Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Charlie Garratt

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I now live in beautiful Donegal, Ireland, though was born in Manchester, England and spent most of my adult life in Warwickshire and Leicestershire. We owned a cat (does one own a cat or just tend to its every need?) until she was killed by a car quite recently.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I as around eight years old someone remarked that I ‘would read brown paper’ and though it had out be explained she meant I’d read anything I guess she was right. I always had my nose stuck in a book. Encouraged by my mother, I suppose, who was an avid reader and gave me the gift of a library ticket as soon as I was old enough to have one of my own.
I wrote a number of non-fiction books as part of my work, which required frequent reports, research, surveys, etc and from time to time this took me into skirmishes with creative writing. However, I didn’t start seriously until I moved to Ireland and joined a writers’ group, which required material to be produced for sharing and critique on a weekly basis – highly recommended for anyone considering writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I guess my favourite genres are crime and occasional science fiction, though I read Dickens, Hemingway, Graham Greene, James Joyce, Steinbeck, etc for the quality of their writing. My current favourite crime author is Lawrence Block and my favourite book of all time, I think, has to be The Grapes of Wrath.
The inspiration for my writing tends to be whoever I’m reading at the moment because I’m still learning. I find that every writer offers me ideas about how to say something, or how to structure a scene, or how to build a character, and so on. Sometimes, of course, they’ll show me the reverse, how not to say something, how not to structure a scene, because the writing is poor, though this is still useful.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A Shadowed Livery is a crime novel set in rural Warwickshire in the year leading up to the Second World War. Having just witnessed the hanging of a Jewish shopkeeper’s murderer, Inspector James Given is called in to investigate a triple death at a country house and suspects all is not as it seems.
James is a tenacious investigator and harbours a hidden heritage which resonates against the rise of Nazi Germany.
The novel started from a series of pieces I was writing for my writers’ group and took a distinct leap forward when I was told of a murder and double suicide which took place in a quiet setting a few miles from where I now live. It gave me the opportunity to ask ‘what if that’s not really what happened’ and A Shadowed Livery was born. It probably took around five years from writing the first few lines to finding its way to the bookshelves, including quite some time trying to find a publisher then the serious redrafting and editing which followed.

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Featured Interview With Crystal Marcos

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My dad was in the military. I spent many years in different places, the longest I lived was in Hawaii. I lived on opposite sides of Oahu. A couple of other places that I lived: Scotland and Illinois. I currently reside in the Pacific Northwest in Washington State with my husband, our six year old daughter (who just started 1st grade, all day school), and soon to join us, a baby boy in October.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was very young when I discovered I love books. My love of writing developed soon after. My mother would draw pictures and I would write stories about them. I made my first full-length picture book when I was twelve. I still have it.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I mostly read children’s books and young adult books. I also love cooking and baking books. After reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, I knew, without a doubt, I wanted to be an author.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Ideal for Hunger Games and Divergent fans, Crystal Marcos delivers Novus, a riveting novel set in a dystopian future of action-adventure, suspense, and romance. Intriguing characters and a gripping storyline keep the reader turning page after page.

Being a teenager is hard enough. And what if your life’s path is predetermined? On top of that, you aren’t even Human?

Cayden was given life as a Cresecren. He expected to live out his days with the dysfunctional Human family he was assigned to serve. One fateful night, however, landed him in Gavaron, the home of maimed, elderly, or defiant Cresecren.

Beyond its borders is the Den, an area much more dangerous than he ever imagined. Now seventeen, Cayden unwittingly becomes involved in a conspiracy and is one of a handful of survivors fleeing a deadly attack. They set off on a perilous journey in search of refuge and the truth. Along the way, Cayden begins to comprehend the difference between fully living and merely surviving, while trying to balance his emotions and a forbidden love.

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Featured Interview With Martini Fisher

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am of mixed heritage, Asian-Australian, and due to my family’s travels in my childhood I don’t really have my Australian accent anymore when I speak, which I quite miss. My family are history and culture buffs, and I graduated from Macquarie University in Australia with a degree in Ancient History. So most of my writings are to do with ancient cultures, histories and folklore. Now I’m doing my own travels across Asia, hoping to accumulate a body of writing from every cultures in the region.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
For as long as I can remember, really! I have one brother and both of us are quite bookish. My mother told me once that my father practically buried us in books when we were kids to keep us quiet when he had to work from home, which was a good idea, I think, since it made us used to focus from a very young age, and they were great books as I remember, anyway.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Robert Graves. I think he’s brilliant, and he was the writer who got me interested in studying history. My favorite works of his are “I, Claudius” and “Claudius the God.” For a lighter readings, I love anything from P.G Wodehouse, but if I am to recommend anything more specific from him I’d say the Jeeves and Wooster series. As for my inspiration, well, I love to read, and I believe that if you like reading, you have a writer in you. Because all those things you’ve read need to be let out somehow! But, as far as my topics goes, I happen to have a pretty extensive background in history, so I’m always very interested in the past. One day, I was writing a report for one of my subjects in university and my professor wrote in his comment, “try to look at an event with the eyes of the time.” and I realized that a lot of misunderstanding about history, a lot of what makes some historical novels really uninteresting and a big reason why a lot of people tend to ignore folktales, myths and legends, is that the writers would look at something like, say, the story of Emperor Nero or the fall of the Roman Empire from the eyes of a 21 century writer. So that comment always stuck with me, so empathizing and see things from the eyes of my characters became the basis of a lot of my writings.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Songs from a Mountain” is a little novel I wrote three years ago which I never finished until this year. It centers on a mythical mountain which, if you look closely at it, is covered in what seemed to be thousands of faces, and it stood there for hundreds of years. The novel is basically a collection of short stories and musings from the people who lived in the villages near that mountain from the the year 1700’s all the way up to the year 2000’s. It’s a short, and hopefully an easy read.

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Featured Interview With Gary Gautier

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in New Orleans, with degrees from UT-Austin and CU-Boulder, I’ve taught literature at three universities, published children’s and scholarly books, hitchhiked through 35 states and 8 countries, run two marathons, and once, due to a series of misadventures, spent six months as the chef at a French restaurant. Now I’m in New Orleans again, but my backpack sits near the door with bedroll and tent attached with bungees, ready for my next swift exit (with apologies to my day job boss, who may well be reading this).

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Ah, Dr. Seuss! And later, prowling the gloomier corners of used bookstores for volumes of obscure art and esoteric philosophy, antiquated science and forgotten poets. And always writing. If you can write it and not make money at it, I’ve published it – poetry in literary magazines, articles in peer-reviewed journals, children’s and scholarly books. But wait! I can still make money at the children’s books and novels! Just click and purchase! You know you want to!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read mostly classics: Plato and Boethius, Shakespeare and Dickens, Austen and Woolf. More recently (i.e., within the past half-century), celebrated works like Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon or Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera, and offbeat works like Richard Brautigan’s In Watermelon Sugar or Ed Buryn’s wildly alternative travel guide, Vagabonding in Europe and North Africa.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
First a humorous tale of squabbling neighbors; then fitfully a theatrical sketch, a ghost story, a screenplay for the whole family, finally to emerge as my YA novel, Mr. Robert’s Bones. Here you’ll see neighborhood kids rummaging an abandoned house for hidden silver, awakening long-forgotten ghosts of racism and betrayal, and tangling with mysterious old characters who haunt the hood. The quest is especially nerve-racking for Annie, the one who actually sees the ghosts, both of her deceased mother and of the bygone denizens of the house. Her friends want to believe her but can’t, and she herself is torn between running away from it all and following the ghosts into the house’s dark history.

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Featured Interview With Susan Louise Peterson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a rural area, but have lived in Las Vegas, NV for more than 25 years.
I have been on an educational journey working in inner city schools with young children as a school psychologist and early childhood educator. I have seen young children struggle with many issues, but have also seen them grow and develop into wonderful adults.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing as a young child and would write speeches for 4-H club contests and a Toastmaster Club. I fell in love with written self expression.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am often inspired by a simple comment or remark that may spark me to write an entire book on a particular topic. I enjoy descriptive books with an honest look at life. I really enjoyed Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy and her beautiful emotion and realism about facing an illness.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book -Possible Autism (2015) explores parents concerns about autism and developmental delays. Possible Autism compliments my previous books -Is My Child Autistic or Delayed? (2013) and Questionable Autism (2014)

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Featured Interview With Barbara J. Rebbeck

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Wyandotte, Michigan and this year I am returning there for the fiftieth reunion of my high school graduation. I am very young at heart, however! My dad was British and my mom, American so part of my heart has always been in London, England. I visit relatives there often.

I have a two-year-old cat, named Gracie. She is named for the main character in my novel, “NOLA Gals.” She had a litter of six kitties before I even knew her and is very loving.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The Bobsey Twins and Nancy Drew captured my heart early on. In first grade we took a class trip to the local public library, and I received my first library card and checked out the book, “Biddy and the Ducks.” Unfortunately, I didn’t realize I had to return the book eventually. My mom was not happy when I found the book in a pile of other books, and she had to pay a hefty fine for me.

I started writing early on when I gathered the neighborhood kids, and we performed plays I authored. I taught my younger siblings to read and write. I was a teacher very early on. My fourth grade teacher, Miss Downes let me write and produce plays at school and I was thrilled.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love reading fiction, poetry, memoir, historical fiction and history. I was a French major in college so I like to challenge myself by reading books in French, too.
My current favorite author is Hillary Mantel. Her “Wolf Hall” trilogy (still waiting for volume 3, Hillary!) about Henry VIII is brilliant, and I was lucky enough to be in London to see two plays based on these books. Hillary Mantel was at the theater for both performances and signing programs. I’ve read her memoir and other titles she’s written, too. When I find a new favorite writer, I tend to read everything by them, plus critical reviews and biographies. I guess that’s a logical progression from reading ALL the Nancy Drew series as a kid.

I’ve also loved reading the works of Daphne DuMaurier, especially “Rebecca.” I have the movie versions of that classic. I can feel the winds coming into the great windows of Manderley from the Cornish coast as I read. She sets such a mysterious, brooding mood that engulfs me as a reader.

The works of Thomas Hardy also grab me. When I first read or tried to read “The Return of the Native” in high school I crashed and burned, hating it. Around the age of thirty, it clicked for me and now “Jude The Obscure” is a favorite. The movie versions are terrific of all his works. I’ve read his poetry, too.

Sharon Olds is my favorite poet. Her words cut to the core of life. She is a bold writer, baring it all, making me want to take risks with my own writing.

YA writers I admire and learn from are John Green, Christopher Paul Curtis, and Gary Paulson. I’ve learned from them how to grab the attention of kids. One student told me that he’d never read a novel like my book, ‘NOLA Gals” that made him feel so deeply. That’s important to be able to tear kids away from their tech devices and get them into a good read. Books change lives. That’s why I pay tribute to the classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird” in my book. I reached back to former students of mine and had them write about first reading “Mockingbird” and its effect on them. These pieces appear in the Afterword to “NOLA Gals.”

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“NOLA Gals” is the story of two teens caught up in the aftermath of the deadliest storm ever to hit out shores, Hurricane Katrina. Essence LaFontaine of New Orleans and Grace Woodson of Houston don’t know each other. Grace, a rich entitled girl and Essence, having lost it all, have little in common but the desire to survive. They meet when Essence and her little sister, Char are evacuated to Houston. The NOLA girls attend the posh St. Catherine’s school and trouble follows as they are not welcomed by all, including Grace’s best friend, Lindsey. And whose side is Jack, Grace’s new boyfriend on? This is the story of two girls from completely different walks of life and their journey to bring about a healing that will change their lives forever.

I first had the idea for the book after watching all the TV coverage of the tragic storm in 2005. It took me about two years to write, part of that time being spent on intensive research. At the end of the book readers will find a comprehensive source list of reading, music and video suggestions. I have read or viewed or listened to everything on that long list. A writer owes it to readers to be up on all the details and history behind the story they offer. That’s the beauty and the work behind creating a piece of historical fiction. Readers have commented on how real my fictional teens sound. I chalk that up to years of teaching and interacting with teens in classrooms. I continue to work in classes with the book and find that so rewarding that I have now started on a sequel that will cover Essence’s story for the ten years following the storm, written as her memoir. I am in the research stage now which I love. Curiosity is the number one trait a writer can have in my view. You can see photos and student samples of writing from class visits on my website at nolagals.com I hope to visit New Orleans classes this year and have donated some royalties to schools there.

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Featured Interview With William Stacey

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hi, I’m William. I’m a husband, a father, and a proud owner of a German Shepherd named Thor who keeps me company in the wee hours of the night when I write. I am an ex-soldier, and I was an Intelligence Officer in the Canadian army for 32 years. I have operational tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan… and posting to Bermuda and San Diego, so it wasn’t all loud and violent. I grew up in Port Moody, British Columbia and now live just outside Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I’m into exercise, martial arts, and all things medieval. I love horror, fantasy, and science-fiction.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been a big reader. I remember reading the Hobbit in one sitting (admittedly, it’s not a large novel). I’ve started and stopped books many times over the years, but it wasn’t until a tour in Kandahar in 2004 when I had an epiphany and realized I wanted nothing more than to write stories. Ten years later, here I am.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Steven King, J.R.R. Tolkien, G.R.R. Martin, H.P. Lovecraft, Graham Masterton, and Robert E. Howard–and so many others. My first love is fantasy, but I do dig me some awesome science-fiction and horror as well. Is there anything better than H.P. Lovecrafts elder gods?

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Starlight: Book 1 of the Dark Elf War is the first part of a three-book series detailing a war between technology and magic for Earth. I always wanted to create a world where my heroine could cast fireballs at orcs, now I have just that. Picture a world where the forces of dark magic outflank and outfight our best armies. It’s gonna be fun! It took me two years to write and is by far my best work. I ‘ve very proud of it.

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Featured Interview With Michellene Barrett

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
As an high school senior, I published my first juvenile fiction Englisha and David’s Adventurous Vacation. The story of Englisha and David is about two teens who embark on a journey of independence and self-discovery where they learn the value of love, forgiveness and living life to the fullest.

I graduated from Columbia University Teachers College with a master’s degree in Literacy and I am currently an elementary school teacher in Brooklyn.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
In the fourth grade, I begin writing stories about the adventures of Englisha and David. My classmates would gather around and listen. They would say, “Michellene, you need to be a published author. Your stories are so funny.” Right there in my classroom, my desire to be a writer was born. I began my quest to becoming a published author and eight years later, it became a reality.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As a child when I first began writing fiction, my favorite authors were Judy Blume, Louis Sachar and Roald Dahl. These authors inspired my writings. My favorite genre is fiction but I really enjoy reading self-help books now like Act Like A Success, Think Like A Success by Steve Harvey and Break Out! by Joel Osteen.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first book is Englisha and David’s Adventurous Vacation. The main characters are Englisha and David. Englisha had a crush on David since her freshmen year of high school but he always had a girlfriend. When David broke up with his girlfriend, Englisha thought it was time to make her move. Englisha was hesitant and nervous about how to approach David. But with the encouragement from her friends, she gained the confidence to invite David to her sweet sixteen party. To Englisha’s astonishment, David quickly agrees to attend her birthday party. At Englisha’s party, her mother makes a surprising announcement that she has helped arrange a weeklong vacation in Los Angeles for the teens. Englisha and David arrive in LA with high hopes. But when a series of unfortunate events begin to cloud their happiness, these teens soon realize the value of love, forgiveness and living each day to the fullest.

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Michellene Barrett’s Website

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Featured Interview With Sean V. Lehosit

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Sean V. Lehosit is a freelance journalist and history buff living in Columbus, Ohio with his infant son, Kade, and a loyal beagle, Freya.

In 2010, he graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in English. Lehosit has about 10 years experience reporting on small government, education, business and entertainment.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
In middle school, my teacher passed around a series of stock photos and asked the class to fabricate a story for each image. After writing the short-stories, the librarian pasted the tales under the photos and bound the pages together. When I held the little book in my hands, I knew wholeheartedly I wanted to be a writer.

I begged my mother to drive me up to the library every weekend. I recall being upset I could only check-out five books a week; I gobbled them up so fast.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
When I’m not diving into a history book or memoir, I enjoy reading crime and court thrillers. Michael Connelly is the master of both these genres and he inspires me not only as an author, but from his career as a journalist.

When I read his non-fiction work, “Crime Beat,” which collected his articles from times he covered the police beat in Florida. This book proved news articles don’t need to be bland, but the reporter can showcase the narrative in an engaging and creative way. A practice I try to emulate in my own journalism endeavors.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My upcoming work, “Images of America: West Columbus,” traces the history of the region’s pocket neighborhoods. It takes readers on a journey to see the effects of the Civil War, its transition from farmlands to subdivisions and industry, and the birth of the largest school district in Ohio, among other incredible stories.

It also includes more than 180 historical photos, including unseen pictures of early settlers and families.

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Featured Interview With N.D. Jackson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Chicago and spent most of my childhood in a suburb close to an hour away from the city. I went to college and grad school smack in the center of the state, which you’ll be able to see in my stories.
My husband and I now live in Germany, a small town outside of Stuttgart, but before that we met and fell in love in Boston before moving to sunny Los Angeles. We travel too much for pets these days but I always miss my turtle Bob Dylan Thomas.
When I’m not writing, which is rare, I’m listening to music (classic rock mostly or alternative), cooking (Indian food is my absolute favorite!) and catching up on my favorite American TV shows.
I have recently developed an addiction to Zumba, cupcakes and Alabama Shakes.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can’t say for certain but I remember killing it during the summer when my elementary school had those read-a-thons. My family didn’t have a lot of money but they all chipped in because they knew I would read tons of books even when I didn’t have to. When I was in 3rd grade that was the first time I can remember grabbing a book instead of flipping on the television. The next year I wrote my first story, as much as a 9 year old can write a story. It was a blend of my two loves; politics and romance. It was a romantic thriller involving me as a teenager and saving the First Son who, of course, was totally dreamy and ever so grateful to me!
Today that has pretty much continued. My first romance novel has a hint of local politics in it, the second has small business themes and my 3rd novel is a political satire of capital punishment. So as you can see I still love what I’ve always loved. Politics & Love.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my ‘go to’ authors include Susan Mallery, Jill Shalvis and Marquita Valentine when it comes to romance. Although he hasn’t written anything lately when I want a cynical laugh about the state of politics Christopher Buckley is my guy but sometimes I go to P.J. O’Rourke.
When I’m in search of a new book I look for romance, political satires/thrillers and any type of murder mystery. Occasionally I’ll venture into another genre, usually when a fellow author wants feedback and sometimes I stick with the genre.
In my writing I guess Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery and big inspirations because they have successfully combined the quirky small town feel (Fools Gold & Lucky Harbor) with real life modern people with modern problems. Their towns aren’t throwbacks, they are just small and that’s something I hope my Mustang Prairie series achieves. I love that not everyone is perfect but even those who have problems aren’t full of angst, it makes for a good story even when times get tough.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is not a romance but a political satire. It is about an event planner named Lucky who, despite her best efforts, has trouble hanging on to a job. Her best friend Taryn is ambitious and thinks Lucky would be the perfect Post Conviction Events Coordinator, which is just a fancy way of saying she’ll “put on” the executions. The Governor is a legacy, her grandfather was Governor for 3 separate terms and she has a lot to live up to, which is why she reinstated the death penalty against her Party’s wishes. Now she wants to make the executions family friendly.
The biggest problem for these ladies is a mass murderer turned pastor who refuses to be put to death. Pastor Bishop Parsons is a reformed man but Governor Madigan must appear strong and tough on crime. Lucky begins to question her job while Taryn hopes to parlay their successes into a better job with a higher profile politician.
This is actually the second book I wrote when I decided to make a go of being a published author. It sat untouched for a long time because I couldn’t get the ending I wanted. Lucky and Parsons just wouldn’t cooperate with me so I put it away and came back to it years later, newly inspired and made plenty of changes.
When I came back to it I wanted it to feel like Legally Blonde meets Thank You For Smoking, so dark but funny. Of course it is very difficult to make this topic funny but even in college this was an issue close to my heart and I knew I had to do the story and the topic justice.

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Featured Interview With Bobbie Ann Cole

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My first book was “She Does Not Fear the Snow,” my story of coming to faith in a Jerusalem church where, as a Jew, I thought I wasn’t supposed to be. It was a Munce 2012 prizewinner and became an Amazon #1 bestseller. I came to faith in the Land of Israel and was blessed with a new husband of faith, like biblical Ruth. The title is inspired by Proverbs 31, a line from the description of the attributes of a good woman. It seemed an especially good fit for my title because my husband is a Canadian: actually, though, it’s a bit of a fib. I am afraid of the snow.
After we were married, we lived in Israel for 2 years. We now divide our time between Canada and my native England.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first story at age 6 on the back of a school report card that I still have. It was Hansel and Gretel. When the children left a breadcrumb trail “it didn’t go cwit the way they had inspecte,” I wrote. “The birds et all the crums up.”

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I think I may have created a new genre: investigative memoir. This is the genre I attribute to “Love Triangles, Discovering Jesus the Jew in Today’s Israel” because interviews make it as much a reflection of my interests as of my story.
I have discerned strands of investigative memoir in Susan Orlean’s “The Orchid Thief”. My approach to creative non-fiction has been inspired by Laura Hillenbrand’s “Seabiscuit” and my favorite memoir is Derek Prince’s “Appointment in Jerusalem”.
This does not exclude Daphne du Maurier from being my favorite all-time writer. She has a wonderful way of creating atmosphere.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Love Triangles, Discovering Jesus the Jew in Today’s Israel” is kind of a sequel to “She Does Not Fear the Snow” since it deals with the two years Butch, my husband, and I spent in Israel, following our marriage. It was a time full of joys in meeting Jesus in every stunning landscape but also challenges, since Israel and its people do not like Jews who believe in Jesus.
It was on my heart to write about our time in Israel for several years before understanding what kind of a story I needed to tell. In the end I have blended memoir, history, Scripture and investigative journalism into an account of what it felt like to be living in God’s Holy Land.

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Featured Interview With Gabriel Constans

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Raised in a lumber town, until moving to Bay Area in 1975 (Santa Cruz), where I still joyfully reside. Our cat Eggy died a few years ago, but we still have a parakeet named Bird.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The teen years were the catalyst for my interest in reading and writing. It was then that I began writing an alternative newspaper at high school, and short stories. Have been writing ever since. A lot of my beginning work was non-fiction, which morphed into a number of profiles, and later brought me into journalism. Many of my articles have appeared in magazines, newspapers and journals in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. It was about 25 years ago that I began writing books (both fiction and nonfiction).

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Author’s that I always look forward to reading, or who wrote in the past, are Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Isabelle Allende, Chitra Divakaruna, Pat Conroy, Mark Twain and Ruth Ozeki (for starters).

Presently, I enjoy reading literary contemporary and cross-cultural fiction.

Bell Hooks has, and still, inspires my writing, as has my work at hospice, in the hospital, in prisons and personal relationships.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Loving Annalise is an erotic European romance, based on a true story. After years of poverty, heartbreak, loss and betrayal, Tomas enters Annalise’s world and shatters the iron casing she’s erected around her heart. Tomas is kind, intelligent, romantic and handsome, but he’s also her husband’s brother!

This novel has been cultivated over many years. The story originally came from a nurse I worked with at hospice. We sat down for many days as she told me the story about her life growing up very poor in Austria, the man she met and married (and who abused her for years), and the man who showed her what real love can be.

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Featured Interview With Nina Mansfield

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in New York City, but I grew up in a small town in the suburbs. I currently live in Connecticut just a short walk away from Long Island Sound. I love living near the water. Water inspires a great deal of my writing. I have two cats, Coco and Cookie. When I’m not writing, I enjoy seeing theater, traveling, practicing yoga and spending time with my husband and daughter.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote and illustrated my first book when I was about five years old. I attempted to write my first play when I was seven. I remember my mother taking my brother and me to our local library often when I was quite young. I was so excited when I was old enough to get my very own library card. I would spend hours lounging around reading whatever I could. So, for as long as I can remember, I have adored books.

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 I’m crazy about. Lately, my favorites are Gillian Flynn, Tana French and PD James. From this list you might be able to tell that my favorite genre to read is mystery. But I read all sorts of things: plays, YA, nonfiction, historical fiction, etc.. For a while, I was hooked on nonfiction books that dealt with geography. For some reason, that’s what I was in the mood for. As for who inspires me, I have to say that one of my earliest inspirations was Lois Duncan. Her books made me want to become a writer.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
SWIMMING ALONE is a young adult mystery that combines two of my favorite elements: the beach and suspense. My protagonist, the quirky Cathy Banks, is spending her summer in the town of Beach Point, Rhode Island. A summer by the beach would be ideal, but there’s a serial killer on the loose in Beach Point. When Cathy’s new friend Lauren disappears, she is convinced the Sea Side Strangler has claimed his latest victim. I wrote the first draft of SWIMMING ALONE about 10 years ago when I decided to take my writing seriously. Many rewrites later, I am excited to see the book in print!

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Featured Interview With Stephen T. Brophy

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, which I ended up choosing as the setting for my first novella, The Villain’s Sidekick, even though I haven’t lived there in years. I left Texas after college and settled for a good long while in San Francisco, where I landed my first paid writing gig after many years working below my abilities in restaurants and cafes and the like. Once bitten, I couldn’t go back to those day jobs, so my girlfriend (now wife) and I relocated to Los Angeles a few years back. We now have a pretty amazing son and two wonderful, tragically aging dogs, a neurotic Lab mix and a pit bull/boxer.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was born to two voracious readers, so the love of reading was instilled from about as early as I can remember. I actually had a little difficulty learning to read but once I got it, I took to it like a Great White shark to a helpless sea lion, and within very short order I was bored with kiddie lit and moving on to grown-up books. I remember reading “Jaws” when I was 8 years old (hence the shark reference) after being so enthralled by the movie. So, fittingly enough, when I started writing, my first book was entitled “Jaws,” and involved a shark who could walk on land (SNL had just started airing around that time, too, so dual influences at work). I wrote a lot of derivative stuff until I found my own “voice.” Which is really probably just a mash-up of all the authors and stories I’ve encountered and loved ever since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genres are science fiction (Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, John Brunner, Ramez Naam), crime fiction (James Ellroy, Jim Thompson, Charles Willeford, Elmore Leonard), and the literature of the dissolute (Bukowski, Hunter S. Thompson, Don Delillo). They’ve all equally inspired what I do now. But the biggest influence over the last few years–and at my age maybe I should be embarrassed to admit this but I’m so not–has been a rekindled love of comics, from weird indies to straight up mainstream superhero fare. I’d read them off and on since adolescence, but when a friend introduced me to Sleeper by Ed Brubaker, and I went on to read his Captain America stuff, I became more immersed than I’d ever been. In fact, I’d been kind of stuck on a science fiction story I was telling and it was only when I got the inspiration that I could include superpowered characters and take it to a more interesting, liberating place. Since then, I’ve read a LOT of superhero prose fiction–basically comic books without the pictures, I guess, but so much more, too–like Austin Grossman’s “Soon I Will Be Invincible,” Jim Bernheimer’s “Confessions of a D-List Supervillain, Rafael Chandler’s “The Astounding Antagonists,” Blake Northcott’s “Arena Mode” series and on and on. It’s really a whole terrific genre just waiting to be discovered by the mainstream. And with the current popularity of superheroes in film, it seems just a matter of when.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’ve written two novellas featuring my alter-ego, Duke “HandCannon” LaRue, a supervillain’s henchman with a machine gun arm, a steel jaw, an ex-wife who used to do crimes with him before the birth of their adorable precocious daughter, and all the troubles that go with being a semi-reformed bad guy in a 12-step program who may be harboring a hero beneath his frightening exterior. He’s basically the distillation of all that Bukowski, Jim Thompson and William Gibson I mentioned up top. There’s The Villain’s Sidekick and it’s short prequel, The Eternity Conundrum, and I’m currently working on a full-length sequel, Citizen Skin. The sequel alternates POVs from chapter to chapter between HandCannon and his badass best friend Trista Brooks, also known as Nightguard. She’s a supporting character in Villain’s who steps large on the stage in the follow up.

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Featured Interview With Joannes Rhino

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. I don’t really like living in the big city, and therefore I moved to Bali 5 since 2010. I am a dog person, and I have 4 large dogs breed running around in my yard.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always imagine someday I will be a great author with lots of fans. I realize my talent in writing when a friend asked me to write her a love poem in high school.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Sidney Sheldon, but I prefer to read anything that has to do with physiology. I get my inspiration mostly from my life experience. I think it’s easier to tell someone about something that really happen to you.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is The Unseen Face, a psychology/thriller genre. The Unseen Face is a real nice story about James, a young man with some deep, hidden issues that come to the surface following a few events. He starts having bad dreams and troubles interacting at work and with his loving girlfriend. Events unfold nicely when he speaks to a psychiatrist that his friend set him up with. The ending is a heartfelt moral story about love and forgiveness and also freedom of yourself and others to live how you desire.

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Featured Interview With James Gordon

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
James Gordon is an international award winning author and poet who is known by the initials G.P.A.(Greatest Poet Alive) and hails from Chicago Il. He is the author of six books of Poetry, a Children’s Book, and his first novel The Warmest Winter (A James Gordon Mystery). James can be seen on upcoming episodes of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Empire, and Chicago Med, as well as the movies A Slice of Life and Batman vs Superman. He can be at his website www.iblowyourmind.net and on Twitter at gr8estpoetalive

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’v been an avid reader since the 6th grade, ever since i read The Three Musketeers. I started writing in 2007. Those were poems that went into my first book, The Confessional Heart of a Man

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Carl Weber, James Patterson, Kottyn Campbell, Juan Diaz, Christine Pauls.
My favorite genre to read is mystery and suspense and poetry. 50 Cent, Kobe Bryant, and other “villains” inspire me to write and be the best

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Warmest Winter is a murder mystery set in an uncharacteristically, warm January in Chicago. Dr. Miles Livingston, a prominent physician, has been accused of murdering his wife and two children. The daunting task of proving his innocence is up to his friend and attorney James Gordon

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