Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Ana Claudia Antunes

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Santos, Brazil. I spent my childhood in the Beach/Harbor City until I was three. It was there where I started my first drafts with a book from the kinder garden at a German school filled with drawings and scratches from self-portrays as a ballerina to birds, letters and numbers turning into figures (such as when I drew the number four with one leg crossing the other, pure child imagination). That book was where the teachers kept their notes and also where I had recorded the days I missed class, usually due to having infection in my ear, throat and eyes due to too much swimming (yes, I was already a big swimmer at the YMCA when I was still four years old). And the teachers had agreed that one more year would do me a favor, because I was too introverted, Please, with all that stuff going on in my mind who would be involved into introspection? It was then too when I wrote and composed, since the day that I created a prelude, playing some notes (which I still have recorded in my brain) on a small piano toy that my uncle gave to me at the age of three. From there we wento to a small countryside place, living a quiet life for a couple of years, when my family definitely decided to move to the big city of Sao Paulo. It was when I finally feel passion for the first time and I fell in love with the Arts as I first put my two feet at the theatre, playing the flute to a big audience at Mackenzie Institute. And I was only seven years old. And I loved it! To feel the audience rejoicing good music… And I also sang and it felt so great that a year later I was to become part of my School Choir with the regency of the maestro eleazar de Carvalho, illustrious figure from the Brazlian classical music. At the same there at the American School where I also had the pleasure to spread my rhymes and poetry, and stories and drawings into my friends who collected memories and souvenirs in their diaries. When I reached High School I had my writings published by the same school in Sao Paulo, And that´s where I live now. I have a dog named Preta and a cat named Phoebe. I used to have a turtle but after they took her to a lake, she swam away, very freely. Once they spotted her and she was so much bigger now, for she used to eat the fishes from the aquarium and now she has a hell lot more of fishes in the sea, I mean, pond. And let me tell you, she´s living the life that she deserves and is so much better now!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading and writing before I was even at school, because I have always been a very curious child and I would pick a book from my mother who was then still studying at school. She had two workbooks which were among my favorites: one was about the musical instruments, with letters and drawings showing the variety of materials and sounds each one had. The other was a book in French with exercises. And I swear you I could read some of the letters. So I might have learned to read French even before my own mother tongue. Funny stuff. I mean, Fanny. That´s my mother´s name; and then I would go along with the drawings and the letters, fascinating, even though I could not grasp the word I had the feeling of what it would mean. But it was not until I had my own first workbook that I realized I was learning something. I was already at school and I had homework to do. So I would go to the library. As I was by myself I would take any book I wanted. And I would be fascinated by the different sizes and stories each one had. So much so that I started to create my own books. And when I was eleven I designed my own comic book and made a compilation of stories of my own, forming a Series, going from drawing and manufacturing the cover with a hardcover to the stitching of pages together. And I still have kept it even after so many years…

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh so many, but I can easily name by heart, literally, Charles Dickens, especially with his David Copperfield, Agatha Christie and all of her books were sensational for a young reader going through the adventures of middle school, Arthur Conan Doyle, Andre Gide, Richard Bach (One), Paulo Coelho and his Diary of a Magus, so my favorite genre, if we dind´t have guessed yet, it´s Mystery, Thriller and some adventure with mystical themes.
I love biographys and autobiographys as well. “Letters to Theo” by Van Gogh, which I read fifteen years ago, not only inspired me to write, but to live, love, laugh about the smalllest things.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I am working on the translation of my Mystery/Suspense hybrid fiction/nonfiction which I originally wrote in English to Portuguese. I am also working in a new book for children in my How-to Series. So keep an eye for it because there is more creative stuff coming up. My latest book will be the one I´m working now in Portuguese, translated from English, “The Mysterious Murder of Marilyn Monroe” which is already available for pre-order on Amazon.com. I decided to write this book more than three years ago when I heard about the way Miss Marilyn Monroe died and I thought to myself, “Well, that´s fishy!” Also it was the year 2011 and the next year it will turn out to be fifty years without her. And I kind of channelled her thoughts and then… well, you might as well read it, for it´s already done!

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Ana Claudia Antunes’s Website

Ana Claudia Antunes Facebook Page

Ana Claudia Antunes Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Roxanne Snopek

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Hodgeville, Saskatchewan, a teeny-tiny town on the Canadian Prairies. Grew up in or around the metropolis of Saskatoon, however. For awhile when I was about ten, we lived on 40 acres, in an old one-room schoolhouse that my parents moved onto a basement and rehabbed. We had running water and electricity but no indoor toilet and no phone. I remember bathing in an aluminum wash-tub. It was an adventure – for me! For my mom, who gave birth to my brother sometime during that process, it was probably more of a trial. I mention this because my new series, This Old House, is about people who are rehabbing heritage houses in small-town Montana.

Now I live with hubby and kids near Vancouver, BC. Hubby shudders at the thought of construction-related tasks so we live in a new-ish house with full city services and too many TVs. Oh and we’ve got two miniature poodles, a spaniel, a large orange cat, a geriatric cockatiel… hm, that’s it at the moment. We had five cats for awhile, which was, I confess, overdoing it a little.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was reading before I went to school, probably around age 4. I was very lucky that my parents were huge book fans and read to us a lot as children. We were very involved in the church also, but I, being rather socially-inept child, spent a lot of time in the church library, hiding out with Danny Orlis and Grace Livingston Hill. Squeaky clean stories, in other words.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Now I read a huge variety of authors, from literary fiction to thrillers to women’s fiction, romantic suspense and contemporary romance. Barbara Samuel’s women’s fiction is fantastic, I adore Kristan Higgins’ humor and pathos (and the dogs), I love the suspense in Sandra Brown books, I reread Watchers by Dean Koontz every year, Carl Hiaasen cracks me up with his weird, wacky characters… and The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman had me completely entranced. Babies and animals are my catnip.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Cowboy Next Door is a story of sucking back your pride for the good of another. Or even the good of yourself. The hero is a really great guy, but he thinks he knows best. He’s justified; usually he *does* know best. He’s smart like that. The heroine – who’s made her share of poor decisions – is struggling to make a better life for her baby, while living in the add-on to her friends’ tumble-down house. Marching to her own drummer, you might say. Raising her baby with the help of her chosen family, no shame required. She’s off men and doesn’t need advice from strangers, thanks. Except the cowboy next door is persistent, really nice, unbearably hot and dang it all, he’s got great ideas. Ignoring him would be biting off her nose to spite her face. But letting him into her life brings all kinds of complications.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Roxanne Snopek’s Website

Roxanne Snopek Facebook Page

Roxanne Snopek Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Sara C. Roethle

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a small town in the desert. I’m not going to say its name, because I’m pretty sure it’s like saying “Voldemort”. I live in a better place now, still somewhat in the desert, but we have rivers and occasional snowstorms. The only animal regularly subjected to my affections is a rabbit named blob. She is a little, furry ball of nightmares.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved books my entire life. I was an extremely shy child, and carrying around a book everywhere made it so that I didn’t have to talk to people. I’ve always written to an extent, but didn’t end up writing a full-length book until I was twenty-two. After that I decided that I wanted writing to be my career in the hopes that I could give other shy kids some nice books to carry around.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh, now we get to the difficult questions. Let’s see, my favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Bukowski, and Robert Jordan. I don’t have a favorite genre, really. I don’t even know what genre Kurt Vonnegut would be classified under. I love fantasy, not-fantasy, short stories, long stories….I suppose I love all genres unless they are about sports or fast cars. I have no interest in sports or fast cars. As for the final question, there are too many people to name. I’m inspired by most every author I read in one way or another.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is the fourth in my Xoe Meyers series, titled “Broken Beasts”. The series is YA paranormal, but with a little less mush and a little more humor and toughness. Xoe is definitely not a quivering violet, and neither are her friends.

The first book in the Xoe Meyers series is free on all digital platforms.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Sara C. Roethle’s Website

Sara C. Roethle Facebook Page

Sara C. Roethle Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Suz deMello

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written nineteen books in several genres, including nonfiction, romance, erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.

A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.

That’s the public Suz. The private Suz is nearing 60 years in this lifetime and happy about it–she feels great and thinks she looks pretty damn good, too.

The private Suz is planning a trip to Cuba (CUBA!!!) for her 60th birthday and is totally excited!

She’ll also spend a few days relaxzixng in the Cancun area and is excited about that too.

The private Suz lives with her 85 year-old mom and her yappy little ankle biter in northern California, which, when the rest of the nation was in the grip of vicious winter storms, was enjoying temperatures of 70 degrees. She would be happy about this but instead, she knows that drought is not good.

She’s written 19 books, would like to make it 20. She writes all over the map. It’s all good stuff, but not consistent in regard to genre, subgenre, setting, characters or much else. There’s usually a warm-hearted love story and rockin’ good sex, though.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Suz says:
My mom tells me that I started reading when I was three. As a child, I went to the library every week, got out the maximum number of ten books, read them all the same day, then spent the rest of the week rereading.

I didn’t start to write until 1996, though–got sidetracked by other creative and business pursuits.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Regency romance, so one of my fave authors is Georgette Heyer. I never tire of rereading her books! I also love young adult paranormal fiction–stuff like Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. I also read a lot of history–I often write historicals, so I read to get a feel and background of the time I’m visiting in my books.

Right now it’s Victorian London that’s holding my attention. What a wild place! Big, raucous–building projects everywhere–London was struggling to burst into the modern era. Everything was changing, most notably the infrastructure. And that level of change wasn’t easy.

So history often inspires my writing, And because quite a lot of my writing is steamy sex, intimate encounters are inspirational 😉

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book was definitely inspired by sex–BDSM sex.

Perilous Play: The Real Fifty Shades is the true story of the kinkier aspects of my life. I did have to fictionalize names and fabricate one scene to tie the story up in a tidy bow (and it’s a pretty hot M/f/M menage) but otherwise–it’s all true.

So if you’ve read Fifty Shades or seen the movie and wondered…what’s BDSM really like?? read Perilous Play.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Suz deMello’s Website

Suz deMello Facebook Page

Suz deMello Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Virginia McClain

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was named for a grandmother I never met, I’ve lived in seven states and five countries, I once had 17 cats, and I’ve been writing since before I could spell properly.

Of course, my spelling has improved, and I no longer write in crayon. The cats had to be given away because it’s insane to try to move to Germany with 17 cats (my 5 year old self was very sad, but at least I got to keep ‘my’ cat). And, despite being named for my grandmother, I spent the first 13 years of my life being called by my middle name, which I have come to think suits me better, but which I haven’t started using again because… hassle.

The last three places I’ve lived are Japan, Arizona, and Winnipeg, where I currently reside with my musician husband and our furry four legged child Artemis (that’s the gorgeous mutt I’m embracing in my picture).

When I’m not reading or writing, I enjoy playing bass, rock climbing, trail running, backpacking, and general adventure having with my canine sidekick.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My parents always read to me when I was little and I learned to read at a fairly young age. By the time I have any clear memories of what to do with my free time, my top choices were to go play in the woods with my dogs or to read a book somewhere (anywhere really; curled up in bed, in the crook of a tree, at a table while eating –much to my mother’s chagrin). I started writing as soon as I learned how to write… ridiculous stories with terrible plots written in barely legible (or completely illegible) crayon.

At first, though I enjoyed making up stories and writing them down, I was convinced that I was terrible writer because a number of issues with punctuation and spelling (issues that were later diagnosed) made every English teacher I had before the 7th grade tell me that my writing was atrocious. Of course, what they really meant was that my writing mechanics were atrocious, but I suppose when your job is to get thirty 9 year olds to put words on paper that you are then forced to read all of, you will generalize to save yourself time. At any rate, it wasn’t until my 7th grade English teacher read some of my creative writing and told me that it was good that I considered actually becoming a writer.

The moment I thought about it though, I decided that’s what I wanted to be. The rest has been a long slow journey in getting here.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Singling out favorite authors is always hard, and I love a lot of different genres, though admittedly I gravitate most strongly towards Fantasy and Science Fiction. I’m inspired by many authors, and it would take vast essays, or perhaps its own book, to talk about that… How about a short list instead?

Here are some of my favorite authors and a quick account of some of my favorite things about their writing:

1. Kristin Cashore – For her strong female characters, vile villains, and excellent story telling
2. RA Salvatore – For his impeccable fight scenes and insightful looks into human nature
3. Anne Bishop – For her snarky dialogue, feisty female leads, villains of the worst possible character, and excellent inclusion of non-human animals
4. Tamora Pierce – For her strong, believable, female characters, and intricate plots
5. Karen Chance – For her witty banter, her strong female leads, and her appropriate use of explosions and nudity

I’m going to leave it at five, but honestly the list goes on forever, and those are just the authors who write in a similar genre to my debut novel.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book (and debut novel) is entitled Blade’s Edge and it was initially inspired by the time I spent wandering around mountain shrines in Japan while I lived there teaching English. It’s loosely inspired by feudal Japanese samurai culture, but is set in an original fantasy world. Here’s the synopsis:

The Kisōshi, elite warriors with elemental powers, have served as the rulers and protectors of the people of Gensokai for more than a thousand years. Though it is believed throughout Gensokai that there is no such thing as a female Kisōshi, the Rōjū ruling council goes to great lengths to ensure that no one dares ask why.

Even as young girls, Mishi and Taka know that they risk severe punishment – or worse – if anyone were to discover their powers. This shared secret forms a deep bond between them until, taken from their orphanage home and separated, the two girls must learn to survive in a world where their very existence is a crime. Yet when the girls learn the dark secret of the Rōjū council, they discover that much more than their own survival is at stake.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Virginia McClain’s Website

Virginia McClain Facebook Page

Virginia McClain Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Berengaria Brown

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Berengaria is an award-winning, best-selling, multi-published author of erotic romance with over one hundred published digital, print and audio books. She writes contemporary, paranormal (magic, ghosts, vampires, fairies, dragons, and werewolves), futuristic, medieval, and Regency-set historical. She loves to read all different kinds of romance so that is what she writes: MMF, MFM, FMMM, FFM, MM, FF, and MF. Whatever the characters need for their very hot happily-ever-after, Berengaria makes sure they get it.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother was very ill when I was small so my father taught me to read. By the time I was about twelve I’d read every book in the children’s section of the local library, so he gave me his adult borrowing card and let me loose in the adult section. Nothing’s changed. I still read anything and everything.
I began writing one day when I had nothing to read!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read absolutely everything. Romance is a special favorite and I read all romance from sweet to kinky. Georgette Heyer was the first romance author I ever read and I still love her books. I’ve had all her books since I was a young teenager.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Beach Boys: Winter (MM). Outrageously gay Hudson Smith owns Hudson’s Clothing Store at Two Waters Beach. He loves his job but he wishes he had a partner to love. Elliott Greene is shy and unassertive. He’s here at the beach for a week’s vacation in mid-winter because everyone else at work wanted the warm weather for their vacation time. Elliott is cold and Hudson invites him into the store to warm up. They drink tea and talk, getting to know each other. Elliott ends up remaining in the store with Hudson all day long as they begin to get to know each other and share their stories.
Hudson is very attracted to his shy, blushing guest, and is proud when Elliott proves there’s a smart brain and a gentle humor hidden behind the bland façade. Meanwhile Elliott determines to follow his grandpop’s advice and stop being too nice to everyone and instead to ask for what he wants.

The first story at Two Waters beach took place in Summer but I couldn’t stop thinking about the beach. Another couple of men found love in Fall and this story takes place in Winter. The final story, is, of course, set in Spring, and will release in two weeks’ time.

The book won’t be up on Amazon for several weeks. It’s only available with the publisher right now: http://www.bookstrand.com/the-beach-boys-winter

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Berengaria Brown’s Website

Berengaria Brown Facebook Page

Berengaria Brown Twitter Account

Featured Interview With TF Walsh

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Well, I was born in Romania and moved to Australia with my family at the age of eight. My dad has always loved writing and is quite well known in Romania, so I guess from an early age I started to show interest in writing. Sure, they were only poems or lyrics, but it was a start☺ It was only when I finished university that I considered trying to write stories. Fast forward many years later, when I was home sick from work that I attacked my first novel, and no looking back from there. Aside from writing, I’m a huge baking fan with snickerdoodles being my all time favorite cookies. I live with hubby and two gorgeous kitties.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I grew up listening to bedtime Romanian stories that could only be compared to the Brothers Grimm tales, and ever since then folklore and mythology has fascinated me. I’ve been scribbling stories from a very young age. These influences have trickled into my stories, and in particular Cloaked in Fur, which is based in Transylvania—a place seeped in legends. Now, when it comes to love, I’m a sucker for stories about two people from different worlds falling madly in love and fighting against the odds to stay together. This is the story I wanted to tell in Cloaked in Fur; showing how far someone was willing to go to hold onto true love.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love anything by Richard Laymon who writes suspense and horror fiction. I’m also a huge fan of Laurel K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. At the moment I’m addicted to Maggie Stiefvater’s stories. I just finished reading The Raven Boys. Love! Can’t wait for the sequel to come out.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Cloaked in Fur is book one in the Wulfkin Legacy series. Here’s a little blurb:

As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.
A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.

A bit of insight: as I wrote Cloaked in Fur, I was becoming infatuated with Enre, one of Daciana’s ex-lovers. He is so raw in his approach to life and naïve at the same time, which is why he’ll be playing a much bigger part in book 2.

Speaking of which, the sequel, Cloaked in Secrecy is set to come out very soon. I’m so excited to be telling Enre’s story.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

TF Walsh’s Website

TF Walsh Facebook Page

TF Walsh Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Goldie Alexander

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I live in Melbourne Australia where I have been working as freelance writer for the last 30 years. Though I mostly write for a young audience, I have written three adult murder mysteries and an now completing my second adult romance.

I have been married for 44 years to the same lovely man and I am now in the privileged position of having 6 great grandchildren. I spend my weekdays in an apartment in the city, and my weekends in the country the setting of many of my books.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I began my career as a reader at the age of three. Since then I haven’t stopped, not even after an accident three years ago that landed me in hospital and rehab for 3 months. I now read mostly on my Kindle which stores my latest 300 book library in cloud.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Because I belong to 2 book-cIubs I read literary works, and a lot of children’s novels. Otherwise I read randomly, such as books other people recommend. I sometimes find this question hard to answer. Voracious readers read everything, including the ads on street buildings.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Fleeing a humiliating end to a passionless marriage, Lisa Harbinger seeks refuge in a posh summer retreat on Australia’s lush South Coast. There she finds work as a nanny for two willful children on one prestigious estate. But behind Rangoon’s ivy and red brick walls lies a mystery: What really happened to the family’s beloved Penelope?

Even more mysterious is Richard Prescott. Cold and aloof by day, Lisa’s boss heats up her nights and awakens her soul. But to have a future they both must escape their pasts. Vengeful ghosts and a generations-old curse seek to bring ruin on Richard and his family. But if Lisa can find the answers, she—and her growing love—could be the one to set him free.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Goldie Alexander’s Website

Goldie Alexander Facebook Page

Goldie Alexander Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Teresa Blue

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Although I was born in the large city of Chicago, I grew up in a small, no-light town where folks really did know everyone. I currently live in a rural country setting with four dogs and love waiting hand and foot on each of them. I have a rooster named Elvis, nine hens, and a garden large enough to feed all my family and friends. When I do find a spare minute, I write about what else…family and the ties that bind them. I’m blessed and I know it.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
From the moment I discovered those paperback novels, my adventures began. By high school I had sailed the high seas with Captains and rode the English countryside with highwaymen, robbed stages– well, you get the idea. I fell head over heels in love reading romance. And for awhile reading was enough, until the day it wasn’t. For whatever reason, I picked up a pen and just wrote. And I’ve been at it ever since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Kathleen Woodiwiss swept me off my feet with “The Flame and the Flower” and quickly sent me on the path of devouring every romance book my teenage fingers could grasp. I soon discovered greats such as Johanna Lindsey, Laurie McBain, Beatrice Small and countless others. Romance novels gave me a high standard of how love between couples could be and what kind of hero would fill my heart.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Letters From Inside:

The trenches of parenting can get down right dirty, as single mom, Linda Wheeler is finding out. Her biggest challenge- to keep her teenage daughter, Jessica, out of jail. Although community service is hardly a prison sentence, this single mom is about to come face to face a product of the system.

Troubled Jessie blames her mom for breaking up their family and is determined to make her pay. Jessie doesn’t believe her dad is the bad guy her mom makes him out to be and sets out to prove the difference between a good man and the bad. She recruits a prison pen-pal unaware that he’s recently been granted parole. By cleverly signing her mom’s name to the letters, she’s supplied the criminal with a purpose: find the author and claim her for his own.

Carl Jenkins has spent the last seven years as an inmate at Jackson State Prison. Even violent offenders make parole, leaving Detective Tom Harrington furious as the man who brutally raped his sister walks out of prison a free man. Tom vows to see the felon back behind bars where he belongs. But it isn’t long before all eyes turn to a rural farmhouse and a struggling single mom. Jenkins has a new target, and it’s up to Tom to keep them safe, or is history doomed to repeat itself?

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Teresa Blue’s Website

Teresa Blue Facebook Page

Teresa Blue Twitter Account

Featured Interview With E.M. BRYANT

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Farmington, Missouri, which, in many ways, was a lot like Mayberry.

There’s a church on every corner downtown, it’s relatively easy to find a Friday fish fry, and as a kid, it seemed like the entire year was building on the anticipation of Country Days. Country Days was the fair to beat *all* fairs–at least, that’s what I recall. Music, games, rides, candy, beer. Now crowds frighten me.

As an adult, I split my time between home and St. Louis. I have two rescue cats that I work to support. You might think that’s not a big deal, but the size of one of them is ungodly. I’m convinced he’s half cat, half bear.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading Goosebumps books in 4th or 5th grade. I think every kid ought to be introduced to some PG horror, and for me, it didn’t get any better than Night of the Living Dummy.

At night, I’d watch those old “B” thrillers with my dad. Vincent Price was usually the star. I used to imagine an intruder in the attic, Agnes Moorehead in the backyard holding a knife, and the creepy old lady from Darby O’Gill and the Little People trying to steal my cat. Robert Stack would be narrating the entire scene like it was an episode of Unsolved Mysteries.

Those precious “B” nights inspired me to start writing short stories (mostly to torture my parents, as they were my victims forced to read page after page).

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I just started reading the J.R. Ward books–I’m hooked!

I love to read just about everything–paranormal and dark fantasy are great, but I love a good historical romance every now and then (or a hot cowboy).

My grandmother used to tell me ghost stories as a kid. That definitely had an impact on my writing! Since some fool granted me access to the internet, my research consists of the origins of dolls, the Ouija board, sleep paralysis, etc. The sky is truly the limit, and writers have never had access to more fun!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
*Rapture was just re-released with a brand new cover and low price!*

Rapture is the first installment in my diary trilogy. It centers around a haunted school where a young nun has a torrid affair with a priest. Now, hear me out…

Rapture is in the nun’s words (her diary), and it begins during the end days of a floundering boarding school. A little boy has gone missing, and suspicious eyes fall onto the school’s headmaster.

If that isn’t stressful enough, our heroine is trying to keep the last remaining students safe…all the while feeling like something evil is lurking down the corridor, watching and waiting to strike. It doesn’t help when the students start having nightmares about the missing boy urging them to join him.

Enter a sexy new priest, Father Derrick. His presence is to help during this crisis, but the attraction between Derrick and the young nun is irrepressible. They can’t help but fall into each other’s arms.

This is a fast read, but not a light one. Each page builds to a crescendo (and a twist) that hopefully keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

This has been such an amazing journey for me. For 3 years, I toyed about writing this book. And now…now my characters are here–and this is part one of their journey.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

E.M. BRYANT’s Website

E.M. BRYANT Facebook Page

E.M. BRYANT Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Marilee Brothers

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a former teacher, coach and school counselor who came to the writing biz late in life. After my 3 sons were grown and gone, I got serious about my writing. I was very fortunate to catch the eye of Debra Dixon, publisher for Belle Books. I wrote six young adult books for their Bell Books imprint. I’ve now returned to my first love, writing romantic suspense for adults. I’ve never strayed far from my home in Washington state where I live with my husband and little rescue dog, Auggie Doggie.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was raised in a family of readers for which I am grateful. When I was a very little girl, our big outing was a trip to the library. I’ve always been in love with the written word. Throughout my life, I’ve written poetry and short stories. It wasn’t until much later that I realized I was capable of writing a book. I just completed number nine.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m a big fan of mysteries. If it doesn’t have a few murders in it, forget about it! However, I do like a dash of romance along the way to keep it interesting.
So many people inspire my writing. I love Elizabeth George’s book, Write Away, as well as On Writing by Stephen King. I’m still learning my craft. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest release, The Rock and Roll Queen of Bedlam, is a re-print of one of my first books, based on my years in the classroom. If you like mysteries with a sprinkle of humor, meet Allegra Thome a teacher for behavior-disordered teens by day and a karaoke singer by night. The leggy blonde knows just where to find trouble—like Sloan, a tough, sexy DEA agent, in the middle of a drug bust. He clears her of all charges, but their intense chemistry leads to some passionate encounters in…unusual locations.

Their unorthodox romance is put on hold when one of Allegra’s students, Sara Stepanek, goes missing. Through cryptic messages and bizarre codes in a journal the girl hints at psychological manipulation and foul play, and suddenly Allegra doesn’t know who to trust. Even Sloan has his own reasons for wanting to find Sara. Time is running out in the frantic search, and Allegra will learn the answers she seeks are more shocking and deadly than she can imagine.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Marilee Brothers’s Website

Marilee Brothers Facebook Page

Marilee Brothers Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Heather Hobson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Thus far, aside from travels, my life has occurred in California. That will not always be so, as I am looking to relocate to Oregon.

Currently my animal sweethearts are Boomer and Maggie. I had a lovely cockatiel, Morgan, who lived with me for 24 years before passing, and several other wonderful dogs, as well as hamster, hermit crabs, and gold fish.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At age 10 I decided I wanted to be a writer. At that point my parents said, “That’s great, but are you going to do to make money?” They are a bit more supportive of my creative skills now.

My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Conroy, was a key to inspiring my writing. As a student in her class, I wrote every day in a journal. My first stories involved pink and blue elephants meeting and getting married.

Currently I have had four books published, but only three are still in print. They include Stubby, the Magic Pencil, Callings: Tales of the Conrads of Karna, and a Tale of Butts: The Story of a Couch, which is printed under a pen name of Echo Ryan.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author is C.S. Lewis, though I enjoy J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephan R. Donaldson, and many others.

I read a lot of history and biographies, but I also enjoy fantasy, science fiction, and that great cross over genre of space fantasy.

One person who always pushed me and inspired my writing, was my friend Bonnie Newton. We meet in Oxford, England while taking a course on Castles and Country Houses. When we met we discovered we both lived in California, both wrote fantasy, and while I was a current teacher, she was a retired teacher. Thus began a great friendship of letters and critiques with occasional lunches until she passed a few years back at the age of 85!

Interestingly enough, her kids weren’t interested in her writing, so I inherited it all. So, some day when I have time I will finish some of Bonnie’s unfinished novels. My favorite is of a troll.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My most recent book is Stubby, the Magic Pencil. Within in the pages of this book you will meet Rachel who hates writing. One day she breaks her pencil during a test. Her teacher hands her a short pencil with gnaw marks to use. Disgusted, Rachel attempts to rid herself of the pencil, but it keeps returning. She soon discovers it possesses a talent she does not have: the ability to tell stories.

As Rachel holds the pencil, and it writes, the pencil reveals a tale about a kidnaped unicorn. The unicorn’s friend, Prince Jacob, sets out to rescue the unicorn. Jacob convinces the wizard-kidnapper to take him on as an apprentice. While working for the wizard, Jacob discovers the horrible truth: his unicorn friend has been transformed and sent to another world.

This delightful tale is written for children aged seven to eleven and deals with the themes of self-esteem and loyalty.

The publisher and ISBN number are:

ISBN: 978-1-312-32837-2
Publisher: Lulu Enterprises, Inc.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Heather Hobson’s Website

Featured Interview With Beth Rhodes

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’ve been a nomad my whole life. By the time I turned seven, I’d lived in three different states–New York, Florida, and Michigan. I consider Michigan the place I was raised because it’s where I formed those long-term relationships with people I still talk to today. My family lived there for nine years before picking up again and hitting the road, first to Pennsylvania and then on to Virginia a little later. By then I was in college where I met my husband, so we started our own journey that ranged from Ohio to Colorado and a few other places in between. After fifteen years, we’re back in Colorado, enjoying the mountains and dry climate.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been reading since forever. I can’t remember a time I didn’t have some kind of book in my hand. Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew…even The Babysitter’s Club for a little while. I read just about anything I could get my hands on–always fiction, mostly happy endings, except for Bridge to Terabithia. Still one of my favorites, though. When I turned 27, I got wind that the publisher was re-releasing the Trixie Belden series, and boy, did I feel bad for Trixie. I wanted her to have her own happily-ever-after (with Jim, of course). I guess you could say, I got my start in fanfiction. But I didn’t know it at the time. The rest is history.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m a romance reader, plain and simple. I love the happily-ever-after. I love the conflict. The first mainstream romance novel I ever read was Nobody’s Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Her story nailed me, lit a fire in me. I wanted to feel all that….a hundred times over. On my list, she will always be the best writer of emotional, conflict-driven contemporary romance that will leave you with a great big smile on your face. She’s an unbelievable storyteller. Every book I read that leaves me with that feeling inspires me. Whether it’s Elizabeth Lowell or Christina Dodd or the obscure self-published author like Moira Keith, I love a good story. When I can read a book and not think about everything I’ve learned that’s supposed to make a book good, I’m inspired to do the same. Outside of authors, my inspiration comes from my critique group who is always pushing me to be the best, my husband and family who give me the space to do what I love. …occasionally, I’m inspired by that crazy stranger on the street.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Speaking of Trixie Belden, Unwanted Vows was originally conceived as book three to the first book I ever wrote–ten years ago…that crazy fanfiction piece. But my life had evolved, and my husband joined the Army, and all of a sudden, I had a great idea for this brother, Morgan. I had a very skeletal outline for who he was, what he did, and where his Happily-Ever-After would come from… and then it morphed and by the time I sat down to write it, I had something even better. “Trixie’s” story was put aside–possibly to never see the light of day again, and Morgan filled my Word Doc. I wrote it in one month, for National Novel Writing Month–one of the few Novembers I succeeded! Selling it to a publisher was icing on the cake.

I love Morgan. He’s the hero every single mother dreams of… a true knight in shining armor, but instead of armor, jeans, t-shirts, baseball caps, and buckles. Getting him back together with his high school sweetheart weighted down all my happy scales.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Beth Rhodes’s Website

Beth Rhodes Facebook Page

Beth Rhodes Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My friends call me Charlee. I was born in Florida and raised in Georgia which makes me an official Sunshine Cracker. I was married 43 years to my high school sweetheart, the love of my life, until he died in 2009. We had two sons, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild. I now live in Iowa with my seven cats…which officially makes me a Crazy Cat Lady.

My first novel, Keeper of the Wind, was published in mass market paperback in 1996 and since then I have had over 90 novels published. I recently signed the contract on my 100th novel. Writing primarily in dark fantasy/paranormal-supernatural romance, I also write Sci-Fi, horror, mystery/thriller, historical romance and contemporary erotica. I am best known for my Reapers: badass Alpha shapeshifting were/vamps. The first Reaper was introduced in 1998 in the Demon Wind Trilogy, BloodWind, DarkWind, and EvilWind. My bestselling Western Wind Series is what is being called Cowboy Punk. It’s a post-apocalyptic world filled with laser-whip wielding, black-clad, amber-eyed hunks with an attitude.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As soon as I could read I began devouring books. The earliest books I remember reading were Stone Soup and Ben and Me. I wrote my first novel at the ripe old age of twelve. I had a tremendous crush on Michael Landon from Bonanza and the book…written in a composition book…was called Western Flame. At fifteen I wrote a circus drama titled The Great Giovanni after seeing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Robert Vaughn in The Big Show. I have always…and will always…pattern my heroes after actors whose work I admire. If you think you recognize a certain actor in one of my books chances are very good that actor was the basis for the character.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have very eclectic reading tastes but there are several authors whose work I buy and keep on the shelves of my office. Dean Koontz, John Saul and Brian Lumley satisfy my thirst for horror. John Sandford, Dennis Wiltse and Stuart Woods are my mystery/cop fixes. Sherrilyn Kenyon, JR Ward, Christine Feehan and Kresley Cole are my go-to girls when I was paranormal romance. My favorite books to read are Sandford’s. He has three different hero series that intrigue the heck out of me. I adore his characters of Lucas Davenport, Virgil Flowers and the Kidd. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood as well as her fallen angel series are a must on my buying list.

Rosemary Rogers and Anya Seton inspired me to write the books of my heart. Sweet, Savage Love was the first romance novel I ever read and I was hooked from the first chapter. Green Darkness is arguably on every romance writer’s Top Ten list. It is an excellent book and I know dozens of authors who have named it as their favorite book.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book took me a month to write. It was one of those books that write itself. The characters spoke to me so strongly that I found myself thinking about them day and night. Before I started writing the book I could never quite see the hero’s face when I tried to picture him until one night I was surfing YouTube looking for something and came across a Canadian TV series that looked interesting. I downloaded the first couple of episodes to watch that night and continued on surfing. When I went to my bedroom later, plugged in the thumb drive with the episodes into my DVD player, climbed under the sheets with my bowl of hot salsa, tortilla chips and mug of white raspberry tea and turned on the TV, I wasn’t expecting to fall madly, deeply, passionately in love with a TV hero but I did. From the very first shot of Jake Doyle from Republic of Doyle running toward the camera, I was a goner. I remember thinking this Allan Hawco had to be the best-looking actor out there with his curly dark chestnut hair and sexy blue eyes. I was captivated by his character of wise-cracking private eye bad boy with a killer smile. Salsa and chips forgotten, I watched glassy-eyed until I’d watched…then re-watched then re-watched yet again…both episodes. I sat there for about ten seconds after the last scene went black then flung back the covers and ran to the computer to download the other episodes. All five years worth of them! I have NEVER been hooked…OBSESSED is more like it…on a TV show before but I am enslaved to Republic of Doyle and the man who portrayed its lead. I have watched each episode of the six years…this past year was its last…at least three times each. I have my favorites and the last episode of season five is a killer. If you can watch the last fifteen minutes of that episode and not cry, you are a better woman than I. The scene is playing to the haunting song Say Something and is so touching, so beautiful it gave me a hundred ideas for my character. BTW: that episode was written by Allan Hawco and he put his soul into the script. If you are unfamiliar with the man or the show, look him and it up on YouTube.

Thus was the face, personality and pathos of Blayde McClory had been given life.

Here’s the blurb from the book:

From the moment she first saw him, Sage O’Banyon thought Blayde McClory was an arrogant ass but his smoking hot body and smoldering eyes started a fire in her body that nothing could seem to quench. Being pulled into his strong arms, locked against a rock-hard chest and having his sensual lips devour her own was like falling into a cauldron of lust.

But Sage wasn’t the only woman whose body craved Blayde’s. The woman he was sworn to protect considered him hers–body and soul. Her possessive nature was that of a black widow spider and Blayde had become ensnared in her deadly web. If she can’t have him, she’d rather see him dead.

Sage will need the might of the Burgon, himself, to extract Blayde from the hell to which Ailbhe Cunneen has had him sent but will she be in time to save her love?

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Charlotte Boyett-Compo’s Website

Charlotte Boyett-Compo Facebook Page

Charlotte Boyett-Compo Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Jane Lynne Daniels

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Oregon and now live in northeastern Ohio. My relatives are having fun teasing me about the contrast in weather!

I am a proud dog mom – of two Miniature Schnauzers. We refer to Coco as our “biological dog,” as we’ve had her since she was six weeks old. Murray is a rescue. Both have big, lively personalities. I cannot imagine life without dogs. They make regular appearances in my books.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At eight years old, I announced to a neighbor that I would be a writer. It was the one thing I always knew I wanted to do. Childhood was not the happiest time and books that transported me elsewhere became my best friends. I never left the library without a huge pile, which could explain why, for the longest time, I was convinced there was a serious mixup in my life – I was meant to be living in England, somewhere along the Moors.

I didn’t begin writing seriously, though, until my two daughters grew up and left for college.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh, so many – I couldn’t possibly name them all! I read quite a few British authors – Jill Mansell, JoJo Moyes, Katie Fforde and Sophie Kinsella, in particular I also love the stories of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Cruisie, Jami Davenport, Marcella Burnard and Jodi Picoult. I’m inspired by all and so many others.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Starts With a Kiss – about a second chance with that first love. It’s contemporary romance, with paranormal elements and humor.

In the story, the heroine grabs her chance for a do-over of the night that’s haunted her for ten years – when she caused a car accident that paralyzed her college boyfriend and first love, a rising basketball star. But things don’t turn out quite as she expected.

This was the toughest book I’ve ever written and it took about six months to complete. I put a great deal of thought, care and research into it, wanting to do the hero justice. His success and confidence is a big part of what makes him so sexy. I fell for him myself while writing the story.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Jane Lynne Daniels’s Website

Jane Lynne Daniels Facebook Page

Jane Lynne Daniels Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Nancy Sartor

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a Nashville, Tennessee-born woman who just never got around to leaving my home town. I was raised in East Nashville, now a trendy location, but at the time I was raised, it was a good, solid middle class area. My husband, classical composer, David Sartor, and I live in Rural Hill, Tennessee, a tiny rural area about twelve miles from Nashville itself. Our property backs up to the U.S. Corps of Engineers’ wildlife preserve so we have wild turkey, deer, and the occasional bobcat roaming around. Inside our house we live with two Maine Coon Cats, Ginger, who is featured in BONES ALONG THE HILL and Autumn Fire who is a growing kitten and a ton of fun.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I began reading before I was five years old. My mother was an avid reader, much to her husband’s chagrin. Many dinners burned in the kitchen while Mother read just one more page. I entered writing contests in grammar and high school, actually received an honorable mention for a contest held at the prestigious Belmont University. I married, divorced and raised my children alone. Writing took a backseat to making a living. When Dave and I married, he strongly encouraged me to begin writing again, and I did.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read. Period. I adore John Irving. His quirky characters are unparalleled in the world of books and A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY is my favorite book of all time by any author. Stephen King chills my blood and also provides characters I never forget. Ian McEwen’s lyrical writing gives me a far distant goal to keep working to meet. Anne Rice’s MEMNOCK THE DEVIL will forever sit in honor on my shelves. Kent Krueger’s tales set in the great northwest fill my non-writing time often, as do Mary Burton’s romantic suspenses. It is Mary, whose tightly-woven suspense will not be put aside even if the laundry doesn’t get done, who inspires me among current writers. Great stories, great characters and so tightly woven, you have to remember to breathe. Jaden Terrell slides so deeply into the characters, they leap from the page and personally guide you through the story. Jaden’s ability to go that deeply into all the characters in a story is unparalleled in my experience.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The protagonist of BONES ALONG THE HILL came to me in the middle of a dark night and whispered in my ear, “Hi. My name is Neva and I fix the faces of the dead.” I whispered back, “Cool. What else do you do?” But Neva had stopped talking, and so I began to work with those few words. I knew nothing about the funeral industry at the time, so my first step was to research it. I learned a ton about what happens to dead bodies, and there are some pretty nasty stories about misbehavior among those who work in the industry, but nothing that would make a good suspense story. Neva’s aunt Claudia Yates showed up next with her sage understanding of how the world really works and her compassion for the homeless. With her came detective Rex Mason. Neva had her father, Robert, her mother, Sylvia, and her best friend, the irrepressible Moya, but she needed a man. This was, after all, a *romantic* suspense. I struggled for a while, but Davis Pratt, the architect, finally emerged on the pages and became the hunky, brilliant and perfect man he was meant to be. The homeless arrived with Claudia, but human trafficking came late in the five-year writing process and, like real human trafficking, morphed over a year or so into the huge industry it is today. I wanted the novel to say something important, and it does, but I didn’t want it to be a preachy tome on the evils of humanity. From what most of the 25 5-star reviews of BONES say, I achieved my goal. It’s a fast-paced, tightly-woven, suspense-filled story that most readers say they could not put down until the end.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Nancy Sartor’s Website

Nancy Sartor Facebook Page

Nancy Sartor Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Louis K Lowy

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
A former firefighter, I sometimes feel as if I jumped from the fire into the frying pan when I took up writing as a means to fulfill my passion to create characters and worlds that I longed to inhabit or longed to avoid. I also play bass guitar, though not as frequently—something’s gotta give when you write.

Originally from Pittsburgh, I moved at a very young age with my parents to South Florida and have remained here. I have two grown children. I live with my wife and our terrier, KC.

I am a recipient of a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship, my work has appeared in, among others, New Plains Review, The MacGuffin Magazine, The Chaffey Review, and the anthology Everything Is Broken. My first novel, Die Laughing, is a humorously dark sci-fi adventure set in the 1950s.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a child growing up I loved, loved comic books. I accumulated more than 10,000 (and yes, I still have them!) This evolved into a love of books — anything from J.R.R. Tolkein to Sinclair Lewis and Charles Dickens. I play bass guitar and wrote song lyrics for the many original bands I played in. Story writing came later, after I left the fire department and I cut back on playing, mainly because I enjoyed writing so much.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My range is wide open. I love everyone from Jane Austen to Stephen King. I gravitate toward sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural but anything that is well written and engaging I’m always happy to read. Favortie authors include the two previous mentioned ones along with James Joyce, Ray Bradbury, Charles Dickens, Cormac McCarthy, Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty and on and on.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first novel, Die Laughing was released by IFWG Publishing. As I mentioned earlier it is a humorously dark sci-fi adventure that takes place in the 1950s. It is the story of Las Vegas funny man, Sam E. Lakesside, who is abducted by shape-shifting aliens and their leader, a power-hungry mobster, and forced to participate in a plan to rob the earth of it’s oil.

Sam recruits a black-listed comic book writer and the mobster’s ex-girlfriend to fight back. This leads them to New York City and the Steve Allen Show, where Sam is forced to choose what he wants most in the world — to be a star — or the planet’s survival.

IFWG just re-issued the print and e-book version. They added new font and tan, pulp-like paper to the hard copy to give it a 1950s feel. They also corrected a few typos that bothered the heck out of me and, (dare I say it?) allowed me to tighten up a few passages.

My forthcoming book, Pedal, is a women’s fiction novel. It is scheduled for release by Assent Publishing in spring, 2015. Pedal tells the story of Joanne Brick, a single, 49-year-old elementary school music teacher who is fired and struggles to reclaim her life back through bicycle racing.

I wanted to create a realistic, contemporary story with an everyday, middle-age heroine, and where the stakes take on a greater significance beyond itself. I also thought the theme of change and how ordinary people deal with it was an important issue worth writing about, particularly in these times of economic uncertainty.

I hope Pedal will inspire women and men of all ages to overcome life’s turning points.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Louis K Lowy’s Website

Louis K Lowy Facebook Page

Louis K Lowy Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Kal Spriggs

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a Science Fiction and Fantasy Author and a US Army combat vet. I grew up in the Colorado Rockies, but I’ve lived in Texas, New York, Kansas, Missouri, and Georgia. I currently live in Colorado, where I live with my wonderful wife, my infant son, our feline overlords, and a very put-upon dog.

I’m an engineer by training, with a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering. I love figuring out how things work and I think I apply that towards the worlds that I write in.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading full books when I was seven, and started reading fantasy books not long after that. The first fantasy novel I read was The Hobbit, which then led to the Lord of the Rings, and from Tolkien onto David Eddings, Terry Brooks, and a variety of other authors. Science Fiction and Fantasy have always been my passion, with the excitement of the fundamental questions being asked and answered. I started writing not long after and I’ve wanted to be an author since then. My first completed (and readable) novel was finished just after I graduated college and since then I’ve written ten novels, dozens of short stories, and a novella series, many of which are currently in print.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors currently are Jim Butcher and Larry Correia, between the two of them, I get almost all the urban fantasy that I can handle. In addition, I really enjoy Ryk Spoor’s Phoenix series, a traditional epic fantasy setting with some very interesting quirks… to include an intelligent toad who gets into all sorts of mischief.

I’m a huge fan of space opera and military science fiction as well. My favorite authors of the genre include David Webber, Travis S. Taylor, and John Ringo. All three give great military science fiction stories, ranging from epic scale to the nitty gritty details of combat.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Echo of the High Kings. I wrote it while I was deployed to Afghanistan with the US Army. It is an epic fantasy novel written from the perspective that I disliked the traditional fantasy settings where the world is tiny, where nations and characters seem to exist in vacuum, and where themes have often become stale and repetitive. I wanted to explore a world under pressure from cultural changes, barbarian threats, improvements in technology and magic, growth in knowledge, and that existed in a greater universe. I spent over a decade thinking about how this world would work, the implications of a longer year (over 600 days), how the magic works, what technology doesn’t work, and how all this effects the characters.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Kal Spriggs’s Website

Kal Spriggs Facebook Page

Kal Spriggs Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Sally Ann Melia

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Sally Ann Melia was born in the Uk but age 12 emigrated to France, and fiound herself in the perculiar position of learning English as a second language. She was not impressed. Her teacher told her to sit at the back and be quiet. her mother told her ‘ to practise her french’. Sally did all three of these writing her first science fiction novel, sat at the back of a classroom of french children learning english, and developing a life long passion for words and storytelling.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Sally carried on writing through her university years accumulating pages and pages of adventures, and still working towards the great book. It was only on leaving univeristy that she joined the Brum SF club and started to understand what it took to write and publish a novel. For the next years she wrote every kind of text from book reviews, to SF author interviews, to articles on how to write to full blown radio and film scripts.
She completed 3 novels but the publishing deal was still elusive. Out of money and out of luck, Sally took a new role in Events marketign and developed a new passion for amateaur theatre.
years passed and Sally was writing marketing and advertising copy during the day, writing , directing and producing for the amateur stage during the night, then in 2010 with a house move, she discovered all the old manuscripts, and decide to join the Hogs Back Writers.

Sally lives in Farnham Surrey, with a view over the gafnous Hogs Back at the edge of the Surrey Hills, She is married to David, they have two children and three gerbils.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Here are my Top Trumps lists of inspirations and favourites:

Passions: SF&F movies, all-time favourite movie: Armageddon.
Principle influences: Star Wars, Terminator, Game of Thrones and Dune.
Favourite UK authors: Iain M Banks and Peter Hamilton.
Favourite US Author: George RR Martin and Suzanne Collins
Soundtrack to novels: Supertramp, Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler

Motto: And the angels had guitars even before they had wings

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Do I trust you? Can I trust you?
Two boys as different as any two boys might be.
Guy Erma has only one dream – to join the Dome Elite. An unregistered orphan, to gain his place Guy Erma must plead his case to Chart Segat, Commander of the Dome Elite. He must do whatever Chart says.
Teodor, Prince of Freyne, is snatched from a life of privilege by militant borgs, vanguard of the Dome Elite. To survive he must plead his case to Chart Segat. He must do whatever Chart wants.
Whatever Chart Segat wants…
In a fast- paced tale, the boys paths are drawn to a crossroads and a horrific planet-killer peril is revealed, that changes both their lives forever.
The only question remains: “Do I trust you?”
Reviews:
“One of the most powerhouse imaginations I’ve encountered in sci-fi…” Dean C. Moore, Love on the Run

“Set in a world where fashion and fun hide treacherous politics and danger, Guy Erma and the Son of Empire will keep you enthralled.” Sherrill Nilson, Karda: Adalta Vol. 1.
A good old-fashioned political thriller – if you loved both Frank Herbert’s Dune and Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games – you will adore Guy Erma.

Buy the book on Amazon.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Sally Ann Melia’s Website

Sally Ann Melia Facebook Page

Sally Ann Melia Twitter Account