Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Kelvin Bueckert

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on a small farm out on the wild, untamed plains of Manitoba, Canada. More recently I’ve found civilization in the small town of Gladstone. A town best known for a giant smiling rock just outside of town. Why a smiling rock? Think of the name, Gladstone. Ahem.
Pets? No. My imagination causes enough problems.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As soon as I started to read. I started writing and performing my own stuff at a pretty young age…maybe seven years old?

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Donald Miller is an inspiration with his insights drawn from ordinary life and events. My favorite genre to read? Hm. Anything that is interesting?
Would that be specific enough for you?

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Uncle Kelly’s Second Book of…Wisdom?
What is it?
Hm. There’s a lot of satire and humor and that’s just on the about the author page! But seriously, it’s mostly a collection of humorous flash-fiction, with a few essays and poems thrown in for good measure. There’s some stories about about my Dad and some backstage madness as well for people who are into that. All in all, there is a strong emphasis on humor but there is also a bit more personal reflection than I have written before.

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Kelvin Bueckert’s Website

Featured Interview With Reign Atkins

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an Australian born and raised author with hopes and dreams of one day traveling to the US, where ironically most of my characters are from. One day, I might write a story based in Australia.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I realized my fascination with writing when I was about seven years of age. I wrote a story about meeting an alien, traveling to space and having a party.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I used to read a lot of Anne Rice and while I still love her work, I have been reading more stories written by fellow writers in the writing community and on authortube. My stories are ultimately inspired my love of superheroes, mythology, and events that we ourselves must face every day… Which means, every day people.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Hope was inspired by my the fanfictions I used to write. But ultimately it was about me creating a world of chaos that needed to be saved by people who would usually be considered the underdogs. My male MC (Cruz) is a nerdy archaeologist who would generally be considered the sidekick. He opens Pandora’s Box and needs to determine just how to fix his mistake. What’s funny is the girl he falls in love with, just like him, is also immune and she demonstrates that women can take charge and kick some serious butt! The curse of the seven deadly sins allowed me to create a world where being safe and protected by the authorities is not an option. Thing is, because it is set in our modern world, people believe it is a virus, all except the one guy who unleashed it.

All in all, Hope teaches us that action, sacrifice and hope can ultimately save the day.

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Reign Atkins’s Website

Reign Atkins Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Florence Osmund

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
After a long career in the corporate world, I retired to write novels–something I knew from an early age I wanted to do. I strive to write literary fiction and endeavor to craft stories that challenge readers to survey their own beliefs and values. I made many writing mistakes along the way and now help new authors avoid the same ones. My website www.florenceosmund.com, which offers substantial writing and marketing advice, helps me do this. I currently live on a small, tranquil lake in northern Illinois where I continue to write novels.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I didn’t publish my first novel until the age of sixty-two, but I had gathered thoughts about story lines, characters, and plots for many years before then. When I was finally ready to write, I had a shoe box filled with thoughts, and after weeding through them, I had enough material for five books. My first book took three years to write. Since then, I have been able to publish one book a year.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like Dennis Lehane and Margaret Atwood for their ability to develop compelling plots and complex story lines. Charles Dickens was a master at characterization.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In “Nineteen Hundred Days, “Twelve-year-old Ben panics when his parents don’t come home from work. Having been raised to believe that the police and CPS are the enemy, he will do anything to avoid foster homes for him and his sister. Unfortunately, their incredible journey to evade the authorities brings them into contact with people who may not have their best interests at heart.

It typically takes me five months or so to write a first draft of a book that is worthy of sending to my editor. This one took me five weeks, and it required the least amount of revision compared to my other books. I can’t explain it.

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Florence Osmund’s Website

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Florence Osmund Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Erna Mueller

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I emigrated from Austria and became a U.S. citizen, I love living here. I just retired and have all this time to continue writing and reading. K-9 Cop is my first book and I have written a couple of feature screenplays. My book has won 1st place in the Good Read Competition from awomenswrite.com and my screenplays have won various awards.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I must have been around 9 years old. I always had a book in hand and really started writing in my early teens. I love to read the classics and reread my favorite books.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love John Steinbeck (East of Eden) Ernest Hemingway (Of Mice and Men), Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn) the Israeli author Ephraim Kishon (The Blaumilch Canal). The genre I love to read is biographies. Mark Twain is my favorite inspiration, due to his awesome humor and wit.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Book is titled “K-9 Cop Case#1 – The Dreck Report.” I thought a Young Adult book would be a great idea to write for a first-time novelist. I always loved family orientated books and movies and was searching for a story that depicts the human condition with all its splendor and frailties. What better way than through a surly cop who has to go back to earth in the body of his K-9 partner? The cop needs to help a troubled teenager and his dysfunctional family in order to be redeemed.

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Erna Mueller’s Website

Erna Mueller Facebook Page

Erna Mueller Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Jocelyn Soriano

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a bookworm and a coffee lover. I enjoy watching sunsets and taking a walk along the beach. I also love music. I have composed some songs, and I can even sing my heart out when inspired!

I have written more than 10 books as per my latest count. Most of them were inspirational and self-help books. I have also written two books on poetry, a novel and a children’s book. Before I became a writer, I was working as a CPA and Internal Auditor.

I was raised in the Philippines and had a chance to be a resident of Australia.

I have no pet at the moment, but I remember having a chick when I was young.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think I have always wanted to write for as long as I could possibly remember. However, it was when I was about 15 years old when I was able to write my first book in order to comply with a school project.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read a variety of books and I appreciate various genre. I like to read self-help books, inspirational/religious books, fantasy books, books on poetry, mystery books, cozy novels and children’s books.

Books can influence us in many ways. They can change us as a person, they can give us ideas about writing, or they can open certain doors for us to follow. Authors, on the other hand, can influence us by the way they live or by the way that they write.

Based on the above, I can say that some of the authors that have influenced me were J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, J.K.Rowling, P.L.Travers, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Paulo Coelho, Kahlil Gibran, Og Mandino, Mitch Albom, L.B.Cowman, Mother Angelica, Mother Teresa, Fr. Robert Barron and Pope Benedict XVI. If I include the saints among those who have written their own books, I could include St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Augustine and St. Faustina Kowalska. Last but not the least, my sister Dulce Amor Soriano who is also my beta reader, editor, and consultant for design.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
THE GOOD FOR NOTHING BOY is my latest book. I was inspired to write it when I was younger and felt unsure of my self-worth and my purpose in life. I was also trying to explore the limits of my imagination. Through books, I wanted people to be able to travel to magical places, even if only for a while. I also wanted to impart certain values through the perspective of an innocent child.

I keep in mind a quote by Madeleine L’Engle: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

When I wrote The Good For Nothing Boy, I was not really aware whether I was writing a book for children or a book for grownups. I just wanted to write a book that needs to be written, a book that needs to be born from within me.

The Good For Nothing Boy is a story about searching for one’s worth and one’s purpose. I remember the times I felt like the boy in the story, not knowing what I’m really good at and not knowing my mission in life. Even though I have certain skills and talents, I often felt as though I’m not good enough. In today’s world where competition is commended and where we need to stand out from the rest every day, how do we prove our worth?

My sister told me that THE GOOD FOR NOTHING BOY bears some resemblance to the following books: The Little Prince, The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. When I heard her say that, I was thrilled and scared at the same time. Who wouldn’t be honored with such a comparison? On the other hand, who wouldn’t be afraid?

Deep within me however, I could agree that “The Good For Nothing Boy” bears some resemblance to “The Little Prince”. And if I could say more, I’d like to say that it also bears some similarity with “The Alchemist” or even “The Chronicles of Narnia”. Despite all that, I’d like to say that my book can still stand on its own and has never lost its uniqueness.

It is much like a person who may look like someone you knew, but who will never really be exactly alike anyhow. Books, like people are influenced by many things. I guess that’s why we can say that a particular book is somewhat similar to this and that book we’ve read before. In the end, however, a book grows a character that is all its own. There is that secret ingredient that makes it different from all the mixture of influences it has ever had. A book grows its own soul, and then it is no longer afraid to be compared with any other.

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Jocelyn Soriano’s Website

Jocelyn Soriano Facebook Page

Jocelyn Soriano Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Peter Johnson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I have always been driven to succeed and I am not sure why because it is not an aspiration that my parents had. I used to sell everything as a kid, I mean I sold my finger painting from pre school, One day my teacher broke a bow and arrow that i had made and so I hounded him that he broke it and so should pay for it, until he paid me the $3.5 i was asking. I found out years later that my dad, who was also a teacher at the school gave him the money.
When people asked what i wanted to do when i grow up, i said property tycoon or wealth business man but when i got to high school they were not in the careers guide books and nor was business entrepreneur? but priest was? So you can make a living out of renouncing money but not making it?
I was always good at communicating verbally and my child hood is filled with great adventures of selling this or that. One time I remember crying when i came home from school because they would not let me take home more than 15 boxes of chocolates to sell over the holidays. I did sell 46 boxes of chocolate that year for the school and single handedly won the class prize and a TV for the most personal sales. The next year i consigned $5000 dollars worth of chocolate in my own name to raise $2500 for the bible society of QLD and rode my bike sum 2000 km as part of the bike for bibles fund raiser.
I failed year 10 english and dropped out at the end of year 11 to go and work with my dad. Now I was not dumb, I just can’t read and no one bothered to teach me at school. I returned to school and repeated year 11 but this time i had the money to buy a computer from working for dad. So I did get good marks on assignments and passed year 12 english. Thanks to the VHS book reviews and the spell checker on my new computer.
But i had a problem, you see I really could not read at school and by the time I was in year 10 of my state funded day care and brain washing. I still could not read a page out of a book aloud and have anyone understand what i said!! I was so illiterate at 15 that I remember asking my mate why their was computer parking at the train station! He laughed and it was years before I found out that it was Commuter parking.
i have always had a passion and when i was 18yo i realized that i needed something more and the only place i might find it was in a book!.
The first book out of school that i read was think and grow rich, I forced myself through one page every night for the year that it took me to read it. That was 15min to read the page and 15 min to look up all the words in the dictionary. I still could not say most of the words but I read them in my head the same way and I knew what they meant. Now I still can not read aloud very well but I am very good at remembering what I have read. When you spend so much time reading something, you make sure you remember it.
At the same time i started my first business that got a contact promoting domino’s pizza stores in Brisbane. This business was a success and i decided then to take $200 a week of my turnover and spend it on my education. As it took so long to read a book i was careful which ones i started to read and i did a book review on each one. I also committed on faith to do at least one thing out of each book. Now because reading was so slow i went to a lot of seminars, at least 2 fee ones a week and some paid ones. If i did not have the money for the seminar i would sell something i owned or put it on my visa but i knew i had to get the information fast.
Thing were a bit slow when i was 23 and nothing big had happened yet, i had read the books but something was missing. I got one of the best financial planners in Brisbane to come a talk to me ($500 per hour, so I thought he would be good) and see if he could steer me in the right direction. Well the first thing he did was ask when I wanted to retire and i very quickly replied 25yo. As this had been my goal since 18yo and it was still looking doubtful which is why i had called him. He asked how old i was now and then proceeded to tell me that he could not make that plan for me and why! I did it anyway! and He never billed me for the lack of advise.
So by 23 i still had not done much i was onto my second business and sure it was the largest insulation contracting business in Brisbane but i still had not been able to buy a house?? and so had no wealth. Then i chanced on a seminar that showed me how to borrow and after that i brought my first house. Then i brought my second house at 24 and my 3rd 6months later and my 4th at 25yo. Now i had just made 1000 000 dollars in real-estate in 2 years, so i retired. Not from life but from working for money. People say why didn’t you keep making money but all i thought at the time was that my parents were retiring and they had less money than me, so that’s what I did!.
Now i used to think that anyone could do what i had done and so i would tell them what i did but after some of my best friends tried to do what i had done and failed i realized that my inability to read had become my strength Because i had just studied far more about real-estate then my friends did and so they kept doing things that i would not do and it was costing them money. After that the only advise i would give people is to take 10% of their current net worth and spend it on their wealth creation education. Then be a student and not a follower and take massive action!! on what you learn.
Since then i have done some fantastic things that most people only ever dream of and life has been fun. I have stopped making the big money and focused on more personal rewards within my family. Now even my boys have their own business and at 11 years old my oldest has $2000 capital that he manages and has dreams to retire like dad at 18yo, which i think he will do.
I have owned a double decker bus, 6 wheel drive, unimog 4×4 (in all i have owned 34 cars and 14 boats). I have lived on a sailing boat with the family for a year, I have a 40 foot power cat, plane and a rolex. I have been around the world, staying 5 star with the wife. The family has been on many trips over seas and many holidays in Australia including a 900Nm trip in our power cat up the coast of QLD. I have run many business interests including a safari company in cape york and I managed a national sales team on contract that was selling 500k of product a week.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I actually failed year 10 english and so you might think me to be an unlikely candidate to write books …. but since leaving school I have been investing in my education and now I have read more than 300 books and been to many seminars.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am a slow reader and I read to get more out of life and so I do not have time to read fiction although I have a few ideas to write a fiction book.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I compare the current relationship between employer and employee to that of a slave mater and his slaves and assert that at least the slaves 200 years ago knew they were slaves.
I challenge what most people know that they know, about money! Because when all the poor people know that it is a fact, it should be a sure sign that its a lie or they would be rich.
I challenging the banks and the way they do business, I have stated that the way they calculate loan interest is wrong and even illegal. Banks normally don’t tell people about the real costs involved in a loan and in a lot of cases they lie. I would like to see a class action on this and say that in the book.
I also ask the question Why educate our kids to know more about maths than Archimedes or why they need to know more about science then tesla? Moral value is so much more important but we don’t teach that at school? and we almost teach nothing about money, or it’s use.
I also challenge the voting system in democratic countries as being manipulative at best and corrupt at worst.

I call everyone with a job and a mortgage my slave and try to give them tools to break the chains of that slavery

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Peter Johnson Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Annelies George

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born on 4 August, 1964 in Bussum, the Netherlands, the second daughter of Levie George and Greet van Weerdenburg. After the gymnasium, I followed a one-year course as an international secretary in Amsterdam. Immediately afterward I started to work for a law firm, studying finance, management and law during the evening hours with the goal of becoming a lawyer myself. A move to a different town brought me into the fast IT world, where I was employed by GE Capital, marking the start of a successful career in the international IT Finance world. Due to the intensity of the job and long working hours, I abandoned my plans for a law degree.
At the age of 30 I was appointed to Benelux managing director of a US based lease company, a rare phenomenon at the time, since few females were holding similar positions in the specific branch in the Netherlands. Thereafter I accepted a variety of EMEA and regional management and sales roles with Cisco, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard. I still live in Bussum with my two pets, Izzy and Bella, two Maine Coone Cats. I love, among other activities, to paint and design necklaces when I am not writing. On occasion I like to travel to discover new places and understand the different ways of living around the globe.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At the age of ten I was given a postcard collection of landscapes and city settings from countries all over the globe, tickling my imagination. Soon I found myself writing fiction stories together with my two year older sister, Marianne, during the school holidays, using the postcards and other pictures I found in magazines as the source of inspiration. Encouraged by two friends I resumed writing again at a later age, with the purpose of releasing a book detailing my personal adventures as a woman in a male-dominated business environment. Due to circumstances surrounding the events I described, I had to re-write the entire story. Frustrated, I stopped working on the book.
Soon thereafter I spoke to a psychic with an extraordinary life story, which inspired me to start writing again.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Sidney Sheldon (all his work), Jilly Cooper (the Polo series), Jackie Collins (the Lucky Santiago Saga), David Baldachi (The Summer and many more), Joy Fielding (The other Woman) and Penelope Vincenzi (No Angel – the Celia Lytton story). I like all sorts of genres such as crime, mystical, mystery, paranormal, apocalyptic, romance, adventure etc.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Darkness and Light, part 2 in the Jessie Golden Earth Series will be released on July 18th, 2019. I took my inspiration from the current situation in the world, the increasing natural disasters, Munay-Ki and Quantum Physics, combined with the metaphorical meaning of darkness and light in the broadest sense of the word. When writing the book I reflected on something I wrote. This resulted in the start of Loveable Light, a personal initiative, centered around the beautiful light we all harbor within called Love. The ultimate aim is to create more positive energy around the globe.

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Annelies George’s Website

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Featured Interview With Susan Antony

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Due to my father’s job, my family moved quite a bit when I was a child. I lived everywhere from Nebraska to New Jersey. When I was a few months shy of eighteen, consumed with a burning desire to grow up and a healthy dose of wanderlust, I traveled across America in a Triumph Spitfire with my soon-to-be husband. Being on the road to a toll on both of us and he eventually joined the Navy. After several more moves, we ended up in South Carolina where I reside to this day. I currently live with my sixteen-year-old son and two naughty but adorable Carin Terriers.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Several years ago I was doing some spring cleaning. Tucked a way in box of keepsakes was a fifty page novel I’d written when I was ten and some screen plays I’d penned as a teen. Memories of my long lost dream to become a writer came flooding back. Chasing my childhood dream, I opened my laptop and started writing again.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have many favorite authors and since I can’t possibly name them all it wouldn’t be fair to name any. My favorite genres are YA Romance and YA Contemporary. I adore YA. Young adults love, hate, and play hard in an arena where the world shines new and the future burns wide open. When I’m writing or reading YA, if I dig deep inside, I can recapture those intense, wonderful, sometimes painful feelings and immerse myself in that world once again through my characters lives.
Often times, I think as adults we don’t give our youth enough credit. Though still physically and mentally developing, teens have strong beliefs and convictions and deserve to be heard. I believe if everyone strived to be as pliable in his or her thinking as young people are naturally, together we could create a kinder and more brilliant world.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
During a visit to the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina, I recalled a crush I had on a Native American classmate when I was a tween and pondered how the relationship might have played-out had we been older. I put my imagination to work and my fingers to the keyboard and Cherokee Summer was born.
FACT: Like my female protagonist, Ace, I have a unique and wonderful person in my life who has autism.

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Susan Antony’s Website

Susan Antony Facebook Page

Susan Antony Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Siri Zwemke

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in New York City, although we were evicted when I was in 3rd grade and we moved to a cabin in Central NY where I lived until I was able to escape for college. After college in CT I moved to the DC area, went to graduate school and then moved to Central VA where we live now. I am the Founder and Director of the Siamese Cat Rescue Center and we have a small building on our property that houses up to 20 cats (along with foster homes throughout several states). After being a crazy cat lady originally, we now have just two cats and one dog as personal pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved to read – I was the book nerd all the way through school. I have always enjoyed writing as well and received a lot of positive feedback throughout school on my writing style. As Director of the Siamese Rescue Center, I published several articles and twice a year we published a newsletter for our 15,000 subscribers.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a lot of authors I admire and adore – JoJo Moyes, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Liane Moriarty, Jodi Piccoult. I like non-fiction if it’s not too historical. I also love any stories that involve surviving against all odds and coming out alright in the end.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Rescue Meez is part memoir, part behind-the-scenes detail about running a non-profit and an animal rescue, and part cats and cat behavior. It is a story of how I was in need of rescue and found that through the rescue of so many wonderful animals who needed me. I worked hard to make it lighthearted and humorous (although you may shed one or two tears) as I focused on all the mistakes I made as we grew the rescue from way too many cats in our home to an organization that was placing 800 cats a year at one time. I started jotting down all the different stories about five years ago and finally found the time to weave them all together into a book that documents our experiences as we learned the hard way. I share stories such as the time we drove into the hills of Virginia and were faced with a rifle-wielding hillbilly, the time I gave a fat cat a bath only to find out she wasn’t just fat, the time I found a desiccated mouse under my pillow and danced around the bedroom, screaming, only to find later that the webcam had fallen down and was broadcasting live while I was in my birthday suit.

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Siri Zwemke’s Website

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Featured Interview With Pett Corby

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in a big city, but I wish I was born in the middle of nowhere, to have experienced nature on daily basis not only from time to time. I was raised in the city with some access to rural life. I live on the road, which allows me to fulfill my dream to be more amongst nature. I don’t have a pet at the moment, used to have a cat, then a chihuahua and soon I’ll have another dog – different, bigger breed.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Can’t say at at what age, but I started to read philosophy at the age of 13 and started to write at the age of 20 – my first creative sentence ever.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Favourite Authors: Dr. Joseph Murphy, Maxwell Maltz, Wallace D, Wattles, David Schwartz, Sun, Tzu to name a few.
Favourite genre: non-fiction
Who Inspires you in your writings? My Spirit.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
How to Avoid Unplanned Pregnancy WITHOUT Using Contraceptive Drugs was a-nine-years-old-persistent idea, which somehow made me write it. I didn’t know what it was supposed to consist of, which made me both its reader and writer. It teaches what will make a loving relationship and what will surely sabotage it, and of course, one will find many natural methods for avoiding accidental pregnancy, which I haven’t originated.

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Pett Corby’s Website

Featured Interview With Rachel Veznaian

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Massachusetts and much like everyone else in New England didn’t go too far, so I now live in Boston. While when I was young i did have a cat named Peanut (she was the runt of her litter and tiny like a peanut), I now live in an apartment that sadly must remain a pet free zone. I do get to hang out with a corgi named Phoebe at my day job though, so that’s something. It’s kind of like pet ownership minus all the responsibility.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was lucky to have found my fascination with books when I was pretty young. And by that I mean I was lucky that I was frequently in trouble as a child. We would go through the motions in where I’d do something I wasn’t meant to and they yell at me to go to my room and somewhere along the way, I discovered that the joke was on them, because my room had books in it and as it happened I liked to read. So, much to their chagrin I didn’t curb any attempt to get into things I shouldn’t, because what was the worst thing that would happen? I’d get to go upstairs, chill out, and read!

It didn’t really occur to me to consider actually writing until I was in college though. I majored in English and was focused on technical writing. I know, it sounds scintillating. My advisor, however, relentlessly tried to get me to go for a creative writing focus. Though I initially fought this, because why listen to a person with decades of educational experience under her belt, I finally took an elective course in creative writing and at that point I was a total goner. Tech writing was still the plan for work, but my heart was officially in fiction.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I would say that my favorite genres to read vacillate between science fiction and contemporary fiction. I think Ray Bradbury’s short stories were some of the first science fiction I was every exposed to which was followed up throughout school as my readings were always peppered with George Orwell, Anthony Burgess, and Jules Verne. Of course I also have a penchant for contemporary fiction, which up until now is what I have mostly written. A good coming of age tale will always get me, both in film and books.. Khaled Hosseini is a favorite I always look to, I think I read the Kite Runner in one sitting, as well as Stephen Chbosky, Celeste Ng, Jojo Moyes, and more recently Phil Hogan as A Pleasure and a Calling is one of the coolest and strangest books I’ve read in a while.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, A Life Stage Soundcheck, would fall into the former category of contemporary fiction, more specifically women’s fiction, but if I could, I would call it an unromantic comedy. It focuses on the story of a debt collector in her mid-twenties named Carla who’s true passion in life is to be a song writer. As her life is chugging along at a steady and even pace, she finds her whole set up disrupted when she meets someone new out at a bar one night, causing her to spiral out and question everything. This is set in Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts and one of the things I really wanted to focus on was music and how hearing a song can bring you back in time to a memory. Music is important to Carla as that’s where her true passion lies, and I wanted to really try and paint pictures with the songs mentioned in the book.

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Featured Interview With Amere Dozier

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on the North of South Bend, Indiana in Indian Springs apartments. I live in Indianapolis now though. I don’t have pets but I do want a dog maybe two aha.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I used to write when I was young all the time. In 5th grade we’d do journals and stuff and that would be my favorite part of the day. That’s when I started to like to write.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors to read are Jaquavis Coleman and Kwan Foye. They write good urban fiction that’s what I like to read. I don’t really have a set person who inspires my writing more like certain situations and areas.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Bandit Boyz 2 is the second part of the Bandit Boyz series. Took me 5 months to write. It’s only 7 chapters and 70 something pages because people had shorter attention spans nowadays. It’s a continuation of the first Bandit Boyz. The main character, Darrell Harris in the first Bandit Boyz accidentally murdered his dad so the sequel tells what happens after he gets released from prison after a long 15 years. He’s 30 years old now and has to get his life back on track. He ends up meeting someone that’s gets him into a situation that is dangerous for he and his family. It’s a good read check it out.

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Featured Interview With Amere Dozier

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on the North of South Bend, Indiana in Indian Springs apartments. I live in Indianapolis now though. I don’t have pets but I do want a dog maybe two aha.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I used to write when I was young all the time. In 5th grade we’d do journals and stuff and that would be my favorite part of the day. That’s when I started to like to write.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors to read are Jaquavis Coleman and Kwan Foye. They write good urban fiction that’s what I like to read. I don’t really have a set person who inspires my writing more like certain situations and areas.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Bandit Boyz 2 is the second part of the Bandit Boyz series. Took me 5 months to write. It’s only 7 chapters and 70 something pages because people had shorter attention spans nowadays. It’s a continuation of the first Bandit Boyz. The main character, Darrell Harris in the first Bandit Boyz accidentally murdered his dad so the sequel tells what happens after he gets released from prison after a long 15 years. He’s 30 years old now and has to get his life back on track. He ends up meeting someone that’s gets him into a situation that is dangerous for he and his family. It’s a good read check it out.

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Featured Interview With Duodu Henry Appiahkorang

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Young, charismatic Christian leader who loves to work for God and to serve the church with all his heart. Loves reading Christian books and documentary videos. Completed various Bible schools in Ghana. Served in the leadership of various churches, completed University of Professional Studies, Accra in the year 2017. Loves the Word of God with great passion. Living in Ghana, Cats are my favourite pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The year 2010.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read many Christian books. Just to mention a few, Dag Heward Mills Books, Rick Joyner books and many more. Bishop Dag inspires me to read, and in the process of reading I developed a habit of reading.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
BOOK TITLE: The Mysteries of Fear
Fear is an invisible force that can elevate on downgrade a man. Find out this book the types, causes, dangers and the power of fear in the life of humankind.

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Featured Interview With S.J. Hartland

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m an Australian journalist who grew up in tropical north Queensland. It’s cyclone-prone and hot all year around. In contrast, I now live on the Darling Downs, Queensland. It’s high up and cold, which is tricky for a north Queenslander who thinks the next ice age is upon us if the temperature drops below 30 degrees celsius.
I’m a fencer, with a keen interest in medieval history, and I’ve thus spent too many holidays wandering around obscure castles all over the world.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I remember my mother reading Treasure Island to me when I was about five and impatiently finding the book later so I could finish it.
My love for fantasy started with the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, progressing to amazing books like Dune and of course Game of Thrones. I was an early reader of GOT and at the time wondered why I was writing fantasy, when GRR was creating such an amazing world.
But a line from an author in a Queensland Writers Centre magazine resonated (and, sorry to that author, I can’t remember who said it), but it was along the lines of, you write the book that only you can write.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love fantasy; everyone from GRR to Mark Lawrence. Recently, I devoured the Captive Prince series by C.S. Pacat. It’s deliciously dark and rather steamy.
I also really enjoy a good adventure story (The Count of Monte Cristo is a favourite) and a good thriller.
Gregg Hurwitz hooked me on his character Evan Smoak on the very first page of Orphan X. The second in the series, The Nowhere Man, is never leaving my house (no, you can’t borrow it!!) In an ideal world, Gregg would write an Orphan X book a month so I could permanently live in Evan’s world. There’s such a wonderful vulnerability to his character.
I lived rather than read Stephan Grundy’s Rhinegold and love to death Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The 19th Bladesman is about a young warrior, Kaell, whose duty is to die young. But fate has something far more lethal in mind.
If Kaell breaks, the kingdom breaks with him. And prophecy says the 19th Bladesman will break.
When a banished god escapes his centuries-old prison, even Kaell’s lord, Val Arques, can protect the young warrior from the dark prophecy awaiting him. For Val has a dangerous secret…
It’s a story of betrayal, of dark plots, dark magic and characters with even darker secrets.
Yet within the battles, the ambushes, the scheming and machinations as lords, kings, queens, gods and priestesses all fight for power, at its heart, The 19th Bladesman is about fatherhood.
It’s the first in the Shadow Sword series (the second book, The Last Seer King, comes out in July).
It’s set in a world of poetry and song, but also bloodshed, treachery and betrayal, with complex, conflicted characters.
I wrote the first three books together over about a decade. The fourth is at the first-draft stage.

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Featured Interview With Michael J. Bowler

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in San Francisco and raised in the city of San Rafael. After college, I moved to Los Angeles for graduate school and have remained in LA ever since. At the moment, I do not have any pets, but my son really wants a dog, so that may soon change.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think I always loved reading. I can’t recall a time I didn’t have a book in my hands. Everywhere I’d go, especially if I knew I had to wait around for something, I’d bring a book. I’d read in the car, on airplanes, in the backyard. It was just my passion from the get-go. I loved writing stories in elementary school and high school and had decided by the seventh or eighth grade that I wanted to be a writer someday.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’ve always loved horror stories, so Stephen King and I go back many years. I’ve also read much fantasy and science fiction and a lot of YA. I like Chris Crutcher’s teen books, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. At this point, my favorite genre is probably YA, but only if I see a story that looks different from everything else out there. I get tired of the repetition permeating the book industry, so I’m selective about what books I’ll read nowadays. There has to be a clever hook to lure me in. I’m inspired to write by real life experiences that make me want to share those experiences with readers in a way that’s accessible and entertaining.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Children of the Knight, and the other four books in The Lance Chronicles series, revolves around a homeless orphan named Lance who is fourteen when the story begins. He’s saved from death by a man in knightly armor who claims to be the King Arthur of history sent from Avalon to recruit all the lost children and teens, including gang members, into a new Round Table of Knights. Their purpose is to shake up the society that has kicked them to the curb for not fitting into America’s one-size-fits-all mentality. Lance is wary, at first, but with nothing else positive in his life, he agrees to lead the crusade. Arthur and his young “knights” become media darlings, especially after they clean up poor neighborhoods throughout the city. But there are those in government, and within the criminal underground, who seek to destroy the crusade before it can gather enough steam to force real change into the system. Issues that plague many of our youth today, especially poor, inner city youth, are personalized through my young characters, all of whom are based on real teens I’ve worked with over the years.

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Featured Interview With Karen S. Bell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York near Brighton Beach. I loved the beach in summer and winter and the memories of it influence my writing. I live in north Florida near near Ponte Vedra Beach and near St. Augustine. It’s a lovely place that’s most;y free from hurricanes, thank goodness. I have two furry kids that have replaced my children. A feral Manx (no tail) cat adopted us at our lake house and had a litter. Mama and one offspring of the litter happily share their lives with us.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a schoolgirl, I loved going to the public library and getting a stack of books to read in the allotted timeframe. When they were finished, I went back for more. I always felt a sense of excitement in the library. I started a novel when I was in my twenties but my children were young and I could not focus. However, I always had the urge inside me. Felt a need to do it. Then I took a writing class and wrote a short story and the story took on a life of its own and wrote itself. I was hooked. In fact, that short story is for sale at Amazon. But it was much later that I attempted to write a book. I had to write in my position at work and never had trouble with it.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love good writing. Can’t read trash. I’m inspired when a writer is good at the craft of writing and that inspires me. I read fiction that has clever stories, well thought out narratives. Jodie Piccoult, Micheal Chabon, John Updike, Micheal Chrichton, Amor Towles.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Witnessing a lightning bolt on a sunny day, best-selling author Alexa Wainwright, who is losing her popularity, doesn’t realize she’s been transported to an alternate universe. Here, she meets media mogul, publisher, and possibly the devil himself, King Blakemore, who offers her a lucrative book contract that will guarantee her comeback. Not realizing that she has signed an ironclad contract, Alexa struggles to get her old life back.

When a Stranger Comes…is an allegory for the evil lurking in our midst. The social decay of modern society with its excessive greed, the ignorance of our political leaders, and our indifference toward the survival of all species from the effects of climate change, among other environmental pressures, are perhaps brought forth by the darkest forces of human nature.

The audible book narrated by me is in production.

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Featured Interview With Arnold Mintz

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Arnold Mintz, I was born on the 7th of March 2014 in the sunny state of Florida. Recently, I celebrated my 5th birthday and I haven’t had time to do that much in my life. I am really happy to have my first book published at Amazon this year.

Some time ago my mom gave me a present – a black-and-white toy panda, it was with me all the time – day and night. I couldn’t even share this toy with my younger sister because I loved the panda so much! I kept collecting new information about the life of these beautiful animals and one day I started making pictures with them. So this was how my first book appeared. I hope it’ll help you love pandas the same way I do. And I still have to tell you the truth, my dad did help me a lot with that…

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
How did I come up with this story, you ask? My Dad and I are spending a lot of time together. I love it when he reads books to me since we get to improvise together and invent new stories. This book is a result of one of those improvisations. On that beautiful day I was sitting at the beach with my Dad and my little sister watching the sea, the sun and seagulls. I remember how fun it was to chat and come up with our own new story.

I remembered the story and retold it to my friends. They all loved it so much that my Dad and Mum suggested that I’d share it with children around the world. So I really hope that not only children, but also parents will find this story interesting and entertaining. I also want this book to help all wild animals – there are not so many of them are left on our planet. Pandas are really loosing their homes – it is true. I want all Pandas and other wild animals to have a home. That is why I want to send a dollar from every book sold to The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund. I hope that when I grow up a bit more I’d be friends with Pandas, Elephants and Gorillas just like Ellen!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like books with a ‘happy end’. Together with my dad we used to read stories by Sven Nordqvist, Jacob Strid, Alan Alexander Milne and others.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Now we published a new version of high contrast baby “Good Morning, Son!” This is a “Panda bear and Other Wild Animals Activity Book” for Kids Ages 4-8. It includes over 30 Fun Learning Activities for Kids – Coloring Pages, Word Search, Mazes, Dot to Dot, Find the Differences, Symmetrical Drawing. And I hope this book will the best coloring activity book for panda lover!

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