Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Allison B. Hanson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in the mountains of Southern Pennsylvania and now live near Hershey, PA, in the land of chocolate! I don’t have any pets, but my husband and I live on fifty acres, so we enjoy our wild pets. Deer, turkey, fox, coyotes and the occasional bald eagle.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing on November 20, 2009 at about 4 in the morning. That was when I woke up with my first book idea. I couldn’t go back to sleep because I kept thinking about it. Eventually I gave up and went to the computer to start writing it out.
When my husband came to see where I’d gone, he was convinced I was sleep walking. When I told him I was writing a book, it didn’t help him believe I was awake.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I generally read historicals, but while I write about Scottish Highlanders, I usually read Regency or American Historical. I love Mary Balogh, Tessa Dare and Holly Bush.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Her Accidental Highlander Husband is my twentieth published book. It’s about a Scottish woman who is on the run from the English law for killing her husband, a duke. She makes her way back to Scotland to the clan her sister has married into and finds herself married to their war chief.
After her last marriage, the last thing she wants is to marry again. Especially a man with a position in the clan made for violence, but Cameron MacKinlay has a big heart and will give anything to keep his new wife safe from the gallows.

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Allison B. Hanson’s Website

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Featured Interview With John Holliday

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
John Holliday grew up in England, where he served in the Royal Air Force and later with IBM. After moving to Canada and initially continuing to work with IBM, John started the first of many businesses, mostly in the IT industry.

A subsequent business opportunity resulted in a move to Australia where he continued his entrepreneurial activities. John’s interest in writing arose when he decided to write a memoir of his business life, ‘Toughing It Out: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur’. A visit to a still-functioning orphanage in Jakarta, founded more than 180 years before by his ancestor, Walter Medhurst, kindled his interest in recording Walter’s life. So became ‘Mission to China: How an Englishman Brought the West to the Orient’, published first in England followed by a Chinese version published in Taiwan.
During the research into Walter Medhurst’s life, John uncovered the extraordinary life of Clara Colby, whose grandmother was Walter Medhurst’s sister. Clara Colby, he determined, must be the subject of my next book. ‘Clara Colby: The International Suffragist’ has been published in time for the 100th anniversary of American women winning the vote, to which Clara’s efforts contributed significantly.

John lives with his wife, Colleen, on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Covered by the previous question.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am fascinated by history and historical novels. Among my favourite writers are Robert Harris, Frederick Forsyth, Edward Rutherfurd, and Ken Follett.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Clara Colby: The International Suffragist.
This book is the story about a leader in the cause, which one hundred years ago, gave American women the right to vote. Clara Colby was born in England, graduated as valedictorian of the first woman’s class at the University of Wisconsin and became a writer, publisher, teacher, public speaker and friend of many leading figures of her day. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the founders of the suffrage movement in America, became Clara Colby’s mentors. Her journey is an epic saga of untiring and heroic endeavor, sometimes under the most adverse circumstances, across the United States, and her native England. She suffered great injustice, but she never complained, and her accomplishments contributed significantly to the successful introduction of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Clara’s story stands out among all of those who so selflessly contributed to the suffrage movement. With the centenary of the Nineteenth Amendment and the US election in the same year, this book is extremely relevant to anyone who has an interest in politics, US history, women’s history or appreciates learning about a woman who would stop at nothing to do right by the people she represented.

The book took me two years to complete and uncovered some previously unknown details. It was a very personal journey because Clara Bewick Colby was my grandfather’s cousin.

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John Holliday’s Website

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Featured Interview With Steve Wilmot

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a first-time author at the age of 67. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and finally pulled the trigger. I grew up in a small town in NE Indiana. After graduation, I headed to college to train to become a pastor. I pastored for 37 years in five different churches. My wife, Becki, and I live in a small town where we pastored for 28 years. For the last 25 years before retirement from the church, I also delivered mail for the United States Postal Service. I’m enjoying retirement by gardening and landscaping around our house, reading and writing, and babysitting my grandkids.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I am a reader from an early age. Books took me away from a childhood and teen years in which I battled insecurity, inferiority, and fear.
I don’t know when I started writing for sure, but for sure as a Junior in high school. I signed up a journalism class and ended up as assistant editor of the school newspaper. As a Senior, I was editor. Since then I’ve written curriculum and newsletters for the churches where I’ve served and for over a decade, I wrote a weekly spiritual column in two local newspapers. (I’m still doing that now.)
Finally as a senior citizen, I wrote my first book, a novel called “Cornered in Shallow Water: One Man’s Journey from Crippling Fear to Faith and Freedom.” A few months later, I wrote, “Do It Scared: 20 Devotional Readings to Turn Scaredy-Cats into Warriors.” More books are coming.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read anything by Tedd Dekker and John Eldredge.
Books by Andy Stanley, Judah Smith, Steve Farrar, and Bill Thrall have greatly impacted my life.
I am drawn mostly to Christian non-fiction books, but also enjoy biographies and novels written by Christian authors.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In my first book, I told the story of a pastor who battled fear. Fear that kept him in the shallow end of the pool where he could touch bottom. Fear that imprisoned him in his comfort zone. He learned how to overcome his fear primarily by believing and living out several Bible verses that gave him courage, increased his faith, and defeated his enemy.
My latest book is a companion to that novel. I took 20 key Bible verses that the pastor found life-changing in his battle with fear and wrote a devotional about each of them. My hope is that these devotionals will inspire, encourage, and provide more weapons in the arsenal of my readers doing war with fear.

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Steve Wilmot’s Website

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Featured Interview With T. J. Blake

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hi everyone, I’m T. J. Blake, a psychological thriller author who enjoys creating unique characters and plonking them into dark stories. My imagination is a little ridiculous, it always has been, so becoming an author was the best way to put those ideas into something entertaining. To date, I’ve written six novels – five full length and one short. My latest novel is my supernatural suspense thriller, “Familiar”.

I was born in Guildford, Surrey in the UK. I lived all my childhood in the same house actually, in a little town called Haslemere in Surrey. Even when I moved out, I stayed in Haslemere. I didn’t leave until I was twenty-one.

Funnily enough, my fifth novel, DECEPTION: A Love of Lies, is based in the same area where I grew up. I little village called Hammer. Anyone local will know the woodlands where DECEPTION is based.

Now I live in Lindford, Hampshire, which is still only around a fifteen minute drive from Haslemere!

When I lived with my parents I persuaded them (after a good eighteen years trying to convince them!) to get a dog. Although I don’t live with my parents anymore, I still see my little Cocker Spaniel, Coco, as my pooch. She’s a lovely little thing. A real diva at times, but she’s adorable. Somehow she knows the sound of my car when it pulls up outside my parents’ home, and goes absolutely mental when I do.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always had a love for reading. It was as early as primary school where I found my love for it – I was always a few grades/ages above the class for reading. And writing, well, I wrote my first full novel back when I was around seven years old – it was about a kick-ass girl called Elizabeth, she used to fight monsters.

It’s funny thinking back – I had a little notepad book, and I literally filled all the pages with the story. All handwritten. Once the story was complete (a little bit of editing here and there), I would force my parents to sit down and listen to me read the story. I think they were genuinely surprised how good my stories were. A clear structure to the story, realistic dialogue (or so my seven year old brain thought), and some great descriptions for the setting.

But before all that, I was a child who needed speech therapy and additional learning to hand write. The idea of me becoming a writer was definitely not on the cards.

Alongside reading and writing, I had a real obsession back at school, even now to be fair, with spelling. Most kids at school hated spelling tests. Me, I absolutely loved them. Thrived at them. I would always get high marks, most of the time full marks. Again, my parents would gladly show off my spelling to friends and family who came round to see us. Then the friends and family would chuck words at me to spell.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m the kind of reader who is more focused on the plot itself. If your cover looks great and the story is intriguing, then I’ll give it a go. It doesn’t matter whether you were traditionally or self published, I’m an advocate to stories.

There are however some writers that I love and will always read their books whenever they release a new one. Stephen King; obviously, Gillian Flynn, Karin Slaughter, Linwood Barclay, Alex Michaelides, Alex Lake to name a few. I’ve also read quite a lot of books by authors I didn’t know through Amazon Prime reading – there are some really great books there!

The next book on my list, The Institute – Stephen King.

Favourite genre for me is always psychological thrillers, detective fiction, suspense, horror – essentially anything that is dark, gritty and has a story that you want to guess before the conclusion or twist is revealed.

In terms of my inspirations, I’ve found human nature is my biggest inspiration – it’s the recurring theme in all my stories. The protagonist in each story has a past and they have something in them that isn’t entirely normal. That’s what drives the story. The plot itself is key, but it’s the protagonist that always drives it and makes the story what it is. It’s quite cool that human nature is my formula to all stories. I have to say, it works every single time!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest novel is the supernatural suspense thriller, “Familiar”. It’s based on a psychic medium known as Arabella.

Book blurb:
‘For as long as she can remember, Arabella has communicated with those who exist only in memory.

Being the centre of attention growing up was uncomfortable, and now, as a renowned psychic medium, it is becoming more of a struggle. Arabella’s ability and reputation always made it impossible to hold onto lasting relationships, but with those who no longer walk this earth, that’s not the case.

Arabella returns to where it all began fifteen-years before – on the very same stage. After an evening reconnecting loved ones and exposing untold stories, Arabella can’t help but wonder about the one unclaimed ‘friend’, and their cryptic message.

In an unexpected turn of events, Arabella finds herself the subject of morning headlines and at the centre of Detective Barnes’ investigation.

Can Arabella use her ability to prove her innocence and uncover the truth about the past?’

The plot for this one was complex to put together. It took a lot of time planning before even attempting to write it. It’s a great story with a twist that I don’t think anyone will be able to get. I challenge you to read and let me know if you did manage to guess it.

What I like most about “Familiar” is that Arabella is constantly speaking to ghosts, or as she calls them, her friends. With that comes many different characters coming into it – different stories to tell. It’s a book that has many short stories to tell.

The strapline for “Familiar” sums it up well:
“For the living, it’s closure. For the departed, it’s the last chance to expose the truth.”

It’s a supernatural story, but I did my best to not make it just a massive cliche with other paranormal stories. I think I’ve achieved this, and I’m really proud of this book. A couple of reviews have come in already – 5 stars so far!

I would love for you to read “Familiar” – it’s free on Kindle Unlimited too: https://viewbook.at/Familiar-TJBlake (global link to Amazon)

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T. J. Blake’s Website

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Featured Interview With C. Greg Long

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Atlanta, Georgia during the economic prosperity and optimism of the baby boomer generation when the virtues of apple-pie American life were extolled. It was also the generation when divorce became more prevalent, leaving the first generation of latch-key kids home alone. I was one of the first latch-key kids and spent most of my childhood raised by my grandparents in South Georgia, where fishing, hunting, taking care of livestock, and farming were a part of everyday life.

I returned to my childhood love of outdoors after moving to central Texas where I now live with my wife on a small ranch of cattle, horses, four dogs, Boomer, Bella, Rags and Chloe; three cats, Missy Mocha and Leo; and the routine wildlife that wander through our twenty-four acres on a daily basis. Our ranch is a rescue site for all the dogs and cats dropped off in the country by owners who no longer want their animals for whatever reason.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was a very reluctant and poor student bouncing from house to house in my early childhood. My first real love for books and reading did not surface until my sophomore year of high school when Mrs. Martin, my Literature teacher, introduced me to some of the great works of Literature. Books like Red Badge of Courage, Moby Dick, and Robinson Crusoe took me on adventures and to places, I could hardly imagine. Mrs. Martin instilled in me a love for reading that has remained with me throughout my life. My love of reading motivated me to aspire to write and become a published author. I fulfilled that aspiration in 1984 while completing my doctoral studies in theology, writing a number of academic journal articles, book reviews, and theological curriculum for graduate students. I published my first non-fiction book in 2001, and have since that time authored or co-authored three other books. My most recent publication is Strength at the Broken Places, published in August 2020.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My reading interest revolves around spirituality, personal spiritual development, philosophy and psychology. Among my favorite authors are N. T. Wright, Dallas Willard, Richard Hays, Alisdair MacIntyre, Michael Polanyi, John Walton, and David Berlinski. Two more contemporary authors I enjoy reading are David Brooks and France Collins.
Two of the most profound and inspirational writers that are not widely known that motivate me to be a better writer are N. T. Wright and Dallas Willard.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book took several years to incubate. But once I determined my purpose, it only took four months to write. So why did I write this memoir?

First, my grandfather taught me almost everything I learned in my early childhood. He was the most influential person in my life. When I was a sophomore in high school, he died suddenly from a massive stroke. His death impacted me at a challenging time as a teenager, and I lost the anchor that I had depended on from childhood.

As I have gotten older, I realize the importance of his influence in my life. I have memories of him, but I have no written records of his life.

I have grandchildren now, and I wanted to write this memoir in part for them to leave a story that they can read and remember long after I am gone.

Second, I experienced career failure which led to family failure. All of us fail in some way. The question is what do we do with the failure. I wanted to write my story to help those who feel like failure eliminates them from having a relationship with God, and ever experiencing success and joy in life. I wanted readers to understand:

I found the answer to failure in the most unexpected places. I embraced and overcome the past, confronted my mistakes, and found a transcendent path to new life and restoration. My story will help people discover why failure is never fatal, how we can make peace with others whom we have disappointed and hurt, how we can embrace and overcome anger and loss, and out of our wounds how we can become wounded healers for others.

Life is not about us; it’s about how we care for those around us. From a failed journey of outward personal success to the purposeful and heart-felt ministry of serving others, I found the secret to a fulfilled life—an awareness that it is easier to succeed than to fail.

Strength at the Broken Places will lead readers on a journey to discover:
• How true and lasting change occurs
• How failure does not define us
• How authentic identity is not determined by what you do or to whom you are related
• How success comes from intention rather than effort
• How to answer the four critical questions that every person must answer

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C. Greg Long’s Website

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Featured Interview With Philip Spires

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire in 1952 and was brought up in Sharslton, a mining Village. I went to London University, Imperial and King´s, and then became a maths teacher, working initially as a volunteer teacher in Migwani, Kenya. I then spent sixteen years in London, specifically Balham and Islington. In 1992, I left Britain for Maktab Teknik Sultan Saiful Rizal in Brunei and then Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. My wife and I currently live in La Nucia, just 5 kilometres from Benidorm on the Costa Blanca.
I have always been interested in the relationship between nature and nurture within nature, birthright and experience. Themes of culture and identity and their relation to economic roles and social experience underpin my writing. What we are born into relates to what we become, but we are rarely in control of our own destiny. What others do, how we approach friends and foes, our interests and intellects and the way we choose to earn a living, all of these shape us into what we become. It may be that culture is the sum of all assumptions that others make on our behalf, whereas identity represents our reactions to them. Just a thought…
I did a PhD on the effects of education in economic development in the Philippines. My aim was to relate educational experience to culture and identity, particularly in the area of the adoption of personal attitudes and values and how they then relate to desired and realised economic roles. It was far too ambitious and occupied nearly a decade of my spare time. But I am very glad I did it and offer the deepest thanks to those who assisted and supervised.
These days I am pretty much retired. I did a few years teaching in Spain at the Costa Blanca International College, but my wife and I have concentrated on our small tourist rental business for several years. I do a lot of cooking and reading, and the garden is always in need of attention. I maintain a passion for music and am currently president of Alfas del Pi Classical Music Society.
But it is writing that interests me. My books aim to take you there, to live the characters’ lives, to experience their dilemmas. I don’t want to shock or to engage in vacuous fantasy or gratuitous crime. The world we live in is packed with experience, and even the most banal reality is far more interesting than fantastical invention. I hope there are truths in my writing.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I cannot remember anything too specific, apart from getting car sick just once in my life and being asked to read my compositions to the class when I was quite small. The travel sickness came about when I decided to write the story of The Three Little Pigs in an out-of-date desk diary of my dad’s. I was determined to finish and finish I did. I’m afraid the copy got rather messed up when I was sick. And then I distinctly remember that I was repeatedly asked by a teacher to read my work to my classmates. At the time I was convinced I was better suited to maths and science, and I rather dismissed what appeared to be a talent. I have been doing the same ever since. After many Biggles adventures, I can remember borrowing The Plague by Albert Camus from the school library when I was around eleven years old. I am not sure I understood it, but it made me want to read more. I never did and still do not worry myself with anything that might be described as genre fiction. I seek new worlds, not repetition of the familiar.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Like cliché, I avoid anything claiming to be in a genre like the plague. I see so many authors who claim to be on this number or that in a series and I wonder why they didn´t say it in volume one. I concentrate on literary fiction, where the plot really doesn´t matter, because it´s how and why things happen that´s more important than the “what”. I have just finished a so-called plot-led novel based on the financial crisis of 2008-9, and it was surely one of the longest books I have ever encountered. I had no interest in the people, the plot or what the author was repeatedly trying to tell me. When I see a production of Shakespeare in the theatre, or an opera by Janacek, I know what will happen and I know all the characters before they open their mouths, but how and why things happen is always endlessly and repeatedly fascinating. I grew up worshipping Lawrence Durrell´s Alexandria Quartet and have read al four books about five times. I´ve read A Grain Of Wheat by Ngugi was Thiongó at least three times and Paul Scott´s Raj Quartet also at least three times. And I would read all of them again, because there would still be new experience in all of them.
Feel free to elaborate here.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Eileen McHugh – a life remade – is a novel about a sculptor whose creative life ended in the 1970s. She left no work, but now an archive of her notes and sketches has come into the possession of Mary Reynolds, who is determined to resurrect the artist’s life and reconstruct her work. She contacts people who knew Eileen as a child and as a student in London. Via these partial memories, she recreates the artist and her work.

Eileen McHugh is an artist. She is a sculptor. She seeks no avenues of compromise in her work. Her career was short and unnoticed. Paradoxically, one of her works has achieved viral status on the internet via a photograph posted in the name of Mary Reynolds, who now wants to create a biography of the artist and a discussion of her work so that she can create a museum to display it. She has contacted Eileen’s mother and has the artist’s sketchbooks and notes.
Eileen wanted to tell stories in her work, stories that arose out of the detritus of people’s lives, their bits and pieces of discarded trash. Her art, at one stage, is described as ‘off the wall’ as well as on it. The form of the book, however, repeatedly illustrates how lives themselves mirror this state. The lives of people who knew the artist come to mimic new works created by Eileen, assemblages of life’s discarded bits and pieces.
The novel begins in West Yorkshire, UK, migrates to London for art college, visits Thailand on a hippie trip and finishes in New Jersey. But the people who contribute to Eileen McHugh’s story are scattered across the world by the time they are contacted, forty years after the events.
Eileen McHugh did not exist, but her story in this novel creates a plausible biography and corpus of her work.

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Philip Spires’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author Paula Kendrick

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Arkansas. I still live in Arkansas. No, I don’t have any pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I just started writing about 2 years ago. I never had any desire to write before then.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I really don’t have a favorite author. I like non-fiction, memoirs, autobiography’s. My personal experiences inspire me in my writings.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Modern Day JaBez. Jabez means pain or sorrow. His mom birth him in pain. I was birthed in pain by being adopted. That pain transpired up until now

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Author Paula Kendrick’s Website

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Featured Interview With Fazlous Satter

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Fazlous Satter. I was born and raised in a village of the coastal district Barguna which is located in the southern part of Bangladesh. Later, due to educational and professional life, I was shifted to the capital city Dhaka where still I am living.

I am a great pet lover. In my village home, we have both pet dogs and cats.

Professionally, I am an author, human rights, human security activist, and researcher, currently working with the Centre for Human Rights, Development & Human Security (CHRDHS) as its founding Executive Director. I am also working as an Independent Research Consultant focusing on human rights, geopolitics, natural resources based conflict, and other human security-related issues. I have two published books.

Being a researcher I have numbers of research on human rights and human security in particularly on emerging as well as prevailing domestic conflicts, regional geopolitics, border and enclave people, police reform, indigenous land rights, forest conflicts, vulnerabilities of ethnic minority women as well as on land administration, and its challenges.

One of my research publication titled “Struggle for Survival: A Study on the Legal Status of the Mandi Peoples’ Land Rights in Modhupur Forest Area” is enlisted in the libraries of some of the world-famous universities that include Yale, Colombia, U-Chicago, UC Berkeley, Illinois, Minnesota, Heidelberg, Max Plank Institute, Iowa, etc.

Being an activist I have also participated in several international human rights training programs that include 23rd Annual International Human Rights Training Program (IHRTP) conducted by the International Centre for Human Rights Education (EQUITAS); which at that time known as the Canadian Human Rights Foundation (CHRF) and 16th Geneva Advance Training Course (GTC) on International Human Rights Law and Diplomacy organized by the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).

As a part of my online activism, I am also working as an administrator of a few social media groups on human rights, environmental justice, and geopolitics.

Besides activism and research, I was also involved with both print and electronic media of Bangladesh as a journalist for a long while.

As a journalist, I worked in a various capacity that includes Radio Metro-Wave (Head of News), Weekly Jai Jai Din (Political analyst & Regular Columnist), Jai Jai Din Protidin (Senior Reporter), Prothom Alo (Reporter for a brief period), Daily Ajker Kagoj (Sub-Editor), Dainik Desh Bangla (Senior Reporter), Dainik Lal Sabuj (Sub-Editor), Fortnightly ANANYA (Reporter), etc

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At the age of 10, I realized my love and fascination with books. Then at the age of twelve, I started writing rhymes and poetry.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite reading genres are political science, international security, geopolitics, human rights, philosophy, environmentalism, and climate justice, etc.

As my reading genre is diverse, I have many favorite authors but among them, I must mention the name of Noam Chomsky, Amartya Sen, Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, Maxim Gorky, Leo Tolstoy, Boris Polevoy, Alex Haley, Vandana Shiva, Shawkat Ali, Zia Haider Rahman, etc.

Concerning writing inspiration, this is my reading habits as well as empathy towards the people’s struggle for a universal culture of human rights that always inspires me to write.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest published book is titled “UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD’S LONGEST CIVIL WAR: COLONIAL STATE FORMATIONS, GEOPOLITICS, CONFLICT OVER NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE GENOCIDE” which is now available at amazon.

This book is an overview of over seven decades-long civil war in Burma and its both internal and external actors,root causes as well as complex dynamics including global and regional geopolitics centering Burma,conflict over access and control of rich natural resources and also the politics of illicit drugs.

This book has given an account of all the major insurgent groups that include from communist and Arakan Mujahidin to currently active more than 21 ethnic armed organizations (EAO’S) and their predecessors along with the plight of these ethnic nationalities.

To give the reader a deeper understanding about this world’s longest civil war, apart from contemporary ethnic, religious, sociopolitical and economic issues this book also describes the history of Burma that covered thousands of years from the earliest Maramma period to present Myanmar days that includes the rise and fall of Burmese Empire, its territorial expansion, colonial rules and ethnic nationalities resistance against both Burmese invader and colonial occupation and also the rise of Burmese nationalism and their collaboration with the Japanese occupation army as well as their last moment shift of allegiance toward the Allied forces and achieving independence.

Finally, this book analyzed the role of Burmese armed forces (Tatmadaw) in Myanmar’s politics since their collaboration with the Japanese occupation army and their economic as well as other vested interest that turn it into a state within a state and brutal repressive armed forces which committed ethnic cleansing, the crime against humanity and genocide in the name of so-called counter-insurgency campaign, especially against the Muslim Rohingya community.Lastly, this book also elaborates past and ongoing international interventions in response to the crime of genocide and crime against humanity committed by the Tatmadaw.

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Fazlous Satter’s Website

Fazlous Satter Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Elizabeth Andrews

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Growing up in rural Dorset, I became fascinated with the folklore of the countryside. I worked in advertising, running a design business with my husband on the south coast before moving to Cambridge for a number of years. Interest in my artwork and writing increased online and my first illustrated book ‘Faeries and Folklore of the British Isles’ was published in 2006. A second Illustrated book ‘Faerie Flora’, was released in 2013, a seasonal guide to the country’s most common flowers and plants including faerie stories, spells and charms. The Lavender Witch, the first in the Psychic Sisters series of novels was released 2014, followed by The Cunning Man, The Haunting of Stoke Water and the fourth in the series, The Doll.
A change of style followed with a number of illustrated short stories for children under the ‘Mice of Horsehill Farm’ series and ‘The Faeries Tea Party’.
I am also a regular contributor of folklore articles to a number of popular magazine titles.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My older sister taught me to read at an early age and I created little picture books for myself. As I grew older I have become a voracious reader of anything I can lay my hands on.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy many genres of fiction, from Dickens to Terry Pratchett. The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley scared me silly when I was younger( I must have read this under the covers so my mum wouldn’t see!) so I try to emulate that feeling in my own writing.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, The Doll, is the fourth in The Psyschic Sister series.
A mysterious doll, a centuries old curse and a vengeful witch.
What have the tea guzzling OAP’s Queenie and Sybil got involved in now!
Queenie’s peaceful Sunday afternoon reading the papers is interrupted by the arrival of the local Vicar, Paul Goodfellow.
He has recently come into possession of a strange doll; worried because it is having such a strange effect on his three young daughters he reluctantly consults the local parish witch, Queenie.
Hearing that the previous owner, a young woman, committed suicide in the most horrific way Queenie becomes increasingly disturbed as she realises that the doll has an evil curse attached to it. It becomes evident how dangerous the situation is when the owner of the doll, an evil witch, forces her way into Queenie’s home in search of it.
The witch is the most formidable adversary Queenie has ever faced and it is only with the help of her sister Sybil and Paul the Vicar that they manage to overcome her, her coven and the Hell Hounds that she sets against them.
To stop her wreaking vengeance on the inhabitants of Queenie’s home of Dorchester and laying waste to the town Queenie must dig deep and use every bit of cunning and occult knowledge that she has.

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Featured Interview With E Jean Simpson

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am part of A & J PEI Treasures. We are a Husband and wife team living in Prince Edward Island, Canada. We enjoy the quieter lifestyle, renovating our place, writing, photography, upcycling and a variety of projects. You can find A & J PEI Treasures on Facebook, Youtube, GoodReads, WordPress, Amazon Author Central.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved books. Even as a child. I wrote a lot of papers in college, but that is quite different. I always thought I should write a book, but I never seemed to have the time. When the pandemic came along, I had the time and $0 budget. Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I decided I would continue with my plans and find ways to get my books done.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like Historical Fiction. Everything from Philippa Gregory to Christian Jacq. My favourite eras are Tudor England and ancient Egypt.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is How to Publish an E-book on a Budget of $0: Making your Dreams a Reality. I came up with the idea because I had to do a lot of research when doing my first books. This is my fifth book. It was a lot of work and some of it was trial and error. I thought I might be able to help others find their way through the publishing of their own book. Of course, I also have the $0 budget to contend with.

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Featured Interview With J.J. Cunis

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I have lived year round on the Cape since 1984. However, according to local customs, only my daughter can be considered a native Cape Codder. I have engaged in numerous occupations and activities from paperboy, to bag boy, to laborer, to metal fabricator, to bank examiner, to CFO, to COO, to ghost youth sports writer, to entrepreneur, to movie extra, while writing along the way. My roots were in Marlboro, MA and have been replanted in Boston, Washington DC, New York, San Juan, Houston and finally Cape Cod where I expect to remain firmly planted barring any climatic catastrophes … knock on wood.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
A creative writing class in high school was really what kick started my writing. I wrote mostly suspense and horror short stories. My teacher was a nun and seem to love my work … no matter how gory it got.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I started on Poe, Tolkien, Vonnegut, Kesey, Heller, Irving and Clavell. Then there was McMurtry, Hiaasen and Lehane. The two most influential though were Douglas Adams and Stephen King. Currently I’m diving into the complete works of Mark Twain beyond Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is the novel, ITCHIWAN –
Four wise-ass, foul mouth, but lovable thirteen year old boys with backgrounds of South Boston Irish, upper class WASP, local townie Wampanoag twins … a summer on Cape Cod … a mysterious long buried time portal … a captivating suspected witch … a reborn murderous Wampanoag legend thought to be only a fairy tale to scare children and keep them close to home … Hey, what’s the worst that could happen?

Ehhhh … mayhem, horror, time travel, romance, humor, tears and non-stop thrills. A ride of your life with unforgettable characters, both good and evil.

Do you miss that queasy feeling interrupted by sporadic humor? It’s time to get it back! Enjoy being embraced in a roller coaster of a story that zips you from 1968 to 1992 to 1720 to the time of legends to before that and back again ultimately culminating in the present … Or is it?

Cape Cod has a secret that nobody knows … well that’s not true … though those that did, usually didn’t for long. But the few that knew and lived … oh, never mind … it probably won’t concern you … Welcome to Cape Cod! Enjoy your stay … avoid the marshes and dunes … and you should be fine … I think …

****I worked at a resort development in the eighties. The owners, (a famous old blue blood yankee family) liked my writing style and had me do the copy for their 25th anniversary magazine documenting the history of their development and the surrounding area. Doing this I found a book written in 1934 called “The Narrow Land” by Elizabeth Renyard. Part of it chronicled Wampanoag legends as told to her by a Chief Wixon. She also spoke of the Screecham sisters, Witch Pond and Sam Bellamy to name a few. Through her I found Pukwudgees and asked “What if … ?” ***

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Featured Interview With Priya Prithviraj

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I currently live in the city of Hyderabad in India, which is also known as the ‘city of pearls’. I grew up in Kerala and moved to Hyderabad a couple of years back to attend university. Ever since, I’ve been living in this city and I’ve had pets at different points of time, mostly cats.

I’ve always liked having animals around me so I try to be kind and to take care of the street cats and dogs. I cannot really call them my pets but I do pet them and I enjoy spending time with them.

Right now, I have a few pet snails living in my terrariums. 🙂

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a child, I used to enjoy being read to by my sisters and started reading early reader books from first grade. Then, I was introduced to the world of Enid Blyton by my sisters who were voracious readers themselves and I read a lot of books from Heidi to Little Women and Rebecca throughout my school years once I started borrowing from the library.

I used to write stories for contests at school, and also at the back of my notebooks. It wasn’t until I joined university that I started writing poetry which I published in literary magazines. After publishing in a couple of magazines, I published my first book of poetry ‘Purple Kisses’ (The Linnets Wings Press, 2017) and now I’m working on a short collection again. I am also writing a sequel to ‘I Still Remember’, my contemporary romance Kindle short.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite writers are Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, L M Alcott and L M Montgomery. I also like the novels of Arun Joshi. While I do read fiction, mostly literary or classic, and also children’s literature, I actually enjoy reading poetry more than anything else.

I like to read translated works from the Japanese — both prose and poetry, like those of Kawabata and Basho, and I feel that my style of writing probably reflects an influence. My writing, especially my poetry is inspired by nature, as is Japanese literature.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a sequel to ‘I Still Remember’, my contemporary romance Kindle short set in South Korea. This book takes place after the summer after Ji-woo completes university in book one and follows her into the city of Seoul where she meets some new people whom she will never forget. As it is a sequel, and also because it is set in South Korea, I’m working really hard researching the setting and rereading book one to ensure consistency in plot. I hope that readers of ‘I Still Remember’ will like this book too.

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Featured Interview With Phillip Bell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raise up in Jessamine County Kentucky on a small dirt farm few miles outside the city line. I live in Jessamine County Kentucky on a little dirt farm just a few mile from city line. Yes I have pet seven dogs and nine cats , a horse , a duck , chicken.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writting books when I was just fourteen years old.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite Author I like to Read is Steven King and my favorite genre I love to read is Horror books. I inspire myself into becoming an book Author.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Case Of The Unforgettable Case By Police Sergeant Lee Kramer It about a some cops that get flim why they are chasing a suspect and they get a offer to appear on a TV show in Hollywood. They wind up getting kidnap and taking hostage on a ship later on by a very rich guy that wants them dead because he think they knew to much about his illegal operation.

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Featured Interview With Sagan Morrow

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a romance novelist (subgenre: romantic comedies), which I’ve been doing for the past two years. I grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and spent a few years living in the Netherlands as a pre-teen as well. My spouse works in small town BC, so although we still have our condo in Winnipeg, I’m living with him in BC during the pandemic.

We are pet-free and child-free. My mom is a veterinarian, so I grew up surrounded by animals, which I loved! I really enjoy cat-sitting for friends, but I’m not interested in having pets for myself.

I’m a hobbyist burlesque dancer, and when I’m not writing romcoms, I teach about productivity and time management to multi-passionate creatives through online courses like my signature Productivity Powerhouse program. I adore teaching about productivity to other solopreneurs! I’ve had my own business for the past 10+ years… I started out as a health blogger and freelance writer, and it’s evolved over the years so that now I divide my time between writing romance novels and teaching about productivity.

You can learn more about my writing experience and adventure of becoming an authopreneur in my Indie Author Weekly podcast, too.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
From the time I could hold a pen, I’ve been telling stories and writing. My parents used to ask me what I was doing when I was a little kid, because I would be sitting at my desk, scribbling away with a pen on bits of paper. “I’m writing a book,” I’d tell them—but I didn’t know the alphabet at the time, so they were just scribbles on paper!

Books were always my favourite form of entertainment as a kid, and I still love spending hours reading all different genres. I’ve written many books over the years, from when I was a child up until now… at some point I might have to track down those initial stories and see if I can rework and publish them, 20 years later.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m a big mood reader, so it really depends on a given situation. But right now, I’m loving chick lit and YA novels.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is titled Her Bad Idea. It took me twice as long to write and edit this book compared to my other romance novels (this one was over 80 hours in total)… it’s challenging to write a romance novel during a pandemic! Because this book is also part of a series, there’s a lot of prep work that needs to be done to ensure that there’s consistency across each book and for the characters.

Her Bad Idea is a fake relationship, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn romantic comedy, and the seventh book in my Polyamorous Passions series. Scarlett has a failing burlesque business, and her only chance to save it is to become dance partners with someone she despises… but it turns out there’s a thin line between love and hate!

This book can be enjoyed as a standalone, but readers who have read previous books in the series often say how much they love seeing the story arc unfold over time. Her Bad Idea features more background about Scarlett’s unrequited crush, who we’ve seen little bits of here and there in the previous books—it’s such a delicious slow burn.

Teaser about the book:

Focus on the dance competition. The business opportunity. The prize money, for goodness sake. Anything except…

That smarmy attitude.

Those mocking eyes.

That chiseled jawline.

Staying focused on the task at hand might be harder than Scarlett Mitchell thought, when she’s stuck with sexy, arrogant Pete Fraser as her dance partner for the next six weeks. But she has no choice—he’s her only hope to win the big dance competition. Scarlett needs to win that prize money if she wants to save her burlesque business from bankruptcy.

…And it’s all the more complicated when she unexpectedly finds herself in a fake relationship with Pete, as an attempt to make her unrequited crush, Westley Prince, jealous…

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Featured Interview With J.U. Scribe

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Joe or Jonas (depending on which alias he chooses) is a laid-back, creative guy from Wisconsin who gets to experience all four seasons sometimes in one day! He comes from a close-knit, religious, Nigerian-American family that taught him the value of hard work and education. He currently lives in Milwaukee which is about 90 miles north of Chicago for those not from the Midwest of the US. He’s a creative writer and freelance blogger. Over the years he’s been able to share what he’s learned about self-publishing by way of his growing blog “Writer’s Nook.”

When he’s not writing well into the night he enjoys spending time with family, listening to music, playing Sims games, hiking, and learning about different cultures.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think my love for books was kindled in fourth grade where we were encouraged to read. I had a teacher that was passionate about helping her students bring their stories to life. It was in her class that I created my first book for a class project called “Will’s Problem.” It was about a boy who had to find a creative way to beat a bully so it was something that a lot of students including myself could relate to.

I started writing as a hobby back in middle school when I first created my story series revolving around a boy living in the shadows of the Roman empire. My story series followed him from four years old to when he’s sixteen. Never did I think back then that my debut story “Before the Legend” would ever be published many years later.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors to read is Lois Lowry. She’s inspired me to create complex, introspective characters that question their worlds such as Jonas in “The Giver.” Another author I’ve come to deeply admire is Suzanne Collins who’s well known for the popular Hunger Games’ trilogy. My favorite genre to read is historical fiction, although I also enjoy reading different genres including YA, middle grade, and Sci-fi/dystopian.

My interest in Greek and Roman history, the books I’ve read as a youth, and personal experiences help inspire and shape the worlds I create.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a how-to guide entitled: “How to Self-Publish Without Going Broke.” It’s my first nonfiction book so it’s a huge departure from my fiction works. I’ve been self-published since 2013 and have seen so much growth in this sector. I also understand the first-hand struggles of finding readers and making sales. Self-publishing is an appealing yet daunting alternative for many new writers and I wanted to demystify self-publishing by breaking it down into 15 manageable steps that any writer can follow. It’s 2020 and it’s time we have advice that’s comprehensive and updated for writers breaking into this industry. While the economy has become increasingly unstable, I want writers to understand there are still cost-effective ways to get your book published without going broke in the process. The book covers several topics including the critical planning stage, how to self-edit, finding a good editor, learning the dos and don’ts of cover design, formatting, blurb writing, marketing, and more!

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Featured Interview With Leslie A. Sussan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Manhattan. If I get emotional, you can still hear the New York in my voice, but I have not lived there in 50 years. I came to DC to go to law school and somehow I am still in the DC area. I share my house with my adult daughter and our cat, Neko-chan. We are surrounded with artifacts that remind me of our time in Hiroshima and our family bonds to that city.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have never not been fascinated with books. I got my mother in trouble because I taught myself to read by the time I was three and apparently the school system then believed that you had to learn using their phonetic methods or else you would never read properly. I may not read properly, but I do read voraciously. Every wall of my house is well-insulated with bookcases, often double deep. I always wrote little stories and poems as a girl and wrote professionally as a lawyer. My current book is my first venture in narrative/creative nonfiction.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I don’t read by genre because what I adore is the exquisite use of language regardless of the type of book in which it appears. My tastes are nothing if not eclectic. Among my favorites are Erasmus’ In Praise of Folly; Epitectus; C.S. Lewis; Elaine Pagels; Ursula LeGuin; John O’Donohue; Madeline Miller (Circe and Ulysses); and Annie Dillard. As a writer, I have learned the most from Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, as well as Writing the Memoir: From truth to art by Judith Barrington.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In 1946, with the war over and Japan occupied, 2nd Lt. Herbert Sussan received a plum assignment. He would get to use his training as a cinematographer and join a Strategic Bombing Survey crew to record the results of the atomic bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. From his first arrival in Nagasaki, he knew that something novel and appalling had happened and that he had to preserve a record of the results, especially the ongoing suffering of those affected by the bomb (known as hibakusha) even months later. When the U.S. government decided that the gruesome footage would not be “of interest” to the American public and therefore classified it top secret, he spent decades arguing for its release. His last wish was that his ashes be scattered at ground zero in Hiroshima.
In trying to carry out his wishes, I went to Japan in 1987 with my little girl (then 4). I found myself, like my father, deeply drawn to Hiroshima and spent a year there coming to know survivors who remembered being filmed by my father more than 40 years earlier. It took me thirty more years to find the right way to share the first-person accounts that my father and the hikakusha had entrusted to me, but now they are available at last for readers as the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the bombings — and again faces hard choices about nuclear weapons.

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Featured Interview With Elsa Kurt

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born and raised in a small town in Connecticut & reside there still (retiring to Florida on two years!) We have three dogs, Silas, Murphy, and Lola.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve had my head buried in books from the moment I could read. I’ve been writing since my early teens, but didn’t write professionally until my forties. It wasn’t until my husband gave me the gentle push that I had the courage to put myself and my work “out there.”

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m all over the board with my reading choices. I’ll jump from Jane Austen to Stephen King, from C.S. Lewis to Lianne Moriarty. I’ve been inspired by all of the above, and more. Great witing by any author just makes me want to jump behind the keyboard and write!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest release, The Two Tenleys, is a quirky, off-beat romance that takes a spin at the medical mix up scenario. It revolves around a free-spirited woman, Tenley “Ten” Harper and Tenley “Lee” Harper – two women with the same name who end up receiving each other’s lab results. This sends them on separate adventures that involve pro-wrestlers, drag queen, and a lounge singer. It was great fun to write!

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Featured Interview With Anuki Saak

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I love pets so much, but at the moment I don’t have them. I am Georgian (Country) I grown up in it’s capital Tbilisi.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have started writing this year

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
J. R. R. Tolkien, Dale Carnegie, Andras Curtie

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have spent a lot of time and did big research to bring the true that everyone is looking for.
,,Pandemic The Next Wave How To Not Die”

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