Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

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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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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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

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Featured Interview With Anne Goodwin

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I live in a small town in near enough smack in the centre of England, not far from the birthplace of DH Lawrence and the supposed setting for Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
I’m a forty-minute drive from the Peak District National Park, and drew on one of my favourite walks for a scene of parent-child tension in my debut novel, Sugar and Snails. Nottingham is my nearest city and the main setting for second novel, Underneath. The region’s history of coal mining, and the legacy of the pit closures of the 1980s, inspired the final story in my collection, Becoming Someone.
What I hope will be my fourth book, and third novel, Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home, about a brother and sister separated for fifty years against the backdrop of the longstay psychiatric hospital closures, is set in Cumbria where I grew up.
Alongside my identity as a writer, I’ll admit to being a sociable introvert; recovering psychologist; voracious reader; slug slayer; struggling soprano; and tramper of moors.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always loved reading and wrote stories more or less from when I could hold a pencil, but didn’t have the time, emotional energy or confidence to take writing seriously until around fifteen years ago. Having a successful career that required a fair bit of (non-fiction) writing, I didn’t realise how much I had to learn and practice to make a success of fiction. My two published novels, and one undergoing edits for publication next year, have all taken about seven years to write from inception to publication.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read mostly literary fiction, or literary lite as some would call it, as I don’t like the story to get lost in the language, but I do appreciate an arresting image or turn of phrase. As a book blogger I read and review around 140 novels a year, both for my own entertainment and to learn how I can improve my own writing. Favourite authors include Alison Moore, Ann Patchett, John Boyne, Deborah Levy, Christine Dwyer Hickey, Colson Whitehead, Georgina Harding, Maggie O’Farrell.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest full-size book is a collection of short stories on the theme of identity, Becoming Someone. Although I think myself more as a novelist, I love writing short stories, and will soon have a hundred published online and/or in print. I hadn’t thought about bringing out a collection until my publisher suggested it. But I enjoyed it so much, I self-published a short e-book of prize-winning stories to give away to my newsletter subscribers earlier this year.

BECOMING SOMEONE
What shapes the way we see ourselves?
An administrator is forced into early retirement; a busy doctor needs a break. A girl discovers her sexuality; an older man explores a new direction for his. An estate agent seeks adventure beyond marriage; a photojournalist retreats from an overwhelming world. A woman reduces her carbon footprint; a woman embarks on a transatlantic affair. A widow refuses to let her past trauma become public property; another marks her husband’s passing in style.
Thought-provoking, playful and poignant, these 42 short stories address identity from different angles, examining the characters’ sense of self at various points in their lives. What does it mean to be a partner, parent, child, sibling, friend? How important is work, culture, race, religion, nationality, class? Does our body, sexuality, gender or age determine who we are?
Is identity a given or can we choose the someone we become?

SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER
What does it mean to have a daughter? How does it feel to be one?
A child carer would do anything to support her fragile mother. A woman resorts to extreme measures to stop her baby’s cries. A man struggles to accept his middle child’s change of direction. Another uses his daughter to entice young women into his car. A woman contemplates her relationship with her father as she watches a stranger withhold his attention from his child.
Mothers of daughters, fathers of daughters, daughters from infancy to middle age. Three award-winning short stories plus a couple more. You’ll never think about daughters the same way again.
Prize-winning short stories from the Polari Prize shortlisted author of Sugar and Snails.

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Featured Interview With Ken Ross

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’ve lived most of my life in Leeds, England but spent my childhood in East Yorkshire. For the past thirty-odd years I’ve been single and after an assortment of occupations I am eventually able to do what I want with my time. I like drinking tea, thinking, and writing – perhaps too predictable and set in my ways.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
After reading Masefield’s Reynard the Fox as a small child, I was hooked. I’ve never stopped writing for sixty years, and although it took me until my thirties to get my first books published, the adventure has been rewarding and comfort to the soul. After more than fifty published books I’m still keen to write more.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favourite authors all belong to the 19th Century – the genre is immaterial, I’ve always been attracted to writing styles rather than the subject.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a first venture into Young/New adult stories. I’d heard the story of a teenage girl living in my area, and thought perhaps it would make for an interesting topic to write about. The result, THE LAST DAYS OF CHILDHOOD, brought back so many memories of teenage years.

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Featured Interview With Kelly Rey

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in New Jersey, which provides a fertile garden from which to pluck the eccentric characters in my books. Along with the famed and charming Jersey accent (“Can I have a glass of wooder, please?”) I developed an abiding love for animals and have shared my life with cats, dogs, birds, fish, a guinea pig and even a turtle. Happily, at least one of them always seems to want to spend the day in the office with me, although they don’t add much in the way of editorial input.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved to read my entire life, and still do. In fact, I’ve usually got two going at the same time, one in paperback or hardcover, and another on my Kindle. I remember my most prized possession was my library card; growing up, I spent a lot of time browsing the stacks. Side note, donate those unwanted books to your local library! I started writing in second grade, and had the incredible good fortune of having an encouraging, wonderful teacher who cemented my love for the craft. Thank you, Mrs. Gray.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have two loves when it comes to favorite genres: medical thrillers and cozy mysteries. I have quite a few favorite authors, because there are so many really gifted writers. They all inspire me in different ways, whether in their plotting skills, or their facility with description or dialogue, or just plain old storytelling prowess. Among them, Sue Grafton, Ed McBain, Robert B. Parker, Tess Gerritsen, Robin Cook, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier, Jana DeLeon, Mary Kay Andrews, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Lutz, Lisa Scottoline, Freida McFadden.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Death by Diamonds is the sixth installment in the Jamie Winters Mysteries. This time, the confidence-challenged Jamie and her sidekick, the fiercely independent, no-filter teenaged Maizy are trying to solve the murder of Jamie’s landlord/sort-of boyfriend’s college girlfriend who shows up dead on his patio. The title went through a few iterations, and the manuscript went through quite a few more. Truth be told, it kicked like a mule pretty much the whole time I was writing it, which took about seventeen years longer than my average book. Sometimes your characters just don’t want to do what you want them to, and they tell you so in no uncertain terms.

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Kelly Rey’s Website

Featured Interview With Omar L. Harris

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hi! I’m Omar- originally from Pittsburgh, PA now living in Charlotte, NC. In between I’ve lived all over the world and visited over 45 cities. I’ve written 4 books so far – 1 fiction and 3 non-fiction.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been reading since I was 4 or 5 years old and started seriously writing when I was 20.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love fiction and non-fiction. Some of my favorites are Stephen King, Wilbur Smith, Tolkein, Michael Connelly, Tananarive Due, Simon Sinek, Patrick Lencioni, Jim Collins, and John C. Maxwell.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Servant Leader’s Manifesto was born out of crisis. The global employee engagement crisis to be exact. Nearly every business book I read points inadvertently to the culprit for this crisis but unfortunately they haven’t moved the needle. And the people who do the good work keep suffering. Well, no more. With this manifesto, we declare that toxic, ego-driven leadership is dead. In its wake shall rise the era of Servant Leadership – where the people who create value for customers have more than a seat at the table, they are actively heard and leaders respond to their needs. All you have to do to join us is to read the manifesto and pass it on. This revolution is hand to hand and word of mouth driven.
Thanks for your support!

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Featured Interview With Ed Marohn

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Germany after World War II ended, I immigrated to the US when I was five. Raised in Boise, Idaho, with two German Shepards and a Labrador, I eventually became a US citizen. My early growing experiences are in two creative fiction pieces published in Idaho Magazine, November 2019, and July 2011 issues. After I graduated in 1968 from the University of Idaho with my ROTC 2nd Lieutenant commission, I entered the US Army and then eventually the International Fortune 500 corporate world. After 40 years, I returned to Idaho Falls, Idaho, to retire and write my first novel, Legacy of war. Currently, I am writing the sequel novel: Legacy of War: The German Paradox. It’s another John Moore mystery thriller.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
By six I was fascinated by reading and when I took the creative writing class at Boise High School, I grew into writing. After college and years of writing short stories and nonfiction, I was finally published in Army Magazine in 1973. In the business world, I was published in various business journals and had a short story published in a mystery magazine.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors: John Updike, Stephen King, Tim O’Brien, Diane McWhorter, Fredrik Logevall, and Anthony Doerr.
Favorite genre: Fiction (literature and pulp fiction) as well as Nonfiction
Most influential authors: Stephen King and Joseph Conrad

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My novel Legacy of War took ten years to write. It was conceptualized in 2009 when I returned to Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, many years after I served in those dark and dank jungles during the war, commanding a combat unit as a captain in the US Army. The novel deals with a fictional character, John Moore, who served in the war.
A brief overview:
Psychologist John Moore is shaken when his PTSD Vietnam War patient reveals war crimes committed with a CIA agent and a South Vietnamese Army colonel. Moore, who served in the Vietnam War commanding an infantry company with the 101st Airborne Division, flashes back to his own war demons while still depressed over his wife’s death. The following day the patient is found dead—an apparent suicide. Stunned, Moore begins investigating the dead patient, the rogue CIA agent, and the lethal Vietnam War apparatus–the CIA’s Phoenix Program–in which 81,740 communists and innocent Vietnamese civilians were killed. An attempt on Moore’s life forces him to return to Vietnam to assist officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the CIA in capturing the CIA agent and the South Vietnamese Army colonel. Both fled to Vietnam during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, to blend and disappear with the 80 million celebrating Vietnamese. The two intend to recover buried loot, hidden since 1973. In the sweltering jungles of diverse, mysterious Vietnam, shrouded in his war memories, John Moore partners with an attractive female Vietnam National Police Agent, conflicted over his feelings for her, and for being allied with the former North Vietnamese who show their animosity toward him for all the death and destruction of the war. His pursuit of the CIA agent, a fellow American, comes to a conclusion in Laos on the old Ho Chi Minh Trail.

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Ed Marohn’s Website

Featured Interview With Beth Hildenbrand

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Beth Hildenbrand lives in Ephrata, Pennsylvania with her husband and five sons. Beth loves hard rock and considers concerts her therapy.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was reading by the age of three. I wrote my first short story by six. My parents encouraged my reading by buying me books for every holiday. By my teen years I discovered my fascination with all things paranormal. You could say my book is the glorious result of a misspent youth.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read Barbara Michaels, Bentley Little, Dan Simmons. These days I’m enjoying reading books written by my fellow Indie Authors.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Cain Heretic Son took me three years to write. I lost both of my parents turning that time. There were stretches when I could not puck up a pen. Then there were time I needed to write. Needed to put my pain on paper.
Cain is the story of the first killer seeking to gain redemption by saving innocents from the demons who prey upon mortals. In our modern world Cain has made the mistake of allowing himself to become attached to a group of mortals. When an ancient demon comes to take his revenge Cain’s friends become pawns in a greater game. In the end the Heretic Son will have a choice to make. Will it be the Stairway to Heaven or the Highway to Hell?

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Featured Interview With Tabitha Womack

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I came up in Cali and Vegas. My parents were divorced so there was some ping pong action.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My Dad has written as long as I can remember. His stories were always amazing. He raised me on comic books. So, I’ve always been exposed to the extraordinary.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like sci fi and romance.
Nora Robert’s and Iris Johanson.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
🙋🏾‍♀️

My name is Tabitha Womack

I’m currently working on my 5th book.

I’ve always had a vivid imagination and a desire to pull people from their own minds and submerge them into a world of my making. I’ve been a performer, a painter and an author in some form my entire life.
I have a new series being released on June 1st. Its titled:

Science Meet God

In 2014 I had spinal surgery after four years of horrible Mobility. I have fibromyalgia and a degenerative bone disease. As joint’s fail they need replacing or injections.

It is a very scary very depressing disorder.

I was in my bed for months afterward feeling of a slow and painful. Thankfully,I had a husband that took very good care of me. What does with all the experiences we can let it make us better or bitter. I chose to create.

I’m writing a series for young adults with a new kind of heroine. With so many teen books and movies about vampires, witches and things…why not write about God magic? Sound funny?

Well, it’s an oversimplification. But the star of the series is a soldier in God’s army. She fights by tapping into the “magic” of creation and destruction. God magic.

We label stuff so that we can wrap our minds around things.

God exist outside the dimensionality of time, space and matter. Human beings are only aware of 11 dimensions and we can’t grasp the majority of them.

But this series will hopefully captivate the teen imagination and feed them scripture at the same time. I have four grown kids. Part of me wishes that I would have written the series earlier and gotten them involved. I watched them get into magic based kid stuff that barely had substance. Nothing about these heros taught them anything for their betterment. None of them bolstered morality. I wanted to create something that did.

Description

It’s the year 2063. A new world order has been established. It is a society where technology and humanity are symbiotic. A pretty amnesiac soldier, a street kid, an Indian chief, a tomboy mechanic and a Pastor make up a motley crew of broken souls. Scripture, semi-precious stones, scientific jargon, angels, demons, a pastor, a necklace, a journal and a broken soldier….

It’s a puzzle they had better figure out. Because demons are real and hell is coming.

I’m a strong believer in, “can’t nobody stop you but you.”

We are each responsible for our own happiness. I find happiness in the creating things.

This is my blog

https://www.facebook.com/tenaciousauthors/

In the year 1818, Kerah has inherited an Egyptian merchant business, the estate and the mines. She is plunged into an entirely new world after her charmed life is shattered by a ruthless betrayal.

After a tremendous loss and violent storm at sea, she finds herself at the mercy of a charismatic and handsome foreigner. The Scotsman is determined to keep her by his side. She has other plans.

Circumstances dictate that she must accompany strangers to Scotland.

Kerah finds herself completely out of her element and unexpectedly surrounded by blood and death. She must battle her way through the unknown at every turn. Desire collides with duty in this unique tale of historical intrigue.

This book is a compilation of a three-book series. It is action-packed and fast-paced. It’s a diamond in the rough. Romance is a broad genre, but it’s never been done like this before.
I have someone that was willing to edit it for me. Shes still working on it. Forgive the format weirdness and whatever. My laptop is ancient and glitchy. But I couldn’t let that stop me. Would you help give this traction?

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Featured Interview With Jarred Stanton

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m from Mobile,AL and still live in the area. I’m 23 years old and married. Full time, I work for a Wastewater treatment facility but also full-time I’m committed to maxing out my potential as an author. I value principal which is the foundation of how I create content with the intent to inspire and motivate. I’m a author, motivational speaker and Youth sports coach in my area.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My sophomore year is high school was when I originally started writing poetry but I always loved to read when I was younger. After I had written a ton of poetry I figured I had the talent to write more serious works. I felt like if other authors could do it, so could I. Now I’m 6 books in to my career.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Only one name comes to mind when I think about authors these days and that would be Blake Pierce.

My favorite genres to read are definitely thriller/murder mysteries. Tapping into the thought process of the villain is an art to me.

A better world inspires my writing. I figure if I could implement Self-Love and confidence through writing; If I can show the world how special being different can be, they’ll eventually turn away from the need of acceptance.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“See What I See” is about a young boy that has his eyes opened for the first time. He starts noticing the difference in rich and poor kids; Happy and sad kids; Scared and brave; Bully and the Bullied. It changes his life.

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Featured Interview With Rebecca Kate Summers

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Trueborn 90’s child, England native and a great lover (and hoarder) of books with a dream of being

In my free time, I enjoy purple things, baking, afternoon tea, book forts, old witchcraft, and Celtic folk music. My vices include Marvel movies and video games.

I was born in and currently live in the North East of England – with zero intentions of leaving my bleak, windswept, and salt-stung homeland – with my spoiled, fat cat, Cat.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I remember the precise moment when it happened; I was four years old, in Reception class (Kindergarten for those stateside), and our project for the day was to learn how to fold paper in a certain way that made it into a “book”, then fill it with a story. Mine was weirdly bleak for an otherwise cheerful four-year-old.

My teacher was very impressed, gathered the class around to read them the story, and made a huge ceremony of having the “book” saved in my learning folder. She suggested I be an author, and I guess I was a pretty impressionable child because I just remember thinking “Yeah, I should be!”

The Dancing Tree never took off, for those wondering.

Also, though I don’t remember doing this, when I was three years old, I was apparently caught sitting on my mother’s bed trying to read Wuthering Heights.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I absolutely ADORE fairy tale adaptations! It all started when I read Alice by Christina Henry and realised there was a whole sub-genre of fantasy that I hadn’t tapped into, and I started devouring any I could find. I think by now I’ve basically read all the fairy tale adaptations on the market! I’ve also really gotten into ghost stories a lot over the last couple of years.

In no particular order, my favourite authors are Christina Henry, Laura Purcell, Marissa Mayer, George Mann, James Brogden, and Neil Gaiman.

Weird thing is, I don’t think any of them actually influence the way I write. I just love to read their stuff. It inspires me to write more often because I want to be someone’s favourite author someday.

For favourite book, I’d have to say Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman. I know a lot of people pass this one over for American Gods or Good Omens, but Anansi Boys was the first Neil Gaiman book I ever read and I loved it. I loaned my beloved and dogeared copy out years ago and never saw it again, and my partner knew how much I loved it, so he bought me a beautiful hardback illustrated version for Christmas 2019.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’m currently working on the sequel to The Old Ways, entitled The Age of Magic, set for release March 2022.

In The Old Ways (released September 2015), Thomas Rhymer’s young sister is stolen away by shadows and smoke, and he discovers there’s more to life than the fields and forests he knows so well. If he has any hope of rescuing Alissa, he must first cross into a realm where magic is lifeblood, and where shadows dance with dragonfire.

With the help of the seelie faery Thistledown, Thomas embarks on a treacherous quest, deep into the heart of war-ravaged Albion. But getting his sister back means pledging aid to Mab, the usurped Queen of the Old Ways, against the tyranny of the Dark Prince.

Yet danger and deceit lie around every corner, and some secrets are better left untold.

The sequel, The Age of Magic, follows Tristan Rhymer, Thomas’s son, as he follows his father’s footsteps across the bridge to the realm of Albion, a world of faeries, magic, monsters, and gods.

Albion is just recovering from the ravages of the war, but a new threat is lurking in an old ruin called The Iron Keep, a threat that could sunder fragile new alliances and raze Albion to a wasteland of salt and ash and bone.

Tristan must learn to harness his newfound magic and work with old enemies if he and his family have any chance of defeating the undefeatable: Death himself.

Also, there’s a talking cat with antlers.

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Featured Interview With Stephen Shaiken

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in New York City, and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I practiced criminal law. I retired in 2015 and since then have split my time between Tampa, Florida, and Thailand. When I’m not writing, I practice blues guitar and play with my cat, Curious.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always wanted to be a writer, but let myself be talked into becoming a lawyer. I did earn an MA in Creative Writing before law school, and I’ve returned to my real love. I wrote many short stories in college and grad school, and started again when I retired. Bangkok Shadows is my first novel. A sequel will be released this summer.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have so many, it’s hard to make a list, but I’ll try. Ernest Hemingway. Joan Didion, Ward Just Paul Auster. Julian Barnes. Dashiell Hammett, Margaret Atwood, Loren Estleman, Flannery O’Conner…I love too many to list. As for genres, I usually read literary, classics, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, historical. I am inspired to write by people and events I have experienced or at least been told about. After that, everything else is made up and bears little if any resemblance to any real events or people.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Glenn Murray Cohen was a stressed-out criminal lawyer recovering from a failed marriage. When he stumbles upon illicitly earned money, he uses it to start a new life in Thailand. For seven years, Glenn enjoys the easy life of a rich expat in Bangkok. Then the CIA uses Glenn’s love for the alluring and enigmatic Noi, to lure him into a dangerous plan for which he is woefully unprepared. Join Glenn and his friends from the mysterious NJA Club, as they take a wild ride through Bangkok’s seamy underside. Meet an aging hippy with deadly skills, a retired Thai general engaged in some murky businesses, and a whole cast of interesting Thais and foreigners, set against the exotic noir background of Thaialnd.

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