My Book Place

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I moved from The Netherlands to Italy in 2008, originally for what was supposed to become a 6 month study period at the University of Pavia for me and a sabbatical for Nico, my husband. But we had another, more or less secret plan: to find a beautiful house and start a bed & breakfast! What happened was that within two months we came across a perfect house, meeting all, I mean ALL, our requirements, located in a beautiful region on a panoramic position. At that point we had to decide: do we take this chance or not? If not, we might just as well forget about the whole idea of emigrating as we certainly would not find a better house than this one. Better sorry than safe, we said and jumped blindfoldedly into the dark. From the start we kept a blog about all our adventures (finding the house, buying it, reconstructing it, dealing with the real estate man, the builder, the notary et cetera). After having settled for a few years I decided to convert these stories into a book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Living in Italy: the Real Deal, my debut travelogue memoir about our expat adventures. I was mainly inspired by Tim Parks' Italian Neighbours in which the same take on life in a foreign country is presented, with humor.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write only an hour or two per day in one go, about 1200 words. When I know what I am going to write about, composition comes easy for me.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Like I said Tim Parks' expat novels mostly.

What are you working on now?
Translation of my Dutch Alphabet of the Italian language with words you never learnt at your language course.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The description on Amazon itself I think.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be prepared to spend a lot of time and money on promotion if you want to have some exposure!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Better clear than clever: forget about being original wrt the cover of your book. Make sure people understand the genre in one blink of the eye!

What are you reading now?
An Italian novel that just won the Premio Strega by the young writer Paolo Cognetti. I read a lot of short story collections as well.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing a short novel about funny things happening in a fictitious Italian village.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Probably still Mme Bovary although Stoner comes close.

Author Websites and Profiles
Stef Smulders Website

Stef Smulders’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a nationally recognized integrative physician with a focus on woman's health and family wellness. I have written 3 books, and this latest, The Super Woman RX is my life's work! I have spent a decade working to heal patients of various diseases and have been featured on the Today Show, Dr. Oz, Live with Kelly and other national media.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Super Woman RX is my latest book and maybe my most important. It was inspired by my patients who struggle to find answers to simple health issues and to complex ones. This book provides women with a personalized approach to health and wellness and helps them find a plan that works for them. I have taken all systems of medicine, conventional, nutritional, Ayurvedic, Chinese medicine, hormone patterns and more – and mixed this all together to create 5 unique types of women. The quiz is now online at doctortaz.com

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write early in the morning, when it is quiet and peaceful. I always have to start on paper and can then transition to the computer- there is just something challenging, creative and unusual about a plain white piece of paper.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love books by Dr. Andrew Weil, Marianne Williamson and Deepa Chopra. I love books that educate on business and health as well. One of my favorite books is Julia Cameron's The Artist Way- which I still use today although I read the book 20 yrs ago!

What are you working on now?
I am focused on the Super Woman RX right now but there are more to come- especially books focused on kids and men.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website – doctortaz.com is the best way to promote the book- lots of great videos and for now – presale offers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Make the time to write- its painful but always cathartic. I liken it to exercise, you have to keep showing up to get results.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write books with deep roots not – a quick flash in the pan- then a book will develop and grow into the next social phenomenon.

What are you reading now?
Medical Medium

What’s next for you as a writer?
More books, more articles and trying to match the technology to go with the ideas.

What is your favorite book of all time?
There are too many!!! Little Women, David Copperfield, The Artist Way, Spontaneous Healing- so many!!!

Author Websites and Profiles
Tasneem Bhatia Website

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After a few eye-opening years as a political journalist, followed by an outrageously fun time as a political speech writer, I fell in love with the art of writing fiction. My debut novel, A GLASS OF CRAZY, placed in the top five percent of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and received a favorable review from Publishers Weekly. SHE'S KILL CRAZY is my second novel.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
After taking an online course from James Patterson, I was inspired to write, SHE'S KILL CRAZY, a thriller.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write from six in the morning until noon each day. I like to write as soon as I wake up, before my mind gets clouded with my own busy thoughts. After I write, I take a long bike ride and think about where my story is going next.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King and James Patterson have influenced me the most.

What are you working on now?
The novel I'm writing now is a mystery thriller and the word CRAZY will be in the title.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Best Book Store, My Book Place, Amazon, and Goodreads are some of the websites that promote my books.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors is to learn the fundamentals of writing from the best.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I've heard came from Stephen King: Don't revise your story because you're concerned about what someone will think.

What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite book of all time is DAMAGE by Josephine Hart.

Author Websites and Profiles
Tina Laningham Amazon Profile

Tina Laningham’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
After growing up in Maryland and realizing that I hate winter, I applied for graduate school in only warm places. I landed at University of Florida, getting a PhD in astronomy. I managed to avoid winter for a good ten years, living in California, then Louisiana. But work brought me back to Maryland, and to be a single, self-published author, it helps to have steady income. I now work on weather satellites for NOAA, which is super-fun.

I drafted my nine-book series before I started down the road to publishing. The first book came out in September 2017, and by September 2018, I'm on track to have the first six out. I knew from the start that I wanted to write a series, and while these books have a motivating character arc that takes nine books to finish, each one has a unique villain that the crew must face in an action-packed thriller that can utterly exhausting to write.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The first book in the series is called "The Disappeared." I started with a girl looking out her window, seeing the glow of the planet below. Everything evolved from that moment. Who was she? Why was she there? What else is out that window? What's going on behind her? I learn a lot about my worlds through discovery writing, and while most of these scenes don't make it into the final draft, every one is an important part of the journey.

The first two books of my series actually started as a single unit – the story of how my crew got together. But because the book took place on two worlds and had two distinct villains, I ultimately decided to separate the stories, so that I could spend more time delving into the unique cultures of each world. When I created my lead character for the new Book 1, Corey, I had already done a fair amount of writing with the other crew members. I threw her into a scene with my Captain to see how they reacted to each other. The results were adorable. I love doing that – taking characters developed independently and tossing them together to see if they're friends.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One day, I decided to try yoga. I hadn't done it since high school, and I'd hated it in high school, but as I am now an adult, and I don't have to pay to try a yoga class at my gym, I showed up. I hated it. I get SO BORED. So I took my characters and put them in the yoga class, one-by-one, to see if any of them liked it better. Thankfully, one did. I had no idea she did yoga/meditation, and I'd been writing her for ten years! Needless to say, this is now written into her character, and I was even able to throw in a reference to it in "The Disappeared."

What authors, or books have influenced you?
"Black Holes and Time Warps" by Kip Thorne. Not only did I enjoy the science, but he wrote about his time in graduate school (with Stephen Hawking). I remember reading and thinking "these sound like cool people. I should go to graduate school." And I did. I think there's a lot of power in a person's life story.

What are you working on now?
Getting Book 5 edited enough so that I'm not ashamed to show it to a beta-reader. (After going through beta-reading and edits for the previous four, I can anticipate comments and the story is there, but I need to fix one point in the world building before I send it off.)

Also, I'm choreographing a show for a local community theater.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I'm still too new at this. We'll see if this one works. 🙂

As I'm a science fiction writer, I know a lot of my audience goes to science fiction conventions, and that will be a great place for me to meet my audience face-to-face.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I'm still collecting advice, but here it goes: talk to other authors. If they have a book out, chances are, they know something you don't. I thought I wanted to go traditional publishing or nothing, until I spoke to other authors. There's a big difference between reading a blog and talking to a person. Go where the authors are and talk to them.

Second – if you ever have a contract in hand, spend the money on a literary lawyer. Not a lawyer friend who does some other kind of law, but someone who specializes in literary contracts. This is your life. This is your work. It's worth it to consult someone who has read a thousand contracts and can pick up on nuances that can't be learned overnight by consulting online blogs.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
"Never walk your child farther than you're willing to carry them back."

Told to me by a man who had hiked his kids three miles up a mountain to go on a cave tour. My family was on the way up, he was on the way back. I don't have children, but I still consider this excellent advice.

What are you reading now?
"Red Planet Blues" by Robert J. Sawyer. I was in Florida for a work thing, and I'd finished all the books I'd brought, so I walked two miles to the nearest Barnes & Noble (in Florida, in July), and I was not going to leave until I found a book to read on the plane. I walked away with more than one of his books. I liked this one because it combined my two favorite things: science fiction and gum-shoe detective stories.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Book 6: Sky Glow. I started reading my first draft, and it doesn't have the right hook, which is great, because that means I get to come up with new action sequences! But I feel like I should read the rest of the book first, so that I remember what I wrote.

I have two spin-off shorts that are nearly done editing. One is a sweet story about Saskia (the one who liked yoga), and the other is a Food Memoir for one of my characters who is very creative in the kitchen. I take some of the recipes mentioned in the novel, spell them out, and weave them into his backstory. Both have more drama than action, and they'll go out to subscribers of my newsletter first!

Also, I'm percolating this idea for a completely new, unrelated story about a telepath named Tabitha … I'm not ready to say more.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams. It starts in an airport. I used to read it whenever I was in an airport. Once for an audition, I had to do a monologue, so I did the airport soliloquy, and now I know the opening by heart.

Author Websites and Profiles
Valerie J. Mikles Website
Valerie J. Mikles Amazon Profile

Valerie J. Mikles’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Susan Clayton-Goldner is a graduate of the University of Arizona's Creative Writing Program and has been writing most of her life. Her novels have been finalists for The Hemingway Award, the Heeken Foundation Fellowship, the Writers Foundation and the Publishing On-line Contest. Susan won the National Writers' Association Novel Award twice for unpublished novels and her poetry was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. A collection of her poems, A Question of Mortality was released in 2015. Her novel, A Bend In The Willow, released by Tirgearr Publishing in January, 2017k has nearly 100 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4.6 stars. Her second novel, Redemption Lake, was released in May, 2017 and is averaging 4.9 stars on Amazon. Her newest release, When Time Is A River is available for preorder at half price until it releases on September 6, 2017.

When she isn't writing, Susan makes quilts and stained glass windows. She says those two things are a lot like writing–you tell a story with fabric and glass.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
When Time Is A River is my latest book. It launches on September 6th, but is available for per order at half price. It was inspired by babysitting for my two-year-old granddaughter at the Lithia Park Playground in Ashland. I had a terrible fear pass over me as she played. What if someone kidnapped her? Most of my novels begin with a "what if" question.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write the first page of a new novel in long hand, looking out a certain window at the mountains. After that, I work at the computer, but for some odd reason, it is important to me to write out the first page.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a been influenced by Jodi Picoult, Dennis LeHane, Thomas H. Cook and by James N Frey's book, How To Write a Damn Good novel

What are you working on now?
I am working on the third book in my Detective Radhauser series. It is entitled River of Silence.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I've used several. My Book Place, ENT, Free Kindle Books and Tips, Awesome Gang

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be tenacious. Tenacity is the best gift a writer can have. You will be rejected. But you have to swallow it and get back in the ring. It only takes one yes.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I just wrote about it in the above question

What are you reading now?
A series of mysteries by Greg Isles

What’s next for you as a writer?
A stand-alone novel about a young priest who murders the woman he loves because she rejects him.

What is your favorite book of all time?
To Kill A Mockingbird

Author Websites and Profiles
Susan Clayton-Goldner Website

Susan Clayton-Goldner’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I published the print edition of my debut novel on June 1, 2017 after working on it for 24 years. OK, I wasn't working diligently all those years.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Compromise With Sin. The title comes from a piece that Helen Keller wrote for The Ladies' Home Journal in 1909: "They enslave their children's children who make compromise with sin." She actually borrowed the words from a poem by James Russell Lowell.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Do I skip meals and squirt Cheez-Whiz in my mouth as I write? No.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many influences. I especially like novels that humanize a social issue. I'm thinking of The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, or To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

What are you working on now?
I've begun the first two books in a trilogy of novellas. They're a spin-off of Compromise With Sin. The first is set in Santa Fe where Irina Taylor, a character in Compromise, goes to work as a nurse in a tuberculosis sanitorium.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don't know yet.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Nourish your soul. Write the book you want to read, not the one you think will be a blockbuster.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Use your brain. Don't try to write and edit at the same time. As soon as you turn on "the editor," you disrupt the creative flow.

What are you reading now?
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep going on my trilogy.

What is your favorite book of all time?
One you've never heard of. Back to the Top of the World, by Hans Ruesch. Published in 1973, it's about Eskimos confronted with radical change in their arctic circle environment. I must read it again.

Author Websites and Profiles
Leanna Englert Website
Leanna Englert Amazon Profile

Leanna Englert’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I studied and received my BA in Nutritional Science and an Associates in Psychology as well as being certified through ACE as a personal trainer for the past 10 years. Over the years I have helped thousands of clients reach their goals.
I have a close personal connection and empathy towards anyone struggling with personal obstacles that seem to sabotage their fitness and weight loss goals. These obstacles can range from lack of motivation, lack of knowledge on how to manage their time, and also to those struggling with back or joint pain that keep them from enjoying a healthy life. I truly care and am currently dedicating my time to helping the millions of people out there who need the help. I have written thousand of books for my clients, however, I am only now publishing these books in order to help more people that I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting. My hope and passion is to inspire, educate and help create a new life for my readers of life, renewed energy and long lasting happiness and success.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The two books I have published on Amazon include "Fitness Habits To Improve Your Health: How To Trick Your Brain For A Better Body" and "Exercise For Back Pain Relief: The Best Fitness Strategy For Fast Relief". Both of these books were inspired by close family members and friends that I have seen go through emotional distress due to obstacles such as back pain or addiction to bad habits. These books contain information that have been scientifically proven to reteach your mind as well provide the most current researched exercise, nutritional and supplemental information that will truly make a huge difference in creating a healthier and pain free life that will lead to true happiness.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing may be unusual in that I research clinically complicated information and I explain it in a simply way that may make the reader think to themselves: Well why didn't I think of that!? I believe this technique guides my readers to self exploration leading to them reaching the very personal revelations that they needed to realize within their subconscious mind.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been influenced by many readers over the years, however, I do not choose a favorite as I feel that the science of nutrition and fitness education is a constantly evolving field which requires devotion to science and clinical research. I then find it within myself to explain it in a way that is entertaining and relevant in today's changing world.

What are you working on now?
Currently I am working on my new book which will involve around the intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet. Every day more and more studies are being completed with fascinating and promising results which I will explain in great detail and explain how you can use these methods to dramatically improve the results you are looking for.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
You can find my book on Amazon when you look for the author: Joshua Huss. However I also devote a full time Facebook page giving you free daily tips and tricks of the trade. You can find me if you search for "Fitness Fatburn" on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is simply write about topics that will truly help and have a positive and profound impact on your readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I have ever heard was from a former professor who advised me to always keep it simple even when the topic can be complicated.

What are you reading now?
Currently I read all of the new clinical medical studies that relate to my field.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I will let the universe reveal to me the next topic which will help find others find happiness.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Again I refrain from choosing a favorite book as I feel learning is a constant evolution.

Joshua Huss’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I've written two novelettes (some people call them novellas, depending on your point of view), and I'm about to publish my first novel. That one (code named "Echoes" until I do a full title and cover reveal) is already out to the editor, so I expect it to be ready by December. Other than that, I have two more books that I'm writing, one of them is in the SF horror genre, with a spice of Lovecraftian madness, and the other one is a dark fantasy with more cosmic horror influences mixed in for some extra fun.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
"Echoes" is the latest one , but if you're going by what's newest to come out, it's Sighted. I was inspired by this interview I heard on some paranormal radio show about the "real" men in black. They were described as these creepy, extra-dimensional beings that didn't understand human customs or even really look human if they were scrutinized. I looked at film portrayals of the MIB and thought, "You know, this would be a great concept for a story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wake up every day at three in the morning and write till I'm ready to go to work. I guess most people probably just stay up late or something, but I find that I get better results because it's such an odd hour of the morning.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite author is the late great Roger Zelazny. But, I've also been influenced by H.P. Lovecraft, George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Ray Bradbury to name a few.

What are you working on now?
A dark fantasy series with elements of cosmic horror. I'm about 35,000 words in, and really enjoying where it's going.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website is my main author website, but I'm also dialed into social media. You can follow me on Twitterand Facebook. I also have a monthly newsletter where I give away free short stories and books. You can sign up to the mailing list on my website.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing, and engage with your readers. Without them, being an author would be like shouting in the dark.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
"Plant your ass in the chair and write."

What are you reading now?
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

What’s next for you as a writer?
To write more books, of course.

What is your favorite book of all time?
The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny

Author Websites and Profiles
Allen White Website
Allen White Amazon Profile

Allen White’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write 20th century historical fiction and love stories. My debut series "Rose of Anzio" was released in January 2016. The series consists of four books. Since then, I have also published "Eternal Flame", a spin-off story based on a secondary character in the "Rose of Anzio". I've also written several "Rose of Anzio" spin-off short stories that appeared in the anthologies "Pearl Harbor and More: Stories of December 1941" and "Christmas in Love".

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest release is "Eternal Flame", a time travel love story in which a young WWII soldier travels into the future to 1989. I wanted to write a story that might engage readers in younger generations to become interested in WWII.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write whenever I can. I carry my iPad and Logitech keyboard so I can write anywhere, anytime whenever I have down time, be it waiting for a friend at a cafe or at the doctor's office.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
"Gone with the Wind" and "Anna Karenina". I love sweeping, epic love stories and those are the stories I want to write too.

What are you working on now?
I'm working on another WWII historical fiction love story set in Shanghai in the late 1930s, between a young Chinese man a Jewish young woman who is a war refugee. I'm also working on a more contemporary coming-of-age love story set in 1991 on a college campus.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Lately I've been participating in authors cross-promos, which are a lot of fun and through it, I've met other great fellow authors whose work I can recommend to readers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Enjoy the ride. Writing a full novel is hard work. If you've done it, you should be proud because many people want to but will never be able to finish writing a book.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never cast your characters. A story begins in the writer's imagination and end with the reader's imagination. Don't take that away from the reader. This advice came from Stephen King.

What are you reading now?
"2:20" by Holly Hook

What’s next for you as a writer?
Don't know!! I'm open to surprises and wherever this writing journey takes me.

What is your favorite book of all time?
"The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway. I can read it over and over again.

Author Websites and Profiles
Alexa Kang Website
Alexa Kang Amazon Profile

Alexa Kang’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am the author of 14 inspirational books have never been marketed for I feel authentic works will eventually find their place in humanity by word of mouth. My lack of education makes my philosophy unique in a modern world, where everything is analyzed and sophisticated by experts until all true meaning drains away. My works do not follow any past or present philosophers.

Many experts may use erroneous intellectual reasoning and faulty egotistical logic to explain answers that cannot be lived by natural people. At this point in time, schools and universities teach people to read and write to a good standard. However, they do not teach wisdom to the students, on how to apply their learning for the benefit of all humanity, not just for a select few.

I am an international radio host, a mystical poet, business and finance philosopher and wellness/healthy living speaker on cruise ships, radio, TV and seminars. The Royal College of Psychiatry has published selected essays and poetry. His works can be found on numerous websites throughout the world.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Cutting Truths… Has anyone taken you for a ride and lost you money? Has anyone given you stress and made you sick? If you could buy eye glasses that would let you cut through peoples talk so that you could see if they were telling you the truth, would you buy them? Well, My new book cannot work miracles; however, it does cut the misty confusion of fallacies and myths that pose as the truth.

They say pre armed is pre warned … Are you ready to look in the mirror and face your logic and reasoning to find out how valid it is? If so, open the first page and walk the road least traveled…The road that leads to truth.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Everything in my books may be classed as unusual by folks who believe they live a normal life, however in today's world normal is no longer natural

What authors, or books have influenced you?
To be totally honest…None.

What are you working on now?
Nothing at the moment. I never try to write anything as the writing finds me and asks to be written up in a book.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
my own website is the one that folks seem to find when they are seeking truth and wisdom

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The following essay is the best advice I can offer. It is from the book…The Joys of Live Alchemy
The Excellent Writer Within

The art of good writing comes from the artist within. All humans have the ability to become great authors, poets, artists and musicians, etc., so why do most folks find it such a difficult task? Why do many people say I could never be a writer or I could never aspire to write poetry? Moreover, why do folks who do write grow discouraged when their work is rejected?

We are what we think, so if we believe we cannot succeed in our daily actions, then for sure we will never get away from our perception of what we think we are. This self-defeating attitude was not of our making. As we were growing up and maturing into adulthood, we were indoctrinated with thousands of negative thoughts. This gave us a belief that we are only homemakers or only truck drivers. This limited vision of our role in life gives us a limited life. People the world over have great creativity. Once we start to understand who we are and the reasons we exist, we start to cultivate eloquent works of creativity.

Just writing worthy, meaningful literature will not get the success it deserves unless we possess the resolve to carry on writing in spite of the critics. There will always be those who criticize a writer, no matter how well the composition. Rejection is an everyday experience for most writers. This is a joy we must accept and grow from. Just because someone does not like our essay does not mean it has no value. It means it was not acceptable to the editor or book reviewer who was reading the essay.

We can do two things when we feel constant rejections. We can give up and say it was not meant to be. Alternatively, we can say, "How do I become a better writer and have my work accepted by more of the establishment?'" Once a small section of the general public starts to take an interest in our writing, the sheep mentality of the "establishment" will no doubt follow. It always has. It always will. Success breeds success.

Until we can find the inner core of creativity and start to write from the soul, we will never become great writers. We may achieve a modicum of success by writing a few columns for a newspaper or magazine but that could keep us in a vacuum. We can scrape a living, but may not amass a fortune, for we are trying to write and trying will never cut the mustard.

The secret to excellent writing is to enjoy with ecstatic abandonment each letter and syllable we put down on paper. The pure joy of writing makes us successes; nothing else will. Those who tell us we have to struggle and sweat have not grasped true meaning in their lives. We need no approval of any human to be a success.

Stop trying to become a success. We are successes already. We were born. We are the success of life. The sperm hit the egg and here we are… Hello world!

Everything else we do and achieve is just a bonus.

Life is to be enjoyed, not endured. Joy brings true meaning to life.

Now the next question to ask is "what is joy?" What does joy mean and how do we achieve it? Look within, take time to silence the mind and feel the texture of nothingness. Smell the perfume of celestial splendor. Discover the sound of cosmic waves flowing though your subconscious mind. Palpate infinity. Breathe eternity. Conceive the splendor of maturating into the essence of a successful writer. Be the word, become the poem, and live the adventure. Everything we do is inscribed in our soul’s book of life. We just need to learn how to read the instructions written within every cell and molecule of our being.

Each tissue and sinew bleeds muscular power of infinite, majestic might. Fly on the wings of limitless mastery. Escape the shrouded cocoon and become the enchanting butterfly. The dreams of authentic reality are about to manifest a rainbow of magical delights:

"Write on Time" _____ "Compose in Space"

J_ust

O_bey

Y_ourself ___ (THE GENIUS)

_________

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Understand your own stupidity, so when others call you stupid you can laugh and agree with them.

What are you reading now?
I like to watch meaningful moves to relax and I watched a great one for writers last night titled; Adaptation, about a playwright trying to write a new move script A super movie all writers need to view.

What’s next for you as a writer?
To continue to be a keen observer of the human condition and find more ways to help humanity to overcome the stress and strains that effect most folks.

What is your favorite book of all time?
To be honest once again… The Joys of Live Alchemy, which may sound a little narcissistic as I am the author?

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Levy Website

Michael Levy’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I've spent much of my career as a writer, director and producer of award-winning documentaries and feature films, including “Crazy Heart,” “Hysteria,” and “Kidnapping Mr. Heineken”. I'm a connoisseur of raisin oatmeal cookies, a walking storehouse of pop music trivia, and I find reasons to get my passport inked whenever possible. SONS OF MY FATHERS is my first book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
SONS OF MY FATHERS is based on my family's history and tells of two generations in Georgia one hundred years apart; one during the Civil War and the other in the 1960s during the Vietnam War. I discovered letters written by my family during the Civil War that inspired me to write the book. My brother Ron's experience during the Vietnam War era also inspired me.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to write every day, usually early in the morning or very late at night. However, if a character is speaking to me, I transcribe it no matter what time it is. Sometimes I howl at the moon for inspiration, or do a little soft shoe dancing to anything written by Doc Pomus. To break writer's block, I once spent time smoking peyote in a sweat lodge with someone who called herself Ruby Morning Star. She claimed to be a Native American but had a Bronx accent and looked like Laverne DeFazio. I sweated a lot, woke up with my underwear on my head and was very thirsty afterward.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller, BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley, THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner, ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert Pirsig, THE DOOR INTO SUMMER by Robert Heinlein, THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams, which I read while in college and "stoned Immaculate" as the lizard King would say — I laughed until my ribs were sore, WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhysmost, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain, anything by Stephen King.

What are you working on now?
I'm currently researching a book that is set in Athens, GA during the time of the music scene of the 1970s. Athens is home to many great bands, including the B-52s, R.E.M. and Widespread Panic.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Yours, I hope.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Rewrite. Rinse. Repeat.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Comfortable shoes.

What are you reading now?
I just finished SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari and will next read HOMO DEUS by the same author. An extraordinary look at the history of our species and a glimpse into our future.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Dinner.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Different books have been my favorite at different times in my life. As a child, I read and reread ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND by Lewis Carroll and wanted to be the White Rabbit. As a teenager, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J. D. Salinger inspired me, especially the quote "I'm seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I'm about thirteen," which I accepted as a challenge. Later in my life two books that I greatly enjoyed were IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME by Marcel Proust, and ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I found both divinely depressing.

Author Websites and Profiles
Michael Simpson Website
Michael Simpson Amazon Profile

Michael Simpson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a secret writer, and have been blogging on the down low for a decade now. This is the first book that I am putting out to the people to share my emotions and to help others realize the depth of themselves.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book is called The Heart Palette. It is inspired by the hidden emotions of people on a day to day basis that they feel are too private to share with anyone.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write through moods. It is not like I can write when I wawnt to but when a mood comes around I cant stop myself from putting it down, no matter where I am.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have been influenced by fairytales, romance books of the likes of Jane Austen, Cecilia Ahern, Emily Bronte, Rumi. I do not limit my reading to explore beyond the usual.

What are you working on now?
I am working on a piece of fiction at the moment. It is just at the starting point and will need some time to be out in the market.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
TO promote a book the best way is to share it with friends, on communities, social media and websites that help promote authors.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Let your words flow, no matter how simple. THe only thing that matters is, if you can connect with your readers.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Let your words flow the way they do.

What are you reading now?
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Exploring a new genre of writing followed by another collection of poetry.

What is your favorite book of all time?
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen.

Author Websites and Profiles
Ashima Narwal Amazon Profile

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.