Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Eugenia Fain

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born September 25,1971 in Charleston,SC. I reside in Columbia, SC with my husband Ivan and tabby cat Buddy. I have no children.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved reading. I started writing at age eight and published in Norton’s Anthology hardback at eleven years old.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoyed reading British novels. I love drama and religious books. A good mystery is important. My English teacher Mary Ellen MacGregor inspired me to write in high school.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have a collection of short stories and poems on Amazon, eBay and Barnes and Nobles called Coffetime Tales and Poems .

Featured Interview With Juliette L. Dunn

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a YA science fiction/fantasy writer living in Oregon, USA and have been here all my life. I have a pitbull and a pitbull-mastiff mix, plus an adorable dumbo rat named Cloud.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was fascinated with books almost since I was born. I would hyper-fixate on letters and learned them when I had just learned to talk, and was reading by the time I was in pre-school. Books have always been my passion, and I read almost any genre. Although I’ve gone through countless different interests, reading has been the one that never waned.

I started writing in the sixth grade, when I began writing fanfiction for the Warriors universe by Erin Hunter. I soon progressed to original fiction and haven’t looked back.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t have a favorite genre and will read almost anything, from contemporary YA to classic novels and hard science fiction. Some of my favorite authors include Marissa Meyer, Margaret Atwood, George Orwell, Gregory Maguire, and Angie Thomas.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called Gateway, and is the first book in a series called The Migax Cycle. It’s a YA science fantasy set in a fictional world called Migax and it follows two students at a presitigious school. One of the students, Leafsong, is a member of a dragon-like species that coexists with humans and can turn invisible, and the other, Summer, is a hacker and expert in technology. The two end up on the bad side of a military manufacturer called MiliLabs, which is creating a telepathic weapon to be used to dominate skeefers. They get mixed up with a resistance organization planning to stop MiliLabs from creating a totalitarian state, all the while dealing with school and all the drama that comes with it. It’s great for fans of a mix of science fiction and fantasy and features asexual and non-binary representation. It took me about a year to write and I am very proud to have finally published it.

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Juliette L. Dunn’s Website

Featured Interview With Cully Mack

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hi, I write high fantasy with romance! Think epic battles with Immortals and beasts of all kinds, throw in some elemental magic, huge plot twists, portals and unique worlds and an ever-growing amount of characters trying to save their world (think it’s time to cull a few – oh no!). If you like character-driven fantasy, you’ll love these books. I warn you now, I don’t go easy on them…
I was raised and still live in England where I attended University to gain my BA in English Literature & Creative Writing and my Masters in Creative Writing.

I work with people who are homeless and when I’m not writing, I enjoy walks with my dog, Leo, who is a German Shorthaired Pointer. He knows more about the characters in my books than any dog should!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I don’t remember not reading. My earliest memories are reading, and fantasy has always been in my heart. I started with Enid Blyton’s, Enchanted Wood, moving on to C.S. Lewis & Tolkien.

I started writing later in life after my children grew up. My writing is motivated by creating new worlds and in-depth characters to live in them. I love how characters grow and overcome the challenges they face. I love plot twists! Being a discovery writer, my characters often surprise me and lead me into territory I wasn’t expecting to go.

I’m very interested in the oldest mythological texts (think pre Greek & Roman). The Voice that Thunders series is filled with ancient myth, the kind that is buried in soul waiting to be reawakened.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Favourite genre is fantasy (of course) but I read all genres.
I’ve been inspired by Sarah J Maas, Jay Kristoff, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson and a host of other fantasy authors. Outside of this, I get inspiration from researching mythical texts and epics of ancient Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Akkadian and Semite mostly.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called A Scream That Shatters which releases on the 3rd of December 2019. It’s a follow on from A Voice That Thunders and picks up where the first book left off.
Its tagline is A BROTHER FATED * A SISTER FREED * A SHADOW WHO DOESN’T FEAR THEM

Mirah has risen from the ashes of her slaughtered clan to become the greatest Elemental Wielder the immortals have ever known.
But the immortals craving her power are nothing compared to another darkness rising.  Mirah calls it the Shadow – a defiling beast trapped in the other realm who bound her to itself.
Her brother Gabe may be the Voice of Thunder destined to lead the war, but Mirah knows the Shadow is creeping closer and its reach is too powerful.  She has seen the devastating lengths to which it will go, and it shattered her heart.
Mirah faces a profound choice: stay and fight for humanity’s freedom, and risk the Shadow’s wrath, or flee to protect the brother she loves.

The book is filled with explosive revelations and betrayals where romances bloom and others are severed. It has an awesome new book boyfriend (move over Rowan and Rhysand haha 🙂

I was in-between leaving University and going back to work and had the luxury of writing from 6am-9pm every day over several months. I really got my head stuck in this world and it pays off. I also drafted the 3rd book, A Fire That Whispers (coming soon).

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Cully Mack’s Website

Cully Mack Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Marie Green McKeon

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Philadelphia. It’s not that I have anything against big cities, or Philadelphia per se, which they rightfully describe as a city of neighborhoods, but I never liked living there. Never really felt I belonged. When my husband and I moved to a small town near Valley Forge (where we still live now), I immediately felt as if I had finally come home. Not just the town, but the whole area –including Valley Forge park, which figures in my book — is, I believe, where I belong.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother taught me and my siblings to read at a young age (I remember her arguing with the librarian that my brother, age 3 at the time, deserved to be issued a library card). So, I can’t quite remember exactly how old I was when I became fascinated with books. I think I was always fascinated by them, reading at every opportunity I could get. For example, my sister and I would constantly be in trouble for reading in bed long after lights out.
I didn’t start seriously writing until I was in high school and my sister convinced me to join the student newspaper. Talk about fascination — I was enthralled with every part of it. That led to me majoring in journalism in college, and working as a newspaper reporter (a great way to build skill sets in crafting a story as well as observing human nature), and then eventually moving on to marketing copywriting, financial writing, and then — to my real love — fiction writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
More than 90% of what I read is fiction, and of that, I would say it’s a mix of literary, women’s, and mystery/suspense. I have a habit of reading as many as 7 or 8 books at the same time, and somehow manage to keep the stories straight (don’t ask me how). Right now, among the authors I’m reading are Rebecca Makkai and Laura Lippman. Most of the authors I read tend to be women. It just works out that way, although I’ve been blown away by some male authors, of course (thinking of Adam Johnson, The Orphan Master’s Son). Of those who truly have inspired me: Sue Monk Kidd, Donna Tartt, and (everyone’s favorite, deservedly) Harper Lee.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A girl runs away from home, searching for the father who abandoned the family. A woman, who has never ventured outside the confines of living with her mother and working at a small printing company, finds her world shattering. Her mother dies, the company falls on hard financial times, and she faces the distinct possibility of losing her house. Water is Wider, a contemporary woman’s novel, tells the story of how these two lives intersect and how bonds between strangers can sometimes grow stronger than bloodlines. Blood may be thicker than water, but water is wider.

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Marie Green McKeon’s Website

Featured Interview With Robert Jaxx

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Was born and raised in the Detroit area. Went to Michigan State before going on to law school. I still live in the Midwest with my wife and daughters.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Don’t really know, although I was young; pre high-school for sure.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Larry McMurtry, John Steinbeck, Stephen King.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Swan is essentially an eclectic story about one man’s journey through hell. I’m proud to say it won the 8th annual Beverly Hills Book Awards for Best Fiction.

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Robert Jaxx’s Website

Featured Interview With Eddie Smyth

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My first recorded appearance was in Dublin, Ireland, where, apart from a couple of cameo roles elsewhere, I wasted most of my youth. I’ve since re-located to a village called Slane in the county of Meath, where the cast include a couple of dogs and numerous fish.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a very young child in 1960s Dublin, we didn’t yet have the luxury a television set at home, so, if we weren’t playing outside, there wasn’t much else to do but read. Thankfully, I learned and loved to read before I’d even started school, and was writing my own little stories by the age of five. At school then, writing was the one pursuit that I really enjoyed, and at which I seemed to excel: I won commendations, prizes and even an award for a story of mine that was sent on my behalf to an Irish national newspaper, when I was still in the earlier classes at primary level. Which, though, mightn’t have been such a good thing: I was never too bothered about doing well at school after that, in the innocent belief that my future was already sorted.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
A difficult question because I’ve read so many authors, and never really thought about what genre their books might belong to. But, at a push, maybe what might be classed now as literary, visionary, or even, metaphysical fiction. I would seem to have a penchant too for dark comedy.
Some that stand out for me would be; everything published by J.D. Salinger including, of course, The Cather in The Rye, Days Between Stations by Steve Erickson, and The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
From an early age too, I was also very interested in music, and so would consider my influences to be musical as well as literary, particularly the lyrics of David Bowie, Talking Heads and The Psychedelic Furs, and I was certainly inspired by the irreverence and anti-establishment ethos of the Punk Rock movement.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Revenge of The Stoned Rats (The novel previously known as The Prince): A new version of my, considered to be, darkly humorous novel The Prince, which was published in 1996. It focuses on the life and times of Billy Sikes, an extremely sensitive and imaginative boy growing up in Ireland in the 1970s, first as a child and then as a, seemingly, delinquent teenager. Neglected and abused by his adoptive family, particularly by a sociopathic female cousin called Agnes, his world is utterly changed when his mysterious half-brother, Herbert, suddenly arrives in to it.
It’s all told to a background noise of the preaching of the then all powerful Catholic Church, television news reports on the ongoing atrocities in Northern Ireland and the war in Vietnam, the warbling of popular music and the wisdom of Billy’s revered, older cousin, Anna.

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Eddie Smyth Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Semeon Abera Kebede

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and bred in Sheger (Addis Abeba) Sedest Kilo to be precise. After leaving my beloved country Ethiopia, my soul and new home searching took me to places from the sizzling heat of Dubai to the freezing snowy Oslo until i finally settled in Prague, Czech Republic.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always had a wild imagination to be honest with you. But never imagined myself as a writer growing up. I would consume writings by great writers to keep my mind fresh but that was it. Used to contribute articles and jot down my thoughts but then when life immerses through hot and cold, deep and shallow pits simultaneously at times it becomes your therapy. Thus the past half a decade I seriously began to develop my raw talent and soon it became an obsession and finally my calling!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read diverse works of fiction and non fiction, from my country and the wider world. I would say Charles Bukowski audacity to reveal the highs and the lows in its authentic and simple form, found it very enticing. From my homecountry my favorite authors are Yesmake Worku, Sebhat Gebregzhabher to name a few. My cousin as well is an established writer to whom we share and encourage each other often in our writings. So I would say you pick up inspiration as a writer in bits and pieces from what one reads, lives and observes in life.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest work, Bohemian Blues is set in the beautiful city of Prague. It follows the journey of drifter in the dark hours of the sleepless town. With a shady past yet good intentions, questionable judgment and restless soul Hannibal emerges out of nowhere to dive into the fast lane of the city life, risking it all until he meets his match in fiery Venedy to become a force. The fast paced, action filled novel takes us into the deep world of the Fashion industry, the underground criminal world, the club scene, the blue and white collar ambition and friction until one emerges the winner.

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Semeon Abera Kebede’s Website

Semeon Abera Kebede Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Jordana Chana Mayim

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Philadelphia and not long after that, I dreamed of leaving it to see the world. The immense stirred my imagination: What was on the other side of the ocean? The small equally captivated me: Hours spent watching ants was time I considered well spent. By the age of six I knew I wanted to be a writer. Pen and paper, and later a succession of laptops, have gone with me everywhere I’ve traveled to, and thanks to my work teaching ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages), I’ve not only visited but also lived in many places. My experiences as a traveler, student, and teacher, in addition to an almost 30-year battle against depression and bipolar disorder, inform everything I write. – As does my conviction that to love is our greatest purpose and achievement.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was probably fascinated with books from the moment my mother started reading to me. I started writing “books” when I was six. I still have the first two. 🙂

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
For poetry, my favorite authors are Rumi, Hafiz, and Mary Oliver. For novels, the list is much longer. My favorite genres are novels, poetry, children’s books, and history. Absolutely everything inspires me in my writing.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have two books out right now. The first is an illustrated allegory for adults and young adults called The Life of Zerah. Zerah is a little seed who dreams of becoming a Great Tree. But when the Wind carries him from the field in which he is about to root himself to a desert, a life unlike the one he had carefully planned begins, and everything he thought he knew about the world comes to an abrupt end. The questions that human beings have long asked: Why am I here? Is there a God? If so, how can cruelty and injustice exist? What makes life worth living? are all asked from the perspective of a seed trying desperately to become a tree and trying to comprehend the oftentimes incomprehensible. Parental love, faith, social injustice, and power are but a few of the topics that are seen through his eyes. Zerah’s struggle is our own. But beyond a spiritual allegory and a philosophical tale about what it means to be human, The Life of Zerah is, at core, a story about what it means to love and be loved.

My second book, Nikolas and the Misfit Shapes Find Their Place, is a children’s book, but it is meant to remind readers of all ages just how special they are, just as they are. Nikolas is a shape that doesn’t look at all like the circles, squares, and triangles around him. They all make fun of him because he doesn’t have a “perfect” form like them. Nikolas is sure there is a place where he fits in and sets off to find it. As he searches, he comes across other “misfit” shapes also seeking acceptance and they continue their journey together. In each other’s presence, they not only come to learn about the illusion of perfection, but also about the beauty and friendship that exist when one is brave enough to be themselves. As the title states, Nikolas and his companions do find their place, but it is nothing like they expected.
It took about a year to write Nikolas and the Misfit Shapes Find Their Place. The Life of Zerah, however, was a 14-year journey. I started it when I was 26 and in the midst of a horrible depression. While I sat on a park bench during a lunch break from a horrible job, I thought, “This is NOT what my life was supposed to be”. In the very next moment, a seed landed upon my lap and I heard him say, “And do you think this is the life I wanted? I was supposed to be a great tree!” I worked on The Life of Zerah on and off throughout my travels and many moves. At age 40, I finally finished it after rewriting two-thirds of the story in about six months.

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Jordana Chana Mayim’s Website

Featured Interview With Jeremiah Hope

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in the UK and gained a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge. I work in high-tech industry, hold numerous patents and manage a great team of people in a startup. I began writing as another creative outlet after becoming ‘blocked’ as a sculptor and portraitist.

The pen name ‘Jeremiah Hope’ reflects my innate optimism for the future and confidence in the human will to survive and thrive, rather against the trend of the modern world. This in part, explains the non-dystopian, but certainly not utopian future world that forms the background to my books. I have a strong belief that to be credible fiction has to reflect what is possible. It is this that has driven the creation of a ‘new medieval’ setting with a mixed technology reminiscent of the 1920’s and social and political structures similar to earlier periods.

Sadly no pets at present but someday I will get a mad dog…

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was slow learning to read but once I got going… probably from the age of seven books did battle with Lego as the only toys. I wrote a lot at school, one of my English teachers really wanted me to go to his old college at Oxford to do English literature, but science and making things got to me first. I started writing again about seven years ago.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Going back I read a lot of action novels, Alastair Maclean, Hammond Innes, Robert Ludlum, Fredrick Forsyth, Dick Francis. Recently the biggest impressions on me have been made by Raymond Chandler and George Orwell. I am also a huge fan of C J Sansom’s Shardlake series. I also read a lot of non-fiction, mainly history but also some psychology and politics.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘Renaissance’ is my first novel; an action, adventure thriller, set in a post-apocalyptic future, but not a high-tech dystopia, which you might imagine from my background. I have chosen instead a new middle ages, using tools and technology that hobbyists, and the few remaining professionals, could make work with limited resources.

I have always questioned sci-fi worlds where complete social breakdown is accompanied by huge consumption of energy and resources. It simply could not happen. The organisation, equipment, and specialist knowledge needed to produce and process energy is vast. This is not available to a depleted population that has survived a near-extinction event.

I also read a huge amount of history, especially medieval history and I have always been fascinated by the intensity, colour and violence of that world and how people sought to organise themselves, through religion, guilds and so forth. The social and political world of the middle ages was small, vibrant, and intensely alive, in part because people did not expect to live a long time.

I chose a post-apocalyptic setting for ‘Renaissance’ as a means of creating a similarly small, close, world where I could develop characters that the reader might care about and also, in between the action, ask questions about our world, as much as theirs. I hope that I have been subtle enough in that aim not to detract from the pace of the plot or put my creations in a false position.

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Jeremiah Hope’s Website

Jeremiah Hope Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Praima Kumar

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello everyone, I was born and brought up in India. I completed my Master’s In Business Administration’ in England. Now I am happily living in United States with my husband.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was always interested in reading and writing. During my youth I realized that I have knack of writing and I started writing my feelings in my diary.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like to read Non-fiction books on Self-help and personal transformation books mainly. My favorite books are The Power of your subonscious mind, The Secret, Think and grow rich, The science of getting rich, The power of now and lot more.

My favorite authors are Joseph Murphy, Napoleon Hill, Rhonda Byrne, Bob Proctor and Jack Canfield.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book Manifest Your Dreams:Your Miracle Mindset’ is about as the name suggest. It is about unleashing the hidden power we all have but are unaware of it. It is about how you can recognize your inner potential and manifest your dreams.

This book is very motivational. There are many people out there who are dreaming, they have bigger goals in life. But due to lack of confidence and obstacles the are not able to live their dreams. This book teaches how one can manifest their goals in life. This book helps the readers to identify their goals in life, how to do self-analysis and even how to get rid of limiting beliefs we all have at some point of time. In this book, I have taught several techniques which implemented correctly can help you easily accomplish your goals in life.

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Praima Kumar’s Website

Praima Kumar Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Jalisa Loggins

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Garden City, AL. A small town where everyone knew your family. I still live in AL. I love it here. All of my family and friends live here.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was in middle school when I started writing. I would write poems and short stories. It was just a hobby of mine back then.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author currently is Sarah J Maas. I love to read mystery and fantasy. I get inspired by other people’s experience and adventures.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book is called “Let It Be Forgotten”. Have you ever went through something that was hard to get over? It was the worse thing that you ever went through. Well, that’s what happen to Jennifer Robertson. She’s a normal teen girl who falls in love too quick with a new guy at her school. She’s never had a steady boyfriend before so she’s walking everywhere on clouds. Amber, her best friend, doesn’t like Nick. Maybe Jennifer should have stayed away. This story is for 16 and up. It tells about wanting to forget your past but in reality, you should forgive yourself. This is a novella that will certainly grab the attention of many girls and women. Also look at the parents’ point of view and see how they are clueless about their child’s life. Pick the book up and you won’t stop until you’ve read the whole thing.

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Jalisa Loggins’s Website

Jalisa Loggins Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Karin Mitchell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a former South African journalist and have always wanted to tell stories people might not be aware of. I was raised in the capital city, Pretoria, which I traded a few years ago for a sleepy little town next to the Kruger National Park. This town is truly a gem, where wildlife and living simple is celebrated. I started playing golf this year, which I really enjoy – and it forces one not to think about anything else – not even deadlines!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was an early reader and my parents had to force me to put down books and have dinner. I started writing poetry when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I realized at High School that I always got excited when we had to write essays, as it came naturally to me. After University, I entered the media industry and wrote reports on an hourly basis. It was only in 2016 that I started writing full time.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am quite fond of Khaleid Hosseini and Paulo Coelho. My favourite genres are however non-fiction and suspense. There’s not necessarily an individual who inspires me – but if I come across a beautiful or inspiring phrase in print or tv/film, that will be enough to trigger my creativity.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
South Africa saw the rise of a white separatist militia known as the Boeremag in the early 2000s, a few years after the country became a democracy. Convinced that their existence was under threat, the Boeremag devised a coup and planted bombs across the country while evading the authorities. I interviewed the alleged mastermind in prison for approximately 5 years. This book chronicles the longest running criminal trial in South African history, piecing together court transcripts and interviews through in-depth journalism to explore the dynamics and ideals at the source of the movement and the coup. Above all, it offers a firsthand look at the dark consequences of nationalism and populism.

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Karin Mitchell’s Website

Karin Mitchell Facebook Page

Karin Mitchell Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Katherine Carlson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in British Columbia. Lived on Vancouver Island. Lived in L.A.

Currently reside in Alberta, sandwiched between the mountains and the prairies.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing stories in elementary school. They became my portal into a fantastical realm.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I used to read a lot of spiritual texts (Chopra, Dyer, Tolle) and classic literary champs (Shakespeare, Orwell, Steinbeck). Now I enjoy suspense, especially King and Crouch. And always Cormac McCarthy.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Survival Instincts and Inner Demons are personified over the course of a perpetual chase across a frozen wilderness. A heartbreaking dissection of evil and a celebration of human stamina.

I wrote the book I most wanted to read.

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Katherine Carlson’s Website

Katherine Carlson Facebook Page

Katherine Carlson Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Carol Smith

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Carol Christina Smith was born in Grass Valley, CA in 1948. This small historical gold mining town is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Her maternal grandfather, Sylvester Nugent, worked in the Empire Mine in the early 1930’s and 40’s when gold was still busting. One of her fondest childhood memories was going with her maternal grandmother to drop her grandfather off at the mine during the wee hours of the morning. He would ride a cart into the mountain and disappear. Her grandmother would explain that he was far down under the earth digging for gold.
As a young girl, she romped through the woods with her two brothers. They enjoyed play on a fallen tree which they named the “monkey tree”. The woods created the setting for her children’s fiction “Tales of Wonder Woods”. A deep love and appreciation for the wonder and beauty of nature began to grow deep in her spirit.
At the age of ten, her father found employment in Rocklin, CA, a small town not far from California’s state capitol, Sacramento. With tears and a broken heart she left her childhood paradise and began a new life.
In 2005, her five-year old grandson Val, was in her care. He enjoyed listening to a story about an adventure in the woods with a talking tree and other fantasies. He was so enthralled with the story, he would add his own ideas.
In 2009, she began to write “Tales of Wonder Woods”. The book was completed in 2019. She is hoping to complete another children’s fiction based upon historical facts involving a family living during the Civil War.
I feel strongly that my book is good reading for kids in this particular era of time. So many families are separated, and this story offers hope
This story wraps knowledge and education into the real world and the fantasy world. It teaches family values, friendship, knowledge, the value of education, and so much more.

Music was her first love. On a trip to San Francisco in Golden Gate Park, she enjoyed the opportunity to listen to an orchestra playing “Stars and Stripes Forever”. She asked her father, “what is that beautiful horn” playing that music. He answered, “it is a trumpet”. She replied with the promise, “someday I am going to play the trumpet”.

In Rocklin she joined the school band playing trumpet. Her love for piano developed while visiting her maternal grandparent’s home in Grass Valley. At the age of three she would sit on the bench of the Baldwin player piano and push the keys. She learned to play piano by practicing on an imaginary keyboard on the kitchen table. After the death of her maternal grandfather, the Baldwin player was gifted to her, and she began to play on a “real” piano.

Her life was filled with making friends with the “Rocklin kids”. Together, they romped the hillsides enjoying the natural beauty surrounding them.

In school she was an active cheerleader, Vice-President of Health, a choir member, active in Campfire Girls. In high school her interests wrapped around modern dance, choir, and acquatic arts.

Her love for style and design emerged into a fashion career at the age of 16. Her most aggressive hobby involved designing and sewing her own clothes. Proudly, she walked the halls of high school wearing beautiful outfits. Design and sewing continued through most of her adult life.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a young girl, I read such books as Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, Louisa May Alcott “Little Women”, Heidi, and the “Wizard of Oz”, He by L. Frank Baum and so many others. In school I always enjoyed writing stories, creative writing, analytic writing and other forms of writing. I have written a series of poems although I have not published them at this time. My grade scores were always rated high.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite books are biographies. I have read bio’s of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Abe Lincoln, Teddy Rosevelt, and so many others. My favorite historical fiction so far is “When We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate. A recent favorite is the “Lightening Thief” by Rick Reardon.
I enjoyed reading Brian Stephenson’s book “Just Mercy”, a true story about the “Equal Justice Initiative”. So much good read available.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first and latest is my recently published children’s fiction “Tales of Wonder Woods”. This began as a story I told to my young grandson. He was so enthralled with the story, he wanted to add his own ideas. The book is so versatile because it combines real life episodes with the fantasy adventures in Wonder Woods introducing knowledge. Family values center around the entire story.
Val is a young boy living with his mother; his father is gone. In the woods near his home, he meets a giant spruce tree. Spruce, the giant Sitka spruce tree is steadfast; his roots are planted deep in the earth just as his values are planted deep in his spirit. Their friendship matures and endures until the time of Spruce’s death. The story combines real life intertwining with the fantasy world that takes place in Wonder Woods. In the fantasy world, a near-fatal rafting trip happens when Val and his cousins are rescued by an Indian chief. Big Chief Yellow Bird is like an angel unaware who appears when Val and his cousins are in danger or in need of guidance in Wonder Woods. Adventure, danger, death, grief, disappointment,
Victory, and heroism are portrayed in this tale. There are real-life explanations for the fantasies that occur in the woods. Throughout the story, signs of Val’s father slowly returning home are emerging.

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Carol Smith’s Website

Featured Interview With Denis Scott writing as E.D. Robson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I spent my (very) early life travelling as my father was an English flight engineer (no two members of my immediate family were born in the same country) before settling in the English East Midlands around the area where Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire meet. I still live in that general area. My main hobby over my working life has been studying part time at under and post-graduate level, from mathematics to history and the social sciences finishing up with a general honours degree, a degree in psychology and a M’Ed in training and development. i also obtained teaching qualifications and since going into earlyish semi-retirement have taught occasionally in schools and a college. I have now added my lifelong ambition of writing

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been fascinated by books since I was 7 years old when, as a new pupil at a village school having missed most of my schooling before then because of travelling and childhood illnesses (plus an intense dislike of what education I had been given up to then), my classroom teacher called me stupid and slapped me across the face for struggling with reading. When I told my mother, as well as storming down to the school made me spend the entire summer holiday learning how to read while my friends played outside. This led to an addiction to the Narnia stories and books such as War and Peace by my teens. However, with the usual cliches of life getting in the way etc. I have only begun to write my own stuff this year.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have mainly followed a fantasy and science fiction route, although I will read most types of fiction. I don’t like to discount anything because you never know what you might be missing. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are my long standing nostalgic favourites but as a young man I read most of what would be considered science fiction and fantasy classics today. I also read a wider range then I tend to nowadays, from my mother’s Agatha Christie to cowboy western paperbacks (Louis L’Amour) as well my early favourite, Dostoevsky’s ‘The Idiot’ which should have taught me how people can manipulate other’s emotions, intentionally or otherwise, but unfortunately didn’t. Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series was a particular favourite. I have also had a guilty secret of being a superhero comic book fan from my teens, particularly D.C. but also Marvel long before the films came out.
Currently, Ian Sainsbury, another fairly new author has caught my eye and I have read both his initial series of science fiction books, ‘The Halfhero’ and ‘The Worldwalker’. His road to working as a full time author has inspired me to persevere with self publishing.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have actually published three books in quick succession. They are a light hearted series under the title of the Irrelevant One Saga. The first, The Drunken Weed explains how a mediocre unhappily married call centre worker escapes an assassination bid while driving home from work. The would be killer is a woman he subsequently discovers is his sister-in-law and from a species treated as gods by early civilisations. He and this woman (Gesh the drunken weed) then flee across the multiverse in a series of adventures which continue in the following two books.
I got the idea for this when driving home from work myself in torrential rain one day. I was generally feeling sorry for myself and my mind began to drift into one of my imaginary worlds. I wrote the first page and then left it for perhaps two years or so, until circumstances allowed me to follow my dream (drat another cliche). Once I started writing the ideas just seemed to flow, but I have to work quickly before the enthusiasm dims. I have always worked in fits and starts which has sometimes made me a very difficult employee. I remember one ‘staff assessment where my line manager commented that it had taken him six months to realise that I actually work quite hard. Rather belatedly I have discovered that self-employment is my best path.

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Denis Scott writing as E.D. Robson’s Website

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Featured Interview With Forest Blackwood

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My journey into writing and books in general started quite early! Already when I was in elementary school, I started to take books stealthily from the city library, and it was in a small Polish town! It was our parents who have infected us, that is my siblings, with reading books, it is such an unwritten tradition in our home that we love books and have practically been always reading them. Then I started to write myself, as if by the touch of an angel! Initially, they were short stories and poems, which after many, many years were transferred to the War of Light and Darkness, this is a trilogy by a decision of the royalhawaiianpress.com publishing house. To whom I am very grateful for giving me the chance to appear on so many international markets. It is impossible not to mention my brother Robert Przybylski and his Order of Ahava, which is currently a bestseller on the Spanish Amazon!
The idea for the book was born after keeping my writing in a sock drawer for many years, one day I decided to organize my poems and short stories and turn them into a book! This is how the War of Light and Darkness came into being, which really has been taking shape in my head all these years! One day I sat down at my desk and never stopped writing which after a few pages produced War of Light and Darkness! I did not think about the literary genre in which I would set the story of the book, and it turned out spontaneously that this is a fantasy with a bit of high fantasy, horror and dark, ending with heroic fantasy! I was also inspired by the environment I live in, the farm our family runs is located among the woods, and the angels who have always accompanied us, their figurines and paintings inspired me to pay special attention to them, because they have always been at our home, now I don’t remember exactly if they were watching us or I was watching them! One of my first poems was dedicated to them and it sounds like this:

A city the angels fly over them!
Powerless is their singing. A city without a soul, shadows without clear shapes flow monotonously along the street.
And so lies a city – a rock. The last cry of despair of the fallen angels!

This poem was written in the years of my youth, when I attended the first grade of high school in Poznan an old and beautiful Polish city! I hope that with my short story on how and when I started a beautiful journey with a book I will be able to attract the interest of the future readers at least a bit. I am thankful to Mrs. Vanessa Oloughlin for giving me the opportunity to join the writing Ireland. It is impossible not to mention Mrs. Maria Cowen from the Royal Hawaiian Press publishing house, who transformed the War of Light and Darkness from Polish into English, translating the entire book, which in the future will also be released on international markets in Spanish.

Yours faithfully
Forest Blackwood
Links to the book below:

1. https://curator7.wixsite.com/forestblackwood
2. https://www.amazon.com/War-Light-Darkness-Book-I/dp/1947228951/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Forest+Blackwood&qid=1571472427&sr=8-1 3. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19642958.Forest_Blackwood

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
In age 14

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
So many for example Steven King or Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende Never ending story 🙂

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Story begins in whone of 7 magical lands in Draxban! Count Artis discover some magical artefact…….

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Forest Blackwood’s Website

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Featured Interview With Sheryl Green

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised on Long Island in New York and lived there until I was 26. I now live in Las Vegas and love it! My baby girl Akasha is a Beagle/Lab mix that I rescued from North Shore Animal League before I left New York and she’s been with me ever since.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I got into reading when I was around 10 years old. My grades were slipping so my parents took away my television privileges. I started reading The Baby-Sitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High and they sparked a life-long love of books.
After my divorce, I turned to writing as a cathartic practice. I wrote 3 novels and then began writing nonfiction books and content for businesses.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My degree is in Forensic Psychology so I’ve always loved Mystery. My favorite authors are J.D. Robb and Harlan Coben. I also read a lot of nonfiction books for personal development and business. My favorite books I’ve read this year are “Start Something That Matters” by the founder of TOMS Shoes, “You Are a Badass” by Jen Sincero, and “Unfu*k Yourself” by Gary John Bishop.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Do Good to Do Better: The Small Business Guide to Growing Your Business by Helping Nonprofits” is all about how standing for a cause in your business will help you differentiate yourself from the competition and make more sales.
I’ve spent years begging for donations for animal rescue. When I discovered Cause Marketing, I realized that nonprofits can help businesses, not just stand there with their hands out. I’ve used the techniques in this book with the animal rescue I volunteer with and have had friends double their business since they started supporting a nonprofit. It’s good for business and the soul!

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Sheryl Green’s Website

Sheryl Green Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Tricia McGill

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in London, England and relocated to Australia years ago with my husband and two poodles. I live near Melbourne and have done since I arrived here. My current pets are a male fox terrier cross and a bossy female shih tzu. Writing is a solitary indoor activity so I enjoy our walks every morning. I write romance across several genres including contemporary (set in Australia) historical, time-travel, family saga.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
One of my earliest memories was receiving a copy of Alice in Wonderland for Christmas when I was probably about five or six, and so began my love of books. The local library was to me like stepping into a wonderful world of imagination, and I spent as many hours as I could there and then reading. According to my family (I was the baby) my written stories were excellent, and congratulated on and shown around and I did well at school in English, mainly I think because of this love of creating stories. I have never been able to understand how someone can go through life admitting they don’t read.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have many favourite writers, mostly those who write romance, especially time-travel, and historical. Catherine Coulter was a great influence to me when I began writing in earnest. Lisa Kleypas, Jude Deveraux, and LaVyrle Spencer also were among my favourites. I love Juliet Waldron’s historicals which are rich in detail.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Challenging Mountains is Book 3 in my Settlers Series. Set in the 1840s when Australia was a budding colony. Originally this was only to be two books, but then the son of Tiger and Bella who featured in Book 1 began to tell me I should write about his journey down to Port Philip, which had just been declared a town, that was to become Melbourne. This series seems to be popular as readers enjoy learning about the old days of settlement. The journey south took a month across land on horseback and there were many dangers to face along the way including bushrangers and runaway convicts. A young female decides to join Tim on his travels and proves at times just how headstrong she can be. When they reach their destination there are still many problems to be faced.
I guess this book took me about 10 months to complete as historicals (as time-travels too) require lots of research. Thank heaven for Mr. Google.

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Tricia McGill’s Website

Tricia McGill Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Colleen Eccles Penor

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a Wyoming girl – I was born and raised there, in Sheridan. However, my parents tried living in many other places before their divorce when I was six: Buffalo and Casper, Wyoming; Circle, Montana; and Kennewick, Raymond, and Pasco, Washington. After the divorce, my dad was granted custody but my mother kidnapped us and took us to Story, Wyoming, until my dad kidnapped us back and took us to Carlsbad, New Mexico. I attended school for only 7 days in Carlsbad and probably even less in Story. I give credit to all of this moving around and the tension in my parents’ marriage for my shyness and PTSD. We finally settled with my dad and his parents in Sheridan, and that’s where I grew up. I now live in Casper, Wyoming with my husband, Rob.

We did have pets before we were married: I had a black lab and a chocolate lab, and Rob had a mixed breed. They all died from old age and we don’t plan to replace them in the near future because we travel a lot when Rob is off work, and I’ve grown allergic to dogs.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was only two when I started to read. I was lucky that both parents enjoyed reading to me and I picked it up quickly. I received a lot of books for my birthday and Christmas and was always elated to get them. When we had reading challenges in grade school, I always read the largest number of books. My mother gifted me her dozens of Nancy Drew books when I was in fourth grade, and I devoured them. When I was 13, she gave me her copy of Gone With the Wind and I’ve read it every year since. I can quote passages and I know where the typos and other errors are, and it still draws me to it each year. My biggest pet peeve is when she calls people Scotch or Scotch-Irish rather than Scots or Scots-Irish, which is a large part of my heritage.

I started writing stories when I was very young too, although the first book I wrote and illustrated was The Rubber Ducky, which I wrote at age seven. In high school and into my early twenties I wrote lots of bad poetry. I’ve written a few short stories, an essay, and a 10-minute play. My husband told me, in his marriage proposal to me in 2013, that I could leave work as an accountant and write that book I’d always wanted to write. So I wrote the book, which I didn’t know at the time was to be a dystopian thriller. It’s the first book I attempted and took me about two years to write, although I did go in and revise the last section some time after that. I now take a break from writing each year to work tax season at a local accounting firm.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like many authors, but those that come to mind are Margaret Mitchell, Tana French, Suzanne Collins, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dennis Lehane, Sara Gruen, John Green, Jo Nesbo, Lionel Shriver, and Jodi Picoult. I used to read a lot of Stephen King but haven’t read any of his books in some time. If I had to pick a favorite genre, it would be psychological thrillers, but I read widely and don’t pay much attention to the genre of the book I’m choosing. I’m inspired by many of the authors I like, and DAEIOS was also inspired, in part, by The Handmaid’s Tale.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
DAEIOS: 140 FEET DOWN is a dystopian thriller with overtones of The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s got many issues in it that we’re dealing with today: climate change, racial tensions, abortion rights, drug addiction, men assaulting women, and the MeToo movement. Although this isn’t a political book, I took these issues and imagined what they might look like in 2034.

Shea Donovan, a snarky 22-year-old with bipolar disorder, tells her chilling story with self-effacing irony and evolving cognizance. It opens with a killer storm approaching and the need for Shea’s family, a group of survivalists, to evacuate immediately due to an impending mudslide behind their home and the ferocity of the storm. Her parents call Shea to help them find Jace, her drug-addicted brother who is missing, so they can all escape to Daeios, an underground shelter for the Elite. They find Jace and fear drives them to the shelter as the killer storm worsens. They reach the shelter just before permanent lockdown. Now they’re 140 feet down, protected from the storms to live out their shortened lives until the food runs out and they starve to death. It buys them about a year.

But it soon becomes clear that they’re trapped in a nightmarish existence.

When the Elders who run Daeios announce their plans to breed with all fertile females to repopulate the earth, Shea knows they will force her to breed. She plans to fight off her seed-bearer.

The punishments of the Daeiosians begin, including long periods of total darkness with the Daeios song blaring repetitively. Each time the darkness and music finally stop, several more people are missing. It’s especially clear that the Elders are getting rid of the other men. What happens to the people who disappear into the total darkness of Daeios?

Shea’s time for her breeding arrives. She must make the gut-wrenching decision whether to breed with an elderly, sadistic man and bear his child, or to fight the breeding, knowing that defiance will endanger her life and that of the other Daeiosians. She vows that her family must not vanish into the darkness.

My first idea was to write a dystopian story with humor, because don’t people use humor even when they’re in the direst of circumstances? We see it in horror movies, action movies, thrillers. But the darker Shea’s story became, the less the humor made sense, although I did leave Shea with some sarcasm. The humor is the reason I rewrote the last one-third of my book, to remove the most humorous part and some additional characters that took the book off on a tangent, away from Shea’s dark situation. The book is now mostly dark from cover to cover, a thriller, and is a much better book than the way I first wrote it. I do miss the character Norman, a giant Daniff puppy.

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Colleen Eccles Penor’s Website

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