Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I'm just a God-loving and social justice obsessed chica originally from Puerto Rico. I also have an undergraduate degree in English Writing and a graduate degree in Social Work. My main goal is to write to inspire others and give a voice to issues I'm passionate about. I've currently written two books: "Rise in Love: A Poetry Chapbook" and "Social Justice Advocacy 101: How to Become a Social Justice Advocate from A to Z". The first was inspired by a romantic relationship, which then led to a book about different kinds of love in my world. The second is an easy to follow guide to help readers start advocating for issues their passionate about.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I'll stop anywhere to write. It doesn't matter if I'm at work, a family member's house, on a date, hanging out with friends, or in the car. I'm always writing down my thoughts, ideas, and lines on my work notebook, random pieces of scrap paper I beg from my family, on my phone even though I'm with people, or dictating to Siri.

What authors have influenced you?
There are so many! Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, and Esmeralda Santiago are some of my biggest influences. However, my favorite book is "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would say to write for the sake of writing itself. If you write while thinking about literary criticism, you'll find yourself freezing up.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Selys Rivera

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
My husband – Dave –  (30 years together, so far) and I moved to our dream location in October 2011, relaunched our business under a new name with new services, and revised and released 5 of our books in new editions. While we no longer host or manage the radio show we do maintain our popular blog and continue to develop other manuscripts. We have 2 other manuscripts in various development stages:  a cookbook (expected release this summer or fall), and a biodynamic gardening book. Dave is also working towards the production of the percussion accessories he has designed and busy beta-testing for a few years now. 

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, we are married and are co-writers… and also run our other business activities together, and… we bought a fixer-upper home 10 years ago and have been super busy doing all of these things – together. This means we have had to learn patience with each other, patience with the situation, empathy and understanding, or cheering and pushing when needed. We learned to utilize each other's talents and things we enjoy doing… which thankfully, Dave and I are very different – so we can split a lot of the work fairly evenly.

What authors have influenced you?
Pretty much everything I read influences me. I'm inspired by ideas, moved by the creative use of white space, develop yearning when I read artful use of language… I study book covers, book design, graphics and images they chose to use… everything is so educational. I'll sometimes look up the publisher and the printer to learn more about them. I'll often look up the author's website too.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn to be tenacious; yet pace yourself so that you do not reach burnout. Don't try to do everything at once – if you see something you'd like to pursue, write it down in a file and make sure to go back to that file when your schedule and budget opens up. This is a business – so treat it like one.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Lillian and Brummet

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I'm a young dude that writes urban stories to inspire the urban community to read more and create more content. The people who create the content in this world has the say so and we need more people from the urban community with say so.

What authors have influenced you?
My favorite author would probably have to be Jaquavis Coleman just because of how much work he puts out on a consistent basis. I mean the stories are good too but he has over 30 books out. Some people die without dropping a piece of content a day in their life. I respect him for that.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I mean to be honest I'm still new to this myself. If I HAD to pick some piece of advice though it would probably be to just be patient. I rush through a lot and have been working on my patience lately. So patience is key.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Amere Dozier

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I'm the author of the Jamie Winters Mysteries, a fun cozy mystery series that revolves around a hapless legal secretary and her landlord/love interest's brilliant but non-conformist (to say the least!) niece. I also co-author the Martha Hudson Mystery series with Gemma Halliday.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wouldn't say unusual, but I do stash notebooks everywhere so that I'm able to jot down ideas as they come to me, since ideas can be ephemeral. I think a lot of writers do that. Other than that, I can and do write in my office, in the recliner, at the kitchen counter, the dining room table, sitting cross-legged on my bed…if I'm lost in Jamie's (or Marty's) weird little world, geography doesn't matter!

What authors have influenced you?
There are so many authors across genres that I read and admire for different reasons: Sue Grafton, Laura Levine, M.C. Beaton, Nicci French, Jana DeLeon, Leslie Langtry, Elaine Viets, Gemma Halliday, Janet Evanovich, Dave Barry, Mary Kay Andrews, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert B. Parker, Tess Gerritsen….I could go on and on. I'm constantly reading.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I'm not sure I'm qualified to offer advice, but it would be this: Don't give up! Keep writing, keep reading, believe in yourself, and don't give up.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Kelly Rey

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I am an avid learner as well as researcher of many topics including but not limited to health, nutrition, herbalism, European folk culture and simple living. I have lived in many places gaining experience, knowledge and testing that knowledge out firsthand to share with people like you. I have a store called The Intriguingly Awkward Shop. This shop includes merchandise of your favorite taglines from my books. I have written a total of 2 books…..so far.

Health & Not Screwing It Up is your go-to guide on bettering your overall health physically, mentally and beyond that. It focuses on topics such as nutrition, fitness, mental health, minimalism and how to deal with criticism all with a dash of wit and humor.

Money & Why'd You Have To Spend It On That? is another go-to guide on how to achieve financial fitness and freedom through very easy and simple steps literally anyone can do. This book also is laced with my awkward humor and wit.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Besides my awkward way of thinking…..nah.

What authors have influenced you?
Lately I have been on a Ayn Rand and James A Michener kick.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Research, network, and get started today not someday. Someday is not a day of the week silly.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Harken Headers

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1977, and finished Journalism School in 2003 at University Estacio de Sa. I started writing poetry at 10, and went on to write short tales. After graduating, worked as a freelance Journalist, writing pieces for online magazines like Brazil Post (Huffington Post Blog) and QG Feminista).

I lived in Portugal, Scotland and Spain before moving to France. In UK, I came into contact with stand-up comedy, and since then I started writing humour content as well. My first published book, The Grumpy Guide to Quit Smoking, was written after I succeed to quit smoking for a second time.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do something that most writers say it's not the best way of going around writing: I normally choose a title or name for my stories first!

What authors have influenced you?
Luis Fernando Verissimo (a Brazilian writer who writes political satire), Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple) and Margareth Artwood (The Handmaid Tales).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get writing anyway you can. Put your ideas down. And let people know you are writing. Expose your work to readers.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Andreia Nobre

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I'm an author of psychological horror, supernatural thrillers, and dark fantasy. When I'm not writing, I love to read suspenseful books, the more on the edge of my seat I am, the better. In the part of my life that doesn't include books, I enjoy baking and drawing.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have to use pen and paper when I'm fleshing out ideas. I know a lot of writers can hop right onto a computer and type up their ideas, but I have to work the old fashioned way to get my ideas flowing. I write all my first drafts longhand and then type them up.

What authors have influenced you?
I've been influenced by Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware, Lynn Weingarten, and Mary Kubica.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up. It can be easy to forget why you're writing your story, to think that it has all been done before or to want to please your audience. Don't do that. Write your story the way you want because no one can tell it the way you can.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Kayla Krantz

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I am a mother to two boys. I was born and raised in New York. I fell in love with poetry when I was eight years old. I thought it was cool how you could express yourself, create/describe scenery and tell a story through poetry. And from there is when I began writing. I wasn't consistent with at that young age. It wasn't until after I graduated from high school that I became consistent with writing. I was experiencing different emotions and writing helped me understand what was going on around as well as within me. I write based off of my intimate feelings and relationships. I began sharing my poems more and not only were they sparking a conversation but people started asking me to write poems for their spouses and weddings. I tried to get the poems published but discovered they would be hard to promote and market. I went back to a short story that I wrote which pushed me as a writer and became my first novel, Dreamtini. After Dreamtini was published, I took a eight year hiatus. I became a mom twice but I NEVER STOPPED writing. When I returned, I re-released Dreamtini because there was always a part two. I was also able to publish my poems. The collection is called Intimately Me which consists of two books, Pieces of Me and Simply Me. I am happy to say that Dreamtini II: The Reality is now available.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don't think that I have any unusual writing habits. When I get the urge to write, I normally go to my blog and write. If I have an idea for a book, I take my notebook out of my pocketbook and get the idea out.

What authors have influenced you?
I read different genres so there are no authors who have influenced me. I started off creatively writing and pushed myself as a writer to become published. When it comes to reading, I don't limit myself to any genre, I enjoy a good book no matter the genre.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors would be to keep going because your story needs to be told.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Arnittress Dowdy

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I was born in Sydney, Australia, and worked a disparaging collection of jobs after finishing high school, including being a combat medic for the Australian Army for over five years. In 2015, at the age of 29, I was sentenced to two-years imprisonment for firebombing a home, with the sentencing magistrate stating that my motivation appeared to be ‘vigilante action’. Someone in my family was sexually assaulted, and I aimed to get retribution against her attacker. I have written one book, which I completed by hand while I was in prison.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
It's probably a bit unusual that my first book was written in prison, but other than that not really, I just like to be consistent. Something simple like only 1,000 words a day really builds up quickly.

What authors have influenced you?
The styles of Dean Kootz, Garth Ennis and Robert G. Barrett were the main influences for the style of my first novel. As a writer the book I have found most influential and helpful was Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t get disheartened by rejection letters. I got twelve rejection letters from publishers over three years before I was offered a contract.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Damien Linnane

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I’m Natalie, and I’m an author from southeastern Kentucky. I grew up on a farm in an extremely rural area, so my books are usually based in that area. My books are my life stories. My first book “Fourteen Day Fiancé” was a memoir about how my fiancé was killed in a car accident and his death was covered up by local law enforcement. My second book that I am about to release at the end of this year is called “After The Storm” which is an autobiographical novel based on how I overcame the storms of life and found love again.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I definitely have a few weird writing habits, one of which is that I always write chapters first and add as I go. I also write better when things are noisy. I can write in solitude, but my best work is definitely done while I’m in the living room with my family making a ruckus and the television blaring.

What authors have influenced you?
Joyce Carol Oates has influenced me the most. In school I was a huge fan of Oates’ works and I read a lot them, I even wrote a few essays about them in college.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors would be to start building an audience before you even write your book. It definitely helps create a following for you and it gets your name out there.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Natalie Jenkins

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
Sherri Simmons is a wife and a mother to her beagle K.B. She is the oldest of four children (two sisters and one brother) and the aunt to three nephews. She has been an educator in the Chicago Public Schools for 14 years, where she has taught 3rd, 1st, Intermediate Math, served as an Assistant Principal, and is currently working as a STEM Integration Specialist. She is also the Founder and President of Young Ladies At All Times, NFP (Y.L.A.A.T.), a mentoring program for young girls and a member of Young Women’s Professional League (YWPL). She began writing Underneath the Hat in 2013 after her separation from her first husband. The book served as therapy for her to get through the ordeal. Due to the book, she has expanded her brand to a YouTube web series and a podcast of the same name. She hopes that others will be helped as they learn through her journey of rediscovering who she is by revealing what's Underneath the Hat.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My phone was my software. I then typed out each chapter on my laptop. I wanted to keep the voice of how I was feeling when I was going through the situations, so I wrote it in my voice with the language and diction I felt when I was going through.

What authors have influenced you?
Terry McMillan and E. Lynn Harris

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Tell your truth. Don’t worry about how others will take it. This is your story and your opportunity to heal and release so that you can be the best version of you. Every few years we change as people and in order to change you have to reflect and change and the only way to do that is to be YOU.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Sherri Simmons