Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With Nancy Farkas

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised New York. I studied Psychology and English Literature at New York University. As undergraduates, my friend and I harmonized at a coffee house in Greenwich Village every Wednesday night. I always dreamed of becoming a singer; I never intended to become a writer, but certain events inspired me. I continue to live in New York with my husband. My children and grandchildren live nearby. I am sorry to say that I am no longer a pet owner. My dogs have a permanent place in my heart and a prominent place in my writing.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination with books followed closely behind my love of the cinema. Often I would watch a film that was based on classic literature, then “devour” the source material.
After my three three children left the nest, I developed a love of writing and did my best to perfect my craft. I particularly enjoy writing about the true events of my past, then fictionalizing episodes when the truth just does not seem interesting enough.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are James Michener, William Somerset Maugham, Lawrence Block, and Bill Bryson. I spend most of my time reading non-fiction; mainly books about linguistics, and travel. I am inspired by the members of my local authors society and writers workshop, all of whom are published authors.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first and only novel, This Nearly Was Mine, was published in 2013. The ebook version went on to become an Amazon Bestseller in three categories in 2015. This autobiographically inspired work takes the reader on Annie’s journey through many European countries in the years following her studies. Once the protagonist lands happily in New York, she goes on to marry the love of her life and have a successful career, all the while raising children and dogs. When Annie’s past unexpectedly came back to confuse her very existence, she began writing a novel that seemed to complicate her life even more.

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Featured Interview With Deb McEwan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Originally from Pontypridd, South Wales, I left home aged 17. Following a career of over thirty years in the British Army, my husband and I moved to Cyprus to become weather refugees.

I spend my time writing, entertaining our dog Sandy, and avoiding housework.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always loved reading and writing stories and started writing song lyrics about fifteen years ago. I collaborated with local musicians and once I started, I couldn’t stop.
My first book, ‘Reindeer Dreams’, is a rhyming children’s story about a reindeer who wants to join Santa’s team. My Aliens series followed shortly after, then the Afterlife series, Jason the Penguin and Unlikely Soldiers.
We adopted our lovely rescue dog Sandy in 2018. I wondered what her story would be if she could talk and so The Island Dog Squad series was born and is told from Sandy’s point of view.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a number of favourite Indie Authors including Jean Gill, Rose English, Maria Gibbs and Kelly S Marsden to name but a few.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Some of the events in the first book of my ‘Unlikely Soldiers’ series are based on my experiences in the British Army. I’m currently working on book four where Mouse (my heroine) finds herself in some tricky situations on the other side of the world.
The book will be published in early 2020.

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Featured Interview With J. C. Gilbert

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on one of a series of islands in the South Pacific which are collectively known as New Zealand. These days I am quite nomadic, and currently based in the mostly rural Waikato province. I live with a small dog named Bowie who is not my responsibility but is generous in his cuddles. Until recently, I was a practicing psychologist off the back of 10 years of university attendance. Now I spend most of my time wandering the hills, giggling, and taking notes.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I first started writing a full novel when I was 18. It was frankly terrible. I wasn’t quite sure how quotations worked and thus spent a good deal of time describing conversations which had taken place. 14 years and an English degree later and things have improved somewhat. My first favorite series was Anamorphs, and later Harry Potter. It was Terry Pratchett’s Discworld which turned me into a serious reader.

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 are actually Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde. This may be a bit of a hangover from my university years, but I find myself re-reading their works annually. Terry Pratchett and Niel Gaiman are highly ranked in my tastes. These four authors along with J. K. Rowling and John Green inspire my work the most.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Secret Library: A New Keeper is a fictional and fantastical account of my experience of social anxiety during my teen years. It combines my love of books, libraries, adventures, and silliness. The main character is Alex who lives with social anxiety and uses reading to escape from her troubles. However, when she is selected by a magical library to be its new Keeper she discovers that some books have troubles of their own, and now they are relying on her to fix them. The book is perfect for lovers of magic, adventure, and books. Loaded it up and begin your escape.

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Featured Interview With Elizabeth Jade

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in the county of Yorkshire in the UK in 1998 and moved to my current home in the county of Somerset before I was 5. My early schooling didn’t go well and I was home-schooled from the age of 7. When I was 18, I was diagnosed with Aspergers (an autistic spectrum disorder) which explained a lot about the difficulties I had experienced in school.

While I struggle to understand people, I have a natural flare with animals and have volunteered in a number of different animal rescues. Animals make far more sense to me than people. This is probably why my stories are written through the eyes of the animals.

I an definitely an animal lover and my pets are as quirky as I am. have a Shih Tzu who thinks she’s a Border Collie, and a Border Collie with the attention span of the average Shi Tzu. While my autism means I struggle with sensory processing and social anxiety, a really cool quirk of this is that I can smell colours.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I stumbled into writing at 14 when I began to struggle with depression and anxiety, and quickly found my ideas pouring out faster than I could get them onto paper. Writing is rather like a mad frenzy at the best of times and I often have no real concept of what I’m writing about until after the story ends. It can feel more like being a secretary than a writer. Despite this, my first foray into writing was very successful and the second children’s book I wrote was published in 2017. This is the first in a planned series of books for 7-11 year-olds.

My inspiration can come from a conversation, dream, YouTube video or photograph.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Whilst I grew up with the Animal Ark books by Lucy Daniels (a collective pseudonym), my preference these days is towards scifi by Gene Rodenberry, and books by Brian Jacques and Erin Hunter (another collective pseudonym).

Tell us a little about your latest book?
‘Akea – The Power of Destiny’ is a middle grade chapter book for 7-11 year-olds, although younger children will enjoy having it read to them, and adults will enjoy it as a light read. Wonderful illustrations accompany the narrative, giving a nice visual. This husky/wolf story is a new addition to the great animal fiction tradition of Jack London and Erin Hunter, where the story is told through the eyes of the animals. It is a captivating coming of age story which also teaches children about friendship and loyalty, and that being different doesn’t mean you can’t belong.

From the moment she was born into her husky family, her father, Kelleher, knew Akea was different. She somehow stood out from the rest of the litter even though Kelleher didn’t know why. As the pups grew and were able to play outside, a lone wolf appeared and watched from a distance. Akea was intrigued and felt drawn to the wolf, despite the firm warnings from her parents to stay away from him.

“Akea would always scan the edge of the woods in case the wolf came back, but she dare not let her father see her. Every night the wolf plagued her dreams, and although she had no idea what it meant, she was not afraid.”

Akea is born into a family of sled dogs and a life that follows a predictable path, but from the day she first sees the lone wolf, Kazakh, Akea knows her future lies beyond the safety of her home. Kazakh is well aware of Akea’s destiny and the pack laws he will break to help her reach it. Regardless of the challenges ahead, he must make sure this young husky will be ready, even if it means his life.

Her journey includes love and loss, teaching her a great deal about herself and her priorities. As in all the best stories, good and evil battle for supremacy, with several surprises and twists along the way.

The follow up story to this, ‘Akea – His Mother’s Son’, will be available later this year. Chapter one of this dual narrative story is available to download from the website.

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Featured Interview With Frank Prem

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in the little town of Beechworth, in Victoria (Australia) in the 1960s and 70s. Like so many Small Town Kids I hightailed it out of there as soon as I could, only to find myself drawn back by the tug that little towns everywhere seem to hold. They don’t let go of their young very easily.

Actually, I found that by the time I had small children of my own, the entire childhood that I’d enjoyed and remembered as freedoms that were only natural for a child to have, had disappeared. The change seemed profound enough to me to prompt me to write a memoir of some of my growing up experiences. That resulted in my first free verse poetry collection (released in December 2018) called Small Town Kid. Bonfire nights and blowing up school teachers letterboxes with crackers, riding a bicycle for 14 miles just to see a girl. All those things that had disappeared by the mid 1990s, it seemed to me.

I don’t have any pets now, but I’m a dog person. I have two dogs I remember with especial fondness – An apricot coloured Standard Poodle named Sparky; and a black and white Border Collie named Leelu. Wonderful dogs that I still miss, from time to time, years later.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Oh, I started reading very young. I was one of those kids that ended up with their own allocated reading space because I was a devourer of books. I started writing early, too. I was just fascinated with stories and enjoyed writing essays at school.

I discovered poetry by chance, really. As I recall, I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to submit a full length essay on some subject or other (Autumn, I think the theme was), so I whipped up a free verse poem that took no time at all.

I was amazed to get a good mark for my effort and so I did more (and more, and more . . .) until, over time, writing stories in free verse poetry has become something I now associate with sense of self. I AM a free verse poet.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
These days, I’m quite taken with Speculative fiction – also known as ‘what if . . .’ fiction. What if we went to the stars? What if we survived a World War 3? What if Gandalf was alive, and Elves roamed the earth?

Some of my favorite authors include: Robin Hobb (The Farseer books); Ursula Le Guin (Earthsea books and science fiction); Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games).

I’ve been inspired in my writing by short story authors such as H. E. Bates, and Damon Runyan (both largely forgotten, now), and in recent times by a French Philosopher named Gaston Bachelard who wrote about poetry and poetics and used imagery in his work that i found extraordinarily inspiring and ended writing some 800 pieces of work in response. I hope to publish this work in book form one day.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is Devil In The Wind. This is a free verse poetry collection of the voices of survivors and victims of our catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

The events and the stories of survivors haunted me for a long time, and there are still a lot of folk that have been traumatised by those fires. So I wrote them down, and now a decade later, I’ve put them into a book that I’m quite proud of.

Some of the stories show how a fire can be like a living thing with a mind of its own. Others speak of the ultimate futility of good fire plans, when the fire doesn’t obey the old rules. Hiding in a dam with the ducks; using the Army Reserve to find suspicious mounds left behind in the rubble.

It is very powerful reading, particularly as wildfires feature more and more frequently in all parts of the world.

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Featured Interview With Sr. Robichaud

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a born and raised Maine native who was raised on Disney movies and Harry Potter books, what more can I say? My mind likes creative things. I am currently still living in the great state of Maine. Writing, reading, painting, and cooking are some things I am passionate about. Putting bits of myself or people I love into the characters I create gives me a sense of thrill. I also greatly enjoy steaming hot herbal tea poured into mugs with encouraging sayings on them, or mermaid tales. Oh, and I am a mom! My children are fourteen and ten and neither of them cares that I write books. A dream of mine is that one day I’ll be considered a “cool mom.” I’m not there yet. My dogs, however, all three of them, think I am pretty awesome, so that is almost as good. Jada, Lando, and Zeke are their names, all rescue dogs and big snuggle bugs.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first short story in 4th grade, I think. I was young and it was a Halloween story that I used to enter a writing contest. I won third place in the whole school and bought body glitter with my winnings. I read for enjoyment since then. My obsession started with the Goosebumps books before moving on the Harry Potter. And now, I have read plenty of different styles and genres.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
The Brothers Grimm and J.K Rowling are huge influences for me, but can I be honest? Television shows like Once Upon A Time, and comics like iZombie are HUGE in my life, too. I like to keep a wide variety of all things slightly geeky to keep my ideas coming. I love it all. Currently, I am reading “And the Mountains Echoed,” by Khaled Hosseini, and can I just say that I adore his writing. The way he tells his stories with such detail, it makes you wish that you could be there. I think it is inspiring, and enlightening.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
King Beckford’s fulfilling reign over the kingdom of Leward was disturbed by an unwanted intruder, who had upsetting news for the future. The prophecy of a child overthrowing his reign sent King Beckford into a murderous rage. Determined not to lose his kingdom, he enlisted the help of a strange psychic.
Bringing Gerica home to be raised in the castle was an odd choice for a man of power, but killing to get his way was not. In order to ensure the future of his kingdom, he took Gerica under his wing and raised her as his own. But she was much different than the King was lead to believe. Followed by devious shadows, and stalked by nightmares, Gerica was not what the King had in mind.
The King let danger into his castle the day Gerica came to stay, and before long death had a grip of the castle, forever changing the faith of Leward. Trapped between her life now and the life she should have had, Gerica has to find herself while in the middle of chaos.

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Featured Interview With P.I. Barrington

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am now an ex-Californian living in the Southern US! Raised in California, I always planned to die there (or in Maine). Well, I did just that. In 2015, I fell over dead from my desk with a cardiac arrest! I was dead for 25 minutes and woke up in a rehab facility. My sister insisted we move closer to the rest of the family in case it happened again. So far, I’ve been fine but that same sister passed away a year later from cancer. I’m still shell-shocked from her passing. So, if I’ve learned anything, it’s being careful what you wish for ’cause you just might get it.
I now have 2 dogs, my sister’s MaltiPoo, Whiskey Pete and his sister, my dog, CupCake. Yes, I know they sound like an old gold miner and a prostitute. We named Whiskey Pete after the casino, Whiskey Pete’s on the California/Nevada line. We love them both.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
It was more a fascination with reading and books themselves, especially when my little public grade school took us to its library. You could read books for free! (That was also when I began my lifelong obsession of keeping library books because I believed that no one else would love and care for them as I would–you could read them for free, but you could not keep them for free. My name was on that library list until I was about 43 and I insisted they expunge my name. True story.) Writing wasn’t something I ever really thought about until one day in 3rd grade when the principle of my school announced that we all had to write a story about how to care for and preserve the flag written in First Person point of view. “What a dumb thing to do!” I thought, but I wrote it. Guess what? Yes, you are correct. I won First place out of the entire school district! That was right around the time I mastered cursive. From then on, I spent all of my time fighting not to write but it chased me around like my shadow. I ended up a news reporter, a news director in radio before I gave in to writing at the perfect time for me. I’d never wanted to write because writing fiction wasn’t a “real job” and I wasn’t the dramatic artsy type. But but when I gave in to that artsy side, it was all over for me—I kept wondering why I didn’t focus on it before.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’ve read everything from John Milton to MAD Magazine. Stephen King is still the one who influenced me the most. I love his writing, it’s dramatic and deep but still very accessible to people. I loved Mary Stewart, Tolkien, Colleen McCullough, James Michener, So many I can’t list them!
My favorite genre has to be near-future (I call it that because I never set my books further than 100 years from now) crime thrillers & sort of dystopian genres.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The latest, which will be released at the end of this month, May 30 to be exact, is The Brede Chronicles, Book Two. It picks up a year after where Book One ended on its cliffhanger. Book Two is more of a mystery, however, with all sort of goings on in that Brede family dynamic. I was writing this book while my sister was going through chemotherapy. It was difficult but I think it got me through that and through her death. It may sound cruel and uncaring, but I couldn’t have handled it without writing. I took about six or eight months to write it and my publisher was understanding. Normally, I can kick out a story in about 4 months and kick up the action too. Book Two has everyone scattered across the galaxy, and I even added more characters! I don’t know if readers will love or hate them, but they’re there. I hope everyone will enjoy this new book! (FYI, The Brede Chronicles, Book One is $0.99 at Smashwords): https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=The+Brede+Chronicles+Book+One

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Featured Interview With Candace J Carter

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a South Carolina-based writer, but grew up in rural Ohio, near Kentucky. I joined the military and did a little traveling. Following military service, I received veterinary degree from Iowa State University. Private practice wasn’t my passion, so I took a job in Colorado with the US Department of Interior. I ended up spending most of my professional career with the National Park Service, where I’ve worked with several threatened and endangered species including the black-footed ferret, Florida scrub-jay, and four species of sea turtles. Muddy Waters is my first published mystery.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading books. I probably started writing in grade school but didn’t get serious until college. It still took a long time before I actually got serious about finishing and editing a book. So here I am, retired and finally published.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I grew up reading books about horses and westerns by Louis L’Amour and Max Brand. Of course, my favorite books are traditional mysteries. I enjoy British mysteries, too. Occasionally I will read a romance or a western.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It’s about a Colorado range detective, Henry “Whispering” Smith, who goes home to North Carolina for his uncle’s wedding. He hasn’t been there in a long time, and of course there are issues to deal with while there. His uncle pushes him to reconcile with his father. He runs into an ex-girlfriend. It wouldn’t be a mystery without someone being murdered. The local police think cattle theft is involved. Henry has mastered some unique skills as a range detective, and he uses them to try and track a killer.

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Featured Interview With Ian Evian

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in North Philadelphia and I still reside in the city. I now reside in the upper part of Philadelphia. I graduated from Temple University in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Arts. Next I attended Temple University Japan in the study abroad program and studied Asian Studies: Japanese Popular Culture (Manga) & Comparative Studies in Japanese Anime. At the end of college, I became a freelance screenwriter, writing independent projects. Screenwriting was my first passion, but then I went back into writing short fictions.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I always had an active imagination. Creating stories as a kid, I would say, was the catalyst for my storytelling. I had watched movies a lot, some cases I would watch them over and over again. Video games were also a huge part of my life as well. It wasn’t until 7th grade where I wrote my very first short story. Ms. Kane, our teacher, introduced me and the class to reading novels. The first novel I read was S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. That led to writing my first story for class. I remember being so into it, it felt like the only thing that existed was the world that I was creating in word form, and nothing else. That’s how deep in thought I was in when writing. And when I reached high school, I took writing more serious, which led to my decision to be a screenwriter.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
George Orwell is one of my inspirations due to his idea of a future that depicted the troubles of society due to a higher form of authority, giving the thought that such totalitarianism could exist and reshape social grounds. It makes you think about how order is perceived through the eyes of men and women that appear to be molded into somebody affected by extreme change. Edgar Allen Poe is another inspiration. I really liked the dark tone he sets in his works. They were written so well, it came off as if he was a romantic writing tragedy and mystery. I’m also a huge fan of Rod Serling and the original Twilight Zone, along with Akira Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki and Takashi Miike who are great Japanese creators.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I wrote Children of Gods because it takes on the idea of a human’s relationship with technology. Every day we are introduced with a new form of technology or device that will make our lives better. But also within the shadows of our world, there is technology that is used for bad intentions like weaponry of war and destruction. That’s what the title of my manuscript represents. We live in a world where everyone takes on the role of God and create. In the story, the characters are made by these men and women, and shapes them into becoming something more than human. It was an interesting concept to take on as it deals with our reality in the future that we live in now. It took closely to a year to create a compelling story, and numerous edits, adding and deleting ideas written. It was fun to do. I liked how it came out.

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Featured Interview With Laolu Otiko

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m a pencil artist by day, and a poet, author, overall storyteller by night. I grew up in a sub-urban town; Akure, in Nigeria. With a mix of exposure to the urban/western lifestyle, through cable TV, and a reality of superstitious beliefs, through my immediate environment. I grew to see the world from differing perspectives and it helped groom my narrative skills. I live in Lagos; Nigeria, now. A fast paced city, with lots of people and lots of stories to tell. I enjoy the madness of the city, as an observer.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I can’t place the exact age I got fascinated with books, but I got into comic books really early. Archie comics and DC were my first points of contact, and at the age of 10, I created my first comic book. It was something about the capture of Osama bin Laden by the American army. Yes, I was 10 when I made that. Writing, for me, started about two or three years after that. I got into a lot of poetry and songwriting. It was mostly rap songs, so both mediums had a good convergence for my young brain, I think.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a few favourite authors. From Wendelin Van Draanen, to Chimamanda, to Shakespeare, Wole Shoyinka, Robin Cook, and a host of others. I must not understand the meaning of the word; favourite.
My favourite genre to read is romance, don’t let the looks fool you. I get inspired by too many things and people, to think of just one thing or person. The inspiration for what I’m currently working on however, came from the shape of a character’s mustache, in a Spanish telenovela. Yeah, I watch them, and I love them.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, “Roving Birds” (not out yet) is a romance short. It’s about love from the perspective of someone who is unworthy, or thinks so; of their self. It explores the thoughts we have when in love, those ones that remain thoughts, and how these thoughts are interpreted from different vantage points. I’m trying to be very vague but it’s quite hard, as I’m very excited about the book.
It is a short story infused with poems, so it only took two months to write it. That’s excluding the two months of re-drafts however. By re-draft I mean you write something really amazing before going to bed, you wake up the next morning, read it, and forget the night before; ever happened. Yes, two months of that.

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Featured Interview With James Miller

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a north-central Indiana born midwestern kid. I grew up between Indiana, Florida, with short stints in New York and Boston. I’ve lived in all 48 mainland states and D.C., Sonora, Mexico and very short stayed stint just north of the U.S./Canada border. Current I reside in the country in a rural northern Indiana town with quite a few chickens and cats

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was 7 or 8 when I really began to enjoy reading. I have been writing since they taught me cursive handwriting in 2nd grade, 7. I was publishing poems in anthologies throughout my senior year in high school.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors/poets are Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, e.e. cummings, and Charles Bukowski are my favorite writers to read. I love poetry, but I like a good suspenseful crime mystery or a solid nonfiction fiction book like Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. I have a lot of muses that inspire my poetry. I am fascinated by the behaviors, personalities, and reactions of people.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A Footnote for Tomorrow is a collection of poetry written over a dark twenty year period of my life. I had a love for living in the moment and taste for excess, especially with drugs and alcohol. This collection was written in my travels beginning directly after college all the way through the first half of my music career. There was a period of sobriety where I was living in Tennessee and the music management/promotion pursuit was looking great. The easy access to alcohol increased my thirst and the scene has always been touched with tools for expanding the mind. My highs and lows, joys and pains are fully laid out in this collection.

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Featured Interview With Clive Fleury

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am an award-winning writer of books and screenplays, and a TV and film director and producer. I have worked for major broadcasters and studios on a wide variety of successful projects in the US, UK, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.

When I was young, a man behind a big desk who called himself a ‘Career Specialist’ fell about laughing when I told him I wanted to tell stories. The ‘Expert’ had other plans. “You should be an engineer, that’s what you should be,” he said. I ignored his advice and embarked upon a very different life.

Kill Code: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel is my latest book-the first in an exciting new dystopian science fiction series set in a world facing climate catastrophe where nothing is what it seems.

Fans of fantasy adventure books like ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘The 5th Wave’, and ‘Divergent’ will be captivated by ‘Kill Code’.

Besides ‘Kill Code’, I also wrote ‘Scary Lizzy’ – a novel about an eight year old girl, Sarah Wilde, who befriends an African child ghost – and the teen action adventure book, ‘The Boy Next Door ‘ – or what happens when a teenage girl has a crush on her next-door neighbor, who isn’t all he seems. And I co-wrote ‘Art Pengriffin and The Curse of The Four’ – a young adult fantasy adventure about a teenage boy who discovers his father was Merlin the Magician. It was a Kindle Book Review Awards Semi-Finalist.

When I’m not writing, lazing on the beach, drinking coffee, reading, or going to the movies, I love to travel – anywhere, and anytime I have any spare cash. Oh, and I have a cat named Louis.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination with books started when I was around four years old. I didn’t actually read them but used them to make ‘marble runs’ – structures constructing so I could run marbles down. It was only later that I realized that it was more fun reading them. My real interest in writing came when I was at school and about ten years old. My English teacher encouraged me to write.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As a kid, I read sci-fi books all the time. The novel Planet of the Apes (Pierre Boulle), which explored many of the themes that are still so relevant today particularly affected me. Since then I have read most of the master’s of sci-fi—Ray Bradbury, H. G. Wells, John Wyndham, etc. and more recently, Sabrina Vourvoulias’s (Ink), Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven) and the extraordinary Hav by Jan Morris. I love reading crime and thriller novels too, and the surprising twists and turns the principal characters go through when the genre is written by brilliant authors like the late Elmore Leonard, James Patterson, and Gillian Flynn. We often dismiss crime books as ‘pulp fiction’ but I find they can supply far more insight into people and their actions than so-called literary novels. I’m hoping eventually to write a series in this genre, but it’s a daunting task when you look at what’s out there already.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The best way I can tell you about my latest book, Kill Code: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel is to give you the synopsis. So, here goes:

It’s the year 2031. Our future. Their present. A world decimated by climate catastrophe, where the sun’s heat is deadly and the ocean rises higher every day. A world ruled by the rich, powerful, and corrupt. A world where a good man can’t survive for long.

Hogan Duran was a good man once. He was a cop, forced to resign in disgrace when he couldn’t save his partner from a bullet. Now Hogan lives on the fraying edges of society, serving cruel masters and scavenging trash dumps just to survive.

But after four years of living in poverty, Hogan finally gets a chance to get back on his feet. He’s invited to join the National Security Council, the powerful paramilitary organization responsible for protecting the rich and powerful from the more unsavory elements of society. All he needs to do is pass their deadly entrance exam, and he’ll be rewarded with wealth and opportunity beyond his wildest dreams.

But this ex-cop’s path to redemption won’t be easy. The NSC is hiding something, and as Hogan descends deeper and deeper into their world, he starts to uncover the terrible truth of how the powerful in this new world maintain their power…and just how far they will go to protect their secrets.

In a world gone wrong, can one man actually make a difference, or will he die trying?

Kill Code is the first novel in a planned new dystopian science fiction series.

Fans of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, and Divergent by Veronica Roth will be captivated by Kill Code.

You’ll also love this book if you enjoy:

• Dystopian novels and stories

• Stories about futuristic societies

• Stories about disgraced cops

• Stories about unlikely heroes

• Stories about conspiracies

• Stories about injustice

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Clive Fleury’s Website

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Featured Interview With Amber Daulton

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in North Carolina (I’m still there!), but I don’t have a Southern drawl as most people do around here. About everyone I meet for the first time will ask me where I’m from, and it’s funny to see their shocked expressions when I say, “I’m from around here.” They always think I’m from up north or from a foreign country since I sound so different.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I read my first romance book when I was 12, and it inspired me to write my own story about two people finding adventure and falling in love. I finished my first novel within six months, and I’ve revised that book several times over the years (it’s currently not published).
I write because I must. I have so many ideas and characters inside my head that I just need to get it out. My imagination is pretty vivid, so I need an outlet. Writing provides that.
Lyrical Embrace is my eleventh publication, but I have about ten more manuscripts on my computer waiting to see the light of day.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love all genres of romance (especially romantic suspense and paranormal), but it’s hard for me to pick a favorite author or book. I think my favorite series, however, is Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Lyrical Embrace is book 4 in the Deerbourne Inn series, and my second publication from The Wild Rose Press.
I love writing small town romances, especially ones with an edge and a little bit of danger weaved in. I also love stories about music and rock stars, but I don’t like the cheating and drugs that go along with the lifestyle. I haven’t published a story featuring a musician yet, so I figured I should get on the ball and do it.
My heroine, Erica, was in a bad relationship and finally found the courage to break free. Even though she found help, a new love, and a chance for a better future, the past was still looming over her.
I think a lot of readers can sympathize with such a situation, especially those who have experienced abuse and neglect from someone claiming to love them.
My hero, Dylan, has retired from the New York music scene, and he now teaches kids how to play instruments. He’s gotten his life back together after all the drama of being a semi-star, and he and Erica have an instant connection.
Despite the dark undertones, this story is fun, uplifting, and hot. The characters are real and flawed.
This novella has a word count of 40k, and I finished writing it in about a month. I then spent the following months working with my editor at The Wild Rose Press to make this book as great as it could be. I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope readers will love it.

Here’s the blurb for Lyrical Embrace…

Out-of-work violinist Erica Timberly decides enough is enough. She leaves her abusive boyfriend and flees the big city, but then her car breaks down in the middle of the night. Though wary of men, she accepts help from Dylan Haynes, a stranger driving by on the road, and soon recognizes him as the sexy former drummer of her favorite indie rock band. Maybe, just maybe, her run of bad luck is finally turning around.
Music teacher Dylan Haynes knows Erica is in trouble, and her black eye is only the first clue. The stubborn yet vulnerable woman needs a friend, but he’s determined to give her everything she deserves.
Will Erica listen to the music in her heart and trust Dylan, or will her past always threaten her future?

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Amber Daulton’s Website

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Featured Interview With Blake Allwood

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in rural west Tennessee but as soon as I turned eighteen, I headed north. I went to school in a tiny town called Lamoni, Iowa and when I graduated I landed in Kansas City where I stayed until recently. My husband and I recently moved full time into an RV and now he, our two exceptionally spoiled dogs and I are exploring the country.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Sometime in high school, I became rather obsessed with romance novels. Bless my poor southern librarian’s heart she just rolled with it. Mary Stewart was my first love in romance novels but I’ve fallen for many more. I started writing about two years ago after my foster son came home crushed from a one night stand that didn’t’ go well. I wanted him to see that gay men could find and fall in love too…

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh wow, so I do love Nora Roberts. I think I aspire to be like her as a writer. I also love Lucy Lennox who has really helped me expand my horizons in the world of gay romance. I read all sorts of things but at the moment I’m fairly focused on gay romance of course.

As for what inspires me, I think helping other gay men experience the happily ever after effect that a good straight romance has but with a twist so it meets the needs of our community.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Aiden Inspired was a total hoot to write. Aiden is sort of sick of living in the big city and although he has a good life there it isn’t really inspiring him. When he runs across a profile for a gay rancher in the middle of nowhere Eastern Washington, he is blown away and before he knows it, he’d created his most impressive masterpieces yet.

Wanting to thank his muse, he travels to the wilds of Washington… the rest of the story picks up there. No spoiler alerts here, you’ll have to read it to find out the rest.

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Blake Allwood’s Website

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Featured Interview With Richard Sanford

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I came of age in a small town in the deep South suspended in time and haunted with stories. I’ve published novels, poetry, short stories, and a play. Today I live in the Pacific Northwest.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve been addicted to writing since childhood. I sold my first book door-to-door in the neighborhood when I was ten. I have five published novels: two horror (THE CALLING and ROADKILL), an American odyssey set in 1968 (LONG TIME GONE), and a dystopian thriller with a climax in a drive-in theater (RING OF STARS). That’s four. The fifth comes up two questions later!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m attracted to stylists: Bellow, James Salter, Michael Ondaatje, Nabokov, Walker Percy. T.C. Boyle. A couple of my favorite genre writers are Thomas Harris (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) and Neal Stephenson (SNOW CRASH).

Tell us a little about your latest book?
THE SOUL SNATCHERS (http://www.invernesspress.com/soul_snatchers.html) is set in the near future, a dozen years out. Tzaro Janssen, a seismologist in a next-gen lab in the San Juan Islands, is toeing a fault line. His girlfriend Therica has become … not herself. Stories like hers are lighting up media around the globe—psychotic breaks, social isolation, explosive violence. And no known cause.

A chilling discovery on Therica’s phablet fractures the world Tzaro knows and propels him into a strange, altered one. At the center is Therica’s obsession, the mega networking platform Wundrus.

With the fates of Therica, his son Derek, and billions of the socially interconnected in the balance, Tzaro and the rag-tag team who join him—Calvin Carmody the professor of ancient languages, Svetla the Bulgarian Guber driver, Wes the old-school programmer, and hardheaded Morgan, rebel with a cause—plunge into a race against madness.

In a future world not so distant, in a cyber cell in the shadowy foothills, the soul snatchers are watching, and waiting.

The emphasis is on entertainment, but the novel has a point to make about isolation in our hyperconnected world. It took a couple of years to write, start to finish. That’s fairly rapid for me.

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Richard Sanford’s Website

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Featured Interview With P. J. Maia

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Campo Grande, in the midwest of Brazil. Growing up I lived all over the place: North Dakota, South Dakota, São Paulo, Florida, New York, Rio and now back to São Paulo. I don’t have any pets but I do keep a small garden on my terrace so I get the odd bird visitor every now and then.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think since I was very little, I was hooked on comic books, they helped me want to learn how to read faster. My parents always encouraged me to read books and they knew I was a big fan of magic so that’s how they made sure I kept reading. I started writing as a kid, at age 7 or 8 I think.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are those whose words come across as those of a dear wise friend. I’ve recently finished “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her voice felt so real as I read it. I’m inspired by poets and daydreamers like Walt Whitman and Virginia Woolfe. My favorite genre to read, howerver, is fantasy.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My first book is called “The Missing Spirit” and tells the story of Keana, a young human girl living in prehistoric Earth who is raised by accident in a realm of immortal gods. Once she comes of age, her presence starts to stir problems in heaven and her only way to safety might be defecting to a glacial winter to live among woolly beasts and primitive cave people.

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P. J. Maia’s Website

P. J. Maia Facebook Page

P. J. Maia Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Allen Grove

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello! My name is Allen Grove. I write adventure fiction novels with sport and nature both heavy influences. I also write short stories that I plan to publish in the upcoming future. Currently, I live in South Florida, although I try to travel as much as I can. When I’m not writing, I’m fishing, hiking, or exercising. But at the end of each day, you can find me reading a good book with a cold beer.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always had a fascination with books. I remember the three things that got me excited as a kid, playing baseball, fishing, and reading a good book. In the fourth grade, there was a writing competition. The best ten stories out of all the fourth graders got a hardcover copy made for their story with a book cover and all. I was one of those lucky ten students, and when I grasped that hardcover of my own work in my hands, I was hooked.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’m old fashioned when it comes to what books I like and the authors I look up to. The two authors that come to mind are Jack London and Ernest Hemingway. It’s hard to say what genre is my favorite. I’ve always loved adventure fiction, but then again there are great mysteries out there, and some of my favorite books are considered literary fiction. As for who inspires me, I would say each and every person I come into contact with. People are fascinating, and one conversation, one phrase, one word even can spark an idea that blossoms into an epic journey.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Heart Like a Bear is my debut novel. I worked hard on it for just over a year. The story begins in a small town about an hour inland from the coast of Oregon in the early 1970s. The main character, Casey Copperham, recently returned home from Vietnam, in which he experienced first hand how brutal war can be. Instead of finding help with his issues after returning home, he finds comfort in prescription pills and drinking. He loves his wife and newborn son, but he can’t help himself. He needs to get high. Through a coworker Casey lands a job that pays ten times more money than what he currently made. Only it’s not a job in a nice office, it’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: Alaskan King Crab fishing. Boats sank all the time from twenty foot, ice cold waves barrelling into the cabin. All in search of what might as well have been gold at the time, King Crab. There were no limits to how much you could catch, and men of all kinds were getting rich quick. With that kind of money, came drugs, booze, and prostitutes. Being so close to Alaska, the Russian mob were the ones supplying most of those drugs, booze, and prostitutes. Casey finds himself working closely with the mob while fighting for his life at sea in search of more than just money.

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Allen Grove Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Patricia A. E. Hampton

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello and thank you for taking the timeout to read my book and I hope you enjoyed it. First of all I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Patricia A.E. Hampton. I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana where I have lived most of my life. In 1988 I graduated from Rutledge College with a major in Nursing Assisting and went on to work in numerous of Nursing Homes around the metropolitan New Orleans area.

As a child, I had always wanted to become a writer and to be an actress. Over the years I have written some short stories in my spare time and have also performed in a stage dance play when I was a child at one of the local recreation centers in New Orleans.

After hurricane Katrina, I moved to Houston, Texas and in my spare time I took the time out to write this book. I then later moved to the Ohio area in hopes of furthering my goals in writing. I am now staying in the Dallas Ft. Worth area. You can say that I am a traveler As of now, it looks like my goals of being a published Arthur have finally come true.

Once again thanks for considering my book. P.S. This is a photo of me at my daughter’s house in Houston, Texas after Hurricane Katrina.

Sincerely,
Patricia A.E. Hampton

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother bought me all sorts of books before I even started school that she would help me read or read to me and as I advanced into higher grades; basically around the third grade, this is when I became obsessed with writing short stories at home in my spare time while playing school with my friends.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have no set boundaries to the authors who I read; nor genre. In the past, I have enjoyed reading some of Terry Mcmillion books as well as Alex Haily and Rowling to name a few. my biggest inspirer was my mother who always kept writing in her tablet, and one dear elementary that told me how gifted.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a child fiction book entitled, A Witchful Friend. Despite the book is of fiction, A Witchful Friend gives a true insight of some of the everyday struggles that some kid’s face in today’s society and that changes can be made with a little trust.

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Patricia A. E. Hampton’s Website

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