who is smart, but doubts himself), Sophie (who is confident and looking for change), her brother David (who is autistic and so much more), Bobby (who is intelligent and is the last living African American), and Rich (who is crafty and has strange sense of humor). Can they use their diverse talents and backgrounds to overcome an unknown, brilliant enemy?

After the inspiration I mention above, it took me about four months to write the first draft-140,00 words long and clearly written by a laywer. I took the next eight years to learn the craft, with the assistance of editors and a writing group, as well as other talented people. Finally, in late 2017, I knew the 85,000-word novel was ready. Why? Because I now loved the book.

The story only begins with our recently released stories-Project Renaissance Man and Project RM: Genesis (a short story that chornicles the beginning of the government agency). We plan to release two more Project RM novels, continuing the coming of age story of Matthew Cane. We also plan to release seven more short stories in the Genesis series. The eight Cold War serials will combine to form the prequel about the beginnings of Project RM.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Peter A. Schoemann’s Website

Peter A. Schoemann Facebook Page

 

Featured Author Jamila Mikhail

Featured Interview With Jamila Mikhail

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Jamila Mikhail, I’m 21 years old and I’m a Canadian writer. I was born in British Columbia but lived here and there, even moving seven times in five years at one point! Finally, now that I’m an adult I came to settle in Ottawa, the capital and also the city of my dreams. We aren’t quite halfway through 2018 yet and I’ve already accomplished most of the dreams I’ve had for the last ten years! I share this dream with my cat Squeaker who has been my number one buddy for the last three years. She doesn’t meow, she literally squeaks the sissiest noise I’ve ever heard come out of a cat, and I’ve had cats my whole life.

I’m currently a student in law and human rights, which is my other passion aside from writing. The two merge more often than not though, because somewhere in my stories there will always be a character or situation that deals with real life contemporary social issues. Aside from this I’m a lover of snail mail letters, a postcard collector, a real foodie and a maker of toy soldiers. I’ve made myself a little army with old and recycled parts and they keep me in line in my writing!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember. Growing up I didn’t have cable TV or anything like that (I didn’t get my own until I was 19 years old actually) so books, and also the newspaper, were my connection to the rest of the world. Nowadays I love books both to escape reality for a little while, and to educate myself about pertinent and important topics in my society and the world at large. You can learn anything from a book, that I believe.

I’ve also loved writing for just as long. I first began steadily writing in 2004 (I was seven years old) and actually still have all the old notebooks with my scribbles and two-page stories in them. It wasn’t long before writing became my way to cope with life, but most importantly it was the only socially acceptable way to express myself and my grand ideas. I tend to be bold and writing enabled me to make that side of myself shine.

I began writing on a serious basis in 2011 on the advice of my therapist who was treating me for PTSD at the time, and my first completed manuscript “The Distant Factory” was born. It’s actually available for free on my website along with several other books. I didn’t publish anything until this year though, because it is no small task and I had to get my $#!& together before venturing out into that. It turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
This is probably the hardest question for me to answer because I literally drive all over the road here (and often drive all over the real road in my car too). I particularly love reading non-fiction about the Second World War and the Korean War since my own grandfather served in both of them and that’s also what inspired me to get into the human rights field. My favorites are definitely the autobiographies of the people who lived through the darkest days in humanity, these otherwise ordinary men and women are not only my favorite authors but also my heroes.

I also love reading true crime and psychological books that seek to explain why people turn into war criminals or serial killers and other things like that. I am fascinated by people and love being able to observe both the humanity in them and the horror in them.

My grandmother has inspired many of my writings through the years and was always pushing me to write some more. Sadly she passed away on March 11th of this year and writing is what has probably kept me alive since she’s been gone. Otherwise, my own life and the things I witness and hear about happening around me are generally what inspire me to write. That’s also what makes my stories easy to relate to.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “Don’t Let Me Go” and it is young adult fiction, geared towards readers from age 13 to adults. It actually began as a short story writing prompt in 2014 and turned into a novel-length manuscript by 2015 (the original short story can be found on my website) but it didn’t go much further than that. It remained dormant on my computer until National Novel Writing Month last year. I knew that I wanted to revive it, but also rewrite it because it was pretty awful in the beginning. I won’t lie, I totally flunked out during NaNoWriMo after rewriting only about 10 000 words. The manuscript remained dormant again for several months until my grandmother’s passing.

After that it only took me about a week and a half to complete the final draft of 78 000 words. It wasn’t hard for me to sit in front of my computer and type thousands upon thousands of words during the worst time in my life because it made me feel better and gave me purpose. Getting the whole thing ‘publication pretty’ so to speak took another two months but I’m very satisfied with how everything turned out. I think my grandma would be very proud of me even though she wouldn’t be able to read the book either way because she only spoke French.

“Don’t Let Me Go” mixes contemporary issues and situations (in this case, a teenage girl named Joanie who is reeling from her parents’ bitter divorce and struggles with school) with a little bit of fantasy, history and science. Joanie decides to pass the time by making military action figures and much to her surprise, one of them comes to life! Adler is a soldier straight out of the Second World War (but Joanie is the only person who can see him) and helps Joanie navigate rough waters that include depression, domestic violence and bullying but what she doesn’t know is that Adler also hides a secret…

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Jamila Mikhail’s Website

Jamila Mikhail Facebook Page

Jamila Mikhail Twitter Account

Featured Author Cheryl Denise Bannerman

Featured Interview With Cheryl Denise Bannerman

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in South Jersey, about an hour from all the ‘shores’, and experienced the extremes of every season. Blizzards, hail, ice storms, etc. Now I live in Florida (2 years now) and I despite the lizards and gators everywhere, I am loving the warm weather and daily dose of sunshine. I threw my rock salt, shovels, ice scrapers, winter coats and hats and any boots with fur OUT THE WINDOW. Ha! I had a cat but my allergies got so bad I could not breath and had to put him up for adoption last year.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother started me young, reading to me as a baby and toddler. Once I started reading she kept all of my bookcases full in my room with the entire Dr. Seuss collection and all the Disney stories. She also exposed me to the library when I was old enough, and I would read there for hours. I started writing poems at 11 and had my first poem published in a poetry book collection that same year. I would sit and write for hours, either short stories or poetry. In high school, I wrote for the literary magazine as well.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love James Patterson, John Grisham, Dean Koontz and Lisa Jackson, to name a few. I love murder mysteries, thrillers and anything with suspense! I’m inspired by the writing styles of all of my favorites, trying to be as descriptive as possible in my language, so the reader feels the story and sees it in their mind while they are reading.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is an adult thriller about the birth and life of a serial killer in the streets of New York. Warning….it’s quite racy! Anyway, it gives the reader a chance to learn how he was raised and what trauma he went through and determine whether it may have influenced his choices in life. The main character, Douglass, is so handsome and charming that you may sometimes forget he is a killer and feel empathy towards him and even ‘like’ him. A dilemma most readers have stated struggling with throughout the book. Additionally, working with detectives to try and catch him is both frustrating and thrilling at the same time.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Cheryl Denise Bannerman’s Website

Cheryl Denise Bannerman Facebook Page

Cheryl Denise Bannerman Twitter Account

Featured Author H.R. Young-Lira

H.R. Young-LiraFeatured Interview With H.R. Young-Lira

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
A Texas girl through and through, I was born in San Antonio, raised in the Dallas area, moved to Central Texas for college, and lived in Austin proper for many years before settling just east of Austin among the loblollies of Lost Pines Forest.

I’ve always loved to travel, but even more, I love coming home. We try and set out at least once or twice a year, and we do have a dog, but our old girl Daisy – downtown Dallas street rescue, and traveler from the start – she’s is getting up there so she prefers to stay back and play welcome wagon these days.

At the heart of everything, I consider myself a story seeker, so, of course, my favorite part of traveling is the people I meet, the food I eat, and seeing things I would never see otherwise. This is the stuff of life, right? Where the stories come from.

I know Book Reader Magazine typically links to author websites, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds, but readers can keep tabs on much of what I’m up to via Instagram, too! My Insta handle is @h.r.younglira, and I can provide a link to my author account there, as well. (https://www.instagram.com/h.r.younglira/)

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Hm. You know, I believe my parents enrolled me in a monthly book club around age three? It was one of those programs that sent two new books a month. So I don’t think there was ever a time that books weren’t a part of my life, really.

As far as writing, for years I kept the random observation notebook, story idea notepad, or travel journal, but nothing serious until this first published work of mine, The Truth About Sunday Minor. I will say there was a good decade where nothing at all was written, I was so engrossed in my advertising career. I count myself lucky to have heard Sunday’s story, and for it to have stuck. It was one of those that couldn’t be put aside any longer, and I’m grateful it wouldn’t let me go.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have to admit, outside the classic required reading in school, which I also loved, some of my earliest favorites were V.C. Andrews, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz. Those were the books my mom was most interested in and left lying around the house so I think they were a default for myself.

These days I am a part of a local book club that isn’t genre specific, and that’s why I selected it. The works of Margaret Atwood, Fredrik Backman, Celeste Ng, and Blake Crouch have passed through my hands so far this year, for example. And most recently, the ladies of The Rose All Day Literary Society actually selected MY novel for May’s discussion. What an honor and treat that was to be able to sit in on a group discussion about my own work!

Who inspires me? I imagine I’m not so different from many authors in that inspiration comes from everywhere. You pick up on a little something here, a clencher there, while you’re reading and sort of lock it away in your arsenal. Then when you’ve found yourself in a holding pattern – often for me, it’s about ensuring that vice grip on a reader’s emotions – you revisit those ideas you’ve stored and try them on in your own story. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.

A bit different from others, I’d say, I’m actually more entertained and inspired by oral histories, spoken word, and music. I’ve always been fascinated with the extraordinary bits of ordinary lives, and there are so many wonderful resources for that out there, especially with the archiving capabilities available now. Ira Glass is a hero of mine. David & Amy Sedaris are both pure genius. David Isay, this world is a better place because of you. On the music, just this past weekend, for example, was all Spring vibes, R&B, and funk at our house. Listen to, and then tell me you aren’t completely transported by Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves Sunshine.” Gosh, I could manage an entire interview on being inspired by what I hear, I think.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Truth About Sunday Minor was released near the end of February this year, and I actually just received word that I’ve been nominated for the 2018 Top Female Author Award for it! Winners will be announced in July, so cross fingers for me.

A bit more about the novel, it’s is a fictionalized biography recounting the true attempts of a South Texas girl to break away from a life of unrelenting abuse during an era when appearances were everything and all who knew turned a blind eye.

And although the characters in the story are an amalgam of the real-life Sunday Minor’s recollection and how I imagined them, the events in it are crafted around her original journals and about a year of oral discussions all covering the time between Sunday’s earliest memories until she was seventeen.

To that extent, the story is true.

This is definitely one that book lovers who enjoy memoirs and true crime are destined for, but I have to mention, I was surprised and elated by such a lively discussion with the ladies that selected The Truth About Sunday Minor for book club this month, too – so much so, we decided to develop a book club package and make it available through my website! We’re still putting the final touches on that, but it should be up and ready to order soon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

H.R. Young-Lira Facebook Page

H.R. Young-Lira Twitter Account

Featured Author Alpha Male Writers

Featured Interview With Alpha Male Writers

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
We are a small group of writers focused at bringing more of men’s humour and adventure back into entertainment. We were all raised and bred differently and at different places.
We all met through schools and colleges. All of us had many different ideas for books, but none of us seemed to make the time on their own. So, we joined hands to share the resources and time, in order to make it work.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I, personally have been around books ever since I was 8 years old. But, all of us have had different ages to get into books.
We have started writing recently after sharing our common plans and methods.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Michael Chrichton, Dan Brown, Arthur Conan Doyle.
Many action adventure and sci-fi books and various folklore stuff.

For this book, we were inspired by the current misconception of science and how facts are utilised to create a fake political opinion. Science itself is beyond right or wrong. It doesn’t categorise people into good or bad. But our society often uses science to paint a picture.
“Happy Singh Canadda Wale” is a story to deconstruct the myths that society creates using science and political situations. But all that, with a crapload of comedy.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Happy Singh is an IT employee from Canada, whose days begin with being late for office, goes on listening of adverse conditions of human society, seeing the love of his life being stuck with his idiot colleague and ending with the saddest news of his neighborhood.
But one day, he won a lottery for millions of dollars and his life changes. Or so does he think. In desperation to use his wealth to a good cause, Happy teams up with a Doctor Jack as they travel throughout history to bring justice and social justice to our society.

We had the greatest fun time preparing this book. This book is about the reality of our world that remains hidden in the techno babble, political windstorms and race for success, but with a crapload of comedy and obscene comics that we authors can pull off.
It is agreeable that this book is not for the faint of heart and neither for those, who take things too close to heart. At the end of the day, this is Sci-fi Comedy, built to challenge the society’s senses on what it thinks as reality, science and justice.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Alpha Male Writers Facebook Page

Alpha Male Writers Twitter Account

Featured Author ken mackenzie

Featured Interview With ken mackenzie

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up on Sydney’s Northern beaches in the seventies and eighties and moved with my wife and children to the Mid North Coast of NSW in 2004. We now live on a farm at Mt Seaview, West of Port Macquarie, where we are surrounded by my many pets, too many to name I’ve worked in the Security Industry for over thirty years, in pubs and clubs. The last twenty seven years I’ve driven armoured cars.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I found my interest in books at around ten or eleven and started writing with letters to overseas companies for information on there products, war figurines and such.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Phillip Kerr is probably my favorite author, especially his character Bernie Gunther. Peter Corris is another I love reading, his books are unique. Fiction, Non-Fiction and erotica are my go.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
, My latest book to come out soon is entitled “No More Bets” Zeus Publications are my publisher, they have produced my last five erotic/crime fiction novels. It’s set in contemporary times with the main protagonist Steven James Forbes, career criminal up to his old tricks. Steve’s appeared in four of my novels. He’s a psychopath mixed up with a bunch of other bad boys Craig Johnson an ex Detective NSW sergeant ready. Oktay Saglam, a Turkish Spook and Solly Dundas, President of the Outlaw Motor Bike Gang the Animals. The four are set to pull of a big rort that could make them all very rich, or very dead if Steve’s sudden feud with an old associate Benny the Leb over a woman doesn’t cause big problems for the gang. It’s fast paced full of action, often making you wonder who is friend and who is foe.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

ken mackenzie’s Website

 

Featured Author David S. Longworth

Featured Interview With David S. Longworth

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Elkin, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with two majors and a minor as my currently highest level of education. My favorite hobbies I can think of right off the top of my head include lifting weights, reading and writing books, playing videogames, playing electric guitar, fencing, Dragon Ball, and Game of Thrones and A Song Of Ice And Fire fandom. I had a 13 year-old orange Lab-Chow named Waffles, which I raised since he was a puppy, but he recently died on May 3, 2018. I don’t know when I will adopt any more furbabies yet.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Ironically, I used to not give a rat’s ass about reading when I was younger until I was recommended a book by a professor during my junior year of college. I practiced the principles in the book as best as possible and transformed my life for the better, so I started reading more informative books over time outside of my studies so I can self-educate. I read over twenty books in 2016. I did some writing when I was in Elkin High School’s Writing Club, but years later burned those writings due to being lead down a dark path when I wrote them and several of them being heretical; I was a Christian growing up until I believed Atheism for several years, and officially got Jesus back into my life in August 2015. Reconverting to Christianity and having Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior is the best life choice I’ve ever done.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
First of all, the Holy Bible is extremely inspirational to me due to my beliefs and also the fact that Christians, Atheists, and any believers of any religion can learn a lot from it. My two favorite Fiction authors are obviously George R.R. Martin and J. R.R. Tolkien, and a couple Non-Fiction authors who’ve written works that I’ve enjoyed include Tony Robbins and Bruce Lee. Yes, the Jeet Kune Do master Bruce Lee. I strongly want to say Non-Fiction is my favorite genre to read, but my favorite Fiction series thus far is George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire. I have been inspired to have a career as an author by gurus that have written books of wisdom as well as George R.R. Martin, and my A King’s Wisdom series of parables set in a Medieval Fantasy world strongly reflect George R.R. Martin’s influence and some wisdom I’ve picked up during my studies.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest, and first, book “A Lord’s Treasure” is a Fictional tale set in a Medieval Fantasy world that also teaches personal finance. My A King’s Wisdom series, starting with “A Lord’s Treasure,” is a Medieval Fantasy series that also teaches self-help skills that are extremely useful towards bettering one’s life. I can strongly compare the writing style to GRRM, but not as complex as his A Song Of Ice And Fire, and most definitely my first book isn’t as long as one of those. The shortness is even mentioned in the review by Kirkus Reviews. It took me only a few months to actually write “A Lord’s Treasure,” but it took a crap ton of start-up expenses to actually get it prepared for marketability and a much bigger headache to manage and finance the marketing. Hopefully positive word of mouth will help me tremendously with that.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

David S. Longworth Twitter Account

Featured Author Dove Winters

Featured Interview With Dove Winters

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Nebraska, and I still live here today! I’m married with four kids and two guinea pigs, who act just like my kids.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing around six years old. It started out as a twenty-book series featuring talking horses. That combined my two passions at the time: writing and talking horses.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read any genre, as long as there is some romance in it. Fantasy always seems to take the top spot though. I love Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander series. I think she has inspired me the most lately. Her writing is so honest and I’m trying to do my best to follow her example.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’m working on a trilogy called Ember of the Planet. The idea came from a question I had after watching a movie with a fetching bad guy: what would happen if the hero fell in love with the villain? I’ve been working on this series for almost two years now and the first two books are out! Book three was a new experience for me. It was the first time that a character has fought so hard for something I had to completely change the book. Those characters demand to be listened to!

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Dove Winters’s Website

Dove Winters Facebook Page

Dove Winters Twitter Account

Featured Author All seeing eye

Featured Interview With All seeing eye

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I raised in Korea. My nation. I currently live Korea now. I have no pet.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Eight (8)

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
T.s Eliot. Literature . Shakespeare. As a commercial writer john grisham.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Shocking, Sexual, Absurd, Funny. Funny, Funny, Funny, Funny. Funny.

Ash-colored sex is my first and last book. I considered readers first not me.

Commercial books should be written for fun. My book describes hypothetical

dystopia. It includes technology , robots, hypothetical future of Korea.

It will give you fun in every twenty or twenty five pages.

Now days many other fun things dash against books. Like you tube.

If book will not evolve, then it will be dinosaur. I guarantee it.

 

Featured Author All seeing eye

Featured Interview With All seeing eye

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I raised in Korea. My nation. I currently live Korea now. I have no pet.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Eight (8)

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
T.s Eliot. Literature . Shakespeare. As a commercial writer john grisham.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Shocking, Sexual, Absurd, Funny. Funny, Funny, Funny, Funny. Funny.

Ash-colored sex is my first and last book. I considered readers first not me.

Commercial books should be written for fun. My book describes hypothetical

dystopia. It includes technology , robots, hypothetical future of Korea.

It will give you fun in every twenty or twenty five pages.

Now days many other fun things dash against books. Like you tube.

If book will not evolve, then it will be dinosaur. I guarantee it.

 

Featured Author Nikolas Tsitomeneas

Featured Interview With Nikolas Tsitomeneas

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Xalandri which is a municipality of Athens in Greece. I currently live there with my 5 year old goldenretriever Pablo!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was always interested in books but my writing skills came up when I was 14 when I tried to write a novel.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite authors are probably George Orwell and Tolkins while my favorite genres to read are guides and novels.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Well have you ever wondered what would it be like to build a digital company for instance… but never knew how to promote it in social media? Or have you ever wanted to become known for your work, art etc? This is the reason as to why I wrote this ebook …so that everyone can fullfil such dreams and goals.

 

Featured Author P.G. Sundling

Featured Interview With P.G. Sundling

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in L.A. and I’ll probably die in L.A. I lived in Colorado for 4 years, but I get antsy when I leave Los Angeles longer than 10 days. I’m a cat person, but I don’t have pets because I don’t want to mourn their loss. One of the worst was when my black cat got killed by a pumpkin on Halloween Day.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My parents thought the creature cantina scene in Star Wars would be too scary for me. I had to settle for reading Star Wars. I had the movie memorized before I ever saw it. I’d made up stories since I was about 5, but Star Wars was when I knew I wanted to be a writer. I wrote poetry since I was a teenager. It was a poem and a misdirect that I used to trick my wife into proposing to me. When she asked me to marry her, I said, “yes”, and proposed myself.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like J.R.R. Tolkien, Neil Gaiman, and David Brin. I’m big on science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Ideas flow to me constantly. It’s not a single person who inspires me, but the Internet and the collective unconscious. When we sleep, our minds road free. I wonder if I’m tapping into shared dreamscapes when I write late into the night. I dread the Sun and the return to the mundane world. It’s much harder for me to write in daylight.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I started writing the novel version of The Internet President: None of the Above back in 2014. About halfway through, during the 2016 presidential campaign, there were all these events in real life that were similar to existing plot points in my novel. There were so many coincidences that I included a “Fact Versus Fiction” section after the ending. The similarities extended into events that happened in my own life, like the plane, the dead girl, and the fistful of cash. Don’t skip to the end. That section is full of spoilers.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

P.G. Sundling Facebook Page

P.G. Sundling Twitter Account

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Categories

  • Featured Authors
  • Submit Your Book
  • Action & Adventure
  • Adult
  • Advice & How To
  • Business
  • Children
  • Cooking
  • Fantasy
  • Fiction
  • Mystery
  • Non-Fiction
  • Sci-Fi
  • Thriller
  • Romance
  • Young Adult
  • Fiction
  • Health & Fitness
  • LGBT
  • Memoir
  • Humor
  • Paranormal Romance
  • Religion
  • Poetry
  • Horror
  • Resources
  • Author Resources

Search For Good Books

Recent Posts

  • My Brother’s Best Friends by Natasha L. Black
  • Ain’t No Shame Embrace the Past, Accept the Present, and Move on to the Future
  • The Fox Who Fooled the Monk – 33 Zen Stories: Stop Overthinking, Release Negative Thoughts, and Find Peace & Happiness in Letting Go – Includes Reflections for Beginners
  • SHE BELONGS IN MY WORLD by Karen Kay
  • Winter’s Blush by Cricket Rohman

Follow us on Social Media

Like Us On Facebook

Learn More

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Your Book
  • Featured Books
  • Books To Read

Search For Books

Privacy Policy

Grab Our Button

Copyright © 2025 BookReaderMagazine.com

Helping Readers Find Authors Since 2014