Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have been a psychotherapist for many years but this is my first adventure as a writer.

I provide a psychotherapy service that serves people in New Jersey (USA) and the United Kingdom. I love to help all sorts of people with all sorts of problems, and I tend to work on the following areas: Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) (an approach commonly used for trauma), Affirmative LGBTQ+ therapy, and “Men’s therapy” (in other words, how to survive the male label).

I live in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with my two children, two cats, and husband (pretty much in that order of preference!).

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I have written Beyond the Blue: A Survival Guide for the Male Labeled, and a Healthier Society for All. Since the pandemic, mental healthcare has become inaccessible to many, and this has hurt certain people more than others (whether that is due to gender bias, racism, transphobia, biphobia, or homophobia). Untreated depression, anxiety, relationship conflict and anger, and trauma pose a risk for all of us in society, so I wanted to write this Survival Guide for anyone who needs to tackle these threats to emotional and physical well-being.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love my new stand-up desk so I do tend to dance to cheesy pop music.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Judith Herman, Irvin Yalom, Robin DiAngelo, Bessel van der Kolk, Viktor Frankl, Arundhati Roy, Haruki Murakami, Zadie Smith, and many more!

What are you working on now?
The next book in the Beyond the… series. This will be another self-help book, offering as much of my expertise as I can, and aimed at hard-to-reach groups.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am new to this, but I love to interact with anyone who learns anything from my writing (whether that is on my blog, through comments on social media, or stopping me in the street).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Plan at least one year in advance, and set a launch date (and stick to it).

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Forgiveness works both ways

What are you reading now?
White Fragility, for the second time

What’s next for you as a writer?
See above! To recap, I am working on the next book in the Beyond the… series. This will be another self-help book, offering as much of my expertise as I can, and aimed at hard-to-reach groups.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Author Websites and Profiles
Chris Warren-Dickins Website
Chris Warren-Dickins Amazon Profile

Chris Warren-Dickins’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Danielle Jacks from England and I have four books published to date.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The heart of Bakers Bay is my lasted book and it was inspired by my desire to escape to the coast.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. I like to dream a lot before writing down the words.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Kyra Lennon and Mich Feeney

What are you working on now?
An anthology piece for a dark romance called Cheaters.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure this out

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it. Ask for help and get those words down

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do what makes you happy

What are you reading now?
I’m listening to an audiobook by Kyra Lennon called Say what you feel.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a secret project in the pipeline that hasn’t been announced yet

What is your favorite book of all time?
All of Penelope Douglas books

Author Websites and Profiles
Danielle Jacks Amazon Profile
Danielle Jacks Author Profile Other Bookseller

Danielle Jacks’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Danielle Jacks from England and I have four books published to date.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The heart of Bakers Bay is my lasted book and it was inspired by my desire to escape to the coast.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No. I like to dream a lot before writing down the words.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Kyra Lennon and Mich Feeney

What are you working on now?
An anthology piece for a dark romance called Cheaters.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure this out

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it. Ask for help and get those words down

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Do what makes you happy

What are you reading now?
I’m listening to an audiobook by Kyra Lennon called Say what you feel.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a secret project in the pipeline that hasn’t been announced yet

What is your favorite book of all time?
All of Penelope Douglas books

Author Websites and Profiles
Danielle Jacks Amazon Profile
Danielle Jacks Author Profile Other Bookseller

Danielle Jacks’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Jess Blenkarn, I am currently a 22-year-old student from Southern Ontario. I wrote and self-published my first book at age 15 while in the 10th grade, called Irrefutable Annihilation. Over the next two years, I wrote and self-published two more books, called Soul Survivor and West of Dawn. In 2020, I wrote The Sixth Book in 3 months, and in 2021, World Castle Publishing professionally published it.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Sixth Book. It was inspired by a dream I had where a man discovered a series of six books that could predict the future. After cutting out the random dragon appearance in my dream, I came up with the final version of the book I know and love today.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
None, really. I just find that my first draft is usually very similar to the final draft. I guess that’s because I do so much planning that the first draft is exactly what I wanted. But I’m not sure how unusual that is.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Agatha Christie has been my biggest writer influence! She is so successful and every last one of her books is so captivating.

What are you working on now?
I am currently finishing my last two semesters of university, so my focus is currently on that. As for writing, I am currently writing a short story as part of my Creative Writing class, but immediately after graduating in April 2022, I’d like to write another book. I’m currently thinking up ideas for that book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Events seem to be a great promotional method! I also heavily rely on family and friends, as well as my network on social media.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. I can’t stress this enough. No matter who tells you that you cannot be a writer. Prove them wrong every day of your life.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you know. This is where the most honest and authentic writing will come from, and your readers can certainly see that.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently finishing “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris. It is a great book and I highly recommend checking it out!

What’s next for you as a writer?
My fifth book! I can’t wait to get started on it in a few months after I finish school. By that point, it will have been 2 years since I last wrote a book, and I miss it so much.

What is your favorite book of all time?
“And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie. There’s something about the ending that makes it possible for me to read it a million times and never get bored. That is my desert island book.

Author Websites and Profiles
Jess Blenkarn Website
Jess Blenkarn Amazon Profile
Jess Blenkarn Author Profile Other Bookseller

Jess Blenkarn’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been an author as long as I can remember. I was writing books at a little roll-top desk in my room when I was a kid! I’ve written for the Big 5, for smaller publishers, and I indie pub my own work. I can’t imagine a life not writing.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ruby’s Story is actually a prequel to my Ruby’s Place Christmas Collection. I wrote a novelette in 2017 (Christmas at Ruby’s), thinking it would be a standalone. I loved it so much, I just kept writing new installments, until it wrapped last year. But there was still so much story left to tell! I wrote Ruby’s Place, which takes place before the collection begins…it’s my favorite book of all the Rubys so far.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write in the middle of a crazy household–usually in the midst of cooking dinner, fixing a lawnmower, and giving the dog his meds. There’s no perfect time to write. You gotta learn to write in the midst of chaos.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m an old English major, so my tastes run the gamut–literary, romance, horror, sci-fi, women’s fiction. I still love to read children’s novels. One of my favorite parts of Ruby’s Place series is the way it kind of has a bit of a Christmas Carol feel.

What are you working on now?
Re-releasing my first published book (a YA), as well as a humorous collection, and a mystery.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Frequent publishing (I’m getting better at it–it’s really hard for a reviser to let a book go).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
KEEP AT IT. All writers get there eventually. The ones who don’t are the ones who give up.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you quit, you’re a fool.

What are you reading now?
I’m always reading more than one book–right now, it’s a collection of non-fiction, poetry, and novels. Halloween got me into horror novels pretty extensively this year. My favorite part of a book is the opening, the set-up.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m a big genre-hopper. I’ve written humor, romance, thrillers, fantasy–and can see myself continuing to explore new avenues.

What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite book changes constantly. But my favorite movie remains Harold and Maude.

Author Websites and Profiles
Holly Schindler Website
Holly Schindler Amazon Profile
Holly Schindler Author Profile Other Bookseller

Holly Schindler’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Marisa Billions is a high school English teacher in Southern California. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Criminology. She is the author of the fiction novel, This Too Shall Pass and is working on her upcoming second novel. She lives in Southern California with her wife, Stephanie and son Alexander and two Boxer Dogs, Max and Ruby.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
This Too Shall Pass. It was partly inspired by my own coming out story, and custody battle for my son, and partly inspired by good old fashioned ghost stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t do a traditional outline. I write some bare bones ideas and let the story and characters grow organically.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Anne Rice, Lauren Groff, Jeffrey Euganides are my biggest influencers. I love their detail and style. They write in a way that is poetic.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on my second novel, Like Sapphire Blue. My goal is to have it out next year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out, so if you can tell me, I’m all ears.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you want to do something, stop finding excuses to not do it and just do it.

What are you reading now?
Leverage, by Katherine Black. It’s intense and stressful. But in a good way.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To just keep writing and putting books out there.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I have three. Middlesex, Jeffrey Euganides; Interview With a Vampire, Anne Rice; and American Psycho, Brett Easton Ellis.

Author Websites and Profiles
Marisa Billions Amazon Profile

Marisa Billions’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey, my name is Richard Becker, and 50 States is my debut collection of short stories. While this is my first book of fiction, I’m no stranger to publishing. I’ve contributed to five nonfiction books and also have a sketchbook shelved with the Brooklyn Art Library.

Aside from books, I’ve worked as a professional writer, journalist, and communication strategist all my life. Telling stories is not new, but having the freedom to express ideas outside of commercial restraint is especially liberating.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
50 States started as an unnamed project to write one short story a week for 50 weeks. As the work progressed, the idea of placing each story in a different state and touching on a different state of mind naturally evolved.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m pretty much a wake-up early, work out, and settled in front of the computer with a cup of coffee kind of writer. However, with the self-imposed deadline of one story a week, there were occasions I found myself thumbing a draft on my phone at the softball fields while my daughter was at practice. I’ve gotten pretty good at it!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ernest Hemingway and John Updike were especially influential in writing straight, honest prose about human beings. Even when some of my stories drift away from what’s real, my characters must be true to themselves and whatever situation they face.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on several projects at once. Most notably, I’m writing more short stories that intersect or continue the stories that readers will find in 50 States. Initially, I thought of releasing it when I had 50 more stories, but some people have asked to put a smaller collection out sooner.

I’m also working on a novel-length project. I’m keeping it under wraps for now, but it does include characters that people will find familiar.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promoting a book is a very hands-on venture. While I’ve certainly benefited from some spikes along the way, such as an excellent review from Kirkus Reviews, I’ve taken a very grassroots approach to establish a steady, sustained track record. It’s working.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Expect to invest as much time in book promotions as you did writing the book. While some publishers are doing the heavy lifting, authors are expected to do more than ever before. Book sales happen one reader at a time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Put your own dreams first. Unfortunately, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in other peoples’ dreams that sometimes we put on own on the backburner. Dreams don’t happen on the backburner. They only occur when you make them a priority.

What are you reading now?
A digital copy of Vicious by V.E. Schwab is on my phone. The Mote In God’s Eye by Larry Niven is playing when I drive or work out. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders is what I read right after lunch. And Willa of Dark Hollow by Robert Beatty is what I’m reading with my daughter. We’ve been reading out loud to each other, alternating paragraphs, since first grade. I’ll likely be picking up a classic to read next, and I’ve been looking for some undiscovered writers.

What’s next for you as a writer?
While I’ll continue to write fiction and build an intersecting body of work, my most immediate task will be to produce a book trailer and put 50 States out as an audiobook. After that, look for more shorts to be released a collection — stories that expand on those in 50 States but also stand on their own.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I don’t have a favorite book as much as I have favorite writers, so I always answer this question differently. This time out, I think give the nod to Dune by Frank Herbert. It was handed to me by a seventh-grade teacher as a challenge after I coped out on a book review assignment by choosing the shortest book I could find in the library and finishing the semester-long assignment in a week. Dune really woke me up as a teenager and solidified what would become a lifelong appetite to read, learn, and carve a path.

Author Websites and Profiles
Richard Becker Website
Richard Becker Amazon Profile
Richard Becker Author Profile Other Bookseller

Richard Becker’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an author and YouTuber. Currently I have published only one book. But many of my novels can be found online. I also have a website where all of my books are available.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is The Night In The Pyramids.
As for the inspiration, it was from a movie called Night At The Museum.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m very much interested in writing romance.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The books that have influenced me the most are The Secret Seven and Journey To The Center Of The Earth.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a horror themed franchise of books which will be going to be published soon within two months. It’s called the Blood Angel Franchise.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I mostly choose websites which offer free advertising because I’m still a starter and thus I don’t have much money to invest.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Since I, myself, am a new author I can’t say much. But I would like to give them a friendly advice that is not to give up hope and continue writing.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It is to not give up hope and that one day I will be surely successful.

What are you reading now?
Currently I’m reading some action themed webtoons and transmigration themed novels.

What’s next for you as a writer?
According to me writing is the most challenging work and has to be done with utmost care. Though I can’t use 100% of my time to write, I want to put in the best of my effort in writing the best books possible.

What is your favorite book of all time?
My favourite book of all times is The Secret Seven.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tejas Nayak Website

Tejas Nayak’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a mom to three children – 19, 16, and 11 and wife to my husband for 21 years. I work as an analyst for a Telecommunications company part-time and use the rest of the week to write. Northern Escape is my first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
This is the Afterword in Northern Escape. It describes what inspired the story.
Life with children is busy. While my husband and I were running the kids to their activities and helping them with their school assignments, a big part of me was missing who I used to be.
I missed the carefree times when I could count on hanging out with my friends on a Friday night. I missed being able to go camping on a whim. I reminisced about a time when I was figuring out who I was and what I wanted out of life. Although I didn’t want to have to go through all that again, I did realize it was a special time and one which made me who I am today.
I started writing Northern Escape in order to capture memories of those days, many of which happened during the five years I lived in Ontario. They were memorable partly because I was there on my own and my friends were my family, and because they were memorable, I wanted to tell my family about some of the adventures I’d had.
As we live, we see things, read things, and hear things and we want to protect our children from them. These, too, were some of the reasons for wanting to write this story. I wanted to capture important messages in my writing—messages such as choosing your partner carefully, staying away from drugs, asking for help when you’re feeling down, and not letting anyone treat you poorly.
Northern Escape is fictional. This story did not happen to me; it was an adventure I created as I wrote. The similarities end with the settings and tidbits of things I love and worry about. I hope it brought awareness to certain issues, but most importantly, I simply hope you enjoyed the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I will often listen to a favorite song that will put me in the correct frame of mind for a particular scene. I choose romantic music for a romantic scene and fast-paced music for a frightening scene. I can’t write while the music is playing in the background though. I have to listen and then turn it off.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephenie Meyer and Carolyn Keene.

What are you working on now?
I am working on the sequel to Northern Escape.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Online book promotion sites and their newsletters have worked well for me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Enjoy writing your book, take your time, improve your story through feedback, and then hire an editor to help make it a book you are proud of.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself in all situations.

What are you reading now?
Tana French’s The Searcher

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am working to develop a course on what is all involved in the self-publishing process. You can check it out at https://www.cindyfolkauthor.com/self-publishing

What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite book of all time would have to be The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel. I loved how you could become completely immersed in her story.

Author Websites and Profiles
Cindy Folk Website
Cindy Folk Amazon Profile

Cindy Folk’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Fancy Prison is my first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Fancy Prison: calling bs on the child welfare industry was inspired by our stressful ordeal in 2017, fighting to get my grandchild back in our custody.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Don’t think I have any (yet!)

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Love John Grisham
Kathy Reichs

What are you working on now?
improving public speaking/toastmasters
children’s book
studying more about trauma

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon but again, 1st book. Don’t really know yet

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep your mind’s eye on the prize. Visual holding your new book, even if you haven’t visualized the cover graphics yet. It will help when you’re stuck or not sure if this will actually ever happen and it come come together, cover to cover.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Robert F. Kennedy
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage…that human history is shaped.

What are you reading now?
The Stolen Lady by
Laura Morelli

What’s next for you as a writer?
another book, much lighter content this time…
a fun, fictional children’s book

What is your favorite book of all time?
ugh, you would ask this. um… hard to say…

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Author Websites and Profiles
Tina Fumo Amazon Profile
Tina Fumo Author Profile Other Bookseller

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Quirky with a wicked sense of humor. Yes, I’ve been described that way!

s a voracious reader for most of my life, my mind has always bubbled with the occasional plot idea, imagined worlds and character personas. Many of you might relate to this.

Having gravitated towards science fiction in the last decade and having spent a corresponding amount of time devouring adventure, I began outlining the plot for a compelling space adventure story.

Framandi Alliance is my first full length science fiction novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Framandi Alliance is a hard science fiction space adventure novel, narrated from the perspective of an evolving 3rd generation AI.

While researching our galaxy, I came across references to the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy or CMa Dwarf, which has been in the process of being pulled apart and absorbed into the Milky Way. This process has been going on for eons, evidenced by the trail of stars comprising CMa Dwarf, wrapping itself around our galaxy three times.

What happens when galaxies merge? From the brief timeline of humans, not much really. But what about older civilizations? Those which may have evolved millions or perhaps billions of years ago? If they haven’t been wiped out, it’s entirely possible that they have taken to colonizing star systems and perhaps entire sections of galaxies.

Back in 1950, when Enrico Fermi is known to have exclaimed to his fellow physicists, “But where is everybody?” referring to extra-terrestrials, he was indicating that intelligent life might have widely risen. For a suitably advanced civilization, travelling across space using known/feasible means of propulsion, getting across our galaxy would take but a few million years.

This implies that there could be extensive colonization across the Milky Way and CMa Dwarf (a much older galaxy). Consequently, accretion of CMa Dwarf into the Milky Way, could be a cause of conflict between established galaxy spanning civilizations. This premise is the pivotal theme of this novel, and others to follow in this series.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Put on a few Hans Zimmerman audio tracks, equip myself with a strong cup of coffee and write or research in three hour slots. Chew on resins in between.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Foundation by Isaac Asimov, the entire Ender and Shadow series by Orson Scott Card, Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke and Hyperion by Dan Simmons; just some of the books which drew me into the extensive and imaginative world of science fiction. Over the last three decades, I’ve consumed the genre.

What are you working on now?
A second book to build on Framandi Alliance, and the plot outlines for a few more novels to follow.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own website to host some key content about my book, with an embedded free preview, so readers can get a taste of what the novel is like. Other than that, the occasional promotion on Facebook and in Amazon.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Treat writing like a job. Set out chapter deadlines, and have someone (of a group) to whom you ‘have’ to deliver drafts. That’s a good way to ensure your first draft is prepared. After that, spend an equivalent amount of time polishing the manuscript, as you did writing it, perhaps more.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Draw out your plot and ask yourself how every new idea or plot twist delivers on the key plot line.

What are you reading now?
Solaris by Stanisław Lem

What’s next for you as a writer?
Ensure I’ve got this first series out, after which I’d be keen to pursue a light science fiction novel series meant for early teens.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Consider Phlebas, by Iain Banks truly held my attention. It involved species interactions at a galactic scale and played with fictional science that seemed quite plausible. Most importantly, it was an enjoyable read.

Author Websites and Profiles
Rashid Ahmed Website
Rashid Ahmed Amazon Profile

Rashid Ahmed’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in New Jersey and have moved around the country and in Europe with my husband and children. While I am a trained actress, once I had children I needed a creative outlet and began to write. I’ve written plays and screenplays but this is my first book!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Greetings from Asbury Park. My wonderful parents inspired it by the stories they would tell when we were younger. My father was an American soldier and my mom, a young girl living in Rome during World War Two. Their meeting was the gold standard of romance when I was growing up. Thankfully, my husband met the mark!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t. I just write and write and write. Since I am ADD, I can hyper focus on it and work for eight to twelve hours straight.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Georgia Hunter, WE WERE THE LUCKY ONES. She wrote such a beautiful book about her family during the war. It was certainly an inspiration!

What are you working on now?
I have two outlines in mind. One is about being an expat mom. It was such a fun time to have young children in a new culture. I would love to write about it. I have also outlined a book about growing up with mental illness. One of my sisters struggled with Schizophrenia I realize now that these people are so misunderstood. I would like to offer the reader another perspective.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am writing to book blogs, posting on Facebook and Instagram. I also have a website. www.luiginavecchione.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say to just finish it. Most people get caught up in the details and never finish. What’s sad is that their writing is usually stellar but no one would ever know because they haven’t had anything go to market. Just write until you are done, then you’ll have plenty of time to edit, add or subtract chapters, check your grammar, etc.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never be afraid to cut things. Sometimes we get so attached to our writing, but if it doesn’t add to the story then cut it out!

What are you reading now?
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. Such a great character!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just writing as much as I can.

Author Websites and Profiles
Luigina Vecchione Website
Luigina Vecchione Amazon Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Bianca Nemes. I was born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and this is the place where I am living.
I am a computer science graduated, I work at a multinational company. What I like the most is to merge the analytical part of the job with my passions in my free time. I love writing, reading, walking, painting, exploring new places from other countries to nature.
I wrote a book ‘Collinearity solution. Counterpoint’ which was published in 2020 in Romanian. Now it is published as eBook in English on different platforms such as Amazon, Draft2Digital, Google Play. I am writing for my next book, which will be released most probably in 2022.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My inspiration is life itself, with the best moments from it and the worst. I get inspired by emotions, human mind and behaviors. I like to observe everything around me and the diversity is remarkable.
I observe and analyze what I feel and then writing is just an instrument to give life to my inner universe. Human behaviors is also truly valuable for me, as I try to understand trauma and their emotions. As being a psychological student and learning about psychology from highschool, I am very empathic and I like to discover patterns and to find the ultimate scope in life.
The true self is my source of inspiration together with feelings and the ways of being.
Moreover, nature and love are the aspects that give me energy and ideational flow to write.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It is not necessarily an unusual habit, but I cannot write when it is day. I only write after 7 PM and especially between 12AM and 3 AM. Those are the moments when my ideas just flow.
I need silence and a perfect connection to myself.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think that all the books that I have read from childhood to present have an impact on me.
After reading dozens of books, I realized what is my type of book that gives me that something, While participating to national contest in highschool at Romanian Literature, I have read literary criticism and that was the point when I started to understand what exactly stays behind an author’s mind. It was astonishing.
Some of my authors that really influenced my perceptions and consciousness are Paulo Coelho, Irvin D. Yalom, Emil Cioran, Hermann Hesse. I have read almost all of their books. I love the combination of psychology and philosophy put together in a story.

What are you working on now?
Besides my daily job and my learning process as being in my last year at psychology university, I am working to my second book. It will have a similar style as my first one, but it will have a more concrete theme, a subject that is not easy to handle, as it gives a lot of inner struggle and helps discovering trauma.
I will give more details at the beginning of 2022.
I learn as much as I can in psychology domain and I develop personally and professionally together with making time for writing and the other passions.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use my Instagram profile to promote my book and also to recommend other books(nemesbiancalaura). I used other websited for interviews and there is a Romanian website that promotes books, namely BookNation.ro
Moreover, the bloggers and readers reviews are the most precious ones.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
To never stop writing if this is what they feel. Writing has a cathartic effect which cannot be compared to anything.
Get inspired by life, by universe and expire your own story!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It is not an advise, but a quote that I love: Inside the chaos, build a temple of love.

What are you reading now?
I am reading ‘Ispita de a exista’ by Emil Cioran. it is a Romanian book, which describes philosophical themes. I love it.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to write and then to write and so on.
I do not have a target number of books that I want to publish. As long as they help my readers and they find what they are looking for, I will not stop.
Writing is for me a way of living and dealing with life and I want to share this with many people.
I am writing for my second book, which I think will get published in 2022 at the end of the year.

What is your favorite book of all time?
I cannot decide the only one.
I can make a top 3: ‘Veronika decides to die’ by Paulo Coelho; ‘Der Steppenwolf’ by Hermann Hesse; ‘When Nietzsche wept’-Irvin D. Yalom

Author Websites and Profiles
Bianca Nemes Website
Bianca Nemes Amazon Profile
Bianca Nemes Author Profile Other Bookseller

Bianca Nemes’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a part-time UK government worker, soon to retire. A former journalist, I have made various attempts to break into fiction without success until recently. I have written and published three books, with three more in the pipeline.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Short and sweet is a collection of short stories in a wide range of genre. I like writing short stories and sometimes publish them online but wanted to put together anthology to showcase some of my work. The stories were inspired by a wide range of events and experiences over my lifetime, different places, and different people. Some of the stories have been influenced by stories from history or from reading about science and space.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. I tend to write either early in the morning or late at night, I sit at my keyboard in a cubby-hole room when I am feeling in a creative mood or sometimes I will sit relaxing in an armchair, typing on a laptop. I often think up stories while I am doing other things like riding my motorcycle or going for a long walk. I am definitely more creative when I am away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Of all the authors I have read, I think Raymond Chandler’s Marlowe novels have been the most influential. I have also picked up some of my approach from Stephen King, although I have only read a few of his books. Philip K. Dick I think gave me a sense of the fact/fiction dynamic and for anything sci-fi, Mary Shelley has to be the starting point. For historical work, I would say Conn Iggulden.

What are you working on now?
I am have just completed the first draft of an animal adventure novel: Run with the Pack which I am planning to publish on Amazon soon. A tale of survival written from the POV of two wolves. Other works in progress include a story of an astronaut who wakes up from hibernation for a journey that should have lasted three years to find out that she is not three years older but 128 years older! I have also completed a children’s picture book which has been edited and awaits a rewrite.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
facebook author page

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing. Whatever your standard, whatever you think of your work and whatever others say, the only way it will improve is to keep at it.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
There will never be a better time to write than now.

What are you reading now?
Debi Alper, Nirvana Bites

What’s next for you as a writer?
Try to decide what genre is best for me

What is your favorite book of all time?
Melville Moby Dick

Author Websites and Profiles
Ray Taylor Website
Ray Taylor Amazon Profile

Ray Taylor’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in South Wales in the UK, programming for a US semiconductor company, and love the science fiction classics and ancient history. I have written two SciFi novels to date, both standalone prequels in a new epic sequence called “HUMANI”.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The latest book is a rewrite of the first book from 2019, “Religion Without a God!

Although written first, it is actually second in the sequence chronologically, although it doesn’t matter what order the two prequels are read in because they take place independently on opposite sides of the Galaxy!

The novel was inspired as an attempt to confront the authoritarian and intolerant times we live in through the medium of an approachable adventure story with sympathetic characters and humour. It is therefore a very serious subject matter. It was revised in 2021 to better fit a SciFi sequence, so politics pushed more to the background without losing the important message. I considered this advisable given that the second prequel, “Imperial Knight”, was well received in the BookLife Prize 2020 and gave me hope for the series, and I needed to reduce “Religion Without A God” from something like 112,000 words to under 100,000 to qualify for admission to the BookLife Prize 2021 – and I’m very pleased I did, as Publisher Weekly reviewer seemed to love the end result, scoring it 9.75 out of 10 and ranking it second in the SciFi / Fantasy / Horror category before the quarter finals.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Writing habits? I am surprised I manage to write anything actually since working full time it is difficult to get motivated in the evenings. I take vacations when I need to really push a novel forward, but never write as much as I hope to. Still, I obviously manage to write enough to complete the novels to meet deadlines – both novels had to be completed to a cut off date to submit to the BookLife Prize and having a deadline REALLY helps.

A bit of advice to aspiring authors there…

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Frank Herbert and Asimov are clear influences for the HUMANI series. Not for characters, or events, but for the concept of a vast, teeming Galactic Empire and lots of imperial intrigue. I suppose my interest in the Roman Empire happens to coincide to their own, since both writers were clearly inspired by the Roman state.
Herbert’s “DUNE” is an influence in a different way too, that a SciFi novel is more than characters, events and setting but can explore society and the human race. I’ve seen it said often that “DUNE” is concerned with planetary ecology, terraforming, environmental extremes.

However, I believe it is more importantly about the human race, about Jihad, holy war, religious extremism. Paul Atreides is the good guy but the Bene Gesserit were right to try to stop him. The good guy wins and the result is billions dead because of the Jihad he unleases. That’s a lesson for all of us – you might think you are doing the right thing but you must always consider the consequences. In a sense “Religion Without A God” carries that message too, because consequences seem to be a blind spot for today’s political elite. Political ideologies rely on blueprints that don’t fit the real world, and when they try to make them fit people get hurt, things get destroyed – culture, freedom, whatever.

We live in very dark times where freedom of thought and speech are openly threatened by political activists who believe they are the good guys – good guys who do not accept that other people might disagree with them: here is a Jihad and it’s returning us to the darkness of inquisition and hunts for heretics.

What are you working on now?
Next I’m working on the first novel in the main sequence, which will be called HUMANI probably. I wrote enough for two novels – or one “DUNE” sized novel – years ago, and now need to prepare it for publishing. This will eventually bring some characters from the prequels back onto the page.
Since I wrote it so long ago I wonder how writing the prequels will influence the editing. I’m really looking forward to it.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promoting novels is not something I would claim to be good at. Amazon advertising costs more than the royalties earned – in my case, although not as badly as I’ve read on line if you keep the bid to a level where you have some control over costs vis a vis return – and free promotions seem to be the best way to get a novel out there, so researching the best promotion sites becomes necessary. Without a minimum number of reviews the biggest promotion sites are out of reach, so that doesn’t help. There’s an awful lot of competition – both other books and other distractions for readers.
If I ever find a perfect way to promote a novel I’ll let you know.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
New authors need to ensure their work is edited properly! Keep reading and rereading your work line by line and correct spelling mistakes and consider alternative, more interesting ways to phrase ideas. When you are writing first then the story, the dialogue, the characters come first, but then you need to polish it in later passes.

I’ve seen some terrible editing, even where authors have paid professions for an editing service.
Obviously don’t get carried away in unnecessarily long descriptions that break the flow, and show don’t tell.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Best advice? Stop worrying about things you can’t change – it will just make you miserable. Does this apply to writing? I suppose it does if you have missed a deadline…

What are you reading now?
I’m not reading anything at the moment.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll keep at writing the HUMANI sequence until the story is told and the characters have their happy ever after – or not as the case may be…

What is your favorite book of all time?
Favourite book is a difficult one. Let’s say that Frank Herbert’s “DUNE” and Asimov’s “Foundation” both inspired me to write so I must have a soft spot for them.

Author Websites and Profiles
James Evans Website
James Evans Amazon Profile

James Evans’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an outgoing and creative person. I enjoy sports, the outdoors, and learning about history as well as the unknown. I have written 7 books soon to be 8 when next month rolls around. I mainly write horror and poetry but will be coming out with a book of short stories that covers several genres.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel currently out is The Wax Menagerie and it’s the second book in The Wax Factory series. The book and series itself were inspired by the original House of Wax film starring Vincent Price as well as Guillmere Del Toro’s film Crimson Peak.

In November I’m releasing my 8th book, The Short Story Emporium. I decided to write a dozen short stories at the end of 2019 so I made it a goal and wrote them. Only later when a friend suggested that I turn them into a book did I decide to make that happen.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes for sure. I tend to write each chapter out first and then after it’s done I put it all together. I go back and forth into my work for mistakes and clarity way too much. I actually enjoy writing copyrights, giving chapters names, and even writing out book descriptions which I know most authors hate so I’d say those are some unusual writing habits.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a wide range of author influences such as Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Rod Serling, Elmore Leonard, William Shakespeare, Langston Hughes among others. I don’t have any specific books that influenced me as I’m usually inspired by little bits from different books.

What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on the 3rd book in the Wax Factory series, The Wax Papers. I’m also working on my first steampunk book, Of Gears and Gaslight.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still looking for that one site to have a goldmine of success on. My best method I would say is running free days of countdown deals on Amazon, it’s simple and can go a long way. I’m fairly active on Twitter so I try to promote on there in a reasonable capacity. Just getting the word out in a proper way sometimes is helpful.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep believing in yourself and doing what you love. I know that sounds cliche but I’ve seen so many new writers and authors give up or not believe in themselves. I’m constantly thinking negatively but I’m 7 books in and refuse to quit because I love to write and I believe in what I do.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be yourself, take things one step at a time and be patient. Again, I know it sounds cliche but I feel a lot of people these days give up on themselves too easily, they are in a hurry and have no time to wait for results. I am guilty of this but have found that certain things require more attention than others but overall you have to just take things one step at a time.

What are you reading now?
I am not currently reading anything as I just finished reading Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan on releasing The Short Story Emporium in November, and then I plan on writing my steampunk novel Of Gears and Gaslight and the 3rd Wax factory book, The Wax Papers. I plan on publishing them next year in the Spring and in the Summer.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Endlands by Vincent Hobbes and Vlad: The Last Confession by C.C Humphreys.

Author Websites and Profiles
Justin Bienvenue Website
Justin Bienvenue Amazon Profile

Justin Bienvenue’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing since I was very young (I’m not young any more!) but needed another career so I became a clinical psychologist, an occupation I enjoy that’s let me make a living for many years. I am publishing my seventh book two days from now (10/08/21). It is my second published novel. though I have a number more in the drawer. I have published five psychology books. The most recent is Emotions of Menace and Enchantment: disgust, horror, awe, and fascination.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book that comes out on 10/08/21 is A Beautiful Land, a novel that was inspired by my wish to try to understand more deeply some of the human dimensions of ethnic violence. It also explores guilt, including guilt in the context of motherhood. The book has multiple settings, but one is a threatening but also protective forest.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t have any habits (I’m aware of) that are particularly unusual other than taking advantages of even the smallest block of time (think ten minutes) to continue with a manuscript I’m working on. I’ve learned to dive in–no pencil sharpening or desk organizing. Perhaps one unusual habit is my preference for a messy environment when I write. I think of it as creative chaos.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Many…from William Faulkner to Dostoevsky to Ann Patchett (Bel Canto), Kazuo Ishiguro, Claire Messud and probably most profoundly, Toni Morrison. And many others, including poets.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a new novel.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m trying to figure that out. I’m just getting accustomed to using social media to promote my writing. I don’t entirely enjoy it.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Try to turn off the internal critic and editor completely while you are writing. There will be abundant opportunity to make good use of those voices later in the writing process. But first, just let yourself write. Immerse yourself in the process and enjoy it. I quit writing for a long time as a young woman because my inner critic paralyzed me. It was wonderful to get past that.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
hmm…that might require more thought

What are you reading now?
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’d like to write a novel with a more experimental or exploratory form.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)

Author Websites and Profiles
susan MIller Website
susan MIller Amazon Profile

susan MIller’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have written 7 books and co-edited two anthologies. This includes 3 novels, 2 self help books and one book of erotic fiction. I have been writing professionally for nearly 20 years.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Sheep & the Wolves (Noble Trinity Media) is my latest novel. It is inspired by the Opioid Crisis in America and the perils of addiction faced by people across the world. My hope is that this book will not only encourage people to seek help for their addiction but will also make drug dealers think about the effects that their business has on families, children and pregnant mothers.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I sometimes write books that become real life situations. I’m known to have a prophetic side to the books I write. I like to burn incense and sage when I am writing and light scented candles.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Definitely Terri McMillan and the late Eric Jerome Dickey and E. Lynn Harris. I also love the writing of Sidney Sheldon, Octavia Butler and William J. Caunitz.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a fourth novel called Any Heart Open and getting a movie made based on my first novel (The Seer: Legacy of Stone and Spirit).

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My favorites are Pretty-Hot.com, Goodreads, my website which is www.officialtashiaasanti.com I also like to use medium.com.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get in writers groups, let others read your word and give you frank feedback. Read lots of books by your favorite authors. Every writer needs an editor!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write in your authentic voice. Don’t try to be like any other writer.

What are you reading now?
Raising Hell by Najee Ali

What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to adapt my novels to the big screen.

What is your favorite book of all time?
If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon and Thieves Paradise by Eric Jerome Dickey

Author Websites and Profiles
Ifalade TaShia Asanti Website
Ifalade TaShia Asanti Amazon Profile

Ifalade TaShia Asanti’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account