Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

This is a list of our featured author interviews. These authors take a few minutes out of their busy schedule to sit down and answer a few questions. Get to know what they are working on next and what types of books they like to read.

Featured Author Nitika Sharma

Featured Interview With Nitika Sharma

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am Nitika Sharma .

Infinity lies within our eyes
explore this deep ocean
you will find all these unuttered emotions

I was born and brought up in the foothills of Himalayas .Shimla a small city in India where my roots are born and here my soul belong.
An automation coder in an IT firm with a poetic mind is something i do for living. Undying love for travelling, italian, acoustics, coffee and optimistic souls is something that defines me .I write micros,musings,poetry,fictions and blogs.
Apart from this
I am an author of “Escaping Vapour of Void”,”A Swing in Heaven”
and co author of five Anthologies .I had been also part of some writing projects worldwide.My Poetry Pieces had been read live by many promising poets and poetic community across the globe.
My insta blog is @unutteredemotions where i bleed out my inmost emotions .
I had two dogs earlier but they are watching us from heaven now .

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was fascinated with books from the age of ten .I started writing in the phase of darkness when i was 21
I discovered writing as a drain to my emotions .From darkness till sunshine ,from dusk to dawn my poetry bleeded out my thoughts , emotions all out on paper .
I always say “ Writer writes to survive & Reader reads to revive” That’s exactly what writing means to me .It is a breath needed for my soul’s survival.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Paulo Coelho ,khaled hosseini ,John Green , Rupi Kaur and the list goes on.
Favorite genere Fiction, Poetry & Mythology

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book ” A Swing in Heaven ” is launched last month
A swing in Heaven is a poetic blend of musings, placid poetries, poetic fables and Honeyed Poetry.
Filled with versatility the poetry pieces swings you through different prospects of Life .You swing with seasons and halt with reasons. Wandering through the flowers of fables, you keep swinging till unconditional love brings your heartbeat back to a placid level

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Nitika Sharma’s Website

Featured Author Larry Center

Featured Interview With Larry Center

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Savannah, Georgia, actually Skidaway Island, which is nearby, and now I live in Nashville, TN. Yes, I have one pet, a cat. I’m married with three grown children, and I’m an audiologist by day. I help Veterans with their hearing issues. I also play golf on Sundays and try to write as much as possible. I’ve written 4 novels.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing when I was about 12. My first short story was, “What, No Galoshes?” Kinda strange, for sure. I also wrote a story about a thirteen-year-old boy who refused to have his bar mitzvah. I found that I liked to type as much as write. Just the feel on the fingers on the keys, the fast movement of the letters, it was kinda like playing piano with words. I started writing and then re-writing and I guess I couldn’t stop.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author is Philip Roth. He just seems to speak to me for some reason. Not sure why. I also like Gore Vidal because he’s so brilliant. I also like John Banville. Catcher in the Rye probably inspired me more than anything. I try to write with a voice and Catcher in the Rye has such a strong voice. It’s something I try to emulate.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My novel LIKE NO OTHER BOY is about a child with autism who appears to have an uncanny ability to communicate with chimpanzees using natural instinct, body language, and mental picturing. It’s gotten good reviews on Amazon for which I am very grateful. Basically, the father goes the distance for his son who can’t speak and is withdrawn into his shell. But when he gets around chimps, the father sees a kind of magic occurs. His on becomes more open and there’s a genuine smile on his face. But the mother doesn’t want the son to start acting like a “monkey boy.” So she does everything possible to see that the son does not get with the chimps. There is a custody battle and things blow up from there.

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Larry Center Twitter Account

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Featured Author Gigi Sedlmayer

Featured Interview With Gigi Sedlmayer

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Gisela (Gigi) Sedlmayer was born on 19 May 1944 in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin in Germany.
Her family escaped to the West just before the infamous wall went up. They moved around in Germany, following where her dad got work. That meant she had to change 9 times schools. In the end she never had friends again, of fear, she will lose them again.
Finally, they settled in Munich where Gigi studied architectural drafting and met Albert in 1965, marrying in December 1967. She worked as a civil drafts-person in various private consultancies in Munich.
Since her uncle was a writer, she tried to write short animal stories herself. Nothing further came of it, but she developed a love for the written word and started to consume books.
In May 1975, Gigi and her husband moved to New Zealand. Because of language challenges, she started a handcraft business. As a specialty, she made colourful parrots in several sizes of which she sold thousands in a few years.
In 1988, they decided to adopt and became adoptive parents of twin girls the year after. They lived in New Zealand for eighteen years and moved to Australia in September 1992.
One year later Gigi was diagnosed with cancer. After operations and radiation, she withdrew, thinking that she would probably soon be dead, like her friend who died of cancer, but her two little girls gave her the courage to keep going. After a few years, still among the living, her brain started to work again, so she thought, ‘Get a grip on yourself and do something good with your life’.
She remembered the time she wrote short stories and got inspired again, seeing her husband Albert writing the story of their adoption. Her English became increasingly better, so she pressed on to develop her creative writing.
Albert taught her how to use a computer and she wrote many short stories.
She now loves writing and spends most of her time at the computer, developing new story lines. She also loves traveling, 4×4 touring, swimming, gardening, handcrafting, reading, fossicking and enjoys good adventure DVD’s or going to the movies.
Teaching Children Self-Confidence Through Service to Others

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As long as I can remember, I had my nose in books all the time. I loved reading, from my early childhood. When I found out, that my uncle was a journalist and writer, I tried to write short animal stories, since I loved animals, particular horses in that time.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, the only thing I could do after, for not only watching TV and caring for my family, I started to write short stories again. I even was so bold, to enter them into competitions. I was inspired of the good comments and went on writing. And one of the short stories was about handicapped Matica and her condor Talon. So started the series.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Since I lived in Germany I read German books, and the most I loved was “Karl May”. A book series with many books, adventure. Then coming to New Zealand I started to read ski-fi. All books by “Frank Herbert”, the Dune series. I think I read them 3 times by now. Also many books by Anne McCaffrey. And books by sky-fi author Ben Bova. I also was inspired by Cressida Cowell, as she was the author and creator of the films: “How to train your Dragon”. I absolutely loved her books and the movies they did. And many more.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book in the Talon series, book 6 is: TALON, WINDSONG. It just got an Award by “BOOK EXCELLENCE AWARD, 2021. All 6 books together got 13 Awards now.

When I started book 6 to write, I actually didn’t know, where it would lead me, because I had to invent more and more adventures, what Matica and Talon could have. Here is a short description of it.

More thrilling adventures with Matica and Talon.

The poachers are gone, and the birds are safe. Now Matica is becoming anxious thinking of the upcoming holiday to Australia – she does not want to go or leave her birds. But Talon, understanding her misery, helps to ease her mind.

With distractions all sides, Matica soon finds herself involved in current happenings – the letting go of Elcano’s ashes from the top of the Andes, and near tragedy of Crayn falling while climbing up the mountain. The condors play a vital role in saving the day.

Talon shows Matica the puma and her cubs. But things go wrong when the female puma smells them and attacks. Will they escape the big cat?

As a birthday surprise for Matica, Aikon asked the birds to fly with her for the whole day. The birds agree and the thrilling adventures she has now with near misses, the finding of old bones, snakes and spiders, Talon Windsong adventures will keep you turning the pages and on the edge of your seat.

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Gigi Sedlmayer Facebook Page

Gigi Sedlmayer Twitter Account

Featured Author Michael Hunter McVay

Featured Interview With Michael Hunter McVay

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi in the 1960’s. It was a different time and a different world. I moved around in the south for a while with my family, graduating from high school in Sulphur, Louisiana, before returning to Mississippi to attend University. I became an art teacher and an illustrator, with a few odd-jobs in between. Now that I have “mostly” retired, I live in southern California with my partner, Christopher and his dog, Luke, a blind terrier mix. We spend our time traveling, exploring, walking and cooking.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
It seems that I was looking at books long before I could read them. I couldn’t wait to learn to read. By the time I was six or seven, I had read many of the books in my grandparents’ house. I was fascinated by encyclopedias, the bible, novels, comic books, and I wanted to know about everything. I found new worlds to discover through reading. I think the first actual novel I ever read in my grandparents’ house, was Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor. I found it while snooping around in the basement. I became wrapped up in the lives I found in books. There were already stories in my head just waiting to be written, long before I got the time to finally start. As a teacher, I had been so preoccupied with my career that there was too little time to work on anything else. Now, writing has become as much a passion for me as reading.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I take on books as an adventure. I like to fully immerse myself in what I am reading, often loosing track of time. I love historical non-fiction, memoirs, LGBTQIA+ stories of real life situations, psychological thrillers, and old classics with subtleties that you must decipher on your own. My own writing is based on my own life experiences, so to state that I am inspired by one author or one genre would be impossible. I enjoy reading about an impossible futuristic fantasy lives as much as an accurate portrayal of historic lives. To give real emotion to my characters, I must have actually experienced at least some portion of what I write in my own life.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Currently I have three books out, in this quarter, based mostly on my own life and the insanity that surrounded me throughout. I wrote a memoir as part of my therapy, having survived decades of torture and abuse at the hands of my maniacal stepfather. To desensitize myself to my own pain and to unlock compartmentalized, blocked memories, I took the task on full strength. I wrote, “Michael, Little Boy Black & Blue: Surviving the Effects of a Poisonous Child Abuser,” to help me accept and heal myself. I received overwhelming positive responses to this first book, so I soon followed it up with deeper, darker events that I was not brave enough to reveal in the first book. So, there is now a companion second book, “Michael, Little Boy Blacker & Bluer: Surviving the Effects of a Poisonous Child Abuser II.”
In all of my books I write about love, lust, betrayal, abuse, agony, pleasure, and pain with an added tinge of humor to keep it from going too deep and dark, plus inspiration from the heart. My books are geared to any adult audience, but they cover topics varying from torturous abuse, aids, LGBTQIA issues, discrimination, family-life, social awareness, alcoholics, to complex PTSD, BDD, and other mental health concerns. All of which can be just part of any one given life. I strive to inspire and to focus on making the most unbearable situations seem tolerable and something that comes to pass with a brighter life beyond what holds us back.
I believe we are all so very complex and having lived with a brutal abuser who had a different personality for everyone he knew, I was able to see so many different sides to each person and I love to explore them in my writing. As I write, I think and I learn from the experiences of others involved and from my own take of what was happening. My books can be a thrilling, wild ride on a complex PTSD slide, but humorous enough to keep you from putting the book down. For the villainous people, I lash out on occasion with sarcasm, saying now, what I was thinking then. We can only do that in writing. Welcome to my world!
My zaniest book is, “The Repulsive Tales of Wayward Fern.” Another mostly true story, with a few minor name and time changes. I listed it as fiction, but even I play a part in it. This one takes you through the gamut and leaves you wanting to know more about every character. Can the most repulsive person still be lovable? Let’s find out together!

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Michael Hunter McVay’s Website

Michael Hunter McVay Facebook Page

Michael Hunter McVay Twitter Account

Featured Author Michael Jolls

Featured Interview With Michael Jolls

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Well, from pre-school all the way through high school, my parents transferred me about a half dozen times to various schools on Chicago’s northside. Following, my three years of college were also Chicago based, and when I started producing films, that took me all over the Chicagoland area. At the end of the day, I never really got attached to one specific, close-knit neighborhood, but certainly the north shore suburbs of Chicago are “home.” I still spend a significant amount of time there, however I’m constantly back n’ forth to Las Vegas where I also have friends and odd jobs I take on.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
That’s an easy answer: end of 4th grade.

Now, let me back up by saying I couldn’t read until the age of 10. In fact, when I started 4th grade, I only recognized words, but was unable to comprehend a sentence. You can imagine how God awful I was on weekly spelling tests? Well, in 4th grade we had to read 20-mintues each night which was terrifying when my Mother first told me this the summer before the school year began.

Well, one of the tricks that had a big influence on me was that we could choose what we wanted to read for homework. The 20-minutes wasn’t “assigned” reading. Inevitably, around September and October, myself and fellow students were grabbing books because we thought they were cool. Total “judging a book by it’s cover.” Eventually, the entire class began trying to one-up each other in what we were reading. No joke, by the end of the year, there were three kids in the class all reading “To Kill A Mockingbird” just because someone got it in their head that reading “To Kill A Mockingbird” was the cool thing to do. And, I’m sure none of them actually knew what was going on in the book because of the way it’s written and the subject matter, but I digress… by the time April and May came around, the mandated reading was something I got use to, but luckily, with the release of a new “Star Wars” movie… capitalism at its finest… those thick “Star Wars” novels became a thing. Now granted, I barely understood what I was reading at the time, but who cares; it was “Star Wars” and the paperbacks were thick. Today I wouldn’t be caught dead reading one of those “Star Wars” novels, especially since Disney dissolved the alternate universe, but those “Star Wars” novels inevitably made Borders Books “cool.” That was where the fascination of books started and sorta ingrained itself into me. Flash forward to Junior High School and High School, I was always reading something, often to the ire of other students, or even teachers. I had a taste for contemporary events because of 9/11, and eventually modern politics… a lot of my high school teachers didn’t care that I was into that stuff, but there were a few that were and encouraged it.

Now, writing professionally didn’t come about until much later; specifically 2016. Prior to then I had written countless papers for college, and in the film world often wrote up screenplays, or lengthly emails, legal drafts, etc. Writing never intimidated me and I was comfortable doing it but I never had an avenue to work myself into writing books. Luckily, and unfortunately, a job opportunity came along to write a booklet on film and I jumped on it with enthusiasm. It did result in a horrific experience two years later, but it opened the door for me to incredible opportunities that eclipsed my own authorship.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My impulse answer is to say Ron Chernow, with the disclaimer that I haven’t read all of his books yet; I got two left. I’ve read almost all of Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard’s “Killing” books, but outside of that I’m not devoted to authors in the sense of that I need to read each and every one of their books. Certainly I’m much more likely to read a book based on if I liked his or her other material, but with the exception of Chernow, I’ve never made a point to do that.

For the record, film directors I’ll track down every movie with religious fervor, but never really did that with an writer.

My favorite genres are film studies, film history and American history. (Big surprise, right?) Predominantly non-ficiton, but every couple months I’ll read a fiction book just to mix it up.

As far as the inspiration goes… on the one hand, would it surprise you if I said Ron Chernow inspired “Rev. William Netstraeter?” Chernow’s biographies are told with such fluid and rich details that even what might appear mundane, is actually fascinating.

On the complete opposite side of the coin, the inspiration for the film books comes from doing the opposite of what I’ve other writers do. A number of the film books I’ve read are downright condescending with the usage of overly-affluent language. These high brow so-called academics get paid to write these prestigious looking filmographies that are rife with petty remarks AND, some are horribly written. I won’t name who it was, but Yale put out a book that had a number of blatant inaccuracies and some of the Amazon reviews were calling out the author for the errors. I died laughing when I realized how glaring of mistakes they were. You’re Yale! You’re an Ivy League school that couldn’t bother to get a proof-reader to check these things?!? Anyway, I want my film books to be down to Earth, something that anyone can read and follow along without getting confused and not feel like the author is smarter than the reader.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
There’s a metaphorical blank stare on my face trying to think how to answer that. As I got more comfortable with writing, and needing to overseeing the marketing and distribution of books, I started taking on other “publishing” endeavors. Also, books tend to have an elongated release period where you’re still marketing the book years after it comes out. Not to mention, toss in a pandemic which altered the schedule and it becomes a mess.

The latest endeavors was finally getting the audiobook for “The Films of Steven Spielberg” in the can and slated for a summer release. That book released in March 2018 to a cavalcade of problems that, quite frankly, made for the worst experience of my professional career. The former publishers caused irreparable damage that was still being discovered even as late as a few months ago. The process of doing the audiobook helped us go back and really restore the book to the way it was supposed to be upon release, and in a way gives “The Films of Steven Spielberg” a long overdue re-release, now with all the editions available.

Otherwise, I have three books that are “in production” right now… one on Ron Howard and another on Sam Mendes. The other book is an autobiography that I was the ghost-writer for about my best friend and his years as a roadie for heavy metal bands. Meanwhile, I have a potential fourth that I’m teaming up with Olivia Murray (author of “Abortion v. Slavery”) to do something on American history. I honestly don’t know which of these will arrive first, but each month they get closer to the finish line.

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Michael Jolls Facebook Page

Featured Author Jo Huddleston

Featured Interview With Jo Huddleston

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I write sweet Southern romance novels set mainly in the American South in the 1950s and inspirational nonfiction. In my novels, I hope you’ll find inspiration and a gentle—yet compelling—story that is intriguing and entertaining. About my nonfiction books, a reader wrote that I offer spiritual tonic and hope.
I like to laugh with people but not at people. I don’t like to see or hear about people or animals being abused. I’m a spectator fan of several sports, my favorite being tennis. My favorite vacation spot is any beach. I don’t like being in the dark and am fearful of snakes! I don’t enjoy being in elevators. I can’t jump rope. I played varsity basketball in high school. I would describe myself as hopeful, enthusiastic, and optimistic.
I was raised in Tennessee and have lived in several American Southern states. Our cocker spaniel died when she was 14-1/2 years old. The pain of her death lasted so long. I still miss her and don’t plan to get another pet–it hurt too much when we lost her.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My interest in books peaked when I was in junior high school. I loved being around books so much, I wanted to be a librarian when I grew up. I took creative writing in college and that sparked my interest in writing. My first published piece happened in the early 1990s and was an article in a denominational magazine.
My first novel published was book #1 in the Caney Creek series and came out in 2012. I have published 14 novels and novellas, which are listed on my Amazon author page (http://amzn.to/1TY4uDI).
I have four nonfiction books published: Amen and Good Morning, God: A Book of Morning Prayers, Amen and Good Night, God: A Book of Evening Prayers, His Awesome Majesty: Praising God’s Greatness, and America: Her Hope for the Future. I’ve coauthored with Vickie Phelps Writing 101: A Handbook of Tips and Encouragement for Writers, Simply Christmas: Memories, Traditions, and Stories of the Season, and How to Write for the Christian Marketplace.
My writing career includes more than 200 articles and short stories, which have appeared in over 50 well-known Christian and secular publications including Guideposts, Decision, and The Upper Room. I’m an online contributor to Christian Devotions Ministries (http://www.ChristianDevotions.us).
My devotions appear in eight anthologies and I wrote devotions on assignment and freelance for the following daily devotionals: Devotions, Open Windows, Pathways to God, The Quiet Hour, The Secret Place, and The Upper Room. I’ve taught workshops at writers’ conferences and I wrote an inspirational newspaper column for seven years.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
There are so many authors I love to read. If I tried to list them, I’d probably leave out somebody. I enjoy reading clean and wholesome romances, romantic suspense, and mysteries. When I began writing, I kept it to myself. Many people describe writers as introverts. That was me—truly a closet writer. So my inspiration came solely from God. Then I met Karen Ball—author, editor, and literary agent—and she is a great inspiration to me. So, what inspires me in my writings? God and Karen Ball.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, Just You and Me, is a Christian beach story of love, forgiveness, and divine providence. In this sweet mid-20th-century romance, a magnificent mistake brings Allison and Jim together, each at the beach with a buddy. An unfamiliar instant attraction tugs at both their hearts. But when Jim gives Allison a compliment, she misunderstands it as a pick-up line. When Jim subsequently falls silent, Allison determines to find a way to get him to love her. Jim has spent half of his adult life in the Air Force and will soon leave the military. He wants Allison by his side to help him with the challenges his new lifestyle will bring. But after a horrible accident at the airfield, Jim keeps his diagnosis from Allison for fear she may not want to spend their lives together.

I love the beach. My first memory of the beach was a trip with family when I was four years old. As a teenager, and because I was an only child, my parents allowed me to bring along a friend on our beach trips. Adulthood brought me trips to the beach with my BFF, and I’ve even enjoyed solitude at the ocean on business trips. I shared my love of the beach with my own family, and now my children and grandchildren take pleasure in their beach trips.
So, it’s no surprise that I’ve finally written a story with my characters visiting a beach. I enjoyed writing Just You and Me, where Allison and Jim’s adventures take place at Panama City Beach, Florida, in 1958 before the location became a favorite destination for Spring Breakers.
I began writing Just You and Me on September 6, 2020. In October that year, my husband passed away. He was a great supporter of my writing, and I knew he would want me to finish this book. I completed the first draft of Just You and Me in late January 2021. Then came the editing of the first draft and polishing the story for publication, which is more difficult for me than writing the first draft.

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Jo Huddleston Facebook Page

Featured Author Peter Topside

Featured Interview With Peter Topside

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am from Derry, Maine and now live in New Jersey. I am an accomplished chef and baker, movie fanatic, a proud father and husband, and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist by trade. My books are the culmination of my own personal, life-changing journey of triumphing over the PTSD of my traumatic upbringing. I hope to inspire readers to bravely fight their own battles with anxiety and depression.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always had a passion for writing and publishing my stories has been a lifelong goal. I spent my entire life being a fan of horror, and through my own personal experiences, developed characters and a story that were a really unique blend.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Stephen King is my ultimate inspiration.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In the first book of the Preternatural trilogy, readers are introduced to the town of Meadowsville, the home of the most popular urban myth, Mr. Smith. This vicious, vampire-like entity rules over this booming town by any means necessary, slaughtering its citizens, and upholding a long-standing tradition. Several residents form an unlikely alliance to combat the common threat of this dangerous monster and embark on an undertaking that will change each of them and their town forever.
Preternatural: Evolution [ISBN: 978-1-7363472-0-1], a fast-paced psychological horror that is equal parts grisly and thought-provoking, leaving readers to question right from wrong.

Set fifteen years after the vampire Blackheart was defeated, Meadowsville is left desolate and broken. Alexandra has returned to take over her father’s church but is struggling to find her true purpose. Torn by her shaky loyalty to Christian Reed—the unstable town antihero who vanquished Blackheart years ago—and increasing efforts at seduction and manipulation from Blackheart himself, she is forced to face her deepest traumas and insecurities.

As the town’s only hope, Alexandra must gather her strength to transcend her terror. Will she defeat adversity or will her failure lose the very soul of Meadowsville?

I have never read a book like Preternatural. Each book, while strongly linked to one another, has its own specific tone and story. I’ve read many horror books and felt that they sometimes become too complicated and over detailed, and you lose track of the characters and plot. That was something I worked hard to avoid. So my books are easy reads, and can either be read ‘surface-level’ for the basic story and be purely entertainment, or they can be analyzed and picked apart to see the deeper themes, patterns, and other dynamics happening on each page.

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Peter Topside Facebook Page

Peter Topside Twitter Account

Featured Author Bertha Raw

Featured Interview With Bertha Raw

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Bertha, I’m a Zoology student. I grew up in a cabin in the woods (obviously a lie) anyways, I have two cats named Roman and Rumie. I live on a deserted island in Antarctica. I love listening to instrumental, absolutely adore AURORA, Billie Eilish and Novo Amor. I love to travel the world virtually.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading very early, but I got fascinated with it around eleven. I started writing when I was thirteen, I remember writing a Fanfiction.

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 favorite authors but I’ll only mention few. Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Sophie Kinsella, Whitney G and Stephenie Meyers.
My favorite genre to read is horror, fantasy, Paranormal and Romance.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Happy Summer. It’s a romantic comedy about a twenty something year old woman living in L.A, she works as an assistant in a magazine company and things her life is exactly the way she wants it to be.
I started writing it when I was fourteen and I’ve drafted different storylines over these past few years until I got the perfect plot for it.

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Bertha Raw Facebook Page

Featured Author Julian Bishop

Featured Interview With Julian Bishop

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Devon, England and lived in predominantly rural communities for most of my childhood. I have traveled the world, lived on three continents, and visited well over 100 countries.

I currently live in Atlanta, USA. My two daughters have left for college. I live with my wife, Lorna. She is one of the main characters in High, Wide, and Handsome. We also live with Dog #1, Dog #2, and Cat #1, a recurring joke from High, Wide, and Handsome.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was reading before I attended school. As there was little to do when I was growing up, I read voraciously often going to the public library more than once a day to take out new books.

For many decades, I wrote only for the companies for which I worked. When I retired, I decided that I wanted to write a book about America.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have eclectic tastes in most things. I vacillate between non-fiction and fiction. At the moment, I am on a spy novel kick. If past experience is a guide (and it usually is), I will move to non-fiction shortly. My interests may make me yearn for travel books, history books, or perhaps another genre entirely.

My favorite authors are too many to list. I believe the greatest spy author is Len Deighton, particularly his trilogy of trilogies. I like the travel books of Bill Bryson, Paul Theroux, and Eric Newby. I enjoy the writings of many historians, but – if I had to choose one – it would be Martin Gilbert, who allows the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book starts with me at an inflection point. My children had just left home, and my wife and I must figure out what we want to do next. We travel coast-to-coast across the USA and explore whether we truly want to be American.

High, Wide, and Handsome – An American Journey – is a witty travel book that seeks to explain American culture. It is the story of three American Journeys. The first is our physical journey coast-to-coast across the USA during a pandemic; the second, our family’s own journey in America; and the third, USA’ journey from independence to today.

In a world where America’s political leaders are widely ridiculed, the book acts as an antidote to the narrative that everything American is broken. It is an essential read for anybody interested in America. From the reviews, the book seems to be equally popular with Americans (who perhaps should have listened more during 13 years of civics classes at school); newish immigrants; and others with a strong interest in America.

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Julian Bishop’s Website

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Featured Author Manali Desai

Featured Interview With Manali Desai

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m Manali Desai, a freelance writer, and editor cum blogger.

I was born in a small-town called Surat in India. I moved to Mumbai once I turned 18 and it became my home since then.

I’m currently an NRI residing in the Netherlands.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was 8 years old when I got my hands on Black Beauty. It opened up a world of possibilities for me. I still remember being fascinated reading each page of that book, and that fascination continues even today when I read any book.

I started writing when I was a teenager and in the words of Robert Frost, “Miles To go Before I Sleep” so I intend to continue it for a long time.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t have any favorite author per se but there are a few books that left a lasting impression on my mind. These include the Harry Potter series, The Godfather, God of Small Things, to name a few.

My favorite genre to read is fantasy and romcom.

I’m inspired by simple and ordinary people as well as situations.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Ayesha has just moved to the ‘City of Dreams’ with her parents. She befriends the charming Viren, who helps her find her footing in Mumbai. Though she is slowly adjusting to her new life, what Ayesha is most excited about is pursuing B.A. (Hons.) Political Science from a reputed college. Things don’t go as smoothly as she had thought though. Because Abhi, her senior, seems hell-bent on making her life on the campus difficult from day one. Just when things seem settled, Viren joins the college as an Ad-Hoc lecturer. Is there more to Ayesha’s friendship with Viren, and her frenemity with Abhi? It seems there’s a love triangle blooming around the corner or will it be a Love (Try) Angle? Because Ayesha is not sure if it’s love at all.

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Manali Desai Facebook Page

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Featured Author Ilene & Gary Modica

Featured Interview With Ilene & Gary Modica

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Both born and raised in New York, Gary was born and raised in Maspeth, Queens while Ilene on Long Island. They will be celebrating 40-years of marriage in November 2020. Their blended family all live in Arizona, about 30-miles from one another. Along with these four children, they enjoy nine grandchildren ranging in age from two years to seventeen.

It took them three years to become Italian citizens through the Jurs Sanguinis and Jurs Matrimonii application process. This was done through the Los Angeles, California Consulate as they currently reside in Arizona. They would describe this process like a rollercoaster ride and currently help others with their applications, questions, and travel advice. Obtaining Italian citizenship became personal for Gary in wanting to bring his name back home to Italy.

We don’t have any pets at the time because we travel so much. When we had our home in Phoenix, we rescued a dog from Mexico and adopted a greyhound from the track.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always been an avid reader. Gary reads more history books. Our first book, written while traveling through Italy in 2019 was our first attempt at writing. Our reviews are so amazing – and encouraging us to write another. Who would have guessed?

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Nancy and John Petralia inspired us with their book, Not in a Tuscan Villa. We actually went and lived in Parma, Italy because of reading this book. We have become good friends through social media, phone, and email, as well as Zooming.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Can you imagine living in Italy for one full year? This was the dream. That was the promise. After a rollercoaster ride to obtain Italian citizenship, they achieved their goal and packed a bag, leaving family and friends to live in Italy during 2019.

This is their memoir and personal adventure, which has changed their lives forever. They share their desire for a genuine experience with an Italian family and how this dream came true. Enjoy their stories about new Italian friendships, reconnecting with old friends, meeting up with subscribers to their blog, and the countless experiences through the various towns they stayed and explored.

Our Italian Journey is a compelling read for anyone who wants to experience and appreciate daily life in Italy and to understand its charm, appeal, and cultural differences. Join in the laughter as they also divulge the trials and tribulations they encountered along the way.

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Ilene & Gary Modica’s Website

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Featured Author Brandon Lee Tolin

Featured Interview With Brandon Lee Tolin

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello there, my name is Brandon Tolin and I am a novice author from Denver Colorado, I was born at Swedish medical hospital and have lived in Denver with my family ever since. I have a feisty cat named mac and a feisty dog, a chihuahua-pug mix as well.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been fascinated with books all my life, as a youngin, or should I say younger youngin because I am only 19 years old lol I ate up every goosebumps and scary stories to tell in the dark books that I could get my grubby, sticky, gross little kid hands on. Eventually, I grew to love horror science fiction, and horror novels in general since I read Jurassic Park for the first time in the sixth grade. I went on to read many more of Micheal Crichton’s novels and quite a few of Stephen King’s as well over the years.

I started writing when I was around fourteen, its something I took up as a hobby when I was bored, and soon after I gave up on the said hobby, a few years later when I was sixteen I decided to pick up where I left off and I began writing one-off stories, unfinished drafts, random little pieces of nonsensical nothings until I came up with the idea for my first novel. I started writing the first novel early in 2017 then gave up on it until I came back to it at the end of 2018 I finished my first draft halfway through 2019 and I have been editing and rewriting it here and there ever since until I finally published it back in October of 2020. A few months before in August, I was inspired by a monster encounter I had seen on youtube in the vein of Bigfoot, Nessie, and the like. It was then I began writing my proudest work, a short story based on the events of a trapper named Bauman, who allegedly saw a bigfoot type creature during a trapping expedition and president Theodore Roosevelt later met the trapper and recorded his account in his book “The Wilderness Hunter” Since writing said novel and said short story I have grown to realize I love crafting historical horror stories involving cryptozoology and other popular monsters.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am a huge Micheal Crichton fan and of course, I also love the work of Dean Coontz, Stephen King, and Clive Barker to name a few. I love reading about history, I am a history fanatic and devour anything related to a historical time period I am interested in. I also love any book involving Cryptozoology as it’s another deep-rooted passion of mine since my childhood. I am inspired mainly by history, history has so much inspiration and creativity to give if you simply dare to look. A lot of what I write comes from historical events I have read about, true and exaggerated. I am also inspired by B-movie and B-movie Creature Feature writers and directors as they inspire me to conjure new stories involving monsters, a genre I love deeply.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is something a little different than what I have written before, it’s not particularly a project I took seriously. It was based on an idea I had in a dream after watching Jurassic Park lol. It was an absolutely ridiculous and cheesy dream that I couldn’t help but craft into a short story. I am proud of it but I do not think I will be creating anything as cheesy and crazy in the future. It is a story about well…….dinosaur human hybrids living in underground tunnel systems beneath the United States, if that insane premise is something you are interested in then you will love the whacky so bad its good nature of my latest work. My latest short story took me about a month to write and a week to edit and rewrite. My novel took me around three or so years of off and on work and my first publication took me about three months to write, and two months to edit and rewrite. If your into cryptozoology or weird western settings you will love my novel and short story.

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Brandon Lee Tolin’s Website

Featured Author Rodney Bartlett

Featured Interview With Rodney Bartlett

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia. At age 14, my family moved to the nearby city of Warwick where I finished High School. Then we returned to Stanthorpe where I became a printer at the local newspaper, and later a teacher’s aide at the primary school. About this time, I developed a great interest in reading and writing about science (mainly cosmology, physics, and even mathematics) – these things culminated in my book “OUT OF TIME: Predicting the Science of Future Centuries and Millennia”. This passionate curiosity and endless desire to learn would have been handy in school

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think my fascination with books began when I was less than ten years old. I had a diary when I was a young boy in which I wrote things like “Designing an X-ray machine”. My parents gave me a set of World Book Encyclopedias when I was 11 (many years later, they’re still useful). I didn’t become extremely serious about writing until 2006, when my first paperback was published.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite genre is science-fiction. I love science-fact but it seems to have such a limited outlook. Science fiction lets the imagination soar and dream of what may be possible in the far future. Combine this with real science and you can write about the unimaginable wonders that might truly be waiting for us tomorrow.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Looking back to when books first fascinated me, then looking forward to this present book I’ve written, you could say it took me around 50 years to write it. This is what it’s about –

This book adopts the view that the universe is infinite and eternal – but scientifically created. This paradox of creating eternity depends on the advanced electronics developed by future humanity. Those humans will develop time travel, plus programs that use “imaginary” time and infinite numbers like pi. They’ll also become the El or Elohim (names used by various religions to mean “God” or “the gods”). As astronomer Carl Sagan wrote in “Pale Blue Dot”, “Many religions teach that it is the goal of humans to become gods.” (I think that Elohim would be termed supernatural today, though their infinite abilities are actually natural outcomes of progress.)

A look through the book will tell you that some ideas are frequently repeated. This is because each article is meant to be understood without reading the others … so the same ideas show up in more than one. I’ve tried to stay away from jargon and equations unless they’re necessary (I find that they often make a subject harder to understand, not easier). All objects and events on Earth, in space, and in time (including the inevitability of world peace and immortality) are just one thing – strings of electronics’ binary digits 1 and 0.

Featured Author Kristofor Hellmeister

Featured Interview With Kristofor Hellmeister

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Kristofor Hellmeister is an alien—a legal alien who was born in Canada and now lives near Atlanta, Georgia. He lives with his wife, Kristie, and son Maddox. He enjoys hiking, running, playing golf, watching the New England Patriots, and playing Halo on Legendary. He enjoys reading science fiction, fantasy, the occasional romance, military thrillers, and historical fiction. He is a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature and has been writing since he was six. I have a cat who is the spawn of Satan.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing in the fifth grade. I’d always been fascinated with books, but I started writing after I moved to a new school and didn’t have any friends. It sounds pathetic, but I wrote from my loneliness, and never stopped writing after this point.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Many! Bradbury, Wells, Ayn Rand, Orwell, J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis, Brian Jacques, and the book Children of the Dust. Though I love Russian literature like Crime and Punishment, or classics like Tale of Two Cities. There’s so many more on top of that!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Citadel is a continuation of the events which unfolded in Axiom. Axiom was very personally driven and inspired by my own struggles with mental health. I started writing it while I struggled to maintain my own thought life, and this is directly reflected in one of the main characters—Sebastian. He is also a symbol of the culture around me in that he is moving from logical and reason based thinking(Enlightenment thinking) to a more emotional and passion driven thinking(the emotionalism of my generation). My other main character, Damien, is a symbol of a survival of the fittest mindset in that he only looks out for number one—another undertone I have found in my culture. The final main character, Myra, reflects my faith in that she seeks hope and reconciliation even in the darkness. Citadel picks up exactly as Axiom ended is reveals the deevolution of the utopian ideals set forth in Axiom.

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Featured Author Michael James Scharen

Featured Interview With Michael James Scharen

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in California but grew up in Montana where I lived until graduating with my
Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Montana State University and attending graduate
school at Kent State U. in Ohio where I earned a Master’s degree in Physics. I then
moved to Santa Barbara where I worked several years in the new field of high
transition temperature, thin-film superconductors where I both conducted basic
research ad participated in product development. The first products were passive
microwave filters used in the rapidly growing cellular phone industry. I then worked
as a manufacturing engineer producing two-way text pagers, followed by fiber-optic
components. I currently live in the Northern half of the People’s Republic of California,
though not as far north as Jefferson. I do not currently have pets unless we count a
rather opinionated miniature horse that I do feed and water on behalf of a friend. I
have had pets or shared pets over the years, both cats and dogs.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My folks sat with us and taught us to read very early — before the schools ever
attempted to do so. I always had books, receiving them as gifts or using the public
library. Probably the first book that made a real impression on me was H.G. Wells “The
Time Machine” when I was in the 4th or 5th grade. I got lost in that book! I did read
science-fiction as a kid, but that trend did not continue as I delved more into non-
fiction where I learned that much of what I had learned was in the fiction category.
Reading some lesser known works of history or economics enlightened me that there
was a great big world out there full of causal events driving events that had been
omitted either overtly or covertly from our so-called education system. Much of what
we read now or have been taught is highly superficial and does not answer the most
obvious questions. This is not a surprise as the public school system is fully derived
from the early 19th century “Prussian Model” which is designed to make obedient
servants of the State rather than independent thinking persons.

I only began writing approximately one year ago in February or March 2020. I was a bit turned off of writing when the first time I tried to write creatively in a university class, it became apparent that the grading was rather subjectively graded. I always did enjoy writing and as an engineer I often complained that engineers, by and large, were nearly incapable of it. I was often called upon to “write up” something we were working on. I had some harsh teachers in school. One, in particular, for a research writing class — a college prep course — got so fed up that he made us all diagram sentences for several weeks! I grumbled, because I felt like it was group punishment.

Regardless, none of this was like writing a novel. I tried once or twice but always psyched myself out of it. Last year, I just sat down in front of the computer and started writing. Quite a few things had been rattling around in my brain that had built up over decades and had to come out. Boy did they come out! I wrote one book, then another, then that gave me the idea to really delve deep into the characters and the world that I created. (I gave myself lots and lots of literary time and space to let those meanderings explore all kinds of subjects.)

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t know that I have spent any long period of time with a specific author. One
whom I particularly enjoy currently is Thomas J. DiLorenzo. He is an honest economist
who writes history from the honest perspective demonstrating much what we know
as history is economically driven. He dispels the “Lincoln Cult” as he describes it. His
book on Alexander Hamilton is equally enlightening. He has stated, and I agree, that
historians are quite unable to write about economics, but economists are quite
capable of writing history. This may be a conceit, but reading Murray Rothbard — an
extremely prolific writer when he was with us — I still concur. Rothbard’s “Conceived in
Liberty” covers the entire Pre-War-of-Independence era which American History
courses and writers mysteriously leave out. It is this kind of honesty in writing that
attracts me and inspires me. It is writers like these who do not hold to the “Great-Man”
or “Great-Event” approach to history that has dominated over the millennia. History
has a flow with all kinds of characters influencing matters behind the scenes who are
never discussed. The so-called historical events are not matters that occur in fits and
starts or are generated by one or two minds at the time. It is the surrounding context I
am interested in that breaks through so many accounts that generally become
nothing more than myths. Winston Churchill is attributed to saying that “History will
be kind to me because I shall be writing it.”

The writer and thinker who really caused the scales to fall from my eyes is Marc
Stevens who wrote “Adventures in LegalLand” and “Government: Indicted”. His use of
the basic Socratic Method demonstrates that the world around us is largely a false one
in which people are participating through the veiled threat of violence or duped by
gaslighting rather than acting on their own in their own best interest or that of their
families. “Caesar’s Messiah” by Joseph Atwill would be another fine example of
applying Occam’s Razor to history.

For many years now, my favorite genre has been non-fiction and history where non-fiction is possible. I like getting into areas that are conveniently omitted by our media and society, yet explain so many mysteries in clear-cut fashion. Most of these ‘mysteries’ have the answers hiding in plain sight. It is just that no one wants to admit it. I have to admit that I have not read a sci-fi novel in quite a long time even though I prefer that genre. I have seen some good and several bad sci-fi movies in that time frame. This was part of my inspiration. I DO have a science background and felt that I would do AT LEAST AS WELL in terms of believability. Much sci-fi, though I have been out of it for a while, is far too dystopian for my tastes. My books bring out the bad, the evil, but this is what human beings are perfectly capable of doing on their own accord. I inject as much science into my books along the lines of current thinking in order to make them believable. The other thing I aspire to do is point out the wonderful things human beings are capable of and how they can work together to achieve noble goals.

Other areas of sci-fi border too much on almost magical technologies or lean upon it too heavily getting in the way of the story which should be about people. That being said, this might surprise some, but Graham Hancock was a big inspiration for the book ‘For the Ages’. Mr. Hancock has had a few ‘out there’ ideas and I shared that opinion for many years. In only the last decade or less, the ideas he has espoused through meticulous research are proving to be true. He did not come up with these ideas, but has been an early and ardent champion for them.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “Treason”. I will go into as much detail as I can, but since it is
the third book of a trilogy, I hope not too much. All of my books are hitting the market
simultaneously which may or may not be the best strategy.

This question requires some background so here goes. My first book — Sol is Not Lost
— centers on Trevor Van Leeuwan who is the great-grandson of the leading character
in Treason — Marcus Aurelius Van Leeuwan. Trevor is the leading character (I would
say hero, but this evokes the ‘great-man’ problem again — he is the inspiring figure, let
us say.) Trevor’s family have been colonists in a breakaway society on the planet
Magellan, discovered by his great-grandfather Marcus, who also developed Faster-
Than-Light interstellar drive. Only a tiny few in the Earth system know about this
because the technology is deemed too dangerous to fall into the hands of
governments. In any case, Sol is Not Lost and For the Ages were my first books.

I then wanted to delve into the history or this future history (sci-fi used to be called ‘future
history’). This is where the Van Leeuwan Trilogy comes in. We all watch sci-fi, but the
origins of these future worlds just seem to pop onto the scene (see my complaints of
how history is taught). I wanted to explore just what Marcus Aurelius and his brother
Hans Hermann-Hoppe (H-cubed) went through to bring those colonies into existence.
This is fodder for a trilogy (and more?).

This third book — Treason — delves into the nature of intelligence/consciousness in
sync with the interconnectedness of a biome and its implications. As Marcus and his
compatriots start to settle into their environment, there is still no guarantee that they
can ever return to Earth. What if they introduce some tiny virus or prion that would
endanger many billions of people in the home system? Treason refers to being
endangered by a would-be colonist who may have sold them out to the powers-that-
be in the Sol System i.e. their colony, their breakaway technology and all the reasons
why they wished to snap the confines — physical and psychological — of Earth and
increasingly Mars. The ‘Mars Frontier’ or the ‘New Settlements’ as I refer to them, do
not have a government. They do not need one or want one. I will say in all honesty,
this was how I began my world building — based upon Rothbard, Marc Stevens,
Frederick Bastiat and others. Only very recently I became aware that Elon Musk in his
StarLink documentation discussed his Mars Colony very late in 2020 declaring that ‘NO
EARTH GOVERNMENT would hold sway in the colony he was building.

In Treason, of course the colony — many light years from Earth or Mars — technology,
and all are at risk just as they finally found a place to settle for the long term. Enemies
on Earth have been titillated of this possibility but have no concrete proof thus far in
their ongoing attempt to co-opt the technologies of Van Leeuwan et al. We have a
sociopathic crony capitalist — Malcolm Aldrich and later his estranged and equally
psychotic lover, an ex-POTUS and again appointed Senator waging her own private
war to annex the Mars Frontier along with anything else she can get her hands on.
There are targets for abduction or worse and creative ways of dealing with those.
There are intelligence and counter-intelligence operations. In all of this, the deeper
scientific and philosophical discussions with the latest (real world) thinking on both
injected for the reader to ponder.

A YouTube trailer for Treason: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLJej7C63Gs

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Featured Author Jessie Shedden

Featured Interview With Jessie Shedden

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on the Somerset Levels in England, which is all reclaimed land and therefore floods a lot. I was brought up in a very strict religious cult, which I escaped 3 years ago – and have written about in my memoir Tomorrow’s Not Promised. I now live in Wales with my wonderful fiance Dai and our 6 boutique bantams – Cuddlepot, Pretty, Chamois, Blue, Noire & Butterscotch. My chickens have been the inspiration behind my recently released book series ‘Fluffybutt Love’.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Despite having dyslexia I’ve always loved reading, coupled with the fact we were not allowed TV or radio in the cult, there was little else to occupy me during my homeschooling years when I had no peers and my sibling who were a lot older than me all were off doing their own thing. I started out reading Enid Blyton’s Brer Rabbit books and later progressed to reading memoirs such as Ben Carsons.

I first wrote when I realised I was ready to share my back story which was a million miles away from most others. People were fascinated to know what growing up in a cult in England meant and so it was time to put pen to paper.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t think I have a lot of loyalty to authors as much as I do to genres.

I read 100% non-fiction unless it is a child’s book, and tend to read memoirs, self-help books, business and mindset books and first-person accounts.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Fluffybutt Love book series has just been launched with The Original Fluffybutt Love. Think Jack Canfield’s Chicken Soup for the Soul, only a lot less soup and a lot more chickens! Chickens are vastly underappreciated and not seen for the immense amount of healing they bring to their owners. My own flock have seen me through incredibly dark times and it turns out I’m not alone in finding that to be the case. It’s been an absolute pleasure to collate stories from chicken parents all over the world and prepare them ready for 1,000’s more to read. The next two books are already ‘in the wings’ – Fluffybutt Love Special Rescue Edition and More Fluffybutt Love will be out in the next couple of months.

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Jessie Shedden’s Website

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Featured Author Jeremiah Ukponrefe

Featured Interview With Jeremiah Ukponrefe

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m both a comedian and a writer. I was raised in Langley B.C and currently live in Vancouver. In terms of pets I don’t have any.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
It started around 10 when I started to discover books that I enjoyed. I started taking writing seriously when I hit 19.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I really enjoy fantasy and non fiction. It terms of favourite authors I have many who I admire.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Hive is a New Adult Soft Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure, the first in The Arcane Volumes.

The Collective military has spent its years destroying the last remnants of The Hive, an alien force which devastated the old world, bringing forth the apocalypse , and ushering a new age of warring factions.Alexander King is a Collective soldier who during a mission monitoring the outskirts of Zone 6, discovers evidence that The Hive’s presence is stronger than commonly believed. With his new information it becomes vital that the Collective acts fast, for if they don’t the world will be brought to it knees again in a second wave of destruction that will end humanity forever.Astonishing, complex, and character driven. Hive is the first in The Arcane Chronicles which will leave you begging for more.

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Featured Author Naureen Youssef

Featured Interview With Naureen Youssef

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello!! My name is Naureen Youssef. Let me tell you a little about myself.
I was born in Denmark in 1989. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration majoring in Marketing, and have a GDM diploma in Business Management. I mothered a baby girl at the age of 24. In 2015, I got in the modeling world by becoming a fashion model. Later on, I became a social media influencer and a motivational speaker to empower women. I became the only mother in Egypt to win a crown in a beauty pageant as “Miss Planet Egypt 2019”.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Since I was 13 years old, I always liked to write. I would write pieces here and there. One day I decided to share my writing with the world. It was a dream for me to publish my own book “Bits & Pieces”, and I am beyond grateful this dream became a reality.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I fell in love with writing and poetry because of Shakespeare. I am inspired by stories of my own or stories I here from from loved ones.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Bits & Pieces will make you know you are not alone in your daily struggles or happiness, you will relate and connect to quotes, poems and short stories. I hope you relate to every happy and peaceful piece in my book, but if you do feel the sad ones as well then I hope they give you courage and strength knowing you are not alone.

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Featured Author Tom Fargnoli

Featured Interview With Tom Fargnoli

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a retired engineer, teacher, magician, and ex-deacon in the Catholic Church. I grew
up in a small, one square mile, a town in South New Jersey, called Magnolia. I had a great
childhood growing up in the sixties. I lived on my bike and enjoyed so much freedom across
the entire town, walking to school, to church, buying candy at a nearby candy store, making
money with a paper route, and buying a hoagie for 35 cents and a huge milkshake for 60
cents at the nearby deli. I loved my high school years tremendously, playing football and
lifting weights, and driving my 1954 Chevy.

After college, I married my high school sweetheart and had two beautiful children who have
children of their own now. I was married for forty years, lived in a beautiful rancher for 40
years, and worked as an engineer for over forty years. Four years after my wife passed
away, I remarried. I am now living a small town called Clarksboro, also in New Jersey. I
would love to have another Golden Retriever, but my wife and I plan to travel a lot, so we
will postpone a pet for now. Together, we have 17 grandchildren.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As an engineer and teacher, I was always writing to simplify complex material. I was rather
successful at this and traveled across the country teaching my visual and simplification
methods. My first book grew from this effort and was called, A Bridge to Simplicity through
Diagrams. I never marketed this book outside the engineering community but the book
could certainly be useful for anyone who wants to simplify the material for learning, teaching,
or presenting.

My first attempt to write a novel was inspired by a series of unexpected and unfortunate
events that happened to me over a four-year period. Through all of these events. my
psychologist kept telling me to write things down, so I did! I wrote about my grieving, about
my wife’s suicide, about the hardest decision I ever had to make, about the rejection that
resulted, and about the peace, I found through it all. So what began as a cathartic exercise,
thanks to the Holy Spirit, and being shut in by the Covid-19 virus, my novel was born!

I would say I am a new writer and plan to continue. Because of the letters, I’ve received from
readers of The Deacon – An Unexpected Life, I am starting to create notes toward a new book – a fictional book with a focus on reaching out to those who are yearning to be heard
and loved, showing them that, despite their pain, through it, they can grab glimpses of
hope, faith, peace, and love.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of the books that I enjoyed and have inspired include:
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
The Shack, by William P. Young
The Razor’s Edge, by Somerset Maugham
Illusions, by Richard Bach
Seeds of Contemplation and The Seven Story Mountain, by Thomas Merton
Joshua, by Joseph Girzone

I am currently reading a book called, The Graveyard Book, a novel by and Neil Gaiman. What
is interesting about this book is that I am taking an on-line writing class taught by Neil
Gaiman and am learning various writing techniques, such as character development and
ways to move my readers. I hope to utilize these new skills in my new book.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My current book, The Deacon – An Unexpected Life, represents my life over the last five
years. I was happily married for 40 years and, studied to become a deacon for over 5 years,
and enjoyed serving as a deacon for 5 years. It was my dream to be a deacon in my
retirement. Life was good – wife, home, children, grandchildren, health, retirement, and an
amazing ministry. But then, unimaginable tragedy and horror came to my family.

First and foremost, my wife, suddenly and tragically, took her own life. Grieving the loss of a
spouse, or any loved one, is devastating but as I quickly learned, grieving is much more
complex when it involves losing your loved one to suicide. Secondly, when a deacon loses his
wife, he cannot pursue another loving relationship that could lead to marriage. I had to
commit to a life of celibacy and, essentially, to a life alone. I actually made this commitment
before I was ordained, but now, the reality of the rule was like cutting my arm off. I simply
could not make a decision and it drove me crazy. – I knew about this rule! This battle went
on for almost 2 years – I couldn’t decide. It drove me crazy –in fact, it landed me in the
hospital for open-heart surgery.

My faith was truly being tested, but I managed to hold onto it. But with that decision, came
something I never expected. Something worse than loneliness – Rejection – rejection from
the church, from some priests, even from some of my brother deacons.

After publishing the book, I was amazed to see how many people were touched by my story
and wrote letters to me. People who related to grieving and isolation, people who lost loved
ones from suicide, people who struggled with surgery and recovery, people who have faced
tough decisions, and people who have experienced rejection.

This book is my true story with a touch of fiction to make the story more moving. My goal
was to make sure my story moved the reader in the way it moved me. In other words, I
wanted the reader to feel my pain, my loneliness, my turmoil, and to relate to it. But I also
wanted the reader to experience my faith and my hope and to help them see glimmers of
faith and hope despite what they may be going through in their lives.

My message is that it is important to focus on those glimmers of light and together
with faith, it is possible to journey from the darkness to the light. In my book, I leave the
pain and loneliness behind as I journey with God to find my peace and light. In so doing, I
find love again and marry again. My wife, Dorothy, also lost her spouse tragically and
suddenly. We are both convinced that God, as well as our late spouses, brought us together.

All proceeds of this book go to Suicide Awareness.

My book is available on Amazon and Barns & Noble.
On my website, www.thomasfargnoli.com, you will find more about me and more about
my current book. In addition, I started a page of me performing some of my favorite
magic tricks!

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Tom Fargnoli’s Website

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Featured Author TS Krupa

Featured Interview With TS Krupa

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in New Haven, CT into a Polish-American family and raised in a small shore town in CT. Still miss a New England fall! After living in NH and Texas, I am are finally settled in North Carolina with my husband and daughter. True story – when my husband, then boyfriend – was job searching, I said I would only follow him if the state bordered an ocean, hence North Carolina. We have loved North Carolina and it has been our home for the last fifteen years. We have one fur child, who we refer to as our, ‘grumpy old man’. His real name is, Chase and he is a mix of beagle/Shepard.

Fun Fact: I was part of a team that held the Guinness Book World Record for the longest played field hockey game at 51 hours (it has since been broken)

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I loved writing at an early age. I still remember getting really into creative writing assignments in the third grade over Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. I also loved reading, my first series, The Babysitter’s club. We got two that came in the mail every month and I would have them done within two days, it would make my mom so mad! I continued to dabble in writing the entire time but finally started professionally writing in 2013. I had this idea for a story and the idea would keep scrolling through my mind like ticker tape so I finally started writing it down and before I knew it, my first book was quickly written.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Right now, I don’t have a ton of free time between work, hanging out with my daughter and writing but my two favorite series are Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I will read everything and usually am committed to finishing everything I start – only book I couldn’t finish was The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz, I really tried.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Big City Dreams is about, Logan Hunter – who is a born and raised Texan. She runs away from home to avoid marrying her childhood sweetheart. As she enters New York City she meets the mysterious Mac. Mac is known for his concierge services to the rich and famous. Together they set out on an unpredictable adventure.

From the first ‘y’all’ to the last ‘crazy as a bullbat’, Logan will you have laughing with her sassy and unforgiving personality.

This book was so much fun to put together and Logan had me laughing as I wrote much of her dialogue. Big City Dreams was started in 2016 but was completed in 2020. I took a bit of a break in the middle, well, because life happened. We moved, had a baby and other adulting type things occurred. It makes me happy to start back up and reconnect with readers and get back in the writing groove.

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TS Krupa’s Website

TS Krupa Facebook Page

TS Krupa Twitter Account

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