Friday, December 18, 2015

Interview with Author Joseph Lewis


Hello everyone, it’s time to take an author interview and today Author Joseph Lewis is with us. We are interviewing him for his book "Splintered Lives", which launched on November 8, 2015 by True Visions Publications.

  1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Ans. => In the sixth grade. I’ve always like reading, but my teacher would give us story starters when we were done with an assignment or a test. The story starter was a paragraph or two on a note card and the idea was for us to continue the story. I couldn’t get enough of them. Then writing took over. For me, it is a necessary feeling, an urge that has to be satisfied.
  1. How long does it take you to write this book?
Ans. => Splintered Lives, which is the last book of the Lives Trilogy, took a little longer than I had wanted or expected. I think that happened because it was the last book of the series and I had to tie up loose ends- not everything, but enough for it to satisfy the reader. I’m really proud of it, especially both the ending and the epilogue. It took seven months approximately. Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy and Shattered Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, took longer.
  1. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
Ans. => I write at night. I’m a high school principal by day and there isn’t much down time or an opportunity for me to write. After dinner, I pull out my laptop and write while my daughter does her homework and my wife reads. The three of us sit in the family room with the TV going. I don’t like to write in seclusion and I don’t like to be separated from my family. I try to write for two hours a night. I begin by reading the previous night’s work, editing it some, and that puts me in the right frame of mind for what I need to write next. Sometimes I have an idea of where I want to go, but then other times, the characters and the action take over. I know that sounds strange, but that happens to me more times than not.

  1. What brought you to write this book?
Ans. => I was a counselor for 11 years, and during that time, I became the go-to guy for abuse. I’m not sure how that happened, but I listened as best I could. In 1989, I came across a story about an 11 year old boy from St. Joseph, Minnesota who was abducted by a stranger wearing a mask, with a gun, and in front of his best friend and his younger brother. Jacob Wetterling has never been seen since and it is only recently that there seems to be a person of interest in the case. I became an adjunct educator with the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, speaking to kids, to parents, and to teachers about keeping kids safe, what to look for, etc. I promised myself, as a way of giving back and as a way of speaking on behalf of abused kids, to write this series. It is fiction. It is thriller/mystery. But I did use many stories told to me by kids over the years. Tragic stuff. Life changing stuff. And that was how I came up with the series titles: Taking Lives, the prequel; Stolen Lives, Book One; Shattered Lives, Book Two; and Splintered Lives, Book Three.  
  1. How you became a published author? Any inspiration?
Ans. => The books I enjoy reading are in the thriller/mystery/suspense genre. My favorite authors: James Patterson, David Baldacci, and John Sanford all write in that genre. Because I worked with kids for over 39 years, it was only natural to use kids as my main characters, placing them in scenes of jeopardy and trial. I think that’s what sets me apart from them.
  1. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Ans. => One of my former students is a forensic scientist; one of my sources is a nurse; I speak to many law enforcement personnel including guys on SWAT. Those are my regular sources, but I do a fair amount of research because I want to be as technically accurate as possible.
  1. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
Ans. => I has a short story, Dusty And Me, published in 1987. Taking Lives and Stolen Lives were published a year or so ago. I wasn’t published until I surpassed my 60th birthday, rather later than most writers. But I was persistent. I think I got better as a writer from the prequel, Taking Lives, through Splintered Lives, and I want to continue to improve and grow as a writer.
  1. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Ans. => As a high school principal, I’m busy. My joy and my love is my family, so I spend a great deal of time doing typically family things. I read, I watch movies, I listen to music.
  1. How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?
Ans. => One short story, Dusty And Me; and four books: Taking Lives, Stolen Lives, Shattered Lives, and Splintered Lives. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite. Each one was important to me. Each tells a hell of a story. Those who have read my work love the characters. Readers laugh, cry, worry- all because, as they explain it to me, the characters are real for them. Those are some of my favorite comments. Readers have trouble putting the books down. Three readers told me they didn’t want the series to end. That makes me very proud. One reviewer compared me to James Patterson, which is very humbling.
  1. What's next for you? What are you working on now?
Ans. => I think my fan base will be happy to hear that I’m working on a thriller/mystery in a completely different story line, but using some of the same characters from the series. The book is tentatively titled, Caught In A Web, and I project it to be finished this summer.




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Monty the Fish Goes to the Zoo


A must have in every home.
With the seek and find element there's fun to be had by all.

A colorful book that stretches a child's imagination with a seek and find element. The author also donating $1 for every book sold to children's cancer research institute. 
We really appreciate to Author Vivienne Alonge​  and will request to everyone to have this book and recommend to your friends too for having fun with kids and help to fight against CANCER.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Interview With Author Jamie Eubanks


Hello everyone... Today we are interviewing Author Jamie Eubanks for her book "HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS". It's a paranormal suspense  with creative story and surprising twists. So, we asked Jamie a few question about the book and herself, below are the answers:


  1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Ans. => I was very young; perhaps eight or nine. Back then, I hadn’t thought of it in terms of “wanting to be a writer.” It was more of a realization that one of my favorite parts of school was when I had a writing assignment – especially when it involved the kind of creativity found in fiction.

  1. How long did it take you to write this book?
Ans. => It took about three to four months to come up with the first draft for HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS. That was the fun part. Then, it took another four months or so to prepare it for publication. In addition to writing, I run a private investigations company, which keeps me very busy. I’ve never run into a shortage of ideas for my stories. Likewise, I’ve yet to come up against the dreaded “writers’ block.” Once I decide to write a story, it can go very quickly. But prepping a manuscript for publication is time consuming, and it takes a lot of work.
  1. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
Ans. => As I mentioned, I have a day job – one that sometimes runs well into the evening hours and occasionally into the wee hours of the morning. In order to get anything done for writing, I have to be flexible, yet strict. Flexible, in the sense that I might be up until 1:00 am, or even 5:00 am to finish an important segment of a manuscript, depending upon what hours my day job allows me to write. Strict, in the sense that my writing has to be a priority. So when I’m not working at my day job, but in “full writing mode,” I have little time for anything else.

  1. What brought you to write this book?
Ans. => I’ve always enjoyed troubleshooting. I like to imagine scenarios – some of them rather strange – and try to work my way out of them. It was one of the ways I amused myself as a child, when the family would go on those long, cross-country drives every summer. For this book, I was living in Palm Springs at the time; it was summer and a very hot day. My mind wandered to how welcoming a bit of “snow” would be at that moment. Before long, that “bit of snow” had turned into an imaginary raging snowstorm. And that’s how I happened upon my opening scene, where Jillian is trapped in a blinding blizzard with her 5-year-old daughter. The rest of the story simply took off from there.
  1. How you become a published author? Any inspiration?
Ans. => I had these nine manuscripts that I’d completed a few years back. All first drafts, nowhere even near ready for publication. A few family members and friends had read some of the stories over the years and seemed to enjoy them. Then one day, my sister Rachel called me up and told me that she and her husband were discussing their favorite books. My brother-in-law, Steve, said he couldn’t recall the title or author of his favorite book, so instead went into a description of the plot and characters. My sister immediately recognized the story, and was so excited that she had to call me and let me know; because, it was one of mine. She said that it was proof that it was an unbiased opinion, even though it came from family. That’s when I decided to publish. I figured if Steve enjoyed it so much, maybe other people would, too. 
  1. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Ans. => As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy troubleshooting. It’s one of the reason why computers and I get along so well. Sometimes, as it was with HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS, it’s just a matter of envisioning that opening scene, one where the main protagonist is in immediate peril, then attempting to work my way out of it. I also enjoy doing research for these projects, so poring over books and the Internet – in order to glean background information and gain knowledge for the more technical aspects of my stories – is actually fun for me.

  1. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
Ans. => I wrote a lot of short stories when I was a child in school. As for book-length novels, my first manuscript was handwritten in ink on a lined, yellow notepad, many years ago when I lived in Louisiana. So I was probably in my early- to mid-20s for my first novel-length fiction. I wrote it simply for the challenge of writing novel-length fiction, as I’d never done so before and wanted to know if I had the determination and enough drive to see it through to the end. I wasn’t more than a few chapters into it when I realized that it was exactly what my life had been missing.
  1. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Ans. => I love Martial arts. I spend quite a bit of time at my dojo. There’s something very calming about sweating profusely while pounding on a heavy bag with that all I’m worth. I read quite a bit, too. (I am sure that I have over 100 books waiting for me on my Kindle). Though I mainly write paranormal suspense, I read anything from romance to crime, to fantasy stories of swords and dragons. I also love playing guitar, and miss being in a band.
  1. How many books have you written? Which is your favourite?
Ans. => I have 9 manuscripts all together. I recently began the editing process on one of them that is tentatively titled UPSHOT. To pick one favorite from the list would be difficult. HIDDEN DOORS, SECRET ROOMS is definitely on the shortlist. As is UPSHOT. I have one other that remains without title that I hope to soon edit for publication. Like the others, it’s a paranormal suspense, but this one took me only six weeks to write. It was one of those times when the entire story was solidly in my mind from the very moment that first scene entered my head, and it practically wrote itself.


  1. What's next for you? What are you working on now?
Ans. => I’m currently working on UPSHOT, a paranormal suspense. I’m in the editing process, and expect to have it ready for publication in the next few months. There’s another paranormal suspense I started recently, as well, currently without title and only the first few chapters are written. Due to the time constraints of also running a business, I made the decision to put my new manuscript on the back burner until UPSHOT is complete. 
 

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Book Of The Week - Probabilities by Author Lynn Crandall


Bubbly were-lynx Tizzy Sands mapped out her life years ago: she'd teach kindergartners, eventually marry, and start a family. But when cancer stole her dream of having children, her focus changed. As a member of a were-lynx colony that faces constant danger from the nefarious Nexus Group, her goal now is helping the colony defeat them--and steering clear of any romantic involvements.
With his genius IQ, Quinn Arons isn't the most socially skilled were-lynx in the colony and can't imagine party girl Tizzy would give him a second look. But although his past mistakes and childhood experiences haunt him, he can't accept Tizzy's fear that cancer will return and claim her life soon. Instead, he decides to show her that life is what you make it.
Now they're working as partners to prevent Nexus from launching its Project Powering, but can Quinn convince Tizzy there's more to save here than just their world?
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