Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Carryn W Kerr

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Raised in a small town in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, I am a young adult fiction author who absolutely loves anything about the English language. Currently, I am in Johannesburg and have two Dobermans, Achilles and Yvon, who happen to feature in my debut. I also enjoy riding my gelding, Mr. Fantastic, who I believe doubles as my muse.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved reading since a child, but the book that really caught my attention was The Lord of the Rings when I was about thirteen. I only began writing much later in life.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I mostly love young adult reads, where I can get taken to another place, like Brigid Kemmerer, Stephanie Garber, JK Rowling. My writing was mostly inspired by Stephenie Meyer’s The Host.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Renascent World originally took shape in my dreams and I built on it from there. I loved writing the story and seeing it unfold as I followed Cassidy on her journey.
It is my debut and is about a young girl, Cassidy Jones. Shortly before a meteorite strike killed almost everyone on Earth, Cassidy’s family was among the ‘chosen’ who were whisked away. They spent the following thirteen years in Petriville, a Victorian-style town that hovered at the center of a sphere while moving through Earth’s orbit.
Now, Cassidy is sixteen, and Petriville is due to return to Earth when the hologram of Eric visits her.
He survived the meteorite strike in an Earth-based refuge, but Petriville’s founder holds no place for these people.
She wants them killed and the stricken planet repopulated by only her chosen people!

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Carryn W Kerr’s Website

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Featured Interview With Aditi Wardhan Singh

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I used to feel like the girl from no where growing up. When I become a mother, I found my voice in storytelling. I grew up shuttling between two countries, India and Kuwait. Now, I am raising two kids in Virginia, USA. A computer engineer by education, I now run RaisingWorldChildren.com and am so excited to share growth mindset stories for global citizens. I do have a pet, Sasha. She’s as vibrant as the other girls in the house.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing, writing at the age of 9. I started reading books when I was 5, after meals, sitting around with family. Books for few and far between and I wanted to grab every single one I could get my hands on. Books were my best friends, as the cliche goes. Words have always been my escape and voice!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Lisa Jewel, Harlan Coben. My favorite thing to read is psychological thrillers but I get inspired by every day life. My children’s books are born of what I see missing in the world.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book How Our Skin Sparkles, is a body positivity and diversity children’s book. Aarav comes home and asks his mom, “Why do I look different?”. From his friends and his family even. His mom uses culture, science and concept to explain the same to him.

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Aditi Wardhan Singh’s Website

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Featured Interview With Todd Linn

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Todd Linn is a minister with over 23 years of pastoral experience. He has a pastor’s heart and a love for the Word. While having earned his PhD from the highly acclaimed Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, Linn writes in a popular style that combines scholarship, humor, and practical application. He loves preaching, writing, running, and drinking good coffee.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My 4th Grade teacher had this deal where if you wrote a short story and read it to the class you got a treat from her candy box. I had a sweet tooth so the rest is history!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
In my genre of Christian non-fiction I enjoy reading Chuck Swindoll, Steve Brown, and Alistair Begg. I am also inspired by Charles Dickens and American author John Steinbeck.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first book is a commentary on the New Testament Book of James. It’s entitled You’re Either Walking The Walk Or Just Running Your Mouth! It is a verse-by-verse teaching of the New Testament Letter of James that demonstrates the relevance of the Bible for today’s readers.

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Featured Interview With B.A. Bellec

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Richmond, BC and raised in Langley, BC, before settling in Winnipeg, MB. My first adventure was a career in Finance, where I spent 15 years developing business skills. My highest achievement was the Certified Payroll Manager designation. I currently still consult with businesses on their systems and processes. Over that period of time, I also attended film school where I started to nurture his early creative abilities.

I was always a self-starter always interested in research, I taught myself many of the aspects of storytelling through reading books, screenplays and material online. Whenever I found an inspirational piece of art, I quickly went to the source to find the story behind the artist who created the work. It took many years after attending film school for me to finally combine my creative skills with my life experience and tell that story I had been holding back.

Currently, I am pounding away on the keyboard writing my second novel, Pulse. This project is a change of pace and more details will come in a few months! I am also an avid jogger and walker, frequently using them as a way to work on those tough spots in life and manuscripts.

My dog Elsa, an 8-year-old Bernese cross, is always at my feet when I write and gets to enjoy the walks too!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I don’t think I ever wanted to be an author. Originally I looked at directing movies. I didn’t have the personality. Too many people. I also went to business school. It paid well but never satisfied me. I started writing to deal with stress and writing complimented my day job well. I realized it might be more than just a hobby after a year or so of keeping up the habit. Then I spent another year perfecting my work and building a platform. I have only been writing a few years now.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I would give anything a chance. I usually reserve reading to recommendations from my editors. Lately I have read Ready Player One, Makers, and I am currently going through IT.

My favourite author is probably Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and I also like John Green. I have a soft spot for fantasy so of course Tolkien and George R.R. Martin.

My writing is inspired by everything. I borrow inspiration from shows, movies, songs, friends, family, authors, books. Anything can inspire.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I tried to write for everyone. My target is Young Adult Coming of Age but this book reads well to parents as well. It’s emotional. Tons of pop culture. Unique style.

I don’t like selling myself so here is an editorial review:

Foluso Falaye – 5 Star
Readers’ Favourite

In his endearing coming-of-age book, B.A. Bellec writes about a group of weirdos that find and save each other from the dark depths of their minds. Someone’s Story is literally Someone’s story, as in a first-person narrative of a teenager that calls himself Someone. It starts with the news that he has to move to a bigger city with his father; adjusting to the city and his new school is going to be a challenge, especially because of his recent blackouts and his problems with making friends. Someone strives to be healthy mentally as he struggles with trauma, bullying, and his mother’s disappearance. When he meets Samantha at his new pizza delivery job, everything changes. He starts to make wonderful memories with new friends, while he also discovers some of their darkest secrets.

Someone’s Story is a mental-health novel done right! Reading Someone’s experiences gave me a closer feel and challenged me to reach out to others more. With themes of movies, music, business, jogging, drugs, abortion, and loss, B.A. Bellec fills his book with enough background to make it relatable and keep readers engaged. There is also some explicit language that makes it inappropriate for young readers. Someone’s Story is a quite relaxing read; it’s filled with love, friendship, and a search for balance. Though it’s a young adult novel, I recommend it to an older audience too because, apart from being a good read, depictions of the struggles that some people silently go through are vital for developing the right mindset for the good of all humanity.

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B.A. Bellec’s Website

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Featured Interview With Dawn Doig

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised most of my life in Victoria, B.C., Canada. My father was a sailor so we moved around a little bit, but mostly between Victoria and the Vancouver area. I am currently teaching English as an additional language at an international school in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Africa. Before Africa, we lived in Mongolia for five years. It was in Mongolia that we adopted our two sweet female kitties, Kydee and Patches, and they live with us here in Cameroon.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a young child, my mother had a ‘School Days’ memorabilia book for each of us and in that book there is a line on which to write what you want to be when you grow up. For years, I wrote ‘an author and cartoonist’. I actively started writing in elementary school, around Grade 5, and won the local newspaper’s Christmas story contest several years in a row. I wrote my first, and only, novel when I was 13 years old. It remains unpublished. I really starting actively writing again when my children were very small and my focus has been children’s picture books.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoyed the ‘Outlander’ series by Diana Gabaldon and am drawn to the crime drama novels by James Patterson. I don’t really have a favourite genre. I enjoy reading autobiographies and crime drama, but also enjoy children’s books. Dr. Seuss definitely was an inspiration for wanting to write some of my children’s picture books in rhyme.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘Hair Peace’ was inspired by the women and girls of Cameroon. I did not realize prior to moving to Africa that many of the women and girls wear wigs or hair extensions. This was interesting to me because the women and girls are all so beautiful regardless of their hair. This inspired me to write a book about positive self-image and perceptions of beauty.

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Dawn Doig’s Website

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Featured Interview With SABINE Garvey CAMPBELL

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a native Virginian, born and raised just outside of Washington, D.C. Today I live with my family on a hobby farm approximately one hour outside of the city that we share with our ten pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My writing career began in grade school when I wrote my first poem. In the years that followed, I wrote an extensive collection of poems that I went on to publish in an anthology years later. It wasn’t until after my children were born that I wrote my first book in response to my desire to leave my legacy as an Author behind to my children. Since then I have written two more books and will continue to write for as long as I have something to say.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have always been a fan of Mysteries. I started reading Agatha Christie as a child, moved on to Sue Grafton and have since graduated to James Patterson.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “An Unexpected Road to Motherhood.”

It is my story of becoming a mother and how it was nothing as I had envisioned it would be. Very little of it, if anything went as planned but, in the end, that was okay. I still got my fairy tale ending and, in the process, I became a stronger woman because of the road I traveled. I wrote this book to let other women who have had the same experience know they are not alone and just because things did not go as planned, does not mean that dreams will not come true.

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Featured Interview With Karen S. Bell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Brooklyn, NY and lived in Conn, Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey and have now settled in Ponte Verda, FL which is a half hour north of St. Augustine, America’s oldest city. My husband and I raised for children two boys and two girls who live everyone BUT Florida. Two in Northern Virginia, one in Los Angles, and one in Frankfurt, Germany. All we have left are our two furry kitty kids who give us much joy and prove the adage that dogs have masters and cats have staff.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I lived going to the Public Library as a child and tires tread as many books as I could in the time aloud for borrowing. I remember a tall stack carries under my chin as I made my way home. Needless to say, I loved to read and try to read modern classics as well as contemporary fiction. Self-hep is thrown in there too. I’m fascinated with the teachings of New Age philosophers about the continuation the human spirit, wisdom thinking and the idea of an intelligent universe, and near-death experiences.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Jodie Piccoult because she tackles social issues in her fiction, as do I. Alice Hoffman because she infuses her writing with magic, and the Latin-America authors who are steeped in the magical realism tradition like Gabriel García Márquez, and Isabel Allende. I love literary fiction because as a writer I respect the craft of wring and look for exceptionalism in the craft of writing. I look for that kind of writing in the modern classics. Currently, I’m reading East of Eden by Steinbeck. Reading good writers makes me a better writer.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Once again, I celebrate women in my work. This time the Feminine Divine is depicted in normal-seeming women who really are goddesses who save the world. Climate change will bring about rising seas and these women will create a safe haven on high ground in the form of a Bed and Breakfast Inn in Vermont. It will be a two book series where in book one is the establishment of the safe haven and in book two how the climate catastrophe is mitigated.

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Karen S. Bell’s Website

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Featured Interview With Karen S. Bell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Brooklyn, NY and lived in Conn, Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey and have now settled in Ponte Verda, FL which is a half hour north of St. Augustine, America’s oldest city. My husband and I raised for children two boys and two girls who live everyone BUT Florida. Two in Northern Virginia, one in Los Angles, and one in Frankfurt, Germany. All we have left are our two furry kitty kids who give us much joy and prove the adage that dogs have masters and cats have staff.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I lived going to the Public Library as a child and tires tread as many books as I could in the time aloud for borrowing. I remember a tall stack carries under my chin as I made my way home. Needless to say, I loved to read and try to read modern classics as well as contemporary fiction. Self-hep is thrown in there too. I’m fascinated with the teachings of New Age philosophers about the continuation the human spirit, wisdom thinking and the idea of an intelligent universe, and near-death experiences.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Jodie Piccoult because she tackles social issues in her fiction, as do I. Alice Hoffman because she infuses her writing with magic, and the Latin-America authors who are steeped in the magical realism tradition like Gabriel García Márquez, and Isabel Allende. I love literary fiction because as a writer I respect the craft of wring and look for exceptionalism in the craft of writing. I look for that kind of writing in the modern classics. Currently, I’m reading East of Eden by Steinbeck. Reading good writers makes me a better writer.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Once again, I celebrate women in my work. This time the Feminine Divine is depicted in normal-seeming women who really are goddesses who save the world. Climate change will bring about rising seas and these women will create a safe haven on high ground in the form of a Bed and Breakfast Inn in Vermont. It will be a two book series where in book one is the establishment of the safe haven and in book two how the climate catastrophe is mitigated.

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Karen S. Bell’s Website

Karen S. Bell Facebook Page

Karen S. Bell Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Emily Horabik

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hey! I’m Emily Horabik. I’ve traveled the world for nearly two decades. After graduating from Denison University with a Major in Theatre and a Minor in Psychology, I moved to New York City which served as my home base for over fifteen years. In my travels, I came across a number of mentors who imparted their knowledge to me. Comfort Zone Correction: Unfiltered True Stories In Successful Selling is a novel I have written, devoted to one such mentor who encouraged me to make my dream of combining travel and writing a reality. You can find me, carry-on in one hand and pen in the other, on my website www.travelandledger.com where I continue to share my travel knowledge and encounters with interesting characters.

When I’m not writing, I’m taking a vacation and working on trying to tan (I mostly burn) or chasing my two schnauzer/cavalier mix pups around the house.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been reading and writing since I was able to. I’d go climb a tree and get lost in my imagination for hours.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read historical romance. It takes me away from any worries I’m going through and simplifies life down to a love story. I’m also a sucker for a happy ending.

Historical Romance writers like Kat Martin (Gypsy Lord) and successful business operators like Russell Simmons (Do You) are two of my favorite genres and inspirations.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Do you have a dream? Are you considering a change with all the craziness happening in the world? Are you working in circles and getting nowhere?

You may not realize it, but we are all in “sales.” The comfort of status quo and a constant paycheck throw us off from our dreams. We don’t realize that opportunities are right at our fingertips.

Comfort Zone Correction: Unfiltered True Stories In Successful Selling recounts strategies, thought processes, and over 25 encounters, that will show you how to draw attention, win customers, and create growth in any industry or career. Every entrepreneur, student, service provider, relationship manager or small business can relate to them.

While living in NYC, I met a mentor who is one of those people who has the art of storytelling. Anything he talks about has a little life lesson in it if you listen close enough. I just needed to share his experiences with the world.

This was my first novel so it took me about five years to finish. It started as something I did as a hobby for myself, but then, the more I collected his stories, I realized I just had to share them with the world. I’m so happy I did!

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Featured Interview With Lori Barrett

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born & raised in Baltimore, Maryland. I currently live just outside Atlanta, Georgia. I don’t have any pets right now, but love cats! I love to garden, read, write and travel.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember. I actually was not a good reader early on in school. Fortunately, I had an amazing 3rd grade teacher (who I mention in my acknowledgements), and she helped me not to quit. Once I developed reading habits, I loved reading! I started writing at 13, and had two poems published in a local newspaper.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have many authors who I love to read their materials. Some are, Elizabeth Gilbert, Brene Brown, anything Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and so many more. My favorite genres are mystery, self-help, and Sarah Dessen. My writings are inspired by my faith in God. Also, anyone who writes powerful, insightful, and authentically.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Tired of going around that mountain yet? Frustrated with feeling as thou your life is on a hamster wheel? Are you desiring changes for a better life, but just don’t know how to accomplish them? Me too, for years! For some great answers, read this book. It is a must read for applying your passions and purpose to overcome feeling stuck, lost & frustrated. A easy read to start on a Friday, read in a weekend, and start to implement changes right away. It took me about one year to write & publish.

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Lori Barrett Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Sandra Bats

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m Sandra Bats, living in Frankfurt, Germany with my husband and so far I published two novels in English, despite German being my mother tongue. Besides writing and reading I enjoy baking, drawing and going to the gym. I’m also a fan of storytelling in general, no matter the medium, so I watch a lot of TV and frequently go to movie theaters. Recently I’ve also started to learn about narrating and recording audiobooks with the hopes of turning my own novels into audiobooks soon.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved books from the moment that I learned to read. There were a lot of times my parents had to wrestle a book from my hands.
When I was eleven my family was vacationing in Australia. Unfortunately I was (and still am) quite afraid of spiders and earlier that day I had seen a spider lurking around the pool area. Convinced it surely was a deadly spider I refused to go to the pool that afternoon. This was before everybody carried laptops and every hotel had wifi and since my English at that age wasn’t good enough to watch TV I grew bored quite quickly. I had a journal with me though and since I’ve always been rather bad at keeping a diary it was still mostly empty. That was when I wrote my very first story — a very typical children’s story about a girl and her horse Tornado. That was the very first story and I haven’t stopped writing since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read a lot of urban fantasy, fantasy and paranormal romance. Lately I’ve been reading Cassandra Clare and I’m impatiently awaiting the next Jennifer L. Armentrout novel. I also enjoy reading Sarah J. Maas and Marie Lu, whose Legend Series I found especially inspiring when writing my own dystopian trilogy. I will read almost anything, but I mostly enjoy if the story has at least a little romance.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest novel, Persephone’s Grief, is a dystopian romance and the second novel in the Persephone’s Curse trilogy. While the first novel was inspired by the question of how a person can learn to trust despite past trauma, this novel hinges on another question: How far would you go for the person you love?
Like the first installment in the trilogy the story follows Jayden and Elin as they navigate living in a future where women die in childbirth due to a horrible virus. In the second novel Elin and Jayden have to deal with an impossible mistake that threatens Elin’s life. It leaves Jayden struggeling with his ethics as he desperately tries to keep Elin alive.
As an avid fiction reader myself the first thing I hope the reader takes away from the book is of course simply being whisked off into another world. Beyond that I hope Elin’s and Jayden’s story shows how different people deal with trauma and how impossible choices can force them to cross lines they didn’t think they’d ever cross.

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Featured Interview With Clare Stevens

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Raised in Somerset, England, now living in Nottingham (the legendary land of Robin Hood). I have a hyperactive Springer/Pointer cross called Max.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I could read before I went to school, age 4. Before that I had a fascination with stories, sparked by my older sister who created an imaginary world full of ghosts and monsters set in the village in Somerset where we grew up. She’d tell me stories at bedtime which kept me awake! I started writing at a young age too, and recall an occasion when the teacher read out one of my stories to the class. It was a proud moment that made me want to become a writer.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
A genre I enjoy is magical realism – I like books set in the real, contemporary world that have a supernatural thread running through them, such as How to Stop Time by Matt Haig and A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman. I also enjoy literary fiction as long as it’s not too miserable! Contemporary authors I admire are Mitch Albom, Gail Honeyman and Joanna Cannon. My all time favourite book is The Great Gatsby.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Blue Tide Rising is my first novel. It tells the story of Amy, a young woman running away from her past who winds up on a coastal eco-farm on the island of Anglesey, North Wales. At the start of the book, she’s at rock bottom, medically tranquillized and living in a crummy bedsit in a deprived part of Manchester. Here she meets the mysterious Jay, who encourages her to start a new life in Wales. Once at the farm, she encounters kindness and acceptance from people who don’t care about her past. She starts to rebuild her life, grounded by the earth and healed by the salt air. But it isn’t just her inner self she manages to uncover. She stumbles on a mystery that only she can solve, and in so doing, tackles the ghosts of her own past.
Amy is a complex character who had the foundations taken from under her at a young age and for a while went off the rails, trusting the wrong people. Throughout the course of the novel, she finds her place in the world and realises she has something to give.
The eco farm – Môr towel (which means ‘quiet sea’ in Welsh) – is based on a real place. In the novel, it’s populated by an eccentric mix of characters, such as the multi-lingual woman who walks compulsively all over the island with her four children, and the man who pitches up at the farm one day, builds a wigwam in the garden, never speaks and leaves exactly a year later.
I began writing the novel in 2014 while studying for an MA in Creative Writing – I used it as the basis for my dissertation. After several drafts I landed a publishing contract with Inspired Quill, a small ethical indie-press. The book was published in 2019.

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Featured Interview With Gary Matheny

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am originally from Macon, Georgia, retired and moved to Cleveland, Tn. I am married to my high school sweetheart, two children and six grandchildren. I am also a singer/songwriter. I am freelance write and do a column for The Daily Banner, our local newspaper.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved to write and tell my stories in written form, however I published my first book in 2010.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Andy Andrews is by far my favorite, The Traveler’s Gift is an awesome and thought provoking read.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Bullet is a story of a .45 caliber bullet issued at the beginning of WWII and travels through that era, Korea, Vietnam and into the hands of a Miami-Dad County sheriff deputy. The bullet meets five people and the reader sees and becomes part of those people lives. The unique things is how the bullet is handed to each recipient. They do not realize the connection until they receive the bullet.

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Featured Interview With Richa Kumar

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in a town in Uttar Pradesh, India, called Lucknow. After completing my Bachelor’s degree in Arts with an honours in English Literature, I went on to study psychology. After moving to Thane, Maharashtra, I got certified as a Psychotherapist. I’m also an indie author who loves writing flash fiction stories apart from self help books. I have published four books till date, all available on Amazon and I’m working on my fifth one currently which is again a self help book explaining ways to cope with life during COVID-19 Lockdown.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading books from a very young age. The works of Enid Blyton fascinated the five year old me. As I grew older, I fell in love with Agatha Christie’s unmatchable detective Hercule Poirot. My love for mysteries and crime thrillers bloomed from my teenage years. I started developing content for health, lifestyle, education and fashion websites from the age of 22 and from then began my journey into the field of writing. I published my first book a year ago.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I admire the works of Dan Brown, Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie. My favourite genre to read is crime thrillers and mysteries. When I first read ‘A Twist in the Tale’ by Jeffrey Archer, it inspired me to try my hand at writing short stories that either surprised the reader or connected with them emotionally.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is an anthology of eight slice of life kind of flash fiction stories whose endings couldn’t be guessed by the reader until he/she reads the last sentence of the story. The book is called ‘The Greatest Gift of My Life’ and is available on Amazon. It is a short read and can be finished within 45 minutes.
Just as short as it is, it took me just three days to complete the book.

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Featured Interview With Darius Ollie

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am from San Jose CA. I live in Sacramento now with my wife. I am currently studying for my associates degree in behavioral science.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I became an avid reader around 20 years old when I was first introduced to James Patterson. I started writing in 2013 as a way to escape reality and have a sense of creating power.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love any genre with a great plot twist. My favorite authors are James Patterson Jackie Collins Eric Jerome Dickey and Torri Woods.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It’s about a young man named Doeboy who is released from prison and starts a company in the sex industry. His love interest Sharee is having a baby with Reese who Dieboy’s associate in the drug game. The two are forced to play nice while they both work for Doeboy’s older cousin Karon. As Doeboy begins to transition away from the dope game altogether, he is the target of a turf war and things begin to spiral out of control… This book is 3yrs in the making and it’s very powerful, a definite page turner.

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Darius Ollie’s Website

Featured Interview With Alex Aro

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Alex Aro, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, hometown of Rob Zombie. I now live in Salisbury, Massachusetts with my girlfriend Kelly, our son Levi and two dogs Peewee and Cody.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve wanted to be a writer since a young child. Goosebumps, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and other young horror books were hugely influential to me. I even created my own Goosebumps knock off series and would pass them around class back in 4th grade. Over the years I continually honed my craft, taking inspiration from life around me and authors I respected.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My biggest influences now are Aimee Bender, Amber Sparks, Amy Hempel, Don DeLillo, Mark Danielewski, Franz Kafka, etc. I love surreal and dreamy stories. But honestly I’ll read anything as long as the writing is good. A great writer can make any subject interesting. As far as inspiration for writing, that can come from anywhere. Sometimes I draw from life, other times I hear a single word that speaks to me and from there a story sprouts in my head.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a short story collection titled “A Lovely Appetite”. It is a collection of my work from the past fifteen years. I designed the book and layout as well. Some of the stories, such as “Skin” and “Frozen” were written during my college years back in 2005 and are where my current “voice” as a writer truly began. Most of the stories have been published in various journals and literary magazines throughout the past decade. For a little more information here is the blurb from the back of the book: Throughout the sixteen stories in this collection by Alex Aro, we encounter characters that question both the world and themselves. Some question desire, ultimately asking: what is it that I truly want? Others question love, anger, sadness, dreams and the truth of their realities. Regardless of their questions, each character yearns for meaning, seeking validity for the reasons why they exist in the world.
In “Body Language” we witness the dissolution of a relationship as the girlfriend begins removing pieces of her body in an attempt to reach her boyfriend. “Skin” shows us a man so obsessed with the skin of another woman that everything else in his life becomes hardened. And in “Devour”, lovers physically eat one another and sport the wounds as signs of affection. But what happens when the hunger runs out? The stories in A Lovely Appetite show us worlds and characters both strange and familiar, but will leave us questioning those same uncertainties and what it means to live.

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Alex Aro’s Website

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Featured Interview With Margaret G. Hanna

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I now live in Airdrie, AB, Canada, but I grew up just outside the village of Meyronne in southwestern Saskatchewan, on the farm that my paternal grandfather homesteaded in 1908 and in the house he built between 1917 and 1926. I was a voracious reader, and through books I discovered archaeology which sounded like the most fun way to spend one’s life. After 12 years of university and various summer positions and contracts in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, in 1984 I was hired as one of the curators at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina, SK. Among other duties, I was responsible for the development of the First Nations Gallery which involved extensive consultation with First Nations Elders, artists and traditional people. In 2005, I traveled to Cairo (yes, Egypt) to visit friends who were living there, and while there, met the man who, two years later became my husband. In 2007, I resigned my position and moved to Airdrie, my husband’s home town. I joined the Airdrie writers’ group and, for the past five years, have participated in Voice and Vision, a collaboration between Airdrie artists and writers.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved books. My earliest memories are of my mother reading to me. I read my way through the local library and through every book in the house. As an academic, I have always had to write academic reports and publications, but my preference was always to write for non-academic public. Since I retired, I have been researching and writing family history, the focus of my book. This is more than mere geneaology. It requires a lot of historical and archival research, which I love, in order to understand the political and social context of why families thought and acted the way they did.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Given my predisposition to historical research, I devour any history or historical fiction book I can find. I especially search for books about the homestead era of the late 19th and 20th centuries, especially if they written by or about women. Some of my favourite authors include Phillipa Gregory, Barbara Kingsolver, Hilary Mantel, Rohinton Mistry, and Michael Ondaatje. But when I’m not reading history, I escape into murder mysteries. Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson are my two favourite authors in that genre. Almost every book I read inspires me, even the bad ones because they show me how not to write.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My book is called “Our Bull’s Loose in Town!” Tales from the Homestead. It is based on the diaries, farm documents and photographs of my paternal grandfather, Abraham Hanna. It tells the story of my grandparents as they built their farm and raised a family through the trials and tribulations of the Great War, the roaring Twenties and the dark years of the Dirty Thirties. It ends in 1940 when my grandfather died. The title is derived from a diary entry one Sunday morning in August: “Had to round up bull from village in am.” I thought, there’s a story there, so I sat down and wrote one. I knew all the people involved so it wasn’t difficult to (re)create that particular situation and their life in general. I chose to tell the story in my grandmother’s voice. Imagine you are visiting your grandmother and you ask her, “Grandma, tell me about the time when . . . ” She pours herself another cup of tea, sits back in her chair and says, “Well, it happened like this.” In the book, as in life, Grandma Hanna doesn’t stint on saying exactly what she thinks of people and events, and anyone who reads the book will quickly learn that attitudes were radically different 100 years ago.

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Margaret G. Hanna’s Website

Margaret G. Hanna Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Lisa Beth Darling

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
As of this writing, I am 53 years-old, the mother of two adult daughters, grandmother to one, and wife to my husband, Roy, for the last 34 years. I live and write in my hometown of New London, CT. We are pet parents to two rescue dogs, Zoey and Loki, as well as to three rescue cats, Charlie, Mongo, and Majin.

In my spare time I enjoy gardening and photography as well as cooking and baking. I also enjoy helping other authors bring their works to the world stage.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I began my writing career in the 4th grade when the class was given its first-ever Creative Writing assignment. I put pencil to paper and was instantly transported to a place I knew that I would never want to leave. I have been publishing my works since 7th grade.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark, Jacqueline Susan, Harold Robins, and VC Andrews were my biggest influences in my formative years. I love horror/suspense, a gritty romance, and mystery.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My last published work is “Prodigal Son” the final installment in the Sister Christian series. I just love it when a series of stories comes together to magically. All of the characters were an absolute joy to work with, even the bad guy. The series took a few years to write but it just flew by as I was lost in the relationship between Richard Mason and his sister Hannah Rice. So many wonderful things kept happening that it was hard to keep up with it all.

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Lisa Beth Darling’s Website

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Featured Interview With Irial OFarrell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Ireland but have lived in Australia, the US and spent summers in London, UK and Sicily, which was fab. I moved back to Ireland in 1999. My first real, office job was in Sydney, Australia. I had a great boss and was fascinated by how everyone loved him and strongly avoided the other manager. Ever since, I’ve been fascinated by what makes people tick and the impact that has in the workplace, on the individual, the team and the business, as a whole. I also love writing, so I get to combine two things I love doing.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always loved reading books and, its fair to say, there are books everywhere in our house. If they’re looking to buy something, my kids know I’ll always buy them a book. I do remember writing stories as a young teenager, although they didn’t really go anywhere. I’ve taken a few creative writing classes and the feedback from one person was that my style reminded them of Marian Keyes. I was chuffed with that. While my focus is currently on sharing my insights and experience on management and organisational performance, I think I might have a fiction book in me, somewhere.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Fiction-wise, I love Marian Keyes, Michael Connelly and J K Rowling’s Harry Potter.

Non-fiction, which I read a lot of, I’ve really enjoyed The Leadership Pipeline, Leadership & Self-Deception and any of the books by Tim Marshall.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’m currently working on a book called SMART Objective Setting for Managers. I’ve worked with over 1,000 managers and many, many of them struggle with how to set out an effective objective, with or without SMART. They typically groan when I mention SMART. However, designed well, SMART objectives can be very effective in communicating and agreeing what the objective is, why it matters, the supports and constraints that may exist and how best to approach delivering the objective.

I’ve finished the first draft and I’m starting to go through the content, as my second draft. I’ve already added in 2 new chapters, which I think improves it. I’ll leave you to decide!

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Irial OFarrell’s Website

Irial OFarrell Facebook Page

Irial OFarrell Twitter Account