Author Interview – Nadine Ducca @NadineDucca

Sometimes it’s so hard to keep at it – What keeps you going? I’ve always been a very hard-working and persevering person—except when it comes to sports. And math. Sorry all you track lovers and algebra devotees! My mind just shrugs and says “no way.”

What keeps me going while writing is my desire to see the finished project. Writing my first novel was a daunting experience, and sometimes I felt overwhelmed and I almost quit. Well, more than quit, I sometimes said to myself that I would leave it for the future because I wasn’t ready yet. But then a little voice in my head said “you procrastinated long enough!” and the voice was right. Fear is an aspiring author’s most largest hurdle. To really follow through such a life-consuming project such as a novel, you first need to work on overcoming your fears.

What’s your favorite meal? My favorite meal is barbecued lamb chops! MMMmm! They’re absolutely delicious with toasted pagès bread with tomato and allioli! “Allioli” is Catalan for “garlic and oil”, and that’s exactly what this is: a creamy sauce made with nothing more than garlic and olive oil.

What color represents your personality the most? I might look smiley and cheerful on the outside, but deep inside I’m a dark person with dark emotions. I think my color is tarnished gold with black splotches.

What movie do you love to watch? When I was a teen, I loved the thrill of a good terror film. But then The Ring came along… You know the one: the girl crawling out of the well…the cursed video… I was already in college when I saw the TV commercial for that movie—and I had nightmares two nights straight. Just from watching the commercial. Not even the trailer. Ridiculous. That was when I decided to only watch movies that would make me feel good.

My favorite is probably Chocolat. I could watch it over and over, and still smile at all the same moments. It’s a feel-good movie with villains who are not as bad as they seem. That’s what I like most about the film: even the antagonists are real people with real worries and self-doubts.

If you could do any job in the world what would you do? I’d love to have Sir David Attenborough’s job! You’ve all probably heard his voice on television; he’s a world-renowned broadcaster and naturalist. He’s presented hundreds of natural history programs, and he has traveled all over the world filming the wildest animals in their natural habitat.

This is something I would love to do! The mosquitoes might devour me alive, but it’s a price I’ll happily pay to be able to travel around the world learning and teaching about wildlife conservation.

What makes you angry? Any type of animal cruelty makes my skin crawl. Animals, just like children, are defenseless, so it’s our duty to take care of them and protect them. In Spain, bullfighting is still a national sport, and it’s appalling. The Catalan government (the province where I live) have declared themselves anti-bullfights, but the central government just can’t evolve. This type of torture show for pleasure should not be permitted by a member of the European Union.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do to stop bullfights. I can, however, protect animals on a smaller scale, and that’s what my boyfriend and I recently did. We knew a family who was keeping a kitten whose little eye had literally burst and its entire head (eye socket, ears and nose) was filling with pus from the infection. You’re lucky you didn’t see the poor creature!

We took the cat away from this family and rushed him to the vet, who was shocked the critter was still alive. He immediately performed surgery on the poor kitten and took out what was left of his eye, and cleaned up all the pus. The kitten was by then 8 months old, but physically he looked about half his age because of severe malnourishment.

To make a long story short, my boyfriend and I refused to return the kitten to his former owners. The vet sided with us and made a formal statement saying the kitten could not live in the conditions that family had him. The family stalked our home for days. They knocked on our door and rang our doorbell for hours—no matter what time of day (yes, they actually came to our home at midnight one night). In the end, we were forced to call the police. They listened to our story, to their story, they inspected our house and inspected the kitten, and then told us to keep it and microchip it right away.

And that’s how we saved an animal’s life and ended up with cutesy patootsy Pirate!

What’s your most embarrassing moment of your life? My life is full of embarrassing moments. Once my washing machine broke down. It wouldn’t spin dry no matter what I tried. I ended up calling a technician, and when he came, he looked at me funny and said “you have to press this button.” I had accidentally deactivated the spin dry option with a simple button. I was mortified. To tell the truth, I didn’t even know that button existed! He charged me for the visit.

Another time, I was minding my own business walking down the street when I thought I saw a girl I really didn’t want to talk to. I did the first thing that came to mind: rush into the nearby bank. However, I rushed so much that when I pulled the door open, I slammed it against my face. Yeah… Ouch. So much for not drawing any attention.

The good thing in all this is that I don’t let my embarrassing moments affect me much. I actually have a good laugh once my cheeks stop burning.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre –  Science Fiction/Fantasy

Rating – Adult

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Nadine Ducca on Facebook  & Twitter

Website http://nadineonwriting.blogspot.com/

Author Interview – Ramz Artso @RamzArtso

If you could have a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive, who would you ask?

I’d ask Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Stephen Hawking, J.K. Rowling and Stephen Spielberg.

When you are not writing, how do you relax?

Going to the sauna, swimming, working out, playing video games and watching movies gets me nice and relaxed.

Do you have any tips on how writers can relax?

Yes, I have one tip. Stop thinking and simply do what you like most besides writing.

How often do you write? And when do you write?

I write whenever I can. Things are always changing around me, so I produce anywhere from  to  pages a day. Sometimes more than that. I tend to write both during daytime and nighttime.

Do you have an organized process or tips for writing well? Do you have a writing schedule?

My tip for writing is: just write. Once you’re done, you can try and turn the text into something eligible. If that doesn’t work out for you, write some more until it does. I usually just need some Red Bull, Powerade or Gatorade and I’m good to go. Without Red Bull, things get much tougher.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Young-adult, Action and Adventure, Coming of Age, Sci-fi

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author and the book

Connect with  Ramz Artso on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://ramzartso.blogspot.com/

Author Interview – Kelly Jackson @MidlifeGals

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?
Wow.  Writing my book taught me that you can have a story in your head as you go along.  You don’t have to create a story line or characters or even a plot until you write the first word of Chapter One.  I know most people don’t write that way, but as a sketch comedy improv actor, that’s where inspiration comes for me…just thinking about my story and characters as I go along.  Where do I want to put them, how do I want them to look, act, what do I want as the story’s arc?  It’s AMAZING fun for me.
Oftentimes, when I go back to reread something I’ve written after a long period of time, I am truly amazed, perplexed and honored that one sentence struck me so much as being JUST what I wanted to say…and saying it in a very creative way…surprising myself that those strings of words came out that way.  If this has happened to you, and you’re really honest with yourself, you understand what I mean.
What kinds of things do you read?
I feel compelled to read the newspaper every single day, and if I miss a day, I feel left out in some way, left out of what is trending in the world, left out of human interest stories about amazing people, events, catastrophes, rescues, governments, sports victories, etc.  I need to KNOW what is going on.
When and why did you begin writing?
You know.  This is such an interesting question, because some writers were born to do nothing but write, like any other compulsion, like acting or being a doctor, etc.  I never kept a journal or wrote much more than a few letters to friends.  I just never thought about it when I was young, but I knew that I liked it in school and I was a really good speller.  I think that I am a Renaissance woman, because there are so many things that I love to do, want to do, am good at and that intrigue me.  Writing is just one of them.
Do you have any tips on how writers can relax?
As a certified yoga instructor, you might guess that it would be yoga…in SO many different ways…from doing chair exercises to doing physical postures on the floor to learning the 3-part breathing technique that sends more oxygen to the brain to learning how to fall asleep.  Yoga should be your best companion if you’re a writer.  And, with yoga you can learn to go upside down, which I now believe is just about the best thing one can do…get the blood flowing to the head…Mmmm.  This has made me want to do a headstand right now.  Hairy Arm!  I mean, Hari Om!
How often do you write and when do you write?
For me, it has to be when I want to write.  I cannot force myself to write from 9 am to 1 pm, for instance.  I’m a day person, and a morning person, and those are good idea times for me.  I like to take a cigarette break about every two hours…reread what I’ve read, mull over it, enjoy the smoking process, then return to my desk, rejuvenated and raring to go at it again.
What do you hope people will take away from your writing?  How will your words make them feel?
I want to be able to be a good enough writer that readers will read a sentence or a paragraph somewhere in my book and stop right there…reread that sentence or that paragraph and think, “Wow…what an amazing sentence (or paragraph).”  This happens to me every now and again…I stop, let the book fall in my lap, look up, smile and think, ‘Wow, THAT is a beautifully crafted sentence or paragraph.  I LOVE it when that happens to me, and I want to provide other people with a little ‘wow’ moment or maybe even two of them.
How do you feel about social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter?  Are they a good thing?
I love Facebook and use it often to market both my book, A Texan Goes to Nirvana, and a business page for The Midlife Gals, the blogging, vlogging website produced by my sister and I, www.themidlifegals.com.
I do not like Twitter, because I am a visual person (and I write visually too) and you cannot see the photos or videos unless you click on the link.  I can even keep up with the news through both platforms.  Word spreads quickly about whatever the latest ‘trend’ is as well.  I am a boomer, and this is the way I’m keeping up with friends and family.  I couldn’t beat’em, so I just joined’em…Facebook and Twitter.
If you could do any job in the world, what would you do?
I would be a co-writer, star and producer with my sister of a hit, primetime comedy series called, The Hotel HuLaLa, which sprang from a pilot script that we wrote a few months ago and are now trying to sell.
How do you feel about self-publishing?
At the risk of offending any publishing houses out there…I fear that in today’s writers’ world, there exists the perfect Catch-22.  You can’t publish a book unless you’re already famous, and you can’t become a famous author unless you are published.  This is why self-publishing excites me, because from this well spring of really great independent authors have come a few who have ‘gone viral,’ and become very well-known and yes, famous!
The last book you purchased?  Tell us about it.
The last book I read was Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen.  He is such an entertaining writer, and definitely of my genre (comic mysteries).  Bad Monkey is a mystery surrounding the discovery of an arm in the Florida waters.  There is a voodoo queen, a pest inspector, a requisite blonde bimbo and Driggs, the monkey, and he really is a bad monkey.  This book is not as good as some of his other books, but entertaining and affirming to me about my own writing.
What is your favorite quality about yourself?
I like the notion of making people laugh.  I’m pretty good at it, because I grew up as the ‘pleaser’ child and that is the way I survived and thrived and made friends and kept everyone from arguing.
What is your least favorite quality about yourself?
I am a control freak of the first order.  I’m just convinced that if people would just do what I tell them to do (and the way I want it done), both their lives and mine would be infinitely better.  Is that so wrong?  Therapy, you say?  Pish Posh…I knew more than Dr. Maples.

Yoga has finally come off her high horse to reveal doubters, sufferers and cynics. This is the story of one woman’s comic misadventures at the ashram from hell.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Humor Mystery

Rating – PG

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Kelly Jackson on Facebook & Twitter

Author Interview – Kelly Jackson

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it?

Wow.  Writing my book taught me that you can have a story in your head as you go along.  You don’t have to create a story line or characters or even a plot until you write the first word of Chapter One.  I know most people don’t write that way, but as a sketch comedy improv actor, that’s where inspiration comes for me…just thinking about my story and characters as I go along.  Where do I want to put them, how do I want them to look, act, what do I want as the story’s arc?  It’s AMAZING fun for me.

Oftentimes, when I go back to reread something I’ve written after a long period of time, I am truly amazed, perplexed and honored that one sentence struck me so much as being JUST what I wanted to say…and saying it in a very creative way…surprising myself that those strings of words came out that way.  If this has happened to you, and you’re really honest with yourself, you understand what I mean.

What kinds of things do you read?

I feel compelled to read the newspaper every single day, and if I miss a day, I feel left out in some way, left out of what is trending in the world, left out of human interest stories about amazing people, events, catastrophes, rescues, governments, sports victories, etc.  I need to KNOW what is going on.

When and why did you begin writing?

You know.  This is such an interesting question, because some writers were born to do nothing but write, like any other compulsion, like acting or being a doctor, etc.  I never kept a journal or wrote much more than a few letters to friends.  I just never thought about it when I was young, but I knew that I liked it in school and I was a really good speller.  I think that I am a Renaissance woman, because there are so many things that I love to do, want to do, am good at and that intrigue me.  Writing is just one of them.

Do you have any tips on how writers can relax?

As a certified yoga instructor, you might guess that it would be yoga…in SO many different ways…from doing chair exercises to doing physical postures on the floor to learning the 3-part breathing technique that sends more oxygen to the brain to learning how to fall asleep.  Yoga should be your best companion if you’re a writer.  And, with yoga you can learn to go upside down, which I now believe is just about the best thing one can do…get the blood flowing to the head…Mmmm.  This has made me want to do a headstand right now.  Hairy Arm!  I mean, Hari Om!

How often do you write and when do you write?

For me, it has to be when I want to write.  I cannot force myself to write from 9 am to 1 pm, for instance.  I’m a day person, and a morning person, and those are good idea times for me.  I like to take a cigarette break about every two hours…reread what I’ve read, mull over it, enjoy the smoking process, then return to my desk, rejuvenated and raring to go at it again.

What do you hope people will take away from your writing?  How will your words make them feel?

I want to be able to be a good enough writer that readers will read a sentence or a paragraph somewhere in my book and stop right there…reread that sentence or that paragraph and think, “Wow…what an amazing sentence (or paragraph).”  This happens to me every now and again…I stop, let the book fall in my lap, look up, smile and think, ‘Wow, THAT is a beautifully crafted sentence or paragraph.  I LOVE it when that happens to me, and I want to provide other people with a little ‘wow’ moment or maybe even two of them.

How do you feel about social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter?  Are they a good thing?

I love Facebook and use it often to market both my book, A Texan Goes to Nirvana, and a business page for The Midlife Gals, the blogging, vlogging website produced by my sister and I, www.themidlifegals.com.

I do not like Twitter, because I am a visual person (and I write visually too) and you cannot see the photos or videos unless you click on the link.  I can even keep up with the news through both platforms.  Word spreads quickly about whatever the latest ‘trend’ is as well.  I am a boomer, and this is the way I’m keeping up with friends and family.  I couldn’t beat’em, so I just joined’em…Facebook and Twitter.

If you could do any job in the world, what would you do?

I would be a co-writer, star and producer with my sister of a hit, primetime comedy series called, The Hotel HuLaLa, which sprang from a pilot script that we wrote a few months ago and are now trying to sell.

How do you feel about self-publishing?

At the risk of offending any publishing houses out there…I fear that in today’s writers’ world, there exists the perfect Catch-22.  You can’t publish a book unless you’re already famous, and you can’t become a famous author unless you are published.  This is why self-publishing excites me, because from this well spring of really great independent authors have come a few who have ‘gone viral,’ and become very well-known and yes, famous!

The last book you purchased?  Tell us about it.

The last book I read was Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen.  He is such an entertaining writer, and definitely of my genre (comic mysteries).  Bad Monkey is a mystery surrounding the discovery of an arm in the Florida waters.  There is a voodoo queen, a pest inspector, a requisite blonde bimbo and Driggs, the monkey, and he really is a bad monkey.  This book is not as good as some of his other books, but entertaining and affirming to me about my own writing.

What is your favorite quality about yourself?

I like the notion of making people laugh.  I’m pretty good at it, because I grew up as the ‘pleaser’ child and that is the way I survived and thrived and made friends and kept everyone from arguing.

What is your least favorite quality about yourself?

I am a control freak of the first order.  I’m just convinced that if people would just do what I tell them to do (and the way I want it done), both their lives and mine would be infinitely better.  Is that so wrong?  Therapy, you say?  Pish Posh…I knew more than Dr. Maples.

Yoga has finally come off her high horse to reveal doubters, sufferers and cynics. This is the story of one woman’s comic misadventures at the ashram from hell.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Humor Mystery

Rating – PG

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Kelly Jackson on Facebook & Twitter

Author Interview – Wolf Pascoe

It’s not say what you want. It’s get what you want. If nobody wants anything, stay home.  — David Mamet

Of everything I’ve ever read by the playwright David Mamet, his little dictum on the essence of drama is the thing that sticks.

Somebody has to want something.

If not, there’s no story. If not, stay home, put the book down, play Monopoly.

I’ve read too many tomes on writing that take 50,000 words to say the same thing, and not as well.

LISTENING FOR WHAT?

What is it about stories?

You can mess with them, add distractions, leave out details, leave it to the reader to connect the dots. But you can’t mess with somebody has to want something. When somebody wants something, I’m listening. So are you. It’s in the DNA.

Listening for what?

The meaning of life, of course. Whatever story you believe is what you’re giving your life to.

If I know your story, if I know what you really want, then I know what you’re giving your life to. And I want to know what gives your life meaning because maybe it will help me find the meaning in mine.

Most of the time, when we’re asked why we read books, we say it’s for entertainment. But I don’t believe it. I think we’re reading to discover the meaning of our lives.

MY SON IN THE MORNING

When my son used to wake up in the morning, the first thing he’d do was come into our bed and nestle between my wife and myself. He wanted that more than anything because that triad meant his whole life.

Now he doesn’t do it anymore. When he wakes up now, he goes downstairs and listens to his latest Redwall book. He’s got a new story. He’s a warrior now. It’s what he’s giving his life to.

I can enter into my son’s new story, but only as a warrior.

“Dada, sword fight,” he says when I come down.

And the duel is on.

LISTENING FOR STORIES

As a writer, I always try to listen for story. It’s not easy. Usually what I’m listening to is silence. It takes me a lot of silence to come up with a story.

The real story isn’t always the obvious one. I’m never sure if the story I come up with is real or fake. Sometimes all I get is, “Did you floss today?”

Here’s one of my favorite stories about stories. It concerns the famous Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung:

Jung’s father was a preacher, and Jung was raised with a lot of fire and brimstone. As a result, he was terrified of God.

Early in his medical career, Jung visited the United States and went on an extended journey into the American southwest. At one point, he found himself watching a group of Navajos dancing before sunrise.

“What are you doing?” Jung said to the chief.

“We’re dancing to help God bring the sun up,” the man said.

All of Jung’s cynicism about religion, which was rooted in the forgotten terror of his childhood, came out in what he said next:

“Suppose you didn’t dance. Would the sun not come up?”

“Why would we do that?” the chief said. “We have a partnership to honor. We’re in partnership with God.”

That answer changed Jung’s life. The chief was a man who really wanted something. This was one hell of a story.

PRAISE FOR BREATHING FOR TWO:

“In this page-turner, veteran anesthesiologist Pascoe offers a riveting portrait of surgery’s most harrowing relationship and a breathtaking (pun intended!) account of what it means to hold another person’s life in one’s hands.”  – Amazon reader

“What I most enjoyed about this very personal journey is that Pascoe reveals in an unflinching way his mistakes, narrow brushes with disaster, as well as his victories, and how it all has changed him during his thirty years of anesthesia practice.” — Amazon reader

“It’s the kind of book that makes you deeply interested in things you never thought about before.” — Amazon reader

OVERVIEW:

Ever wonder why giving anesthesia is described as hours of boredom, moments of panic? With gentle precision, anesthesiologist Wolf Pascoe teases apart an overlooked world and unveils the eggshell dance that takes place at the head of an operating table.

MORE PRAISE . . .

“As Atul Gawande gives readers the surgeon’s perspective, so Wolf Pascoe lets us know what it’s like to be at the other end of the table. – Amazon reader

“I’m a doctor and I thought that this book would be only mildly interesting, but I found that I was captivated and in suspense wanting to see how his difficult cases turned out.” — Amazon reader

“Pascoe’s honest prose reminds us that we’re all human – flawed, fragile, and doing our best to navigate the unpredictable with the tools we have at hand. Beautifully written, easy to read.”   — Amazon reader

Intrigued or spooked by what happens in an operating theatre? Breathing for Two is a seat on the stage, a short book that will change the way you think about life, and breath.

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – Non-fiction / Memoir

Rating – G

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Connect with  Mary Maddox on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://wolfpascoe.com

Author Interview – Jim Musgrave

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

Anywhere I can be connected to the Internet.

Where do you get support from? Do you have friends in the industry?

A fellow recovered alcoholic and successful indie author, Martin Crosbie, who got me started on the road to indie freedom.  Also, Kim Mutch Emerson and the MasterKoda gang on Facebook.  On the literary fiction side, a guy who liked my stuff (and has written blurbs to that effect) and has possibly won more short story contests than anybody in the world, Jacob M. Appel (he always wants the “M” in his name because there’s another famous Appel.  Go figure!).

How much sleep do you need to be your best?

Eight hours.

Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?

My publicist and full-time “Madame,” (inside joke) Ms. Jennifer Perry.

Every writer has their own idea of what a successful career in writing is, what does success in writing look like to you?

It is vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?

I wrote this trilogy because I wanted to get into the Steampunk genre.  Therefore, the first three books in the Detective Pat O’Malley historical mysteries bring my sleuth ever closer to meeting the main adversaries, the Steam City Pirates.  Technically, only the third novel, Jane the Grabber, features an authentic Steampunk villain, but all of the novels do feature elements present in the genre and aficionados will appreciate them as well.  I hope my marketing campaign will introduce new readers to this interesting genre of fiction, so I can gain a following all my own.  Please read my blog post on this topic.

Do you have an organized process or tips for writing well? Do you have a writing schedule?

Writers can watch for my daily “Sweet Writing Tweets.”

What do you hope people will take away from your writing? How will your words make them feel?

I hope my readers will enjoy learning about history as they are entertained.  I spend many, many hours on historical research for accuracy.  I weave it within the plot like a fine tapestry, and the result (hopefully) should be an overall feeling of satisfaction by the reader.

Buy Now @ Amazon @ Createspace

Genre – Historical Steampunk Mystery

Rating – PG13

More details about the author and the book

Connect with  Jim Musgrave on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://contempinstruct.com/Forevermore/

$250 Amazon.com gift card giveaway

Author Interview – Merry Farmer

What’s your favorite place in the entire world?  That’s a tough one.  On the one hand, I’d say Long Beach on the border between Rockport and Gloucester, Massachusetts, where my aunt and uncle have a beach house.  Love it!  On the other, I visited Winchester in the UK in August of 2010. I was only there for 3 days, but it felt like coming home.  Seriously.  If I believed in reincarnation I would say that I had lived at least one lifetime there before.  Hey, maybe I was Jane Austen!

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?  I actually had a pretty crappy childhood.  My dad abandoned us when I was 6, then took my two older half-brothers to live with him when he remarried a witch.  Then my Granddad, who I adored, died suddenly.  And then I developed agoraphobia and struggled through adolescence as the least popular kid in the class who was the butt of a lot of bullying.  Lovely, right?  So I turned to books and writing as a means of entertainment, escape, solace, you name it.  I started writing when I was 10 years old and never stopped.  I discovered romance novels when I was 15 (thank you to my high school BFF, Jessica!) and that was pretty much the end and the beginning of that!  My Mom, God rest her soul, was always so supportive, even though she didn’t understand my creativity.  I’m just sad that she passed away in 2001, before I was ever published.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?  I think I’ve always been interested in writing, ever since I learned to spell the giant word “grasshopper” in 1^st grade.

How long have you been writing?  I have been writing since I was in 3^rd grade and realized one day that I didn’t have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something.  And yes, the first story I remember writing was more or less a romance novel about a boy I had a crush on.

When did you first know you could be a writer?  I don’t think there was ever a time when I didn’t think I could be a writer.  Like I said before, I grew up in a family of artists and creative-types.  Writing was tame compared to what some of them did.

What inspires you to write and why?  Love.  That’s it really.  My own romantic life is so pitiful that I love writing about people falling in love and ending up together in spite of the odds.  That and writing is like breathing to me: I can’t imagine not doing it without dying.

What genre are you most comfortable writing?  The easy answer to that is Romance.  But I also really like writing Science Fiction.  I always seem to write love stories, no matter what I write, but there are so many complexities to life and so many situations I can imagine people falling in love in that I need to explore.

What inspired you to write your first book?  Don’t laugh, but I started writing my first published novel, The Loyal Heart, after hearing that the guy I’d broken up with 6 months before (who I was convinced I was going to marry) had just gotten engaged to someone else.  I was devastated and really needed a story about someone who remained true to love, even when the odds seemed impossible.

Buy Now @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Western Historical Romance

Rating – R

More details about the author & the book

Connect with Merry Farmer on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://merryfarmer.net/

Author Interview – Lori Stevic-Rust

What inspired you to write your first book? I was inspired to write my first memoir when began to reflect on the aging process as I was turning 50 years old and my grandmother was turning 100 years old. Hers has been the voice in my head guiding me down my life’s path over my first 50 years.

Can you share a little of your current work with us? The Best Gifts Comes from Flops

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”—Winston Churchill

One day when my daughter Katie was a little girl, she asked my grandmother why her arms flopped. She gently grabbed the skin under my grandmother’s arm and said, “If you push this, it flops.” She went on to ask, “Why doesn’t mine do that?” Why indeed. These “flops” can best be described as the area on a woman’s arm that appears to be a bicep that became deflated like a balloon and fell to the underneath side of the arm. As the wind blows, so do the “flops.” Nana swears at times she even feels them slapping against her ribs. This motivates her all the more to continue to lift weights, as she is convinced that she can tighten up those flops. Each of us women who share her genetic makeup quietly sits on the couch and cheers her on in the hopes that our fate of the flops can be altered.

“Flops” are another surprising gift of aging. Or maybe to some degree or another, we all have them throughout our life, but only as we age do we recognize them as hidden gifts.

There is no question that life is easier to view in the rearview mirror with the passage of time. We can more clearly see how things that seemed painful and disappointing in the moment may have led to incredible blessings further down our life path. How the loss of a job may have led to a great career opportunity, or running late in the morning may have saved us from a deadly accident on the freeway. Some of our greatest experiences of flops, disappointments, and pain when examined closely usually turn out to be life changing.

One of my great flops had to do with a pot roast.

How did you come up with the title? Greedy for life is my grandmother’s philosophy of life. She lives life with purpose and passion. She never settles but rather absorbs moments in life like a sponge. As her 101 year old birthday approaches, she still claims that she want to see more, do more, love more and live more.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? Everything about writing this book was different and often difficult for me given that my other books were clinical in nature. First, writing in the first person was uncomfortable. But the trade- off was there was no research, footnotes, or reference sections to be concerned about which allowed me to concentrate more on the story and the message.

What was the most difficult? The most difficult part of writing this book was revealing my personal life stories.  I felt exposed and vulnerable but Nana reminded me that it is through the sharing of our stories that we inspire each other.  That said, I found myself awake at 2:00am the day before this book was to be released thinking—- —oh my God my dad is going to read chapter 7.

Will you write others in this same genre? The response to this book has been overwhelming. I had no idea what to expect going into this. I often thought who will care about my life stories? Surprisingly, it seems that we are all walking down similar paths in our lives and many of the stories resonate with readers.

Since the book was released last month, I have been offered many speaking opportunities to talk about the themes in the book—not only from the perspective as a psychologist but as a middle aged woman of a five generational family. It appears that the topics are of importance to many. So, I am “polling the audience” during my speaking engagement for topics that readers want to hear more about….stay tuned.

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Genre – Memoir

Rating – PG13

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Website http://www.doctorlori.net/

Author Interview – Vadim Babenko

Who or what influenced your writing over the years? My own sense of “harmony of the words” – which, frankly, was quite poor in the beginning. My early writing was full of weak phrases and clichés. Then, gradually, my “inner literary ear” became increasingly well-trained.

What made you want to be a writer? The books I have been reading since childhood.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? In my opinion, the most difficult part of writing any novel is maintaining the required level of energy and concentration for the several years it takes to complete it.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? Of course, you learn while you write – systemizing all the thoughts you had before, going deeper into understanding the true nature of your ideas, your protagonists, their motivations, etc.

Maybe, sometimes, writing a book gives you a more authentic real life experience than real life itself.

Do you intend to make writing a career? As it’s written on one of my website pages, “writing for me is not a career, not a means to celebrity. It’s truly the essence of my being, the core of my existence.” And that’s true.

At the same time, I’m a full-time writer – I’m not seriously involved in anything else. I don’t know if this makes my writing a “career” or not.

What is your greatest strength as a writer? I’m able to concentrate on one idea for a long time, and I’m always willing to endlessly edit my texts. I consider a literary text to be finished only when it resists any further improvement. Yet I know that perfection is unachievable.

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Genre – Literary Fiction

Rating – NC17

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Website http://www.vadimbabenko.com/

Author Interview – Anastasia Faith

Who is your publisher? I am. I hope to get a deal with a traditional publisher one day, because I want to adopt children and I think the advance checks would be nice. But for now, self-publishing is a fast, easy way to make my work public and fulfill my dream of becoming an author.

Will you write others in this same genre? Yes

Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? Not yet, but I hope to one day!

Who is your favorite author and why? Sigmund Brouwer. His books are

Can we expect any more books from you in the future? Oh, yes! For the Future Generations is the first in a trilogy. I am in the process of rewriting the second, so I am going to publish another book in the meantime, titled A Novella Called “Launch Day”. I have about six more lined up that I hope to publish in the next year or two.

What are your current writing projects now? I am currently finishing A Novella Called “Launch Day” . Once I’ve submitted that for editing, I am going to write a short story for Asimov’s Science Fiction.

Are you reading any interesting books at the moment? Right now, I’m reading some books on creative writing and for writing science fiction and fantasy. My friend bought me C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet, and my mom’s coworker wrote a book called No Heroes. I haven’t had a lot of time for reading recently, but I hope to finish them soon.

How do you promote this book? Until now, I’ve been using social media. I’ve bought some author business cards and bookmarks, and I’m going to start using those soon.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? Not coming off as judgmental or cheesy.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Yes, I’ve had writer’s block. When it happens, I take a walk outside, star gaze, read the writing prompt bootcamp I downloaded from TheWritersDigest.com, or just wait for inspiration from things that happen during the course of my week.

In a thirty-first century dictatorship where population control is enforced and knowledge of truth is prohibited, a teenager discovers secrets about America’s past and her own nation’s future.

In the first book of the “For a Generation” series, fourteen-year-old Matthia Hefner has discovered the grim truth about abortion and its effects on society. She embarks on a time travel mission to the past with a plan to save a nation destroyed by abortion, as well as to glean knowledge to save her own country. Can she save the nation and its people in time, or will it be forced to suffer the consequences for its actions?

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Genre - Christian YA Fiction

Rating – PG

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Author Interview – NS Wikarski

What is your greatest strength as a writer? I think I’m fairly good at structuring a plot. Mysteries are tricky to write because the author has to keep the last page in mind from the very start. It takes mental discipline and focus to get the reader to the intended destination.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Strangely enough, I never have had writer’s block. I may occasionally wrestle with a stubborn plot point but I find that a long walk out in nature usually clears away the problem.

Who designed the cover? I designed the covers of all of my books. Many of my author friends complain about the covers their publishers use for their books. The biggest gripe I hear is that the cover artist had no concept of what the book was about. I like having creative control over the images associated with my work. At least the design has something to do with the story.

Why did you choose to write this particular book? I felt there was a need to overturn some of our cultural assumptions about the role of women in society. Lo and behold, I discovered an ever-increasing body of archaeological evidence proving that human civilization was not originally male-dominated or violent. This was true of every race on every continent. The story of who we once were and how we got to be the way we are needed to be told.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? Weaving the history seamlessly into the story arcs of the fictional characters. A straight history lesson doesn’t often make for an entertaining read.

How do you promote this book? I’ve avoided conventional book signings and radio interviews for this series. Most of my readers seem to prefer the ebook format so I’ve done most of my recent promotion through the internet. I’ve used Facebook, Kindle Nation, and Kindle Author primarily to get the word out.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? That women were the driving force behind the creation of what we call human civilization. It can have a devastating effect on the female psyche to receive the cultural message that you’re nothing more than an afterthought – that all the great discoveries and inventions since the beginning of time were made by the opposite sex. Hopefully, the history lesson in my books will do something to reverse that assumption.

How much of the book is realistic? The history is real. The characters, the secret societies and the relics they’re hunting are all fictional.

Have you included a lot of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot? I’ve steered clear of using my own experience or that of my friends in the plot. None of the characters resemble anyone I actually know. However, after living with my characters through three books they’re starting to feel like family.

How important do you think villains are in a story? In a mystery, the villain is the single most important character. Her or his actions drive the entire story. Without the misdeeds of a villain, there would be nothing for the detective / hero to do.

What are your goals as a writer? To challenge people’s assumptions about the way things are. To make the reader think about subjects from a different perspective than they’ve considered before.

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Genre – Archaeology / Thriller

Rating – PG

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Author Interview – Robin Mahle

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? When you’re juggling a family and a small business (though my husband handles most of it now) it’s very difficult to make the time to write.  When I wrote Redwood Violet, I squeezed time in here and there over a span of 18 months.  That was far too long.  I wasn’t yet disciplined enough to set aside a specific time to write.  Since I’ve started work on the sequel, I’m much less involved in our business and I have more time to dedicate to writing, which I do at very specific times of day.

Have you developed a specific writing style? I’m still experimenting, to an extent.  I’m starting to play with points of view a little, just to see where it gets me.  But overall, I think my writing style is one that I’ve been told is easy to read, not overly cumbersome or wordy.  These were things I disliked in other books I’ve read, so I knew I wanted to avoid becoming that type of writer.  It just doesn’t suit me.  I prefer a quick pace and I think my writing reflects that.

How did you come up with the title? Originally, I wrote the story under a different title, Shadow Man.  It didn’t quite resonate with me and it wasn’t until I had nearly completed the first draft that I decided to rename it.  I found that my original title didn’t reflect the struggles my main character was facing.  Given the setting of the story, Redwood Violet just had more meaning for Katie, the main character.  I just researched the plants and flowers in the Redwood Forest and found that the Redwood Violet conveyed strength. It could grow in adverse conditions.  That appealed to me greatly.

Can you tell us about your main character? Katie Reid.  She’s in her late twenties and just beginning to build her life and her career.  She has a boyfriend, a good job and lives near the beach.  Not a bad life at all.  She’s still naïve but is learning the ways of the world.  And it isn’t until she discovers a very dark secret that she begins to transform.  We see Katie become desperate, hardened by the harsh realities of her past.  That desperation turns to obsession until the girl she thought she was is replaced by someone neither her boyfriend nor her family recognize.

Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it? Personally, I learned a great deal about myself and my perseverance.  But not only that, this book required a fair bit of research, which I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed.  A friend of mine, whose husband was a high-ranking police officer for twenty years, read the story, just to confirm that my references to police procedure were accurate, or at least, mostly accurate.  I’m sure I took creative license on a few things.  That part was very exciting for me.

How do you promote this book? Ahh, the million dollar question.  This is something I do struggle with.  It is increasingly difficult to get noticed amongst the thousands of other books available either online or in brick and mortar stores.  I suppose I don’t promote the book insomuch as I try to develop relationships through social media to let people get to know who I am.  If they like me, maybe they’ll read my book.  I’m pretty active on Goodreads, which I truly enjoy.  Of course, there’s Twitter, but I rarely promote my book there.  Again, I try to put myself out there so people can get to me as an author.  I suppose my next step is getting involved in blogging a little more and following some of the other bloggers out there.  It’s something that’s constantly evolving and I hope to gain a better grasp of as I publish more novels.

 

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Genre – Mystery  / Thriller / Suspense

Rating – PG

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Author Interview – Adele Park

You projects use satire to tackle sticky topics such as polygamy and marijuana.  Why go there? I’ll admit I like to push the envelope.  My definition of satire is to exploit the absurd so marijuana and polygamy are easy pickings!  However, I do lapse into brief moments of serious debate by discussing the impact of racism, bullying and discrimination.

How do you promote your audio books? My websites, www.yikesaudiobook.com and www.jittersaudiobook.com, are my best sales tools.  I produced YouTube videos for both projects which gives potential customers a visual image of my stories.  Contests are another great way to get content introduced to people in the industry.  One of the top competitions for audio books is the Audies sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association.  I also reach out to bloggers and internet radio stations to help spread the word about my audio books.

You have engaged in some very non-traditional forms of marketing for your audio books.  What are some of the tactics you’ve tried? I try to remember that publicity and word of mouth are far more effective than advertising.  I donate tons of free audio books to libraries and non-profit organizations.  My hope is that if people like one of my audio books, they’ll be more inclined to buy my other products.

I also developed some wacky YouTube videos to promote Jitters-A Quirky Little Audio Book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGGbatmaDeM and Yikes! Another Quirky Audio Book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPotQyyPsuo&feature=g-upl.

You say that now is the best time ever for indie artists such as writers, film makers and audio book producers.  What do you mean by that? The internet provides endless opportunities to share or sell your work.  Writers can publish their novels as e-books and skip all the headaches and rejection letters from publishers.  Film makers can post their “shorts” on YouTube.  Independent audio book producers can sell their projects on Amazon.com and Audible.com.  Artists can photograph their work and sell it on their own websites.

Who are there some business gurus who you follow?  Russell Simmons – Do You:  12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success

Simmons advocates using a spiritual element in the workplace to create an inspired sense of purpose.

Michael Hyatt – Platform:  Get Noticed in a Noisy World

This book talks about the importance of social media and how to stand out in a media form where everyone is trying to get their message spread at the same time!

David Schwartz – The Magic of Thinking Big

Schwartz offers a lot of practical ideas for anyone in business.  Schwartz covers a combination of good business practices along with advice on how to adjust your attitude to affect a positive outcome.

Have you ever had writer’s block?  If so, what do you do about it? The last time I got a bad bout of writer’s block I wrote about a character with the same problem.  In this case it was Blue McKenna, the protagonist in Yikes! Another Quirky Audio Book.  While I wouldn’t recommend pulling any of the crazy stunts that Blue McKenna is fond of, solving her problem helped me move past my own.

Can you tell us about your main character? Yikes! Another Quirky Audio Book is about a marijuana enthusiast name Blue McKenna who uses reality TV as a way to cure an apocalyptic case of writer’s block.  Although Blue is prone to extreme behaviors, I think a lot of women can relate to her trouble with men.  Why is it that guys who can’t commit are so alluring?

How important do you think villains are in a story? Humans are very complex.  Most people aren’t “all good” or “all bad.”  What I try to do with villains is give some background as to why they perform certain acts.  I don’t justify the bad behavior of my characters, but I do like to provide some context.

What books have most influenced your life? My favorite books in elementary school were The Great Brain Series by John D. Fitzgerald.  These stories had everything I liked – humor and unique adventures, all beautifully illustrated by Mercer Mayer.   I was so intrigued  by The Great Brain Series it made me want to visit Utah – now I live here!

One of the books I’ve read as an adult that I try to think about every day is The Four Agreements by Don Miquel Ruiz.  Using Toltec beliefs, this book explains how to live a life filled with love and peace.  The best part is, I only have to remember four things!

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Genre – Comedy / Satire

Rating – R (language & theme)

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Blog http://adeleparkquirkyaudiobooks.blogspot.com/

Website http://www.yikesaudiobook.com/

Author Interview – Leona Bodie

What inspired you to write your first book? I write about what I know. Since I’ve lived in Miami for thirty-five years, it’s a natural for me to write about South Florida. The fact my husband has been a forensic expert for twenty-one years and worked on 30,000 cases influenced me as well. It means that I have a ready resource to ensure the police procedurals, the forensic science and quality assurance aspects are accurate.

Although the story bounced around in my head for fifteen years, I actually wrote Shadow Cay in three  months on a 34-ft. Morgan Out Island Sailboat in the Bahamas in the Southern Exumas. Imagine 700 islands, like a string of beautiful gems to treasure. Imagine no interruptions, pristine water, white and pink sand beaches, uninhabited islets, dramatic ocean and bay views.

And the show stopper was Normans Cay. My research into its history led me to flash back two decades: A dramatic flying adventure, international intrigue, a forced crash landing, a brush with death, and a tropical island paradise with a seedy secret. Being in the islands and onsite, made it easy to transfer the sailing scenes we lived onto my laptop. Some of the water sequences are biographical, storm scenes, water spouts, sailing during an unexpected hurricane.

Another reason, I selected South Florida is because both Walt and I have extensive experiences in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, so it was a natural to slant the story and focus on the medical device industry. SHADOW CAY is a steamy suspense about murder, greed and corruption that takes place in the tropics between Miami and the Bahamas. The MDPD Crime Lab was inspiration for some parts. The book speaks to the challenges forensic professionals face every day.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? My biggest challenge is portraying the procedures of police-work. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. No crime lab in the world looks like the CSI ones, because there’s simply not the money for all those fancy machines. Even the Miami-Dade Crime Bureau which is well-funded (though could use more), doesn’t have everything, and there is a tremendous backlog to examine the evidence sent in. Consequently, nothing happens quickly, so when I’m explaining in a novel that DNA was found or that there’s a clue to be sent to the lab, I have to make sure the reader knows this isn’t going to come back in 45 minutes.

Readers are so familiar now with law enforcement, whether through news coverage or fictional portrays on television that crime writers do have to anticipate readers’ assumptions and find ways to surprise them.

I love writing, hate marketing and promotion! I love storytelling, writing passionately, creating word pictures, entertaining readers and building interest. What excites me is the burning drive to get something down the reader has to see.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? Oh my gosh, yes! It taught me the advantages of having a writing routine, the importance of avoiding distractions and being organized. It also taught me that post-publication marketing must be ongoing. The best only way to be discovered in that Amazon slush pile of millions of books is to climb the Amazon Bestseller List.

Do you intend to make writing a career? Absolutely, it is my career.

Have you developed a specific writing style? I know my settings like my hometown. The locations are always an integral part of my stories. I create word pictures to make the settings as believable and authentic as possible. Here’s how others describe my writing style.

“Her work,” says Bella Online Mystery Editor Edie Dykeman, “sets a strong pace from the start with riveting action and dialogue. The beautiful Bahamas background adds contrast to the frightening action and gritty texture of her story.”

Carol Hoyer of Readers Views says, “Readers and reviewers are raving it’s one of the best crime suspense novels in years.”

Naomi Blackburn, a top Amazon reviewers and Goodreads Administrator for the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Books” said, “I found myself putting aside other review copies I was working on, sneaking in time to read it, etc. Once I was able to sit down and finally dedicate time to read it, I read 400 pages in approximately 5 hours. The story flowed like liquid gold!”

What is your greatest strength as a writer? Without a doubt, channeling my muse and unfurling my imagination until I get what’s in my head on paper . . . that’s my favorite compulsion! It’s satisfying and always pleasing to paint a scene with words. I invoke the senses. All of them— sight and sound and smell and touch and taste—to make my world alive.

My second greatest thrill is harnessing that plot and sailing through the words. I even like trimming the flab, to keep the story flowing and focused on what really matters. If left to my natural instincts however, I’d probably never stop editing, which leads directly to my least favorite aspect of writing, it’s difficult for me to let go. I’m a perfectionist so I have to be careful not to overwork a story. That also means resisting urges to store my manuscript in a drawer where it’s easily retrievable so I can work on it for a few more months, rather than letting it fly.

Can you share a little of your current work with us? Madeleine Nesbitt lives a privileged, sheltered life on a pristine tropical island paradise until the young girl is hauled off the deck of a capsizing ferry. Sixty-two passengers drown, trapped under the hull. Madeleine survives but her innocence dies that day. Despite the odds, she’s resilient enough to put her life together. However, nine years later she realizes too late that catastrophe is only the beginning of the dangers that lurk ahead when another maritime disaster hits closer to home. Someone wants to make sure the Nesbitt family never makes it out of paradise alive. Here’s the trailer: http://leonabodie.com/watch-the-trailer_298.html

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Genre – Thriller / Suspense

Rating – R

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Author Interview – Ethan McKenzie

What inspired you to write your first book?As “Secrets and Lies” is my first book with co-author, Natashiah Jansen, I was inspired that my co-author also likes what I like in suspense and thriller story. This actually influences me a lot so as to create this first of book of ours.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? Writing this book actually taught me that I need to be consistent with my thoughts and be responsible to my readers. They are the one who are going to enjoy my works and I need to be my best for them.

Do you intend to make writing a career? Yes, I intend to make writing fictional novel a career as I like being carefree as a bird in the sky.

Have you developed a specific writing style? As for writing style, I did not have any unique style… This one style I think is to write a story so that my readers enjoy it and wanting to read more of my works. Style is simplistic and easy to read.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Of course, I do have writer’s block. If I encountered that, I would drop my writing and go for a swim to clear up my stress and confusion. This will often leads to me coming back with a more interesting and sometimes ending the story with a transforming twist.

#1 AMAZON KINDLE BESTSELLER IN “MEDICAL THRILLERS”

“SECRETS AND LIES” is book #1 of The Jason’s Heart Novel series. This novel will ignite your emotions and thrill your thirst of thrills as you read from page 1 to the last page. Enjoy!

After a long love affair Jason and Sharona finally tie the knot and ends up spending their honeymoon in Costa Rica. They have everything going for them love, money, careers and a bright future. But Sharona’s world comes crashing down when Jason is killed in a freak accident.

Devastated by the loss of the love of her life, she returns to the US and tries to pick up the pieces with the help of her best friend Felicia and Jason’s father Edward. In her attempts to move on she meets a handsome stranger, who just happens to work at the same pharmaceutical company Jason used to work.

Is it a coincidence or is there more to this man called Dr. Diego Cruz who desperately tries to sweep her off her feet?

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Genre – Medical Suspense Thriller

Rating – PG

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Author Interview – Richard Long

What’s your favorite place in the entire world? New York, New York. The town so nice they named it twice.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing? I write a lot about pain. Redemption. Corruption. Enlightenment. I’ve experienced all that, though I’m hoping to learn a lot more about the last item.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? From reading. I was a voracious reader from a very young age. Stories took me away to all these incredible places. I really needed that escape so I holed up in my room for hours at a time, reading everything I could get my hands on.

When and why did you begin writing? I’ve always been a storyteller. When I was younger I thought of myself more as a visual artist, and I drew and painted constantly. But there would always be words. Cartoon speech bubbles. Random thoughts. Narrative.

How long have you been writing? I started writing more seriously in my twenties. Poems. Dialog. Eventually, I dabbled in playwriting and screenwriting. I made a living as an art director and a copywriter in advertising. Then I became a Creative Director. But it wasn’t until I tried the long form that I found my voice. I like to tell looooooong stories.

When did you first know you could be a writer? I always knew I could write clever lines, which is the epitome of creativity in advertising. I had a good ear for dialog as well. So does my son. He writes the most incredible dialog: kids, adults, men, women…he just nails it all perfectly. I was insecure about my narrative writing when I started. I guess I knew I could really write when my narrative didn’t suck.

What inspires you to write and why? My curiosity is unquenchable, so I never run out of things I want to write about. Having a curious mind is the greatest gift any artist can have. Otherwise, you can easily get stuck in your own ego. When you enjoy looking outside yourself, there’s always something interesting to see.

What genre are you most comfortable writing? I write fiction. Though, now that I’ve embraced the sordid world of social networking, I write a lot of blogs and posts and tweets that could be loosely termed non-fiction. In my case, very loosely. With The Book of Paul, I’m writing in a baker’s dozen of fiction genres: horror, occult, dark fantasy, erotica, humor, mystery, thriller, historical fiction, sci-fi, mythology, philosophy, religion. My reviews usually start with: “Wow! That was…different.”

What inspired you to write your first book? I pictured a character – he had been so traumatized as a child that he had completely cut himself off from his emotions. I wanted to explore whether someone that damaged and flawed, who had done all these horrible things, could possibly find redemption through love. The first line of The Book of Paul is: He practiced smiling.

Who or what influenced your writing once you began? I like crazy Irish and British playwrights. Enda Walsh. Martin McDonagh. Jez Butterworth. They are so courageous, go so far out on a limb, never play it safe, or write to be “liked” – at least it feels that way to me. When I see any of their work, I know I’m going to be taken for a ride. A wild ride. That’s what I want my readers to experience.

Who or what influenced your writing over the years? When I was younger, I loved horror. Then sci-fi. Then mysteries and thrillers. Then literary fiction. I always loved the classics. My writing is very research-intensive so 95% of what I read now is non-fiction related to various topics in my work: science, mythology, history.

What made you want to be a writer? I write stories that I want to read – more than once. I write to entertain myself, first and foremost, but I want to entertain other people too. If I ever start wanting to entertain other people more than myself, I better straighten that out quickly, otherwise I might end up back in advertising, whoring myself out that way.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? I love to write. If I could be left alone all day long to write or do my research, I’d be the happiest man on the planet. But I have a wife and children and friends and family, so I need to balance my time with the people that matter me to me even more than the work. The hardest thing about writing is not doing it, particularly when all the marketing work that constantly demands attention has to come before the writing itself. If I don’t sell books, there’s no writing career – and no more Happy Richard.

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Genre – Paranormal Thriller / Dark Fantasy

Rating – R

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Website http://www.thebookofpaul.com/

Author Interview – Nicholas L. Maze

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Yes. I believe it is almost impossible to not have writer’s block. Normally, when writer’s block comes about that is it. I normally walk away from the paper. I call it a day and prepare for tomorrow. One of the ways I try to prevent writer’s block is not writing all my thoughts at once. I normally try to stop before I have put everything on paper. This allows me to have something to build off of, the next day.

Who designed the cover? The cover was designed by Michael David McGuire

Who is your publisher? The Publisher is Pearle Pages Publishing.

Why did you choose to write this particular book? It was on my heart for a long time. My many experiences within Churches shined a light on the subject.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? Thinking about who would take offense. Although the book was written to strengthen people, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I know ‘Deleting GOD’ will be viewed in a number of ways. The title, alone, has generated mix views.

Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it? Yes. I learned more about myself. Writing this book allowed me to exam myself and realize some things I felt I wasn’t doing right. It also strengthen my relationship with GOD. It was very beneficial to me.

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Genre – Religion / Spirituality

Rating – PG

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Website http://www.nicholasmaze.com/

Author Interview – Stacey J. Mitchell

What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why? “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you might hit a star.” I love this quote from W. Clement Stone as I find it incredibly inspirational. I set a lot of goals for myself, and I really beat myself up if I don’t meet them—however unreasonable they might be. This quote reminds me that it’s good to aim high, even if I don’t always get there.

What is your favorite quality about yourself? My determination. If I decide to do something, I always see it through to the end and always to the best of my ability. I don’t like to give up.

What is your least favorite quality about yourself? I’m a very impatient person. If I’m struggling to get the hang of something, I sometimes have to take a step back before the frustration takes over. I think sometimes that if I had more patience, I might achieve things more quickly—but of course I’ll never know!

What is your favorite food? This is a really tricky question for me as the list of dishes that I love is endless. It depends a lot on my mood. Saying that, you can’t beat a home-made pizza, or a lamb tagine. My favourite cake is carrot cake—delicious!

What’s your favorite place in the entire world? The Devil’s Marbles in central Australia. It’s not very far from Uluru, and it’s an amazing place. I travelled around Australia in 2008 with my boyfriend, and we spent a night at the campsite there. It sounds silly but I’d never been somewhere so dark before! (I live in the UK, and no place is truly in the middle of nowhere here—not like that.) We lay back in amongst the boulders and looked up at the black sky, which was speckled with thousands of stars like it had been dusted with sugar. It’s just breathtaking.

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it? Writer’s block is a tricky concept for me as I don’t allow myself to believe in it! I think all writers have good and bad days, but it seems to me that as soon as you attribute a bad day to writer’s block, you’re paving the way for it to keep happening. It’s not making an excuse, exactly, but the way I see it, if I don’t acknowledge it, it can’t plague me!

Who designed the cover? Kit Foster (http://www.kitfosterdesign.com/) designed the cover, and I’m so pleased with his work. I was pretty useless throughout the design process, and when I initially approached Kit about designing the cover, I had no ideas at all. Luckily, he came up with some great initial sketches, and we went from there.

How did you come up with the title? Normally, titles aren’t my thing. I can wrack my brains for hours and only manage to come up with the lamest, most predictable thing imaginable. But this one seemed to pop into my head. It was something that one of the characters said. I had a lightbulb moment and thought, “That’s got to be the title.”

Can you tell us about your main character? The main character in Red Threads is called Lily Robinson. She’s twenty-six and lives with her boyfriend Nick. She works in a small local history museum run by a man named Jules. All in all, Lily’s life is pretty regular. It’s ordinary, nothing to get too excited about—until she starts having visions, which accompany excruciating headaches. She sees red ropes connecting people, and then things get even weirder when she meets a stranger on a train, who knows her and the things that she is seeing—and tells her that he can explain it all and help her work out how to use what she sees to improve her life…

What inspires you to write and why? I’m the kind of person who writes literally everything down. It helps me clear my head. If I know I have a certain number of things to do the following day, I have to write myself a to-do list or I can’t switch off. Writing fiction is a similar process for me. If I get a story idea in my head, I can’t switch off until I sketch out an outline for it, or just start writing.

What inspired you to write your first book? This book—my first published novel—was inspired by a blog post I wrote during the 2012 A-to-Z Challenge. For every day in the month of April, you write a blog post on a different letter of the alphabet, starting with A and working through to Z. The subject I had chosen to write about was mythology: Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Native American, Japanese, and Chinese. My post for ‘R’ was a Chinese concept, the Red String of Fate, and it just went from there.

What are some of your favorite books, and why? I think Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts is an amazing story. I also love The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. He has such a powerful writing style that I find it impossible to put his books down.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? I learnt the real value of working with an editor. You can be told over and over that it’s vital to have an editor go through your work, but I don’t think it becomes clear just how important this is until you’ve actually done it. No matter how hard you try to get it right, you’ll probably be making mistakes you didn’t even realise were mistakes—I know I was!

How long have you been writing? I’m going to give you a slightly clichéd answer at this point, but I’m afraid it’s the truth: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. When I was much younger, I would annoy my parents for an idea so I could write a story for them. I’m not sure why I couldn’t come up with my own ideas, but there you go! My first attempt at longer fiction was called ‘Rose Meadow Farm’, and was about a riding centre. I don’t remember much about it, or even how old I was, but that title has stayed with me.

What is your greatest strength as a writer? I don’t really feel qualified to talk about my strengths as a writer, but I think the one thing that really helps my writing process is the ability to switch off the inner editor and just get the words down on the page, for the first draft at least. I think I have NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month http://www.nanowrimo.org/) to thank for that!

Will you write others in this same genre? Yes, I definitely will. I love the idea of introducing an element of fantasy to ordinary, everyday people and events.

How important do you think villains are in a story? This is an interesting question. I think that conflict is necessary to make a story interesting and to make the reader really invest in the characters he or she is reading about. Villains are one way to achieve this conflict, but I don’t think they are the only way—internal conflict can be just as powerful. It really depends on the story.

Who is your favorite author? I don’t have one favourite author, but there are a number of authors whose books I have really enjoyed: Khaled Hosseini, Veronica Roth, Essie Fox, J.F. Penn, Gregory David Roberts, J.K. Rowling, Joanne Harris, and Sebastian Faulks (to name just a few).

Can we expect any more books from you in the future? Definitely. I am currently planning the second book in the Fateliner series and will hopefully get started on the first draft soon. I also have an idea brewing for a post-apocalyptic novel.

What are some of the best tools available today for writers, especially those just starting out? Without a doubt I would recommend Scrivener as an excellent tool for organising your work (and I’m not on commission!). It’s a great programme that allows you to keep all your research and writing in one place. I’d also recommend reading the blogs of other writers. Whether you intend to self-publish or go down the traditional route, you will find a huge amount of advice in blogs. The industry changes so quickly that learning new things and keeping up-to-date is imperative.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel? This might sound bizarre, but for me the biggest challenge in writing a novel was writing a complete story of 70,000 plus words! I started out as a short story writer, and there’s a huge difference between the two forms—not least the length. I had terrible pacing and plot issues initially, and had to learn a lot before I wrote something even slightly resembling a novel.

What do you do to unwind and relax? I love to cook, and for me preparing dinner at the end of the day is a great way to wind down. Other than that I read, and I also practice yoga.

Have you included a lot of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot? I wouldn’t want to include too much of my life or my friends in the plot of a book for fear that it would be too revealing, or friends might recognise themselves! Saying that, though, I think it’s okay to put elements of people you know in characters. Lily is a bit of a history geek, just like I am, but that’s where the similarities end.

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Genre – Contemporary Fantasy

Rating – PG13

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