Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With J.W. Golan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a small town in northern Michigan, where I learned to dream of the stars, airplanes, and dragons. I eventually earned a degree as an aeronautical engineer – but I never lost my enthusiasm for fantasy novels, even if the responsibilities of life had interceded.

I today live in New England with my wife, three dogs, and three daughters. It was my daughters who reintroduced me to the world of fantasy novels. I introduced them to my old favorites and they introduced me to some of theirs. It was their encouragement that prompted me to renew my interest in writing a series of fantasy novels of my own.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was always surrounded by books, from my earliest days of elementary school – whether fiction or non-fiction.

I wrote my first attempt at a fantasy novel when I was still in high school. An abysmal failure to be sure. But it was out of that failure that I came to appreciate the persistence and tools that I would need if I ever expected to write something worth publishing. I never completely gave up writing, eventually publishing a non-fiction book – through a traditional publishing house – dealing with aviation history. It was my discussions on literature with may daughters, however, that convinced me to try my hand once again at writing a series of fantasy novels.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have so many authors that influenced me, even from a young age. I adored Shakespeare. Love Tolkien. And spend long hours reading Anne McCaffrey.

Although I like to read widely, fantasy still holds a special place for me, and my daughters have been the inspiration behind my renewed interest in becoming a fantasy writer.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Storm’s Herald is the first in a series of books, following the story of Lynette, a peasant girl who dreams of becoming a sorceress – but who finds that journey more complicated than she had ever imagined.

And it is also the story of Baxter, a farm boy turned squire, who’s greatest asset is his tenacity and determination to work for success.

I intentionally did not want the main characters behind this series to fall into a traditional, “chosen one” category. I much preferred to write the story of someone who tried, failed, and tried again to achieve their dreams. To tell an epic story from the standpoint of a participant in the grand tapestry of events – but a participant who was not the primal source of all power or knowledge. Success would have to be earned, not automatically granted.

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J.W. Golan’s Website

J.W. Golan Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Tom Maremaa

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a writer, coder and storyteller living and working in Silicon Valley.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I began reading seriously when I was around 10 or 11, mostly books about the history of science. I wrote my first novel when I was 14 as part of a project for a middle school English class. It was hard and I vowed never to do it again. Since then, I’ve shamelessly broken that vow and written 12 novels, plus thousands of pages of technical work, a number of non-fiction works, some plays and short fiction.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Coetzee, Bolano, Pamuk. I don’t typically read genre work, though I like it. Genre work tends to be all about delivering a formula to the reader, then repeating that formula book after book. That’s boring, for me. Original fiction, inspired by contemporary or historical events, is my preferred cup of tea.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Reykjavik: A Novel and it took a lifetime, plus a few extra years to write. Writers and their work are the product of many lifetimes, like cats, I figure.

Passion always dictates form. My passion for this narrative took shape over a period of years. The seeds were planted a long time ago, drawing on my memories of Reykjavik back in the 1980s and the Summit in 1986, when Reagan and Gorbachev met to decide the fate of the world.

At the time, the world was teetering on the brink of Armageddon, a dangerous and perverse period in history, with nuclear missiles from the US and Soviet Union pointed at each other, within a time window of 30 minutes from launch. Can you really believe that kind of madness? It still boggles my mind. I mean, we had reached the point where mutually assured destruction (MAD) was the order of the day. Once launched, the missiles could not be stopped or return from their targets, the gravity’s rainbow of their paths impossible to change. Millions would be dead within minutes, the world literally blown to pieces. I’d been living with that for years as a young writer, and even now it stuns when I think about it. I knew something about Reagan, had followed his rise to power, and applauded his willingness to meet with Gorbachev and end this nuclear statement. As it happened, I had come to California in the 1960s for graduate school at Berkeley when Reagan was governor and lived through the Dr. Strangelove period depicted in Stanley Kubrick’s movie with Peter Sellers. I had grown up with The Bomb, but not by any means loving it.

Anything was possible, the world gone mad. And Reagan, to his credit, wanted to rid the planet of these weapons. He and Gorbachev met a number of times, culminating in the Reykjavik Summit, when they knocked heads to figure out a way to reduce, and ultimately eliminate these monstrous nuclear arsenals on both sides. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union was coming apart. Under the yoke of Soviet rule, people in Eastern Europe – in countries like Poland, the Baltics, East Germany – were growing more and more dissatisfied with the quality of their lives, restless now, hungry for freedom, resistant to the forces of oppression, all of that. Against this backdrop, the elements of my novel began to come together.

I drew on my personal experiences, travels, and memories. You try to dig deep into the wellsprings of feeling and imagination, and trust your instincts when you sit down to compose. As a young writer and journalist, I spent much of my time traveling, writing and reporting, stretching myself and learning my craft, and as it happened, my travels took me to various cities and countries depicted in the narrative. I tapped into those streams of memory and and drew on my experiences back in Berkeley, California during the 1980s, a turbulent time, much anxiety in the air, tensions between East and West, and in Reykjavik, which became the center of my novel, and in Europe before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I grew up speaking a half-dozen languages as a typical polyglot, like the central character in the novel, Nathalie Campbell, who teaches Russian in Berkeley and is enticed to work as a “translator,” if you will, at the Reykjavik Summit in 1986. How was she enticed? And by whom? And were their consequences? Yes, those are questions that novel attempts to answer, although the reader must ultimately decide for themselves.

The novel moves beyond the 1980s. Quite a bit further, as matter of fact. We as readers land in Berlin on the eve of the fall of the Wall, in November 1989 (as I did personally), then beyond to the 1990s when the Soviet Union collapses and a new class of oligarchs emerges to rule and take power and grab the wealth of the country, which was enormous and ripe for the pickings. In the story we return to Reykjavik in 1996 to hear David Bowie perform, then later in the 2000s to visit the gravesite of Bobby Fischer, the extraordinary chess master who is buried in Iceland, and who beat Boris Spassky in 1972 in the chess match of century, and finally, we taste the consequences of revenge all the way up to the present. The consequences, well, can be quite bad, as the younger generation, the youth of today, emerge and take power and control away from their elders, and set things right. That’s how we evolve, how history plays out.

One night Nathalie Campbell appeared, then Andrei Heilemann, both professionals in their respective fields, one a teacher of literature and the other a nuclear scientist, pulled together by the forces of nature, or history, or some combination, their lives intersecting at precisely the moment in time when it mattered the most, when each had to give up something of themselves and change direction in life.
Nathalie Campbell is the central character in the narrative, and as she came to me in my dreams, I began to see her as a kind of everywoman, an anima type, a woman you could not easily forget, a woman who kept you spellbound, a woman whom you could love yet not ever truly know, being somehow elusive, fleeting, magical, a woman with great depth and feeling, a woman of the world with many stories to tell. Does that make sense? Probably not. Even now, having written the book, I still can’t figure her out. Andrei Heilemann, the Soviet scientist who defects to the West, was my neighbor down the street, the colleague at work, the man whom I knew, not as a brilliant nuclear scientist, but simply a fellow I could depend on in a crisis, a good man, perhaps even a great man, yet a man with a past, a man with a vengeful brother, a man swept up in the torrents of history, caught in its dangerous cross-currents and multiplying dark forces.

For me, novels take on a life all their own if the characters won’t let go, and in this case, Nathalie and Andrei did just that. They wouldn’t let go. I began living and breathing the lives of these characters, writing about them as if they were part of my family, sharing their lives with my wife, who later worked hard and brilliantly to edit the book and understand these characters, what made them tick, what motivated their actions, what made them real in the best sense of the word.

The story of Nathalie and Andrei’s personal lives seemed important and needed to be filled in. Another character appeared, much later. Dylan Rose, the probing, inquisitive journalist, appeared to tell their story, the story of a family caught in the crosswinds of huge geopolitical changes. And of course, there had to be the resentment of the younger brother in the old Soviet Union, whose anger at the fall of Empire could not be underestimated or denied, the embodiment of all that happened when the Soviet Union crumbled and fell apart, and a new class of oligarchs emerged. He would not rest. He would go after his older brother who defected to the West, and do it with a vengeance.

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Tom Maremaa’s Website

Featured Interview With Joshua David

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I live in Prescott, AZ with my family. We have two boys, 7 and 3.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
After nearly straight A’s in high school, I received a rude awakening in college: I knew nothing. Such were the results of a public school “education” in Las Vegas, Nevada. So, my fascination with books was born of ignorance. I refused to be academically inadequate for long. At nineteen, I began amassing my library.

I started writing while pursuing a Master’s degree in American colonial religion at UNLV. Not fun writing, though. I was deservedly berated by my brilliant and well-meaning professors each time I made a trashy attempt at something worthy of publishing. But those uncomfortable office visits were gold. Slowly, red mark by red mark, my skills were tuned.

You or may not like Seed, but I dare you to find a spot begging for a red pen.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have found, as of late, Ernest Cline to wield the most engaging pen. He has an amazing ability to drag my mind deeper and deeper into his fiction.

My inspiration is easy: Jesus. Beat that! If you have another name, I’ll pray for you. I unabashedly believe that if the world were a little more Christian, it would be a little better. I use whatever talent I have been given to further that cause.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Seed: Judgment was supposed to be a philosophy book! I was working on Apologetics when I literally had a dream about a soldier looking for a woman in the ruins of my old home: Vegas. He fought machine-like zombies with a sword! I’d call it a nightmare, but I was engrossed. What was he trying to accomplish with the rescue? Where was everyone? Well, I spent the next three years figuring it out.

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Joshua David’s Website

Joshua David Facebook Page

Joshua David Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Alex

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I remember sitting on the train trying to figure out what I was going to share on this about me page. People might be surprised when they read this but hear me out on this one. When I started this blog, I had just beaten suicidal tendencies, a giant depression and tons of insecurities plus I had boosted my testosterone above the limit in Belgium (they set the bar really low here). That used to be driving force behind this blog and it still is to this day but something changed. At one point I realized that boosting my testosterone was fun but I didn’t like writing about it. I was missing something and I couldn’t figure out what.
That all changed when I was reading the book “The One Thing” for the second time during the summer of 2016. I finally realized what I was missing all these years. I had the drive to compete again and that book made me realize that fighting was my one thing. I stumbled on MMA a little later completely by accident and was completely sold on the idea. So I started doing MMA in September 2016 with the sole purpose of competing. There were a couple of problem attached to this idea. I was a fresh college dropout who wanted to compete in a cage, people got a wrong impression rather quickly. Most people didn’t support the idea and there was a lot of outside pressure to get a real job and quit the sport.
The first year after my drop out was more a sabbatical to be honest. I mostly trained, blogged and did some temporary jobs in between but they mostly didn’t last that long. The shortest lasted a day and the longest lasted about 3 months. I quickly figured out that I didn’t like this at all but blogging didn’t make me the money that I needed and I still hadn’t had a fight because I was training in the wrong gym (lack of good training partners and knowledgeable coach).
This kind of let me to abandon my goals a bit, I trained and blogged a lot but I kind of forgot why I did it. It got even worse when I suddenly got a real job in October 2017. I just did the interview because I had too and was actually looking to travel to Stockholm in November to train. The trip eventually got postponed to May of 2018 but that trip made me realize that I had drifted away from my goals so I needed to make sure that I changed things for the better so that I could do what I wanted in life.
So now the goal was to quit my job and somehow move to Stockholm because a lot of top fighters train over there. Things didn’t work out and I was still at my job. The only good thing was that I changed training camps which made me improve drastically This all changed in February 2019. I was sick of constantly having to choose where my focus was at. The combination of blogging and training a lot didn’t really work out and it made me unhappy. So on Valentine’s day 2019 I decided that I was going to quit my job and travel to Thailand to chase my dream. I quit my job the very next day.
And now we are here on the train ready to get my visa to make sure that I can stay in Thailand for at least 3 months. Another bonus is that I can fight a lot over there which is high on my goal list because it’s actually a childhood dream.
This whole journey was a lot of fun and I’m really grateful that I found confidence and clarity in life. Both of those attributes helped me along the journey and now it’s time to teach you how to do it so that you can live the life that you’ve imagined while you’re were sitting depressed a your 9 to 5 job.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I really liked books when I was younger but stopped reading around the age of 13. I started reading again at the age of 23 and read 1 or multiple books a week from then on. I started writing back in 2016 at the age of 23 because I noticed that it was a great way to reflect on things that happened in my life.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m a big Robert Greene fan, to be honest. Aside from that, I like Ryan Holiday’s book “The Obstacle Is The Way”. My favorite genre is non- fiction because I like to learn new things. My biggest inspiration might be Marcus Aurelius, to be honest. He wrote without the intention of being an author. I take the same approach when I write and it has made me a better writer in my opinion.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It’s time to take your life from Zero To Alpha
Are you ready to take your life from Zero To Alpha? Are you ready to adopt the mindset of the truly “fiercely free”? Then this book is for you. Let me explain why. My name is Alex. Although I’m not terribly remarkable, I have, in fact, defeated a brutal depression, ditched my suicidal tendencies, and repaired tons of other insecurities. How? Self-development.

Over the course of three years, I discovered countless, invaluable life lessons that I believe are universally effective. Now imagine you had access to these lessons, available to you in one simple click. This book will ensure you’re ahead of most people your age mindset-wise. These life lessons will grant you the clarity, confidence, and calmness of mind that you need to move to the next stage in your life.

It’s up to you!
It’s up to you. Yes, you! Are you feeling lost in life? Do you seem to run into the same problems over, and over, and over again? Do you believe that the advice people give you doesn’t make sense at all? This easy-to-digest book will point you in the right direction, the direction that leads to a sharper, wiser perspective on life.

You don’t want a life where chance and circumstance beat you up at every turn. You don’t want to feel helpless like a zero, you want to take charge like an alpha. You want the freedom and self-esteem to get on with your life. Maybe this book will lead to you quitting your job and traveling to a foreign country as I did. Or maybe you will find the love of your life and start a family. Heck, maybe you’ll find yourself ready to take some big risks and start building your own company from the ground up! It doesn’t really matter what you do so long as you’re doing it to the best of your abilities. This is what an Alpha does, and I can teach you how to be one. It’s time to pick up The Year of the Alpha!

you can download the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QK65PP5

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Alex’s Website

Alex Facebook Page

Alex Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Faigy Liebermann

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in London, England, and have lived in Manchester for the last 20 years.
I work with professional mums who have children with ADHD. I wear the coach hat and the mum hat simultaneously. I am married with 5 children some on the ADHD spectrum. I get your challenges. I will show you how you can implement systems that will bring focus and success in your life, and how you can improve your relationship and bring out the best in your ADHD child.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always loved to read books. My mum proudly says that she took me to the library from when I was 6 weeks old! It must have made a difference, as I love reading.
I never ever thought I would ever write a book! The idea never came onto my radar.
My first and second book were both borne out of a deep desire to share the knowledge that I had gained and to help as many people as possible. I never thought about all the many multi-faced steps and the huge learning curve I would go through when writing these books. I just wrote.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Julie Morgenstern, USA’s top home organising consultant really inspired me to start my career as a professional organiser, which in turn led me to train as an ADHD coach. Her book “Organising from the Inside Out” is a must read for all aspiring self-organisers.
Marie Kondo’s books helped me formulate my unique 5 step organising system which I use for clients.
Dr Russell Barkley, the ADHD research expert, Judith Kohlberg who is an expert in ADHD friendly organising methods, and Marydee Sklar who taught me how executive functions influence actions, all influenced me and really inspired me to bravely get up and write my own book “Own Your ADHD – Discover Your True Potential.”
I love reading self-help and inspirational books. Life is like climbing a mountain. Once you reach the top, you see another peak just in the distance. There is always more to learn.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, “Own Your ADHD Discover Your True Potential” is the culmination of over a year’s hyper-focus and tenacity.
This practical, easy to read book about ADHD will show you how you can master your ADHD life, banish your internal overwhelm and chaos, and learn to focus on your success. The book is accompanied with an ADHD self-test, clear explanatory diagrams, countless client stories, detailed top tips for your ADHD from expert professional’s from around the world, and extensive study sources for further research.

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Faigy Liebermann’s Website

Faigy Liebermann Facebook Page

Faigy Liebermann Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Tammy Ruggles

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I just finished my last book (Starsky and Hutch Next Gen), since I’m a newly retired writer, artist, and photographer. Spending my time now promoting the writing I’ve done and giving interviews when asked. I wrote fiction and non-fiction: Books, short stories, and articles, a lot of Kindle books in the YA and children’s and self-help genres.

I grew up both in the city and country, and like both.

I don’t have pets, but would like to.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing at about 12 or 13. I wrote short stories, passed them around in class, and my classmates told me to write more. I started writing angsty stories then, and continued to do so ever since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Authors with a sparse, descriptive style, like Peter Benchley (Jaws), Harold Robbins (Goodbye, Janette), and Cormac McCarthy (The Road).

I like reading suspense or drama, but read more non-fiction to be honest.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It’s a big what-if concept based on the TV show Starsky and Hutch.: What if the characters had sons that were detectives and worked cases too? What if they were brothers who shared the same mother but different dads? What would their cases and lives be like? What kind of life-and-death situations would they face?

The new detectives are Davis Starsky and Kent Hutchinson, and I approached the book as if it were a TV series with 8 episodes. They deal with some pretty intense subject matter, from school shootings, to dangerous cults, to drug addiction, to snuff films.

Davis and Kent are detectives, and their last names are Starsky and Hutch, but they aren’t copies of their fathers. They have their own personalities, strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and dreams.

Davis and Kent aren’t the only characters. They have a reluctant psychic/snitch friend named Mo who runs a gym and helps them out on cases. Then there is Huggy Bear Brown’s daughter, Tasha, who grew up with the brothers and is now an RN. Then there is Lucky, their hooker/snitch friend trying to get off the streets.

Since this is a transformative work under the fair use concept, and has been created without the approval of the rights holders, the original characters of Starsky and Hutch aren’t mentioned in this book and don’t appear anywhere in the stories.

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Tammy Ruggles’s Website

Featured Interview With Dan Henk

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Dan’s early career included a year and a half stint drawing political cartoons for Madcap Magazine and illustrating underground projects such as Maximum Rock and Roll. In 1997, after struggling through a violent car crash and a knife fight with a crackhead that severed the tendon on his left thumb, he attended art school. Receiving some commercial and local gallery acclaim for his artwork, he moved to New York City in an attempt to kick start an art career. Heavily immersing himself in the local hardcore scene, he produced artwork for the bands Shai Hulud, Indecision, Coalesce, Locked in a Vacancy, Beyond Reason, Zombie Apocalypse , not to mention various local record labels and venues.

In 2000, he started tattooing, initially working on many musician friends. A year later, in September 2001, he was stricken with brain cancer and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Three months after the surgery, he married fellow tattoo artist Monica Castillo.

After a brief trip down south, that included owning a short lived tattoo shop with the infamous Joe Truck , in a venture that ended in disaster, he returned to Manhattan. His work started appearing in both a growing number of tattoo magazines and more fine art influenced outlets such as Aphrodesia, and The Tarot Project. Tattoo related books such as No Regrets: The Best, Worst, & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever and Inside the Tattoo Circus: A Journey Through the Modern World of Tattoos also took notice and included features.

Tragedy struck again in 2007, as his wife of 6 years, Monica Henk, was killed in a motorcycle accident by a hit and run driver. Despite extensive coverage in the local media and vigorous campaigns by both the tattoo and motorcycle community, the culprit was never found.

Sick of New York, he moved to Austin, Texas for three years, and started doing a regular comic strip entitled “Rollo & Me” for Tattoo Artist Magazine. Illustrations for Black Static Magazine, and This is Horror followed suit.

His first novel, The Black Seas of Infinity, was published by Anarchy Books in 2011, and he started an illustrated calendar featuring a variety of artists. A limited edition chapbook entitled “Christmas Is Cancelled” came out courtesy of Splatterpunk in 2013. In 2014 he started columns for Tattoo Revue and Skin Art magazines. That lasted 3 years. A reissue of his debut novel was put out by Permuted Press in April 2015. A collection of his short stories entitled “Down Highways In The Dark…By Demons Driven” was released by the same publisher in August. He continued his work for independent magazines, doing art for Red Door Magazine, The Horror Zine, Litro Magazine, a slew of books by the imprint Out Of Step, and every issue so far of the British horror zine Splatterpunk. Books started to feature his artwork on their covers. “The Sopaths” by Piers Anthony, “Splatterpunks Not Dead”, and “Splatterpunk Fighting Back” among them. His third novel “The End of the World” debuted this year, and his seventh book cover on the novel “Insatiable” should be out any day now.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I grew up on isolated army bases without a TV. Every week I’d make a trip to the library and check out a stack of books, and all of them would be read by the time I went back a week later.
As a teenager, I became connived I would be an artist an writer. By that point I lived in Gainseville, Florida, would work on storyboards all week, and take them on weekends to the local indie comic artists at book stores in town for review. Being kicked out of my house and homeless at 18 didn’t derail my plans, I eventually attended art school on my own dime, and moved to NYC to pursue a career.
Interviews with Marvel and DC convinced me I would need illustrated novels to bring my stories to life, and I started the core of what would become my first book. Brain Cancer and the hit and run death of my wife slowed my plans, but I finally saw the publication of my first book in 2011. I’m on my third now, and just getting started.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
HP Lovecraft and John Steinbeck most influenced my writing style, with the wild imagination of one and the attention to detail of the other. That said, I read constantly. Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Frank Herbert, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Philip K. Dick, Richard Matheson, and Anne Rice were some of my favorites, with newer writer’s like John Scalzi and Caitlin R Kiernan constantly grabbing my interest. I like anything with a darker, more realistic tone, especially sci-fi and horror.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In a not-too-distant future, the US has fallen into near social and economic ruin. As the fringe elements of society and ordinary citizens alike struggle to deal with the terrifying new reality, a maelstrom of governmental deceit and malevolence churns just beneath the surface.

Against this chaotic backdrop, strange new beings have risen out of the rubble. A former government worker, who in a fit of obsession and delusion steals and inhabits alien technology during a violent raid… A teenager whose reality contorts, making him privy to the cries of the dead as he stumbles in and out of worlds in a surreal game of musical chairs… Soon things take a dark turn for the newly emerged pariahs.

A long-running conspiracy involving a highly proficient military-industrial complex is attempting to resurrect an ancient horror, and the very outsiders laboring to cope with the dangerously altered state of the world might be the only ones who can do anything about it.

The End of the World is my latest book, a loose sequel to my first The Black Seas of Infinity, with some of the characters in my second book Down Highways In The Dark…By Demons Driven making appearances. Inspired by comics and novel series, I like to keep everything in roughly the same universe.

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Dan Henk’s Website

Dan Henk Facebook Page

Dan Henk Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Cheri Vause

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My childhood was spent climbing trees and reading. I can’t tell you which one I preferred because I loved both equally. Sometimes I’d take a book up into tree. Southern California was where I grew up, although I wasn’t born there. I knew every back road and path to all my favorite haunts. I searched for more picturesque, quieter ways to stay off the freeways, if I could help it. Even though I was experienced driving every freeway across Los Angeles, down to San Diego, up to Central California, and up to San Francisco, I preferred to drive the small streets. It was easy to set my first mystery novel in LA and the sixties, because that’s where I grew up. I remember the radio, the fame of certain jazz greats at the time.

My hubby and I cater to three ducks: Krycek, Mr. Fowley, and Samantha. We also have a Great Pyrenees, Mulder, who occupies a large portion of our hearts. Recently, we lost our Coydog, Miss Scully. I can’t stop crying over her grave. It still hurts too much. Maybe at some later date I can go into who she was to us, and the fourteen years she spent beside us, traveling with us.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve had a book in my hand since I learned to read. Writing poetry was my first foray into the world of words. After that I wrote several plays, and lots of editorials and theology white papers. That was before I sat down and pounded out a real novel. I had to retire from teaching and volunteering to find the time to write a 120,000 words that made up my first book, and that didn’t come until I was of retirement age.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Collette and Somerset Maughham are at the top of my list, along with Daphne du Maurier, but I’m partial to Graham Greene, Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly, Craig Johnson, and many of the great classic authors like: Dostoevsky, Faulkner, Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, etc. The list is too long. I like to alternate reading classic authors, old detective story tellers like Hammett and Chandler and Goodis, and dozens of greats from the twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties. I adore science fiction, although I’m more partial to spy thrillers and detective mysteries.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
No Trace is an anthology with many authors in it. The premise is about missing persons and many of the authors are newbies, but I’m one of the old hands. My story is called, “Sacred Harp.” A family who live in the Glades of Florida approach an attorney to help find their missing daughter, known as, The Sacred Harp. He’s reluctant because he almost died the last time he went in search of an Indian boy stolen by baby traffickers.

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Cheri Vause’s Website

Cheri Vause Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Scott Oury

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on an Illinois farm and now live and write in the hills outside Santa Fe, NM. I’ve been a text book editor and an English teacher, rehabbed old houses, fathered two boys, climbed mountains, authored a guide to experiential writing, took a tumble off a dam—all of which has informed my writing in one form or another.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
About age 6, when I got fascinated with dog and horse stories, having grown up on a farm where we had several dogs, and horses-to-ride.

I began writing with a newspaper editorial on why teenagers from New Jersey went to Long Island to drink.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
How about just the poets who I love to read and have learned from: Sappho, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Lee Masters, Robert Frost, W. H. Auden, Wislawa Szymborska, Howard Nemerov, John Nims, CK Williams, John Nims, Raymond Carver, Carl Shapiro, Li Young Lee—and a hundred or so more.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The latest is a book of poems, “New Moon by Half,” written over 50 years, and with the discovery that poetic forms were perfect to express my own experience and thoughts. As Frost has written, a poem comes out of a feeling that proceeds with “a series of lucky events,” that may result in wisdom. Frost says that this first feeling directs and contains the poem to come.

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Featured Interview With Scott Oury

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on an Illinois farm and now live and write in the hills outside Santa Fe, NM. I’ve been a text book editor and an English teacher, rehabbed old houses, fathered two boys, climbed mountains, authored a guide to experiential writing, took a tumble off a dam—all of which has informed my writing in one form or another.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
About age 6, when I got fascinated with dog and horse stories, having grown up on a farm where we had several dogs, and horses-to-ride.

I began writing with a newspaper editorial on why teenagers from New Jersey went to Long Island to drink.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
How about just the poets who I love to read and have learned from: Sappho, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Lee Masters, Robert Frost, W. H. Auden, Wislawa Szymborska, Howard Nemerov, John Nims, CK Williams, John Nims, Raymond Carver, Carl Shapiro, Li Young Lee—and a hundred or so more.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The latest is a book of poems, “New Moon by Half,” written over 50 years, and with the discovery that poetic forms were perfect to express my own experience and thoughts. As Frost has written, a poem comes out of a feeling that proceeds with “a series of lucky events,” that may result in wisdom. Frost says that this first feeling directs and contains the poem to come.

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Featured Interview With Michael J Moore

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up an hour north of Seattle, in a small town called Mount Vernon, Washington. As far back as I can remember, though, I’ve always had an infatuation with bigger cities. My aunt used to take me to Seattle for my birthday and Christmas presents every year. Needless to say, as soon as I was old enough, I moved to the city. It was convenient, since I was working as a personal trainer and there don’t tend to be many gyms, (or people who care about fitness) in smaller towns in the Pacific Northwest. No pets at this time, though I really like dogs. I’ve never met a more loyal creature than a dog.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I don’t think I have a particular fascination with books. I have a fascination with good stories. It just so happens that books are one of the most effective ways to tell them. I knew as soon as I learned to read that I enjoyed them, though. In fact, I still read the same type of material and many of the same authors I liked back then. I always knew I was a writer, I just never knew how important it would be to me until I started doing it seriously a few years ago. I couldn’t really imagine being happy in any other career now.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m a huge fan of Stephen King. So my favourite book is one of his called “Joyland”. As soon as I learned to read, I tore through the Goosebumps series. Then, in the third grade, I found a box of dusty Stephen King and V.C. Andrew novels in a closet in my Mom’s bedroom. I read The Shining in three days when I was eight. I think I chose that one first because I liked the reflective cover. I used to read every Christopher Pike book I could get my hands on. The entire young adult and horror genres have been major influences on me from early on, and they’re what I still prefer to read. Mixing them in my own writing comes so natural that I tend to do it without meaning to sometimes.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A few years ago, I wrote a short story titled, “Highway Nine.” Though I liked the way it came out, the protagonists never got an explanation as to what the monsters were, and where they came from. I wanted closure on the matter. Even if my heroes never got answers, I needed them, so I wrote Highway Twenty to learn more. I just started shopping it around this week actually.

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Featured Interview With Ray Leverette

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Ray Leverette. I was born in Troy, Alabama; to a single (widowed) and I’m the eldest of two children. I attended elementary, junior high, and high school down in Brundidge, Alabama at Pike County High School. After graduating from high school I attended college at Troy University before transferring to University of Houston in Houston, Texas. I did a lot of creative writing while in college, and was a member of the National Association Black Journalists and wrote for my hometown newspaper the Brundidge Beacon.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I became fascinated with books at an early age and was in star struck mode when I read books such as I Know Why the Cage Birds Sings by the great Maya Angelou. Just reading her words and the depth brought out life as she would give you a description of her life. I started writing in school when I would write love poems, and then I later developed while writing creative stories for my creative writing class.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Maya Angelou, T.D. Jake’s, T.K. Ware just to name a few. My favorite genre has to be Non – Fiction because I love to read stories based of true events. The person who inspires me in writing has to be Maya Angelou because her words and style are beyond comparison. She’s a hope and inspiration.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Rise Above All depicts the life events we all experience in some form or another—growing up in broken homes, teen pregnancy, violence, and the absentee of parental guidance. This story, taken from reality, illustrates the overcoming adversity and triumphing through the barrels of opposition.

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Featured Interview With Dave Matthes

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Dave Matthes and I’m a South Jersey native currently living in Pennsylvania just south of Philly with my fiance and our cat Hank. I was born in Woodbury, NJ in 1986 and raised in Swedesboro. As of now, I live in a real hole of a town, but have come to be quite comfortable here.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was pretty young, I’m talkin’ before first grade. The elementary school I went to had this summer program thing for kids, kind of like a camp. There were different activities to choose from but I decided to do the creative writing one. Ever since then, I’ve been writing. I can’t say exactly how old I was but I do remember my first short story. It was about a boy who found and adopted a pet dinosaur and it was pretty horribly written, haha. Since then, things have obviously changed.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Anything by Bukowski, Kerouac, Cormac McCarthy, John Fante, Jim Morrison, etc. Everything those guys and others have ever written keep me going, they keep the “faith” I have in myself to keep writing every single day. My favorite genres are pretty much anything having to do with real life, the grittier the better.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My most recent book is a collection of poetry and stories titled “On the Verge of Burning Down the Church”. Most of the poetry I write is directly connected with my everyday life, past, present, and whatever else goes on in my head. It is essentially the non-fiction of my literary arsenal. I’ve also just finished the first draft of a new novel, titled “No Old Souls at Fury Tavern”, which details the life and intimacies of a handful of lowlife denizens who spend their days and nights at a dive bar.

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Featured Interview With I.G. Orozco

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Mexico but grew up in the United States. My dream was to help my parents from financial issues and especially to show people my imagination for their entertainment. Even though I have some mental disabilities, I didn’t let those problems stop me from writing a novel about my first character that I imagined since I was eight.

I also love to draw out my imagination characters and play video games. I love hanging out with my parents, my little brother and friends. I also love my three, adorable pups! Rico, Pepe and Suki! Interesting and fun names don’t you think? 😀

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was seven years old, I realized that I had many stories in my head that I wanted to share to the world. All I knew is that I can draw and write it out! At eight I wrote my first novel from one of the first creations I’ve imagined. Since then, my fascination on writing hasn’t gone away.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
An author who has inspired me was C.S Lewis. How he was able to write beautiful stories and still convey a strong lesson from them, made me look at the art of writing differently in an amazing way!
In general, I really like fiction, fantasy, sci-fi and adventure books.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My novel is called “The Golden-Syph (Life With A Price).” It’s about three immortals created two kids; one from mud and the other from water. Everything was great until the kid went to the forbidden place and got kidnapped by their greatest enemy, Ethipius, king of Darkness. Ethipius used the kids’ powers to conquer many galaxies and made all worlds have darkness and no sign of life, but only man and very few animals survived. Now it’s up to one immortal to save all of mankind, by doing the impossible, to bring back nature once again. He will face weird, metal giants, demons who are servants of Ethipius and even face the Prince of Assassins.

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Featured Interview With Gareth Howells

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. I’ve always lived here, and love the beach and the sound of the seagulls around me. There is always a great cultural scene in Portsmouth, and opportunities to perform your work, or showcase it somehow. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
I have always had pets; at the moment I have two dogs and a cat. Rowlf, Chico and Rosie the cat keep us busy in the house when we’re chilling out.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been reading books since I was a boy. By the time I got to my teenage years I had developed a love of science fiction and fantasy. I dived right into big epic fantasies like The Lord of the Rings and The Belgariad, while also reading a lot of science fiction with books like the Stainless Steel Rat series, Ray Bradbury’s stories and humorous approaches to science fiction like the classic Hitch Hikers books by Douglas Adams.
With regards to my writing, I have been a songwriter for most of my life, which was a development from my poetry writing. In the last couple of years I have devoted more time to the story ideas i’ve had, and published two books from those ideas.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read books with wit running through them. They don’t have to be outright funny all of the time, but a hint of sarcasm, wry observation or humorous irony goes a long way for me. I mostly stick to science fiction and fantasy books, but obviously deviate from that occasionally when something comes up on my radar.
I am probably mostly inspired by stories that use an otherworldly setting to make some kind of social commentary. The TV series, The Twilight Zone was good for that, and many other storytellers, in short story and novel form, have taken a similar method to make comments on humanity and on our social misgivings.
Authors such as Harry Harrison, Robert Sheckley, Richard Matheson, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Philip K Dick, John Scalzi, Becky Chambers and Jodi Taylor inspire me to write, and continue to be a beacon of what I hope to achieve one day with my stories.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a novel titled, “Out among the ice beacons” and is set in the present day, beginning with a school scene in a post-16 class where our protagonist is being bullied. Through his ambition to complete his late father’s work, Julian, our main character, and two of the other students in his class end up travelling to another planet. Here they find indigenous people there; some who are friendly, but many who are not. The climate and the wildlife are hostile, and their presence on the planet puts them in great danger.
What follows is how they cope with that, and how the various “people” from that planet help or hinder them in their attempt to get home.

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Featured Interview With Leslie Hachtel

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I have lived all over the country and now have settled in Florida. The weather is amazing! As for pets…well, there is Jakita, my terrier mix, but I think she has me.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I loved reading always and devoured books from the very beginning. When I was in first grade, I would come home and read to my dog.
I started writing years ago, but I didn’t concentrate on romance novels until about six years ago. I find writing books very satisfying,

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors include Kathleen Woodiwiss, Stephen King, Nora Roberts and too many more to name. Every book offers some inspiration, every story that makes it hard to put the book down is exciting.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Texas Summer” started out as a screenplay that was optioned. When it wasn’t produced, I turned it into a novel. It’s the story of a writer whose car breaks down outside a very small town in Texas. And his life is changed forever. This quiet little place hides corruption, lust, greed and murder. And the woman of his dreams. Can they survive in a town that wants to bring them down? Can their love?

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Featured Interview With Roxanne San Jose

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am born in the Philippines but I resides now in Las Vegas, Nevada.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
In my late teens. I started writing in 2015 when I self-published my first book, Annagram.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Mitch Albom and my favorite genre is Romance.

What inspires me from my writings are books

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My second book, Time Travel, a Young Adult Science Fiction Romance Novel will be released on April 15 in www.avid-publishing.com. Pre-order goes live now.

Angelie Thompson, a time machine inventor in 2015 faced a problem when her boyfriend, John Salvador, accidentally traveled back in 1970. She searched for him and met new characters. Twist happened along the way which led to her to change the world.

The story highlights love, dedication and friendship.

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Featured Interview With Shaun O. Smith

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised all across the United States, as my father had a job that required constant moving. No, he was not in the military, and thus I am not a “military brat.” Near the beginning of my teenage years, we ended up in a more permanent location in Florida so I claim it, in an attempt to obtain a fraction of normalcy, as my home. Currently, I live in Miami, Fl with my wife and daughter. I have one cat. My family and I have gone through multiple “trial and errors” with other animals, but cats seem to fit us best. At this point just this one cat. We tried introducing another kitten into the family, but the original was not going to have it.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have had a fascination with books throughout life. Whether if it was getting a chapter book from a teacher for performing well, or reading to escape the happenings at home, I have always seen literature as a fascinating art form. I first wanted to become a writer when I was in grade school and was given the assignment to write an “addition” to the current book I was reading. I chose to write an epilogue for Walter Dean Meyers, Fallen Angels. When I finished the assignment, I knew I wanted to write my own book.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t have one favorite author, as literature in general, is my favorite art form. I try not to focus on one individual writer as to not lose focus on the writing itself. My favorite genre, by far, is autobiographies. Hearing one’s story, from their point of view, is something I like to take advantage of, as it is basically life advice into real-world situations. I can’t say any individual inspires me to write. All works and artists turn the gears in my mind and bring about inspiration the pushes me to reach for a pen.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, The Results of a Failed Abortion: A Collection of Poems, is my poetic debut. I chose to use poems to tell stories from my life, as saying it bluntly, would have seemed less impactful. Poems are the foundation of writing I wish to use as if I use any other form, I will focus on the lack of perfection I am unable to obtain. Poetry doesn’t require perfection, it requires one to write and let out feelings. Not only is that what I want to do in my writing, its what I have done here in The Results of a Failed Abortion: A Collection of Poems.

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Featured Interview With Bruce R. Hampson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Zambia, into a family of Litvaks, Bruce Hampson immigrated to Canada once his father saw a postcard of a Royal Canadian mountie and decided to start life afresh. His ancestors did exactly the same, running from the 19th century Lithuania looking for a better life in South Africa. Hunger for new experiences and hopping across continents seems to run in the family: a miner in Saskatchewan, a fireman in Zimbabwe, a minister and charismatic church leader in Alberta, a wine enthusiast, a successful businessman in Hong Kong, and a hotel owner in France, Bruce Hampson has done more than fits three lifetimes. Searching for roots, God, financial gains, happiness – all was part of the journey that seeks to answer the eternal question: who am I, what is the purpose of it all, is there a God’s plan, a hand of fate that moves us, or are we at the mercy of random events that play with our life. This thought is reflected in his debut novel that takes the reader across centuries and continents, from a 19th century Lithuanian village, to gold mines in South Africa and beyond.
Bruce Hampson, Alge, his wife and their miniature schnauzer Atilla live in Vancouver, Canada, and they still hop continents.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Ever since I could read I have been interested in books. I have been writing privately for about 20 years.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Favourite Authors – Coelho, Rutherford, Follet, Yuval Nohah Harari, Clavel, Mayle, Dan Brown, Aslan, Wilbur Smith, and Umberto Eco.
Favourite genre – Historical Ficton
Greatest Inspiration – My wife Alge

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Born into a family of Litvaks, Lithuanian Jews, Reginald Emanuel, a young boy of 12 years old, living in Canada, commences his quintessential quest through life looking for truth
The doctors blamed dissociative fugue to explain his fantastical visits with his great grandfather who lived one hundred years before him, but Reginald knew it was time travel…and he has the proof.

This is not just one more incredible story about an astonishing human being doing predictable things. it is a simple commonplace narrative, about a human becoming. Seeking happiness, love, money and success, and experiencing rejection, failure and let-downs, like we all do, along the way.
Do we ever really discover who we are?
Is our only obligation in life to discover our destiny?
Is death to be feared more than living an inadequate life?

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