Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Vanessa Kittle

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up very near Washington DC. If I stood on the fence in my back yard I could see the Washington monument. I’ve lived all over the east and south but now I’m on Colorado. My best friend is my cat friend.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first story in 4th grade about an otter. I became fascinated with reading in 2nd grade when I got my HM LOTR 2nd edition collection for Christmas. I read Fellowship of the Ring pretty much non-stop for the next 5 years. Usually when I got to the end I’d just start over rather than going on to Two Towers. Not every time of course.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Tolkien certainly – far more than all others put together times ten.
Lewis. Asimov. Salinger.

My favorite genres are literary, magical realism, fantasy, and science fiction.

Someday I would like to care about a character as much as Salinger.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The School for Humans begins in Bronze Age Ireland.
Ellene is a servant to one of the great Calean leaders.
The Caleans are opening a school for the young from Ellene’s village,
but not all of the Caleans want to teach the humans.
Some have much darker plans, and the school may be the last
chance for peace between the two peoples.

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Vanessa Kittle Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Melody Taylor

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in the eighties in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I listened to Cyndi Lauper and Queen and the B-52s and Billy Idol, and we watched Who’s the Boss and Full House on TV.

I’ve always loved animals. I horseback ride when I can and used to own my own horse, and while I like dogs a whole lot, I love cats and always have owned at least one. I currently have two sassy boys, an orange-and-white named Orion and a fake Siamese named Tyr. (He’s fake because he was born in a barn, the only kitten in the litter with his coloration, but he looks and acts like he’s purebred Siamese.)

My husband and I own a house in rural Minnesota that needs a lot of work, and we like to spend our vacations camping in the woods. I don’t exactly enjoy cooking, but I do enjoy eating good food, and the one necessitates the other.

I like to tell people that I am a friendly, gregarious person who writes dark and creepy stories about gory vampire murders and fairies kidnapping people to torture. It’s accurate, anyway.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mom got me reading the moment I was literate. My whole family reads. My grandma likes cozy mysteries, my grandpa goes for westerns and thrillers, Mom prefers epic fantasy, and my sisters and I like sci-fi and fantasy.

When I was 11, a friend of mine gave me a story she had written. It was really weird, about a group of misfit wanna-be hippie kids who find a VW bus that’s actually a time machine, so they go back in time to meet their rock idols from the sixties, but then the time machine malfunctions and Jimmy Page almost gets eaten by a T-rex.

I told her I liked it, but I didn’t think she’d get a good grade if she turned it in. She said, “Oh, that’s not for school. That’s just for fun.”

My head damn near exploded. I ran home and started writing, and haven’t stopped since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My very favorites authors are Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I also greatly enjoy Emma Bull, Kelly Armstrong, Terry Windling, Joan D. Vinge, James Allen Gardener, Scott Lynch, and Charles De Lint.

My favorite genre is speculative fiction, with an emphasis on urban fantasy/contemporary fantasy, but I’ll read anything that sounds interesting. From the history of coffee to the founding and settling of Australia to an inside take on the Goth movement, I’m in.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest release is the third book in my vampire series, “Dead of Night.”

In the second book, my main character had to come face-to-face with the darkest part of her soul, so in the third book, I wanted her to go through some real dark shit trying to cope and come to terms with what she’d had to do.

While I was writing it, one of my dearest friends died from cancer.

The book got way darker than I intended really fast. All my emotions came through my main character. It took me a long time to write that one, almost two years, simply because of how hard it was to write every scene, every emotional twist my character was going through. And I kept trying to rein it back, keep her misery under control, without ever realizing it was my own misery I was trying to tame.

It actually wound up expressing real human darkness and misery pretty effectively. By the end, I was more proud of it than worried, and readers have told me it’s one of their favorite in the vampire series. So I guess I did okay.

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Melody Taylor’s Website

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Featured Interview With Mary Elizabeth Fricke

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a farm girl who has lived withing five miles of the Missouri River all of my life. I grew up north of the river but moved south shortly after I married my husband. We have been married thirty-eight years and have lived in our home on our 5th generation family farm for thirty-five years. We have two grown sons married to wonderful women and two beautiful grandchildren. My first novel–my autobiography Dino, Godzilla, and the Pigs–was written about our life here on the farm while we were raising our sons. Well, actually, it was about me learning to be the proper farm partner back in 1993. That was a long time ago. These days, life is a lot different. We raise cattle instead of hogs. Our sons both have careers off the farm. However, despite numerous health issues this past year, I’m still writing my heart’s desire, romantic suspense fiction.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was making up stories before I knew how to write them down. I didn’t tell people about those long-ago ‘mind stories’. Maybe I should have. I’ve kept a diary /journal since I was a child and always excelled in any subject where I could write. I also used to write long letters to a number of family members or friends. Writing is as natural to me as breathing. Even when that proverbial writer’s block was trying to get hold of me (because of continuing health issues) I still clung to the need to write, even if it was only to organize my plans, grocery lists, or journal entries.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am an eclectic, voracious reader. I read just about anything and everything I get hold of and I have a favorite list of authors. Although, lately I’ve been reading more work from new indie authors on my kindle. I like series and tend to follow them. My mother was my reading inspiration. Before I could read, she read to me. I remember when I was young, on rare summer days when Mom was not working out of our home, she took time to rest every afternoon for an hour or two. Sometimes I laid with her and she read to me. As I grew up I began to read on my own. After my sons were born, when they ‘visited Grandma’, she would read to them. It is a delightful memory we all cherish because Mom would act out the characters in the books she read. She was one really funny ‘Huckleberry Finn’ or ‘Briar Rabbit’.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I just recently republished the first four books of my Birds in Peril Series under one cover (Birds in Peril Boxed Set Amazon B07XMHYHLN). I am currently working to complete stories five and six of the series and my intent was to regenerate interest into the whole series. Here are the official blurb/descriptions:
Five women met, fell in love with and married men who aided the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of Sheldon Humsler. Even though the events that disrupted their lives, did not necessarily involve Humsler, they certainly invoked the conviction that one-day Humsler would find a way to enact his revenge. All of these women and the men they married are in some way closely connected to Humsler’s arch enemies, Benton Cromwell, T.J. Harvester and Thad Hunt. Because of Humsler, Benton Cromwell’s life and livelihood have become so precarious he now lives as an invalid on borrowed time. However, his friends, T.J. Harvester and Thad Hunt, continue to grow in family, and in deed. Both are well-loved by many. The time is near when a final confrontation with Humsler must occur. Humsler has an accomplice…someone closely connected to Hunt….but who could that possibly be?

Pigeon in a Snare: He was her knight in shining armor. She was his lost love—the one girl with whom life might have been worth sharing—if another had not told lies deliberately intended to separate them. Now her life is in serious danger. Can he save her? Is their lost love worth the blood and tears it will take to salvage not only themselves but their families and their businesses─ and rekindle the love they lost?

Roses for the Sparrow: It was bad enough that her best friend/employer took off on an extended honeymoon leaving Jani to oversee the building of their new business alone. But in strolls this tall, dark, handsome contractor who makes it clear he intends to become the center of Jani’s attention. But, is Rick too good to be true? Why is he the one who continually finds long-stemmed roses on her car or at her door? What kind of admirer leaves expensive roses to freeze on windshields or be trampled on the floor? Some girls have all the luck- or maybe that’s no luck at all. How often does a girl have two stalkers after her at the same time?

Plight of the Wren: Susie Wrener’s life became front-page news when her abusive husband put her in the hospital and sent himself to jail. Three years later, life has returned to mundane, while Susie struggles to maintain a peaceful loving home for her two children as a single mom. Then she meets Ted Harvester and wins the lottery in the same week…

Robin Unaware: Life is constant change, sometimes planned, sometimes instant and devastating. For Stephanie Harvester-Garrett, life takes an abrupt curve when her husband is killed in a car accident. Determined to secure a stable home for her three children, Stephanie returns to Missouri to be closer to family and to accept employment in her brother’s law office. However, the dream of living a peaceful country life is interrupted by unexpected ghosts of the past, and hatred spawned in the name of love.

Hopefully, these last two stories will be published in the near future:

#5 Wise, Bold Eagle: Sylvia Pentherst is the fifth woman to marry into the Hunt-Harvester-Cromwell group. A widow in her mid-fifties, she survived years of hardship caring for her invalid husband and raising her three sons. Her now-seemingly-settled life takes a turn toward unpredictable when she leaves the comfort of managing County Hospital Housekeeping for the chaos of opening and maintaining two novelty shops along with Lisa, Jani, Susie, and Stephanie. Is it really possible to find that second chance at love with Thad Hunt?

#6 BlueBird of Happiness: After her mother died, Anne was raised by a loving father. She’s always led a sheltered life, even after entering college. Now she’s grown up. An opportunity to spread her wings arises but…Will she soar? Or, will she land? Is home really where her heart is? Once the golden boy, Dan is the first to acknowledge the blessing in his remarkable recovery from a fiery automobile accident. But, the abrupt departure of the girl he hoped to be ‘the one’ left scars and uncertainties that haunted him during and after his recovery. Then he met Anne. Innocent, sweet Anne. Does he dare try love again?

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Mary Elizabeth Fricke’s Website

Mary Elizabeth Fricke Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Dr. LaRonda Starling

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello. My name is Dr. LaRonda Starling, and I have a private practice in Texas providing psychological services. I grew up in Oak Cliff in Dallas, Texas. I still live and work in the Dallas/Fort Worth Texas metroplex. No, I do not currently have any pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always loved to read and write. I remember writing a book in the first grade. It was probably thrown in the file where all of the other school assignments go (e.g., the trash), but I sure wish I could find it.

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 are those who wrote the classics such as Charlotte Bronte, and I love Maya Angelou’s poetry. My favorite genre when I am not reading counseling or psychology books is mystery novels. I like writers who are good story tellers like Janet Evanovich and Gregory David Roberts.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The book is titled Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals. Here is my description:

For counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, certified life coaches, and other mental health professionals, case managers, and caregivers burnout may seem inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be. Dr. LaRonda Starling offers respite for the weary with this Christ-centered, faith-focused guide to self-care for the soul. With real-life analogies and Bible verses as the basis, Be Still: Spiritual Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals covers topics such as knowing the characteristics of God, having alone time to pray, reflecting on the good in life, studying the Bible, learning to lovingly say no, and taking care of oneself. The end of each chapter includes questions designed to help the reader dig deeper and apply the concepts to their own life.

Whether you are a therapist experiencing exhaustion or burnout (or wanting to avoid it), a therapist in training, or a caregiver of any kind, Be Still is the essential guide to finding and maintaining spiritual health and peace.

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Featured Interview With Celinka Serre

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’ve always been very passionate about the things that inspire me and I love to enter worlds and create. I am from the greater Montreal area in Quebec, Canada. I live where I was raised, not the same house, but I’ve always been homey and sedentary.

Carl Jung, the psychoanalyst, had imaginary people to whom he spoke to access his subconscious mind and to help develop his ideas and theories. I have plushies. I know, right. They are a part of me, alter egos, and it helps me to access my subconscious mind when I need to. Working the imagination, as strange as it can seem at times, is important to keep inspiration flowing and it helps prevent writer’s block. At least it does for me.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always enjoyed being in my head, daydreaming, lucid dreaming and fantasizing. When I was in high school, I would write silly and corny stories. A good friend of mine and I co-wrote a script-like story wherein we met our favourite singers and began dating them. It was the silliest thing ever, but good practice. I wrote a few short stories and just kept writing to practice as much as I could. In one of my English classes, I had to write a story and my presentation paper had as a pretend company name Binky Inc. Binky is one of my nick-names from childhood. Eventually, that became a real company name, Binky Ink.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’ve always had a love for fantasy. I have three favourite franchises that have inspired me a great deal throughout the years. Star Wars and its original expanded universe is the first one. I was four years old when I saw A New Hope for the first time, so it’s been a great inspiration. Lord of the Rings and other books by J.R.R. Tolkien is another inspiration for me. The way Tolkien includes songs and other languages inspired me to put in some songs and invented languages into my stories as well. And of cour, I can’t forget my favourite video game franchise, Dragon Age. All those franchises have rich characters of various types, with various arcs. Analysing certain character arcs and Carl Jung’s archetypes has helped me develop some of my own characters.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest published book is Stardust Destinies I: Variate Facing. It takes place in a realm known as the Great Ocean Valley, where magic is strong and prophecies are dictated by dragons.

The inspiration for the story, the characters and the world came to me in a dream. I actually dreamt of Chapter Nine, so I wrote that first, ad then developed my lore and characters. Then I wrote from the start up to that chapter, and then continued writing it, and then just kept writing. I had no idea Stardust Destinies would end up being a series at that time, let alone one that would contain ten books (at least).

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Celinka Serre’s Website

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Featured Interview With Ian Vroon

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Italy. Italy! Whew, that was a long time ago…I live in Colorado now. Life is better here. For one thing, I’m married to the love of my life. So there’s that. For another thing, I love the clear skies and lack of smog—I mean, Italy was beautiful. (coughs) I just like being able to breathe.

I want a pet snake sometime. And a pet Venus Fly Trap. I want to feed the first one mice and the second one flies. That would be extremely entertaining.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing since as long as I can remember. Writing has always been huge for me. I love to invent stories—and people enjoy my creativity! Or so I’ve been told. I’m a bit ADD, so daydreaming about the worlds I’d invent often took priority over school.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors to read? Some Tolkein, Lewis, C.S. Friedman and Karen Hancock. A lot of Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti. My major inspiration is God and the awesome world he created. This planet is so cool!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
They woke up seven years ago with no memory. They found themselves in a land of glowing flowers, mushroom houses and psychedelic spores. They have only dreams, flashbacks—fragments of thoughts they can’t explain.

But now the land is withering. Mushrooms are crumbling to ash, trees turning to mush—and no one knows why.

Enter the aiethepa spore. This fungus grows fast and thick throughout Ayphae. No one knows what it does, and no one can open it. Some blame it for the withering—others think it will breathe life into the land.

Paths cross, and an alliance is born: the three with lost memories, a field scientist, a ranger-turned-speaker and a pragmatic politician. But can they find the problem—before it’s too late?

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Ian Vroon Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Elizabeth Mitchell

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m married with two furbutts, though I believe we are the ones being had. I’ve been lucky in love, finding my husband before I was twenty-five and adopting my two boy cats shortly after our magical North Carolinian castle wedding.
My family and I live in Vancouver, Washington. We love the Pacific Northwest. Though I was an Army brat, I spent most of the years I can remember in Louisiana and North Carolina. I do have some good memories from my time in Germany though.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Around age ten I was a voracious reader of Wishbone and writer in a color-your-own unicorn journal. Stories filled the half-colored-in book until I turned eleven. By twelve, I didn’t read or write for recreation.
It wasn’t until I was fourteen, on the edge of suicide, that I picked up the pen again. Poems poured out of me–bad poems. Stories came next–bad stories. I read all of the time–vampire romance novels. Life and boyfriends and a career change got in the way, and I lost it again around eighteen.
Years later, I was laid up from a major shoulder surgery with my right arm in a sling that I dove back in; I was twenty-three. In a month, I wrote a novel edited a novel. Needless to say, the pain medication made me think my rambles were Pulitzer-worthy.
But since then, I’ve been writing–sober, mostly.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genres are crime fiction and paranormal romance. I know using crime fiction is a cop-out. But I don’t know whether I like suspense, thriller, or mystery better. As for authors, there are so many I love. Carlos Ruis Zafon, Gillian Flynn, and Charlaine Harris have all made a great impact on me.
No author inspires me more than another, despite some leaving a larger impression. I feel like all authors have a line, paragraph, story arc, or character I can get inspired from. My dreams bring about more of my stories than anything, though.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
sweethearts–the lowercase is on purpose as the letters are meant to be written in candy conversation hearts–is a psychological suspense novel unlike anything I’ve ever written and exactly what I’ve wanted write since I decided to become an author. I had the idea when I was sixteen, long before I decided to write. In my teenage mind, I pictured it as a film. When it felt ready, I sat down and wrote. It took a year and a half from start to finish. Half-way through I added a character that turned part of the story upside down, so I had serious work to do. It was frustrating and rewarding; I put in the work, and I’m happy I did.
It’s from two main first-person perspectives with a few other key voices chiming in once in a while. Ada and Sam are the main characters. You hear from them in first person, sinking deep into the psyche of a fractured woman and a serial killer.

Twenty-nine years after finding Laura Hurst in a frozen lake, Ada Bailey decides it’s time to revisit Lynn Pond and confront the past. But Silynn holds more than memories.
Decades-old secrets tumble out as Ada explores the town she was sent away from. Her return dredges up more than sordid pieces of the townsfolk’s lives, though. Sam Pruette, a collector of innocents, worries Ada may remember details from that frigid day in November of 1988.
Laura was only the first sweetheart.

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Elizabeth Mitchell’s Website

Elizabeth Mitchell Facebook Page

Elizabeth Mitchell Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Jack Salva

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I have never liked the “Tell me a little about yourself?” question.

I was born in Pittsburgh where I lived until I graduated college with degrees in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. I moved to Maryland and started working for the government. After a stint in Australia and Colorado, I quite the government and entered the private sector. That eventually brought me to where I am now: TEXAS!

I met a fellow gamer and animal lover and got married. We run an animal sanctuary (Needy Beasts Haven) taking care of special needs animals. We have a large number of cats, a couple of dogs and some toads at the moment.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wasn’t much of a reader when I was younger. Somewhere in junior high I started and have never looked back. I love science fiction. Comic books really got me started in reading which may be why I have such a visual writing style.

I have always had an interest in writing. Telling stories. Making up tales and trying to get people to believe them. The more realistic they are, the more you can convince them. This may be why I have such a fascination with world building.

I have created a few worlds, but my favorite is my steampunk world. The aesthetic. The gadgets. The juxtaposition of elements.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Favorite authors? Larry Niven, Simon R. Green, Isaac Asimov, Simon Hawke, Michael Moorcock, and there are others, but that is a nice sampling.

My favorite reading is science fiction. I also like fantasy. And I enjoy good steampunk.

My wife is my muse. She motivates me to get the stories in my head onto paper. My animals help as well. I’m not certain how they do it, but they do. Especially the cats. (Thanks Aidan for the frustration and inspiration you dole out in equal measure.)

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Guise was something of a surprise. I finished a steampunk book and was working on the sequel when I got bogged down. As I was working through that, I had these other ideas floating around. I jotted them down. Before you know it I was writing a book.

The characters in Guise had been around in one form or another in other things I had toyed with. One, the character of Bo, just showed up as I was writing and made herself an integral part of the story. The backstory of Darwin and Yoki came about as I was writing their meeting. I had planned on them not knowing each other, but they had different ideas. Patience was always pretty much as she appears – although perhaps a little more practical than I first envisioned.

And I had to keep a reign on Otaku or he would steal every scene he was in.

Normally, I have a general idea of the story before I start. I am mostly a pantser so that is okay. In the case of Guise, I had the opening and the ending, but no idea about the middle of the book.

I like action and there is a lot of that. There is also a lot of debate that provides background which was a new approach for me, but seemed very natural in this. And there are hints of things to come in the sequels. Again, that just grew during the writing.

At almost 100,000 words, this book was written pretty quickly. I think it only took me around seven or eight months. The chapters are short, but that is how they worked. Often I would finish a chapter with no idea what the next one would be. The same for how the characters would get out of some of the situations. However, they didn’t let me down.

The overall tone is pretty light-hearted with lots of comedy and action. I am really looking forward to exploring this universe and the ideas hinted at. There is a lot more background now and several stories worth to tell it properly.

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Jack Salva’s Website

Jack Salva Facebook Page

Jack Salva Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Gretchen Elhassani

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. I met my husband there, and I raised my children there. I currently live in North Carolina. We do not have any pets.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been writing since elementary school. When I was in kindergarten, I begged my teacher for a few extra composition books and filled them with poems about Winnie the Pooh.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I used to read fiction. I have loved Anne Rice & Tamora Pierce. Currently, I have been reading non-fiction. Anything quirky, interesting but down to earth. I also have a sweet spot for financial stories…I know. Strange, right? I really enjoyed Lost Bank by Kirsten Grind.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I am Muslim. I was really involved in the mosque in my hometown, I was on the board, and I helped out with the Sunday school program. I learned that I was going to move to North Carolina, and I thought, you know, I’m never going to find a group of friends quite like these. Maybe I’m never going to be as central to a community like this again. So I spent the last year meeting with people in their homes, at their jobs, over the phone. I interviewed dozens of individuals, from the founders of the mosque to local elected officials to my own parents. I hope I’ve answered some questions such as: what’s it like in a mosque in America, and how do parents of a convert feel around Christmas time?

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Gretchen Elhassani Twitter Account

Featured Interview With P.T. Macias

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
live in California with my husband and children. My grandkids are my treasure. When I am not writing, I enjoy going on cruises, seeing concerts, eating white peaches, pistachio ice cream, and sipping margaritas.
I love writing in the dark romance and paranormal romance genre.
I love my paranormal romance stories because they present a limitless range of possible characteristics, powers, and weaknesses available to develop the characters’ and the realms they inhabit.
I love sexy dark alphas, angels, gods, vampires, werewolves, dragons, and other entities.
I always dreamed of writing paranormal tales that are full of love, incredible sexy wild men, mysterious realms, and a dash of suspense.
Designing Dream Life With Patricia
Designing Dreams, Developing Goals And Inspiring Thought Provoking Creative Process To Explore The Realm Of Possibilities To Maximize Your Potential!
ptm@ptmacias.com
University of Davis – Professional Coaching For Life and Work Certification.
University of Phoenix – Dual Degrees – Bachelor of Science and Business Management/Administration.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was very young, around 5 years old. My mom started me off with Dr. Seuss.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read Sherrilyn Kenyon, Georgia Le Carre, Meghan March, plus more.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’m really excited about my new series Supreme Legacy.

Experience the world of the ruthless masters, the Elite Supreme Power dictating society and the world.

Taste the excitement and the mysterious allure of falling in love.
Enjoy the opulence, the adventure, the power wars, the suspense, the corruption, the drama, lies, secrets, and the omnipresent danger cloaking their life.

The Elite power is supreme, but love brings them to their knees!

Note ~ Elite Power, Supreme Legacy Series are also standalone stories and no cliffhangers. (Dark Mafia Romance . . . . . . HEA)

Elite Power: Trent – release day 9.29.19
Prince Trent Konig
I was born an Elite and forged by the king.
I’m ruthless and soulless, a bastard to fear.
I’m merciless, I’m fierce, and trained to kill.
I’m broken, I’m evil, not worthy of her love.
My Baby Girl has a halo; she’s truly an angel.
I always knew she’s my soul mate, and yet I force myself to wait.
This wild need compels me to claim her and drives me insane.
My heart aches, my soul rages, and I refuse to have her near.
I can’t crown her my queen; thus, the kingdom is not at peace.
The danger and intrigue shroud the Elite.
The wrath of war is in the air, and a woman’s scorn is always a power to fear.

Lady Yvette Kaiser
I pray he forgets his past deeds, his fears and believes in the greatness that he is.
No matter what he thinks, no matter where he goes, I keep my eye on him, waiting for his call.
I wait, I dream, I think of him.
I place my heart in his hands, knowing that he’s my man.
I only know that we belong, and our souls are fated to be one.

Elite Power: Rhett – release day 10.20.19
Earl Rhett Kaiser
My one-night stand is more than I thought.
She collides with my world, making it rock on its axis.
Yeah, the one that I can’t seem to forget.
I need to ignore my soul’s roar.
She’s part of the web of deception that I need to make right.
She’s wild; she’s beautiful, she’s untamed and smart.
She runs from my grasp, not granting me a chance.
The King seeks justice, and the underworld war needs to end.
The bloodshed, the Capo, is dead.
The Lord is pissed and eager to wage war and claiming her as his reward is his only redemption.

Isabelle Napolitano
My world has changed; I knew it would.
My father, the Capo of the underworld, is dead.
The war has to end!
My brothers are gone and nowhere to be found.
The Lord in Europe seeks revenge, claiming me as his.
I don’t think so, I rather die.
I have to run; I have to hide.
I’m petrified, and I’m going insane.
What should I do?
My one-night stand unexpectedly shows back up in my life.
He’s not who I thought.
He’s an Elite, much more than a Capo in the underworld.
Who would have thought?
He wants to protect me, is that a lie?
My heart aches; my soul weeps.
I’m running, not looking, not listening to him.
Nobody can help me; I can’t stay here.
I must hide, I pray that I’ll survive.

Elite Power: Lennox – release day 11.3.19

Earl Lennox Konig
I thought I had it right, and all under control.
My bride is pissed, she’s very hurt.
She refuses to listen to reason.
I made a mistake that I regret.
Now, I fear I’m losing my bride.
My soul is in an uproar.
And my heart aches.
I can’t think straight.
My ex is making threats that I cannot control.
I’m running scared.
I fear for my life and that of my bride.
I don’t know how to make things right.
To top it off the Elites are at war.
Our union is no fucking joke.
I know what I want; I want my bride.
I’m running out of time.
It’s a fucking nightmare come to life.

Lady Alexis Slovak
The love of my life has betrayed me.
What hurts the most is that he didn’t stop his booty call when he knew about our betrothal.
I knew that Lennox is no saint, but you would think he would repent.
I never expected this from him, especially since he’s an Earl in our world.
We’re taught from birth to have honor, fidelity, and love above all else.
We don’t take our duty lightly, so what was he thinking?
That bitch wouldn’t let us be.
What should I do?
I need to make him grieve, to feel some pain.
I need to bring him to his knees.
I need to claim what’s mine, and he is my husband

Elite Power: Wesley – release day 12.1.19
Wesley Roth
The gorgeous spitfire enthralls me.
She makes my heart skip a beat.
She stirred my soul that was dormant.
We’re from different worlds and yet the same.
The time it’s not right; But how I want it to be so.
I fear this may never be real.
I dare not make her mine.
I must turn away this time.

Athena Weston
The life of luxury, love, and decadence is my world.
A world that implodes, changing my life forevermore.
Sometimes life is not what you believe.
It’s tough to accept that your life is full of secrets and bloodshed.
The breathtaking man fills my dreams.
He makes me ache and dream.
I yearn for the safe haven he presents.
The dark secrets in his eyes lure me in.
I see the fire deep in his soul.
I hear the sweet promises he whispers.
My soul lights up, and my heart aches, but will he be able to soothe my fears?
I turn away, praying to be saved, running headlong into my fate.

Elite Power: Carlos – release day 12.29.19

Lord Carlos Reyes
The Elite can kiss my ass.
I’m king in the underworld, so I rule all I survey.
I don’t play their game, and I don’t follow the rules.
The only Elite that I honor makes me burn.
My soul roars, and my heart skips a beat.
The princess fears me, teases me, and snubs me by turns.
The princess’ cutting words slice deep into my soul.
Her actions flay me open.
Her eyes don’t lie; her soul is mine.
I’m waiting for the moment of truth.
She’s mine; she can’t discard me so easily.
Then the Elite will roar, and Hell will wage war.
I know she’s worth it all.

Lady Jennifer Slovak
Forged to be Queen is my reality.
Father promised I would be Queen one day.
I endlessly dreamed of my wedding day.
However, the King has other plans.
The hurt, the hate, carries me away.
The gorgeous soldier steals a kiss.
He’s lethal, wicked, toxic to the core.
He takes my soul and makes me his.
Our worlds are different, yet the same.
I treat him with disdain, and I run away.
The next thing I know, he’s the King of the underworld.
He wants me for his Queen.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

P.T. Macias’s Website

P.T. Macias Facebook Page

P.T. Macias Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Mike Battaglia

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Sigh, where to begin?

My name is Mike Battaglia, and like everyone else here, I’m a writer. I’ve held a lot of jobs in 48 years, in a lot of different places doing a lot of different things, but despite my capricious career, it was all just a paycheck. I’ve done everything from gas up 747’s for a major airline to being a chef, but in the end, writing has been the only thing that has stayed with me and never waned for pretty much my entire life.

I was raised just north of San Francisco. I moved out of mother’s house on the morning of my eighteenth birthday, and I’ve been a nomad ever since. I’ve been married and amicably divorced twice, I’ve been all over the world, and I’ve lived in four different countries. My current home base is in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. I moved here after living in New Zealand for 17 years to be with the love of my life, whom I met on a writing website seven years ago. I may not have the most stable or responsible life ever lived, and where my next paycheck is going to come from is more often than not a mystery, but damn if the life of a nomad isn’t ideal for someone who lives to write.

As for pets, I’m a cat guy. Cats are the only animals, that I am aware of, who choose their companions. I don’t like to call myself a pet ‘owner.’ I can relate to a cat’s lone wolf independence, and I would never dream of cramping a cat’s style. If a cat and I get along and like each other, then we mutually decide to flat together. Most of my pets have been strays that I won over. I never restricted their freedom in any way, and my cats have always been free to come and go as they please, but every night, when the cats come back from their day to spend the night with me, it’s a feeling unlike any other. These cats chose to spend their time with me. I don’t currently have any cats, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get into another relationship with one because I get too attached, making it hard to say goodbye when the time comes. But man… if cat’s could write!

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I really couldn’t pinpoint a specific age. I was always fascinated with books, and the books I loved as a kid are still just as vivid in my mind as they were back then: Richard Scary’s What Do People Do All Day, The Five Chinese Brothers, There’s a Nightmare in My Closet, and my all time favorite, Harold and The Purple Crayon. But maybe it wasn’t so much books that turned me into a writer as much as it was the art of the story.

My dad was a master of embellishment. No matter how many times he told me a story, every time he told it there would be some new angle, some new detail, something to make it seem like I had never heard the story before. I could have heard the story a thousand times, but it was the way my dad told the story that kept me rapt every time; the passion with which he told it. This, more than anything, lit my writing fire. I wanted to recreate the thrill I got listening to my dad tell stories.

I started writing very young, beginning with hand-drawn, stapled together comic books (this is when all I could draw were stick figures and word balloons). I did about 25 issues, and I still have them. In middle school I discovered Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigator series, and that pretty much sealed the deal for me. It took me a matter of months to read the entire series (I think there were 34 books in the series), and when I got through them all I was so upset that there weren’t any more that I created my own young investigators and started writing my own adventures. I wrote five of my investigator books – all of them hand written in pencil on binder paper. The shortest was about 80 pages, the longest over 200. I was about twelve or thirteen at the time. Ever since then, I’ve been writing.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
This is a standard question all authors answer at one point or another, and I always find it difficult to answer because I love so many authors and books. My tastes in reading are myriad. I love the art of storytelling, I love words and the art of stringing them together to create an image. I love being transported to other worlds, I love discovering things, exploring, learning, roller coasters, laughing, crying, getting pissed off, getting riled up. It never ceases to humble or amaze me that something as simple as words has the power to completely change your life and way of thinking.

I’ve been inspired by almost every author I’ve ever read. If you saw my library, you’d be hard pressed to find any sort of common denominator. I might read a book on deep sea biology one week, and a pulp horror the next. All books are worlds, and I’m all for exploring any and every one of them if it tickles my fancy.

If I was forced to pick one book, though, it would be Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. That book has been my sidekick for as long as I can remember, and has seen me though so many dark days it’s like a brother to me. I still have the original paperback copy I bought as a kid. It’s faded, yellowed, falling apart, and held together with Scotch tape. It always goes in my carry on bag whenever I travel.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I’ve got six books published, and seven more complete manuscripts waiting for their turn – all of them different. I just published a collection of short horror stories called Haunted House – 21 Twisted Tales (available on Amazon.com). I have a very deep sense of sarcastic humor, which I love to let out in my writing, and these stories are a good example of my style and voice on the page. Not all of them are scary. Some are funny, some are contemplative, and some are nightmares, but they all contain the one thing I love most in writing – the twist at the end. I am also about to publish a book on the chef life called ‘Sharp Knives and Skewers.’ I was a chef in New Zealand for 17 years, and I wanted to write a behind-the-scenes tour of commercial kitchens and the chefs that infest them. It’s filled with everything you have come to know about chefs and the chef life, as well as all the things you didn’t know, or didn’t want to know. It’s not whistle-blowing, it’s reality. If you want to know what being a chef is really like, this book covers every single facet.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Mike Battaglia’s Website

Mike Battaglia Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Sian B. Claven

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in South Africa, in the heart of Johannesburg, I grew up with a vivid imagination. When I wasn’t immersing myself in books, I was actively creating my own stories.

At 29 years old, left to my own devices after my sister immigrated, I wrote my first horror book Ensnared and dared to publish it under the guidance of indie authors Toni Cox and Ashleigh Giannaccaro.

Now I have released more than ten books including a thriller and sci-fi fantasy.

In 2019, I took up the challenge of publishing 11 books in 11 months.

I came second place in the First Annual Indie Awards for Favourite African Author.

My book, Sylvana, the final book in my Butcher series, made the Amazon top 100 best sellers list in several categories across three countries.

In my spare time, I am an avid Harry Potter fan, pop collector and Bingo addict. I live in Johannesburg with my 2 best friends, their daughter, our 6 dogs and 2 cats.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have had a fascination with books since I have been able to read which is pretty much my entire life. I have always written my own stories but only dared to publish one in 2017.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I absolutely love JK Rowling, Stephen King, Anne Rice, JRR Tolkien, Rick Riordan and Harper Lee. Although I enjoy reading horror, my favourite genre to read is fantasy specifically Epic Fantasy.

I am inspired by my sister Jackie, my best friends Toni and Darren and by several cover designers 🙂

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book which is Buried is going to be released on the 15th of October.

To be honest, I bought the cover first and decided on the story later and I didn’t actually think it was going to turn out as amazing as it did. Seriously, this book exceeded my expectations and I owe it all to my characters who as per usual did their own thing.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Sian B. Claven’s Website

Sian B. Claven Facebook Page

Sian B. Claven Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Christy J. Breedlove

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Christy J. Breedlove (Chris H. Stevenson), originally born in California, moved to Sylvania, Alabama in 2009. Her occupations have included newspaper editor/reporter, astronomer, federal police officer, housecleaner and part time surfer girl. She has been writing off and on for 36 years, having officially published books beginning in 1988. Today she writes in her favorite genre, Young Adult, but has published in multiple genres and categories. She was a finalist in the L. Ron. Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, and took the first place grand prize in a YA novel writing contest for The Girl They Sold to the Moon. She writes the popular blog, Guerrilla Warfare for Writers (special weapons and tactics), hoping to inform and educate writers all over the world about the high points and pitfalls of publishing.

I’m a diehard frantic creator of Young Adult fiction, whether it’s paranormal, science fiction, suspense or fantasy. I believe in pure escapism with unceasing action adventure and discovery. If you want a moral message or cultural statement, you’re apt to get a small one. But let me tell you something, reader, I want to make you laugh until you gag, cry until you’re dry and tear out tufts of your hair. Today, young adult literature needs some support and renewed interest.. How soon we’ve forgotten about Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent and Twilight. Oh, the mania! Where has it gone? Are we losing our young readers? We need something really fresh and new. I and several writers are going to pour everything we have into that end. You are the kindly judge–help us get there and we will deliver!

I’m afraid I’m fresh out of pets, aside from the pesky mouse that keeps terrorizing me at night. I’ve always been partial to dogs, and do well enough keeping myself entertained with my sister’s bobcat and husky.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started a little late in life with reading and writing books. I read my first science fiction novel when I was 26, but it took me years and some steam to really get into the craft.

My early writing accomplishment were multiple hits within a few years: In my first year of writing back in 1987, I wrote three Sf short stories that were accepted by major slick magazines which qualified me for the Science Fiction Writers of America, and at the same time achieved a Finalist award in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. This recognition garnered me a top gun SF agent at the time, Richard Curtis Associates. My first novel went to John Badham (Director) and the Producers, the Cohen Brothers. Only an option, but an extreme honor. The writer who beat me out of contention for a feature movie, was Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. My book was called Dinothon.

A year after that I published two best-selling non-fiction books and landed on radio, TV, in every library in the U.S. and in hundreds of newspapers.

I have been trying to catch that lightning in a bottle ever since. My YA dystopian novel, The Girl They Sold to the Moon won the grand prize in a publisher’s YA novel writing contest, went to a small auction and got tagged for a film option. My latest release, Screamcatcher: Web World, is currently showing some unexpected progress. I have 11 titles appearing on Amazon. I just hope and pray I’m doing everything right.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh, like what I consider stylists: Poul Anderson, Virgin Planet, Peter Benchley, The Island and Jaws, Joseph Wambaugh, The Onion Field and Black Marble, Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park, Alan Dean Foster, Icerigger trilogy, and some Stephen King. Anne Rice impresses with just about anything she has written. I think it’s the humor and irony that attracts me the most–and it’s all character related.

My inspiration and drive comes from my ability to craft new worlds and characters–kind of a God-like power. I stubbornly seek out new or out-of-the-box concepts that no one has ever heard of before. To be original and unique means everything to me. I won’t start a project unless the premise is a real mind-blower. That is my first consideration. I’m not after trendy mediocrity–I’ll venture outside the box and damn the muses who object.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It all started with a dream catcher. This iconic item, which is rightfully ingrained in Indian lore, is a dream symbol respected by the culture that created it. It is mystifying, an enigma that that prods the imagination. Legends about the dream catcher are passed down from multiple tribes. There are variations, but the one fact that can be agreed upon is that it is a nightmare entrapment device, designed to sift through evil thoughts and images and only allow pleasant and peaceful dreams to enter into consciousness of the sleeper.

I wondered what would happen to a very ancient dream catcher that was topped off with dreams and nightmares. What if the nightmares became too sick or deathly? What if the web strings could not hold anymore visions? Would the dream catcher melt, burst, vanish, implode? I reasoned that something would have to give if too much evil was allowed to congregate inside of its structure. I found nothing on the Internet that offered a solution to this problem—I might have missed a relevant story, but nothing stood out to me. Stephen King had a story called Dream Catcher, but I found nothing in it that was similar to what I had in mind. So I took it upon myself to answer such a burning question. Like too much death on a battlefield could inundate the immediate location with lost and angry spirits, so could a dream catcher hold no more of its fill of sheer terror without morphing into something else, or opening up a lost and forbidden existence. What would it be like to be caught up in another world inside the webs of a dream catcher, and how would you get out? What would this world look like? How could it be navigated? What was the source of the exit, and what was inside of it that threatened your existence? Screamcatcher: Web World, the first in the series, was my answer. I can only hope that I have done it justice.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Christy J. Breedlove’s Website

Christy J. Breedlove Facebook Page

Christy J. Breedlove Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Verity A. Buchanan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in South Carolina, but have lived in northern Michigan most of my life. When most people think Michigan, they think of Detroit and car industries, but to me Michigan is rolling hills, rural farmland, tough runty pine trees, freezing winters, and marvelously blue lakes nestled everywhere. The countryside around me continually serves as inspiration for the descriptive settings in my books.

I don’t have any pets. I do work on a dairy farm, where I see calves and barn cats regularly. The calves will let you pet them. The cats… not so much.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve never known a time when I didn’t love books. My parents read to me from babyhood up, and I was reading on my own by the age of four. I loved entering another person’s story and experiencing it for myself, and I had no reason to believe I couldn’t accomplish the same thing on my own. So when my mom offered me a spare notebook at the age of six, it was like a switch flipped. I wrote my first story and I never looked back.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My long-time favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, Rosemary Sutcliff, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, and Agatha Christie. All of the above have inspired me: Tolkien with world-building and thematic elements, Sutcliff with symbolism and descriptions, McGraw and Christie with story and characters. That’s simplified, of course, because all of them overlap in one or more areas, but it’s a fairly accurate breakdown.

Some of my newer favorite authors are M.L. Little, Anne Elisabeth Stengl, C.M. Banschbach, and A.S. Peterson.

My favorite genres are definitely historical fiction and high fantasy. They both immerse the reader in a separate, foreign world, a world that the author must take time to research and develop, and that, when done well, makes for a realistic, rewarding read.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In an era where a lot of YA fantasy focuses on people with important destinies, The Journey is about three very ordinary people who don’t save the world, or even save a country. Alone in the world, without resources, friends, or shelter, the Thorne family just wants a home.

Fred Thorne is afraid to be accountable.

Sandy Thorne is afraid for things to change.

And Marjorie Thorne is afraid for something to happen that will finally, irrevocably tear down what’s left of their family’s reputation.

In a single blow, every one of those fears comes true.

You won’t find any extraordinary people in The Journey. Just ordinary people. Some of them are unpleasant, and some of them are unhappy, and all of them are struggling. The deepest strugglers are often those who mask their pain… and those silent struggles, defeats, and victories are the ones that deserve to be told.

I started The Journey as a brand-new teenager, and it took me just over three years to finish it and revise enough to start submitting to agents. However, it wasn’t till last fall, two years after completion, that I was finally accepted by a publishing house and got on the road to bookstores.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Verity A. Buchanan’s Website

Verity A. Buchanan Facebook Page

Verity A. Buchanan Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Ren Behan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Colorado. I’ve lived in this gorgeous state my entire life, and hopefully, I can remain here a bit longer.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
When I was seven, I read “Island of the Blue Dolphins”, “Moby Dick”, and “Julia of the Wolves”. I fell in love with how the written word could transport us using our imagination as fuel. One of my fondest memories with reading is when my brother and I read “The Hobbit” together four times on our way to Texas for a family vacation.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Andrzej Sapkowski, Neil Gaiman, Harper Lee, and Edgar Allan Poe. I love dark fantasy and horror genres the most. My husband and my daughter inspire me – they inspire my drive. They give me purpose.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Mother sustains…but she can also take.

“I’ve been warned that the longer one remains in the sacred valley, the deeper the soul buries itself there. But to earn my place as hunter, I must complete the rite; I must nourish the forest ground with the spilt blood of my kill lest it be my own that sanctifies the soil. It is decided. But…am I hunter, or am I prey?”
​
What will begin as a hunt will change into the Hunter’s trial, bringing him face to face with a truth he isn’t ready to accept. As the happenings—events believed to be tests—force him to question reality, the Hunter finds there’s more to his rite than pleasing the Mother. While the valley consumes him, he’ll discover he may never have been meant to go back home.

“Veneration of the Hunter” is a dark fantasy novel focusing on a hunter’s struggle against expectation, himself, and nature.

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Ren Behan Twitter Account

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

Featured Interview With Christy J. Breedlove

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Christy J. Breedlove (Chris H. Stevenson), originally born in California, moved to Sylvania, Alabama in 2009. Her occupations have included newspaper editor/reporter, astronomer, federal police officer, housecleaner and part time surfer girl. She has been writing off and on for 36 years, having officially published books beginning in 1988. Today she writes in her favorite genre, Young Adult, but has published in multiple genres and categories. She was a finalist in the L. Ron. Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, and took the first place grand prize in a YA novel writing contest for The Girl They Sold to the Moon. She writes the popular blog, Guerrilla Warfare for Writers (special weapons and tactics), hoping to inform and educate writers all over the world about the high points and pitfalls of publishing.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My early writing accomplishment were multiple hits within a few years: In my first year of writing back in 1987 (age 34), I wrote three Sf short stories that were accepted by major slick magazines which qualified me for the Science Fiction Writers of America, and at the same time achieved a Finalist award in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. This recognition garnered me a top gun SF agent at the time, Richard Curtis Associates. My first novel went to John Badham (Director) and the Producers, the Cohen Brothers. Only an option, but an extreme honor. The writer who beat me out of contention for a feature movie, was Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. My book was called Dinothon.

A year after that I published two best-selling non-fiction books and landed on radio, TV, in every library in the U.S. and in hundreds of newspapers.

I have been trying to catch that lightning in a bottle ever since. My YA dystopian novel, The Girl They Sold to the Moon won the grand prize in a publisher’s YA novel writing contest, went to a small auction and got tagged for a film option. My latest release is showing great promise.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh, I like what I consider stylists: Poul Anderson, Virgin Planet, Peter Benchley, The Island and Jaws, Joseph Wambaugh, The Onion Field and Black Marble, Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park, Alan Dean Foster, Icerigger trilogy, and some Stephen King. Anne Rice impresses with just about anything she has written. I think it’s the humor and irony that attracts me the most–and it’s all character related.

My favorite genre at the present: I’m a diehard frantic creator of Young Adult fiction, whether it’s paranormal, science fiction, suspense or fantasy. I believe in pure escapism with unceasing action adventure and discovery. If you want a moral message or cultural statement, you’re apt to get a small one. But I want to make you laugh until you gag, cry until you’re dry and tear out tufts of your hair. Today, young adult literature needs some support and renewed interest.. How soon we’ve forgotten about Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent and Twilight. Oh, the mania! Where has it gone? Are we losing our young readers? We need something really fresh and new. I and several writers are going to pour everything we have into that end. You are the kindly judge–help us get there and we will deliver!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It all started with a dream catcher. This iconic item, which is rightfully ingrained in Indian lore, is a dream symbol respected by the culture that created it. It is mystifying, an enigma that that prods the imagination. Legends about the dream catcher are passed down from multiple tribes. There are variations, but the one fact that can be agreed upon is that it is a nightmare entrapment device, designed to sift through evil thoughts and images and only allow pleasant and peaceful dreams to enter into consciousness of the sleeper.

I wondered what would happen to a very ancient dream catcher that was topped off with dreams and nightmares. What if the nightmares became too sick or deathly? What if the web strings could not hold anymore visions? Would the dream catcher melt, burst, vanish, implode? I reasoned that something would have to give if too much evil was allowed to congregate inside of its structure. I found nothing on the Internet that offered a solution to this problem—I might have missed a relevant story, but nothing stood out to me. Stephen King had a story called Dream Catcher, but I found nothing in it that was similar to what I had in mind. So I took it upon myself to answer such a burning question. Like too much death on a battlefield could inundate the immediate location with lost and angry spirits, so could a dream catcher hold no more of its fill of sheer terror without morphing into something else, or opening up a lost and forbidden existence. What would it be like to be caught up in another world inside the webs of a dream catcher, and how would you get out? What would this world look like? How could it be navigated? What was the source of the exit, and what was inside of it that threatened your existence? Screamcatcher: Web World, the first in the series, was my answer. I can only hope that I have done it justice.

Summary:

When seventeen-year-old Jory Pike cannot shake the hellish nightmares of her parent’s deaths, she turns to an old family heirloom, a dream catcher. Even though she’s half blood Chippewa, Jory thinks old Native American lore is so yesterday, but she’s willing to give it a try. However, the dream catcher has had its fill of nightmares from an ancient and violent past. After a sleepover party, and during one of Jory’s most horrific dream episodes, the dream catcher implodes, sucking Jory and her three friends into its own world of trapped nightmares. They’re in an alternate universe—locked inside of an insane web world filled with murders, beasts and thieves. How can they find the center of the web where all good things are allowed to pass? Where is the light of salvation? Are they in hell?

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Christy J. Breedlove’s Website

Christy J. Breedlove Facebook Page

Christy J. Breedlove Twitter Account

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Featured Interview With Nathan Ayersman

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, which is the forgotten two counties of Virginia that extend from the southern border of eastern Maryland. After 28 years, I’ve only managed to move an hour and a half away to where I currently live in Salisbury, Maryland which is just south of the southern border of Delaware. I share my home with a cat named Ghost, whom I adopted from the animal hospital where I am a practicing veterinarian.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I honestly cannot remember a time when I was not reading as a child. My mother was an elementary school teacher, so reading was certainly high on the list of priorities for her children. I participated in the Accelerated Reader program, and I was the school champion of my elementary school and broke the point record three years in a row, a record which I have no idea if it has been beaten in the almost twenty-year interim.
I started writing in middle school, but there were many false-starts through high school and college before I actually sat down and started writing my first novel in veterinary school. I would like to point out, though, that some of my middle school ideas still persist in the finished product of my first book.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am a fantasy novel junkie, to be honest. My favorite authors are ones who can come up with unique systems for magic. For that, I would say Brandon Sanderson is my current favorite for his Mistborn trilogy and the Stormlight Archives. Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer series, Sebastien de Castell’s Spellslinger series, and Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingslayer Chronicles are also current favorites of mine for their magic systems. Michael J. Sullivan with the Riyria Chronicles and Riyria Revelations series is also an author I enjoy more so because of the humor he manages to slip into the books.
If I can manage to be half as clever in my writing as those listed, then I will be happy.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called “The Dragon’s Rising”. This is my debut novel in what I expect to be a trilogy following the journey of Falkier Inalumin.
Falkier used to be a court scribe under King Siphem of Grent Corine until the king had him imprisoned under the charge of sedition. Six years later, Falkier dreams of a sword in an endless meadow on the same night that a stranger appears and helps him escape from prison. He wakes up the next morning carrying the sword from his dream which turns out to be imbued with the spirit of the Dragon, one of twelve Ancients who created the world. The Dragon informs Falkier that he has been chosen to kill Rakar Gorxand, a man who hundreds of years ago had been given a suit of armor by the Ancients and tasked with ridding the world of evil but who allowed the suit to be corrupted.
In order to combat Rakar, Falkier must collect pieces of a new suit of armor imbued by the Ancients. and join forces with a woman who has her own suit. On this first leg of Falkier’s journey, he will join a mercenary’s guild, be taught how to use a sword without seeing, and fight against a man capable of weaving darkness through the fabric of the universe. If you want more details, though, you’ll have to read for yourself.

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Featured Interview With Jerilee Kaye

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m Jerilee Kaye, a Vendor Manager by day, a graphic artist during afternoons, a writer at nights, an entrepreneur on weekends, a Mom and a wife twenty-four-seven. I have been writing romance novels since I was a teenager, but only in 2013 did I really come out of the writing closet and decided to share my works to the world. So far, I have published four contemporary romance novels, Knight in Shining Suit; Intertwined; All the Wrong Reasons and All the Wrong Places.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been writing since I was eight. I remember using a pen and notebook then. My aunt told me once that when I was three years old, when I cannot read yet, I used to look at photos and comics, and make out stories and dialogs based on the photos and drawings.

I wrote a lot of romance stories when I was in highschool. They were all written in notebooks, because back then we didn’t have computers yet. My classmates take turns in reading my works.

I studied pre-law in college. Legalese, or legal language, doesn’t inspire romance fiction that much, so I took a break from writing for about three years. After I graduated and didn’t pursue a career in law, I got inspired with writing again. I wrote Sinfully, Seriously, which is now published as ‘All the Wrong Reasons’.

In 2013, I discovered Wattpad and decided to try posting my works there. ‘Knight in Shining Armani’ received such a rave. I later decided to self-publish it at ‘Knight in Shining Suit’.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Like the stories that I write, I love reading romance and young adult novels. The authors I really liked are Stephanie Meyer, Judith McNaught and Nora Roberts. I also love Cassandra Clare and J.K. Rowling. Stories like Twilight series, or the Mortal Instruments are my faves because it’s my favorite genres rolled into one: YA, Romance, Paranormal, Adventure.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I recently published “All the Wrong Places”, which is the spin-off of “All the Wrong Reasons”.

“All the Wrong Reasons” was such a hit on the Chapters Interactive App, receiving at least 3M game plays. Every day, me and my game developers receive requests for a sequel. When I wrote the ATWR, I didn’t make it out to be having a sequel. It’s a modern day fairy tale, and I ended it with a happily ever after. Now, when the fans asked for a sequel, I had no idea how to follow that up. Although, this story had always had a spin-off. So instead of writing a sequel, I released a spin-off.

“All the Wrong Places” takes us back to the world of Justin Adams and Adrienne Miller (the leads of ATWR), through the love story of Ian Sanders, Justin’s only female cousin.
Following the tradition of arranged marriages in the family, Ian also found out she was arranged to be married to a man she didn’t know. Before she embraced that fate, she asked for one last adventure. She went to Paris and assumed a different identity. There, she met a wonderful man and fell in love. But since she’s already promised to another man, she ran away and left the guy. But it’s too late, she found out that she became pregnant from their short encounter. This scandal caused Ian a broken engagement and a banishment from their family.

Seven years later, Ian comes back home to her family. And here, she finds the man she fell in love with, the father of her son. And she found out, she’s not a stranger to her family at all. Because when she kept her identity from him, it turns out, so did he.

I cannot really reveal who is this guy. The readers would just have to read that. But I promise them a roller-coaster ride of emotions and another swoon-worthy knight in shining armor!

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Featured Interview With Regina Clarke

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a writer from New York City, Massachusetts, California, Texas, England…I’ve lived in all these places 🙂 and written one or more books in each one. I write fantasy and science fiction, mainly, so the origin of my work has roots in so many worlds, imaginary and real. Fragments of images from each place I’ve lived enter the stories and books unbidden.

Words were magic to me from the beginning. The stories I read as a child always left me in a state of wonder. I believed they were real. I invented my own very early on. Words were enchantment. Still are.

My Dad was a raconteur, and had immense curiosity about everything. He recited Shakespeare to us when we were toddlers! Books always mattered, and exploring the unknown. To this day being in a library feels like magic. I still remember the happiness of getting my own library card at age nine. In my book, Guardians of the Field, a room called the Library figures as a kind of ancient source of the world that the characters live in. I realized as I was finishing edits for it that I wanted to enter the Library …as if I hadn’t invented it!

My first sense of being a writer as a total life’s work began in my early twenties, but not with any awareness of how to do it. I had plans to teach at a university and that was my whole direction at the time. But I studied English literature and the writing was always just there. Then I spent a couple of decades in corporate (penance of some kind?) and just queried things to be published now and again. It was when I left corporate and found the indie world that I found a way to publish truly.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
At age 6, and never stopped… 🙂

What I have discovered that fascinates me is that from the very beginning, still in junior high school, I would create whole books–write stories or nonfiction, collect photos and images to go with them, and create a cover, and then staple or bind the whole together–a full creation. I loved doing that and continued to create such “books” even in my thirties. Then the Internet brought Amazon and Indie publishing–which meant perforce I had to write the books AND produce them–the artwork, covers, medium of display–eBook or print, do the formatting and editing, decide on design features, study services and methodologies, explore subjects in depth–the WHOLE THING. I adore this aspect! And isn’t it wonderful that it EXACTLY matches what I was so inclined to do as a child?! How extraordinary to have a medium made real in which I could create something that had always been my natural inclination. I love the process–all of it.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
SO many, among them: David Copperfield, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (all of Shakespeare), Jane Eyre, “Nightfall,” “A Game for Blondes” (MacDonald’s best), Rendezvous with Rama, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Chester Geier’s “Environment,” most of the non-gory mystery writers from the last hundred years or so, “Rule of Three” by Theodore Sturgeon, Dune, the poetry of Maya Angelou and Emily Dickinson, Jane Robert’s Oversoul Seven, and scripts for films like The Day the Earth Stood Still and It Came from Outer Space, just about everything by Ray Bradbury, Jane Austen, and Agatha Christie, film noir, Ronald Moore’s Battlestar Galactica…and forever Star Trek, and SG-1…the list is large, always growing! What these and the rest hold in common, apart from wonderful storytelling, is the intensity of the author who wants to present something authentic, no matter the risk, to explain what lies within the story that is not only sub-text but also truth-telling. Such writers seem to me to accept the premise that finding the heart of what they want to say and the words to do that are what make a good day, no matter what. They write for their own meandering path of reality and substance and to grasp ephemeral and hidden awareness. That’s what I seek, as well.

I get inspired by things that draw me into their realm, sometimes people, more often places I visit or creativity in other fields. I am drawn to mysteries, alternate reality, NDEs, spiritual, metaphysical, high fantasy, writer biographies, geology, origins of ancient monoliths, classics, humor, crystal formations, genealogy, Renaissance music, paleontology, ancient music, Old English as a language, Hildegard of Bingen, Glastonbury, England, Nature, Native American shamans, healing modalities, eclectus parrots (I have a brilliant, very green (and talkative) eclectus named Harry who introduced me to the fascinating world of parrots), golden retrievers…there’s so much that fascinates and draws me in. This 3-D world is precious and . . . just, precious.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Well, it is rather a shift right now. I am working on two at once, one a fantasy, the sequel to Guardians of the Field, and the other a totally different genre (for me)–a cozy mystery, that I plan to make into a series. It seems to be writing itself and I love it. I set up a public launch on Facebook for October 15th to ensure I finished it on schedule, but it really seems to be writing itself! The moment I sit down to work on it, at least 2000 words show up with no hesitations. It is astonishing.

Though I have read cozy mysteries for a long time, starting with Agatha Christie, I never planned to really write one. But this evolved in a most curious way. I had written a story for the Reedsy prompt last December, and my story won–called “A Matter of Time.” I wrote it in one fell swoop, having fun with it. The story involved a British woman in her thirties working at a largely unsuccessful film studio in London who gets a surprise inheritance from someone she believes was her great-aunt in America, though she had never heard of her before. This story is pinned to my Twitter page. When she arrives in upstate New York, at the request of lawyers to settle the estate, she gets attached to the new landscape, and the beautiful home that has been left to her that has a view of the mountains, and ends up keeping the property, not selling it. She also ends up learning her “great-aunt” is an older sister she never knew about. Well, I got 700+ readers on Reedsy on Medium for that story! So surprised. And a number of them wanted to know more about the main character Honoria, including Reedsy… 🙂 I liked all that but never gave it a thought again, just not on my radar.

Then in mid-April of this year, doing something else entirely, a flood of information entered my mind–all of it related to that story! I not only saw Honoria (shortened to Ria Quinn) in her sister’s house, but had a name for the town–Shokan Falls–a whole vision of the characters who lived in the town, the plot which involved two murders, the culprit (and motivation), and more. I had to scramble to get it all down and created pages for the “Cast of Characters” and “Story Arc” and “Essential Clues and Red Herrings.” I was suddenly immersed in that world.

From that day forward I have been writing the book, interrupted for two weeks only when I moved residence. It is a dream to write. Two male characters have emerged as possibilities for Honoria–Sam, a lawyer, and Gareth, the sheriff. Ria encounters people of all kinds in that small town, including Deidre, who becomes a good friend, Deidre’s sister Aletha who runs the crystal shop and whose daughter dresses like a goth, the local minister who is more attentive to his female parishioners than to his wife (according to the wife), a very engaging woman in her 70s who was an ex-intelligence officer and now paints acrylics and is innocent of all speculation (she says), a coach for soccer who is devoted to his stock trading more than his charges, and more. If anyone had asked me last year whether I’d consider writing a cozy mystery, I’d have said not at all. But life had other plans…correcting my course like a ship at sea. I have even created business cards using the cover, and the cover was another surprise. My digital artist for my book covers is in Australia and had never done a cozy mystery before, no more than I had. All I told her was that the main character was an amateur archaeologist who had explored Neolithic sites in Britain, that she found a similar site in upstate NY (there actually are Neolithic shelters in the Hudson River Valley) and that Ria also found a golden retriever in the rain. My artist created a wonderful cozy mystery cover out of that.

I also have FB groups where I learn more about the process of writing cozies and of course, I am reading many of those authors now with delight.

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Regina Clarke’s Website

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