ReadWave has just announced the launch of a new reading widget, that aims to revolutionize the way that stories are shared and authors promote themselves online. The widget allows bloggers and website owners to embed stories online in a compact form.

An example of the ReadWave Widget can be found at

www.readwave.com/widget.

The ReadWave widget is the first reading widget to allow readers to “follow” the writer. When a reader follows a writer they are added to the writer’s fanbase and can receive updates on all of the writer’s future stories. The widget is designed specifically to help writers build up a fanbase and grow their readership online. The widget is also the first to be directly integrated with Facebook, so that content is automatically shared via social media.

Raoul Tawadey, CEO of ReadWave commented, “The ReadWave widget doesn’t simply provide the technology for embedding stories online, it also provides a legal framework for re-posting other people’s content within the bounds of copyright law. Every day, millions of indie writers post up their creative writing for free on their personal websites with the aim of attracting as many readers as possible. Currently other website owners can’t repost those stories due to copyright law. Our widget eliminates this copyright problem, and enables anyone to post your story anywhere without limits, and it does so in a way that ensures the original writer is reaping the rewards.”

Existing widgets use a predefined page size, so when the widget is made smaller the text is made smaller. The ReadWave widget is the first reading widget where the width and height are fully customizable and the text automatically adjusts itself to fit the space available.

“The ReadWave widget is great news for website owners,” says ReadWave’s Chief Technology Officer, Simon Van Blerk. “Rather than linking to someone else’s website, the ReadWave widget allows you to keep traffic on your own website. This means website owners can retain visitors and keep them engaged for longer.”

Contact:

Rob Tucker

submissions@readwave.com

www.readwave.com

www.facebook.com/readwave

www.twitter.com/readwave

About ReadWave

ReadWave is a community of readers and writers who love to discover and share new stories from contemporary writers. Readers can access thousands of stories and read them for free on mobile or desktop. Writers can use ReadWave to build up a fanbase and market their stories online. ReadWave puts writers in touch with the readers who are just right for them.

D.J.  Swykert’s short fiction and poetry have been published in The Tampa Review, Monarch Review, Sand Canyon Review, Zodiac Review, Scissors and Spackle, spittoon, Barbaric Yawp and BULL. His novel, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington, won a literary competition with The LitWest Group in Los Angeles in 2002.  Alpha Wolves, D.J.’s Noble Publishing’s bestselling novel, was released in April, 2012.  Children of the Enemy, D.J.’s OmniLit’s bestselling novel, was published for the first time in 2009 and a third edition published in September 2012 by Cambridge Books.

Hi D.J., Please tell everyone a bit about yourself.

D.J.: I’m a blue collar person from Detroit. I’ve worked as a truck driver, dispatcher, logistics analyst, operations manager, and ten years as a 911 operator, which was the very best job of all of them. I write stories like you’d watch a movie and put them down on paper. I have written in different genres; crime, romance, and even a little bit in literary fiction. The last sentence in my writing bio is always: He is a wolf expert. I am not a biologist. I raised two arctic hybrids, had them for eleven years, and have written two books in which they join the other protagonists.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

D.J.: The first thing I ever wrote was a poem to impress my art student girlfriend. That was right after high school. It wasn’t very good, but she was impressed with my effort. I’ve been scribbling things ever since.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

D.J.: I’ve always wanted a career that I enjoyed. I looked at writing as a possible means to that end. I’ve had some small success, enough to be encouraging, but I’ve always worked for a living. If there’s a central theme to my writing it’s that all life has value. My characters tend to question norms. I tend to question what is considered normal. I like animals, I have empathy for the hardships they endure and my protagonists usually do as well.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

D.J.: The Death of Anyone is essentially a mystery/suspense story with romance and a little science in it. The story centers on homicide detective Bonnie Benham’s search for the killer of young girls.

This book has a couple of the same characters from an earlier unpublished novel I hold the rights to titled Sweat Street, but I wouldn’t consider it a sequel. If I have some success with The Death of Anyone I may look to publish the first book. And perhaps consider another story with Detective Bonnie Benham. This is not the first time I’ve written from a female POV, but it’s the first time for a female police detective.

What’s the hook for the book?

D.J.: The book introduces readers to a DNA search technique not in common use here in the U.S., Familial DNA. A lot will be written on this subject as the real life trial of Lonnie David Franklin, The Grim Sleeper unfolds in California this year. The trial will set precedence for future use of this DNA search technique and I suspect will eventually lead to a Supreme Court decision on it’s admissibility as evidence. The defense is going to severely question LAPD investigating Lonnie Franklin in the first place as there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

D.J.: They say write what you know, so I set my story in Detroit, where I grew up and lived for a long time and can authentically describe the city and places for the scenes in my story. When I make up a character I usually visualize someone in my head and then give them the characteristics I believe suits the character in my story. I wrote a story about a thirteen year old girl trying to save a pack of young wolves from a bounty hunter. In my mind I visualized Maggie Harrington as Jodie Foster in an old film, Taxi Driver, where she played a thirteen year old prostitute. I used Jodie’s image to describe the girl and my own feelings for animals to impart her emotions concerning the wolves. This is how I generally develop a character.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

D.J.: I think Bonnie Benham is both unusual and likeable. She was originally in narcotics, but washed out. In her own words she became more “narcotic” than “narc.” As she investigates the murders of adolescent girls she is trying to resurrect herself as well as seek justice for the victims. This makes Bonnie a very edgy homicide cop. The story contains several suspects who are both likeable and unlikeable.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

D.J.: I’m a ponderer.  I do a lot of thinking about my character and the story in my head before I begin to write. I usually have figured out how I wish to end the story. When I begin to write I put my character into a situation and from there the chapters all point towards the ending. It doesn’t always work out quite as simply as this sounds, but this is how I begin.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?

D.J.: I think my best writing is in first person. But The Death of Anyone and Children of the Enemy are in third person past tense, which most readers I think prefer. First person works good as a narrative for a strong character in a short book, but since it can only get into the one character’s head it can get a bit tedious.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

D.J.: I grew up in Detroit, so, for crime or mystery stories I’ve set them in Detroit, which unfortunately has held the Murder Capital of the World title several times. I have also written stories set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where I lived on the Keweenaw Peninsula for a decade. Love it up there, a true wilderness much like Alaska only with smaller mountains. But the winter is extremely long, turbulent and prohibitive.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

D.J.: I liked this review left on Amazon:

The Death of Anyone by David Swykert, reads like a Jessie Stone movie, was a true page turner for me. His subject is close to our hearts and the viewpoint is an eye opener. He has interwoven the personal problems of some of his Characters making them real. He also has a flair for writing some romantic scenes that most ladies will find endearing. If you enjoy a mystery, some anxiety and a little romance I would recommend you read The Death of Anyone.

What are your current projects?

D.J.: I have an offbeat/quirky romantic tale titled The Pool Boy’s Beatitude. The book will publish this summer by a small Indie press out of Detroit, Rebel e Publishing. They do have a book distributor and a small print run will be done. It’s the story of an alcoholic physicist who drops out and is cleaning swimming pools to earn a living, skimming what he refers to as the “Infinite Pond.” The story follows the human orbit of Jack Joseph and his trail of broken relationships until he ultimately lands himself in a county jail.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

D.J.: I have a page on an artistic collective called: www.magicmasterminds.com You can find information about my work, and me on the site, and see a host of other amazing artists, musicians and writers.

Thanks for joining us today, D.J.!

D.J.: Thanks so much for the opportunity.

New Libri Press announces publication of the second Street Stories suspense novel, Bend Me, Shape Me, by author Debra R. Borys, available in ebook with trade paperback to follow. Contact Stasa Fritz (above) with review or interview requests.

www.BendMeShapeMe.net

Bend Me, Shape Me is the second novel in the Street Stories suspense series and tells the story of Snow Ramirez, a bi-polar street kid about to turn 18. She’s convinced that psychiatrist Mordechai Levinson is responsible for one kid’s suicide, and may be targeting her brother Alley as his next victim. Once again, reporter Jo Sullivan finds herself the only person willing to listen to one of Chicago’s throwaway youth.

Snow Ramirez hasn’t trusted anyone in a very long time, not even herself. Memories of her childhood on Washington’s Yakama Reservation haunt her even on the streets of Chicago.

When her squat mate Blitz slits his own throat in front of her, she knows it’s time to convince someone to trust her instincts. Blitz may have been diagnosed bi-polar, like Snow herself, but no way would he have offed himself like that if the shrink he’d been seeing hadn’t bent his mind completely out of shape.

Normally she wouldn’t care. Who wasn’t crazy in one way or another in this messed up world? After all, she’d gotten out from under the doctor’s thumb weeks ago and it was too late for Blitz now, wasn’t it? Snow’s little brother Alley, though, there might still be time to save him. If only she can get reporter Jo Sullivan to believe her story before Snow loses her own mind.

EXCERPT:

Squatting with her arms tight around her legs and forehead pressed to her knees, Snow rocked on the balls of her feet. To the south, the hum of traffic along the Eisenhower Expressway. Nearer, beneath the dumpster, the scurry of rats looking for supper. That feeling in her center, the one she couldn’t describe except to say when she was a kid she thought it meant she was going to die, tightened her chest, filled her mouth, made it hard to breathe. “You must learn to trust,” the shrink had told her. “You must learn who to trust. Your brother is learning that, even if you can’t.”

AUTHOR BIO

Debra R. Borys is the author of the STREET STORIES suspense novels.The first book in the series, Painted Black, was published by New Libri Press in 2012. A freelance writer and editor, she spent four years volunteering with Emmaus Ministries and the Night Ministry in Chicago, and eight years doing similar work at Teen Feed, New Horizons and Street Links in Seattle. The STREET STORIES series reflects the reality of throw away youth striving to survive. Her publication credits include short fiction in Red Herring Mystery Magazine, Downstate Story and City Slab.

deb@debra-r-borys.com
www.debra-r-borys.com/

Praise for PAINTED BLACK

“Painted Black is about the young faces we see on the streets, covered in dirt, wearing worn out clothes, shrouded in looks of hate, pride, and fear…. There isn’t a part of this book you don’t feel, it reaches into your core…. There are many enjoyable books out there, but there aren’t many that make you feel, make you think, make you sit back and contemplate the uglier side of life we try so hard to ignore its existence. This was a very well written book on all accounts.”
—Darian Wilk, author of Love Unfinished and Reinventing Claire

“Painted Black has a Silence of the Lamb’s feeling about it…..there’s something dark and ominous going on here.…. Fiction can be a great vehicle for exposing the darker side of the human experience in ways that are both important and meaningful and I think that Painted Black fits into this category.”
—Quinn Barrett, Wise Bear Books All Things Digital Media interviewer

“Borys gives us a glimpse into the vagaries of street life for teens without wallowing in sentimentality or false compassion. The mystery here is not who did it, but how finding the truth will change the life of a street kid we’ve come to care about.”
—Latham Shinder, author of The Graffiti Sculptor and professional memoir ghostwriter

New Libri Press | http://www.NewLibri.com

Larry Constantine is  a professional member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the author of a number of science fiction short stories. He writes thrillers under the pen name, Lior Samson.

Please tell everyone a bit about yourself.

The older you get, the harder it is to be brief, to condense the lifetime journey into a paragraph or two in a biographical sketch. In your twenties, you pad the resume; by your forties, the thing stands on its own; by the time you are looking back at your sixties, radical compression and redaction are in order. What’s important, what irrelevant? What’s of interest? What is a boring distraction? I tell my students at the university where I teach that I am not a real professor but that I am a real industrial designer. Both parts are true — in part. What they reveal is a complexity hidden behind brevity. I have been a pioneer in software engineering, in family therapy, and in interaction design. I divide my time between Europe and the US. I am deeply entrenched in academia and in industry and fully belong in neither. I am a novelist. I write under a pen name, but my official identity is no secret. I do most of my writing evenings and weekends in my apartment near the University of Madeira. My loving wife and kids put up with my long absences. I love to cook. I am a composer and would write more music if I were not so busy writing novels.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

I have been writing professionally all my adult life, but nearly all of that was technical non-fiction. I was good at it — even won awards — but I can’t say I enjoyed it all that much. I really started writing with passion and pleasure when I began work on my first novel, Bashert. I have never been one to color within the lines, so, although my novels are nominally in the thriller genre, they frequently break out of the boundaries of genre conventions. My forays into fiction actually began decades earlier with science fiction short stories and a couple of novellas. Those earlier works have been republished in Requisite Variety, which takes its title from my last published SF short. My recent novel, The Rosen Singularity, might nominally be called near-future science fiction, but it violates the terms of engagement that SF readers expect and is probably more literary thriller than SF.

Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

If I had wanted to be a preacher or rabbi, a long-form journalist or a self-help guru with a message, I would have taken a different path. So, no, I don’t have a message for readers. But I do have a mission. I want to challenge my readers, to get them thinking, to leave behind semantic seeds that grow into fresh inspiration and insight. Thoughtful thrillers, provocative page-turners, intelligent intrigue—these are among the phrases that have been used to describe my novels. I want to raise questions more than offer answers. What is the nature of extremism and its connection with terrorism? Who are the good guys and who the bad in a world of shadow and deception? What are the unintended consequences of medical advances? And I want readers to have a great time and a grand ride on the road to the last page.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

My most recent novel is Chipset, which is both part of The Homeland Connection series and can be read on its own. Readers who missed the first three novels — Bashert, The Dome, and Web Game — will not be lost, but those who go back and catch up will be doubly rewarded.

Like its predecessors, the story turns on a real threat, in this case malicious computer code actually embedded in the very hardware on which the entire world now depends. Like the other novels, it centers on ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, not superheroes or larger-than-life figures, but people you could know dealing with outsized challenges. Let’s just say that Karl Lustig, an American technology journalist, and his British-Israeli wife, Shira Markham, a jewelry designer and all around smart lady, are in for an adventurous holiday when Karl uncovers a secret within the computer chipsets he is delivering to colleagues at the University of Madeira.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

I really like all my characters, even the bad guys and walk-on players are lovingly crafted. In Chipset, I have to admit to having developed a special affection for Karl’s mother, whose story-within-a-story in a packet of letters takes Karl back to World War II Poland, Germany, Portugal, and England. She was an amazingly resourceful lady, as Karl finds out.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Perhaps it is the influence of my career as a designer, but I write much as a portrait artist paints, moving from one place in the canvas to another, filling in details here, sketching broadly there, painting over something that doesn’t look right one place, adding an element for balance someplace else. I make lots of notes but do not work from a strict outline. Instead, just as the painter steps back from the canvas, I keep going back and approaching the work as a whole, as a reader, taking on the perspective of the reader’s experience. Does it hang together? Is the pace and rhythm satisfying and engaging? Are there holes or is too much given away or at the wrong time? Then I go back and rewrite. And revise. And rewrite.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?

Every writer, even those who mimic others, has a writing style. In my case, I confess to writing in a fashion that echoes not some particular writer or writers but broadly fits the sort of writing I like to read. I enjoy reading rich description, insightful exposition, and colorful, clever narrative. I like hearing the voice of the writer as well as of the characters. I enjoy the poetry of language, the music of well-crafted sentences, and the rhythm of flowing paragraphs. These are the things I aspire to. Others will judge how well I reach those aspirations. In any case, I strive for something more classical than contemporary, despite the thematic currency of my thrillers.

And while we are on the subject of style, if I read one more self-appointed expert blogger cajoling modern writers to “show not tell,” I am likely to reach violently through the screen with malicious intent. It’s called storytelling for a reason. The language has adjectives and adverbs for good reason. The passive voice is useful. I see it as the writer’s job to master and use it all.

I have always favored third-person POV because of its flexibility, but I have no religious orthodoxy about acceptable incursions into the inner thoughts of characters. I am more interested in spinning a good story than purity of viewpoint. I try not to throw readers for a loop as I take them around curves and through twists, but I am not writing to please some professor of creative writing. I am telling stories.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

My environment and upbringing are as different as land and sea, but I suppose both have colored my writing. From my growing up, I would have to credit my mother, a newspaper columnist and editor, for instilling in me a love of words and a healthy respect for the craft of writing, in which it has taken me a lifetime to develop some craftsmanship. But my environment, which spans the globe and washes me with life’s complexities, is far the more direct influence. I often use familiar places to anchor my fiction. The Rosen Singularity is centered in the North Shore communities of Massachusetts near my home, but also in London and outside Moscow, where I have worked and visited numerous times. Chipset is largely set in Madeira, my second home. But I also go far afield, as far as the wholly invented African country of Busanyu, where the long lived dictator Edgar Jabari Mbutsu rules with brutal efficiency and plays a pivotal role in The Rosen Singularity.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

“Few thriller writers can match Samson’s ability to deliver a gripping story. In previous reviews, I have compared him to John le Carré and Tom Clancy. As an Indie writer, he probably doesn’t have the same name recognition or sales, but he is equal to or better than both those authors. His work deserves to be on the New York Times Seller list.” That from mystery writer James A. Anderson.  More than I deserve, I am sure, but to soar in such celebrated company, even for a paragraph, is delicious.

What are your current projects?

I like that you end this question with a plural, because I have two novels in progress. I imagine that writers are not supposed to do that, but there it is, the confessed truth. I am just not ready to commit fully to one or the other. Both are quite daring, in a sense, and each represents an entirely new literary direction for me. The one that has the tightest grip on me at the moment is my first murder mystery, although, as with my other works, it jumps the genre gaps and might be thought of as a love story except … Well, it’s still in progress, so exactly what it is remains an open question. Literary fiction? The other novel, which is also well under way but temporarily simmering on a back burner, is a work of quiet terror. So maybe it’s horror, except… These novels are quite experimental, stories that defy expectations and take the reader in new directions. I am excited. And scared.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

My author page at Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk is the best jumping off point. And it makes it easy to purchase the books with One-Click!

Anna Cameron has always had a passion for writing.  She wrote her first novel, The Crest,  in 2008 and publishes her books under the pen name, A. Dagmara.

Hi Anna, please tell everyone a little about yourself.

Anna: I am thirty-five years old, married with children.  I have over fifteen years experience within the business community as a jack-of-all-trades.  Originally born in Poland, my family fled to Austria when I was four years old. The climate in Poland at the time, sadly, was volatile during the Union strikes. My family, consisting of my mother, father, and younger sister, lived in Austria for about six months until we were granted asylum in the United States. We immediately settled in the State of Maryland, where I currently reside with my Husband and children.  My family have moved back to Poland in recent years.

My life thus far has been an amazing journey. I consider myself more than just a survivor, a firm believer in truly living life. I was a young single mother who eventually married her high school sweetheart, followed by the birth of a second child, who unfortunately passed away at a young age. My eldest daughter and I bonded further than just a mother and child from that moment on. We grieved, mourned, and got through it together.  Now, at sixteen, she and I find courage and inspiration through each other.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Anna: The writing bug never really bit me, as I had been writing short stories and tales of woe since I was about ten.  By fate, and after reading a few books leaving me disappointed and frustrated with some of the story lines, possibly by their pace, I found inspiration to write what I would have preferred to read. During a stint of being ill with pneumonia, inspiration hit. Three weeks of fevers, lethargy, and bed rest, I wrote The Crest.  The intention to publish never occurred to me.  It was when I moved three years later, and my current husband picked up the dusty manuscript without my knowledge.  He read the manuscript and loved it immediately, suggesting I set a goal to one day publish.  I entertained him, stating that I would one day, simply to stop pushing the subject, never truly intending to publish.  Both embarrassment and lack of confidence hit me hard when I reminded myself what I had written in the first manuscript.  See, the genre in which The Crest falls under is an Adult Paranormal Romance, Erotica. Needless to say, I was a bit modest to the writing, or more like some of the scenes in the book.  Being my husband, I was insecure about how he would perceive me for writing about such an intimate subject.  Over a year ago, he decided that I needed to do this.  Revisiting the manuscript, I spent another four months re-reading it and altering it.  Since that time, I was so entrenched in the story I wrote two more books to follow it up.  I guess you could say I fell in love with my own characters.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish?  Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

Anna: When I decided that I wanted to share my stories, the first thing I hoped for was that there were more readers, such as myself, that are annoyed with the pace of the average romance novel.  In real life, we don’t wait until we know we love the person to dive into all that leads us there.  Relationships are not a cookie cutter from each person, so why are most of romance novels?  Yes, their plots all vary, but the pace and structure of the romance between characters are not.  Personally, I’ve read over four hundred book alone in the past year and a half, and only a handful were against the grain. I wanted to have a “reality” approach. Perhaps I’m going against the grain and many do enjoy the long, and drawn out pace.  I also felt that I didn’t want to be predictable when it came to the development and story of my characters.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Anna: My most recent book is Holt’s Holding, due to be published in January 2013. This novel was intended to be a stand alone, until many of my trusted “beta readers” insisted on a sequel to the story. More than happy to oblige, I planned for a second book. Holt’s Holding, is very closely related to many of my experiences living in Maryland, though very fictionalized.  The Plot of this story is varied with a huge twist three fourths of the way into the book.  The main Character, Lillian Holt, is in her mid twenties.  Lillian, the only survivor to a house fire that took her family, finds herself amidst a corporate takeover of her father’s company, which has been safeguarded until her twenty fifth birthday.  Having known this day would come, she had spent seven years preparing and plotting her revenge.  Perfectly positioned, she falls in love, only to have her heart broken.  Her story is of survival and perseverance, as she learns that life is about living not plotting.  A preview of Chapter one is available on the website: www.adagmara.com

What’s the hook for the book?

Anna: The biggest hook to the story is Lillian Holt herself. Not all is as it appears to be. She is what most woman want to be, strong independent and driven.  However, like most of us, she’s flawed and has a lot of unwanted baggage. The development of her character leads into a world of underlying secrets and twists, sure to keep the attention of a reader.  Her strength is one of inspiration and her inner turmoil is emotional heart gripping.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

Anna: Most of my characters are inspired by actual people, events, and conversations – mostly conversations. However, my settings along with plot are inspired from dreams. The Crest, my first novel, was completely inspired by a dream. My daughter’s tenacity, humor, and strength inspired the main character. Though the character differs from her, it was my daughter’s nature that I modeled the main character after. I wanted to highlight those qualities within my characters and strive to do so.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

Anna: In The Crest, my most likable character is Kurt.  He is a sudo, brother, and the main character’s best friend. He has known her since birth and kept watch over her. Being level headed and caring, he truly would do anything for her. As his character evolves through the story, it is easy to see how and why most of my readers fall in love with him. He is the good guy next door!

The most unusual character is Skylar, dark mysterious, not to mention the bad guy. In the second book in the series readers learns so much more about him and his motives, they won’t know whether or not they want to torture him or hug him.  He’s my loveable monster, so to speak.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Anna: When writing, I typically find myself writing an outline; however, almost always straying away from it. I also keep a separate file on each character – their description down to how I want them to develop through the story.  Initially, when I first wrote The Crest, I went by nothing and just wrote it as it came. Not the best way to write, but amazingly, it worked. My writing and techniques, with time and practice, are ever evolving.  I’m not shy about calling myself a young writer, and even revel in it.

What are your current projects?

Anna: My Current project is the last book in the Guardians of the Realm series, The Gates. This story gives the reader an insight into the “Tri–Fecta”, by giving her a voice. Through the first two books, she has no voice, and the opinion of her is less than favorable. The Gates brings us to the conclusion of the search and epic journey, safeguarding the Realms.

I am also finishing up the second book in the Holt’s series, Holt’s Vaihn.  The second book answers many of the questions left unanswered and is set in New York City.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Anna: To learn more about my latest projects and upcoming events, readers can stop by my website: www.adagmara.com or find my author page on Facebook.

On my website, I offer previews of my books and latest projects, as well as encourage those to follow or participate in my blogs. In my blogs, I share with my viewers my current reads and thoughts. I’m a huge fan of books and emerging authors. Some of the best stories I’ve read were written by authors who could not get published traditionally.  They are my courage and should be respected for the time and work it takes to get our stories out there.  Happy Reading!

Thanks for joining us today, Anna.

Anna: Thank you for the opportunity.

Dr. Norene M. Moskalski writes about the intrigues and perils of university life. She strives for authenticity in her writing by visiting and researching all of the international places and university settings that she describes in her novels. Each novel presents a variation on a theme, using literary techniques and musical innuendos to move the action forward. Her plots revolve around the unexpected: what if the most beautiful things in the world turned out to be the most dangerous? Iridescent bubbles of sea foam – what exactly is sea foam? Your best friend next door – what does she actually do for a living?

Tell everyone a little about yourself, Norene.

Norene: I enjoy walking the beaches of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, collecting sea glass, minerals, unusual shells, and artifacts from colonial shipwrecks. A naturalist and environmentalist by nature, and a medical diagnostician by avocation, I have a Ph.D.  in University Administration from Penn State University, a Master’s Degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Slippery Rock University. I’ve presented my peer-reviewed, published research on faculty work at international business and engineering conferences, and served as administrator, professor, researcher, grant writer, and mentor at research universities for over fifteen years. I am a member of various writing and environmental organizations, such as The Eastern Shore Writers Association, The Nature Conservancy, The Sierra Club, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, The National Wildlife Federation, and The Smithsonian Institute.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Norene: I fell in love with the idea of writing a novel in elementary school when my English teacher taught us how to recognize the literary elements in the book she assigned for our class to read. The hunt began! After that experience, reading novels held a whole new dimension for me, not only reading for enjoyment but analyzing how skillfully the author used those techniques. When I became an English teacher, I realized we needed more contemporary novels suitable for classroom use that held the students’ attention while they learned how to analyze a novel. I often thought, “I really ought to try writing one,” but as a working Mom, my time constraints were prohibitive. Once the children were grown and off on their own, though, I began writing in earnest.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish?

Norene: My goals for writing during my professional career very much depended upon the current task, whether writing a successful grant proposal or a doctoral dissertation.  My goals for writing fiction are very different: I seek enjoyment in wordsmithing, peace in passing on life’s lessons, and inspiration from God.

Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

Norene: Each novel I write in the Kate and Jake Connors Series will examine critical contemporary issues through multiple perspectives. I want my readers to understand that there are many variables in life that affect a person’s decisions to act the way they do.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Norene: The Kate and Jake Connors series begins with Nocturne, Opus 1: Sea Foam, an international eco-thriller. Kate and Jake are university research professors at Atlantic University’s Institute for Public Policy and Safety in Dover, Delaware. They are also covert operatives for a secret, scientific subdivision of the Institute known only as the Agency. While vacationing at Venice’s Lido Beach, they witness the collapse of Kate’s sister on a sea foam covered beach. Her illness propels them into a seventy-two hour race against time and across continents to find the cure for Bacillus nocturne, the rogue scientist who created it, and to stop the bacteria from contaminating the world’s aquifers.

How do you draw your characters?

Norene: I draw my characters from real-life experiences with people I have met recently or known a very long time. Usually my characters are a composite of all those intriguing personality traits people have.

How do you develop the settings in your stories?

Norene: My settings are all places I have visited and researched in order to make them as authentic to the reader as possible. I want my readers to feel like they are in the scene right beside the character.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

Norene: Kate is the most likeable character in the story because she has achieved great heights in her career, yet inside is just like everyone of us coping with life’s variables and having our own flaws.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Norene: Oh, no, I wish I did! Because I write from inspiration, I often have to rearrange scenes to put them into a more exciting order. That takes considerable time because suddenly, a statement in Chapter 32 doesn’t fit the story line anymore. I’ve never been big on outlining, so I’m always looking for a way to handle this problem. A seminar that Lisa Gardner gave at ThrillerFest a few years ago helped me a great deal. I adapted it to my “flat filing system” (on the floor), and now spread out printed chapters on my office floor, moving them around to get the best order of events and to see where I need to add a few more chapters.  What fun! What a mess!

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Norene: Immensely! We’re always taught to write about what we know, and I always thought that nothing really adventurous was occurring in my life, so how could I write about what I know? Now I understand–that statement really means to put what you know about in the descriptive details of your story. If you know what the sun feels like shining on your face on a very cold winter day, put that in your scene. If you’ve driven a clunker of a car driving on fumes past Empty, have a character do that. If you know about rocks and minerals, add a few to your scene details. If you love gold gemstone jewelry, wrap your character in it. It works and you get to write about some of the things you love.
Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

Norene:

 ”I forgot I was reading a work of fiction. The characters were so real.”

What are your current projects?

Norene: The next novel in the series and a nonfiction book about cats. Hmmmm. Maybe I can combine the two!

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Norene: My website is www.NoreneMoskalski.com and my publisher’s website is www.DivinityPress.com
My book is at http://www.amazon.com/Nocturne-Opus-1-Sea-Foam/dp/0988381176

Thanks for joining us today, Norene.

Norene: Thank you for the opportunity to answer your interview questions.

In his new book A New Language for Life: Happy No Matter What, Dr. Louis Koster shows you how to transform your life from a place of higher awareness, to trust yourself and life, and experience an overall sense of peace and well-being—no matter what.

Why did you feel compelled to write A New Language for Life?

Louis:  I was humbled by my experiences. There is no other way of saying it. I felt entrapped by the circumstances of my life and at some point realized that there was nowhere else to go. I knew that the way I viewed the world had to change. This was my defining moment. I realized that if I considered life as fundamentally good, I may as well trust what was occurring in my life as fundamentally good, rather than condemning it. I made then and there a commitment to be happy and content, no matter what the circumstances of my life. This commitment became a passage of awakening and higher awareness that allowed me to transcend the circumstances of my life and reclaim my capacity to manifest my life. I then became willingly compelled to share this message of awakening and inner peace with others.

Why would someone want to read A New Language for Life?

Louis:  Entrapment in our circumstances is the human experience without exception at some point in a person’s life. In A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What!, readers are invited to dwell in two powerful affirmations–The Choice and The Insight, which by its own unique design, open up a passage of awakening and higher awareness without changing anything about the circumstances of your life. The Choice andThe Insight release being from its entrapment in language and allow readers to experience an authentic freedom to be and be present again to the true joy of life.What makes A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What! so appealing is the simplicity of its passage. A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What! is attractive, since the title of the book is attractive and captures people’s immediate attention.

Is there a particular timely nature of the subject area?

Louis:  We live in an era of unprecedented change and are trapped in cycles of crises. In depleting the resources of our planet, we may lose the fragile web of life that sustains us on planet earth. There is more at stake in being happy than our individual happiness, since a commitment to being happy brings about a sense of oneness and perspective to our experience of life. Readers learn that our default way of being is insufficient to deal with our current issues and concerns and that true survival of the human race is only possible inside of oneness.

Are there specific benefits from reading your book?

Louis:  Dwelling in the affirmations of the book, The Choice and The Insight, the reader experiences an authentic freedom to be in whatever circumstance they find themselves in life. A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What! shows how you can defeat day-to-day depression, struggle and unhappiness, or any ordinary bad mood.  A New Language for Life shows you how to weather the winds and storms of life from a deep and abiding source of inner peace.  Some of the benefits that workshop participants of A New Language for Life report are less resentment and more peace.  After the workshop, they were less preoccupied with other peoples’ opinion about them and the freedom to just be.  Participants felt less immobilized and consumed by the circumstances in their lives and were able to give attention to what really matters in their lives.

Describe the audience for your book.

Louis:  The book is for anyone who is in transition in life and has a sense that there is more to life than what they are currently experiencing. The book is for anyone who is committed to a life beyond struggle and suffering, a life beyond a sense of entrapment by circumstances. The book allows you to empower yourself through the challenges you are facing in life. You are led  to a place where you start to trust your own experience of life and begin listening to your own truth again. The book offers a way to reconnect with the essence of your being and a way to live according to your true nature.

What personal experiences led you to write A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What!?

Louis:  In essence, the idea for the book came to me by making the distinction between being, and the “I,” and by recognizing being as a separate, but invisible reality, the only reality that is in keeping with our true nature, despite what our senses, or the “I” tell us that we are. In hindsight, each event in my life has been an integral part of a journey of trusting myself and life, which allowed me to free myself from my self-imposed limitations, realizing that I am much more than what defines me, and come to an authenticity of being.

How do you see A New Language for Life making a difference for people?

Louis:  A New Language for Life is a message of peace and oneness. A New Language for Life is a message of a higher awareness. A New Language for Life  allows you to live a life that is wholesome. A New Language for Life shows you how to defeat day-to-day depression, anger, and unhappiness, or any ordinary bad mood. A New Language for Life, shows you how to weather the winds and storms of life from a deep and abiding source of inner peace.

Where do you see the messages in A New Language for Life going?

Louis:  I see A New Language for Life  becoming part of our daily conversations. People may see in A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What!a simple and elegant design that allows them to release themselves from the entrapment in language and start living their lives in a way that is more wholesome and in an alignment with the true nature of their being.

What do you see is the relevance of A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What! in today’s society?

Louis: The innate nature of being is kindness. How to get in touch with that and how to maintain that in the face of life’s daily occurrences, is the challenge. A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What! could aid people who are already participating in some spiritual practice to stay centered in their being. Now is the time. Now there is a window in the experience that people have of our current times, an opening to look beyond the horizon of what they see. Apart from personal enlightment, there is a narrow window in the next couple of years to change the way we view ourselves and each other to sustain our fragile life on planet Earth.

How do you see A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What! is in keeping with other spiritual teachings?

Louis:  Anyone who has been dwelling in the possibility of A New Language for Life, Happy No Matter What!will recognize similarities with Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Taoism. This book aligns with other spiritual teachings, in fact enriches other spiritual teachings.

What people, philosophers have influenced you in writing this book?

Louis:  I was influenced by the philosopher Martin Heidegger, by Albert Einstein, and Krishnamurti, who all from their own unique perspective dwelled inside of oneness. I am inspired by the message of peace by the Dalai Lama. I have a deep respect for the wisdom of the pre-Socratic philosopher Parmenides, who spoke about unveiling the truth of oneness.

How has writing A New Language for Life influenced your personal life?

Louis:  It allowed for my wife and I to have an extraordinary relationship. It allowed me to live a peaceful life. It allowed me to be more caring for my patients and be in touch with what really matters for them. It allowed me to step a little outside the classical paradigm of practicing medicine, which is predominantly evidence-based, and return to the art of medicine, where true caring makes a difference. It allowed me to have a great relationship with my brother and appreciate his great wisdom. It allowed me to just be grateful for the privilege of being alive.

Who were your biggest teachers?

Louis:  My biggest teachers were my parents, my brother, and my wife and daughter. They kept me straight.

What are your other interests?

Louis: Spending time with my family, traveling, reading and language. I am currently studying Arabic, and welcoming any opportunity to practice speaking Spanish.

Who are you favorite authors?

Louis: My favorite authors are historical novelists like Gabriella Garcia Marquez, John Steinbeck, George Orwell, and Ernest Hemmingway.

To find out more about Dr. Louis Koster, visit his website: http://www.louiskoster.com/

Karen Schwind is a proponent of current trends in publishing, including e-books and self-publishing, and has started her own micro-publishing house, which published her début novel, Her Life as She Knew It.

Hi Karen, please tell everyone a little about yourself.

Karen: I grew up in a small town in Georgia and have lived in Georgia most of my life. I graduated from the University of Georgia and taught English in a private high school and then Truett-McConnell college for a number of years. Over the years, I would write and at one time helped edit and write for The Conspirator, a small magazine that turned out to be more than the sum of its parts: at least five people who worked on it have now been published. I kept writing over the years despite working full time, and when I saw what was going on in indie publishing, I said, “This is it!” and jumped in.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Karen: I suspect that, like most writers, reading wonderful books throughout my childhood created my desire to write. I wanted to move others as I had been moved. Unlike some of my friends, I didn’t read adult classics at the young age of ten or eleven—or so they claim! Instead, I read the very best age-appropriate novels—The Hobbit in seventh grade, for example. Maybe that’s why my first desire was to write YA fiction, which I did. I wrote a horrible fantasy novel and then another that wasn’t quite so bad. I moved into adult fiction while I was in graduate school and deeply influenced by early twentieth-century writers, especially Fitzgerald and Eliot.

All art forms can be deeply moving. Films have certainly contributed to my being bitten by the writing bug, though their contribution came later than that of books. I loved going to the movies when I was a child, of course, but I was probably eighteen when I began to see film as a literary art form. Over the years, I noticed that the films I see over and over all have the theme of redemption: To Live and the Lives of Others come to mind. Characters being redeemed does not ensure a happy ending in the sense that comedies do. The difference is that works that focus on redemption take into account the suffering from which redemption emerges. But I do think that films have contributed to and fed my desire to write.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

Karen: When I started writing the first time, I think my only goal was to write something that moved people. Young and unfocused, I look back and realize that I didn’t have that much to say. Now, I do have something to say and worry that I’ll say the same thing in every piece I write.

The younger me often dreamed of disappearing into other worlds where I could become anything I wanted to be. Of course, what I wanted to become depended on the book or movie I was in love with at the time. For a while I wanted to live in the Upper West Side of New York City so that I could join the Jets and dance like Natalie Wood (West Side Story).

I think my ability to completely lose myself in both books and films led to one of my major themes, characters’ desires to find a new world where they could reinvent themselves. This theme is really an American theme—it’s the idea that the entire nation is founded on in some ways and can be found in Huck Finn and The Great Gatsby, to name only two works.

I always manage to turn the theme back around, though, for as the cartoon character Ziggy says, wherever you go, there you are. Part of what feeds my version of the theme is the discovery of me and many of my friends that as we get older, we come to cherish many of the very things we wanted to run away from. It may also emerge from the Southern idea of place, a meme if you will, found in Southern literature and storytelling as far back as you would care to go. I guess one of my major themes is more about returning than running away and the belief that we don’t invent ourselves completely because we are products of our childhood, as well as the times in which we live.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Karen: Unveiled Faces, as I’m now calling it, is about a young married couple and their friends struggling to make it through 1932, the toughest year of the Great Depression. One thing many people don’t know about this period of history is how many Americans emigrated to Soviet Russia, as they called it. At that time, America seemed to be falling apart, while reporters and writers traveling to Russia told grand stories about the Soviet Government and its five-year plan. Henry Ford built a plant in Leningrad and Americans who moved there played baseball in GorkyPark. In my novel, Peter and his best friend Jake are convinced that Soviet Russia is on the right side of history, while Peter’s wife, Vermilion, a Southern woman from Georgia, is aghast at the idea of leaving America. Meanwhile, another desperate young couple, Dan and Nancy, get mixed up with gangsters who deliver bootleg to the Village. Peter and Vermilion—their struggles and decisions—are at the heart of the novel, but the narrative also follows Jake and Dan and Nancy.

I hope Unveiled Faces will be a series. Having finished the first draft a couple of weeks ago, I’m working on the rewrite. When I complete this novel, I think I’m going to write some shorter works to complement it and then perhaps work on another novel about the same people, maybe a sequel to show what happens to Peter and Vermilion.

What’s the hook for the book?

Karen: In Her Life as She Knew It, Caroline walks to town against he father’s wishes (remember that it’s 1919 in the Southern United States) and gets a job working for Billy Taylor, a young man who has just returned from World War I and who used to be engaged to Caroline’s now-deceased best friend. The newspaper he opens becomes the catalyst for trouble as Caroline uses her column to spread gossip and dig up town secrets.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

Karen:  Caroline is the narrator and protagonist. Many readers mention Billy, however, Caroline’s partner in crime so to speak. He grew up on what we in the South used to call the wrong side of the tracks and yet managed to win the heart of the most popular girl in town, Jenny. When Jenny dies of the Spanish flu, Billy loses his place in society. He doesn’t return to his former position at the lowest rung on the ladder because he flew planes in WWI and so gained respect, but he  no longer gets invited to the best homes, if you know what I mean. He’s kind of dark and mysterious. I think people sympathize with him.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Karen: I’ve been focusing more in plot, really working to write short stories and my latest novel with tight plots. Julie Cannon, a friend of mine and fellow writer, recommended The Weekend Novelist but Robert J. Ray and Bret Norris. Not one to follow systems slavishly, I’ve jumped around in it but have found many of their techniques and ideas to be very helpful. One question they and others ask is, “What does the character want?” The answer to that question drives the plot even in non-genre fiction. The first thing I had to do when I began the rewrite for my work in progress is clarify what my characters wanted. I thought I knew and did in part. But I had to dig deeper and pinpoint the exact desire that drives them and creates the conflict.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?

Karen: I want to grow with each of my works. I wrote Her Life in first person because Augusta Trobaugh told me it was easier than third person, in which I had written a novel that I liked but couldn’t quite make work. It’s in a closet somewhere. For my current novel, I’ve moved to 3^rd person because I think you can do more with it. I want to show several perspectives, so I’m using limited omniscient. The challenge is moving between perspectives while maintaining the narrative voice. Reading an interview by Ann Patchett in which she discusses her own movement from 1^st to 3^rd person made me feel better about my early attempt at 3^rd. I thought, well if Patchett has to work her way into it, then I certainly feel no shame.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

Karen: I’ll share the one I put on the cover of Her Life.

Her Life as She Knew It is a beautiful and heartfelt Southern story about the ways in which the past we hide from ourselves emerges no matter what we do to stop it. Debut novelist Karen Schwind takes us deep into the thoughts and feelings of a young woman in 1919 who deals with betrayal on several fronts. Crafting a memorable setting that feels historically authentic, Schwind portrays Caroline McKee’s longing for an idealized childhood, as well as her response to betrayal, in tender, nostalgic ways. Schwind knows this world/this memorable time in America’s history, she understands why we need to keep secrets from ourselves, and she shares it all in her lyrical language.”

-Julie L. Cannon, author of Truelove & Homegrown Tomatoes

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Karen: Readers can learn more about my books by checking out Amazon, where they’ll see reviews and can read part of Her Life as She Knew It. To be honest, if they want to read Vermilion Wanted to Go to the Movies, a short story that’s kind of a character study I wrote to develop the protagonists for my current novel, they should go to Smashwords if they have Kindle or any other ereader site. Amazon won’t let me give the story away, so I sell it for .99 there, but it’s free everywhere else.

To get information on other works and events, including a couple of sections from my work in progress, they can go to skoobpress.com.

Links:
Her Life as She Knew It:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/her-life-as-she-knew-it/id419795853?mt=11&ls=1
Kindle: http://amzn.to/P5RdKJ
Nook: http://bit.ly/TsFCkd
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34591
Vermilion Wanted to Go to the Movies: FREE at http://bit.ly/qGRAVB
Twitter: @Skoob_Press
Blog: www.skoobpress.com
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/mRUP0E

Thank you for joining us today, Karen.

Karen: Thank you for allowing me to participate.

On Wednesday, October 17th, Dames of Dialogue posted an interview with D. K. Christi. With kind permission, the interview is posted here:

Welcome to Dames of Dialogue, D.K. Tell us about your latest work, “Mother and the Class Reunion,” a short story in the international anthology, Forever Families, published by Mandinam Press and shortly available in ebook at Amazon.com.

This is the third book in the Forever series. In 2008, Forever Friends, an anthology of short stories and poems written by writers from all regions of the world, proved to be very successful and so led to the second book in the series, Forever Travels, in 2010.

Four years on, the revival of the short story continues, especially with all the new forms of electronic reading devices and the increasing number of online e-book retailers. There has never been a better time for readers and writers of short stories. As with the previous two anthologies, the attraction of this collection of work lies in its diversity and variety of genres: from non-fiction to creative non-fiction and fiction. With such a wide choice, there is something to entertain every reader. The length of the stories varies from concise to extensive. Every story, whether short or long, offers a unique look at family life. While some are poignant, others raise a smile.

The seven sections that make up the book take the reader through the joys of a happy childhood to the sadness of a death in the family, with fond family memories, faithful family pets, risky family business ventures, eventful family weddings and the ups and downs of family life in between. So, find a comfortable chair, sit back and enjoy the diversity of reading experiences in Forever Families.

Now available on Amazon

I have set up a Facebook page for Forever Families.  Please join the page, follow the comments and add your own. Click on Like below to join this page:

Coming soon! Interview with Dr. Louis Koster on October 29th as part of the 2012 Virtual blog tour announcing the release of  A New Language For Life:  Happy No Matter What!

2012 Virtual Tour Itinerary for 

A New Language For Life:  Happy No Matter What! 

by Louis Koster

www.louiskoster.com/virtualtour

October 13

Tour Itinerary at Stephanie Barko, Literary Publicist Blog
Tour Itinerary at Literature & Fiction Blog
Highlighted Title Listing at Independent Publisher
Review by Irene Roth at Blogcritics

October 14

Review by Irene Roth at Roth’s Book Reviews

October 15

Review by Laura Strathman Hulka at Readerwoman Blog

October 16

Review by Dr. Grady Harp at Powell’s
Interview and excerpt at Book Promo Central

October 16 – October 29

Three international ebook giveaways at Library Thing

October 17

Podcast with Big Blend Radio

October 18

US paperback giveaway at Curled Up With A Good Book
Interview at Curled Up With A Good Book
Review by Barbara Bamberger Scott at Curled Up With A Good Book

October 19

Review by Viviane Crystal at Crystal Book Reviews and at The Best Reviews

October 22

Interview at Alpha Chick

October 23

Review, video & excerpt at Spiritual Lounge

October 24

Excerpt at Your Awakened Self Blog

October 25

Review by Helen Gallagher at New York Journal of Books and at Open Salon

October 26

Author essay, excerpt & giveaways at One Story At A Time

October 28

Podcast with Where Am I Going Radio

October 29

Interview at Literature & Fiction Blog

October 30 – November 12

Three US paperback giveaways at GoodReads

October 31

Review by Christine Zibas at Digital Journal and at Bookpleasures

November 1

Review by Irene Conlan at The Self Improvement Blog and at Ezine Articles

November 2

Review by Gloria Oren at Gloria’s Corner Blog

November 5

Excerpt at Night Owl Reviews Blog

November 6

Interview by April Pohren at Blogcritics

November 7

Interview by Cheryl Malandrinos and giveaway at The Book Connection

November 8

Podcast with Conversations Live Radio

November 9

Videos at Preview The Book, Flickr, Photobucket, & Daily Motion

November 12

Review by Darin Godby at Luxury Reading and at Book Blogs Ning

Enter Writer Advice’s New Contest: SCINTILLATING STARTS. Grab and hold us with your opening paragraphs.

Deadline: October 15, 2012.

Details at www.writeradvice.com 

If your opening is shared on Writer Advice, you’ll be able to tell prospective agents, publishers, and book buyers that you were one of the winners of Writer Advice’s First Scintillating Starts Contest.

B. Lyn Goodwin, Writer, Advice Managing Editor
Author of You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers
www.writeradvice.com

O. Warfield, author and poet,  wrote the Omar Blue Saga, which includes Omar Blue,  K-9 Town, USA, and the new publication Led By An Eagle,  to reach out to families, avid readers and dog lovers of all ages.

Please tell us a little about yourself.

O. Warfield: I live in Richmond, Virginia,  with my loving husband and daughter.  Accompanied by my daughter, Joy, I offer special entertainment to hospitals and facilities for children and adults with special needs and to seniors in assisted living communities. The events include readings of Omar Blue and a host of gifts and surprises.

When did the writing bug bite and in what genre?

O. Warfield: When I was a young girl, I wrote short stories. As I got older,  I wrote little poems too. No one would see them. It was just something I did.

A while back, I started writing poetry for friends. Just to brighten their day if they were having a bad one. Usually silly stuff about something that may have just happened or more serious for something they were going through such as sickness or even death of a loved one.

After being told many times how comforting my words were and how I should become a true writer, I decided maybe I should put more thought into what I was writing. In doing that I began to realize how easy and comforting writing is to me.

I’m told it’s a rare gift how fast I think up poems and/or stories for almost any scenario but I think it’s just a trait most writers have.

I write prose when it better suits the story I’m telling, but my real love is rhymes.  My Omar Blue Saga is told in rhymes, with special attention paid to meter and flow.  My rhymes don’t distract, they enhance my stories, making them unique.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

O. Warfield: Until I started writing my books, my only goal was to make someone feel better when they read what I’d written especially for them. My short poems.

When I started writing Omar Blue and K-9 Town, USA, my focus was on entertainment and humor. I had a very sick family member who loved animals. At least once a week I’d read what I had completed to her. I wanted everything to end on an upbeat note even though there were serious undertones. My first book is a little more juvenile than the second, Led By An Eagle. It was geared towards family reading, children especially, and included  illustrations. I’m happy to say that readers of all ages have and are enjoying it.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.

O. Warfield: Led By An Eagle has leader Omar Blue taking his Pack into the mountains to meet his kin. K-9 Town is full of excitement. Though reluctant to leave their beloved K-9 Town, USA the pack sees this as their chance to find out more about their mysterious leader whom they have grown to love and respect. A leader who makes each of them feel a part of something wonderful and invincible.

But … just before their departure, Rottweiler Brady has a confrontation with Mountain Lion Booby while he and Pit Bull Sammy are on an enjoyable morning stroll. The mountain lions’ plan backfires when Booby is embarrassed in front of his followers. Livid because “Professor” Brady had gotten the best of him, the mountain lions vow to rid “their” land of Omar Blue and his Pack, forever. They’re going to follow the pack into the mountains, picking up kin as they go.

Meanwhile, it’s no secret they’re being followed by Mountain Lion Booby and his Pride. But fearless to a fault, Omar Blue and his Pack’s attitude is, “Let them come. We’ll handle them when they think they’re ready.”

Having a ball, as Omar Blue and his Pack are known to do, even those lovable naughty puppies get into the act.

The showdown is one of a kind and will have you right in the middle of the action. To be remembered as unique and I hope, powerful.

This book is to be enjoyed by the whole family.

 What’s the hook for the book.

O. Warfield: Led By an Eagle is made up of a community of diverse characters. Big, small, mixed breeds, purebreds are all the same at K-9 Town, USA. Each has its own personality and background. Love, friendship and loyalty are taken to another level. My characters know they are loved and needed and will protect each other above all else. They love the town they have founded and the way of life their leader has shown them. For this they would live or die for Omar Blue, just as he would for them.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

O. Warfield: My characters are imagined from real life animals and people. I put in some of the breed’s natural characteristics in most cases, then add what I need for a particular scenario. Some of my main characters belong to family and friends. My dog Omar Blue has a strong character. That’s what it takes to be a respected leader. I’m talking about a strong presence so he can lead my rottweilers, pit bulls and the others and make it fictionally believable. I built his character around his real personality. Sweet as can be but definitely an alpha. Some of my stories come from listening to people talk. Especially my naughty puppies. We all know how funny babies are when they are just learning to do things on their own. As I listen, I start formulating my stories for Omar’s K-9 Town Pack.

My settings are always wilderness with trees and mountains for shelter and wide open spaces where the pack can run free and the puppies can run wild.

O. Warfield: Who are the most unusual/most likeable characters

In Led By An Eagle there are two. The oldest of the Elders. Komondor Rasta Mama who was introduced in Omar Blue and K-9 Town, USA along with her son Rasta Kooley and his family, and, Great Dane Granny who is making her first appearance.

These two have special gifts. Rasta Mama has the gift of second sight. She can see bad things that are about to happen. Great Dane Granny is able to cast away evil. They have named themselves the “Seers” and plan to travel together and use their gifts and “special potions” to keep Omar’s Pack safe.

O. Warfield: Do you have specific techniques to help maintain course of the plot?

Maintaining the course of my plot isn’t hard because there are so many directions I can go. Just as real life takes us in many directions. K-9 Town, USA is just getting on its feet. There are many adventures ahead without changing the course of the plot.

O. Warfield: Do you have a specific writing style?  Preferred POV?

I really don’t know if I’d call it a style of writing. I love to rhyme but I’m just addicted to writing. I entertain myself with what I write, so I hope my writing, no matter what form, is entertaining to others. My stories seem to have little lessons attached to them. I think that’s because reinforcement of good ideals never hurts. Maybe I can label that a part of my writing style because it comes naturally.

O. Warfield: How does your environment/upbringing color our writing?

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and became an adult in the late 60s when “make love not war” was one of the more popular sayings.  Omar Blue’s K-9 Town, USA is an example of this philosophy.  They want to live in peace but will go to war at the drop of a hat. They won’t let anything disrupt their way of life and the happiness it brings them.

O. Warfield: Share the best review you’ve ever had.

I’m very proud of this review. My reader captured every feeling I envisioned. The review is from: Omar Blue and K-9 Town, USA.

Omar Blue and K-9 Town, USA – I have to say that when I saw the book – slim in size I thought at first it was going to be detailed with facts about dogs, so thankfully it was short and to the point. I never ruffled through the book to get a glimpse of what my eyes were about to enjoy. I took it to my desk and planned to take a sneak peak. After the 3rd page I was hooked. Literally I could not put the book down – the stories are delightful, and I felt like I was right in the middle of action with the K-9′s. Darn the phone is ringing – put the book down – great wrong number – back to the stories. Before I knew it I was on chapter 8, and I decided to stop reading so that I could savor the rest of the book on a slower pace. The author made this a fun, easy to read book, and the problems presented, along with the way they were solved relate to life – trusting, leadership, teamwork, diversity and so much more. Its a great book for any age bracket. I think each age group will relate to it differently based on their own unique set of challenges.

― Ricky

O. Warfield: What are your current projects?

I’ve finally published the e-book and paperback versions of Led By An Eagle. It’s now available on Amazon.com. I’m on cloud nine about that review I mentioned above but I know this is only the beginning. Writing is the fun part. Promoting is serious business.

A never ending project of mine is working with an agency called Fetch A Cure. Through community outreach by way of events, campaigns and fundraisers, FETCH works to promote the need to help pets live long, healthy lives. We continually work to raise awareness and further education about pet cancer prevention, detection and treatment and senior care and aging issues. I could go on and on but instead I’ll let you find out about the wonderful programs we have in place by visiting http://fetchacure.com.

In addition to the above, I am now gearing up for my yearly contribution to the Combined Virginia Campaign. This is a statewide fundraising effort done by State agencies. Each year for the last eight, I’ve coordinated a spectacular talent show with proceeds going to the Sickle Cell Foundation, the first six, then we brought the money even closer to home, changing our theme to “Pampering Tots.” All funds are donated to a diaper bank program known as Capital Diaper Bank, to purchase pampers for babies in the community.  This takes place mid November. Lots of fun and talent in addition to being very gratifying.

O. Warfield: Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Visit my blog to learn what makes me tick and be entertained at the same time, http://omarblue.blogspot.com

Linkedin  http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=104878369&trk=tab_pro

Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/O.-Warfield/e/B004SIXGDI/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100001606294213

Twitter: http://twitter.com/OWarfield

Thanks for joining us today.

O. Warfield: Thank you again for what you are doing.

Patricia Crandall has published numerous articles and short stories in various magazines and newspapers. In July, 2012, she was named an Honorable Mention Honoree in the annual short story competition for her story “The Crazy Jug.”

Please tell everyone a little about yourself, Patricia.

Patricia: I have published a vast number of poetry/haiku, numerous articles and short stories in small press magazines, a variety of newspapers and web sites. I have won poetry awards and have four books in print, Melrose, Then and Now, a historical volume, I Passed This Way, a poetry collection, The Dog Men, a thriller which draws the reader into a tempest of animal abuse, lawlessness, and kidnapping within the confines of small-town happenings, and Tales of an Upstate New York Bottle Miner, – seeking adventure in abandoned dump sites and the challenges of entering flea markets.

I live with my husband, Art, at Babcock Lake in the Grafton Mountains near Petersburgh, New York. My children and grandchildren live nearby. I devote time to my family, writing and community work. I enjoy reading, skiing, golfing, knitting, walking/hiking, swimming, exercising and traveling.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Patricia: In the nineteen fifties, my interest was captured by the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene. Each holiday, I would request the latest Nancy Drew title and upon receiving it, I would curl-up in an over-sized chair and begin reading the fast-paced adventure.

I dabbled at creating my own mystery stories at an early age. My first effort detailed a long, frightening chase by a sinister man. A dark tunnel appeared, leading to (of course) a haunted mansion. The not-so-brilliant ending had me saved by the man of my life at the time – my Dad.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.  Is it part of a series or stand alone?

Patricia: My latest book is The Dog Men.

The Dog Men is a stand-alone Adult/YA book, although readers have requested I write a series. They bonded with the characters, particularly Lester Cranshaw, and want his adventures to continue. I am writing a new thriller, The Red Gondola, to include Lester Cranshaw.

The Dog Men: Ten-year-old Wyatt and eleven-year-old Hannah uncover the dark world of illegal dog fights when they trespass at a Vermont farm and peep through a barn window. And when crotchety old Lester Cranshaw’s dog, Paddy, turns up missing, there is no holding him back from investigating the situation and the kids join in. In the dead of night, after the trio are captured and held hostage at the Inglis farm, Wyatt will need all of his wits and courage to escape in order to save the lives of his friends. The Dog Men draws the reader into a tempest of animal abuse, lawlessness, and kidnapping within the confines of small-town happenings. A chilling plot and a peerless relationship between kids, adults and pets.

What’s the hook for the book?

Patricia: I have delved into the horrific world of illegal dog fighting. One editor considered my book then titled Missing Children.  He requested a change in subject matter, stating, “I just can’t add to the deluge of fiction about children, kidnapping and sex. Whereby, I researched the sordid sport of dog fighting and the characters that inhabit it. It became The Dog Men.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

Patricia: My characters develop themselves. I create them using a combination of real and imagined people. I’ll admire one person’s hair color, another’s features, still another’s body language and put them together. Any attempt I make at molding a character does not work. If I force a character to act against his/her will, the story is all wrong. I will sit back and think it through, letting the character direct me. I have read other author’s essays confirming this dilemma. It is a fact. A character will lead and the writing flows until the next hurdle due to plot, scene description, etc.

Who is the most unusual/most likeable character?

Patricia: My unusual/most likeable characters are (1) Lester Cranshaw of The Dog Men. See description above. (2) Gert Carver and Nina Westakott are two favorite characters from my bottle mining stories. Gert and Nina, friends for many years, now share a common passion – bottle mining. Nina was a homemaker and a widow. She and her husband raised four daughters and had been active in the community until his death. Gert, a spinster, had spent productive years as a beloved schoolteacher who started her career in a one-room schoolhouse and ended with her retirement at a district high school. These days, the two women have time to nurture their newest hobby, searching for antique bottles in the local dumps.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?

Patricia: My writing styles are varied. I write mainstream, mysteries, non-fiction, historical, flash fiction, young/adult and poetry. I work on several stories at once. This pace keeps my thoughts fresh. I continually submit my work for publication and enter contests. My ultimate goal is to write well.

I consistently learn from the unique style of other writers. I pay attention to the voice they use. When a writer captivates me, I do not wish to imitate his/her writing. I want to achieve what they have accomplished by leaving a reader satisfied and anxious to read more of their books.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Patricia: My parents and teachers would often tell me, “Patty, you are a dreamer. You have a vivid imagination. Put it to good use.” It was at that point, in lieu of playing with friends or watching the new small-box-wonder – TV, I sat at an old desk in the kitchen and wrote mystery stories. I also drew stick figures to illustrate the action in the stories. The discovery of boys replaced pen and paper. The telephone became my favorite instrument and I lost interest in reading and writing until a formidable nun taught me English in High School. With a revival of interest, I picked up where I left off, writing salable poetry and a variety of articles, essays, and short stories. Presently, I am taking a writing course and penning novels.

Share the best review that you’ve ever had.

Patricia: Comments for “The Garden of Love,” a flash-fiction story published in Flash-Fiction World, include:

“Awesome piece! The ending adds another whole dimension entirely.”
“Good story”
“I want more!”
“Amazing!”
“Loved it.”
“Clever!”
“Great end.”
“Fantastic.”

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Patricia: Visit my blog at: www.authorpcrandall.blogspot.com. Visit me on facebook and twitter. Visit my Editor and Virtual Assistant Manager’s blog: www.lindabarnett-johnson.blogspot.com. Go to Amazon and for my books, The Dog Men and Tales of an Upstate New York Bottle Miner.

Lastly, my pattern for a writer’s success is Winston Churchill’s famous quote: “Never, never, never give up!”

Barbara Ebel is an author and a physician.  She has lived up and down the US East Coast and now resides in a wildlife corridor in Tennessee. “Perfect for writing,” she says.  Her first novel is a romantic suspense:  Operation Neurosurgeon: You never know …who’s in the OR.

Please introduce your self, Barbara.

Barbara: I am a physician-turned-author who sprinkles interesting, credible medicine into the background of my storylines.  However, that doesn’t take center stage to my plots or vivid characters.

Another thread you will find in my writing is dogs.  There will be at least one four-legger as a main character, especially since I own a few and have made one a star in a children’s book series called Chester the Chesapeake.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

Barbara: I am a physician-turned-author, so my “M.O.” is to sprinkle credible medicine into the background of my plots. However, my characters and plots take center stage!  Also, since my specialty is anesthesiology, my operating room scenes shine. I love for readers to get realistic views into what goes on and there are messages they pick up by my showing and not telling them.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Series or stand-alone?

Barbara: Since I have written several genres, I’ll focus on my fiction which best suits your site: Operation Neusosurgeon: You never know…who’s in the OR.  This novel was written as a stand-alone.  However, I am consistently asked about a sequel because of the characters and their development, so writing a sequel is in my future!

Here’s a short description:

Who says a rising neurosurgeon can’t fall from his pinnacle?  From the skullduggery taking place deep in the Tennessee woods to the silent tension in the OR, Doctor Danny Tilson’s life takes an abrupt turn after performing surgery alongside a scrub nurse with aqua eyes and a velvet voice.

Can Danny’s situation get any worse after the alluring lady disappears, he inherits her roguish retriever, and his Albert Einstein historical book turns up missing? A pack of Tennessee attorneys pursue Danny while he develops a scheme with his paramedic best friend to payback the mysterious woman who left in a hurry.

What’s the hook for the book?

Barbara: Will an esteemed neurosurgeon fall prey to a calculating seductress during an astonishing surgery?

How do you develop characters? Setting?

Barbara: Ha!  My characters happen to emulate some character’s I’ve bumped into over the years and the setting for Operation Neurosurgeon is straight out of Tennessee.  The geography and description spans from Memphis to Knoxville, and from Nashville to the Caney Fork River to a character deep in the woods. You will enjoy the flavor!

Who’s the most unusual/likeable character?

Barbara: Even though Danny, the neurosurgeon, is the protagonist and takes center stage, he’s pretty stupid for being so smart. My favorite character is the dog and the paramedic who you may fall in love with. He stands by his friend no matter what. The most despicable and unusual character is Rachel. How diabolically cunning she is, but I’ll post no spoilers!

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Barbara: The beautiful state of Tennessee was perfect for the plot’s progression. The contrast between the big cities and backwoods, along with the contrast between urban and rural characters, makes for great spin and variety.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

Barbara: Red Adept Reviews, the critical in-depth eBook reviewer, gave Operation Neurosurgeon: You never know…who’s in the OR an overall 4 ½ stars and a perfect 5 stars for characters. And here’s a tight review or the “verdict” from Indie Book of the Day which was awarded to it on 6/26/12:

Author Barbara Ebel creatively uses medical facts by deeply embedding them into the storyline and at the same time keeping the readers hooked. Operation Neurosurgeon stars a character whose single mistake can cost him a career but everything is not over yet, or is it? Barbara Ebel has managed to keep the suspense & mystery alive, till the very end. An enjoyable read & recommended for those who prefer detailed descriptions with logical plot progression.                                                                                                    - IBD Verdict.

What are your current projects?

Barbara: I am simultaneously working on the text and photographs for the two final Chester the Chesapeake children’s books in the series. I don’t rush ‘producing’ them, but let the storylines come to me. Since I illustrate with real pictures of my dogs, it will take me at least two years to finish them.  I also hope to start the sequel to Operation Neurosurgeon by the end of the year.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Barbara: Please visit my website where you’ll find my eBooks & paperbacks; book videos & a few reviews; as well as links for purchase:

http://barbaraebel.weebly.com

Please visit my children’s book website all about Chester the Chesapeake!  Who doesn’t love dogs?

http://dogbooksforchildren.weebly.com

Twitter:  @barbaraebel

Thanks for joining us today, Barbara.

Barbara: Shelagh, thanks for having me!

K. F.  Johnson, born Kiyeta F. Johnson, developed a vivid imagination and an aptitude for creative writing, drawing and anything else entertaining at a very young age. Her first glimpse of writing success came in the sixth grade when she won a New York City statewide poetry writing contest.  Her first book, Behind  Closed Doors, was published in July 2012.

Kiyeta: I am from Queens, New York, but I’ve lived in Atlanta, Georgia, since I enrolled at Spelman College, a liberal arts school. I graduated with a BA in psychology and I have a Master’s Degree in business, but I’ve always been involved in the arts. In my twenties, I modeled, was a rapper, danced, acted in movie shorts, music videos and local commercials.  Although I’m a mother and partner with a full-time job as an accountant, I couldn’t let my passion for writing die. I worked on my book Behind Closed Doors on and off for about ten years before it was published.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Kiyeta: I think I got the writing bug when I won a New York State wide poetry writing contest in the sixth grade. My two older siblings are seven and ten years older than me so I had a lot of time to play with Barbie dolls, cabbage patch kids and let my imagination roam. Eventually I put those ideas down on paper (mostly while I was on punishment).

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Kiyeta: Two adult siblings, who manipulate their way through the dating world, discover that  their often abusive, alcoholic and philandering father mysteriously drowns in the pool at their parent’s home, and begin to question his untimely death. Soon, as the skeletons of their family secrets begin falling out of the closet, they’re forced to face some truths of their own and pay the consequences of their actions. Behind Closed Doors is a sometimes  funny, maniacal and sexy journey inside the relationships of two siblings, who haven’t got a clue and need one before they lose everything!

How do you develop characters? Setting?

Kiyeta: I try to envision what they look like in my head and what kind of person they are going to be. Then I write about them like I know them. The setting is in Atlanta where I live, but I also pull from New York City, where I grew up.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

Kiyeta: Brian is the most unusual character because he rarely considers other people’s needs or feelings before tending to his own. He’s also the one most readers have said they love to hate, and the one they talk about the most. Coincidentally, he was the most fun to write.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Kiyeta: I use Ywriter5, which is a free writing software I used to help keep my storyline, scenes, characters and chapters organized. It allows me to have outlines, describe my characters, locations and scenes in detail and have them auto populate into each chapter as I write.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?

Kiyeta: I wrote this one in the first person for the two main characters and I think I find it the most comfortable because I can speak as the character about what they’re thinking.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

Kiyeta: I come from a middle class family, but I attended a prestigious college and have experience in the entertainment world, which allowed me to have a front row seat to  many things a lot of people would not. For that reason, I think my experiences, and that of people I know, have influenced the way I’m able to develop characters to think in ways I’m completely against.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

Kiyeta: Recently, a reader, who is a Facebook acquaintance, told me that his wife was reading the book, and she’d asked him to please ask me if the characters were based on real people. Apparently, she was getting so involved in some of the antics of the characters that she felt the need to know if I really knew them. I was extremely flattered that she found my writing so believable that she would even feel the need to ask.

What are your current projects?

Kiyeta: I’m mostly promoting my new book Behind Closed Doors, but I have begun writing a little of the sequel at the request of many of my readers. The cliffhangers at the end of the book seem to have inspired an interest in a sequel, which I’m extremely grateful and excited about.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Kiyeta: I have my own website at www.kfjohnsonbooks.com/ and I blog at wordpress at www.kfjohnson.wordpress.com.  I’m on facebook at www.facebook.com/kf.johnson.7 which was a huge tool that helped jumpstart my readership. I am also on twitter @kfjohnsonbooks and I’m on linked http://www.linkedin.com/in/jproperties

Thanks for joining us today, Kiyeta

Kiyeta: Thank you very much for your time and consideration in including me in your author blog interviews.

Kel Fulgham found his love for writing at a very young age, and has been writing poetry and short stories for several years. He has developed a special affinity for horror and science fiction stories, and loves to mix the two whenever possible. He admits that his darkest dreams provide his inspiration, but he hopes his readers enjoy his books and not experience his nightmares.

Hi Kel, please tell everyone a little about yourself.

Kel: I was born in New York and lived on Long Island and in the Bronx as a child. Growing up in New York is a very unique experience in and of itself, and just being there can spark your creativity and set your imagination free. I moved to Maine at the same time NYC was attacked (I was still in NY at the time) and have been here ever since. I love to write and work in the technology field.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Kel: Hmm. The writing bug must have gotten to me pretty young because I have always loved putting pen to paper. These days it’s more putting fingertips to keys but the passion is the same. I like to write fiction, and I usually stay in the paranormal realm. I write a lot of horror, sci-fi, and a little romance (although you can tell from my writing I do like a good love story). I try to focus on the human experience when met with something that falls outside of the explainable.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish?

Kel: I want most of all to invoke emotion. When someone picks up a book to read, they are looking for an escape. Ok, when I read a book, I know it’s good when I can put it down and think about it – when I find myself asking questions about it. When I get mad or sad reading about one of the characters getting hurt. I love when people come back to me and tell me “How could you kill her?” or “Don’t you dare kill his character off!” It means they’re invested, and that’s what all authors really want.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Kel: Sadist II: The Duppy King is the continuation of the Sadist series. Sadist: The Rise introduced us to Cal Johnson, a pretty normal introverted kid growing up in the Bronx in the early 1970′s. He grew up in the projects and went to school like so many other kids. As he was getting ready to turn ten years old, he was mugged by a bunch of boys that went to his school, and spent six years in a coma. When he finally came out of it, he was a teenager but still had the mentality of a nine-year-old. On top of that, he finds out that when he falls asleep, people die. He falls in love with a neighbor girl, and when she is hurt, he lets his inner demon out. The Duppy King explains more about the entity within and resolves the storyline.

What’s the hook for the book?

Kel: Well I don’t know if there is a hook, per se. The mind is still for the most part “The undiscovered country” and scientists are just cracking the surface of what controls what in the brain. In theory, our real potential lies within the still unexplored portions of the brain. Science is moving toward unlocking those regions and possibly the very key to our existence.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

Kel: Well, from experience. No, I don’t have an inner demon killing people. But I grew up in

Ian Kidd is a freelance writer, published author and qualified editor and proofreader. He has also ghostwritten fiction and non-fiction e-books, served as script/dialogue editor on two proposed horror feature film scripts for director Aleksandr Sokolyn, and had a short comic skit shortlisted for inclusion in the 2012 Sydney Fringe Festival.

Please tell us  little about yourself, Ian.

I grew up in South Yorkshire, England, before emigrating to South Australia at the age of sixteen. I have written everything from non-fiction ebooks to published short fiction, and served as script editor on two proposed horror feature film scripts for an LA based director. In terms of fiction I have written more than a hundred e-books, most of which will become available to purchase via Amazon over the coming weeks and months. The “Ian’s Gang” series will be available in ongoing separate installments and then anthology versions that collect together the most recent releases (normally around six).

I still live in South Australia, where I work as a freelance writer.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre?

Ian: The writing bug bit when I was just a child, and it was in the science fiction/horror genre even back then. I became quite notorious for writing these little horror stories which the teachers would get me to read out to class in junior school. I can’t help but think that nowadays they’d be more likely to be calling in the child psychologists than doing that!

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish?

Ian: I think my goals when I started writing were pretty much the same as they are now – which is just to write the kind of stories that I would enjoy reading, and hopefully therefore other people would too.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.

Ian: My latest book is Bloodlust, which was published in mid July 2012 by Andrews UK Ltd’s House of Erotica Books division. It’s something of a departure for me being an erotic horror, which is not a genre I’ve written before, but I enjoyed it so much, and it turned out so well, that I’m already going back to it again.

What’s the hook for the book?

Ian: It’s a pretty saucy piece about a lesbian vampire who enjoys seducing and murdering young women. I think if I read a description for a book like that, I’d be hooked right off lol!

Who’s the most likeable character?

Ian: Well, it’s funny, but I think the most likeable character is one who I originally didn’t give much thought to when planning the piece – Evan, who is the best friend of Lucy, the girl who’s targeted by the lesbian bloodsucker. Evan turned out to be so much fun, and so unwavering in her devotion to Lucy, that she became a much bigger part of the story,and I really started to like her and root for her.

Do you have any specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Ian: Honestly, no! With only a few exceptions (namely a couple of novel-length Ian’s Gang stories which were so complex and involved I had to have a game plan or I would have got lost) I don’t generally like to plan too much. I like to have a general idea of where a story is headed, but if you over-plan I think it limits the possibilities that you can uncover with plot and characters while actually writing it.

Share the best review

Please  tell everyone a little about yourself.

N. K. David: I was born on May 6^th 1977 in the Eastern part of Nigeria, which is regarded as the Christian part of the country. At an early age, I wanted to study law/arts, but I ended up in science, which I have come to love, and I am currently in the medical field studying Veterinary medicine. I personally passed through a lot of struggles in my academic life because of a corrupt educational system.  I had to stand and fight against the corrupt Educational system and I am glad some people in Government answered my call and worked to change the system. It was during the struggle and in my quest for answers from higher planes of existence that my first book was born and published to predict the end of the struggle and other message for humanity. Today I have published two books and still counting.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genres?

N. K. David: I started writing back in college because of the challenge and need to do well in essay writing in school back then. After an early struggle, I realized that my failure then was because I did not use my creative ability so I set it to work, and since then it has been working. It was that early age that I created my first story, Noble Killers. I gave the story line to my young brother who was involved then in screenplay writing. He wrote it in his own way, but I later wrote it in my own way. That was the first time I spent much time writing a long story and book.

I write mostly on inspirational, motivational, and emotional. But I also write religion, mystery, love, romance, and suspense.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish?

N. K. David: My goal is to contribute and say what I have to say to the world so that in future the world will remember that I was here and that I said or wrote such things. I also want to inspire and give people reasons to hold on in their positive struggle in life, especially those few that are working to help create a better and peaceful world for all of us because I am involve in such struggle which is a difficult task because of our diversity as humans.

Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

N. K. David: Yes my books always have a message in them, and I try to make it easy for people to understand. I try to make people understand the need for true religious tolerance and for people to look back in history and remember how we got here today because the truth is that we were liberated; if not, we would not enjoy the freedom we have today so there is need to let others have their freedom for as long as they do not stop us from having ours. But there is always a problem as people try to save others in this religious tangle, and other laws, traditions and cultures that need to be conserved. That is why some people are calling for the move to personal responsibility.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.

N. K. David: My latest book is a story th

Kaylin is a member of RWA, Rose City Romance Writers, and Willamette Writers. She received her AA in Literature at Highline Community College, which originally sparked her passion for writing. In her free time, she also enjoys giving back to the community through participation and support of various educational organizations in the Pacific Northwest, and is currently the president of the Soulful Giving Foundation – a non-profit she and her husband formed to fund expanded research, and the care and treatment of cancer patients and their families.

Hi Kaylin, Please tell everyone a little about yourself. 

As many people know, I wasn’t born with a pen in hand like so many of my talented fellow authors. However, I have been involved with business and personal writing projects for many years. My careers have taken me in all directions, ranging from fashion modeling and interior design to office manager and art gallery director. Yet my love of reading and interest in creative writing has remained ever present. As a result of tapping into my imagination and utilizing my own life experiences, I have earned more than a dozen literary awards. My first novel, Flaherty’s Crossing was a 2008 finalist in the prestigious RWA® Golden Heart contest and my second book, Severed Threads, has already garnered two first place awards.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Kaylin: I was one of those kids who couldn’t put a book down, especially when it came to fantasy and sci-fi. When I hit my adolescent years, I turned into a romance junkie – buying used books at garage sales and begging for hand-me-downs from friends. In high school, I broadened my scope and got into mysteries and thrillers, and now I’m loving romantic suspense. So, I guess you could say I love all genres.

 When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp? 

Kaylin: I’m compelled to write because my brain keeps me up at night with possibilities. Once I have a story in my head, I’m completely consumed. If I don’t put it on paper or on my computer, I’m convinced I’ll be haunted by the failed opportunity to impact other people’s lives.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Kaylin: Severed Threads is an action adventure story and the first book of three in the Threads series.

What’s the hook for the book?

Kaylin: Everyone is after the Heart of the Dragon, lives are on the line, but exactly what it is remains a mystery.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

Kaylin: I would have to say Ian Lowe. He’s a crusty Irish helmsman with an eye for the ladies, which often gets him into trouble.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

Kaylin: I typically create a synopsis then use this to write each chapter. But in actuality, I’m one of those authors who likes to let their character direct the story line and take readers on an adventure. Sometimes they even surprise me!

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?

Kaylin: I write third person and enjoy rotating points of view, however, when my characters are together, I try to stay in the main character’s he

Author of numerous books, Rebecca Forster spends part of her time speaking to philanthropic and writers’ groups about the brave new world of publishing for Kindle, Nook and other e-readers, teaching at UCLA Writers Program or having a ball at middle schools teaching with The Young Writers Conference. 

Hi Rebecca, Please tell everyone a little about yourself.

Rebecca: I started writing on a crazy dare after meeting my client’s wife, Danielle Steele. That dare lead to my first book being published. Since then, I have published twenty-six novels and quit my corporate job as an advertising executive. I received my BA from Loyola Chicago and my MBA from Loyola Los Angeles. My husband of thirty-six years (think a “When Harry Met Sally” relationship) is a superior court judge. My two sons are in creative careers. The oldest is a producer/talent manager in Hollywood and the youngest is a playwright currently serving with the Peace Corps in Albania. I love to travel, sew, quilt and play tennis.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

Rebecca: The writing bug didn’t as much hit as it did present itself. I’m a sucker for trying new things. So, when a colleague dared me to write a book, I gave it a whirl. Who knew writing would become a passion? I started in women’s fiction but after about ten books my editor ‘fired’ me from romance. He said I kept killing people before they fell in love and perhaps romance wasn’t my genre. He was right. I read, write, live and breathe thrillers.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

Rebecca: When I began writing my goal was simply to save face after declaring I could write a book. I figured a nice rejection letter would prove that I had at least tried. Then my first book sold, and I was hooked. After that, I just wanted to keep writing books people would read. My intent has always been to continue to improve. It is interesting for me to go back and see where I started and where I am now. I take craft very seriously. I’m not so sure I have as much a message as I have a point of view about people and plots. The main objective is to always try to create an entertaining book. If it is also thought provoking, that’s fabulous.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

Rebecca: In December I released Expert Witness. This is book four in the witness series featuring Josie Bates, Hannah and Archer. A few months before that I released Before Her Eyes, a stand alone novel.

What’s the hook for the book?

Rebecca: It’s two in the morning when sixteen-year-old Hannah Sheraton, Josie Bates’ ward, slips into Archer’s Hermosa Beach apartment to see if Josie sleeps in his bed. But Josie isn’t there. In fact, Josie isn’t anywhere.

How do you develop characters? Setting?