Featured Interview With SammyJaye

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is SammyJaye, and I live in Las Vegas, Nevada by way of New York City where I was born and raised.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing creatively and writing poetry at an early age. As I can remember, it was as early as elementary school when I took a liking to it. As I got a little older and I was in junior high school, I was very shy and writing poetry allowed me to express myself in ways that I wasn’t able to do verbally. My love of writing poetry grew from there.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love reading other poetry from up and coming poets. I love watching spoken word poets perform. As I also am a spoken word poet, watching other performers helps inspire me to keep doing what I’m doing. To keep writing and also performing my pieces for an audience. I also love reading inspirational, self help, nonfiction books.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The name of my book is called, Introspections…into Life and Love. It’s a book of poetry and what I was aiming for was to explore and express my thoughts and feelings about what we all experience…life and love. These poetic pieces started out as notes on Facebook and before I knew it, I had written over 80 poems, and all of them talked about how I loved being in love, how I was scared to make certain decisions and choices, how I talked to God and wondered if He heard me, how I wish that I had made certain other choices and decisions. Alot of people felt the depth of my words and I decided to go ahead and publish my first book, Introspections…into Life. That book I was proud of because it told me that I could see a book of mine published, but the reincarnation of that book is this one and I’m extremely proud of it and it’s very important to me.

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Featured Interview With Rachel L. Schade

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Currently I live in Ohio with my husband, dog, and cat. I was born in a small town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. While I was growing up, my family moved around in Michigan and Ohio, so I wasn’t really raised in just one place.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been fascinated with books for as long as I can remember. My parents fostered my love of words by reading to me a lot, and my mom was always introducing my brothers and me to books that had been her childhood favorites. I started writing…before I could write. No, really. I have come across little books my parents saved over the years, filled with my drawings and my mom’s handwriting. I have early memories of illustrating these stories and then dictating the events to my mom.

My love for the fantasy genre began when my mom introduced me to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I was 11 when I remember making the decision to start writing a fantasy book. THAT manuscript will never be published… 🙂 But the experience taught me a lot!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Jane Austen, and Agatha Christie have been favorite authors since I was fairly young.

Now I read a lot of young adult fantasy. Some of my YA fantasy heroes are Mary E. Pearson, Sabaa Tahir, and of course, J. K. Rowling. But I could probably add more to this list. Honestly, I’m always adding to it, and there have been some fantastic debuts put out there recently that have me really excited about some new authors.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My Silent Kingdom series began as an exploration of the truth. How do people handle it? What would happen if someone had a gift that forced them to share the truth, even if it endangered their life?

Since then it has grown a lot more, especially since I recently released book 2 and am exploring additional themes as the series continues. My writing tends to naturally extend from personal experiences or even thoughts or problems I am working through. They translate differently in a fantasy world and my characters are pretty different from me, but it still makes everything pretty personal. And therefore, I hope more effective for readers. If I don’t feel anything while I’m writing, why would anyone else?

The first book started as a short story, if you can believe it. It was a pretty poor attempt–you really can’t give a new world justice in a short story form, usually–but it made a full-length novel I could be proud of. Overall, it took me about 4 years to finish, mostly because I set it aside for a while before realizing I should expand it, and then again during a period of my life when I was going through some very difficult losses.

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Rachel L. Schade’s Website

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Featured Interview With Ashraf Shaikh

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I write books, which, considering where you’re reading this, makes perfect sense. I am an author of 2 novels, which are, “In Search of Happiness” “Friendship, Love & Sacrifice” and a short story series about to be published, “Love, Lust & Greed”. I live in Mumbai, India.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was fascinated with books by age of 16 and I started writing at age 17. At age 18 I published my first novel, “Friendship, Love & Sacrifice” to impress a girl in my class, that didn’t go well. But I am glad a became a writer.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are, “Paulo Coelho, Haruki Murakami, Arundhati Roy” I always read literary fiction it satisfies my soul. Khaled Hosseini has always been a great influence on me. I take a lot of influences from movies, series, and books so it’s hard to tell.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Love, Lust, Greed” series, the lead Ram Madhukar aka Majnu stands on the edge of the bridge at night all alone by himself, on the verge of falling down to kill him and end his life. He recalls every decision he took in his past months that led him to end his life. He contemplates him becoming a male prostitute, a gigolo for lustful reasons and for his greed for money. He contemplates how meeting his client Laila changed his life forever and how falling in love with her led to circumstances. He contemplates his past until he realizes that he sunk deep into the dirty pit of Love, Lust & Greed and how hard it became for him to get out. Majnu losses his family and his love, Laila and he blames himself for it.

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Featured Interview With Richard Hummel

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in good ‘ol Minnesota (Minn-a-sow-ta). Well, at least that’s how everyone thinks we all say it. The reality? Not so much… At least not for myself and many of those I grew up around. I was far enough away from the Canadian border and in a young college town that we didn’t have that really hard accent that comes with the territory. I lived there for over a decade and spent more of my childhood there until my family moved to Arkansas. I stayed a bit longer in MN and joined them for the summer before I headed off to Florida for college. From there I joined the Army a couple years later and bounced between South Carolina, Texas, Hawaii, Iraq, and landed in Virginia. Yep, been a bit around the block, but still in Virginia for the past 7 years.

Do I have any pets… We have one dog named Cocoa Clark (Clark is the name of a character in a Dr. Seuss book and our then 3yo insisted he have Clark in his name.). He is a Shihpoo and one of the most well-behaved dogs ever. Potty trained in a week and a half, he almost never barks unless we intentionally rile him up, he doesn’t shed, and is hypo-allergenic. What more could you ask for in a pup?

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been fascinated by books since the time I could read, devouring tons of books growing up, trying to mimic hyperspace with my reading speed, and generally just getting lost in the worlds of others imaginations. Somewhere around high school I thought it would be cool to try writing, but never really committed and then sports took hold in full steam as I did football and track. Even being a jock, I played in the school orchestra and pep band for our hockey team. No matter what my extra-curricular looked like, I always found time to read even if that meant staying up all hours of the night until I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open and fell asleep with my face in the book.

So as you can see, I’ve always been fascinated by books. Some of the best times from my childhood were flipping off the lights in the living room, grabbing my reading light, and devouring two or three Hardy Boys books in one setting. I really lost count of how many times I read through all the books, the case files, and even the super-sleuth crossovers with Nancy Drew and Tom Swift. As my reading progressed I read every book in the Star Wars extended universe at least twice until I’d caught up and read everything up until Disney ruined my life and blasted away all the EU. That was a truly sad day for me and really when the lore and history of the Star Wars I’d come to love died. So, when the latest franchise movie came out and Luke died, it wasn’t all that of a shocker or heartbreak for me… Disney already broke my heart years earlier.

I didn’t write any fiction growing up no matter how many times I thought about it. Even in my adult life, it wasn’t even a consideration even though I thought about it from time to time. It wasn’t until early 2017 that I learned of a sub-genre called LitRPG that I really became rabid about reading again to the point I would get little sleep before work the next day. After many months of reading and joining every FB group and Discord chat I could, I realized that I’d been bouncing legit ideas of stories, world-building, and character development for months. Why then should I give all that stuff away?

So, on November 16th, 2017 I picked up a copy of Scrivener and set to work.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I think it will come as no surprise to a lot that I like the big giants in fantasy like George Martin and J. R.R. Tolkien, but I also enjoy a lot of the authors that put together the Star Wars EU. I can remember fondly losing myself in the worlds to the point that I felt like I was watching a movie and even the briefest interruption to do something else and the scene would flit by and I’d miss it forever. Such was the magic of the writers.

Though I love to pick up a book from R.A. Salvatore every now and again (and yes his knew Drizzt book was epic), I typically read in this newer sub-genre I talked about called LitRPG. It falls under a larger umbrella we’ve been calling Gamelit. Basically, Gamelit is any book that employs game mechanics, takes place in a game, or has some type of game-ish theme. LitRPG on the other hand is what we call Crunchy. This includes game elements to the point it’s like an RPG where you have status screens, character stats, skills, abilities, and that character makes some sort of linear progression through the game system and/or world. Many of these types of books employ the Virtual Reality Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) trope in which the real life characters immerse themselves fulling into a game world (Think Ready Player One, but take it a step further and add game mechanics like Jumanji.)

The very first author I read in this sub-genre was D. Rus. He is a Russian author who released a series called Play to Live in Russia that made it’s way into English literature. It isn’t exactly PC all the time, but it was my gateway drug into this genre that eventually inspired me to write my own story.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book, Radioactive Evolution, is a story that really came out of thin air. I’d started writing another “crunchy” LitRPG as I explained above, but about a month in, I got this idea for a Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic story that would eventually introduce game-mechanics via way of nanotechnology. I started writing it and found that I enjoyed it so much the other book went into the backlog. I wrote feverishly, consulting other authors, readers, posting it up on a web serial site for feedback, and returning the story so many times in the space of a few months. I actually finished writing that in May of 2018, but then took several months to edit before publishing in November.

The story starts out with Jared Cartwright, a young man 22 years of age that is exploring the radioactive wastelands of an earth that was decimated some several hundred years prior by nuclear war. The elite of society fled the earth on massive floating utopias leaving most of mankind to die in their radioactive cages. It wasn’t until a decade ago that humanity could leave the boundaries of their safe zones. Because a decade ago a brilliant scientist sympathetic to the plight of those left behind created a bio-nanite that recycled the radioactive waste in the air and allowed humanity to survive. Even then, very few ventured out of their colony, but Jared had nothing to lose. You see, he’d lost both his mother and father to tragic accidents. A couple years after he left, he stumbles on a dark secret the overlords of earth kept hidden. The were all dying and there was no cure. But… there was hope and now Jared must survive dangers and peril to fight back against humanity’s captors. He must evolve beyond the mundane abilities of a mere human if he hopes to succeed.

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Featured Interview With Lemuel Thomas

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Lemuel is from Baltimore, MD now residing in Ajax, Ontario. He is married with 1 baby boy and another one on the way.
LT started doing push-ups at the age of 7 years old and started weight training at age 11. At 11 years old he asked his mother to stop baking cakes for his birthday and taking pork out of his diet.

As a young kid he always had a love for being active. His parents fueled this drive by enrolling me in sports at the age of seven. In high school I was a three-sport athlete. He played football, track & field and wrestled. He realized his passion to be a fitness trainer in the 10th grade. Lemuel also known as LT is a former member of the US Army Reserves and a graduated from Salisbury University with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. LT is the owner of LT Fit with 14 years of fitness training experience.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can’t say that I am fascinated about book. I am more fascinated by learning. I started writing 10 years ago. I started writing because I wanted to reach more people with my health and fitness knowledge. I felt that is would be a great way to reach an unlimited about of people.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I can’t say that I have one favorite author. However, I enjoy books on business, self improvement, and of course fitness. My clients inspire me to write. By training my clients and listening to them it gives me ideas to write about.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Are you wondering how to change your workout as you are getting older? Have you had a lapse in your exercise routine and need a jumpstart? Are you trying to make the most of the next chapter of your life? Raising the Bar at 50 and Above will help you start, rejuvenate or even transform your workout at 50, 60, 70 and beyond.

With my fourteen-year career as a fitness trainer, I’m constantly impressed with the workouts, determination and motivation of my clients over 50. In this book, I’ll share some of the stories and health and wellness journeys of people that I handpicked to inspire you. I will highlight and bust some key myths that might be stopping you from receiving results. Raising the Bar is also filled with some of the best exercises to perform, and my top foods for you to eat. Also included is a sample workout plan for beginners. Let’s get started!

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Lemuel Thomas Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Karen DuBose

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Karen grew up outside of Chicago with her mom, dad and two older brothers.

She traveled a lot and has finally settled down in a small town in East Tennessee in the mountains. Something about the mountains called to her and still does.
She loves to make her own swag and other gifts. She also loves anything to do with the outdoors.
Her favorite snack is gummy worms and bears. Her favorite drink is a white monster. She says she is a monster before she has one.
Her family is everything to her and they support her 100% with her dream to become a well-known author. She is taking it one step at a time and one book at a time.

She has 5 furbabies that keep her company day and night.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Sadly to say I was 28 before I finally got into reading. When I found paranormal and fantasy. I was 37 when I started writing. My dreams were telling me to get the stories in my head out.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have way too many favorite authors I love to read their books. Here are a few
Ednah Walter
Jaymin Eve
Leia Stone
S.J West
Stephany Wallace

My favorite genre to read is dark fantasy romance.

Ednah Walters inspires me in my writing. If I could one day be as great as she was. I know I would on the right path.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Untainted Magic.
Skye’s whole life she has been told she was the one to defeat the dark source. She took pride in getting rid of evil. Until the coven that has been her life tries to use her for their selfish ways.

Turning her back on them felt right at the time. Maybe she made a huge mistake, but she was never letting them use her.

Drik’s life has been nothing but fun and games. Spreading evil as much as he can. He know there is a light witch that is destined to destroy him, but he has come up with a plan to change that destiny.

Will their souls handle what is destined for them or will they destroy each other any way they can?
Wherever her light goes, his darkness will follow.
One path, one destiny, two fated

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Featured Interview With RUSSELL H. PLANTE

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Rumford, Maine, a small paper mill town. I attended the University of Maine and graduated with a B.S. degree in Engineering Physics. Other portions of my academic background include Electrical Engineering and Business Administration. I’ve worked in several capacities as a project manager, systems engineer, and Branch Head for the Department of Defense in Control Engineering, Welding Engineering, and Quality Material Control Analysis. I settled in Kittery, Maine over 35 years ago. My wife and I have two grown sons, and we have eight cats who live with us; stories unto themselves. They’re always such a help when I write.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I don’t remember the first book I ever read. But growing up I read a lot of books both fiction and non-fiction- anything related to science and science fiction. Writers like Paul French, A.E.Vogt, Arthur C. Clark, Raymond Jones. My first non-fiction book was published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and explained the practical applications of using solar energy for Domestic Hot Water. Years later I realized that my first book needed a successor to discuss Photovoltaic fundamentals and explain the economic advantages in using alternative renewable sources. My second non-fiction book entitled “SOLAR ENERGY: Photovoltaics and Domestic Hot Water-A Technical and Economic Guide for Project Managers, Builders, and Property Owners” was published by Academic Press (Elsevier) and released May 2014. After that I had my first novel published entitled “Journey Home – A Cat’s Tale”, published by a traditional publisher and released February 2016. My second novel entitled “Beware the Dither Bird”, released December 2018, is a provocative contemporary story about unheeded warnings and people’s associated indifference to inaction during a transitory period of time for a changing nation-an alarming and eye-opening profile of things to come. I have recently submitted my third novel to a publisher and am working on my fourth.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My current favorite authors to read include Donna Tartt, Markus Zusack, Anthony Doerr, and Hannah Kristin just to name a few. Anything related to history and science are perhaps my favorite genres, but also what I consider as literary classics as well. All authors inspire my writing. The more I read and write, the more improved I become.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, just released entitled “Beware the Dither Bird” is a provocative, contemporary novel about two friends—one attempting to save a forest and its wildlife from extinction—the other attempting to warn people about foreboding satellite radio messages of harmful national events yet to occur. During the course of their resolve to fight for what they believe, both come to realize that large organizations can obviate the voice of any one individual.

Consequential harmful changes can occur because of people’s inattention to destructive policies, and that inveterate lies, misrepresented facts, and the deliberate obfuscation of pertinent information are common links. Two stories—one message, revealing a look into our future.

This provocative, contemporary novel is based upon actual national events, unheeded warnings about failing policies, and the associated indifference to inaction. It is a philosophical story about perceived decadence in a transitory period of time for a changing nation, about disturbing outcomes caused by people’s inattention to factual news reports, and about scientific speculation versus science fiction and fantasy. What will happen if we remain unaware of the facts in a changing world and continue to ignore the troubling events that surround us on a daily basis? The answer is contained in this story—an outcome that only you can decide. The story is an alarming and eye-opening profile of things to come…It is now available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and others. This particular novel took four years to write and two years through two complete editing cycles. (I usually write two novels at the same time and submitted another completed novel just as this one was released.)

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RUSSELL H. PLANTE’s Website

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Featured Interview With Mike Rothmiller

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Southern California, and after spending decades living at the beach, I moved to the beautiful mountains of Arizona. Over the years, we’ve had three wonderful dogs; a Golden Retriever Chow mix, a Yellow Labrador retriever and a feisty Pomerania. I almost forget, I had two tortoises for nearly 40 years.

On the writing front, I’m a New York Times Bestselling author, nominee for the Pulitzer Prize, historian, a former cop, and Army medic. I served as a TV Reporter, an award-winning documentary television producer, and television host for ESPN, PBS, and other international television markets. I’ve written and produced dozens of television documentaries, 25 books (all but two are non-fiction), numerous TV and radio ads, and I’ve authored movie scripts. My Non-fiction book, My Hero, Military, Kids Write About Their Moms and Dads (St. Martin’s Press) received international acclaim and is the only book to have forwards written by three living Presidents and General Norman Schwarzkopf.

In the corporate world, I’ve been a President/CEO and later directed three divisions of Sony Electronics EMCS-America. I”ve briefed the President of the United States, Senators, Congressmembers, Governors, and several foreign diplomats on a variety of issues.

My books have been published by Simon & Schuster (Pocket Books) and St. Martin’s Press. I’ve also self-published a variety of books. I like the fast turnaround of self-publishing and complete control of the work. I was exceedingly lucky since my first book was a New York Times Bestseller.

Several of my non-fiction books have been featured on all the national TV news channels and in dozens of foreign markets.

Readers of my books include; three Presidents, former First Lady Laura Bush, the late Charlton Heston, and Queen Elizabeth II. Media from 25 countries have interviewed me, and I’m quoted in numerous books and magazines.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I recall being interested in non-fiction at an early age, but I can be specific. My parents subscribed to National Geographic Magazine, and I relished each month when it arrived. I found the travel and adventure fascinating, and it inspired me to look for adventure throughout my life.
I started writing in school because I had no choice. I would have preferred being outside playing with my friends, but those terrible teachers forced writing assignments on us. I began writing professionally when I became a cop in Los Angeles; albeit arrest reports. After leaving the police department, I worked for a television production company; it was then I started writing scripts, etc.
While working in TV, I met a book agent whose arm I twisted to submit a short non-fiction book proposal I pieced together. He didn’t believe it would be picked up, but it was. And to our surprise, it became a New York Times Bestseller. That book is titled, “LA Secret Police. Inside the Elite LAPD Spy Network.”

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Since my interest is primarily non-fiction, I could name several writers. My interest is not in the author; it lies in the stories. I have seen newspaper and magazine articles far more interesting than some non-fiction books. Non-fiction writers who inspire me the most are the deep divers — writers who dig, dig and dig. They either suspect or know they are onto something great and never give up until they achieve the goal.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest non-fiction book is titled, “Secrets, Lies, and Deception……And Other Amazing Pieces of History.” This book was indeed a work of love since it took me just over 20 years to acquire the documents from various government agencies. I filled hundreds of Freedom of Information Request (FOIA), and dozens of Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) to obtain these amazing documents. When the government doesn’t what us to learn a secret, they stonewall and lie at every turn. As an example, one record I requested under a FOIA to the National Security Agency resulted in an 18-year battle of them lying, then telling me to sue them. I ended up with the records I requested.
This book has 85 documented true stories; all backed up with official government documents. Most were buried within various government agencies and have only seen the light of day because of my FOIA efforts.
These are just a few stories and with accompanying documents contained in this book.
Did you know about the CIAs top-secret search for Noah’s Ark? Did you know there are top-secret telephone transcripts of President Bill Clinton discussing Usama bin Laden’s planned attacks on the United States years before 9/11 occurred? Did you know of the personal letter Mahatma Gandhi sent to President Franklin Roosevelt declaring America has a Negro problem? Did you know that nuclear weapons have been accidentally dropped worldwide and some have never been recovered? Fortunately, they did not detonate. Did you know that a plan was presented to President John F. Kennedy for the US military to carry out staged terrorist attacks on America and make it appear it was Cuba? This would provide a false pretext to initiating war against the island nation. Did you know of the CIAs poison pen plot to kill Fidel Castro? How about the plot to assassinate Mexican President De La Madrid? Did you know that President Ulysses S. Grant believed the war against Mexico was unjust and represented a government conspiracy to garner more slave owning land? Did you know that the CIA secretly stole a Soviet satellite for examination and returned it without the Soviets being the wiser? Did you know that President Abraham Lincoln had a gay lover? Do you know what Hitler’s bizarre sexual practices were? Did you know of the multi-nation assassination team who murdered individuals in Washington DC? Or, that the Vietnam War was fought for the prestige and influence of the President and the CIA never believed the war could be won? And did you know that within hours of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, President Lyndon Johnson and others were secretly conspiring to dictate the outcome of the official investigation before it started—thereby violating the first rule of all investigations? These are just a few of the startling documents I have unearthed.
In closing, in this book, it is not me putting forth these events, it’s found in the governments own documents which are included.

Featured Interview With Vera Harris

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Vera Harris, called “Sister” by her family, enjoys spending time with her family, traveling,
reading, listening to various types of music, and working in her church. After retiring from
the U. S. Army, a deployment that included eighteen months in Iraq, Vera now lives in East
Texas and was inspired by her grandson to write her first children’s book. Her fourth book,
Monica and Michelle Travel the World was released April 2018. Vera has also written her first short story which was released in March 2018. Her books can be purchased on Amazon.com, Barnes &Noble or wherever books are sold.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved books. As a little girl reading and discussing, books were apart of my daily life. I started writing and published my first book, titled “A Bee on My Bike” in 2014.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Kimberly Roby, Eric Jerome Dickey, E. Lynn Harris, Sister Souljah, Mary Monroe, Pearl Cleve, Zora Heale Horton, Maya Angelou, Tayari Jones, Brenda Jackson, and Tryee the book Author, (just to name a few). My favorite genre to read is a fictional romance. I am inspired by my outstanding grandson in my writing of all of my children’s books.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Monica and Michelle Travel the World” is my latest book. I worked on this book for over a year trying to get it just right for kids up to age twelve. This book was published in April 2018. I am proud of this book because this book addresses children adapting to change (moving and entering a new school and making new friends). Both characters, Monica and Michelle are from a military family (both mom and dad are in the air force). My intent is to inspire and engage children to read and to teach a valuable lesson. See below for a snapshot:

“I do not want to go to another school!” yelled Monica as she slammed the door to her room. Michelle, her twin sister, looked confused. Michelle could not understand why her twin sister, Monica, was so unhappy. Michelle has always enjoyed meeting new friends regardless of where the family had moved.

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Featured Interview With J. Edwards Holt

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m J. Edwards Holt. I was born and raised in Henderson, North Carolina. I currently live in North Carolina as a full-time author, illustrator, and blogger.

I have a dog named Mia that I’ve had for two years now. She’s a German Shepherd/Boxer mix, and she is a handful. She’s an outgoing dog with lots of energy and a great personality. She brings joy and laughter to my family, as all dogs do!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I remember learning to read when I was a very young child. From the moment I started reading, I loved it. In elementary school, I became fascinated with the yearly writing tests that we were given. I was one of the few who enjoyed the test, and I even looked forward to it every year.

Elementary school was when I began most of my writing, continuing through middle and high school, and even college. I published my first book, “Little Men, Big Treasures”, in 2017.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Jude Watson, and James Luceno. My favorite genres to read and write are Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “The Summoner’s Gem”. It is the sequel to “Little Men, Big Treasures” and the synopsis goes as follows:

Three decades after returning home from the adventure that made him famous, the legendary dwarf treasure hunter O’balin Undur has gone missing. Many have presumed O’balin to be dead, including his old friend Bindle, the aged and worn mayor of Mountainside Village. After receiving an urgent letter addressed specifically to him, Bindle sneaks out of town to visit the home of an old friend; There he is greeted by a surprising guest who claims to have seen O’balin alive, searching for a mysterious stone called the Summoner’s Gem. Middle-aged and tired, but still craving adventure, Bindle leaves behind his home and family and embarks on a quest to find his long-lost friend.

Along the way Bindle forms lasting friendships, travels to new and strange places, and finds himself face to face with a wizard in an encounter that will forever change his life. Experience adventure, suspense, and even laughs in the epic follow-up to J. Edwards Holt’s “Little Men, Big Treasures”.

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Featured Interview With Dr. Lynda Jones Mubarak

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a Texas native, retired teacher and Army veteran. I grew up in Waco and Ft. Worth, TX and I live in Fort Worth. My husband and I have two rescue dogs; Ebony Joyce and Shorty Junior.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was an avid reader in elementary school and had a complete home library by age eight. My parents and grandmother introduced me to books and magazines at an early age and insisted that I read everything available. I began writing children’s books after I retired from public school.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
James Baldwin and Walter Mosley are my favorite authors. I love reading historical genre and crime stories. I enjoy examining the twists and turns of the villian(s). I am inspired by anyone who overcomes a challenge or obstacle in life. My stories are often geared toward serious, human conditions that occur in all families with young children.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Maxine’s New Job and it is the first book in the Detective Maxine Hill Series. Maxine is an inquisitive 5th grade student who has a talent for solving problems and enjoys helping people in need. Maxine is troubled by her neighbor’s strange behavior. Is the neighbor an alien spy, a rogue mutant, or just a weird old woman? While using her quirky skills of observation, Maxine discovers an unexpected secret about Mrs. Sullivan, her sweet, quiet neighbor that changed their relationship forever. It took me approximately three months to create each book in the series including Maxine’s Hands, and Maxine Listens which will be released in early 2019. My children’s books always emphasize community service, human compassion and career exploration.

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Featured Interview With Julie Anderson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I live in south London, England and Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. I grew up in a small semi-rural village in Worcestershire, one of those places which are great for children – orchards, cows, wild woods, streams to fish and swim in – but which I found parochial and restricting as I reached adulthood, so I went away, first to university then to work. I now enjoy living in a cosmopolitan capital city and agree with Dr Johnson who said that if you were tired of London you were tired of life. I still love to visit Worcestershire though. Right now, because of travelling regularly to Spain I don’t have pets, but, usually I have at least two cats.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As soon as I could read, I read as much as I could lay my hands on. I even wrote a novel ( which, I am glad to say, was lost long ago ). I gave it to my teacher who must have found it awful but encouraged me nonetheless. I didn’t return to writing until many years later, once I had done lots of other things, but I continued to read, given any opportunity. I will still read the back of the cereal packet at breakfast if I don’t have a book or a newspaper.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I wait with anticipation for publication of the latest books of Hilary Mantel, Julian Barnes, E.Annie Proulx and Graham Swift – generally fairly ‘literary’ books, which are also popular. But I like Neal Stephenson too and Neil Gaiman. I get hooked on historical detective and adventure stories, like those of C.J.Sansom, or Steven Saylor and love the classics, like The Name of the Rose or The Thirty Nine Steps.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is ‘The Silver Rings’. It is the sequel to ‘Reconquista’ an adventure story set in 13th century Al Andalus ( modern day southern Spain ) which was long listed for the Mslexia Children’s Book Award 2016. Both books are set during the turbulent wars of ‘re-conquest’ between the Christian north and the Muslim south, when King battles Emir for possession of the land and power. In ‘The Silver Rings’ my young heroes return home after their first adventures but find that their home town has changed, as have their places within it. How they adjust to their new circumstances and resolve the issues open at the end of the first book, as well as remaining true to their friendship, makes them grow up still further. By the end of ‘The Silver Rings’ they have all left childhood far behind.

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Featured Interview With Danny R. Smith

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Newhall, California, which was a small town back in the sixties when I was born. After spending most of my adult life in Southern California, and after retiring from a 21-year career in law enforcement, I moved to Idaho where I work as a private investigator/consultant. We live on ten acres in a rural town with a bunch of animals including dogs, cats, horses, cows, donkeys, ducks, and chickens. They’re all spoiled too.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a boy I did not enjoy reading; however, I did enjoy writing, as odd as that may seem. But I didn’t do much of it at that time in my life.

I excelled in writing throughout my career and I enjoyed that part of it, whereas most cops don’t. I retired due to an injury, and while recovering from surgery, I spent a lot of time writing stories based on my experiences in law enforcement, especially from those years as a homicide detective.

After starting my second career as a private investigator, I didn’t focus on my writing again until my best friend and former partner was diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live. He asked that I publish the story I had written with the primary characters based on me and him, and the rest is history. That book is A Good Bunch of Men, the first in the Dickie Floyd Detective Novel Series. The best news is my partner beat cancer to the amazement of only those who don’t know him.

In addition to writing crime fiction, I write a weekly blog called The Murder Memo. The bulk of the stories I write and publish there are true crime stories based on my experiences. I plan to someday write true crime books on a couple of my more interesting homicide cases.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Crime fiction is my favorite genre, and true crime is a distant second. My writing has been inspired by my favorite authors, Elmore Leonard, Michael Connelly, and Joseph Wambaugh. Other favorites include Stephen King, Lawrence Block, and Louis L’Amour.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, Echo Killers, is a fast-paced, hard-boiled detective novel based in South Los Angeles. It is the third in the Dickie Floyd Detective Novel series, though it can be read as a standalone, as can the others.

The story begins with a runaway boy witnessing a murder. Floyd takes the case but doubts the boy’s account. He consults his old partner, Dickie, who has been teamed up with a new partner, the sexy but historied Josefina Sanchez. When army investigators descend on L.A. in search for two AWOL soldiers, their paths cross with those of L.A. Sheriff’s homicide investigators and the killers whom they pursued. And Cedric, a green-eyed, black, runaway foster child, is caught in the middle of it all.

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Featured Interview With Sister Initiated

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Sister Initiated currently lives in New York and Pennsylvania. She’s lived in various countries, and spent a lot of time traveling during her early life. She likes to eat whole foods and loves the natural lifestyle. She loves all energy, and she would like to see peace, harmony, equality and love for all during her earthly existence.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I only started writing this year. This is my first book, and it’s been quite an experience. I believe in reincarnation, so I feel that I’ve been a writer in prior lives.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like to read spiritual books. Some of my favorite authors are John Baines, Yogananda, Elaine J Keller, Don Miguel Ruiz, Deepak Chopra, Vladimir Megre, Carlos Castaneda, Eckhart Tolle.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Sublimating Penis Envy is an account of a woman’s spiritual journey from female nature to Feminine Nature – sublimating and comprehending Penis Envy. Finally, as told by a woman. She took a journey to a door that she had the courage to open and ventured into a world that cannot be defined by a man. She came out alive and now she can share some of her seeing. It’s time for Feminine Nature’s voice to be seen and heard on Earth again.

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Sister Initiated’s Website

Featured Interview With Joe Porrazzo

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I love dogs, so I’ll start there. We have a young Goldendoodle that my granddaughter named Tom-Tom Brady (he goes by Brady)…my best friend. I grew up on the North Shore about 15 miles outside of Boston. I’m a huge Sox, Pats, Celts and Bruins fan…you’ll always catch sports references in my books. I received a lot of feedback from readers and how they loved the local [New England] descriptions and scenes in Solemnly Swear. Deliberate Deception takes place in Tucson, so we’ll see how that works out. They say to write what you know, so there’s plenty of New England references and now Tucson in Southern Arizona. I served 25 years on active duty all over the world, and I taught Air Force ROTC at the University of New Hampshire, so I won’t be running out of material anytime soon [chuckles].

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’d say around 10 or 11…I was a big Hardy Boys fan, and I read a lot of Don Pendleton’s Mack Bolan books: The Executioner. In my teens, I mainly read King, Grisham, Ludlum and then moved on to Hunter, Connelly, Baldacci and Flynn. But the novel that had the most impact on me as a teen was Stephen King’s The Stand. It wasn’t until John Grisham’s The Summons that made me want to put words to paper. I believe that was the summer of 2002.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Writing takes a lot of my time but I make time to read. Same as movies, I like mystery and suspense thrillers. I’m behind in my reading…and I have a stack of books on my desk by the authors that inspire me the most: Stephen King, David Baldacci, John Grisham, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills, Stephen Hunter, Linwood Barclay and Harlan Coben. I’ll let you know when I finish them.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
To quote former President Reagan, “Well, it’s a mystery.” Sorry…bad impersonation. So, Deliberate Deception is the sequel to Solemnly Swear in the Alex Porter trilogy. My readers love Alex, especially female readers…based on the email I receive.

My goal is to keep readers guessing and involved in the story. I haven’t heard from one person who said they had guessed the ending of Solemnly Swear. I love plot twists. There are a few surprises in Deliberate Deception that hopefully the reader won’t see coming. I also use storylines straight out of the news to keep my fiction real.

For instance, I didn’t plan on including the 2011 Tucson tragedy in my book. I started Deliberate Deception before the shooting happened. I was halfway through the plot when the story broke. I have a small TV on my desk and I monitored the story as I worked on the book. It was a few days later, when they announced President Obama was coming to Tucson, that it clicked and enhanced the plot. I remember thinking, we just had a politician shot in the streets of Tucson; they weren’t sure if it was politically motivated or if the shooter was a nut job… and they’re going to bring the president here for the memorial service? Still, it caused a lot of consternation for me. It was still too new, too fresh, too soon to write about the senseless tragedy. Almost eight years have passed now, I’m hoping that’s enough time to be able to use it in a fictional story.

So, I write about what’s around me. In the book’s promotion I use the description: “A greedy corporation rigs a multi-million dollar raffle…what comes next will shock the world!” That’s based on a few large raffles we have here in Tucson and Phoenix. I also use my knowledge and experience to infiltrate the local Air Force Base, travel to Key West and Trinidad in the Caribbean…all places I’ve been to for different reasons. But allow me to read a line from the book: “References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously.” Sorry…couldn’t resist.

One of the book critics of Solemnly Swear gave an awesome review, but mentioned that my compositional style would have kept his attention at twice the page count (it was 252 pages). Be careful what you ask for…Deliberate Deception has 416 pages in the print copy that is due out soon…the current eBook has 408 pages.

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Joe Porrazzo’s Website

Featured Interview With P.K. Adams

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Poland. I currently live in Boston, after spending some years in New York, Connecticut, and Brussels, Belgium. I grew up with a dog named Bonzo, but unfortunately I don’t have a pet right now. This may change in the near future.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been a voracious reader from a very early age. When I was in high school I wrote some short stories, but in college I (mistakenly) decided that it was time to grow up. So I gave up creative writing and tried to figure out a career path. Working in the corporate world never made me happy, and about seven years ago I returned to what I love most -writing. I still kept my day job, but I began my first novel, which- because it was mostly a weekend project- took six years to complete.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read a lot of historical fiction. Among my favorites are Hilary Mantel, CJ Sansom, Ken Follett, Umberto Eco, and SJ Parris, but I constantly discover new great authors in that genre. I also like good literary fiction, with Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie being among my current favorites. When it comes to the classics, I am partial to Italo Calvino, Alberto Moravia, and Luigi Pirandello.
Reading great authors inspires me to write, but also being outdoors and surrounded by nature often puts me in the mood. Architecture, especially historical, is another great source of inspiration for me.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Greenest Branch was inspired by the life of Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century physician who was one of the first women in Europe to practice medicine professionally. She had to overcome a great deal of mistrust and outright hostility from the male-dominated society in order to be able to do so. The novel traces her struggle to fulfill her dream against external obstacles and internal dilemmas.
It took me more than six years to write The Greenest Branch, and it was released in June 2018. The second book in the series, The Column of Burning Spices, will be out on February 1, 2019.

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Featured Interview With Alegra Loewenstein

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and bred in Texas! I grew up in the Dallas Fort Worth area, but in the suburbs, which has never been my thing. I went to college in Austin, got a B.S. in Ecology & Conservation Biology from UT, then promptly went on to get an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Poetry) at San Diego State University. I still live in San Diego, but I don’t write very much poetry anymore. (Gasp!) I have found my sweet spot genius zone in healthy living non-fiction!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always fancied myself a creative type. I wrote a lot of cheesy poetry as an angst ridden teen, and some much better poetry in college, and some pretty darn good poetry in grad school. The main line of improvement was I stopped writing about “boys” and started writing about nature and the environment. My nature poetry is MUCH better than my unrequited love poetry.

I actually didn’t like reading in high school or college! I’m a very slow reader, and when you read slow and you have to finish things by a certain time, it’s not a good combination. In grad school I had to read even more, and somehow I came out of it finally loving to read!

I worked in science education and the biology and writing all came together in that field. From there it was an easy transition to start writing health content, and that was when I really felt like I could never get tired of writing!!!!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read non-fiction. I’ll read a ton of non-fiction at the same time, that is a huge source of inspiration, as it all swirls together in my brain. Sometimes it takes me years to finish a book because I’m reading so many all at once! I’m kind of addicted to self improvement, and I’ll read a lot of topics I’m wanting to improve, such as mindfulness, education, environment, parenting, business skills, and of course always health and wellness! I love Michael Pollan (food journalism) and Sandra Blackard (parenting / teaching) and Jill Lublin (business). I only read one fiction at a time.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In Kitchen Magic: Simple Recipes & Rituals to Manifest Health & Happiness, you will be surprised at how FUN it is to read. It’s not a cook book, though it does have recipes. This book is enjoyable to read cover to cover! It’s like I brought you into my kitchen for a day, and we had fun playing around with all kinds of recipes and ideas, whatever pops into our heads, and if we don’t have the exact ingredients, we improvise! And it all got wrapped up in a book! It really is teaching an approach to food, natural living, and the kitchen as a concept more than just a series of recipes/instructions to follows.

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Featured Interview With Theodore Valley

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Author Theodore Valley is a #1 Best-Selling Author, and Award-Winning Poet, writer, speaker, and consultant. He is a published author thirty-nine plus books and has published thousands of poems and articles published throughout the United States and other Nations, he has been interviewed on numerous radio talk shows, television, published in magazines, newspapers, books, and online publications; he has been featured on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and the BBC in the UK. Although, most of his books have been nonfiction, he has broken into the fiction writing scene, where he has found a new passion. He is a former bouncer, bartender, casino supervisor and dealer. He loves to write, read, teach, listen to music, and spend time with people and dogs. His parents are his heroes.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing poetry about twenty-five years ago and everything else branched out from there.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy poetry, the classics, short stories, and maria books. I love Poe!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Hitman; “La Famiglia!” it’s the 1st book in the series, that is set in South Florida in the 1980s. The Hitman now an old man in 2018, the lone survivor of his family, tells his story of his life in the mafia, or “La Famiglia! His story is one of romance, mishaps, drug dealing, betrayal, murder, mayhem, suspense, drama, and thrilling twists that you won’t see coming! The Dean, the Mafia’s most feared contract killer is called in to restore order; however, everything isn’t as it seems with the many twists in this entertaining romance, crime, thriller!

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