Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Michael Jack Webb

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Grew up in South Florida. My wife and I live in North Carolina with our Sun Conure parrot. We love travel and watching movies, especially the old classics. My one weakness is soft chocolate chip cookies. Favorite time of year is early fall when the leaves are changing.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Started reading at a young age, in junior high. Read The Source by James Michener and The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien and never looked back. Started writing short stories and poetry in high school and college. Got serious about writing novels in my early 30’s. Have written one non-fiction with two more in the works, and just released my 7th Supernatural Mystery/Suspense Thriller. Hope to have numbers 8 and 9 out next year. All pare of two series: The War of Men and Angels and The Justice Chronicles.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read ecclecticly. Daniel Silva is a favorite, along with James Byron Huggins, James Rubart, Robert Whitlow. Favorite genres are Political Thrillers set in the Middle East and fast-paced, well-written Supernatural Thrillers with interesting characters. I also read extensively about archeology, paleontology, astrophysics, ancient history, mythology, physics, forbidden history, and Egyptology. My main inspirations are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, and James Byron Huggins. Favorite quote from J.R.R. Tolkien, “A story must be told or there’ll be no story, yet it is the untold stories that are most moving.” Kate’s story was begging to be told and I hope I was faithful to her in Ghost (The Justice Chronicles Book 1)

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Best-selling, award-winning author and master storyteller Michael Jack Webb weaves a Supernatural Serial Killer tale like none you’ve ever read.

Enter a world where nothing is what it appears to be, and every clue leads an extraordinary young woman deep into the heart of darkness and beyond.

Kate Justice, FBI’s youngest Profiler, is assigned to find a serial killer with supernatural abilities.
The killer is elusive, cunning, and seemingly invincible.

Kate races against time to discover who or what is behind the gruesome murders and prevent another brutal killing.

She soon fears she’s in over her head as stunning revelations about her mysterious ancestry surface.
Hunter becomes the prey as the Ghost in the Darkness killer plays a vicious cat and mouse game, drawing Kate into a deadly confrontation.

Uncovering the truth will challenge her beliefs about the world around her and her understanding of what is real, what is a myth, and what is something in between.

Book 1 of The Justice Chronicles will leave you breathless, wanting more…

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Michael Jack Webb’s Website

Michael Jack Webb Facebook Page

Michael Jack Webb Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Jason Hein

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Jason Hein, and I am a self published author of medieval fantasy books. I have a 4 book series as well as a prequel to the series, two short companion books to the series with poetry and short stories, a stand alone novel set in the same world, and an unrelated poetry book.

I live in the central US out in the country and have a couple dogs, a cat, and raise goats and sheep. I enjoy the country and would love to travel more, specifically to Ireland as a large part of my ancestry came from Ireland.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing around 10 or 11 years old. I remember watching a movie where a girl, at the end of the movie, decided she was going to write a story about her experience that summer. It was as if it suddenly clicked in my head that, “Anyone can write a story.”

I got up from that movie and went to grab a paper and pencil. I’ve been writing ever since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Tolkien and C.S Lewis are definitely some of my favorite authors and big inspirations. Andrew Peterson’s Wingfeather Saga is an amazing literary work as well.

As far as genre goes, I definitely enjoy Fantasy the most, but science fiction is a close second.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, The Axion, A Varsian Kingdom Adventure, is a medieval fantasy about a human Phoenix, a dwarf, and a wyvern that go off in search of an ancient artifact of great power. Legends from the after life tell of the Axion Orb, and a staff that houses it, being capable of transporting people not only across realms, but from one planet to the next.

On their journey of exploration the trio discovers the Realm of Duality, but the land is dying. Setting their own exploration aside they are quickly swept up in a race against time to try and save the kingdom. As it turns out, the Axion itself, is the only hope for the doomed kingdom.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Jason Hein’s Website

Jason Hein Facebook Page

Jason Hein Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Bill Felker

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Marshfield, Wisconsin, a small town in the middle of the state. I pretty much wandered free as a child. My parents let me follow my inclinations to hunt with a slingshot, fish in the river, explore the adjacent park. I think that if I hadn’t been convinced to enter a Catholic seminary at the age of 14, I would have continued in that vein. But I did become a seminarian and learned Latin and entered an academic world in which I remained for decades. Although I didn’t become a priest, I stayed disconnected from my childhood pursuits until my 50s – when I stopped smoking and began, once more, to wander in the woods.

These days, I live in Yellow Springs, Ohio, am retired from almost 50 years of teaching, and am slowly returning to childhood. It’s a long road; I follow it with one old cat and one old dog, and we are trying to figure out where the road is leading.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing on April 14, 1956. I was just beginning to emerge from seminary piety and said to myself, “I think I’ll write, maybe be a writer.” I started with a poem in a school notebook and have kept writing ever since. Most of my early writing was journaling, graduating to a really bad novel, then to a regular bad novel, then to a novel that I haven’t finished. By the time I got to writing for newspapers, both as a feature writer and columnist, I had put aside most of my fictional fantasies and settled in to contemplate the real world of plants and people.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite author right now is David Hinton, a scholar/translator of Chinese poetry. His latest book, Awakened Cosmos, is an exploration of life and work of the 8th-century Chinese poet, Tu Fu, and, at the same time, a rich commentary on Taoism.

Non-fiction is my favorite genre: I am always in search of ideas for my weekly radio and newspaper essays. Well, then I also read poetry. Mary Oliver and Wendell Berry are my favorites in that genre. I feel lucky to be/have been alive during their writing careers.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
One of the problems with being able to self-publish is that there is always another book to write and publish. I have just completed my annual almanac, Poor Will’s Almanack for 2021, which contains, among other things, essays on the 48 seasons of the year, a S.A.D. Stress Index (which provides a numerical value for the likelihood of stress on each day of the year), as well as farm and garden notes, weather forecasts and Americana stories from the readers of my weekly newspaper almanacs.

My latest collection of essays, Deep Time Is in the Garden: Almanac Essays in Search of Time and Place and Spirit, came out this past spring and anthologizes 40 of my favorite nature reflections that were originally written for radio and my newspaper columns, I continue to update my Daybook for the Year in Yellow Springs, Ohio, a memoir-type collection of all my nature and almanac notes from the past 40 years, published in twelve volumes (700,000 words about), and in which I write almost daily, describing what I see and feel about nature in my yard and neighborhood. As a self-publisher, I update my published Daybook annually, editing and adding at will.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Bill Felker’s Website

Bill Felker Facebook Page

Bill Felker Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Whitney Metz

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Whitney Metz, and I am currently writing a magic realism series called Black Magick. I am a vegan, living outside the town of Mannington, West Virginia with Riley and Petunia, two pigs I adopted after my first internship with Farm Sanctuary. I have tried many different career paths in my life, but writing has always been a constant for me. It’s my outlet, my escape. I care deeply about animal rights and environmental protection, and like to reflect those things in my writing.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always loved books. My mother has told me that when I was a child, before I could read for myself, I would memorize the books that she read to me, so that it was like I was reading along with her. I’ve been writing almost as long as I’ve been reading. I wrote stories and poetry as a kid, and I’ve started multiple blogs over the years. I even published a book of poetry many years ago. It was only in the last few years though that I started thinking about writing as a career, and started writing novels.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
The authors who have influenced me most are Neil Gaiman and Stephen King (especially his Dark Tower Series). I also get a lot of inspiration from comics and graphic novels. Gaiman’s Sandman really changed the way I think about writing, and Hellblazer is probably my favorite thing to read. I love reading anything that has to do with magic or the supernatural, even non-fiction. I’m always trying to learn as much as I can about different belief systems and mythologies, both for my own enjoyment and to make my writing as accurate as possible.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called Myths &Music. It is the second volume in my Black Magick Series, a story about the world behind the one we see everyday, the importance of the connection we all share with each other and with the Earth, and about finding our true paths. At the time that I started the series, I was actually trying to write short stories. I had this image in my head, of a guy chain-smoking outside an apartment building, in the middle of the night. The story grew from trying to figure out why he was there. It turns out that I’m not great at writing short stories; I always need to know what happens next.

In the first book, Sigils & Secrets, we meet Ben Harrison. He was well on his way to having the life he always wanted. He had a high-paying job, a great apartment and, most importantly, he had Carrie. She was fun, exciting, creative, beautiful, and a bit eccentric. Carrie had a fascination with the occult, which Ben found irrational, but not particularly troubling.

Then one night, during what Ben assumed was just another of Carrie’s standard ghost-hunting expeditions, something went terribly wrong. Now Ben must find a way to navigate a world that he never believed existed, in order to save the woman he loves. Soon, he begins to realize that he didn’t know Carrie nearly as well as he thought.

To make matters worse, Ben’s encounter with the supernatural has left him with a mysterious infection ravaging his body and mind, further blurring the line between what is real and what isn’t. He is forced to leave everything he knew behind and seek out a healer to cure him of his illness. In the process, he learns the truth about Carrie, about magick, and about himself.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Whitney Metz Facebook Page

Whitney Metz Twitter Account

If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.

Featured Interview With John Smale

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in the West of England and went to University in Newcastle upon Tyne, where I studied business and marketing. I worked for large multi-national companies until I realised my life was about convincing people to buy things that they did not really need.
I realised I needed a change in my life. I trained as a therapist and helped many, many people to overcome their problems.
I now live in the South West of France among the vineyards where I have continued my writing and enjoying a peaceful and satisfying life.
I also run a small publishing company that enables authors to get their books set up and printed at an affordable cost. I do not like companies that do the same work as I do, but for huge amounts of money, and profit.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
A major part of being a therapist was constructing metaphors to give my clients a ‘different view of life’. And from those I wrote a series of short stories and metaphors which were published in three books, and have sold well. The aim is to both entertain and help the readers.
I like to look at life in a different way, hence THE BOOK THAT READS THE READER, my idea of writing short stories as if they were the stories about people who were read by the book they are reading. This surreal style changes the perspective of the teller of stories away from the first and third person to that of an inanimate and emotion-free entity. This makes the stories ‘outside-the-box and enables humour, sadness and entertainment.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My early influences were French authors who used different approaches to writing.
Now, I enjoy reading the books that are submitted to me for publishing. I avoid certain types of books but the range I have is very wide including fiction to biographies, sort and music.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A great summary of the THE BOOK THT READS THE READER was given in a review by the editor of Mensa magazine.
REVIEW IN MENSA MAGAZINE

What if your book could read you…
Imagine, if you will, that you pick up a book and start reading…and the book starts reading you…
It knows instantly your story, all your secrets, your thoughts and deeds, right down to your very soul.
“You think you are reading me. You are, but I am also reading you. I am inside your head. It’s a strange place to be, to be honest.”
That is the surreal and engaging scenario created in this quite wonderful work, penned by Mensa member John Smale.
It is a vehicle that allows the book (writer) to tell a collection of what could be seen as short stories but definitely with a twist.
There is the battered wife and a happy ending…the innocent man in jail, framed by his wife and her gangster lover…who get their just desserts…the old man with dementia in a care home who knows more than most people think…and the priest who dies in a very surprising confessional moment…
This is a brilliant book. The stories would very much have stood up as a collection of work in their own right but the extra and imaginative addition of the idea that there is a book that reads people adds to the brilliance.
If you like stories with a twist, ones that reveal the vagaries of life in all it many forms then this is definitely for you.
Very highly recommended.
Brian Page editor

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

John Smale’s Website

Featured Interview With Robert R Randall

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
As the title of my memoir attests, I was born and raised in the deep South. After a stint in the Air Force (ours), I got just enough education to be dangerous (an MS in Mass Communications from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette) and took my show on the road–literally. For ten years I was an itinerant disc jockey and sometimes TV sports anchor. When I came to my senses, I became an advertising copywriter (okay, scratch coming to my senses).

I live with my lovely wife, two cats (Nicky and Zeus), and a Sheba Inu dog named Lucki in an Antonio.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I discovered reading for pleasure in high school and became a daily reader in my 20s. But I did not begin to write seriously until I was in my 40s.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Mostly, I read novels. I still love Faulkner, Fitzgerald and Robert Penn Warren. More recently, I’ve been reading Richard Russo, Kate Atkinson, Donna Tartt, Richard Ford, Annie Proulx and many others.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Lost in the 50s: In Meridian, Mississippi is a memoir about growing up in The Fabulous 50s: It was the era that gave us Brando and Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and Fats Domino, Grace Kelly and James Dean. Not to mention the Cold War and hula hoops, the exciting new medium of television, and a new kind of music called ‘rock ‘n roll.’ As if that weren’t enough, the 1950s also brought us fallout shelters, the Korean War, sack dresses and ducktail haircuts.

For a kid like ‘BobbyRandall,’ (in the South, they liked to tie your first and last name together) coming of age in the deep South of the mid-twentieth-century meant colorful characters, charming venues, and an unforgettable way of life. From the legendary black bottom pie at Weidmann’s Restaurant to ‘making out’ at the Royal Drive-In–from a pool shark named Lenard to the mad dentist, ‘Doctor Death,’ Lost in the 50s is a fun book to read.

It was also a fun book to write–my first memoir, and it practically wrote itself in about a year.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Robert R Randall’s Website

Featured Interview With Michele Scott

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in the foothills of San Diego county where we always had horses and I started riding as a little girl. I was also a competitive gymnast for seven years as a kid and give credit to the sport in providing me with the skill of tenacity and determination. I think it’s one of the reasons why I can write under the gun!
I went to college at The University of Southern California and studied journalism. But, I always wanted to write fiction. Soon after I graduated I had my first son and wrote my first novel! That was 1991 and I have been writing books ever since. I love it!!
I’m a mom to three amazing, grown children. I love to cook! I’ve written 36 books….7 of them were co-authored projects. I just recently moved from my hometown of San Diego to San Francisco where I am brewing a new mystery series or two in my head!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Let’s see…I’ve been writing since I can remember! I always loved to read and write and wrote my first “book” when I was 12..of course it was about horses. Horses are my other passion and outside of writing I am the Vice President of our family business where we manufacture sports medicine products for horses. If you read my books you’ll find a few have an equestrian theme or background to them.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
James Patterson, Stephen King, PD James, Dean Koontz, Sandra Brown are all authors who have influenced me in some way or another. I love the scary stuff, anything mystery, thriller…a little romance is always good, too.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is DEADLY AFFAIRS and it’s the fourth book in my Holly Jennings Thriller series. DADDY’S HOME is the first book in this series! Holly is a San Diego Homicide Detective who has been through quite a bit, which you know if you’ve read the series and if you haven’t.. I won’t spoil it. This particular book was inspired by The Ashley Madison scandal that broke a few years ago where cheaters were basically called out due to hackers. So, there’s a lot of that in the book. I started writing it right after the third book (THE PREFERENCE) but life got messy and I went through a divorce, which threw a curve ball in my writing process. When life settled down again I knew I had to get back in the saddle so to speak and start writing again. It’s out now and I’m doing the work to get the series back in front of my readers and the word out to new readers.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Michele Scott Facebook Page

Michele Scott Twitter Account

If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.

Featured Interview With Sharon Krasny

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Sharon Krasny has worked as an educator for over sixteen years in Virginia and abroad teaching in both Hungary and the Czech Republic. She discovered a love of oral history, from the people’s enthusiasm in retelling their knowledge of old.
As an Advanced Placement English teacher and adjunct professor, she has spent years encouraging students to take risks, look closely at the smallest details, and determine hidden meaning found within the text. Her own writing reflects these values.
Sharon lives and writes in Northern Virginia with her husband Prokop and their rescue pets: Labrador Rupert and cat Bonnie Rose.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always enjoyed comfort reading. Dr. Seuss Put Me In the Zoo was a true go to many times. It showed many possibilities with words and individuality of character. My language arts teachers starting in fifth grade with Mr. Baccus up through Mrs. Joan Fisher, my eleventh grade American literature teacher all reaffirmed and identified in me a writer’s spirit. It’s taken numerous years to finally find the courage to embrace my dream and put some time into crafting my writing.
I have spent the past thirteen years teaching literary analysis. I have fallen in love with the many layers and different approaches to the same stories. My students have taught me so much about the power of meaning two or more can build when bridging hearts of imagination.
To me reading and writing is the most powerful conversation two people can share. We enter a vulnerable spot and think about what in life perplexes, hurts, confounds, and challenges us to become better people. There’s a special magic when a reader or a writer begins to recognize themselves in a book.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Currently I spend more time in international authors or American authors of ethnicity. Stepping outside of our own culture and understanding is a great way to get a better view of daily reality. I am currently reading Through The Waters And The Wild by Greg Fields due out in January. His look at the struggle of Irish immigrants once again brings many current conflicts into a more complete perspective. For not enjoying history too much in high school, I do enjoy historical fiction as my genre of choice. Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns did a lot to encourage the writing of my novel. Mr. Hosseini’s choice to embrace the voices of women and deliver a compelling and moving drama from within the characters of oppressed gave me a lot of freedom to explore my writing through the voice of Ötzi the Iceman, who lived 5300 ago in the Chalcolithic era and was found murdered in the Italian Alps thirty years. I can’t get further removed from myself than a frozen dead guy from five millennia ago. It was a fascinating experience and I am very thankful for the example successfully navigated by Khaled Hosseini.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Forgotten and frozen for 5000 years, the most studied corpse in the world known as Ötzi was found emerging from a glacier on the Italian Alps. Murdered, shot through the back, his story creates a haunting need to understand how he got there.
Young Gaspare tells his story as the Iceman, as he faces the rites of passage of an ancient tribe, the longing for love and deepening friendship, and the scars of cowardice. Gaspare’s four challenges will test his wit, strength, and the love of a mother for her son. If he is to find his place in the changing tribe, he must understand his greatest fear.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Sharon Krasny’s Website

Sharon Krasny Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Anna Finch

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an Australian-Uruguayan, teacher of English and Humanities from Melbourne, Australia. I love writing in the fantasy, sci-fi and coming of age genres in both YA and Adult categories. ‘Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale’ is my debut novel in the YA, urban fantasy and coming of age genres. Prior to my debut novel I worked mainly on poetry and short stories in both English and Spanish, which I plan on eventually publishing. I have two Jack Russells – Brooke and Crowley.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination with books started in primary school when I began noticing that I was losing my language (Spanish) and started reading every book Spanish story book I could get my hands on (I had to teach myself how to read Spanish first). Eventually, I ran out of Spanish books and migrated towards the English novels/novellas in the library. Writing, on the other hand, I didn’t really start doing it for fun until about year 8 as an escape from the bullying and to deal with my emotions (I mainly wrote poetry).

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite authors are Neil Gaiman and Sarah Henning, I really love ‘Good Omens’ and ‘Sea Witch’. Some of my favourite genres are urban and historical fantasy, sci-fi, coming of age, crime, thriller/suspense and dystopia. The writing styles and themes of Suzann Collin’s ‘The Hunger Games’, Kalinda Ashton’s ‘The Danger Game’ and Louis Lowry’s ‘The Giver’ inspired the themes/style of my debut novel ‘Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale’.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
What inspired me to write ‘Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale’?

‘Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale’ is my debut novel. The initial idea for the story came to me as I watched writing videos by my favourite authors on YouTube and listened to Poor Unfortunate Souls on repeat.

I always loved The Little Mermaid growing up. She was different, an outsider who sacrificed everything for love. She struggled with her identity and finding her place in a world that eventually silenced her. But there were things in both the original fairytale and the Disney version that made me uncomfortable as I grew older.

As I wrote Voiceless, I thought about the choices the little mermaid made in the original tale and knew that I wanted her to make different choices, to grow as a person rather than a damsel in distress. There were moments in both versions where the little mermaid stood up for herself and made choices of her own. I wanted my little mermaid to be more than a mermaid who fell in love with a human at first sight.

As a coming of age story, I explore and mention many serious issues that affect young people today through the eyes of Moriah as she discovers who she is and what she wants.

While that was what inspired me to write that story, not many people know the reason why I wrote my debut novel. ‘Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale’ was actually my NANOWRIMO 2019 project but I decided to participate in NANOWRIMO, and actually write the novel, last year because my Year 9 English students were writing their own coming of age/dystopian stories for an assessment so I decided to plan, write and edit the my own story alongside them so they could have an example for when they wrote theirs. That, and I hoped it would get them interested in writing their stories. I actually promised my students that I’d publish my subverted little mermaid novel. Adding additional character development and editing in general was like pulling teeth but I got there eventually.

What is ‘Voiceless: A Mermaid’s Tale’ about?

A heartless king sits on his throne, weaving his cruelty like a web that chains all within his reach. Under his reign freedom is a lie and love and compassion are forbidden.

A loving yet powerless father and prince must overcome his grief to protect his only daughter that is free from his father’s web of cruelty. But Moriah isn’t making it easy for him.

Soon, Princess Moriah’s desperate desire for power and freedom conflicts with the forbidden love she has for the human, Michael, putting her father and kingdom at risk.

The star-crossed lovers must defy the odds in order to keep their relationship hidden from the cruel king of Zoara-Bela. But this won’t be easy.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Anna Finch Facebook Page

If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.

Featured Interview With Erik Daniel Shein

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Northfield Ohio, and at eh young age of 7 my family moved to Arizona where I still reside.
I have always had and still have several pets. A lot of them are rescue pets that I came across neglected or abused and now have cats and birds, snakes and turtles and maybe even a crocodile

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At the age of 8 i would walk to the forest and stare at turtles and frogs for long periods of time. It was at that time where I started creating stories about them. To this day I can go to the zoo, watch animals such as elephants and in my mind turn the thoughts into “The Lion King”

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Dr. Seuess and also Michael Crichton. I enjoy reading Children’s books and have been and still am inspired by Legends such as Walt Disney and Mickey Rooney

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Forgotten Ornament came from my grandmother. Every Chrismas she would tell me how the animal ornaments on the tree would come to life for a brief moment just to say that they were thinking of me.
All the characters in The Forgotten Ornament represent all the animals that I have rescued from abuse and neglect.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Erik Daniel Shein’s Website

Erik Daniel Shein Facebook Page

Erik Daniel Shein Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Argyro Graphy

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Argyro Graphy was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario Canada and since the age of 16 relocated a few times, has returned and settled in Mississauga. The family pets have always been birds, budgies, canaries, and lovebirds.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
From a very young age Graphy wanted to write or illustrate children’s books. Bullying, discrimination and harassment scarred her as she questioned her self-worth. It was after 40 years and a recent life-changing trauma that she decided to write. She created an adorable hippo character, Bentley that children would be able to relate to and who is now inspiring children around the globe

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
A huge fan of Walt Disney from a young age, loved children’s books, middle grade as well as some young adult books. Walt Disney’s “magic” was a huge inspiration though recently she has been reading a lot of Erik Daniel Shein’s novels as they have underlying lessons and important values to better the world.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The most recent book The Forgotten Ornament was co-written with Erik Daniel Shein as well as the 3rd book in The Bentley Hippo: Inspiring Children Series – The Adventures of Bentley Hippo: Inspiring Children to Never Give Up, in honor of her late friend who always inspired her to never give up.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Argyro Graphy’s Website

Argyro Graphy Facebook Page

Argyro Graphy Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Ari Reavis

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a wife and mom of six. I was born in New York, and moved to New Jersey when I was young, which is where I still live, hating the winters and all. I do not have any pets, and probably won’t, no matter how much my kids beg.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
In the seventh grade, we were given The House on Mango Street to read. It’s the first time I can remember really connecting with a book, seeing a character who had a family like mine, a childhood like mine. It sparked me wanting to read more books, consume more stories, to escape through my connections with these amazing fictional characters.
I started writing almost three years ago, with the thought of there was a book I wanted to read but couldn’t find, so why not write it myself. That transformed into me feeling I wasn’t yet writing the story I truly needed to. So I put those stories aside and began writing my first book, Be My Light, a story straight from my heart. Much like The House on Mango Street (which I’m just now realizing how much that book influenced my writing) I wrote about a childhood, and stepping into adulthood, that I felt many could and were looking to relate to. But me being me, I also made it a romance because that was the light at the end of the tunnel for my main character.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My absolute favorite author is Bethany-Kris. I would read her grocery list. I love that her stories always take me through so many emotions and the couples in them build such realistic and strong bonds.
My favorite genre is fantasy, getting to escape to another world, another time.
For my contemporary romances, Bethany-Kris inspires my writing. To write about heros and heroines who overcome, who love even when it’s hard, and will take on the world for that love.
I wrote a fantasy romance that I plan to publish soon, and that was inspired by Hafsah Faizal’s We Hunt the Flame. She wrote a world so different from anything else I’ve read, that was true to her, and I did the same with mine.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is It Was Always You. It’s a enemy to lover romance. It deals with the heroine not wanting love in any way, shape, or form because of her upbringing. And a hero who’s always secretly wanted more with the heroine than their banter and sarcastic comments.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Ari Reavis’s Website

Ari Reavis Facebook Page

Ari Reavis Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Steven Capsuto

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in southern New Jersey, in the Philly suburbs. As a kid, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would live in a big city, but I moved to New York City eight years ago and it’s perfect for me. Among other things, it’s cool living in a place where new brick-and-mortar bookshops have opened in recent years. I love browsing in a well-curated indie bookstore. As for pets: I don’t have any now but I love cuddling or playing with friends’ cats, dogs or rabbits.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I fell in love with books before I even knew the alphabet. My parents would read storybooks to me, and by age four I would recite them back from memory, turning the pages, pointing to illustrations, and pretending to read them aloud.

I write and lecture about how the broadcast media have portrayed LGBTQ lives over the past century. I was always fascinated with the mass media and their power to reflect and influence social attitudes. Going through old file boxes from my parents’ house, I recently found some surprisingly good papers I wrote in high school and college about 1940s wartime propaganda on radio versus images of the Vietnam War on 1960s television, and about the role of newspapers in the Revolutionary War.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Good LGBTQ histories fascinate me because I came of age at a time when our history was buried and hidden. We’d been erased from the record, which made it easier for people to see us as dangerous “others.” The next LGBTQ history I’m going to read is Hugh Ryan’s When Brooklyn Was Queer, which I’ve heard great things about.

My most direct inspiration is Vito Russo’s landmark history of gay images in cinema, The Celluloid Closet. I read that when it came out in the 1980s and I attended one of Vito’s lectures, and I thought “Hey, I could do something like this about queer images on television.” Not only was my book, “Alternate Channels,” inspired by Vito’s work, but the lectures I give at colleges and community events are very similar to Vito’s old video-illustrated lectures about the movies.

For pleasure, I read all sorts of books. Last month I revisited Douglas Adams’s “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series (the first two of which are brilliantly entertaining). I also recently read Kate Chopin’s 1899 novel, “The Awakening,” which is a stunning, vivid, devastating piece of writing. Now I’m in the middle of “We Are Never Meeting in Real Life,” a collection of cranky, funny personal essays by blogger Samantha Irby.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It’s a 20th-anniversary revised edition of “Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV.”

In 2018, when I started work as the lead historical consultant for the Apple TV+ docuseries Visible: Out on Television, I figured it was time for a corrected version of my book. I went through the 500-page original, fact-checked everything from scratch, rewrote a few sections, reinstated things the original publisher had cut, and added about 100 photos.

The first edition grew out of an experience I had as a grad student in the late 1980s, volunteering at Gay and Lesbian Peer Counseling of Philadelphia. A lot of the callers were gay teenagers who said they were considering suicide, and when we would ask them what they thought gay people’s lives were like, they always said the same thing: “I only know what I see on television.”

That got me thinking about the power of the media, and I started researching the history of those TV images, both in terms of what sexual-minority characters had appeared onscreen and what was happening behind the scenes in the television industry and in activist movements that helped to shape those images. Eleven years later, in 2000, it was a well-received book. And now there’s an even better edition of it.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Steven Capsuto’s Website

Steven Capsuto Facebook Page

Steven Capsuto Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Nisha Mohan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
35 in earth years & 21 in heart years. That’s me in a nutshell. I work as a Senior Business HR Manager for an ITES Firm at Bangalore, India. A few years ago, right after my child was born, I had a lot of time to myself while at home, and that’s when I began to think about what it is that I like and enjoy doing and what is, ‘my true calling. This led me to my passion, which is and has always been creativity and writing! Storytelling and I go way back in time.
It has always been my dream, MY PASSION, for writing a story-line that will blow readers/ viewers off their seats, and that’s how I embarked on the journey of writing my first novel, ‘An Unforgettable Holiday,’ and here I am today.
My book is available @ the below link

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I really can’t remember when I picked my first novel. But I know I started reading at a very young age and always had a library membership. Courtesy my mom and dad who used to always encourage us to read.

From comics like Tinkle to Archie’s and slowly graduating to Nancy Drew and then Erich Segal.. I guess I have sure come a long way.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Erich Segal, John Grisham amongst so many many good writers. I enjoy reading Romance and Suspense.

The characters in my book are based on a mix of my imagination plus traits I have observed or real life people around me. If you know me and are reading this, yes, you probably are in my book too. LOL. Now go get a copy and find out for yourself as to where you feature. :P.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
This is a Contemporary Romance and Suspense Fiction novel.
The story starts off with a female protagonist Tania who is looking for love. She is in love with a handsome young man by name Aarav, however as he is already committed to another, a heartbroken Tania moves on and ends up meeting a stranger, Dhruv. Just when things are getting better and Tania and Dhruv hit it off, Aarav comes back into Tania’s life and confesses his love for her. Tania is now in a dilemma. Around this time, Dhruv plans to go on a holiday to Goa with Tania and friends and Aarav too who happens to be around when the plans are discussed, is invited to the holiday too.
What happens during this holiday? Does Dhruv stand a chance with Tania? Or do Aarav and Tania come together?
Are Aarav and Dhruv the men Tania thinks they are? Or is there more to them than what meets the eye?
Only time will tell.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Nisha Mohan Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Joseph Binning

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Once an abandoned, homeless, substance abusive teen dropout, Joseph Binning rose to become a self-made visionary—the first graduating classman with a 3D Building Information Modeling degree, owner and founding president of MEPCor, nationally respected industry innovator, multiple marathon-triathlon competitor, humanitarian, mentor, San Diego Center For Children board member, world traveler, health enthusiast, and doting father. In discovering the truth of his limiting beliefs about himself, love, and success, Joseph not only reinvented himself, but joyfully made it to his self-proclaimed finish line. At a transformational workshop in 2016, as he whispered into the ears of the attendees the two words his heart had forever yearned to hear, he suddenly—and with clarifying certainty—knew his life purpose. “If I were to die in my sleep tonight, I would be at peace, knowing that I helped others to know how much they matter, because I discovered the truth…that I MATTER.” —Joseph Binning, July 2019.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I attended a workshop in 2019 and was blessed to hear Lisa Nichols speak. At the end of her session I knew I was supposed to write a book.
I haven’t stopped since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My reading spectrum is very wide and deep. I believe we can learn from all forms of information so I try to read with an open mind.
Dr. Wayne Dyer changed my life when I read his book Change Your Thoughts, and Change Your Life.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
As we enter the year 2020, in a world that seems to be moving exponentially faster with each decade, we struggle more than ever to be relevant, influential, valuable, respected, seen, loved—and stay alive long enough to make it through the finish line. We live in a vast, unlimited Universe, so why do we press ourselves into such small boxes?

Joseph Binning, author of YOU MATTER…Even If You Don’t Think So, knows from personal experience that too many don’t make it to the finish line. Too many are not given the words, the instruction, or the hand we need to make it through. Too many of us do not believe that we really matter. Understanding who we are and what to do with this life we’re living is the hardest thing we’ll ever do. We need more than words—more than knowledge. We need a way to quiet the voices in our heads that make us want to give in. We need a reason strong enough to get to the finish line without quitting. We need a truth powerful enough to lift us out of the darkness.

From a throw-away child to a successful, heart-felt, self-made man, Joseph Binning knows first-hand that our past is not who we are. In fact, who we think we are is rarely who we truly are. It is only through opening our eyes to a new way of seeing—by setting aside our limited thoughts—that we understand, “When I let go of who I am, I become what I might be.”

In his self-discovery guide, YOU MATTER, Joseph takes our hand and leads us through each page of a truth-telling map to find our path—the path within ourselves where we discover the answers. Who am I? Why am I here? Am I worthy of love? How do I create a lasting relationship, work, and meaning in my life? What do I do now, and how do I do it? Joseph teaches us how to discover who we really are—and who we’re not—and how to know, trust, and follow the path in front of us. Most importantly, Joseph leads us to find compassion—for ourselves first, and then for others—to support our renewal, step out of doubt, anxiety, and disbelief, and move toward the finish line in clarity, certainty, and creation.

Taking us beyond 2020 vision, Joseph teaches us to look back only for a moment, to see how far we’ve come, but doesn’t let us stay there or press ourselves back into the box. Revealing the truth that lies within us, YOU MATTER shines the light on our greatness, until we can shine our own light, loving us enough until the day we can love ourselves enough to make it through. Joseph Binning is the voice of 2020 who shouts to each and every one of us, “Don’t give up, because YOU MATTER!…Even If You Don’t Think So. Purposeful

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Joseph Binning’s Website

Joseph Binning Facebook Page

Featured Interview With M.O. LeClair

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a new author and a current freelance writer. I’m 38 and I have my first book coming out on September 4th, 2021. It’s called ‘Concrete Jungle’, and it’s available now for pre-order on Amazon.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was 8 when I started writing. I’ve always loved reading and writing. It was always an escape to a different world.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Stephen King and Susanna Kaysen. I love reading Crime/Thrillers, Romance, Drama and Suspense the most! The world around me is enough of an inspiration. Also, my experiences.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
When Nylah Diamond, a young psychiatry student, becomes aware of a new case study, she becomes obsessed with it; something about it intrigues her.

She wants to know about every detail, every statement, every piece of evidence and everyone involved.

…someone else wants it left in the past…

She becomes determined to help piece together everything that has seemingly been hidden and scattered everywhere for so long…

…things that were meant to stay scattered and hidden. Something doesn’t make sense.

Some things from childhood, they stick with you, forever. Small things, big things, what seem like such insignificant things; change things. Change people.

…and if “Dr” Diamond doesn’t let sleeping dogs lie, she may be the next to get bitten.

All of the things you think don’t matter, matter most. What you think matters most, may mean nothing at all. People are animals. Savages. It’s a concrete jungle out there, and even something as small as a snake in the grass, or a spider in a tree, can take down a lion; the king of the jungle.

© 2016-2020 Room with a View Productions.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

M.O. LeClair Twitter Account

If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.

Featured Interview With James Allocca

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Brooklyn, and now I live in Valley Stream, New York, where I live with my wife and daughter. I have been an Art Director for the last 35 years, designing all sorts of magazines, and having fun doing it!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was fascinated with books at an early age. They took me to places that I had never been and opened my eyes to the world. I even wrote some books as a kid that my audience of two parents really enjoyed! But it wasn’t until later in life that I had a solid idea for a book. Something that I thought readers would enjoy.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love science fiction and science fact books. Always a big fan of Jules Verne, HG Wells, Clive Cussler, Kurt Vonnegut, James P Hogan and others. And I grew up reading comics, which influence me to this day. Science Fiction movies have also influenced me through the years.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is The Descendants Of Krag, which is the sequel to Black Saucer. Black Saucer is a standalone book, but my readers suggested that I write a sequel, and they were right! I think that it’s a solid, fun Sci Fi book that I hope everyone is enjoying.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

James Allocca Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Caroline Walken

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My husband and I live in the farm county of Southern Ohio; I love the peaceful countryside since, as a child, I had lived in the city. When I am not writing, I ride my horse; I was born horse crazy, and have ridden since I was twelve years old. Growing up, I liked creating imaginative stories but did not pursue my writing love until 2014.

Since then, I have published five books and several short stories. Writing has been an unexpected creative release. Having been raised in Northern Kentucky, I love the history surrounding Newport, Kentucky, often labeled the forerunner of Las Vegas. My family comes from the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area, with many of my Grandfather’s stories based on this area’s events. In researching material for books, it is exhilarating to recognize names and supporting information.

I finish a book with the details of the next roaming through my mind! I love being a story-teller; I get a thrill when a reader reaches out to me to tell me how much they loved a book. That type of connection keeps me writing!

Connect with me to see what happens next. Do I have a story for you!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote short stories, but never considered writing until 2014. Since then, I have developed a passion for story-telling!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I do have a personal favorite; Patricia Cornwell was always a favorite of mine. I introduced her books to my Dad after we lost my Mom. He and I would read the same book and compare notes when we got together on the weekend. Her books will always remind me of those chats.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I just published my fifth book, In Hiding. This tale began as a short story selected for an anthology. There had been so much interest in the characters; I became convinced there was more to the story. It begins with a heartbreaking murder during a jewelry store heist. This event set a series of events in motion that spiral a young woman out of control. This vortex draws in a seasoned bail enforcer for his unique skills. To chase her, he has to open his mind to her, drawing him deeper into an abyss.

The early reviews have been very positive!

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Caroline Walken’s Website

Caroline Walken Facebook Page

Caroline Walken Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Toula Mavridou-Messer

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I currently live in London, after spending many years living in LA. Way back when, I woke up one morning wondering what it would be like to live and work in the US and within 10 days I had a visa, a job and an apartment. Everything literally fell into place without me really doing anything to make it happen. In fact, I was working as a Celebrity Booker at the time and had booked the wonderful Miriam Margolyes for a documentary only a week earlier. Without her knowing my plans, she called me and asked whether I knew anyone in LA who might want to rent her apartment there! Very soon after, Miriam became my ‘landlady!’ The Universe was lining everything up for me and did a spectacular job!

Fast forward a number of years to 2014, when my husband (James) and I had started writing and publishing our own books, we got a call to let us know that Mum’s husband had died and literally packed up our lives instantly and headed home to be with her, as she has dementia/Alzheimer’s.

Life has been harder than we could have ever realised and it has taken us until now to get back on track with writing and publishing more new books, fitting it all in around our other responsibilities – with Mum’s safety and wellbeing at the very heart of our lives.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I grew up in foster care and had a foster brother who was 4 years older than me. English wasn’t his first language, so as our foster mother taught him his ABCs and how to read and write, I picked it all up too; being able to read and write at the age of 2.

I read everything then and still do now – books, backs of cereal boxes, blogs, newspapers – literally anything and everything!

I requested a typewriter for Christmas for my 3rd birthday and started writing my first novel there and then! No idea what the story would have been, but I know for certain it was excellent!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As a child I was mesmerised by all of the classic children’s books – such as What Katy Did, Little Women, Lorna Doone, Black Beauty with a great many Enid Blyton books thrown in for good measure.

As I got older, I started to read James Herbert and Stephen King books, along with anything else I could get my hands on.

Mum had a collection of Harold Robbins books mixed in amongst some Bronte, Austen and Tolkein, all of which I sneaked off her bookshelf!

These days I continue to read anything that grabs my attention with authors such as John Updike, Tom Robbbins, Bill Bryson, Donna Tartt and Margaret Forster amongst my favourites.

I often re-read books, too – most of which stand the test of time – like Jitterbug Pefume by Tom Robbins – it’s crazy and absolutely wonderful – and Lady’s Maid by Margaret Forster, which I will never get tired of.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
After being unable to focus on writing and publishing books for a significant time, I am delighted to say that we have three new books, all set to be published in the run up to Christmas 2020.

1. Our latest book is, “Vocal Warm Ups & Exercises.’

The book is a feast of fun and super cool illustrated vocal warm ups and voice exercises with an array of awesome alliterations for actors/drama students/voice artists etc.

James is an award-winning graphic designer and illustrator. He is also an actor and took part in the 2011 Sundance Grand Jury prize-winning film, ‘Like Crazy.’ James trained at various places including RADA in London and also in Hollywood…and even auditioned for Spielberg!

James designed and illustrated this book so that it’s more than just a vocal warm ups book, it is also an amazing addition to your book collection.

I wrote the alliterative stories; such as “Annie and Adam’s Adventure at Arthur’s Animal Aid Association,” “Betty Bets Billy ‘Bout Blowing Bigger Bubbles Better,” and “Colin Couldn’t Comprehend Chafing Cream.” As you can see, each word of every story starts with the same letter – no and, ifs or buts.

We were inspired to combine our talents to create something alternative to the ‘dry’ textbook style books that are currently available for the most creative amongst us: actors – especially after havingthe idea planted in our heads by actors and acting teachers!

We wanted the book to be affordable, pocket-sized (it’s 6″ x 6″), hip and extremely entertaining – a book that you want to carry around with you all the time so that you can read or recite the alliterative stories to impress anyone within hearing distance – and it is all of the above and so much more!

2. We are just about to format our first self-improvement book – Attitude of Gratitude. It’s a 30-day workbook and is simply wonderful. It’s filled with real-life quotes from hundreds of people about gratitude and is totally uplifting. ‘Gratitude’ will be the next book we publish – around the end of October, 2020.

3. In the meantime, James is completing the illustrations for our very first children’s chapter book, “Itsa-Mouse’s Holiday Home – It’s good enough to eat!” It’s such a beautiful book to look at and you will fall in love with the characters instantly!
We are also updating and redesigning the covers for Mortal End and Pocketful of Poesies.

Mortal End is my first novel – one that had TV presenter Jonathan Ross and Halloween afficianado exclaiming that, “The spookiest treat for Halloween’s right here. 178 pages of dark, twisted & mysterious goings on.”

It’s the back story to Hansel & Gretel and explains why the wicked witch was so evil.

Pocketful of Poesies is a teen humour version of the alliterations that make up part of our brand new ‘Vocal Warm Ups’ book. As mentioned above, we were contacted by drama teachers and voice coaches who told us that they were using the Poesies alliterations as warm up exercises in class…so we decided to create a new book specifically for that purpose and audience.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Toula Mavridou-Messer’s Website

Toula Mavridou-Messer Facebook Page

Toula Mavridou-Messer Twitter Account