Tell us about yourself and your books.:
After a 21 year career in the Navy, I returned home to my native state of New Jersey. Following my passion for the open waters, I started a second career in the recreational marine parts business. After ten years of dealing with the dense population of New Jersey and its high cost of living, we had had enough. My wife, Cheryl, and I sought to find a peaceful, friendly environment for our second retirement. We now happily reside in Spink County, South Dakota.

I reveal my love for South Dakota and appreciation of its people through my third career as an author of six books centering around the fictional town of Helen, South Dakota. All my novels and stories tell a tale of middle America and the rural lifestyle.

My current books are:

Tom And Sarah – The Beginning
Flyover County
The Fred Weber Story
The Frank Stanbauer Story
Whiteout! And Other Stories
River Of Destiny

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My wife and I are both retired and therefor are home with each other 2/7. We have adjusted our schedules to each have private time.
I am up around six each morning while my wife prefers to sleep in until ten or eleven. In the evening I am in bed before eleven and she stays up until one or two AM. We each get time to ourselves.
I use my quiet mornings to write. I get my morning coffee, chose the door to my den and start to type. I am a “seat of the pants” writer so I have no idea where the story is going to take me when I sit down each morning

What authors have influenced you?
I like homespun fiction. Some of my recent favorites have been Carol Cox, Debbie Macomber, C. J. Darlington, and Vickie Kestell.
Now I know these authors lean toward the romantic, but the background and the people in these stories touch me.
I also enjoy Historical Fiction. I like reading of simpler times and less complicated people. Carol Cox and Vickie Kestell both write in that genre.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I can give is, “Sit down and put your fingers on the keyboard and start typing. Don't get all wrapped up int the nuts and bolts of it at first. Tell your story. There will be plenty of time to go back and correct, revise, and edit. However, you can't do any of those things if you do not have a story. Write your story.”

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Richard Skorupski

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I am a physician and theologian with a longstanding interest in spiritual healing. As a physician (M.D., M.Sc.), specialized in Aerospace Medicine, I wrote the first book on Space Clinical Medicine. As a theologian (D.Min., Ph.D), ordained as a minister and engaged in spiritual healing, I have written four books on spiritual healing, the last two being revisions of the first two.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not that I know of!

What authors have influenced you?
Morton Kelsey, Francis MacNutt, Ron Roth, Larry Dossey, the writers of the Gospels, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Bart Ehrman.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write clearly and understandably, and be patient.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Douglas Busby

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I'm 54 years old and live in beautiful Murphy, NC. I love music of all kinds. I love great sound systems. I love nature and God — I happen to believe they are not one and the same. I love leisure time but I also love hard physical work. I try to stay in good shape. I love my family and friends and I love beer.

Tamar & PJ: One Giant Adventure – teen fantasy
Love in Cardwell: A Christmas Romance – lighthearted and humorous romance
Under contract and coming soon… A Road to Redemption: America's Second Revolution – two part dystopian series. Epic – tragic – yet filled with humor.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I guess not. I'm a predictable person and I handle my writing the same way. I devote my mornings to writing. I treat it like a job, especially when I'm working on a book. I much prefer writing to doing the business of writing. I'm a little bitter about the latter. This is a very impersonal profession. For some reason, agents and publishers don't necessarily feel like they should be nice to the people who take the time to submit to them. Not cool and not understandable to me. Unfortunately it doesn't get a whole lot better once you have a publisher. Oh well.

What authors have influenced you?
Piers Anthony – Amazing and prolific writer who cares about the profession and young writers.
I love writers who are able to make me believe in the worlds they create. Frank Herbert's Dune, as well as the entire series, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, Card's Ender's Game, Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko series, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant – part one Refugee, Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, Saul Bellow's Mr. Sammler's Planet, Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon, Ian Rand's Atlas Shrugged….

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Know what you're getting into. Every step of the way is a very small step. Much smaller than they seem at the time. If you're into writing because you love it and having a local presence is your goal, by all means pursue it. If you expect to be rich and famous, this is probably not the profession for you. I recently watched a movie that documented the zombie craze from its roots until today. They interviewed writers, directors, and producers. The executive producer of The Walking Dead was asked how Dead took off like it has. He laughed and said, “Blind luck.”

Incidentally, I don't want to be locally or otherwise famous. I just want the money. Lol

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Mark Geatches

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I am a retired middle school teacher and I have published several novels and short stories. Writing has always been a way for me to relax and I started writing as a child, often creating my own scripts and stories. I don't have a specialty as I simply enjoy writing whatever I'm inspired to write at the time. Genres I've published include science fiction, dark fantasy, dystopian fiction and several others. When I'm not writing, I enjoy watching movies, going for walks, spending time with my sister and friends, and of course, my cat!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think one thing that is unusual about my books is the wide variety of genres that I write. Most authors I know tend to write one or two genres. The other thing that may be unusual about my writing is that an idea for a book often is inspired by a dream. I will frequently wake up after having a dream (or sometimes a nightmare) and I wind up mapping out an entire plot for a novel right on the spot.

What authors have influenced you?
There are so many authors that I'm sure I will forget some! For dystopian fiction, I love Suzanne Collins, Marie Lu and Veronica Roth. I also think I have been inspired by Stephanie Meyer, Dean Koontz and Richelle Mead. I had a friend tell me once that when she was reading my horror novel that she felt like she was reading a Stephen King novel. I took that as a real compliment!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice is to just start writing! Don't worry at first about making everything perfect. Just start putting your ideas down. Once you see that your ideas are coming to life, it should inspire you to continue. Also, if you have trouble starting, find a graphic organizer to map out the plot. That is what I had my middle school students do when they had writer's block. Finally, once your work is done, be sure it is edited properly. If you can't afford to hire a professional editor, let the book sit for a while and then go back to it. I find that I discover a lot more I want to change if I let my books sit for a while. Often, it takes me several edits, not just one, to get a book to where I want it prior to publishing.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Sallie Cochren

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
Tawnya Bulger is a woman who has always been passionate about words, crafting stories and helping children. She loves learning about natural health and hiking in the Badlands, grew up on horseback and is currently homeschooling her two teens. She would also love to learn how to shoot a bow, start kickboxing again, and homestead off the grid. “Katrina: Growing Wings” is the first book she has self-published and she has completed the next two in the “Katrina” series; which will be published in 2020. A born gypsy who put down roots early, she is excited to see these adventures through her readers' eyes. Currently, Tawnya lives in the rugged hills of western ND & is working on several other pieces for publication.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One year, while working on a fictional novel at the beginning of our homeschool journey, I would get up and write from 3-5am, then nap until about 7:30 when it was time to get my kiddos up for school.

What authors have influenced you?
My most dearly loved children's series growing up was the Value Tales set by Ann Donegan Johnson. There are over 40 biographical books and each book had a value that it sought to teach while it shared the life of some influential person; Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, Sakajawea, Cochise were some of my favorites. For adults, I've always loved Nora Roberts, Patricia Cornwell, C.S. Lewis and Francis Chan.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Set aside work time and show up! I have a horrid habit of procrastinating or allowing myself to get busy with busy-work that will always be there. If mornings are your best time, work then. If waking up at 3 works for you-do that! And find a team of people to support you, critique you, challenge you, love you and allow you to hibernate during publishing and promo time, working on that not-so-glamourous-behind-the-scenes bit.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Tawnya Bulger

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I grew up in Colorado and love living here. I work as a chef and in my spare time I love developing new recipes to share with my readers on my blog. I get inspired everyday with people, art galleries, reading cookbooks, and trying new ingredients. I've published two books through Amazon. Nosh with Chef Julie- 50 Personal recipes for the Everyday with 10 Ingredients or less that shares budget friendly recipes anyone can make. My second book, Nosh with Chef Julie- Vegan Journal, helps new vegans and those who are curious alike on how to begin to transition easily into a plant-based diet.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to listen to music as I write on my laptop. I have an inspiration board that I change out with pictures, words, and formats for my current work in progress. I lay out my chapters and fill it in as I go so I can see where I am and what I have left to do.

What authors have influenced you?
I have a collection of cookbooks new and old, and pull inspiration from them quite often. I love to read fantasy novels with magic, and heroine stories where women save the day. My current obsession is M. J. Rose, and I love the Storm Siren series from Mary Weber. As far as cookbooks go for traditional I love The Joy of Cooking, and for my love of science, The Food Lab, and Modernist Cuisine is also a favorite. I'm always looking in the cookbook section of my library to see what's new with vegan and vegetarian dishes too.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The best advice I can give is to connect with other authors. Ask questions, and write what's in your heart and make your dream come true. Don't get overwhelmed by the whole process of writing a book, just take one day at a time and it will come. Believe in yourself and you can make it happen!

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Julie Tutle

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I grew up on a farm in a small town in Kentucky where I often imagined traveling to the places in the books I read.

I studied Corrections & Juvenile Services as well as Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University because I have an insatiable need to understand why people do the things they do.

I've traveled to many places in the world and am always fascinated by both the similarities and the differences I discover while talking to people. I love seeing the places I've read about come to life and seeing how accurate my imagination created them from the words I read.

I continue to explore the motivation behind people's behavior both in the things I choose to read and the things I write.

I have published 5 books of poetry, 2 collections of short stories, and a novel.

I currently live in Albany, Oregon.

I have three cats who love to keep me company while I write, especially when they want me to stop writing to play with them or feed them.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?*

According to my parents, I loved books from infancy, and I have to take their word for it because I don't remember ever not being fascinated with books. My Mom says she started reading to me before I could even speak.

I started telling stories to save a groundhog that lived in my Dad's barn. When my Grandpa said he'd come down and shoot it, I'd come up with reasons he couldn't Grandpa encouraged me to flesh out those reasons into full stories to entertain friends and family. I grew to love telling those stories, and truth be told the attention it garnered me from Grandpa.

I started to write stories as soon as I could write sentences. I love the act of writing as much as the act of storytelling. Watching the story reveal itself as I write brings me immense pleasure.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don't consider my writing habits unusual because they are the usual for me; however, I don't know if someone else would see them as unusual. I can and do write just about anywhere. I don't need absolute quiet nor do I need certain sounds to write. I think the important thing is to write, to get the words written, to watch the story unfold, and to immerse yourself in it as you go. I find that meditation helps me focus a little better, so I meditate every day for that little boost. I also find that sometimes the most productive thing I can do if I'm stuck is to go for a walk or to have coffee/tea with a friend. I don't think any of that is all that unusual though.

What authors have influenced you?
One of my earliest influences was S. E. Hinton. Her books captivated me in a way that made me seeing books differently than I had before. She wrote about what she wanted to write, and I found that inspiring. She wrote about teenagers in a way that felt relatable to me unlike many of the other books about teenagers I read. Her books reinforced the message telling stories about the groundhog on my grandpa's knee had taught me; that words could make a difference, that fiction could touch hearts, that stories could provoke thought as well as entertainment.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write what you want to write and write what you want to read. We have enough stories that are the same out there. We need diverse stories, diverse points of view, and diverse voices. If no one wants to publish the message you want to send, publish it yourself. Don't compromise yourself for the market.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: T. L. Cooper

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I'm a veteran, a Web Developer/Technical Writer. Born in Canton, Ohio and grew up in Tempe, Arizona. I live in SoCal with my wife and 2 teen daughters who are pursuing careers in acting. Heart of Steel is my debut novel and has had a great amount of success. It is an incredible true story of my grandfather's life. He changed our name in 1920 to hide a dark and tragic family secret. A secret he took to the grave. 3 years of research uncovered the reasons why and inspired Heart of Steel. The book is a true story but it reads like a novel. Face-paced, emotional, cinematic. Heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Playing music for the mood I am writing for.

What authors have influenced you?
Nicholas Sparks
Fannie Flagg
Richard Matheson

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Don't contemplate. Strive to tell a great story rather than focusing on structure. Be fearless.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Kevin D. Miller

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I'm a fantasy writer who has dabbled in YA, romance, paranormal, supernatural, historical, and even sci-fi. I love a good, strong, emotional story about the relationships between people, but I also like seeing a bit of something extra—something special, even—in the stories I read. Fantasy is a good place to include that.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if this can be called a habit, but often when I’m writing, I’ll look away from the screen completely while I’m typing and trying to figure out what to say.

What authors have influenced you?
Oh, I have so many. I’ll stick with a few:

On the reasons I read what I do, I have to thank: JK Rowling, Susan Dennard, Gail Carson Levine, Erika Johansen, and Abigail Barnette / Jenny Trout

The authors who have influenced me as a writer (I love their writing advice, or their approach to the craft, and their lifestyles around the craft): Kameron Hurley, Victoria Schwab, and Donna Tartt

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Finish what you start. You don’t have to do anything with it once it’s complete, but get in the habit of finishing your work, even if it’s writing “and they all died / lived happily ever after” at the end of the document. I’ve done that before, just so I could finish a story I wasn’t interested in anymore.

Then move on to the next thing. Your best bet is to keep creating, no matter how long it takes you to create anything.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: C.L. Mannarino

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
Hi! My name is D. V. Stone. I'm a multi-genre author who is self-published as well as has a traditional publisher. I began writing later in life. Books have always been a part of me, but the opportunity to finally live the dream of becoming a published author happened after a trying time in my life. I'd lost a long time job and went into a pretty bad place. After a few months, I got sick of my wallowing and opened my laptop. The rest is history. My first endeavor is still a work in progress. It's an Epic Fantasy and to this day a hot mess. One day I keep telling myself, one day I'm going to clean Kingdom at a Crossroad up. In the meantime, I wrote my first self-published book, Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar. Agent Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake soon followed. Then National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) came about 50,000 words in thirty days was the challenge. I'm quite competitive even with my self. Challenge accepted and Rock House Grill became my first contracted book with Wild Rose Press and published in April 2020. Rainbow Sprinkles is the second contracted book and will be out July 2020. I love to Glamp (that's fancy camping), cooking over the open fire, hiking with my dog Hali in the state forest near where I live. Peter is my husband of twenty-six years and I love that man of mine. My only child, a son, has given me three wonderful grands.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do! I search for images of who I think my characters look like and put them in the header of my document. This way they show up on each page and when I get stuck can ask them what they want.

What authors have influenced you?
So many across my reading. I give the biggest shoutouts to J. R. R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Also, the bodice busters of my teenage years who introduced me to the romance genre. Though I am considered a sweet writer (no cussing or overt sex scenes) these early women certainly opened up a new avenue for me.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Perseverance. Getting published and then getting read is a long often difficult road. You're going to have to put hard time into your work before and after publication. Having a good critique partner or beta readers is huge. And once you have them, listen to what they are saying. You can disagree, but if more than one person is saying something it's probably true.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: D. V. Stone

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I’m a former tech writing professor who took up writing young adult fantasy as a second career. My books are what’s usually called “traditional” or “historical” fantasy, meaning they’re set in a quasi-medieval world. I love the chance to write about young people doing all kinds of things for the first time in a setting that treats them more or less as adults. It reminds me of teaching university more than you might expect.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Mostly my writing habits are pretty disciplined. I try to write for two hours a day, always in the same place. That seems to work for me the way conditioning worked for Pavlov’s dogs. I enter that time and space and my writer brain snaps to attention because it knows exactly what we’re here for.

What authors have influenced you?
Any author who writes traditional fantasy is probably influenced by Tolkien and I’m no exception. Before I started writing my own original stories, I wrote a literal million words of Tolkien fanfiction. At that point, I saw a quote from someone to the effect that you have to write a million words of crap before you can write anything good. And I thought, “Hey! I’m there!” So I turned to writing my own fantasies.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My best advice to new authors would be to write because it gives you pleasure. External rewards are uncertain and out of your control, so you’ll be happiest if you can take satisfaction from the work itself.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Dorothy Winsor

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
My name is RK Summers, I was born in (and have zero intentions of leaving) the North East of England.

I dabble exclusively in fantasy stories, though I dip my toes in the poetry pond on occasion. My debut novel, The Old Ways, was released in September 2015. It’s a YA retelling of an old anonymous Scottish ballad called Thomas the Rhymer, which any Steeleye Span fan will recognise.

The night Thomas Rhymer’s young sister is stolen away by shadows and smoke, he discovers there’s more to life than the fields and forests he knows so well. If he has any hope of rescuing Alissa, he must first cross into a realm where magic is lifeblood, and where shadows dance with dragonfire.

With the help of the seelie faery Thistledown, Thomas embarks on a treacherous quest, deep into the heart of war-ravaged Albion. But getting his sister back means pledging aid to Mab, the usurped Queen of the Old Ways, against the tyranny of the Dark Prince.

Yet danger and deceit lie around every corner, and some secrets are better left untold.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t work in dead silence. I need to have my writing playlists on. Yet sometimes I get so wrapped up in a scene that I don’t realise the playlist ended and I have in fact been writing in silence for an hour.
I also have a weird habit of making the same faces ‘out loud’ as I write my characters doing it. So if I write that a character quirked her left brow, I’ll quirk my left brow (I’ve just done it now as I was writing that). I’ll also sometimes speak their lines aloud without meaning to.
I also click my thumbs a lot. It’s like cracking your knuckles, but a daintier version.

What authors have influenced you?
I can’t say that any authors have influenced my work, because I think I developed my ‘voice’ quite early. But Neil Gaiman definitely influenced by sense of humour.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Develop the thickest skin you can. You will be rejected. Sorry, but there’s no sugar coating it. You will be turned down or turned away. Just imagine every rejection is a new layer that you put on, and go back out there and try again. When you do get accepted, all those layers will slough away, and now you can dance.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: RK Summers

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Tell us about yourself and your books.:
I am a comparative newcomer to writing prose fiction, but I have always had enormous fondness for reading. Thus far, I have had one novel published (via a small press), and a dozen short stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not particularly. I think I need to plan my writing better. I also write best at night.

What authors have influenced you?
My favourite author is J.R.R. Tolkien, but I steer clear of conscious Tolkien influences in my own work. Influences are often unconscious things, however. My first novel owes a fair bit to Clark Ashton Smith and Mervyn Peake.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Seriously. A writer is simply someone who writes, nothing more.

[Read more…] about Author Interview: Daniel Stride

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