Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Amber Drappier

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised on the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago where I grew up with my mother, father, and brother. I have a degree in Human Resource Management. I’m a bit of an introvert who tends to get along with the characters in my head better than real people but that’s something I’m working on fixing!

My father is Belgian so I’ve spent some time in Europe with my grandparents who lived in the Netherlands, and right now I live with my husband in Florida, USA, with five cats, three dogs and an assortment of birds (they’re not exactly my pets but they live in and around my house)

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think in a way I’ve been interested in both reading and writing since I was able to comprehend words. Growing up my mother always encouraged me to read and she taught me to write at a very early age. Somehow I always knew I wanted to be an author, or at the very least a storyteller.

I grew up reading fairy tales and stories by Enid Blyton, and Lewis Carroll. But when I was about eleven, I started reading H.G. Wells, J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen King, and by fourteen, I was reading Nabokov, Steinbeck, Dan Brown and Chuck Palahniuk.

I also remember that at five years old, I used to take the cardboard strips out of the box of tea bags and I’d use my father’s stapler to crudely fashion a “book” for myself. Then I’d write stories (many time with complete illustrations) and I’d sell them to my parents for ten to twenty-five cents a piece. I was also known for being quite the storyteller in school and most of my friends likely remember my wild stories more than they would me!

Regardless of everything, I can say with quite surety that writing is my hobby and my passion, and even though I have countless unpublished novels, stories and manuscripts I find great joy in allowing a story to take me some place new.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My tastes are eclectic and I suppose my genre preference really depends on my mood and frame of mind. Mostly though I enjoy reading (and writing) thriller, horror, suspense, paranormal stories. Though I have been known to enjoy romance, young adult, crime, drama and children’s books and stories.

In terms of my favorite authors, the list really does go on and on—Stephen King, John Perkins, Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, Lewis Carroll, Jean Rhys, John Steinbeck, H.G. Wells, Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl, Joyce Carol Oates, Paulo Coelho, J.K. Rowling, Isabel Allende, Chuck Palahniuk, Janet Fitch , Friedrich Nietzsche, V.S. Naipaul, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen Hawking, Jeff Lindsay, Vladimir Nabokov etc.

In terms of my inspiration, I honestly think I am inspired by everything and everyone I see, meet, and read. Sometimes out of nowhere an idea for a story comes to me, so I try to be receptive in everything I see and do. For example, a single phrase from Stephen King’s “The Waste Lands” inspired me to write a two hundred page futuristic novel. The phrase was: “All is silent in the halls of the dead.”

Inspiration tends to comes from life and the world around me and it usually comes at the strangest of moments, though if I had to narrow it down, I’d say that most of my ideas come to me at night while I lay semi-asleep in the darkness or in the middle of my shower when there’s no way I can get out and write things down.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest published book is entitled “Unnatural Encounters: Only in Trinidad and Tobago” and it’s based on the folkloric characters of my home island.

The book itself consists of a series of short stories and real life encounters with the supernatural beings that have been known to exist on our island, but I think the true beauty of it is that it simultaneously highlights the rich and diverse Trinbagonian culture while enveloping you in a world of supernatural lore.

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Featured Interview With Augustine Sam

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an Italian citizen of African descent. I currently live in the Venice region of Italy and I don’t have any pets. By way of introduction, I’m a journalist by profession, a novelist by choice, and a poet by chance. I am a member of the U.K. Chartered Institute of Journalists, formerly special desk editor at ThisDay newspapers, an authoritative third world daily, first published in collaboration with the Financial Times of London. I am the author of Take Back the Memory, a contemporary women’s fiction that was awarded a 5-star seal by Readers’ Favorite. My poems have been published in two international anthologies: The Sounds of Silence and Measures of the Heart. One of those poems, Anguish & Passion, was adjudged winner of the Editors’ Choice Award in the 1998 North America Open Poetry contest, sponsored by the National Library of Poetry, USA. And on St. Valentine’s Day this year, my complete collection of poems, Flashes of Emotion, was released.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I had a passion for writing when I was a kid. I remember that while some of my friends kept toys I kept piles of notebooks where I wrote short stories that I invented mainly for the pleasure of my two sisters who, by the way, were my first real fans and readers. Back then, we used to sit by the radio every Thursday evening and listen to the radio theater, which was very entertaining. One day, I told my sisters that I wanted to write a play for the radio. Mercifully, they didn’t dismiss it as an untenable dream. So, I converted one of my short stories into a play and took it to the radio station. The producer of the radio theater, who was used to receiving scripts from Theater Arts students and lecturers from the local university, tried her best to be polite, took the script from me and sent me home.
A week later, I went back to see her, half-expecting to be politely dismissed. I was pleasantly surprised when she told me that she had actually read and enjoyed the script and then scolded me for giving her a script with no phone number or a forwarding address attached. The next Thursday evening, when we sat by the radio and heard the words: “The Breaking Point, a play for radio, written by Augustine Sam,” my sisters and I just looked at one another and started screaming.
I think what inspired me to write was my first literature textbook in school, which coincidentally, was a novel set in the port city where I grew up. It was the story of a one-eyed, shabby, old man, who spent his days at the harbor contriving different kinds of mischief that enthralled the local population. I had seen him at the harbor a few times when I was a kid. So, reading about him in the literature textbook triggered my fascination with storytelling and gave me a whole new insight into how the written word can actually capture reality.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Oscar Wilde, Umberto Eco, Frank McCourt, Arundhati Roy, and Scott Turow, to name but a few.
My favorite genres are mystery/thriller, contemporary women’s fiction, and poetry. But I read literary fiction as well. Sometimes, even romance and/or chicklit when the premise of a book intrigues me.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Flashes of Emotion, a book of poetry collection, is my latest book. While some poems in it were just creative explosions that occur as part of my constant mental process, others were directly inspired by events, people, and situations around me over a period of time. This collection follows Take Back the Memory, which was released shortly before it. It is a psychological exposé on love, betrayal, vengeance, and a heart-wrenching secret.

Interestingly, it started as part of a chapter in another story I was working on. Initially, I wanted to use it in a chapter about a date night to portray a particular scene from a movie that affected the protagonist of the original story, but somehow I couldn’t. The more I worked on it the more it expanded and soon began to detach itself from the original plot. I contemplated it for a long time and then it occurred to me that the story of Paige Lyman could actually be a novel on its own. As a writer, I usually let my inspiration dictate the direction of my creative endeavors, so I suspended the original story and began to focus on plot development for what later became Take Back the Memory.

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Featured Interview With Samantha Bryant

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Bellevue, Kentucky, which, then, was a small town of 10,000 or so people just outside Cincinnati, Ohio. Now, it doesn’t seem the same place at all, having fallen victim to condos and gentrification. At least gentrification makes it easier to find a good restaurant when I visit.

As an adult, I’ve lived in Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Vermont, Madrid, Spain and Oxford, England. I now live in North Carolina with my husband, two daughters, and rescue dog (a lovely Australian shepherd named O’Neill). I prefer small places to large and worry that Hillsborough is growing too fast for me.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been a reader, even before I could read. My mother could bribe me into behaving well at the grocery store with the promise of buying me a new Little Golden Book and the library was my favorite place. I memorized my book of Mother Goose nursery rhymes when I was three and convinced many relatives that I could already read.

I began writing in first grade. Mrs. Alsdorf gave us a handwriting assignment where we had to neatly copy poetry and make a portfolio for it out of a wallpaper sample. My handwriting is still atrocious, but I credit that assignment with helping me fall in love with words. When Mrs. Alsdorf told me that I could write poetry myself if I wanted to, I did. I still have a poem I wrote around then. It’s called “Beauty” and is a set of rhymed couplets. The lines I remember are “Beauty is in the big, tall trees/bending over in the breeze.”

These days, I don’t write as much poetry, but a day with no new words in it seems a thin and sad thing indeed.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Neil Gaiman is the only author I will preorder every book from, but I enjoy a wide variety of authors from classics like Jane Austen and Emily Dickinson to speculative fiction writers like Nancy Kress and Larry Correia to literary fiction writers like Anne Tyler and Margaret Atwood. I don’t have one favorite genre, although I’ve been reading more speculative fiction since that is what I’m writing now. I’m inspired by beautiful writing about interesting characters in interesting situations, regardless of genre.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel is, as the title suggests, a superhero novel about menopausal women. I enjoyed writing a superhero novel for women like me: over forty, with families and jobs. The idea sprang from reading a lot of comic books and getting tired of too many stories about angsty underdressed teenagers. To me, the interesting part isn’t just the powers, though that is fun–it’s about ordinary people dealing with extraordinary situations and what their actions reveal about them as people.

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Featured Interview With Judy Scognamillo

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on a farm in North Dakota. When I was nineteen I ventured out to California to visit my sister and met my husband. We have three children, two grandsons and two-step grandsons. We live in Rancho Mirage now and consider ourselves semi-retired, whatever that means. It seems to me that we are busier now than ever.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always been a reader since I can remember. We didn’t have a TV until I was thirteen years old, so a book was constantly in my hands as a form of entertainment. I began writing at an early age. I was very shy and writing was a way to express myself. After I married I became very busy with raising children and a large assortment of animals so put my love for writing aside for many years. One day my husband and I were on a road trip and the idea for my book “The Hope Mother” popped into my head. I told him “I have this story floating around in my head and I am going to turn it into a book”. Six months later I had a rough draft and then my life got busy again. So, there it sat in my computer for another few years until my children urged me to publish it. I finally did in September of 2014.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I really have no favorite writers; I enjoy any genre, but if I don’t connect with the story by the time I am about one-third of the way through, I lose interest. I enjoy and read mostly fiction and adore stories about animals.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Hope Mother is a story of a woman named Pam who dies and when she enters Heaven she is told she must view her entire life before she can move on to her eternal one. She is assigned a teacher who helps her through this transition and they discover that the twins she lost on earth must be found by a search of Heaven’s boundaries. Lucifer had played a part in the death of her children because of his infatuation with Pam, and when he shows up in Heaven, she and her teacher turn to God’s Archangels for help.
My book offers an alternative view of the afterlife and Heaven. And this Heaven’s occupants have problems they too must solve. I include many of God’s Archangels that protect and rule Heaven’s occupants. And there is a special part of Heaven for animals because I feel they do so much on earth for mankind that they deserve a peaceful afterlife.

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Featured Interview With John C. Dalglish

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and adopted when I was just a baby.(Some may see the connection in my first book)

I lost my father at 13 and my mother remarried when I was 16, moving us to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

It was there that I met my wife of 31 years, Beverly, and became the father of three wonderful sons.

We moved to Missouri in 1989 and are still here. I became an American citizen in 1991.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started my first book when I was 18 but it never got completed. Encouraged by my wife, I tried again and have loved every minute.

I hope people enjoy reading them as much as I do writing them.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Clancy, Bombeck taught me how to write funny.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The latest thing I have out out is a collection of the first ten Det. Jason Strong Books.

My latest WIP is a new genre for me. Historical Fiction with the overtone of Romance. I hope to have it out by May 1st.

Keiko Yoshida is a beautiful, young Japanese-American in Pre-WWII San Francisco.

Jesse Sommers is a native San Franciscan, who walks into Keiko’s life just months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Neither has any way of knowing what is coming, nor the impact events will have on their lives, but they are determined to hold on to their love ‘TORN BY THE SUN’

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Featured Interview With Debbie Manber Kupfer

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in London and have lived in Israel, New York, North Carolina and today live in St. Louis, MO with my husband, 2 kids and the real ruler of our household our kitty, Miri Billie Joe.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can’t remember a time when I was not fascinated with books. My favorite childhood read was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which I could practically recite from memory.

I also started writing at a young age and wrote a series of “books” in exercise books all based around my friends and school.

I carried on writing in adulthood, but rarely showed my writing to anyone. I always thought I would eventually write a novel, but felt I had all the time in the world. When however a few years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer I started to realize that if I wanted that dream to become a reality I needed to make it happen, so in November 2012 I started writing P.A.W.S. during NaNoWriMo. At the end of the month I had written the first draft of my novel, but still didn’t really know what to with it.

A few months later I decided to take my prologue to a local writer’s group. At that meeting I met Robin Tidwell of Rocking Horse Publishing and the rest as we like to say is history.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have many favorite writers as I love to read, but my absolute favorites are Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and J K Rowling. Rowling is probably the biggest influence on my writing as my main series, P.A.W.S., is YA fantasy and I believe all YA authors owe to debt to Rowling for getting kids excited about reading.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Rocking Horse published the second book of my P.A.W.S. series, Argentum, last November and I am currently working on number 3, that all being well will be out later this year.

I also recently self-published a book of logic puzzles with my son, Joey. This was a labor of love. We took a long time putting the puzzles together and making sure they were perfect.

Lastly this week I published a brand new ebook of three short stories – Will There Be Watermelons on Mars? The book is based on my experiences in Israel and while the stories are speculative they also hold a lot of truth.

I’m also really excited to be able to use a photograph of Jerusalem that my father took on the cover. He was an avid photographer and left me with thousands of his photographs. You can check out his pictures on a FB page I set up in his honor, The Photographic World of Walter Manber.

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Featured Interview With Nancy Stohlman

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was actually raised a military brat, so we moved every couple of years. My formative childhood years were spent overseas, Germany and Spain, and then I landed in Omaha Nebraska just in time for teenaged.
Travel continued for me as I spent many years as a traveling artisan and gypsy at the Renaissance Faire before I landed in Denver.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Age 7. I was writing by age 9, not only writing but volunteering at the library on weekends.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like the lyrical and the absurd. I love Nabokov, Hemingway, Kerouac, Atwood, Kafka,
I’m driven by omission–what is left out. What is not said. I think there is an art to implication, and that is why I’m passionate about flash fiction.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Vixen Scream and Other Bible Stories is my first solo flash fiction collection (I’ve been the editor of three flash fiction anthologies as well). Called “Hilarious, irreverent, twisted, bawdy, and brilliant,” it exposes the power and delight of highly crafted stories in small spaces. With “hints of Kafka, Hoffman, Borges”, these stories are surreal, sensual, farcical, absurd, and deeply human, woven together by the mysterious and seductive presence of The Fox.

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Featured Interview With Chris Fox

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My childhood was extremely interesting and I have the dubious distinction of having been on the back of a milk carton (for you kids that means I was kidnapped). I’d moved to eleven different states by the time I was ten years old, but eventually settled on Northern California as home. I currently live in Marin county, which is incredibly beautiful but also extremely expensive.

I have the best pet situation ever! I live with two cats, but they belong to my girlfriend and her sister, so I get all the furry love with none of the work. Good times!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started seriously reading at age 6 when my mother bought me some Choose Your Own Adventure books for Christmas. From then on I could always be found with a book in my hand, and by the time I was eight I’d started writing as well. I had my first story published when I was sixteen, but took a long break to get into software.

I came back to writing in 2010 and put out my first novel in October of 2014. It’s been a long journey, and I still have a TON to learn about writing. It’s something I love doing though, and mastering my craft is a passion.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Tad Williams, Jim Butcher and Brandon Sanderson. I usually read fantasy or urban fantasy, but have recently been branching more into Science Fiction. The more I write the more inspired I am to read, because every author has something to teach!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
No Mere Zombie is the next book in the Deathless Saga. It involves ancient cultures, power armor, the end of the world, Egyptian goddesses and a whole lot of zombies!

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Featured Interview With Bobby Brown

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Western MA. In fact, I still live in the town of my birth. I just love the New England Seasons. It is the month of March as I respond to this interview. Here is a poem that I wrote about March in New England:

A Few Thoughts for March

The sun is so distant, the days stand tall

The weather is a potpourri, of each season and all

The rains chase the snows, the skies are blurred

The winters go not gently, the winds are absurd

The warmth is fleeting, the snowflakes linger

And the lonely robin is the only singer

But the days grow longer and lessen the gloom

And soon the springtime will be in bloom

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was always interested in reading but I didn’t start writing until after my college years. Here is a poem I wrote about writing poetry and the reason why I write:

A Poem

I’d love to write a poem

One that tends to flow

And then present it to the world

Like a present, with a bow

One that enriches the mind

And warms the gentle heart

One that gives the reader

That brand new blessed start

One that makes him appreciate

The beauty of time and space

One that puts on a smile

Across a lonely face

One that makes him think

And encourages him to love

One that makes him realize

That there is a God, above…

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy reading CS Lewis, Philip Yancy, Thomas Merton and Robert Frost. I like poetry, especially Christian poetry but I will read anything spiritual. Here is apoem I wrote about Robert Frost:

A TRIBUTE TO ROBERT FROST

He wrote about THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

PASTURES, SAND DUNES, and MENDING A WALL

He wrote of THE TUFT OF FLOWERS and THE THAWING WIND

And that seemed to be his call.

He wrote of BLUEBERRIES and SPRINGPOOLS

FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN that dazzle with light

He wrote of GOOD HOURS when he walked

He was ONE ACQAUINTED WITH THE NIGHT

He wrote of BIRCHES and A CONSIDERABLE SPECK

Like all poets, he had a deeper style

ONCE BY THE PACIFIC he was inspired

He even wrote about A WOODPILE

He wrote about OCTOBER and GATHERING LEAVES

He showed us the beauty of A DUST OF SNOW

And STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Is a poem, that we all cherish and know…

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book is titled “Seated Above, Looking Below.” The title is based on scripture – Eph 2:6.

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”

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Featured Interview With Laura Bennett

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Before becoming a full-fledged book author, Laura worked as a licensed nutritionist for over 8 years. In order to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a professional writer, Laura shares her years of experience in health, fitness, and nutrition through her books.

Her easy-to-ready and comprehensive eBooks are aimed to help individuals effectively achieve their health goals –either to prevent illnesses, lose weight, or maintain an over-all healthy body.

Laura is also an author of other self-help and “how to” books that encompasses a variety of topics to help her readers discover ways on how to deal with everyday life easier.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Whwn I am at school

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Nonfiction

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Healing your back or joint pain is now a matter of a few minutes. No medications or therapies, just by simply exercising with a tennis ball you can enjoy a happy and pain-free life. You may question if this is possible. Yes, it is actually possible and obviously by 100% natural ways.

This book is all you need to figure out all the techniques and steps of curing joint and muscle pain have been perfectly described. Both beginners and others can learn how to alleviate tight muscles, back pain and joint sore with the tennis ball self-massage. In this book, you will find different exercising methods for relieving pain from your specific body parts. This book has been written with extensive research on this subject and it is easy to understand.

By reading this book, you will get the best advices to eliminate your joint and back pain within ten minutes. From my personal experience, I can say that this book comes in handy all while saving you thousands of dollars. Therefore, everyone should read the book to discover the secret techniques of easing back and joint pain by using the easiest and most inexpensive method, namely the tennis ball self-massage.

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Featured Interview With J.Buchanan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I have an affectionate affinity for writing. When I write I feel free like a condor gliding on an air current. Ever since I can remember when I was growing up in St. Louis, writing was always my escape. I was raised by my grandmother, aunt and mother in Missouri, Dallas, TX and Atlanta, GA, and one of the most proud days of my life was being the first in my family to graduate from college. I currently live in Los Angeles, CA and work as a tutor and I have a drama novel, a sci-fi novella and a poetry book self published. My life goal is to have a career of creativity in writing in order to provide excellent entertainment for the world.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Reading & writing fiction is one of my greatest passions. I have been in love with reading fiction since my first book as a child, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. I like writing just as much, if not more than reading. Fiction writers are the foundation of great movies, great songs, & many other things creative, & we provide mental vacations for ourselves and other interested minds. I also write poetry, & have a unique style so that you know it’s me. I have been writing for over a decade and I feel I have perfected my craft. My main goal as a writer is to provide quality & intriguing fiction to readers of all sorts.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite writers range from John Grisham, to Donald Goines, to Jackie Collins just to name a few. My writings are inspired from unique and innovative ideas of my own, then I build intriguing stories around my ideas.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first novel, Decisions, Decisions is a drama based on an underground United Nations penitentiary underneath the island of Guam.

My latest project is a sci-fi novella named One World. A well trained society is not necessarily a free one…

Immersed far and deep within the darkness of the night sky, existed a society which descended from the simplest form of matter, and evolved into an apex species of intelligent, peaceful beings. They developed into a spectacular species of people whose fascinating physical paled in comparison to the evolution of their mental. They achieved this status of excellence through generations of positive progress, as well as the emergence of the One World government.

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Featured Interview With Tracy Sherwood

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Tracy Sherwood had two great aspirations–to be a screenwriter and to become an author. When Tracy was five, she worked at creating her first book, “Ragmop the Mischeivous Dog” (based on the misadventures of her sheepdog, Gulliver). Even then, she considered writing a serious business. Her heroes at the time were characters who pushed the boundaries to discover what was on the other side.

But her real inspirations have been her mother, a college lecturer in English, and her father, a former Marine and internationally reknowned cartoonist. They both instilled a passion for the arts and the fighting spirit to pursue a writing career.

Tracy’s debut novel, DEATH GRIP, is influenced by the plight of returning military women expected to resume their demanding roles as wives and mothers while struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. However, DEATH GRIP, is for the survivors of any tragic event and their loved ones who suffer along with them.

Tracy is a Pushcart Award nominated writer whose work has appeared in literary magazines and book anthologies. She is also a prize-winning screenwriter.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I discovered my fascination wtih books at the age of three and starting with the wonderful Dr. Seuss. Some of my other earlier book favorites were “Put Me In The Zoo” and “Harry and The Lady Next Door.” I loved Harry the dog’s resourceful spirit–especially when he bit the piano leg in an attempt to stop a loud neighbor from singing. Harry may have fueled my young creative imagination too much. I actually bit the leg of an especially obnoxious guest at one of my parents’ dinner parties. Fortunately, I have outgrown Harry’s influence but not my creativity. It has grown with my experiences. And…I haven’t bitten anyone’s leg.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am an eclectic reader. If a story connects with me on an emotional or mood level then it has stretched beyond any genre limitation or label. I love the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dominick Dunne and Carrie Fisher. They are all unique voices with nothing in common except providing unflinching insight about the human condition. Which at the end of the day, is what all great writers do.

However, I will concede that it is a toss up between “The Great Gatsby” and “Gone With The Wind” for my all-time favorite book. However, I would lean more toward GWTW because of the main character, Scarlett O’Hara. This is an example of why reading is so personal and subjective. It always comes down to a cord within a particular reader that the author has been able to grab. Incidentally, I’ve read GWTW about eight times. Sorry, F. Scott.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Death Grip” is the story of war hero Kat Hartley home from the Middle East, struggling to return to her life as a wife and mother. But Kat is locked in a battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that threatens to destroy her and her family.

Imprisoned by guilt after helplessly watching her fellow soldier die in a fiery Humvee explosion, Kat can’t escape his terrified eyes. They haunt her daylight hours and torment her sleep at night. However, Kat is held in the clutches of a darker secret. The doomed soldier was also her lover…and the husband of her now-widowed sister.

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Tracy Sherwood’s Website

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Featured Interview With Lisa Rector

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a Maryland native, and no, I do not like crabs or Old Bay Seasoning. A mountain girl at heart, occasionally, every so often, I drift down to the coast and float away on the beachy breezes. I have gone through tons of cats and right now I am cat less. They are all buried on the mountain in what my parents have is a thriving pet cemetery. The last cat I lost was the hardest, and because of my husbands allergies, we won’t have anymore. I am an avid gardener and claim to be a yogi.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I couldn’t stop reading as a teenager when due to the delightful country music on the school bus, I had to find an alternative activity. My favorite childhood author was Lois Duncan. Motherhood separated me from reading for a time, and now I enjoy it every evening once I put my manuscripts away for the night. I started writing in February of 2013. On a whim. An idea came to me. I never even played with the idea to write before, but spent plenty of time dreaming up fantasies once my head hit the pillow at night. It was time.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love fantasy. Anything that involves powers and immortals . . . and dragons help too. Give me a hunky guy and a snarky protag. I love snark. And clean steamy scenes that make your blood rush. I get a major kick out dystopian. Oh, and the novel has to be a quick read. I’m a light thinker. Give me a book I can read in one sitting and just be torn up and beaten raw by it. The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi did just that. It destroyed me.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
What’s inside my book? Immortal Emrys, dragons, magical creatures, powers, light vs. darkness, and good vs. evil, revenge, love, hope . . .

It a story that I wrote to be a quick read, not weighed down with lots of superfluous writing, but that is filled with lots of tension. Written for a YA audience (but readers of a mature age would enjoy it), and it is a clean story that I could let a fourteen year old read. If you like LOTR, the Hobbit, and Eragon you will like this book. AND it is much less boring—not heavy on the details that drag on and on . . .

What’s my favorite part? The dragon humor. I have hilarious dragons. Oh, and you must not forget the romantic tension. And there is one part that always makes me cry. But you will have to read it to find out.

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Lisa Rector’s Website

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Featured Interview With Netanel Semrik

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Netanel Semrik, I’m the founder of Contento de Semrik- International publishing house. Over the past 25 years my mission has been to publish stories of people from all over the world in radio, television, internet and the printed media. I’m married and have 3 beautiful children who are my inspiration.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Let me tell you a little story, Everytime I came home from my publishing house “Contento de Semrik” my 3 little children asked me “father, can you come and be with us?” so I replied “but i’m with you” and they said something that inspired me a lot: “please cut the mood balloons that you have over your head” so I got the message and started my own journey to manage and control my own mood balloons, and that’s how I started writing my book.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have so many, i’m afraid there’s no room here! 🙂

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My name in Hebrew is Netanel which means “given by god”, The meaning of Jonathan- the main character in my book, in Hebrew, has the same meaning. Everyone of us can and should paint their own mood balloons and decide which color they will be each second and minuet of the day. My day is managed by one manager, which is me and only me.

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Featured Interview With Sam Siv

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I lived in Portland. Yes, I do have pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was fascinated with books at the age of seven and started writing at the age of 15.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Confucius

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is all about yoga and meditation.

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Featured Interview With Jim Newton

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am sixty four years of age, and stand six feet four inches tall. I took early retirement from the insurance business as an agent to pursue writing fulltime. I turned from the secular genre of writing during my college years to write solely in the Christian genre. This change of heart was due to the gift of faith in God that was given to me by Jesus Christ.

I grew up in a well-to-do family in Bethany, Oklahoma. My father was what one would refer to as a businessman. He had a tremendous influence on my thinking. Some saw him as hard and demanding, but I saw and knew him as an extremely honest, good-hearted, and forward-thinking man. My father gave me my drive and ambition. Though he was always respectful of Christians and their beliefs, he never judged nor condemned them for he was a non-believer till shortly before his death. I was given a religious introduction and example of a Christ-led life by my Aunt Johanna Mae Oliver, whom I respected and loved. She was a minister and devout follower of Christ. She could walk into a saloon filled with drunks, and in a non-judgmental way talk with those people and have them on their knees praying to God before she walked out.

The town in which I grew up in was founded by protestant Nazarenes. They built a Nazarene college there. The town had strict laws based on Biblical laws, but never was it a problem for the non-Nazarenes living there. Contrary to media sensation-seeking, the majority of the citizens of the United States live in great harmony with the many assorted religions that abound in this country. A person can gain such a diverse education in religion and tolerance if that is what they choose. I attended many different churches while growing up; from Catholic to Protestant to Jewish. I was never cast out or rejected. I suppose that is why I am outspoken on Christian unity.

I served four years in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War years, and served inside Vietnam. I view all the different aspects of my life as God’s schooling me. As a young man who had grown up in a very conservative family with the values that upbringing provides, I thought it my duty to fight in Vietnam. The difference in my conservative values and training was that my father drilled into my head to assess any situation and draw independent conclusions from the crowd around me; think for yourself. When I told my father after Vietnam that wars are not glorious and a duty of mankind, he never flinched. He told me that he agreed as that was the very same conclusion he had drawn from his time spent in the Korean War. My life changed from that time on. I battled the conservative notion of God. What I did not realize was that Jesus was the greatest revolutionary to ever walk upon this earth. As I studied the Bible to denounce and condemn it, God showed me love, love, and more love. I was defeated. I gave my writing to him. I found the God of my Aunt Johanna Mae Oliver.

I am not the picture of perfection. My Lord has sent me into some of the toughest situations and places that a man can go, but he always stood right beside me giving advice and courage. I was involved in a situation in war where I was expected to kill many human beings, but thanks to my Lord, he guided me onto a path that saved the lives of the men on both sides. I have walked into the toughest bars and drank with those inside, and whenever I brought up the subject of God, I try never to miss an opportunity, the place was always brought to a reverent and introspective silence. It will make you shudder to witness the respect given by these so-called outcasts of society. As Christians, I feel we have an obligation to go into the very depths of Hell to spread the word if God asks. My Lord has made my life a great adventure.

The aforementioned aspects of my life have brought about two books for my Lord’s glory: WHAT DOES FAITH LOOK LIKE and 365 DAYS OF POSITIVE LIVING, co-authored with Rita Pam Tarachi.

I am no exception to the working author. I took early retirement from my profession of many years to write fulltime, but I still work part time. I work in my local school system with handicapped children. This job supplements my retirement income. I knew coming into this that less than three percent of all writers make a living solely from their writing. I write for the love of writing and trying to make that writing serve my Lord.

As to jobs I’ve had in my life, I worked in the oilfield industry when I left college to support a growing family. I quit that job and started my own oilfield services company which I sold eventually to do something different, something new. That something new was I started an athletic field management and construction business which I worked at very successfully for twenty years, until my body wore out from the long hours and hard work…but how I loved it. I went from there to a desk job in the insurance business. Those twelve years were not my favorite. Bosses and I have never got along too well. I was trained in business by one of the best and I have more experience than ninety-nine percent of the people in the business world. But I do listen to and respect people that deserve it. As my friends and family say, I have a rather large and Irish personality. In other words, I couldn’t get lost in a crowd. I was raised to be very independent. My father was a great, honest, and forward thinking businessman. He taught me to work for myself, and God took that training and used it to work for him.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I began to write about the time I was taught to write. I was in constant trouble in grade school for writing crazy stories while I was supposed to be working on assignments from the teacher. Did I mention that a writer should be stubborn? I was stubborn or I wouldn’t have continued to write. I spent more than a few times waiting in the hallway at school and imagining a tortuous death while waiting to be hammered by the male teacher’s big wooden paddle with holes drilled in it to make it sing while flying through the air to put the fear of God in you and to raise whelps on your rear. I had a 364 page handwritten novel torn up by an overzealous teacher, because I was working on it during her lecture.

But, like I said, I am stubborn, and continued.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Besides the Bible, of course, Moses, by Edmond Fleg. I love his poetic prose, and who better to have a deep feeling for Moses than a person of Jewish decent.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The first book, 365 DAYS OF POSITIVE LIVING, I co-authored with Rita Pam Tarachi. It is a one year devotional. It is a structured book, but I enjoyed writing it due to that structure and the experience it gave me. I put a lot of power into that book. I wanted people to know that faith takes practice and must be made an essential part of your daily life to be successful. A personal relationship with God is essential to a Christian’s development; without it, you just have the Christian label.

WHAT DOES FAITH LOOK LIKE is a series of snapshots of what faith looks like and how it works in different people’s lives, and it is a portrait of what my faith looks like. If you are expecting a sermon, forget it, don’t buy the book. If you want to read a book that is different and makes you really think about and stretch your faith, buy it. The book has the heart and soul of everything I believe and feel about faith in Jesus Christ. The possibilities we have within our grasp if we but have faith is so great that it is impossible to imagine it, as Jesus tried to tell us.

My latest book is WHAT DOES FAITH LOOK LIKE. Through a class in my church, I found my spiritual gift is faith. As a service to my Lord, I began a mission I call the Faith Project. Part of that project is to write books about faith to help newly converted or longtime Christians with their journey of faith building. WHAT DOES FAITH LOOK LIKE is a series of snapshots of faith. The first chapter is a true story revolving around my Mother’s family, the Carr family. The other nineteen stories are about my journey to faith, The Journey, or the stories of other people’s journeys or experiences with faith. My goal was to show faith in a different way through stories that are based on true life stories. I am not a theologian or member of the clergy, just a layman.

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Jim Newton’s Website

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Featured Interview With Sam Siv

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
i am good person, i have no pets

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
30

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Sam

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Secrets of Bringing Back The Romance in Your Marriage (newlyweds books, newlyweds guide) (Weddings by Sam Siv Book 16)

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Sam Siv’s Website

Featured Interview With Alicia Stevens

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an author interested in all things spiritual. My hope is that my readers get something out of my books that will enhance their way of life.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I really love to express myself through writing since when I am studying. My passion is writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like writing non-fiction book.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
You probably have the nagging itch to shed some weight, but your busy schedule and limited budget are creating a bit of a constraint. Or maybe you have tried joining a local gymnastics club but find that the routine schedule is not your thing. If you can relate, then you are reading the right script.

Better still, have you tried adopting good eating habits but discipline is not your strong suit? Are you a culprit to giving in to food cravings,and every time you step on the scale the pounds keep on increasing? Have you tried the much advertised slimming pills and belts and nothing has come forth? Take a sigh of relief today. This book suggests easy and very enjoyable gestures better referred to as “mudras” to help you lose the excess weight. It outlines easy and safe hand signals you can practice from the comfort of your home or office at no cost.
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Featured Interview With Alex Bugaeff

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in northern New Jersey at a time when you could ride your bike all over the territory, and I did. My father was a Russian and my mother was a Pilgrim. Their marriage lasted only long enough to have me. Then, my grandparents took us in and I found that the best way for me to get along was to fend for myself. I had my first job at eleven, delivering milk on a milk truck for a dollar a day.

I have gone from research to anti-poverty programs to university professor to business owner to software project manager and to writing in search of meaning. I have found it in the writing. I imagine my characters (contemporary and historical) being themselves in their surroundings. I see them moving; I hear them talking and I just let it out on the page.

My wife and I have been happily married for over 50 years. We have two children and two grandchildren, all of whom are successful as people and in their careers. I have a Bachelor’s (Political Science) and Master’s (Public Administration) from the University of California at Berkeley. I grow roses, play golf when I can and try to keep up with current events. We have lived in New Jersey, California, Florida, and now in Connecticut.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
• I didn’t read much until high school and didn’t write until college – I was too busy trying to stay away from the house for as long as possible each day.
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• I was in a hot rod club from the age of 13 and I read and reread every issue of Hot Rod magazine and as many other car publications as I could get my hands on. That was all the reading I cared about at the time.
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• In freshman English, my prof returned my first essay with a big F and covered in red. The one saving grace was his rule that I could rewrite it as many times as I wanted. While doing everything else, I kept rewriting it right to the end of the semester and it came back with an A. That seemed to do it, although until recently, I wrote mainly as a means to a business end.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Robert B. Parker comes first, believe it or not. I write early American history – all in dialogue. In my books a grandfather tells his grandchildren the history of the colonial period in a series of story times. The simplicity of Parker’s dialogue has taught me to pare down the conversation.

Milton Erickson helped me to understand better how human emotions work. I am after feelings, as much as the transmission of history. By the middle grades, grandchildren have started to turn their attention away from their grandparents, and parents, for that matter. I aim to provide the means by which grandparents and parents can strengthen the bonds.

David McCullough and Ron Chernow are historians who have modeled good story telling for me. They weave thoroughly researched events into tableaus that speak to the human spirit. And, they provide as neutral a treatment of the times as any, without trying to promote some agenda.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I wrote American Amazons: Colonial Women Who Changed History because women achieved great things during the Colonial American period but weren’t being recognized. In researching my last book, Pilgrims To Patriots, I came upon stories of such women and I included some of those in that book. But, there were others and, the more I researched, the more I found. I had to tell their stories.

Some of these women are familiar to us, including Martha Washington and Abigail Adams, but there are far more who rarely get recognition outside of the small circle of women’s historians, and not even then with several. Did you know that Deborah Sampson fought in the Continental Army on the front lines…for three years? Abigail Minis? A businesswoman. Mary Crouch? A newspaper publisher. Elizabeth Key? A slave who sued for her freedom and … (I’ll let you see for yourself). They’re not exactly household names, but their stories all deserved to be told. To me, they’re all American Amazons.

Although some of the research for American Amazons came out of Pilgrims To Patriots, the bulk of it took another year. The first draft took four months to write, then another eight months to rewrite, rewrite again from my editor’s comments, polish up from my Beta readers’ comments, print, and proof. So, altogether two years. It was a labor of love.

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