Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Riley May

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up an hour outside of Minneapolis, in the country. I moved to the bigger city the first chance I got, and loved it. I live in Minneapolis, and travel tons throughout the year.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Wow, way too early to think about. I read constantly when I was a kid, up to several books a day (of course, that’s when the books I read were smaller). I read anything and everything I could.

I just started writing a few months ago!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love chick lit and classic novels. Sophia Kinsella, Sinclair Lewis, Matt Dunn, Upton Sinclair, and more are my favorite.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
On a whim, I started a fiction blog. It went from zero to 8000+ readers a month in just 3 short months! It is still growing every day. I decided to put the first three months into an ebook format so people can catch up rather than clicking through the site.

Minne Apple Girl is a fictional chick lit blog written by Riley May. The story centers around Maddie, who recently moved from NYC to Minneapolis – hence the name Minne Apple. Maddie is a city girl, through and through, and is a bit hesitant to move to Minneapolis though finally agrees to do so at the urging of her best friend and cousin, Jessie. Follow Maddie’s story as she learns to adjust to a new city, make friends, start dating, and try to figure out her way in the world.

This is a compilation of the first 3 months of the blog, posted from January 7 – April 4, 2014. Want to see what’s happened since then? Check it out at http://minneapplegirl.com/

A new chapter of the story is posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

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Featured Interview With Vanessa de Largie

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Perth, Western Australia and moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2000. Perth is the most isolated city in the world – it has beautiful beaches and balmy weather but it is lacking a little in culture. Melbourne is a hive of artistic activity, I feel more at home here.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Funnily enough, I wasn’t much of a reader as a child. My love for reading emerged in my late teens and now I’m just a bookworm! I’ve always loved writing – journal writing, letter writing, stories, poetry. It’s what makes me tick.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author is Charles Bukowski, I am a huge fan of his poetry. Other authors of interest to me are -Henry Miller, Anais Nin, Paulo Coelho, Julia Cameron, Milan Kundera, Maya Angelou, Henry Rollins. (Sorry, I got carried away….!)

Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘Don’t Hit Me’ is my personal journey through domestic violence. At the time, my journal was my only witness and release. It helped me survive. He had his fist but my pen was my sword.

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Featured Interview With Kathleen Gamble

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Burma, now called Myanmar. By the time I was 18 I had lived in Mexico, Colombia, Nigeria, Switzerland and the US. When I was 13 I went to boarding school in Texas and later I was in boarding school in Switzerland. As an adult I continued to travel and ended up living in Moscow, Russia for 9 years during the 1990’s. It was a very interesting time to be there. After Russia I came to Washington DC to find work and I have been here ever since.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Growing up we rarely had a TV and even if we did, there was usually not much on. If we got really desperate in Lagos, Nigeria, we could pick up old The Fugitive re-runs. It hardly seemed worth it. So we played cards, talked and read. We read a lot. As a teenager I would get so involved in the book I was reading I would often stay up very late to “just finish one more chapter”. I started writing poetry in high school and short stories. Then in college I had a creative writing teacher who suggested we keep a journal. I have kept journals off and on ever since. My book, Expat Alien, is a product of those journals.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like to read non-fiction and historical fiction. I read all of James Clavell’s books about Japan. I also like mysteries and detective stories. And I find Gertrude Stein very entertaining. I think she had a fascinating life. Lately I have been reading memoirs, many expat memoirs, and spy novels. I want to write a novel but I want it to have a spy in it so I have started reading spy novels for research. I just read one by Charles Cumming called The Spanish Game which I liked. I find that if a book holds my interest and is well written, I can whiz through it in a couple of days. Sadly, over the past decade I have started many books that I could not finish. Other favorites are LeCarre, JD Salinger, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, Tolkien, and T. C. Boyle.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book, Expat Alien, is a memoir. It takes the reader through the ups and downs of growing up without roots. We moved often and traveled constantly. I was always saying goodbye to one group of friends and re-inventing myself in a new environment. When I went to college in California I suffered severe “revers” culture shock. I had no knowledge of popular culture and my fellow students could not relate to me or my background. I looked like them, I talked like them, but I was nothing like them. I overcame it and adjusted and that is really what my story is about. Constantly adjusting and having the resilience to do so. Later I married a Russian American and went to live in Moscow. I watched it go from a Soviet state with no color to a vibrant Cosmo city. But life was a challenge there as well.

Writing a book is a gargantuan task. It is one of the scariest things in the world. Not only is there the fear of failure – “even if I do finish it, will anybody want to read it?”…. but, there is also the fear of losing a part of yourself. Every writer must give a piece of themselves, a part of their soul.

Will it be enough? Is it noteworthy? Why is it necessary? Somebody I know once told me it is a form of immortality. All humans strive for immortality and writing is the way to achieve it. Maybe. But is that why we do it? Really?

The only thing I ever really wanted to do was to write a book. But I thought I would never be able to do it. I was not a good writer. I didn’t have any writing training. I was sure to fail. And yet, I started writing a journal just for myself. I kept all my stories in my journal. I rewrote them. I expanded on them. I wrote them again. I read more books. And then I decided, I would write my book.

Eighteen years ago I wrote my first draft. Ha! I read an article recently on how the more revisions you have the more you are apt to succeed. I think I must have the most revisions ever. This book and I have grown up together. I have made peace with many things. I have cried over many things. I have been touched by many things. I have learned many things. And I have let go of many things. It has grown and shrunk. And I could probably go on revising it for many years to come. But I will not. It is done.

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Featured Interview With Catherine Crumber

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Virginia near the peninsula by my grandparents. Currently, I still live in the United States.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mom is an avid reader. She taught me to read before I entered kindergarten. I started exploring the gift of writing in 1999.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author is Toni Morrison.

I love to read business and self-help books. ( I am still a work in progress).

The world is my muse. Inspiration to write is all around me.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest release is “Ma-Sofia’s Railroad Escape”; part of the “Lunch Break Series” which consist of short stories that can be devoured during your lunch break or daily commute. You can pre-order a copy now. It is due to be released 05/09/2014.

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Featured Interview With B.F. Simone

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Orlando, FL and went to high school across from Universal Studios (where I got my first job—not so glamorous). I moved to Boise, ID for college and have been in love ever since. The smell of the river, and the jasmine trees during spring feel like home to me. I am, however, currently living in Japan with my husband and son. We love it here, but my husband and I do look forward to going back to our Boise community.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
What age? Well I do remember running around my kindergarden classroom “teaching” my classmates how to read, but I’d have to say when I was eleven. I sat in my fifth grade classroom after recess. We laid our tired heads on the desk and my teacher played an audiobook. From the classic British accent of Jim Dale all the way through the magic that is Harry Potter I fell in love. When I was seventeen after mega-dosing on a Harry Potter binge (right before the next movie release) I stayed up all night and wrote a story I’d started earlier that day in a U.S History class. From that day on I’d started on a dangerous path.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors? There are so many to list! However, I’ll stick to the three most influential: J.K. Rowling, Jaclyn Moriarty, and Stephanie Perkins. I don’t have a favorite genre as much as I love great stories. If it’s a great story I’ll love it. That said, these three great writers have struck something within me. Now I too strive to write great stories.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
From the day he showed up on her front porch, he desperately needed three things: a new beginning, a place to belong, and someone to stand beside him.

By the time she figured that out, it was too late.

In a world where being half-vampire is a dark secret that tears families apart, 16 year-old Katie Watts must face her past, decide who she is, and save the boy she loves.

The Keeper’s Vow.

I feel so much about this book. It took me one week to write the book, but three years to revise, edit, and dig deep into the story. Tristan I understood straight away. He was hurt and moody (what teenage YA paranormal boy isn’t?) but I had a hard time knowing who Katie really was. It took almost a year for me to realize I didn’t know because the story was about her figuring that out. I would go days listening to the same soundtracks trying to get into my characters heads and feel what they were feeling. I even changed as a person because of it. The book is definitely about relationships and how we treat the people we love. I couldn’t help but look at my own relationships and wonder—am I creating monsters in the people I love?

The next book however, is going to be filled with the paranormal world around them and the power struggle that ensues.

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Featured Interview With Chelsey Colleen Hankins and Emily Martens

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Chelsey: I was raised in the small, but very charming town of Magee, Mississippi. I was surrounded by family throughout my entire childhood. From my sister to my cousins there was never really a dull moment in the Hankins house.

Emily: I grew up in Weaverville, California which is a tiny Gold Rush town way up in the mountains. It has no stoplights and is surrounded by woods with one road in or out. Needless to say there was a lot of time and space for developing the imagination.

We both graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (where we met), and after working together as stunt performers for a Hollywood sword fighting team, co-writing a comedy webseries, and starting our own business as Public Relations Copywriters, we conjoined our mutual love of sweeping historical dramas and intimate, character-driven stories to create the fictional world of Eden, Mississippi. We now live in the magical and exciting city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Emily: My parents read me The Hobbit when I was about three years old, and that was the first time I remember words capturing my imagination. I was obsessed with learning how to read, and as soon as I conquered it, I devoured every book I could get my hands on. I wrote my first story when I was six years old. It was called “The Stinky Cheese Man.” I’ve been addicted to writing ever since.

Chelsey: I’ve always been a bit of a reader. Nothing in particular when I was younger, just whatever seemed to catch my eye. My sister and I used to spend hours playing in the woods behind our house. It was there that stories started coming alive in my head, but it wasn’t until my freshman year of high school that I really started to recognize the joy writing brought me. My Honors English teacher, Barbara Fuller, was one of the first people who told me I had a talent for writing. She encouraged me and inspired me to keep at it. She’s a big part of why I’m here.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Emily: My all-time favorite authors are Barbara Kingsolver, Alexandre Dumas, John Steinbeck, Stephen King, and Madeleine L’Engle among many others. I read all genres. I am particularly fond of historical fiction, dystopian fiction and quirky urban fantasy. I love adventures and unforgettable characters that I can get addicted to.

Chelsey: I like Jane Austen and Tolkien, but in all honesty I connect more with playwrights. Oscar Wilde and Arthur Miller are two of my absolute favorites. I also really enjoy Christopher Marlow’s work. Like Emily, I read most genres. As long as it’s a character driven story I’m hooked.

We are both television fanatics. Steven DeKnight, Joss Whedon, Jenji Kohan, Alan Ball and J.J. Abrams are among our absolute favorites. We’re all about gripping stories and character development, and those writers are masters of both.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Death of Eden: Outlaw is the first in an exciting series spanning the Civil War in the South from its early beginnings to its aftermath. Our original concept, like many, was born on a bar stool. One of us asked, “What if Robin Hood took place during the Civil War?” A few sips of beer and a very long conversation later, we had written down brief sketches of our outlaw gang and the colorful collection of characters inhabiting Eden, Mississippi. From that moment on, the story of Eden consumed our lives. We spent every spare second researching and reading and gathering ideas. We visited museums and battlefields and antebellum mansions. We stayed up until dawn writing away until our little idea had transformed into the adventurous, romantic, heartrending and gritty five-book epic that is Death of Eden.

In this first installment, set on the eve of the Civil War, Jesse Locke and a band of outlaws led by the dauntless, unpredictable Jack Ross find themselves with no other choice but to seek sanctuary in Jesse’s former backwoods home. After being run out of town for murder seven years earlier, Jesse arrives to find his mother dead, his sister in the whorehouse and nothing at all as he left it. Having entrusted the survival of his family to his oldest friend, Hank Walker, Jesse sets out to put right the betrayal that has befallen in his absence. But with the gallows a misstep away and ravenous enemies closing in, Jesse finds himself thrown into a tempest of insatiable passions, corrupt justice and treacherous temptations that threaten to send him and everyone he loves to the grave.

Not merely sweeping historical fiction, Death of Eden is an intimate exploration of a time of decadence and distress, beauty and brutality seen through the eyes of those both fortunate and unfortunate enough to live it.

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Featured Interview With Jill Dobbe

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Besides being an author, I am an overseas educator. I am currently living and working in my 7th country, Honduras, and in the past I have lived and worked in Ghana, Guam, Singapore, Mexico, Egypt, and India. I am originally from Wisconsin, USA, and have two adult children. My daughter is also an overseas educator and is with us in Honduras, and my son is studying to be a doctor.

I got into writing when I realized I had lots to tell about my family’s unique lifestyle and experiences while living overseas. It was not always an easy lifestyle, but the many exciting adventures and famous sites we saw around the world made up for the difficult times. When my husband and I first went overseas our two children were toddlers. Ten years later we moved back to the U.S. when they were teenagers. Moving back to the U.S. was also a time of reverse culture shock for all of us.

My travel memoir, HERE WE ARE & THERE WE GO: Teaching and Traveling With Kinds in Tow, highlights the good and bad times, as well as, the lessons we learned about living and accepting other cultures and other ways of life.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been a big reader all of my life. I never really considered writing my own book though until I got into this lifestyle. It was then that I realized how much I liked to read travel memoirs, especially about women, and I learned that there were other readers out there like me.

My husband was actually the person who encouraged me to write about our lives overseas. As I wrote my memoir I reminisced with him and my children about our numerous experiences. As a result, writing my memoir became a sort of family project and they found it exciting that they were all in it!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t really have any so-called favorite authors, however I extremely enjoy reading memoirs, especially travel memoirs. I don’t mean to be biased, but I find that I can relate better to female authors who write travel books and memoirs.

I wrote my memoir in a year and a half while I was also working full time as an elementary administrator. I am proud of it, but learned a lot more about writing a book AFTER I got mine published. I am currently writing my second memoir about living and working in Egypt, India, and Honduras (this time without kids) and am taking it slower, especially since I am still living it. I enjoy writing and hope to produce many more travel memoirs; as long as I can keep traveling the world.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My memoir, HERE WE ARE & THERE WE GO, chronicles my family’s ten years of living and working as educators in four different countries (Singapore, Mexico, Guam, Ghana). My husband and I, with our two toddlers, first set off to the island of Guam and end with a year’s stint in Mexico before returning to the U.S. During those ten years we encountered a hurricane, shook hands with then president and first lady, Bill and Hillary Clinton on their visit to Ghana, swam with humpback whales, and almost got chased by lions. My memoir also describes our life with other cultures as we were introduced to their foods, their festivals, and their daily lives. Our many travels abroad finally ended as we returned to the U.S. and experienced our own version of reverse culture shock.

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Featured Interview With Stuart Keane

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name’s Stuart Keane and I was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. When I turned thirty I moved to Ipswich, also in England.

At about this time I started to pursue a long standing dream to be a writer. On April 2, I realised that dream when my debut novella was published on Amazon Kindle. My writing is influenced by some great horror/suspense writers, past and present, alive and dead. These guys inspired me to become the writer I am today.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was seven when I read my first adult book. The book was Flesh by Richard Laymon. This pretty much cemented my passion to become a writer. A chapter in that book just scared me, terrified me so much and I remember that feeling, remember thinking it was petrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. That feeling, to have it coming from pages in a book which, at a glance, look so boring…it fascinated me. I couldn’t get my head around how imagination can play a huge part in the reading process…to this day, it still amazes me.

I started drawing comics a year later. I first started writing properly when I was in secondary (high) school. Of course, I read whenever possible and during my GCSE’s I nailed an A* in my first full written assignment. I believe that instilled the will to write inside me. I have written regularly since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
To name a few: Stephen King, Richard Laymon, James Herbert, Shaun Hutson and Lee Child. I read anything really but I enjoy horror and suspense/crime thrillers the most. Stephen King has been the most influential writer in my life so far however the aforementioned writers have all had a huge impact on me. For example, I met Lee Child two years ago and he personally wished me luck in my aspirations to be a writer via the medium of a signed book. I have pictures I regularly refer to. It’s a huge confidence booster.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I just released my debut novella, The Customer Is Always… on Amazon Kindle. Vincent is a normal guy working a normal call centre job. However, he receives a call from Mr Pierce which. at first, is routine and friendly. However, Mr Pierce becomes more violent and demanding before revealing a horrifying secret which could shatter Vincent’s 9-5 life and change the lives of the people around him.

The inspiration came from my day job. It just stuck in my mind. I always wondered what would happen if a customer called up and took it beyond the boundaries of being rude…the next step being violent and deadly. Living and breathing that world on a daily basis was perfect for such an idea. It was fun to write and took two weeks before I nurtured it and had it copy edited by a published author.

Taking normal situations and blending them with level of evil has always appealed to me. I feel if a reader can imagine the situation, place themselves in it and live it, that the reader will be engaged for longer. Vincent has a real human element to him that makes him very interesting and real. The chemistry between the two main characters is riveting and electric. Its reviewed well so far. It was only released several days ago and already has thirteen 5* reviews across Amazon and Goodreads.

My first full length novel, All or Nothing, is released in May. Details can be found on www.stuartkeane.com.

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Featured Interview With Jack Tyler

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in San Diego, California, the son of a navy diver and a professional gambler, I joined the service to dodge the draft, sailed a wooden ship in a navy made of steel, and cruised the Orient on the deck of a tanker… all before my 21st birthday. My upbringing in an all-female household meant that no one was ever on hand to teach me that women were inferior, servants, sex objects, or any of the other negative stereotypes they fight against to this day. I believe this accounts in large part for my respectful treatment of female characters. They are always capable, always competent, and always play a pivotal role in my fiction.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t fascinated with books. My great-grandmother had me reading at the age of three, and while the difficulty and subject matter changed, the love never went away.

I can recall writing serious fiction (or fiction seriously) in third grade, which would be 1955. That makes it almost sixty years. Granted, it wasn’t anything anyone would want to read, but that was the beginning of the development of my craft. I wrote one meaningless story after another, always practicing, until the age of 18, when I decided I could write a book. Turned out I couldn’t, but the serious attempts began then. I began by mimicking whatever latest movie grabbed me. Sci-fi, spies, war, whatever, I was right there with my pen and notebook. After my “career” at sea, I accepted an ancient typewriter in lieu of payment for cutting a neighbor’s lawn, and my creativity expanded by leaps and bounds. Around 1990 I realized that there was more to it than to just grab a piece of paper and start writing, and leaped head-first into the world of how-to-write-books books. Beginning in ’95, I wrote five novels, none of which found a publisher, but my style and presentation solidified. I wrote three fantasies, a police procedural, and a story about an Irish terrorist become paladin for the oppressed. Having collected enough rejection slips to wallpaper a small bedroom, I took a long hiatus, after which I was inspired by a good friend to try my hand at steampunk. I fell in love at once and never looked back.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My absolute favorite author is R.A. Salvatore, primarily for his long-running Drizzt DoUrden series. An evil drow or dark elf, one of an elfin race that lives underground with a kill-on-sight edict hanging over his head, Drizzt finds that he cannot abide the evil that is rampant all around him, and comes to the surface to try to make a life. Stories about an outsider who is more than what he appears to be have instant appeal to anyone who has ever felt like one, me included.

From Bruce Catton I learned to narrate epic battles, from Joss Whedon the importance of humor in drama, and from John Norman I learned how detail brings created worlds to life. Jules Verne defines my style, and I get my voice from emulating Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I’m currently looking for a steampunk author to place on the mantel alongside these fantasy, sci-fi, history and historical writers. I have slogged through and discarded several authors who have been touted to me as steampunk icons (no names, please!), and have finally found a good one in Gail Carriger. It’s too early to enshrine her at this point, but I’ve worked through most of the Parasol Protectorate series, and have been delighted thus far.

My reading tastes are those of a ten-year old boy. I still enjoy good fantasy, rollicking adventure stories, especially period pieces, and I harbor a soft spot in my heart for the ass-kicking female. This last has to be exceptionally well-handled, though; most of the ones I encounter are leaden clichés, parodies of the women they claim to represent. The best ones are understated. They don’t swagger, they don’t brag on their prowess, they don’t act like men. They feel fear, and in so doing, they bring their own feminine qualities to the profession of the warrior. Eowyn of Lord of the Rings is a good example, as are Cattie-brie from the Drizzt stories, and Clarise from Silence of the Lambs.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Beyond the Rails” is a continuing series of stories all concerning the same group of people. At 10-15,000 words, these stories bridge the gap between short stories and novellas. I guess you aren’t supposed to do that, but these were written for my own enjoyment, and each is as long as it needs to be. They take place in colonial Kenya in 1882 (so far), and concern the five people who live aboard a cobbled together dirigible moving cargo and occasionally people beyond the rail line that connects the seaport of Mombasa with the trading town of Nairobi.

The owner and captain is Clinton Monroe, a one-time star of the Royal Aero Force, cashiered for misconduct who landed in Africa and turned his hand to the only trade he knew. His engineer is Gunther Brown, product of a Prussian-English marriage. The deck hand is David Smith, an obvious alias for an American cowboy and gunslinger, a man on the run whose mysterious past could catch up with him at any time. The pilot is Patience Hobbs, another fugitive, though in her case, a fugitive from the gilded prison of life as a well-bred English lady. Rounding out the cast is Nicholas Ellsworth, a fresh-from-Cambridge botanist on a crusade to revolutionize medicine by cataloguing the pharmacology of the exotic fauna to be found throughout the landscape. He is the “teaching” character, the greenhorn who must be taught everything, and thereby teaches the reader. As you might imagine, the adventure isn’t in the moving of the cargo, but the extraneous events that happen to them while they are trying to do this.

The good friend I mentioned above, who shall be known as “Chops,” is a tabletop wargamer, and in the fall of 2010 he was involved in a series of battles utilizing a game called Dystopian Wars. It has a very steampunkish theme, and inspired by his enjoyment of it, he approached me to join him in a project to write a series of stories based loosely on the game. After we had put together a fair amount of material, the requirements of his job changed dramatically. Specifically, he found himself called upon to travel almost continuously, and could no longer invest the time we needed to put our opus together. He told me to carry on, but rather than commandeer his project, I moved it 40 years in time and 4,000 miles in space, and Beyond the Rails was born. It took about a year and a half to get the first six stories into finished form, a time frame that includes two false starts that had to be scrapped. I had all of them posted on writing.com for a good while, where they were well-received by the membership. Despite this, I wasn’t thinking of publishing when I began the project, so felt no sense of urgency; now I do, and hope to have Volume 2 ready sometime in the fall.

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Featured Interview With K.B. Jensen

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in snowy Minneapolis, Minnesota and currently live in Chicago in a little neighborhood called Hyde Park near the lakefront. It makes living in the city feel like living in a small town sometimes. I love my neighborhood.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The reading obsession started in second grade. I used to stay up all night reading books when I was a kid.

I got my first journal when I was seven years old. It was blue and plastic with ringed pages that you could refill. I wanted one with a lock on it but my mom was pinching pennies at the time. I wrote a short story in third grade and won a guinea pig named Patches in a writing contest. My teacher used to send me to the principal’s office to read my stuff. I’ve been lucky. I had so many good teachers over the years.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors include J.R.R. Tolkien, Paolo Coehlo and William Goldman. I love a lot of different genres, whether it’s literary, science fiction or a good mystery, and I don’t limit myself to any one genre when I’m writing or reading.

I grew up reading Agatha Christie novels and they’ve definitely influenced me. I like laying out a cast of characters and giving the reader the option to pick one. But I also tried to break out of the murder mystery formula with Painting With Fire, to get away from the mold. It’s told from the perspective of the neighbors rather than a traditional detective or sleuth. Other authors inspire me, but mostly it’s the people in my life who I love, people I’ve met along the way and interesting characters.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Painting With Fire is an artistic murder mystery with a hint of romance. It took me four years to write it. It was like arranging a giant puzzle.

It’s a tale of murder in the Windy City, reckless justice and love without trust. It all starts with Claudia Wilson, a woman down on her luck living with a stranger, an artist named Tom. After the two of them discover a body on the street corner, buried in a snow bank, Claudia becomes obsessed with the murder and the fact that her roommate is not telling her everything about his past. While police search for the killer in her building, she wonders if she should be searching for a new roommate.

Claudia learns everything she can about the neighbors, as well as Tom. In the end, she makes a startling discovery. When art and violence collide, the results can be explosive.

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Featured Interview With J.P. Brewner

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
If you love dynamic characters, intense action, or supernatural mysteries in a technologically advanced world, I just might be the right author for you. My name is J.P. Brewner, and I am a 7th grade English teacher who loves to write. After I grew up in St. Charles, IL, a suburb of Chicago, I moved to Batavia, another Chicago suburb. I currently teach in Geneva where I also coach cross country, track, and boys basketball. Since I started writing three years ago, I’ve written two books. The first is The Trifecta: Initiation and the other is the sequel, The Trifecta: Resurrection. The whole series will be five books, so I am beginning work on the third book while also working on a few other writing projects that have been buzzing around in my head.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was young, around ten years old, when I first realized I loved the idea that books can take a reader anywhere. This was when I began writing creative stories in all different types of genres. However, I started working on The Trifecta series in 2011. I wanted to experience the writing process with my students, so I began working on a short story that just evolved into something bigger.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Ray Bradbury is my favorite author, which is why I try to emulate his use of metaphors and similes. I also like most current young adult authors like Veronica Roth or Rick Riordan because they create relatable characters whom young readers can learn from and look up to. I like science fiction and fantasy books most, but I will read just about anything fiction.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Trifecta: Resurrection, Book Two in The Trifecta series, will be available on April 7th, 2014. What I love is that this book follows two different characters. The first is Michael Fleming, the super powered main character from book one, but the second is Mr. Mental, the newly resurrected villain of the story. The reader gets to see Michael’s power accelerate while he tries to find his missing brother and defeat an evil genius named Mastermind. Meanwhile, they also experience Mr. Mental’s attempt to resurrect his criminal organization after escaping from a prison where he was incarcerated for the last 16 years. I think the reader will really like the shifting back and forth between the two perspectives, especially because deep down, I think people are fascinated by the villains of most stories.

I am starting work on Book Three of the series. The first book took me about 2 years to complete, while the second took a year and a half. If you want to know a little about how the book series starts, here you go. This is what The Trifecta: Initiation is all about:

Even in a a city of super-powered enforcers, receiving the code name Mr. Infiniti brands main character Michael Fleming as infinitely special.

Michael has lived most of his life in Africa, but when a poacher kills his brother, he moves to Hero City to develop his supernatural gifts. After he arrives, Michael meets other heroes, friends and allies such as Blue Moon, a stunningly beautiful girl with impressive abilities of her own. Unfortunately, Michael also discovers conspiracy and intrigue: Someone is killing the most elite Trifecta members, and there may be a traitor within the their ranks. He also learns that he is destined for more than he previously thought when he discovers that his chest bears the birthmark of Mr. Infinity, “the greatest and most powerful hero in the world’s history.”

Although Michael receives a warm welcome from Auto, the Trifecta leader, he can’t shake the feeling that his new allies are hiding something from him while an ominous force watches from the shadows, influencing every move he makes.

If you would like to learn more about Michael/Mr. Infiniti, you can check out his short video trailer at:

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Featured Interview With Donna Marie

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a Midwestern gal born in Chicago into an Italian/Norwegian family. Until 8th grade, I attended a Catholic elementary school. Then, we were off to the suburbs. Here I am, many years later, still living in a Chicago suburban neighborhood with my wonderful husband and four amazing sons. I love the Midwest, or at least three of the seasons. I could do without winter.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Story writing did not become an interest to me until I was in high school. In Freshman English class, we were assigned many creative writing projects. It was my favorite class, with a supportive teacher who happened to value my completed assignments. It wasn’t until I was married, and after my first two boys were born, that I began dabbling in writing once again. At that time, I wrote children’s stories, and submitted them to magazines. I also wrote a children’s picture book which is not yet published.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I do love romance novels. But, they need to have a good love story. I read the type of stories that I tend to write; stories with not only love and romance, but a strong family premise as well. Nicholas Sparks books have always been a favorite of mine. Also, I enjoy James Patterson books that are more on the romantic side.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Gracie Mae, A Story of Courage and Love, is a story which I began writing in 2008. It was put on a back burner while I worked on my previously published book, We Can Love Again. Later, in 2013, I revisited my Gracie project until completed earlier this year.

Gracie Mae is a mother of two small children, who escapes the violence of her husband, Rich, and attempts to create a new peaceful life. When Ella and Jacob acquire a typical childhood illness which brings them to the doctor, the pediatrician, Dr. John Azzari, takes an immediate interest in Gracie and her children as he senses the fear in Ella, and notices the distress in Gracie’s eyes. When Gracie eventually opens up to the handsome doctor, their attraction is inevitable. Unfortunately, just when life seems safe and happy, the terror begins when Rich brings his threats to reality.

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Featured Interview With A. Russell Jones

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Knoxville, TN, and now reside in High Point, NC by way of Champaign, IL and Houston (Conroe), TX. I’ve been reading since I was very young–a skill I made sure to transfer to my children at very young ages as well. I’ve had a plethora of jobs–everything from delivering newspapers, to restaurant work, sales, zookeeper, teacher, programmer, technical writer and editor, and now novel author. I’m interested in all sorts of things, particularly music, programming, science, history, and of course, reading and writing.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My sisters and I didn’t get allowances when we were small; instead, we earned money largely by writing research papers, memorizing poems and prose, and memorizing and performing music. All that early practice made school relatively easy. Until recently, I wrote mostly technical content, such as research papers, Master’s and Ph.D. theses, interactive computer-based training lessons, programming books and articles, and so on. I’ve found writing fiction to be both similar and very different. The mechanics are the same; the process is radically different.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have so many “favorite” authors that it’s impossible to list them all; however, among them are Jane Austen, A. S. Byatt, John Fowles, John Irving, John Kennedy Toole, Umberto Eco, David Lindsey, Michael Gruber, C. M. Bennett, George R. R. Martin, Philip Jose Farmer, Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, Lewis Caroll, Arturo Perez-Reverte, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jose Saramago, and so many others. I read and enjoy both fiction and non-fiction; I’d have to say that my readings have swung toward the latter in the past few years.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, “Rabbit’s Foot,” is a novel of luck. I’d like to think it’s a deep exploration of luck; it provides the setting and story, but leaves a great deal up to the readers. I’d say that the biggest problem in writing it was dealing with time. The two main characters, Tom Meacham, an author down on his luck, and Bethany (Bethy) Belsen, a girl who’s lucky–but not for herself–only for people in her immediate vicinity need to meet, but their lives follow different timelines. Coordinating their timelines was tough.

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Featured Interview With Philip Slayton

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Philip Slayton was born in London, England, and studied law at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Having immigrated to Canada as a child, he returned upon graduation to clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada. In the first chapter of his professional legal career he was a law professor and dean of law at Western University.

Philip then went into legal practice with a major Canadian law firm in Toronto, and worked on many of the biggest corporate and commercial transactions of the time. After seventeen years, he retired from the practice of law in 2000.

Upon leaving Big Law, Philip Slayton wrote the best-selling book Lawyers Gone Bad: Money, Sex and Madness in Canada’s Legal Profession. Philip and his book were the subjects of a Maclean’s magazine cover story with the controversial headline “Lawyers are Rats.” The Toronto Star labeled Slayton “Public Enemy #1.” His second book was Mighty Judgment: How the Supreme Court of Canada Runs Your Life.

Most recently, Philip independently published his first novel, Bay Street.

Slayton is a regular contributor on law-related topics to Canadian magazines and newspapers, and is an occasional commentator on television and radio. He is president of PEN Canada. He divides his time between Toronto, and a small rural community in Nova Scotia.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have loved books from the moment I could read. As a passionate reader throughout my adulthood, I harbored a great desire to write; I did not truly have the opportunity until I retired from practicing law.

Tell us a little about your latest book?

Bay Street is my first novel. I drew from my experience of almost twenty years as a corporate lawyer on Bay Street, (the heart of Toronto’s legal and banking businesses,) and had fun with it. I imagined a conflicted female junior partner, because women have a particular set of difficulties in big law. Surrounding her with a colorful array of questionable characters and corrupt motives, allows for an entertaining fly-on-the-wall effect, while the intrigue of a murder mystery keeps you hooked.

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Featured Interview With Nicole Belanger

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a nineteen year old author. I published my first novel at the young age of seventeen. I lived in New Hampshire until I was twelve when I moved to Maine with my parents and brother. I now live in my own apartment in Westbrook, Maine with a good friend of mine. I’m an avid photographer, Certified Nursing Assistant, soon-to-be EMT, a nursing student and currently working on my second novel.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been able to read since I was very young. I was always ahead of the other children and I began writing my own stories when I was six. When I was seven, I wrote a story called “The Cat that Leaves Fish Alone”. I actually thought about finding that story and fixing it up to publish it. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I began writing my first novel, Lost Voice, which is about Domestic Violence.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read Stephen King and Nicholas Sparks. I don’t have a favorite genre, but I definitely like action. I hate when a story drags on for no reason without any kind of mysterious element to it. Stephen King definitely inspires me in my writing, reminding me to use the element of surprise.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Lost Voice is about a young woman who’s trapped in an abusive relationship. As the abuse progresses, she realizes she had to find her voice and save herself or lose her life. She embarks on a battle to stop the violence as she puts her life, as well as the lives of the people she loves the most, in danger.

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Featured Interview With Brett Hetherington

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Canberra, Australia. Since 2006 I have lived with my wife Paula and our young son Hugo in the Barcelona region of Catalonia, northern Spain. Before that we lived in England and also Japan.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
That´s an excellent question for a writer. I think I must have been only three or four years old. My mother used to read to my twin brother and I a lot – things like the Little Golden Book with stories like Scuppers, The Sailor Dog and I loved anything by Dr. Zeuss when I was young. I started keeping little diary-ish books when I was about 12 but only got serious about it in my mid 20s.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
George Orwell, Paul Theroux, Primo Levi, Carlo Levi,Don Watson, Slavenka Drakulić, Paul Auster, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Rory Maclean,Joanna Bourke, Eduardo Galeano, Bob Dylan(!) They all inspire me in different ways.

I have to read a lot of fiction for my work as a reviewer but a good travel book will always win me over.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Remade Parent, a non-fiction book is my latest publication. It took over 8 years to write alltogether.

This book deals with the problem of “Why We Are Losing Our Children & How We Can Get Them Back .” It combines my personal experience as a parent and a teacher of secondary schools for 15 years (in 4 different countries) with concrete ways of helping mothers and fathers recognize how, why and where their parenting is under the greatest pressure.

I also explain the deeper reasons for men too often failing in their role as fathers and looks truthfully at the current phenomenon of many mothers increasingly “opting out” of being genuinely involved in their children’s lives.

Finally, I offer an optimistic picture of ‘The ReMade Parent:’ the carer we all have within us, waiting to be awakened – a new kind of thoughtful, understanding, and physically present parent. One that will provide the “continuous care, concern and affection” that our children need now more than ever.

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Featured Interview With Andy Peloquin

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Japan and lived there until the age of 14, when I moved to the Western Hemisphere. I have traveled around Mexico a great deal over the last 14 years, and am currently writing from sunny Baja California.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I picked up an encyclopedia at age 5, and have been reading avidly ever since! I found my true love in the form of Sherlock Holmes, and have been consuming books at a very steady rate for years.

It was a grade school teacher of mine that set me to writing–Japanese haikus, in fact. He inspired that love of writing in me, and I’ve never stopped! I now write for a living, but have only recently made my first foray into the world of fiction writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors include:

A.C. Doyle

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Scott Lynch

Brandon Sanderson

Brent Weeks

Jim Butcher

Robert E Howard

Karl E. Wagner

My genre is definitely fantasy, but none of that epic stuff with grand heroics and world-changing stuff. Think the small stories, about the heroes or two who don’t make a huge change in the world, but change the lives of those they interact with.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
This book burst out of me when I was a young man, telling a story of an epic adventure that I had always dreamed of. It had all the travel, mystery, suspense, action, heroics, and romance that a young man could ask for.

Then life got in the way, and I put down the pen for the better part of a decade. When I picked up the manuscript again, it turned into something much more realistic, more sincere, something from within me. After a month of hard writing, it was finished.

There’s still plenty of the old adventurous spirit that I love, but with a lot more of real life thrown in. Years of being a parent and living through a lot of serious things causes you to see the world through new eyes, and you stop seeing things so naively.

The novel tells the story of a man who is content with his life, but who finds that his future is thrown completely out of control when a prophet of doom foretells the end of Atlantis. His journey to find the truth leads him across the Empire of Atlantis, along with the Empress he serves. Assassins lurk around every corner, and there is danger everywhere.

It’s an epic adventure, but it’s Deucalion’s personal journey as well.

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Featured Interview With J Glen Percy

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised – and proudly so! – in the population center of…drumroll…. Natrona County, Wyoming, in a town called Casper. Not too big or small, Casper was a great place to grow up and provided awesome access to the one thing that is often hard to find nowadays; remoteness. Boy Scouts and swimming absorbed much of my adolescence. At 18 I moved to Lawrence, KS to pursue a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas. Five years of ballooning braincells and debt was reward with a degree, and a job with Boeing in Seattle, WA. My five years spent in Seattle designing airplanes were absolutely amazing and less than a year separated, I am missing it tremendously. The desire to be closer to family has me currently living in the Kansas City area (and loving the proximity to my Jayhawks!). I am always on the lookout for the next big adventure and, given my personality, am positive that I could live anywhere on our wonderful planet (or off) and find enjoyment/satisfaction! My latest book actually begins in Seattle and ends in Casper, covering the mountainous wilderness in between as the four adolescent protagonists make the journey on foot. Certainly my love of where I come from and where I’ve been play a huge role in the setting.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always enjoyed books, but it wasn’t until reading the Lord of the Rings in seventh grade that I became fascinated with the worlds and narratives that printed words can create. Heavily focusing my education and career on math/science related disciplines (one does not become an aerospace engineer without a heavy dose of both), I realized that I had been neglecting my creative side and decided one dreary Seattle day (sorry for the redundancy!) to pick up pen and paper. My mother will testify that I was always entertaining myself as a child; writing, I believe, is my adult manisfestation of that. You see, I still play pretend. I simply do it in front of a computer where I can share the fantasy with others. With each book written, I have learned more and more about the process, both creatice and business. Practice makes perfect, though, I remain stuck on the former and plan on happily being so for the rest of my career!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Asking for a favorite author is like asking for a favorite moment in my life. There are so many brilliant ones to choose from and I might put one above the other depending on the moment, my mood, the cycle of the moon, etc…. I have always loved reading fantasy (see Lord of the Rings above) and have devoted a not-insignificant sum of my life to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Like music, my brain hasn’t of yet limited itself to the enjoyment of one genre, and I find myself enjoying a little of this and a little of that from just about every corner of the literary world. As far as inspiration I often look beyond the literary world to current events, politics, history, and science, and as of late, have been looking towards the stars 😉

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest work, A Few Lives Lost, follows four very different children on their journey across the wilderness of the western United States as they struggle to comprehend political freedom, nature’s callousness, and – as importantly one another. Complicating matters for the children is the endless pursuit that shadows them every step of the way. The narrative comes through Thomas, a 15 year-old with the outdoors, hunting, and marksmanship in his blood, who is forced to embark on the journey for the sake of his little sister’s future. The children meet up with two misfit orphans who Thomas would rather not associate with and Abbi, his younger sister, is all too welcoming of. One thing is certain, if the four children are to survive pursuit, the wilderness, and each other, they must do so together despite their seemingly endless and conflicting differences. Now that Thomas is the prey and his parents’ captors the hunter, how will he use his extensive skills to ensure survival?

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Featured Interview With Steven Donahue

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Steven Donahue was a copywriter for TV Guide magazine for 14 years. His first novel, Amanda Rio, was published in 2004. He released three novels in 2013: The Manila Strangler (Rainstorm Press), Amy the Astronaut and the Flight for Freedom (Hydra Publications), and Comet and Cupid’s Christmas Adventure (Createspace). His short story Grit was also included in the anthology Hero’s Best Friend by Seventh Star Press in 2014. Born in Philadelphia, he now resides in Bucks County with his wife, Dawn, and their numerous animals.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I fell in love with books in grade school after reading the sports novels of author Matt Christopher. I wrote sparingly in high school and college, and it wasn’t until my 30’s that I began to write seriously, starting with my novel Amanda Rio.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love books by Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Ernest Hemingway, and Richard C. Clarke. I prefer Sci-Fi stories, but I do enjoy mysteries and dramas. Bradbury and Hemingway inspire me the most and my style reflects a combination of their writing styles.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Amy the Astronaut and the Flight for Freedom:

Twelve-year-old Amy Sutter steals the experimental spacecraft Liberty Bell to rescue her father and his colleagues from alien captors called the Crownaxians. She is pursued by Lt. Yale Brown, the officer in charge of the ship’s security, who has orders to bring back the Liberty Bell at any cost.

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