Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Mette Barfelt

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a Scandinavian author, living in Norway. I’m married and have two teenagers. Before I started writing books, I worked for travels agencies and airlines for many years. So I’ve traveled a lot around the world, which I love. I enjoy learning about other cultures and taste their amazing food.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I loved reading when I was a teenager, and I’ve continued to read several books a week since then. I started by publishing a non-fiction cruise guide several years before I began writing contemporary romance 3,5 years ago. I release the books in Norwegian first, then in English.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love sweet romance! I have many favorite authors – Debbie Macomber, Nancy Naigle, Jenny Hale, Mary Campisi, RaeAnne Thayne, Andrea Hurst and many more. The authors inspire me by posting beautiful pictures on Facebook!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
All books in the Solvik series are standalone novels. Book #6 is a little different from the others. It’s about an Indian beauty visiting her ex-boyfriend in Norway when she’s discovering she’s pregnant by him. The two cultures are very different, and it’s difficult to find the right solution for all of them. Especially since there is another woman in love with the same guy, and they have feelings for each other.
It usually takes me six months to write each book, and then several months to get the book translated from Norwegian. And one to two months for the editor and proofreader to finish before it’s ready for publishing.

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Mette Barfelt’s Website

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Featured Interview With P.C. Darkcliff

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was alternately raised in the Czech Republic and Canada, and I also lived in Bulgaria, Portugal, and Turkey. I’ve currently settled in Southwestern Spain.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been reading and writing fiction ever since I learned my letters. My first literary attempt was a short story about a talking dog. After a brief flirtation with sci-fi and adventure, I discovered the world of dark fiction, and there was no turning back.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author is H.P. Lovecraft, who’s also my greatest inspiration. But I also love writers like E.M. Remarque and Ken Follet. My favorite genre is fantasy and horror, but I also enjoy historical fiction, thrillers, and mystery.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I started writing Deception of the Damned while living in Bulgaria, so five years ago. As I got sidetracked with other projects, I didn’t finish it until last week. It takes place not only across Europe but also across different periods of time. It’s a dark, modern fairy tale retelling where Sleeping Beauty meets Faust.
The story starts with Hrot, an absent-minded dreamer who feels so miserable in his primitive times that he sells his soul in exchange for a decade in Renaissance Prague. There he dabs in occult studies in a desperate attempt to sneak out of the deal.
Four centuries later, young reporter Jasmin Bierce leaves Alaska for Europe to avenge the death of her husband. Facing more enemies than she expected, her quest for revenge turns into a flight for her life. As she stumbles into the ruins of a medieval castle, she meets an immortal specter who calls himself…Hrot.
Although he saves her skin, Hrot unwillingly drags her soul into a pact with the fiend who cursed him. The fiend makes her husband’s killers look like a flock of doves—but Jasmin’s heart is awakening to Hrot’s devotion, and she travels in time and skirts infernal dominions to save him.
If she ever wants to break their curse, however, she must succeed where Hrot failed: she has to outwit the Emissary of the Otherworld.

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Featured Interview With Mara Malins

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My life is typically but reassuringly boring. I live in Manchester, Uk–the same place that I grew up. In fact, I live about five streets away from my childhood house, and my siblings (three of them) all live within a five minute drive. Even my yoga class is a two minute walk away.

Maybe I should branch out?

I own a house with my long term partner (who also lived locally), three cats (who terrorise me daily) and two turtles (who, whilst looking exotic are actually quite boring and fit neatly into my life). I work a regular 9-5 with a long commute into the city center. In fact, the only irregular thing about me is my sense of humor (so twisted) and that I have double-jointed toes.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was one of the fortunate people that was brought up around books. My parents and siblings always had a book nearby–dogeared and overread by the time they made their way to me–so it was natural that I’d do the same. Our living room had one entire wall dedicated to books and, thankfully, nothing was off limits.
By age ten, I’d read all the Nancy Drew’s, Goosebumps, Point Horror’s, and Christopher Pike’s I could get my hands on, and was soon pinching the more adult themed books off the shelf, under my jumper, and squirreling them away to my bedroom to read with a flashlight after bedtime. I thought I was being sneaky. It turns out my parents knew and approved all along.

Luckily, my parents were big believers in the protection of imagination. They believed that it didn’t matter how scary or adult the book was; your mind will only imagine exactly what it can handle. Unlike films where you’re shown in graphic and often unforgettable detail. So, I started reading Pratchett, King, Feist, Herbert, and other adult authors pretty early on.

As it often does, reading led to writing. I knew by the age of fifteen that I wanted a career in writing so I took some work experience at the local newspaper. I wrote several articles–including the main front page story!–in that two week stint, but it wasn’t for me. It made me realise that the words I wanted to write were the fiction kind.

I took English Literature and English Language A levels in college, and went on to study Creative writing and English Literature in University.

Surprisingly, after all that writing training, I ended up working in fashion! By day I manage budgets and clothing ranges, and by night I still scribble down words where I can. I’ve had some small successes in short story anthologies and I’m currently writing a novel about my experience in the fashion industry.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t think there is anything that I wouldn’t read but I’m definitely a sci-fi and fantasy nerd at heart! My favourite novels of all time are the Dune Series by Herbert, although the Empire Series by Feist and the Song of Ice and Fire series come a very close second. I’ve also recently discovered Phillipa Gregory, who absolutely sings to my inner history nerd. Jane Fallon is also a new find. I love her take on women’s fiction; it has a mature, adult feel to the narration that really appeals to me.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Strangely enough, I like to read fantasy but I LOVE writing romance. When I started dabbling in writing steamy romances, my first port of call was to get the true definition of “romance.” I knew what romance was, of course; everybody over the age of ten does. But maybe there was another aspect I was missing. Google proved me right. The Oxford dictionary defines romance as “a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.”
That definition doesn’t sit right with me. At all. Not only is it seriously lacking in…well, romance, but mystery? Really?

Now, I’m one of those lucky people who found true love at a young age. I was sixteen when I first met my long-term partner and almost sixteen years later we’re still together and still very much in love. After all this time, I think it’s safe to say that there’s very little mystery left surrounding the wonderful man I live with. I probably know more about him than his own mother does, but does that necessarily mean there can be no romance for me?
Absolutely not.
Let me tell you, we’re a romantic pair. It’s true that our romance is closer to running each other baths after a long day, or relinquishing a piece of treasured cheese on toast to the other instead of the more clichéd dozen long-stemmed red roses, but does that mean it’s any less romantic? Nuh-uh. Not in my eyes.

So, when I started to write INKarnate—and the series of short stories set in that world (coming out later this year!)—I knew it had to be my kind of romance and not the kind that dominates the bestsellers. My world wouldn’t have the controlling billionaire or the uber-interested (but sometimes stalker-ish) love interest to sweep my hero/heroine off his/her feet. That was the stuff of fantasies.
I wanted truth.
I wanted relatability.
I wanted real aspirational partnerships with everyday problems.
I wanted to explore romance at every stage of life and how it changes as we mature.

With that in mind, I started from the beginning and wrote INKarnate. The obstacle standing between my two protagonists, Matt and Emily, was the rather mundane issue around communication; neither communicates their feelings—or even admits them—in an honest way. I felt this was a good place to start in my exploration of “true” romance.

After that, I wanted to tackle the next stage of life; parenthood. INKapable came next. Joe and Nathan’s obstacle was a little weightier—how do you build a trusting relationship when you’ve been hurt badly before? How do you let your guard down when you have children relying on you?

Then I wanted to write about something that’s in the post for all of us; the deterioration of health. In INKurable, the third story of the INKomplete series, Phee has cancer. It was a toughie to write, but I feel the relationship between Phee and her surgeon, Pete, comes together naturally. They struggle as a team.

Finally, I rounded off the series exploring the theme of grief; Blakey is a widow and his story in INKonsolable deals with him overcoming his guilt in moving on and initiating a mature, late-blossoming romance.

Each of these stories, I feel, is relatable, truthful, and—perhaps most importantly—full of romance. Not the glamourous kind, or even the “mysterious” kind, but the kind of romance that leaves you feeling hopeful. Not everybody needs, or even wants, a billionaire or a man so overwhelmed with love that he stops being his own person. Sometimes, you just want to read about something real.

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Mara Malins’s Website

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Featured Interview With Michael Smorenburg

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m African.
I was born in 1964 at the tip of Africa, Cape Town, South Africa.
Quite why,I have no idea, but I was drawn to be an entrepreneur straight out of college. I’ve consequently never had a salary in my life.
In 1995 Michael I moved to Southern California where I founded a business consultancy and online media and marketing engine in the burgeoning internet space.
But once Africa has a hold of you, it is impossible to resist, and back to South Africa I returned in 2003 where I launched a security company.
In 2015 I semi-retired and divested of the business to write full time.
My greatest love is the ocean, reading history, keeping up with the latest breakthroughs in science, understanding the cosmos and sharing all learn as best I can.
I consequently “dress facts up as fiction”–I find interesting historical, anthropological or other scientific facts I think would fascinate people, and I weave them into stories that give them context.
I live in paradise – in the suburb of Clifton (look it up) in Cape Town where I have a wife, two young adult daughters, a lazy dog and 6 glorious cats who are my best mates.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Aged 31 – on vacation on a beach in Spain. It struck me out of the blue and destroyed our holiday as I spent 10 days furiously getting the 400 page story of “LifeGames Corporation” down.
My father always said I had a fertile imagination – “Full of bulldust”, is actually what he said.
I’m a dreamer, I guess – and a dreamer is just a visionary without money. So, since I can’t finance my inventions, I write about them.
If you wanted to bump off my now aging school teachers, you’d tell them I write novels – they’d fall over stone dead with shock, as I showed no such intellectual persuasion at school.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Frankly I get bored with most stories unless I’m getting something out of them.
I’m a facts guy. I read a lot of non-fiction to understand how things and people and cultures and history works.
To me, reality is more exciting than any fantasy I’ve ever encountered.
So, fairly limited fiction:
James Clavell, Leon Uris, James Michener, Wilbur Smith
Just about ever science, history and anthropology popular textbook out there.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’m simultaneously working on two books right now – both are sequels:
1) A sequel to Ragnarok — one of the planes that went missing in the aurora that almost took Tegan’s plane crash lands onto the Hudson — and a decade later the now-retired captain is starting to remember where… or ‘when’… they went (hint…. He and his plane of passengers caught in a high energy military experiment were pushed back through time and landed in the Hudson a thousand years ago – his ‘second’ crash into the Hudson a decade ago returned him to our epoch and the authorities scrubbed his and the passengers’ memories. But those memories are starting to return.)

2) A sequel to my “Slave Ship Saga” – the third in the trilogy. In the 1980s (fact) I found a shipwreck off our coast… in 2015 the Smithsonian of Washington identified it as the 1794 São José Paquete Africa, the first and only slave ship in history ever to have wrecked (with 400 chained aboard) and be discovered. “The Praying Nun” told the story of our discovery and then takes the reader aboard the fated ship where we meet one of the slaves. The actual ship in history had 200 survivors who were ‘saved’ and then sold the next day to recover costs. “The Reckoning” follows one of those slaves and his experiences of 1794. The book I’m working on, tentatively called “The Accord”, follows the same surviving slave but now in an overlap of his story through the eyes of our protagonist, Jayne Alphen, wife of the newly arrived governor of the colony at Africa’s tip. Jayne, an heiress, is in an miserable arranged marriage with her much older husband who she has come to despise for his meanness, cowardice, and perversions. He only has power through his marriage into wealth. Horrified by encountering a slave culture for the first time, Jayne is terrified that she is falling in love (or at least is infatuated) with a most unusual slave she encounters. His freedom promises to become a vicarious emaciation of her own imprisoned heart… but her husband has seen her obsession and she must tread carefully.

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Featured Interview With Kashavera

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Kashavera and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I was adopted and then relocated to West Virginia. I now live there. I do not have any pets right now because my apartment is too small but once I get a bigger place, I will have another kitty.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was in the fifth grade when I wrote my first poem. I had another fight in school. Being a foster child, really skinny (back then), and quiet in NYC I was constantly a target for bullying. I got tired of this boy calling me a “stupid foster kid” so I decked him. We started fighting. After beating him up, I was sent to my homeroom and he was sent to his. I was given a pencil and paper. Instead of the usual I will not fight in school (100 times) I was told to just write. I wrote my first poem. I later started writing short stories. When I read through the comments, I saw people were upset because I ended to stories too soon. So, I took the it and gave the people what they wanted, an actual novel.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Jackie Collins is my number one hands down favorite author. She inspired me to be myself when I read her novel Dangerous Kiss. Sista Soulja’s book The Coldest Winter Ever, inspired me to never forget my roots and remember to always be myself on and off the pages.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Girls Book 1: Brandon Returns is a book about three females who are best friends. They are adult women (not recommended reading for children) who are the best of friends. Their names are Shaunda Cannon (Black female), Juanita (Biracial—black and white), and Karen Holden (Caucasian). They met in college and had been best friends throughout the years. Shaunda’s husband, Peter Cannon (Caucasian) is cheating on her and it ends up costing them both. Karen continues to deal with the trauma of capturing the man Brandon Franks who got her rape in an effort to get her into prostitution. Juanita struggles with love and acceptance from her white skinned sister.

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Kashavera Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With M. Naidoo

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Germany but have been living in Northern California for over
25 years. We have a large family, so our house gets pretty crazy. To top it off, we have three dogs, known as ‘the3littleshits’ on Instagram, each with their own personality and all full of beans. They pile around me the moment I sit down and make the best writing buddies.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
For as long as I can remember I have spent every free minute reading one book or another.
I love to be surrounded by books, and some people would call me a book hoarder – even though I would argue that there is no such thing!
Over the years I have written countless essays and short stories; just for fun and never with the intent to publish.
My background in photography and TV/film eventually led to my first screenplay – I was hooked!
Six screenplays later it was suggested that I should turn one of them into a novel, and a few months later ‘The Pelican’ was born. Although scripts and novels are two distinctly different media, I love them both.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
That’s a tough one, there are just too many… and it depends on what mood I am in. I don’t necessarily go by genre.
For feel-good, emotional or thought-provoking novels, I love to pick up Jodi Picoult, Wally Lamb, John Green, Catherine Ryan Hyde, and Nicholas Sparks, just to name a few.
I also enjoy a good mystery or thriller on the lines of Dan Brown and James Hankins.
I think that every book that has ever made me feel something has inspired me to strive for the same in my writing.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have just released “Where Sleeping Lies Lie”, a suspense novel with a dose of romance.
If you like mystery, history, and twists at every turn, you won’t be able to put this one down.
Anna, the main character, has been living in Los Angeles ever since her parents moved from
Germany to the States, over 30 years ago. One Saturday afternoon the light on her answering machine is blinking (after all, this is in 2001). If she had known how it would turn her life upside down, she would never have pressed PLAY. Just 22 seconds into the recording she’s hit by the realization that, if the voice in the thick German accent is right, she has been living with an unthinkable lie for the past thirty years. To find out, she has to follow the instruction left by a dead person and head back to Germany. Since she has next to no conscious memory of her life there as a child, she’s surprised to find an ally in an old childhood friend whose law degree and language skills prove to be more than useful.
Besides, Peter has the most gorgeous blue and the uncanny ability to push her buttons without the slightest effort. A skill that turns out to be just as annoying as it is irresistible.
Every way they turn, they dig up and stumble on more lies and revelations. A rollercoaster ride of a read!
Having grown up in Germany I was able to draw on a wealth of memories and experiences. I could relate to Anna’s emotions as she returns to a place that doesn’t feel like home even though it technically is and everyone keeps telling her so.
Since a big part of the novel deals with passed down memories around WWII, the research took about as long as writing it. Making sure the facts, dates, and historical events are correct was absolutely crucial. The romance part, on the other hand, wasn’t planned at all. I just couldn’t resist the dynamic that developed between Anna and Peter. Hopefully, you’ll fall in love with them just like I did. Check your favorite online eBook retailer.

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Featured Interview With Alexander Scot McPhie

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised around most of Australia – from the tropics to the cold south, as my father was in the Air Force and we used to move around a lot – but I’ve lived in south-east Queensland for most of the last 30 odd years. I’m fortunate enough now to live on a small farm out in the bush, we’re surrounded by gum trees and wildlife and we’re trying to re-vegetate more of it. We have way too many pets to mention (20+) but my favourites are my two Golden-shouldered parrots

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I remember starting to enjoy creative writing when I was 7 – I wrote a song and short stories. Then a few years later poetry, and few years after that comedy sketches, then plays, and film scripts. I didn’t start my first novel till 1989 – 27 years later I finished it! I’m working a bit quicker than that now thank goodness!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Even though I write novels – I’ve only read a handful – my favourite kinds of books to read are popular science and historical books, and biographies. A couple that spring to mind are ‘Future Eaters’ by Tim Flannery and ‘A Peculiar People’ by Gavin Souter – both are great books. The former is about the formation and future of the Australian ecosystem, and the latter about some Australians who went to Paraguay in the 1890’s to form a utopian society. Books like that are my main interest – most of my favorite novels are science fiction now that I think about it – 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Time Machine and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest novel is called Shows So Fair and is a police crime procedural set in a country Queensland town in 1993. I tried to write the book with plenty of heart, and so far the feedback I’ve been getting is very positive – it’s really moved people. Without looking it up I couldn’t tell you how long it took to write – I think it was around 6 months. Here’s the blurb from it:

On a quiet country road in the dead of night a teenage school girl is murdered.

No one hears.

No one sees.

The police begin their investigation, and everything draws a blank.

But for Detective Jane Lockwood the youth and innocence of the victim makes this more than just another case.

She’s determined to solve the crime and bring the killer to justice. But in a conservative country Australian town in 1993, that doesn’t want its first female detective, she ends up battling more than just the odds to see that justice is done.

In an emotionally charged turn of events Jane is pushed to the limit, and has nothing to go on except the victim’s tragic drawings and the beguiling words ‘shows so fair’.

Shows So Fair is the debut crime novel from Australian writer Alexander Scot McPhie, author of The Forest of Life and Female Planet, and the feature films In My Image and Honeysuckle Way.

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Alexander Scot McPhie’s Website

Featured Interview With Melissa Winn

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello! I’m an indie author from New York City. I’m a child psychologist, passionate children’s book author, poetess, mother of two children, and more recently a grandmother. My life revolves around children, both my family, my vocation, and my aspirations.
My debut book is “Baby Giraffe Goes Potty ” In the near future, I will be releasing “ Hugs and Kisses” and “I know how to beat my anger!.”

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Since early childhood, I have had an affinity for the written word which was fueled by my vivid imagination. As I raised my children, I have made up my own fairytales to teach them about daily challenges, wrote small poems, and drew the illustrations. At the time, I haven’t had any ability to publish my work, but thanks to the wonders of indie publishing, it is now possible to transform my passion into a vocation.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
When I was a child, my favorite authors were Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Andersen. I was a curious child, and luckily my children inherited this side of my character. Now I am a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
My biggest inspiration is my grandson. Thanks to him, I have many ideas to turn into stories. My upcoming release aims to make potty training easier for parents with books “Baby Giraffe Goes Potty ”. All parents know how important, psychological approach is for their children. I believe books can help as I had watched how attentively my grandson listened to poems, and how easy the education process became once I added rhymes and illustrations. To a grown-up, children’s problems may seem like ordinary, minor issues, but to a child, they can be terrifying and uncomfortable for. Our job as parents is to help them deal with it. My goal is to give every child a chance to explore the world with joy and love.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My next book is about parents’ loveб – “My Inner Monster” is a book about a little girl who wakes up grumpy. As she moves through her day, doing grumpy things, her body is flooded with physical sensations until she begins to feel she is turning into stone. But then talks to her mother, who comforts her, and helps her realize she can’t stay angry if she fills her heart with love. It’s a sweet story to remind children that it’s okay to have a bad day; and that we will love them no matter what!
Most children don’t have the language skills to explain how they are feeling; so big feelings, such as anger, anxiety and sadness can feel overwhelming. Many children describe it as an inner “monster” and feel helpless to control it. But by offering unconditional love, parents can teach their children how to cope with difficult feelings, how to control themselves, and how to take care of others who might get upset as a result of their behavior.

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Featured Interview With S. D. Dillard

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Kansas, and raised with five siblings. I am the author of two children books, “Lola’s Fuzzy Snuggly Blanket” and “That’s Mine! Will Cruz ever learn to share?” I reside in California but will be relocating to the east coast.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have enjoyed writing since my early teens. Writing mostly poetry in the beginning, then short stories. I love to read all genres of books. My children’s books have been inspired by my grandchildren.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
A few of my favorite authors are: S. Jae-Jones, Marie Benedict, Lisa Genova and Maya Angelou.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, “That’s Mine! Will Cruz ever learn to share?” was inspired by my grandchildren. It’s about a little boy named Cruz who doesn’t like to share. He screams at his sister and grabs his toys back. During playtime, he doesn’t get to play because he is guarding his toys. What will Cruz soon learn about sharing? This book has large print and is colorfully illustrated.

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Featured Interview With Margaret S Goldthorp

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a rural area of West Yorkshire, not far from Haworth, home of the Bronte sisters, whose books were a early inspiration. I lived in Zurich for a few years, then London, and now live in East Hampshire. I retired from a career in Property Management ten years ago.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As soon as I could read, and probably earlier! My childhood home was full of books and I was a precocious reader, reading adult books at the same time as Enid Blyton’s Famous Five novels. I wrote short stories from an early age and continued until the age of about 30, then a busy life intervened and I did not write fiction again until I retired.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like historical fiction and crime novels – especially psychological thrillers. Favourite authors are the Bronte sisters, Dinah Jeffries, Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, Patricia Highsmith, Noel Barber, amongst many others. During the last twenty years or so of my working life I commuted some distance by train and always read novels during the journeys.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called A Divided Heritage. It is in a sense a sequel to my first novel, Voyage to Venning Road, which was based on a true story, as it takes some fictional characters from that novel and continues with their lives. It follows the turbulent lives of three siblings, who have a Malayan mother and English father, between 1928 and 1948, as they experience prejudice, tragedy and the barbarity of war. Theo, Arianna and Enid are three very different characters and their later lives follow different paths. The family arrive in England in 1928, when they are aged 12, 9 and 6, and a few years later a life-changing tragedy strikes. In 1938 Theo and Arianna return to Malaya, where they initially find love and happiness, but the Japanese invasion and occupation tears their lives apart.
Including all the historical research, the book took me about twenty months to write.

Featured Interview With Stenetta Anthony

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Stenetta Anthony and I am a former educator who was raised in Chicago where I continue to reside. Currently, I have no pets. After the loss of my pet name Chip, it has been difficult for me to adopt another animal.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I consider this question, most of my life I have had a fascination with books. Throughout my life, I have always enjoyed a good or sometimes not so good book. My official writing career began at the ripe young age of 50.

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, John Maxwell. I have a wide variety of genre of books which I read so no particular preference. It can range from children to romance. If I think it is a good book it is included in my reading catalog. The inspiration for writings derives from people watching. Observing individuals during their daily tasks often promotes me to write.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Sally’s story of longing to be adopted that began when she was placed in a kennel permanently. “A Home for Sally” the story of a young poodle who considers she is unlovable and unadoptable because of her disability. Sally believed that her dream of once again having a “forever home” may never come true.”
A Home for Sally was recently nominated for two awards. It is in the running for 2019 People’s Choice and Author Academy Awards.

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Featured Interview With LeeAnn Bonds

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised an Air Force brat and married an Army brat who couldn’t give up the nomad life. We did settle in north Idaho for a time to raise our children, whom I homeschooled all the way into college. The kids are grown, and we have flown the empty nest and returned to the wandering life.
We currently live on Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands, where I’m learning to love heat and humidity to a greater degree than I ever thought possible. Our weather is beautiful all the time, except for the occasional typhoon.
We’re don’t have pets of our own, but our neighborhood is replete with booney dogs and feral chickens, not to mention the geckos. Lots of critters to love.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have loved reading since before I can remember. I have always read voraciously. Indiscriminately. Randomly. Repeatedly. As if time is running out.
I’ve been writing since I discovered that telling stories is as much fun as reading them. I specifically remember lying belly-down on a swing, twirling slowly, writing a story in my head when I was about 10 years old. There was a princess, and a peacock…

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
C.S. Lewis is my all-time favorite author, supplying fantasy, science fiction, popular theology and profound wisdom all from one pen! I love classics in all genres. I love a good sci-fi adventure, and spec fic all its weirdness. I love women’s fiction built around realistic people who are trying their best to figure things out and love one another.
Currently, Stan C. Smith is inspiring me to greater weirdness…but truly, the worldwide family of writers provides unending inspiration every day!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Scrabble Weather: Montana Rising book 2. Montana Rising is a slightly eccentric teacher, avid Scrabble player and writer of fantastical stories. She’s raising her granddaughter and caring for her ailing war-veteran husband.
I include the stories Montana is writing, as alternating chapters between my chapters recounting her adventures. In Scrabble Weather, she is reuniting with her long-estranged daughter (the mother of the granddaughter she’s raising), who’s fresh from rehab and ready to get her life back together. The story is filled with hope and happiness, and Scrabble!
Although the first Montana Rising book took me several years to write as I was raising my family, this one came together in a year, and I’m excited to be starting on the next in the series already!

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Featured Interview With Darin Martineau

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Las Vegas
Darin Martineau is a master magician and author of over 72 Magic books!
He is the protege’ of Allan Ackerman; who is the protege’ of Ed Marlo.
His magic is featured in many magic magazines and magic publications.
His original Magic has also been used by Shin Lim- winner of America’s Got Talent.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
18

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Magic, S.H. Sharpe, Harlan Tarbell, Darwin Ortiz

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Learn all of the foundations of becoming a Master Magician.
You will learn awesome magic tricks to amaze and mystify people,
to make friends, and become the life of the party.
Card Magic, Coin Magic, Close-Up Magic, Manipulations, Mentalism and much more!
Discover the insider Secrets to the Art of Magic!
This book is a very comprehensive guide on the Art of Magic.

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Featured Interview With Grace M. Jolliffe

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Liverpool’s inner city. My father emigrated there from Ireland in the 1950s.

This influenced my 1970s based Liverpool series. I write about real people who struggle to survive in poverty but I do this from the inside out because I lived there too.

I aim to capture the humanity, wit and humour of my characters as well as the community spirit which is one of the best things about Liverpool.

We returned to live in Wicklow, Ireland in the early 80s and now live in Galway on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.

I have a pet dog, Eppie, a tiny terrier who sits on my lap while I’m writing and we keep hens and ducks.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first novel when I was nine years old.
It was not a success. I remember it was about a nine-year-old girl (funny enough she was quite like me) getting lost in a haunted house.

Later I began to write late at night and into the early morning.

I started with short stories and encouraged by a great creative writing teacher I began to send them away.

I won some awards for these stories and had many of them published in literary magazines etc. This encouraged me and I began to write novels.

The first two of these efforts remain in a drawer and rightly so. I don’t regard them as failures but prefer to see them as practice.

The next one, Piggy Monk Square, was published by Tindal Street Press, short-listed for the Commonwealth New Writers Prize, optioned for film by Willy Russell, and broadcast on Ireland’s RTE Radio One.
Since then I have written more Liverpool based novels.
When The Sun Shines, The Sunshine Girl, Sweet Little Things, Tell Me Magic Lies and the soon to be published, Kindness and Strangers.

All these books feature strong women characters surviving and struggling with wit and humour against the odds.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
When I think back to my childhood I think the book that influenced me most was ‘The Diary of Anne Frank.’

I was so impressed with her. She wasn’t just my first heroine she influenced me hugely and made me want to be a writer.

I love John Steinbeck’s East of Eden because it says so much about human nature and makes me ponder the questions of good and evil and what makes us who we are.

My reading choices are hugely influenced by my mood – when I need cheering up I read Tom Sharpe. His books never fail to make me laugh.

I love to read thrillers for the escapism – legal ones like John Grisham’s are a favourite.

I always enjoy reading books about human beings who don’t quite fit in but can’t figure out why.

Anne Tyler does this beautifully and ‘The Accidental Tourist’ is one of my favourites.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Kindness and Strangers. This is another in my Liverpool series and took me about three months to write the first draft and I spent a year rewriting.
It took me a lot of rewrites to be finally happy. Frankie is a strong character and in some ways a flawed human being but when you read her story you understand why. I wanted to do her justice, to get the heart and humour of the character across as well as to tell a compelling story.

Frankie’s life was already difficult but when she arrived home one day to find her father packing his bags and with one violent act her life was thrown into chaos.

Her father’s abrupt departure launched the family into a spiral of debt and it became up to Frankie to save them.

Kindness and Strangers will be published very soon.

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Featured Interview With Nadia Brown

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up and was raised in Florida; but I was born in Queens, New York. I don’t have any pets, but I do have a twin sister who I am close to. I’m addicted to coffee and would love to write a romance novella’s one day. Right now, I’m an author of two poetry books and work as an publicist for Author & Book Promotion- an online book promotion service.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was younger I use to write lyrics to music. I was a songwriter at nine years old. I loved the idea of entertaining people; but unfortunately, my love for books came much later in life. I tried to read as much as I can now, and I don’t feel good if I go too long without reading a book.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love reading poetry and romance books. I love Jane Austen, Charles Bukowski, Maya Angelou, Anne Sexton. I also really like Leila Chatti’s poetry. My writings are inspired from a number of people, but when I just started learning to write poetry, I was inspired mostly by Maya Angelou.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I am currently working on my third book of poetry. Readers can read samples of my work on my website and also read my latest article here: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2019/03/friday-speak-out-writing-by-divine-order.html

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Featured Interview With Sage Toni Sihunn

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I heaved myself out of Edmonton into the more vibrant culture bursting around Toronto, I visit New York city each time I run out of creative tingles, and to pluck me out of my inflamed laptop, I play the piano and soar my mind back to Beethoven’s time.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My grandparents raised me and buried me into books. They were both teachers. I started writing when I was 7 years old. I would write letters to my parents and my sister. And — well — words and stories started to hound me from then on.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
This is when I’d swerve off track from my voice genre as an author — hello, integrity! But I was corrupted by the classics growing up — Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, and some French novelists — Flaubert, de Maupassant — yep, I’m a literary flake!

Charming and cerebral personal encounters inspire me to write. Authentic human substance punches right through me each time.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Grand Gibberish is loosely based on my recent NYC trip. I wrote it in 13 days: February 14th (Valentine’s Day) – February 26th of this year. After hitting ‘The End’, I flopped back to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Featured Interview With Patrick W Kavanagh

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Dublin Ireland. My dad was a labourer and my mum would read tea leaves and playing cards for friends and neighbours. She was scarily accurate! I moved to the UK about thirty years ago and I now live at the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. I have a black cat called Luna and a black Labrador named Finley.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can remember sitting on my dad’s knee, as a toddler, and reading words from the newspaper. I could read before I began school, and I was borrowing my dad’s adult library tickets by the age of seven! I did not atart writing until after the passing of my late wife, Frances, – about ten years ago.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Jack London was a huge favourite. The Painted Man series by V.E.Brett was absolutely brilliant and absorbing. Non-fiction writers such as Lyall Watson (Supernature) and ‘Out of my life and dreams’ are my main inspirations for writing. I love inspiring biographies.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is about Fairies. It is called ‘Faery Fact and Fairy Fiction. It combines stories, art, sightings, meditations and is suitable for all ages, – with adult discretion. It includes personal experiences and the experiences of others and explores the world of the Fairies in both the stories and eye witness accounts, along with my own musings.

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Featured Interview With Barbara Woster

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m an author, educator, and business owner who is extremely busy on a daily basis, taking care of other people’s children, my own children, my husband, my home, two dogs, two cats, a bunny, and an aquarium full of fish. If not for weekends, I don’t know when I’d find time to write. Still, though full, I couldn’t imagine my life without all the love and chaos.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At the age of fourteen, my neighbor broke my knee (completely accidental). I was laid up for an entire year. For a while, Harlequin Romance novels were my only reading material. One day my father stopped in and saw all of those books strewn across my bed covers, turned around and left the room. He returned shortly after and threw a book on my lap: Iceberg, by Clive Cussler. I had no idea I would quickly fall in love with espionage books, followed by thrillers and crime novels. That day, I truly fell in love with the written word. It was soon after that I decided I wanted to be a writer.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite writers inspired my writing: Clive Cussler, Dean Koontz, and Diana Gabaldon.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a crime novel entitled 36 Hours, which will be released by a London publishing house between April and June, 2019.

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Featured Interview With Kirby Michael Wright

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and attended Punahou School. I once arm-wrestled Barrack Obama for a cigarette. I received A BA in English Lit from the University of California, San Diego. My MFA in Creative Writing is from San Francisco State University. I currently live in Southern California but will be returning to Hawaii soon for book signings in Waikiki and in downtown Honolulu. Believe it or not, I avoid signing in bookstores. Why? Because they take a percentage of sales. I go to alternative signing locations, ones that don’t charge and that are more fun than stodgy bookstores.

I have written thirteen books to date in various genres, including flash (micro stories), poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. I have been published in over three-hundred university literary journals, including Harpur Palate, 580 Split, Reed Magazine, Blue Mesa Review, Artful Dodge, Moon City Review, Hawai’i Review, Honolulu Weekly, Hawai’i Pacific Review, and SDSU’s Pacific Review. I also write plays and screenplays. I won the 2018 Las Vegas Screenplay Contest and a stage play set in the Deep South took Third Place at the 2018 Caanes Screenplay Contest. Sometimes I harvest material from my stories when crafting plays such as HOUDINI, which was performed at the Actors Alliance Festival in San Diego. Cross-pollination is a great way to get a lot of material out there fast. My first book of poetry took First Place at the San Diego Book Awards.

Pets? Yes, I have a trio of cats. All three are Senior Citizens and sleep most of the day, except when it’s meal time. I feed them four squares a day and never leave kibble out in a bowl. Why? Marilyn Monroe uses food to calm her nervous nature and, if I did leave the kibble out, she’d weigh over 20 pounds in no time.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think I officially started writing when I was nine and crafted a Moloka’i story for my mother, who was 5,000 miles away in Boston. It amazed me that I could seal that story in an envelope, mail it, and that my mother would get it a week or so later.

I developed a fascination for books in elementary school when my father brought home a Tom Swift Adventures book and I gobbled it up. Naturally, I had to read every Tom Swift book and was always on the lookout for the latest in the series.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Hemingway, Plath, Eliot, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and Joyce.

My new favorite genre is Creative Nonfiction. Why? The characters are usually real people and not imagined by the author. Some fiction writers write historical novels but adding fact through history does not make the characters real.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest is THE QUEEN OF MOLOKA’I. This book was inspired by Julia Wright, my paternal grandmother. Julia was one of six children that grew up in Palolo Valley. Julia was a party girl in Waikiki. She made big mistakes in love, especially after meeting a blond Englishman at the Moana Hotel. He left her hapai (pregnant) after promising he’d send for her once he got settled in San Francisco. Julia never heard from the Englishman again and gave birth to my father the first day of world peace. Then she met a Portuguese sea merchant at the Young Hotel downtown and soon she was hapai again. Julia was forced to raise both sons in her mother’s tiny rental in Kaimuki. Her third love interest was Chipper, a decorated war vet. Chipper asked her to accompany him to the Molokai Ranch, where he’d secured a job as a paniolo (cowboy). Julia said she would. Chipper told her she couldn’t bring her sons along until she proved she could handle the rural lifestyle. She was caught between the fear of becoming an old maid raising two half-brothers or the possibility of marrying her teenage crush.

Four chapters from THE QUEEN OF MOLOKA’I manuscript were published online during the writing process. These acceptances gave me momentum. I have found that, by submitting chapters as stand-alone stories, you soon find out if your chapters are worthwhile. My advice to any wannabe writer is to get his or her work published online in the pages of respected magazines. Once my chapters were online, I hunkered down and re-edited them to make them even stronger. I also think it’s important for people to get down the stories of their elders before they pass. Just remember to get down both sides of the coin—the good and the bad.

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