Top Selling Authors: Get To Know Them Better

Featured Interview With J.D Evergreen

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello,
My name is Jessica Evergreen, I’m a born and raised Australian, and I live along the Mornington Peninsula. I live with my partner, my two housemates and my two cats. I spend my spare time gardening and drawing, but mostly I spend 90% of my time writing about the worlds and people who live in my imagination.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been creating stories for as long as I could remember. I started creating books as a child, telling stories at the dinner table and daydreaming about adventures and magic when I’m supposed to be doing things like housework, instead of finishing my uni assignment. I started writing down my stories as an adult when I went through a particularly difficult stage in my life. At first, writing was my escape but it quickly re-ignited my passion for stories, and I realized it was what I wanted to spend every day doing. Celestia is my second novel, the first one is still in the stages of re-writing. Celestia just kind of took over and became the story I had to tell.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love young adult fiction, stories of action adventure, magic and monsters. Fantasy is my favorite genre to read and write. Every writer inspires me, writing isn’t a high paying job unless you are well known, and often it is a secondary income, it inspires me every day that people pursue their dream. My favorite books to read are ‘Hunger Games,’ ‘Narnia,’ and ‘Wolf brother.’

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Celestia is my most recent book, and it took me around six months to write and edit. I enjoyed writing Celestia, the story just came to me one day, and it was like a frenzy to write it down. Which made the editing process that much harder, I found the characters compelling and the storyline intriguing. See I only write stories I want to read, and Celestia became my obsession for six months, seriously, I think I know it line for line.
Celestia is a story about a young woman named Taliah. The day after her twenty-first birthday her world is turned upside down when the king dies without an heir. A man she has never seen before arrives in her town claiming to be someone they should know. The stranger is unusually charismatic and persuasive, with the use of magic he brainwashes the town, an act that is forbidden by law. He orders them to follow him to war against Celestia, so he can establish himself as king. Taliah and her friends manage to escape the brainwashing and take it upon themselves to warn Celestia before the strangers’ army can arrive. Along the way Taliah will discover things about herself she never expected to learn, she will have to develop the strength to fight her self-doubts, fall in love and risk everything.

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J.D Evergreen’s Website

J.D Evergreen Facebook Page

J.D Evergreen Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Jacob Donnaker

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up from a small town in Kendallville IN, I love motivation and inspiring others to reach their fullest potential. I am 19. I soon want to open my own, speaking business and speak around the world. It has been my dream ever since I was a child. I love looking at some of the greatest minded people of all time, to see what there perspective is of the world. Along with all that, I am on my way to Financially Freedom! As I rise to the top I want to help others along my journey.
To concluded I have also published a various of apps on the Google Play Store, my favorite one I developed is called: “TRI-PAUSE.”

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I finally published a book today, but writing intrigued me ever since I was about 7 years old. As well with art, I usually draw my story or imagine I am there while writing it or before I write it.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Grant Cardone, Napoleon Hill, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Tell us a little about your latest book?
It’s called, “These Are More Than Just Words They Are Historic Words That Is All: Motivate Yourself with Over 1000 Most Historic Motivational Quotes Of All Time.”
Before coming out with this book I thought to myself, ‘If one word can change and inspire a life, like it did to mine why not fill a whole book with over a thousand words from some of the greatest people whoever lived. I love looking at some of the greatest minded people of all time, to see what there perspective is of the world.

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Jacob Donnaker Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Ben Beetle

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
hi. I am from Ukraine. And I try to write books, children’s books.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
maybe as I finished a school.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Maks Kidryk, Dan Brown

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A charming picture book will love your little one. It tells the story of how little girl Emma stopped afraid of thunderstorms. This book can be read before going to sleep or any other time during the day. It is not big, so it can be perfect for those kids who can’t sit still for a long time. Thanks to bright pictures it is easier to catch children’s attention.

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Ben Beetle Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Lothar Birkner

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in The aftermath of WWII in Germany, where I grew up. After a professional career as a financial manager, that led me in many parts of the world, I fulfilled the dream of my youth time and became a writer. I live again in Germany now and I`m married and have a grown up son.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination for books began as soon as I was able to read at the age of 6. But I only found the time to write books after retirement.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read all kinds of books fiction as well as non-fiction. My favorite writers are as well those of classical American, English and German literature as modern ones. I especially like to read of the latter Stephen King and Dan Brown.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Sandy`s life swung out of its hinges on 9/11. Her father was killed in the rubbles of WTC. She joins the Secret Service to fight terrorism. Her way leads to Europe, where Al Qaeda plans a terrible attack against a nuclear power plant. During her investigations she meets some German cabdrivers and makes friends with them. They try to thwart the plan of the terrorists. The friends experience together many dangerous situations. Some of them are captured by terrorists and finally seem to be on the threshold of death.
The story has many dramatic escalations and unexpected turns. The reader can enjoy exciting entertainment, but gets the impetus for thoughtful consideration too. Sandy´s development leads her to deep truth: Whoever kills the innocent, kills his own soul.

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Lothar Birkner’s Website

Lothar Birkner Twitter Account

Featured Interview With J.D.Weston

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Essex, on the outskirts of East London. I lived in a small town called Hornchurch, and in a village about ten miles away called Theydon Bois. Theydon Bois and the surrounding countryside played a huge part in my childhood, and the area is featured heavily in my Stone Cold thriller series; it was here that I fell in love with the British countryside.

I moved to East London when I was eighteen, to be closer to my job in Silvertown, and to try life out on my own. The move opened my eyes to the world. I found life in East London so much more colourful than life in the green leafy suburbs, and I think both areas left their mark on me.

I worked in various areas of construction. I was a bricklayer, a plumber, and I worked on cranes. I loved it. I was fit, healthy and life was good. But deep down, I always wanted to be a musician. I was a keen guitarist and dabbled with the ukelele, banjo, piano and a few others.

In my mid-twenties, I was finally able to make money from music. I quit my job and smiled as I finally had my foot on the right ladder. The music career lasted two years. I was broken. I wasn’t sleeping regularly, I wasn’t eating, but I was having the time of my life, and I played with some incredibly talented people. My proudest moment was hearing my song on the radio in a shoe shop with a girl I was seeing.

It couldn’t last.

I put myself through an IT management course to break out of the music scene and soon found myself working in IT, which at the time felt like the polar opposite of where I wanted to be, but I figured, hey, if I do this whole IT thing, I’m going to see if I use it to leave the UK, and try somewhere else out.

When I turned twenty-eight, one year since jumping head first into IT, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to move to Dubai.

I helped the UK firm start a local branch of the business, then we hired, and I suddenly found myself running the organisation from a technical perspective.

That was ten years ago. I still live in Dubai. The beaches, blue skies, and wild deserts are incredible, I’m never short of places to take a walk to reflect on the direction of my books, or if I need to clear my head.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I read from an early age. Books were a huge part of Christmas or birthdays, and our grandparents encouraged reading, I’m grateful for that. I think my brother and I funded Enid Blyton by having every single book, plus we had access to great classics such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Treasure Island.

I wrote songs in my music days, I always loved the way words work with each other, and how a mood can be changed using variations of a sentence structure and synonyms.

When I moved to Dubai, I began to learn photography. I needed a creative outlet, and cameras are so accessible these days. it wasn’t long before I managed to get one of my images published in a magazine. soon after that, I made a front cover. Wedding shoots followed and I began to sell my work.

The photography was great, but I needed more. I needed something that wasn’t dependant on other people, light, and time.

I began writing my first book ‘Where the Mountains Kiss the Sun’ in 2015. It took more than a year, as I strangely did whilst I completed my Master’s degree.

I loved the process.

I self-published the book and yeah it sold a few, but that wasn’t the point, the point was that I’d found something I loved doing. I remember holding my very first paperback and sitting back thinking to myself that somehow, in my messed up life, I’ve created two albums, had my songs played on the radio, had photos on the covers of magazines, even in Nat Geo, and now I’ve published my own books. If anything, it stands up and supports everything we want our kids to know and believe in. You can do anything you want if you want it hard enough. Sure it doesn’t happen overnight. Sure it may not happen on the first attempt. But keep going. If you really want whatever it is bad enough, you’ll get there if you keep trying.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Wilbur Smith’s African novels. If I had to name a desert island book, that one book you get to take with you to be stranded on an island. It would be one of his.

I’m also a fan of thrillers, luckily because that’s what I like to write too. About two years ago, I would have said Lee Child. But now? No, I don’t think so. There are so many outstanding authors out there, that to name one would not the rest justice. As an author myself, it makes my day when somebody gives you a chance. Somebody who hasn’t heard of you takes a chance and buys one of your books based on the reviews or cover or whatever, but then takes the time to write you an email when you’re finished to thank you for writing it. That is how the world should roll.

Who inspires me? Guy Ritchie, Quentin Tarantino. I know they’re not authors, but I love the shock factor their films provide. As artists, they’re not afraid to say what others tend to wrap in cotton wool. That’s exactly how I want my books to be. They don’t have to be outrageous, or even offensive. Just honest.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I am currently writing book 5 in the Stone Cold Thriller series. Harvey Stone is an ex-hitman, who used to work for a London crime family. It’s hard to say too much without ruining the first four books in the series, but I can say that book 4 saw many ongoing plotlines closed off, which allowed book 5 to open up with a fresh new feel. I’m keen not to let the Stone Cold Thriller series get stale, so I’ve pulled the characters, that myself and my readers have come to know and love, through to a new set of adventures.

The first four books are heavily London based. Books 5 – 8 will be international, but still retain that gritty, cockney vibe that Stone Cold readers love.

I am lucky enough to have traveled fairly extensively so I’d like to bring those far out places into the books and see what Harvey Stone makes of life outside London, or more to the point, see what the rest of the world makes of Harvey Stone.

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J.D.Weston’s Website

J.D.Weston Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Kate Duire

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised in Europe and in the USA. My father was in the military. My love with adventure comes from our moving to various places often and sometimes almost spontaneously. I currently live in the USA with my husband and our wonderful Persian kitten, Lily. She has the most adorable little doll face, and comes from an amazing breeder in Oahu, Hawaii.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was seven when I wrote my first poem. Since then I gave been writing non-stop and have recently published my debut novel which is now available in various e-book formats.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Jane Austen, Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, judt to name a few. I love to read in almost any gwnre, but my favorites are romance and mystery.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a contemporary romantic suspense novel set in the United States and Europe. The main character, Rachel Mussorgsky, is blamed for a murder she did not commit. She must fight her fear of the Russian Mafia in order to discover the killer behind her husband’s assassination. Realizing she had married a criminal, Rachel begins to put together the secret life of the man she married. With her heart broken, she must battle her demons while trying to stay alive to protect what was left of her shattered life – her innocent daughter. With everything to lose, will she be able to discover the identity of her husband’s murderer before it is too late? Rachel must decide if she can trust a man she barely knows to help her find justice. Will she get a second chance at love? Jose Morales, a retired cop with a private security company, wants to take care of her and offers his security services. Unaware of the dangers that lie ahead, Rachel must rely on her instincts and a man she barely knows to stay one step ahead of the ruthless killer who is determined to kill her.

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Kate Duire’s Website

Kate Duire Facebook Page

Kate Duire Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Carol McClain

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Long Island, NY claims me as its native child, but as a young adult, my first husband and I decided we would be organic farmers living the idyllic, hippie life. I believe this concept was shorter lived than our marriage.
For the next forty years, I raised my daughter, taught high school English and remarried in northern New York.
Finally, the brutal cold and heaping snow drove us to beautiful East Tennessee. Here we can celebrate the four seasons while not suffering hypothermia every time we open the door.
Our home is on two secluded acres where our overactive springer spaniel runs wild.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been a dreamer. As a child, I composed games and plays and made all my peers act them out. This became a money making scheme as I compelled our parents and neighbors to pay us good pennies to watch our performances.
One day, I realized I could write down my daydreams. Although I inspired my classmates to write, my book hit my own slush pile.
I dabbled with poetry and magazine writing until the day I finally knew I could write a novel just like the “big girls” –Jodi Picoult or Sue Monk Kidd. The results were published in DWF: Divorced White Female. It’s a laugh-out-loud romantic rollick.
I now tell everyone I’m a world famous author the world has yet to discover.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Women’s fiction is the genre I love the most–although I read everything. Aside from Picoult and Kidd, I love Susan Meissner, Lisa Wingate, and Tosca Lee–all inspiration novelists. Amy Tan and Annie Proulx and Carl Hiaasan (I know–not women’s fiction, but he’s hysterical to read) are also favorites.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
How do you forgive the unforgiveable? Hairdresser Torie Sullivan wrecks her car in a drunken fury and is rescued by the man she brutalized in middle school. Their lives intersect when the rescuing paramedic, Adam Benedict, discovers she is homeless. With tragedy infiltrating his life, he enlists his girlfriend to help him with Torie. The three discover they’d never find peace until they’s learned to forgive. Furthermore, their ability to let go of the past can only be accomplished with the help of each friend.

The book was one of the quickest works to complete. It took me about a year. The protagonist, Torie, had been molested as a child–with her mother’s full knowledge. We’ve seen people who’ve faced this horror on the nightly news. If bitterness eats them up, they never find peace. Forgiveness has nothing to do with condoning the actions of others. It has everything to do with setting ourselves free.
One reader said this was a life-changing book. Others say it’s a 10/10. Of course, I’m not bragging or anything.

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Carol McClain’s Website

Carol McClain Facebook Page

Carol McClain Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Dale E. Manolakas

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a Los Angeles product and my books reflect the legal world there. My latest release Rogue Divorce Lawyer is grounded in that legal world.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing poems in middle school and published my first few in high school. In college I wrote plays and studied theatre.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite books and plays are the classics. They have a crafting and elegance that transcends time. Lately, I have especially found Tennessee Williams a learning experience unto himself.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have just released Rogue Divorce Lawyer on Amazon. It is a psychological legal thriller about a sexual predator who over decades subjugates his “special” female clients and finally escalates to murder–his new obsession. Although fictionalized, this book is startlingly based on a real case. It is relevant today and studies the mind of a predator as he objectifies, assaults, and murders women.

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Dale E. Manolakas’s Website

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Featured Interview With Alan Felyk

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but I moved to Colorado when I was seven. I was raised in Canon City, and I’ve spent my adult life in Denver metropolitan area. I graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder and spent 13 years as a newspaper editor and reporter. After that, I spent 27 years in the space industry working on new-business proposals for the Pentagon and NASA. I wrote my first book, Damaged Right Out Of The Box, in 2012. It’s a sometimes hilarious, sometimes wistful memoir. Now I’m working on Infinity’s Trinity, a series of science fiction, romance, and humor novels.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing short stories when I was in junior high school. I wanted to be the next Rod Serling with dreams of going to Hollywood and working on the Twilight Zone television series. I tinkered with creative writing in college and while I was in my 20s. But I allowed life to push those dreams aside, and I didn’t begin writing in earnest until I retired from work. And yes, I do regret that I didn’t keep at it years ago.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I was always enamored with science fiction short stories. I used to buy every anthology that I could find in the bookstore. So, I have probably read something from just about every science fiction author who has ever written a short-form tale. I do have my favorites—Kurt Vonnegut, Rod Serling, Douglas Adams, Philip K. Dick to name just a few.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Damaged Beyond All Recognition was inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan. At the time, I was debating on what I should write after I published Damaged Right Out Of The Box. I thought about writing humor or a collection of science fiction short stories. And after I started Vonnegut’s book, I realized I could combine the two. My title is derived from FUBAR, a Vonnegut short story.

Originally, I outlined the book, but I wadded it up when I realized it started to feel like a college term paper. So, all I knew was how the book would begin and how it would end. And sitting down each night provided the same feeling I had whenever I sat down to watch an episode of Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead: wow, what’s going to happen next? At that point, the book became fun because it held the same mystique for me that I hoped my readers would experience they read my story.

At first, the novel was just a combination of science fiction and humor with just a dash of romance between Paul Tomenko, a celebrated counterculture writer, and Maggie Mae Monahan, a beautiful geneticist who has the ability to “connect the dots.” But the romantic element ballooned when I introduced Allie Briarsworth, a soon-to-be science fiction writer with a remarkable knack for sensing past and future events in the cosmos. Initially, she was to serve as a fleeting temptation for Paul and appear in a few chapters. But I had a dream soon after I started writing about her. In it, she walked up to me while I was typing and DEMANDED to get a more significant role in the book. (The demand was laced with a lot of choice profanities.) The next morning I mulled over her words. and a very unusual love triangle was born. It was the right decision, too—Allie seems to be everybody’s favorite character.

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Alan Felyk’s Website

Alan Felyk Facebook Page

Alan Felyk Twitter Account

Featured Interview With Arpit Shrivastava

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
rpit is a 26 year old aspiring writer who likes to scribble his thoughts whenever he finds time. This would be his first attempt to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer. His native is Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. He is an ECE graduate and is pursuing MBA in IT Management. He is currently working as a Business Analyst in Chennai for a leading automobile company.
He leads a double life of being a corporate worker by the day and a writer in solitude by night.Always high on sarcasm.
Arpit is passionate about psychology and graphology and has spent years researching and practicing both. Arpit has delivered seminars on personality development and body language.
He also has a Facebook page – “Life-Noted Down”, to share the thoughts from his life experiences.
https://www.facebook.com/LifeNotedDown/?view_public_for=343095799120414

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started writing short stories at the age of eighteen.I used to make up stories,any scenarios in my mind. It was my dream to publish my Novel

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I really like Agata Christie’s Narrative style.My father used to write poems and short stories..so from him i got really inspired.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Payback is staged in a small fictional town Kesua, located on the outskirts of Delhi.
The story is about Aditya Thakur, a humble, ambitious man who very well knew how to speak his mind and about the love of his life, Alisha who was able to understand his deepest feelings.

The story deals with the fact that love does not necessarily have a fairy tale ending. It is a lot more than dates, romance and the promise of growing old together. It’s about two people who are each other’s caretakers, secret keepers, partner in crime and best friends. Alisha found that kind of love in Aditya.They were leading a happy life until Achraj entered their life. Achraj, the spoiled son of Kesua’s Mayor, who could go to any lengths to satisfy his ego.

This is not any other love story, it shows the true meaning of life that includes sacrifices, hardships, pain, courage, guilt and not just happily ever after.
It’s a tale of love, malevolence, revenge, anticipation, and Acceptance.

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Arpit Shrivastava’s Website

Arpit Shrivastava Facebook Page

Featured Interview With Jason B. Sheffield

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Marietta, Georgia, in 1973, which was mostly residential neighborhoods interspersed with farmland, Waffle House restaurants, and the biggest churches you’ve ever seen. I went to Wheeler High School, home of the AAAA Regional Champion Wildcats, and played football and ran track all four years. I also went to school and got average grades, which wasn’t important in the late 80s and early 90s.

For my religious studies, my mother drove me 30 miles into the City of Atlanta to attend The Temple where I had my bar mitzvah at 13-years-old and was confirmed at 15. I graduated high school in 1991 and attended Clemson University where I got a degree in Biology/Pre-Medicine Sciences.

I now live in Atlanta and am a criminal defense trial and appellate attorney. I practice all over the State of Georgia and in other state and Federal jurisdictions as well. I teach students at Emory University’s College of Law and have traveled all the way to the Republic of Georgia (formerly part of the Soviet Union) to teach Georgian lawyers how to try jury trial cases.

I have two dogs: Smokie Joe, a 2-year-old, 16 pound black and white Cocka-poo-poo (that means he 3/4 poodle, 1/4 cocker spaniel. It also means I am totally ashamed of myself every time someone asks me what type of dog I have); and Olive, a 6 month old, 5 pound Yorkie. I have been married for 18 years and have children, too.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was not an avid reader as a kid. I was an avid “imaginer.” I loved playing Star Wars and G.I. Joe and tying up string so my aircraft looked like they were flying and my action figures could slide or swing across the room.

I didn’t feel the power of reading until I read Pat Conroy’s Prince of Tides. That book hit me like a Mike Tyson punch to the face. I couldn’t keep reading because the story was so painful but I had to keep reading to see what happened next. I immediately wanted more.

As for writing, I didn’t begin until after college when I abandoned my pursuit of medicine and traded it in for acting and screen writing in Atlanta. That’s right: not LA or NYC, Atlanta. Back then Atlanta was about as cold as it got for actors. Now it’s a mecca. Starting in 1996, I took as many classes for both acting and writing as I could and I read as much industry related books as I could. I did that for 7 years, somewhat successfully, before I went to law school. In law school, I wrote legal briefs but promised myself I would not give up on my dream of creative writing. That’s when I wrote the first draft of Son of a Bitch.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Pat Conroy; John Grisham; David Sedaris; Augusten Burroughs; Michael Crichton; Ayn Rand (to name a few). I love science, humor, legal, family saga (up to point), comedy, fantasy. I also love films and TV. Sadly, my favorite TV shows to watch are Seinfeld and Modern Family reruns.

I am most inspired by characters. I love to find new characters, mostly as mashups of people I already know or meet. In particular, I love sneaky people, liars, morally corrupt people, goofy people, people who need to be taught a lesson, fish out of water scenarios, losers that win, and a character with a wry sense of humor. It’s these type of people I imagine putting in various plots in various cities or places (in time or otherwise) to watch them mess it all up only to wait and see if they can survive it after all.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Son of a Bitch is a book that was really the culmination of a promise to myself 31 years ago when I was 12-years-old growing up with my “say-anything, do-anything” mother, who is also one kick-ass criminal attorney, after experiencing yet another ridiculous, jaw-dropping moment with her. (The life of a criminal defense attorney is no joke, and back then in the late 70s and early 80s it was even wilder, especially for women.) I remember staring at myself in the mirror, thinking, One day I’m going to write a book about this shit. Well, that day came when I went to law school and began to get some perspective on her life as an attorney back in 1977 Atlanta.

As a man, white, and in law school, I had not experienced the same type of difficulties she had as a single mother trying to make her way in a male dominated profession. Law was difficult for me. Starting my career as a married man without children was difficult. I suddenly felt very judgmental about my mother and the times she may have lost it on me when I was kid. She had it tough.

Our relationship in real life was strong but it was also strained. She had tough days. Very tough. And she brought many of her trials and tribulations home, which I observed. At times, it made her rough around the edges, volatile, sad, angry. At times, she took it out on me. And it hurt, as I was just a kid. As I grew up, I began to cut myself off from my mother emotionally because I was angry with her. I was ready to get away. She was busy with her client and her career and becoming one of the most respected attorneys in the country. But a part of my always needed my mother. Wanted my mother. A part of me loved her. A part of me hated her.

Son of a Bitch was a way for me to work through all of that anger and anxiety I had over my relationship with my mother. Though the power of “what if” and story telling, I was able to pull from my experiences with her but also imagine the future. It was very healing.

In the book, the two characters are attorneys. They are mother and son. When the mother gets in trouble for having an illicit and unethical sexual relationship with her client, she is facing disbarment. Disbarment from the career that she loves. Disbarment from the career that drove a wedge between she and her son. So, she turns to her son for help, discovering that he is a newly licensed criminal defense attorney like her (something he kept secret from her aided by their estrangement).

When she turns to him for help, he wants nothing to do with her. But because he had been thinking about her, now that he has begun to share in her experiences as an attorney (you can see why the book is “inspired by true events”), he decides to help her because he wants to understand her. He wants to forgive her. To love her unconditionally, as he once did as a child.

Ultimately, the main character learns how to stand up to his mother about their past so he can stand up for her in their future. But can he save her?

Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles

Jason B. Sheffield’s Website

Jason B. Sheffield Facebook Page

Jason B. Sheffield Twitter Account

Featured Interview With C.C. Warrens

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
The imagination is as boundless as the universe, and as a reader and a writer, it’s always exciting to delve into that world of creativity. For me, writing feels like another connection to God. When I look back at my life, I see the places where He stepped in to guide me or protect me, and I love weaving that part of Him into the stories I write.

I also enjoy weaving parts of my own life into my stories, little things that only my friends and family would be able to point at and say “Hey, I remember that”. When I was a child, I had a gray cat named Jordan that I loved to pieces, and in my first published book, the main character has a gray cat named Jordan. The best pets deserve a moment of spotlight…

Currently, my husband and I have three cats: Mia, Grace, and Pepper. All of our cats are rescues. Mia was on anxiety medication when we took her in; Pepper was on death row, so-to-speak, at the humane society; and Grace, well . . . Grace has a long story. But I will tell you that we decided to name her Grace, because it’s by the grace of God that she’s alive.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started creating school books when I was in elementary school (of course I was the teacher and the student), but it wasn’t until junior high that I truly started writing. I didn’t know much about books at the time, and I wrote each chapter like a TV show episode. And I was apparently allergic to punctuation at the time too. Some things have certainly changed for the better!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Christian suspense is my favorite genre to read, because it pulls together the reality of a fallen world and a gracious God. Christy Barritt’s Squeaky Clean Mysteries were my first introduction to Christian fiction, and she will always be one of my favorite authors. I stayed up way too late reading her books.

Lynette Eason’s books are always exciting. I love the Elite Guardian series.

I enjoy Terri Blackstock’s books, because she doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. Some people express discomfort toward some of the hardships she discusses in her books, but I’ve worked with kids who have been through some of those hard situations, and they are very much a reality, and I think she portrays them tastefully.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
“He will tear her life apart one piece at a time, reveling in every flicker of fear in her eyes. He’s grown bored with the games, and he’ll get what he came for no matter how many bodies he has to step over.”

How will Holly protect the people she loves when her foster brother comes to collect?

Holly’s foster brother has been haunting her for over ten years, forcing her to run and hide in order to survive. Crossed off, the third installment in the Holly Novel series, will be coming out this April, and readers will see what happens when Holly’s past and present finally collide.

Crossed off took me the longest to write. Typically, a book takes about three months to write, and then I begin the self-editing phase. I finished writing Crossed Off over a year ago, but I have torn it apart and reassembled it more than any other book I’ve written. Now its story is ready to be told…

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Featured Interview With Amy K McClung

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born in Nashville TN, I’m the second oldest of four girls and occasionally I suffer from middle child syndrome. I met the love of my life online in August of 2004, on his birthday of all days, and married him in September 2005. Currently we have no human children only the room full of colourful robots that transform into vehicles and the large headed Pop Funko’s who represent our favourite characters. Collecting movies, shotglasses, Pop Funkos, and dust bunnies are some of my favourite pastimes. In September of 2011 I began writing and independently published my first YA novel called Cascades of Moonlight, Book one of the Parker Harris Series the following May. My first book was a means of therapy as it enabled me to escape reality for a while during a difficult transition in life. I have 6 self published Young Adult novels. In 2016 I joined the team of authors at Hot Tree Publishing. With Hot Tree I’ve released five books with a sixth book on the way. Recently I won “Favorite New Adult Romance Author” in the 2017 Year End awards for the Two Crazy Ladies Love Romance Book Blog.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As a child I read a lot, but didn’t write. During my high school years I wrote a lot of poetry and submitted some to contests. After high school I stopped reading and poetry. When I moved out on my own, at age 24, I started writing screenplays. I had a stack of notebooks with different romantic, or thriller type plays. And then one day, a coworker came up to me with a book. It was a simple cover, black background with two hands holding a bright red apple, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. She insisted I read it and so I gave it a try and finished the book in no time. I was hooked by the series and when it was over I needed more. The next series to hook me was Harry Potter, and then the Hunger Games. I’ve been reading as much as possible ever since. It wasn’t until 2011 when I lost my job, that I began writing. My husband had called me on his lunch break and I was telling him about a show I’d watched and how it was predictable and how I’d have written it differently. He suggested I try writing my own story to take my mind off the stress of the job search. And from that, my book Cascades of Moonlight was born.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Stephanie Meyer, JK Rowling, Rachel Caine, Felicia Tatum, Stacey Rourke, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Stephen King, John Grisham, Tami Hoag, there are so many authors who’ve inspired me in some way.
My favorite genre depends on my mood, at times I love nothing more than a romance to put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. But sometimes I want a suspense thriller to get the adrenaline pumping. If something sounds interesting, I’ll read it.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
A Little Spark is a Romantic Comedy releasing in 03/31/18. I began this book due to an open submission call from Hot Tree Publishing for books about rescue workers. At first I considered writing about a sexy fireman finding love and then I started doing some research. I found that only 4% of firefighters are female. I decided to write about a bad add female firefighter, to show a heroic female in a male run industry. And so I started writing about Jillian Hartford, a sassy, tough as nails, firefighter.

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Featured Interview With Khaled Talib

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’ve authored three thriller novels since 2014. I’ve also published a collection of aphorisms to inspire writers, which began as a bunch of tweets.
I was born and raised in Singapore. I’ve lived overseas, having spent some years in the Middle East. But I’m now back in Singapore.
I don’t have a pet anymore. I’ve saved a few lost cats and returned them to their owners. Once, I rescued a bird after it was poisoned. Happy to learn it survived.
Recently, a horse bit me in the arm. First time in my life that happened. It took six months for the bruise to recover. Moral of the story: never take a selfie with a moody horse.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I must have been around seven. I was never fond of school books, including the ones we were told to read. But when my mom got me a book by the English author, Enid Blyton, I found myself wanting to read more.
I’ve dabbled in writing for a long time. I never got bored of writing school essays. I tried once writing a mystery novel when I was 15 but I didn’t complete it. I tried again and again but I kept failing. But all that time I never gave up. I just took a break and when I was fully energized I set back to work, and I did it. My first novel was published in 2014 after it was acquired by a publisher.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read everything and anything. If the book sounds appealing, I’ll give it a try. It doesn’t matter what genre as long as the book doesn’t bore me. Many authors inspire me from Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde to Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ludlum. I take lessons from everyone.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Gun Kiss is a story about Blake Deco, a former Delta Force soldier who runs a taco restaurant in Sunset Boulevard. Blake also does some freelance work for Homeland Security recovering stolen items.
Upon his return after successfully recovering the stolen Deringer that shot Abraham Lincoln from the Russians, he learns from a friend that an A-list movie star has been kidnapped by a drug lord in Tijuana.
Blake mounts a daring rescue. What he doesn’t expect is to have feelings for the actress—or that a killer is hunting them.

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Featured Interview With Jessica McCrory

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in California, but raised in Texas which is where I still live with my husband, our kids, and three fur-babies. I am helplessly addicted to coffee, and have an embarrassingly large collection of funny t-shirts.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve loved to write stories for as long as I can remember, and wrote my first short story when I was a teenager.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Nora Roberts, Karen Marie Moning, and Amanda Bouchet all top my list of favorite authors!

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Runner’s Daughter is a romantic suspense that releases February 15th. It is the second in my Bastards of Corruption series and follows FBI Agent Caid King as he tries to bring down one of the most dangerous men in the country. He meets a mysterious woman by the name of Jemma Saige, who as it turns out, is deeply connected to his current case. It took me about three months to go from an idea in my head to a fully written first draft, and I am so excited to share it with the world!

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Featured Interview With Garnell Wallace

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I’m an island girl, born and raised in the Bahamas, though I think I was European in my last life, and intend to be again in this one. (A girl can dream right?) I love rainy days, and Fall, which doesn’t exist in the Caribbean. My ultimate dream is to write and travel. When I was younger, I dreamed of working for National Geographic. I read every issue, cover to cover and found it all so fascinating. I learned so much about the world. Sadly, my fascination with vampires and demons is polar opposite of National Geographic, though it did inspire a love of travel. To that end, I have no pets, no plants and not a lot of furniture or personal possessions. I’ve always lived somewhat like a wanderer, just working hard to become a successful writer. Once that happens, I’m packing up my laptop and I’m going to see the world.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I was fascinated with books before I could even read them. My mother read bedtime stories every night until we were old enough to read and I would spend the better part of most nights reading long after my siblings had gone to sleep. I didn’t need sleep because all of my dreams came alive in books! Once I read Alice in Wonderland, I became aware of the truly transcendental power of books, though I didn’t think I could create my own books until after high school.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genre is definitely paranormal romance, the steamier, the better! I also love dark romance. I think I have an varied list of favorite authors because I just love good stories. I grew up devouring Stephen King and Nora Roberts and then I added Christine Feehan, J R Ward and Dan Brown to the list of author staples. I also love Arthur Golden who wrote my favorite book of all time, Memoirs of a Geisha.

It’s hard to pinpoint one person who inspires me because anyone and anything can inspire an idea for a story. I get inspired by other books, movies, music, art, or a random person on the street with an interesting look. Life is full of inspirations, it just depends how you look at it, and I see creativity in everything.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called My Soul To Take which is the first book in the Shadow Series, a collection of romantic novellas set in the Caribbean which usually conjures up images of beautiful beaches and sunshine. Just be warned, that beneath the idyllic façade, there are monsters lurking in the shadows, and nothing is ever as it seems. So the next time your drunk on island rum and sunshine, remember you are not alone. There are island residents you’d never want to meet, and God help you if you do.

My Soul To Take is Sadie and Wolf’s story and is now available on Amazon:

Dark family secrets…

Dr. Sadie Bordelon comes from a long line of killers. It’s family tradition to sacrifice one soul every year on Halloween to bless the people of the tiny yet prosperous Caribbean island of Bordelon Bay. As the only child of the island’s current patriarch, Sadie is expected to honor the contract Michele Bordelon made with the devil centuries earlier. The demon at her back is there to make sure she keeps the family’s end of the bargain, or suffer the consequences.
Sadie daringly defies her family by saving lives, not taking them. She has no intention of becoming a murderer, despite being taunted by the demon demanding blood. The demon always finds her, no matter how far from home she runs. Sadie is haunted and beaten down until she can’t even trust herself around her own patients. Stripped of everything she loved, Sadie is forced back home, though she has no intention of surrendering. She is determined to annul the contract and kill her tormentor. The only way she even stands a chance of getting out alive is by embracing witchcraft like her grandmother who was able to resist the demon’s snare.
Or so she believed.
Once she starts digging through her family’s past, Sadie uncovers long buried secrets and meets demons far more terrifying than anything she’d ever faced before.

Two broken souls…

The last thing Sadie expected to find on her return to Bordelon Bay is Wolf Deluna, a man with a legacy almost as dark as her own. Wolf stumbles into Sadie’s life barely clinging to his own. Shot while trying to protect his brothers in a drug deal gone bad, Sadie saves his life; however, it’s a life she wants no part of. Yet she finds it hard to walk away from a wounded man with a broken heart and a troubled past he’s desperately trying to change. Though she finds solace in Wolf’s arms, Sadie fears she’s just not strong enough to handle his demons as well as her own.
They are too much alike and there is no way to forge a future out of so much darkness. Yet each kiss holds a glimmer of light, each secret shared brings them closer. Can Sadie trust that out of the broken pieces of their souls, she and Wolf can find the courage to defy their fates, and create a legacy of love?

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Featured Interview With Page Zaplendam

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
If Page was a Peanuts character she would be Peppermint Patty, in all the best ways, of course. She grew up in South Texas and in her household hot sauce and salsa are more common than ketchup. As the daughter of a philosophic survivalist and a pragmatic romantic, she grew up with a love for survival and preparedness, Star Trek, Jane Austen, and political and social theory.

She currently resides in Florida with more spiders than she cares to have and whole passel of rug rats that make life worth living and publishing times slower than she’d like.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always wanted to be a writer. But I wanted to be a marine biologist, an astronaut, a infectious diseases doctor at the CDC, and much more. As time went on and the looming college degree made me realize how unsuited I was for much of those things, I didn’t know what to do with my life. I always wrote, but the words were hollow, the story lines tepid, the characters flat. I hadn’t lived long enough or understand humans or myself well enough to be able to write fiction in a convincing way. Nor did I have the discipline to stay in college for longer than the requisite four years.

It wasn’t until after I was married, and went through the crucible of parenthood, that I came into my own as a writer and realized myself. And when Amazon’s self-publishing platform came along, and publishing became an attainable dream, that’s when I began to write seriously. I actually enjoyed what I wrote. I still do. After a few years, I forget what I’ve written and I’ll pick it up again and love it so much, I think to myself, “if I hadn’t written this, I would totally buy it!”

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a lot of favorite authors and a bad memory for names. They run the range from sweet romance to military science fiction. I’m a fan of pop fiction, although I started with the classics and still have a great love for them. My current favorite authors are Amy Patrick, Lindsay Buroker, Judy Corry, and Ryk Brown, just to name a few (but there are sooo many more than that.)

I love science fiction and fantasy of all types and clean romance of almost all types (small town romance is generally the exception.) I especially like books that tickle my sense of humor and identify the secret emotions that none of us ever admit to, or perhaps even understand ourselves. That sort of writing has me in awe. if you ever wonder what author envy is like, that’s it.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Ogress’ Son is a new release that came out in early January of 2018. It’s about a world gone wrong, about a new dark age that is also a technocracy. Slade, the hero, is a young man who grows up in the cloistered environment of the Iron Wood, occasionally visiting the local village to trade. When his life is turned upside down by the murder of his mother, the Ogress, he decides to leave the protection of the Iron Wood and hazard human society. This vengeance quest spawns a whole host of other challenges that he must overcome. Like I did, he has to grow into himself and he begins to realize that there’s lot of gray in life. It’s not all black and white.

My writing doesn’t tend to linger. There’s a lot of action, along with introspection and snarky humor. Swords, bows and arrows, and steam based weaponry were a big part of this book – which was probably the most enjoyable part of writing it. I also incorporated some fairy tales in there because I think that’s one way we explain the unexplainable – by building a legend around it.

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Featured Interview With Sondra Sykes Meek

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello!
I was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida. However, I have spent most of my adult life away from my roots. I joined the Marine Corps after high school and have lived in several locations since. After I retired from the Marine Corps, I earned an MFA in Creative Writing and had hoped to spend my days writing fiction and delivering it to my world-wide audience.
But alas, life gets in the way!
Currently, I am a wife and mother of two living in beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina. I hold a full-time job as a Cyber Security Project Manager in the Defense Industry. As intellectually challenging and fulfilling as my life is, I woke up one day last year and realized I wasn’t living the literary life I had dreamed. I decided to finish the book I started in 2010–and that is what I have been doing in my spare time since. Hopefully, my hobby will eventually become my next career.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have been writing since I was a teenager. Then, it was poetry. In the last decade, I’ve been more interested in writing fiction, but it took a concentrated effort last year to focus on my novel, Model Marine.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I enjoy well-written literary fiction. If I were to sum up my reading tastes in one author, I would say Jodi Picoult is my favorite.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Model Marine is a coming of age story. I chose to write and publish this novel first because the topic is nearest to my heart. I spent twenty years in the Marine Corps, and anyone who knows a Marine will tell you it is more than a job. It is not what Marines “do.” It is what we become and remain for the rest of our lives.
The Marine Corps is a family—sometimes a dysfunctional family—but the kind that will sacrifice everything for each other. I wanted to create a story that would reveal through its characters that environment. The kind of environment that infuses young adults with teamwork and camaraderie, courage and discipline, hardship and sacrifice. But the Corps is not perfect and neither are the Marines in this story. However, they demonstrate characteristics and endure hardships that turn young women and men into heroes.
Model Marine is about Molly Monroe and several people from her past and present. The civilians and Marines in Molly’s life intersect, and the story unfolds from their varied perspectives. Some of the same events are seen from multiple angles. Image and point of view are heavy undercurrents within this story of love, friendship, sacrifice, and redemption.
Molly’s story does not unfold chronologically. She has experienced head trauma, so there are flashbacks and trauma-induced dreams mingled in with the forward moving story-line. The events take place primarily at (or near) Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan; and the military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. However, there are snippets of her past in other places scattered throughout the narration.
Be prepared to encounter forbidden love and a love triangle. You will also meet a mother who tries to control her daughter’s destiny, a brother who is the self-appointed protector, a family full of secrets, and an estranged best friend. But most importantly, you will experience characters who truly bring to life the spirit of the Marine Corps.

Featured Interview With Ashleigh Gauch

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My parents worked for Kiewit Construction, so growing up we moved around Washington a lot. I was born in Seattle and lived there until I was 12, then moved to Covington, then Omaha, then back to Seattle when I turned 18.

Now I live in a little suburb called Des Moines, spitting distance from the airport. My hubby and I share our home with two rats (Radar and Fidget), a twelve year old cat named Luna, and a grumpy cichlid named Odin.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first poem at six years old. My mother tells stories of me “reading” by memorizing books and chiding my grandfather when he’d deliberately change the words. I can’t remember a time I didn’t have my nose stuck in a book, and I was rewarded for all my random drafting with my first poetry publication at ten.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have to pick? All right.

My favorite authors are Stephen Graham Jones, Margaret Weis, Stephen King, Susan Kaye Quinn, Garth Nix, Robert Jordan, Clive Barker, Josh Malerman, Jeff VenderMeer, Richard Thomas, Rudolfo Anaya, and Warren Fahy.

My favorite genres are all in the speculative umbrella: science fiction (especially space opera and cosmic horror, less so military sci-fi), epic fantasy/dark fantasy, young adult fantasy (especially Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix), and most types of horror.

If I had to pick my biggest inspiration, it would have to be Garth Nix. I went through three copies of his Abhorsen Trilogy and two of the standalone Shade’s Children from re-reading.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Diary of the Hollow is an experimental novella about a schizophrenic teenage girl who moves to Washington after a messy divorce. Like most teenagers who move in the middle of high school, she finds herself a social pariah within weeks of starting school. From the moment she arrives in Qualicum, Washington, she finds reality is a bit..off.

Unsure if what she’s experiencing is a deepening of her psychosis or a genuine supernatural experience, she agrees to the deal the new voice offers her…and gets more than she ever bargained for.

One of the early reviewers compared it to Stranger Things, two more called it Mean Girls meets Lovecraft. I’d tend to agree. It’s an interesting mesh of psychology, cosmic horror, and a teenage coming of age story.

This book took me about three months to draft and edit, but was years in the making as far as development goes. I loved the drafting process, and fell in love with each of the characters. Let’s just say you’ll be seeing a lot more of Dasha in the rest of the series.

I had a good friend growing up who had schizophrenia, and the depictions of Dasha’s symptoms in the book are based on interviews with her from before she died. I guess you could call Diary a tribute of a sort.

It’s told in the form of diary entries from each of the three internal voices plus Dasha, and I had a ton of fun writing each of the “characters.” Carol in particular was a hoot, but you’d have to read it to find out why. It’s only $0.99, so what do you have to lose? 😉

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