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25 September 2013

Author Interview - Havan Fellows!




Please welcome Author Havan Fellows to the hot seat today!



1. Have you always had a passion for writing?

Oh yeah...always. I gave up on the idea slightly when I did the family thing, but then I had this idea and started sneaking in wordage at the EDJ (evil day job) and bam...haven't stopped since.

2. Does what you read influence what you write and what are some of your favourite authors/books?

I don't think it influences what I write so much as makes me want to write more and better. If that even makes sense...lol. I love all types of genres and sub-genres from Agatha Christie's mysteries to Stephen King's horrors. If I had to choose a fave author I would have to go with the latter probably, though let me tell you Dean Koontz's Lightning is a very well read book in my house.

3. What are your biggest inspirations?

Risking that I might sound slightly corny, my friends and family who root for me even when it looks like I'm trying to sabotage myself.

4. Do you have a technique in how you choose characters and/or locational settings?

Oh wouldn't it be easier if I did, but nope. They basically choose me. lol

5. Do you listen to music while you are creating your masterpieces?

I'm one that works better in complete silence, though I can't truthfully say that because I very rarely get complete silence...lol.

6. What do you do to stay motivated and avoid writer’s block?

Wait! There's a way to avoid it? I've learned that you just write through it. If the words aren't "coming" to you, well you make them come. A writer writes...period. Oh, scrabble and candy crush help too...but don't tell my writing buddies *winks*.

7. How has becoming a published author changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be?

It's nothing like what I thought – it's better and it's not so much. I had these dreams of being some huge bestselling novelist that people would flock to the bookstore to grab my latest release...um...yeah not quite there yet lol. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd get emails from fans telling me how much they love my books. That is awe-inspiring!

8. What are your biggest challenges as an author?

Finding time in the day. I have my EDJ that is 40+ hours a week and I come home to being a full time author too. Sometimes it is trying and tiring – I thump my head against the wall wondering why I can't hit a simple deadline, forgetting that I haven't had a true day off in months.

9. Do you have any pets?

I assume we are talking the non-human variety? Oh boy—I didn't mean that in the kinky give me a collar way...um... Oh-kay moving on, I don't personally have any but I live with a cutesie little dog that believes he is a cat sometimes.

10. What hobbies do you have outside of reading and writing?

Now we are going back to #8, I need time to have hobbies. I am learning to enjoy cooking if that counts.

11. Where is the most exciting/memorable place you have been in the world?

Took an almost 2 week vacation to Israel with my mama...loved it – amazing!

12. Tell us about your latest work in progress or most recent published work…

Ooooooh...my 5th book in my Wicked's Way series just got published. Now, Wicked's Way is an M/M series in a collection of books—Pulp Friction—with three other authors; Lee Brazil, Laura Harner and Tom Webb. We all bring something slightly different to the table that really enhances each book.



It started with us wanting to do those old fashion serial pulp fiction type of stories and then grew into a world of its own with each of our series being led by strong men who happen to be best friends and aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty for the good of others.

Our characters crossover into each other's books which creates a strong bond between them and the readers. Wicked Templeton is my main character. When I came up with him I initially pulled my inspiration from a whole bunch of eighties crime/drama shows, most notably The Equalizer with maybe a dash of A-Team. Wick is a cop forced into retirement because of an injury that the doctors won't sign off on. That actually worked in his favour because he decided to help people his way—answering only to his conscience...and let me tell you—he doesn't have much of that. He's got an unlimited supply of cash, a tech geek at his beck and call not to mention friends and enemies that help him along the way.

He's a cocky ass with a heart of gold. He'll admit to the former but never the latter.

The fifth book in his series is a significant one because it actually spills a LOT of secrets the first four teased you with...so it is beneficial to read them in order. Here is the blurb for the last one.

A man from Wick's past knows Ned's secrets and is after their future…wicked truths are coming…

Wick Templeton is not dating Ned. At least that's his story—period. But when someone decides that Ned's time on earth is over, Wick doesn't bother with the semantics of it…his boyfriend is in danger and that's unacceptable.

What happens when the person targeting Ned just may be the only person Wick can't defend against?

Secrets are revealed, people are hurt, and a very shaky relationship is tested. When the dust clears nothing in Wick's life will be the same.
Caution: This is the fifth in the series, and while you can read this by itself...you know what? Forget it...no you can't read this one by itself and miss out on all the stuff that makes Wick so darn awesome, go back and start with the first one.



You can find Wicked's Way the series:

You can find me:
Twitter - @havanfellows


18 September 2013

Author Interview - Keren Hughes



Today I'm happy to introduce Author Keren Hughes for today's interview!


1. Have you always had a passion for writing?
Yes. Since I was a young girl I would dream of writing a Point Horror book, as they were back then, such as RL Stine’s ‘The Boyfriend’.

I actually wrote 2 books when I was a teenager. At 14, I wrote one called The Angel of Death about a babysitter who kept killing the children she babysat. Then at 15, I wrote one called Skye’s Secret, though I can’t actually remember much of what that was about.

2. Does what you read influence what you write and what are some of your favourite authors/books?

I don’t think I’m influenced by what I read as in subject matter, but I am inspired by my author friends who write all kinds of genres. I aspire to be the best author I can be and who better to look up to than my friends who have been doing it for years?!

I have too many favourite books and authors to name and if I named only a few, it would make me feel bad for not including them all. But one of my all time favourites is the Meredith Gentry series by Laurell K Hamilton.

3. What are your biggest inspirations?

My family, my friends and people who I meet on social networking sites that say “Hey I can’t wait to read your book.” Readers are an author’s bread and butter, but they are also SO much more than that. They are what keep you going.

4. Do you have a technique in how you choose characters and/or locational settings?

For this one, I say Google is my best friend! I seem to spend a lot of time researching “hot male/female models” and if I find someone I like the look of, I save a copy of the image into a folder marked ‘Inspiration’. Music is also an inspiration. The lyrics of songs can be very poignant and profound.

5. Do you listen to music while you are creating your masterpieces?

Yes. Music is something to be inspired by. I find when I am writing a love scene, I will play a few different tracks to see what inspires me the most and then I will have the chosen track on repeat for a while.

6. What do you do to stay motivated and avoid writer’s block?

I don’t have a trick for this as I currently have writer’s block. Mainly because my characters are talking to me but my fingers can’t seem to type anything. I go to write something and then find myself deleting it over and over again.

7. How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?)

I have just been signed by Limitless Publishing. I signed the contract the second week of August. It hasn’t changed my perspective on anything...yet!

8. What are your biggest challenges as an author?

Finding the time to sit and write. It’s not always easy to do everything I should be doing. I should be writing. I should be on social network sites. I should be juggling everything and being a mom to a 6 year old boy.

9. Do you have any pets?

Thank goodness, no! And I don’t see any in the future either.

10. What hobbies do you have outside of reading and writing?

I am a book reviewer. I like to make greetings cards. Umm… is being a mom allowed? ‘Cause that’s mainly what I do outside of writing!

11. Where is the most exciting/memorable place you have been in the world?

Anywhere that means I’ve been able to vacation with Barry and Calum and make memories to last a lifetime.

12. Tell us about your latest work in progress or most recent published work

I have no set release date for Stolen yet as I only just signed the publishing contract. but I do know it will be available in e-book, paperback and audiobook. Here’s the syynopsis:

Roshanna O'Dare wakes in her own home with part of her memory missing and is shocked when she finds her parents dead in their home. With no family, or any clues as to what happened to her parents, Roshanna makes a plan to move away from Cypress Hill to Texas, Austin, to live with her last living relative, Uncle Joe after the funeral. But it means leaving her best friend, Marissa Mason behind.

During her Uncle’s visit, she meets his chauffeur, Bodhi Vincent, who seems to understand Roshanna in a way no one else has. Bodhi is her rock after the death of her parents and the longer she stays with him while with her uncle, the closer they become.



Before moving away, Roshanna is confronted with a shocking secret that Marissa had kept from her, a secret that changes how she sees life and the people in it—Marissa is a pure soul and her foster parents are soul drainers who need her pure energy to survive.

Marissa gives Roshanna an amulet, knowing she will want to search for her parents’ souls and, after moving to Texas, Roshanna does just that, even as she begins to wonder how she'll ever find her parents' souls or track down the man that stole them.



When Roshanna goes back to Cypress Hill to talk to Marissa’s foster parents, she finds out that her best friend kept another secret from her.



Will Roshanna find her parents' souls and set them free? Will she find love along the way?



Stolen is book one of the Freedom of Souls series. Book two is called Freed and will be the last book




14 September 2013

New Book Journal Press Release


New Book Journal are helping me promote my recent release of The Mercenary. Come and check it out, and while you are there, you'll find lots of other great books/authors too.

To see the post, CLICK HERE

11 September 2013

Author Interview: CM Wright


This week's Author interview is CM Wright!


1. Have you always had a passion for writing? 

Always! If I wasn't writing a story, I would write lists...lots and lots of lists.

2. Does what you read influence what you write and what are some of your favourite authors/books? 

Everything around me influences me. Everything! I can turn something incredibly boring into something crazy in my head. And of course, I have to share it! Stephen King, V.C. Andrews, Eric Asher, Joshua Guess, Karina Halle...the list of favorite authors grows steadily since I got my Kindle

3. What are your biggest inspirations? 

My husband, Bill, and my sons, Bryson and Austin. The rest of my family inspire, support, and encourage me too, which means so much to me. And then, of course, my fans. They are amazing!

4. Do you have a technique in how you choose characters and/or locational settings? 

Not really. Planning my books, I discovered quickly, isn't going to happen. I can decide the basics, like; character names, where I would LIKE my book to take place, and the theme, but other than that, I have no idea what's going to happen. My surprise, shock, and delight comes second-hand just like my fans. I have to go back and read what I've written because I kinda just blank out. Weird, I know.

5. Do you listen to music while you are creating your masterpieces? 

I do sometimes. It's not something I have to have, but it's perfection when I have Thriller playing while I'm writing about zombies.

6. What do you do to stay motivated and avoid writer’s block? 

Umm, you can do that? LOL I actually have had issues with the dreaded writer's block. The best way for me to get jerked out of it, is to read reviews and listen to my fans. I just wish they knew how much they influence me as a writer. I try to tell them, but I don't think they really understand how much I mean it.

7. How has becoming a published author (independent or traditional) changed your perspective on life and is it everything you expected it to be? (If you are not published yet – what changes do you foresee?) 

Oh, wow! It's like I am finally ME! I don't have to hide my craziness, people love it. I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not. Even with a pen name (which I don't hide my real name any longer, it's Candi Marie Noble. Wright is my maiden name), I can still be me...funny, mouthy, sarcastic, bitchy, and all of the above.

8. What are your biggest challenges as an author? 

Finding time to write when I still have so much else going on. And allowing myself to let go and not worry about, “OMG! My mom and Ma (grandma) are going to read this!”

9. Do you have any pets? 

I have a black cat named Sassy (she actually only likes my hubby. She's a bitch.) And my son, Austin, has a dog named Chaz. He's a goofball...well, the dog and the boy both are.

10. What hobbies do you have outside of reading and writing? 

Nope, none. Sorry. That's it. I'm boring.

11. Where is the most exciting/memorable place you have been in the world? 

Probably when I went to Canada with a bunch of my family. Canada was awesome, but my family made it AMAZING! And then of course, my honeymoon with Bill in Tennessee. We stayed in our own little cabin in the mountains. I want so much to do that again, but take our boys this time.

12. Tell us about your latest work in progress or most recent published work… 

My WIP is book 5 in the Zombie Overload series, Will To Live. I was supposed to write a vampire book, but my main character refused to let me. She wasn't ready to be pushed aside yet. I would literally start shaking...hard!...whenever I tried to write, or when I would be driving (that's when ideas come to me. Scary, I know). Frustrated to tears and pissed off, I finally opened a new page and let Canada (my main character) loose. And she was off! Vamp book is still waiting – patiently, I might add – for me to come back to it.



Amazon Author Page amazon.com/author/cmwright

Facebook links www.facebook.com/writercmwright and https://www.facebook.com/cm.wright.9

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/WriterCMWright

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/CMWzombie

Website www.zombieoverload.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/CMWzombie