Category: Author Interview

Author Interview – Brooke Martin

Author of Seregn

Today, I am excited to be chatting with debut fantasy author Brooke Martin to talk to us about her new book, Seregn. Congratulations, Brooke, on releasing your debut novel. Such a great achievement.

Helen: Welcome Brooke. I am so excited to talk to you about your debut book. Tell us all about it!

Brooke: Seregn is a portal fantasy novel for adults that takes readers on an exhilarating emotional journey, challenging the core of big concepts like love, loyalty, and sacrifice. My main character, Ada, is a young woman thrown into a strange world against her will. She is forced to embark on a perilous quest to save a cursed, dying king – by attempting to steal a fabled weapon from a cruel tyrant, and journeying deep into enemy territory to shoot a star from the sky. In so doing, Ada will not only confront a dangerous, cruel world around her, but also confront herself. She is joined on her quest by four of the king’s bodyguards – one of whom is terminally ill, and another is a traitor with purposes of their own. The consequences of their quest will shake their entire world – literally – and leave Ada questioning everything. I wrote Seregn with a goal to sound beautiful as it’s read, capture imaginations with lush worldbuilding, and encourage readers to ponder deep matters of character and identity. I wanted to write a story that considered what the cost of love is, whether it’s worth it, and what might ultimately break it. But also, I simply wanted to write a fantastic, engaging, adventurous story full of action and drama that leaves you feeling changed at the end of it. The book is intended for adults due to some mature content – moments of strong violence occur in the novel, and in one section in particular.

Helen: I love immersive fantasy books, where you can lose yourself in a new world. It sound like a wonderful premise. How did you translate your vision for the book into the cover?

Brooke: It was hard to imagine the cover for Seregn when I set out on this journey, because I really struggled to know what it ought to be. But I love what the cover designer came up with (with my feedback/input). To explain the cover, starry skies are a massive part of Seregn and one of the only things I was sure on – I knew stars needed to be incorporated, somehow. Beyond that, as I played with ideas, I thought stars over the sea would work nicely, as there are a few sailing journeys in the novel. Seregn is all about a quest to shoot down a star, and the dark starburst behind the title was an inspired idea by the designer– representing the stars, but also almost looking like a stylised gunshot shattering the sky (how’s that for a sneaky hint at what is to come?). The hardest part for me was actually choosing the font, I had a very specific idea in my mind, and we went through a fair few options before settling on the final choice.

Helen: I always find designing the covers the hardest part of the formatting. All my ideas for the Sentinal series wouldn’t work for an epic fantasy. Fortunately my designer had some great ideas, and I love the final result. What about the book title, Seregn. What is Seregn?

Brooke: The book is titled Seregn, and it wasn’t originally my first choice. In the story, Seregn is a fabled weapon, a powerful steampunk gun that can break the barrier between earth and sky. I made up the word by playing around with the words ‘star’ and ‘reign’, and was also influenced by the Welsh word for star – ‘seren’. Originally, I had other ideas for the title, but over time I realised that the whole story really revolves around this devastatingly powerful weapon – what it means to possess it, use it, and carry those repercussions with you. While I was a bit hesitant to go with a made-up word for the title, I decided it would at least stand out, and went with it!

Helen: Made up words work for me, I think we have to create new words in fantasy worlds, otherwise how do we differentiate from the normal world around us? What made you write this particular book?

Brooke: I have always wanted to write a fantasy book, and when I reached the point where I felt I could really try to accomplish it, I threw everything I had at it – all my favourite ideas, characters, themes – you name it. I suppose, then, that I wrote this particular book, because it had all the things I loved in it, all the parts of a story that I myself wanted to read. I wanted to write a story with heart and soul, a story about what it means to love, to sacrifice, to be a hero (for better and for worse), to experience the tension between conflicting loyalties, to be willingly vulnerable – and what can happen if/when you do. All these ideas were swirling in my mind as I came up with the story of Seregn, and adding to them my love for the night sky, for candles, for the seas and the mountains and adventure and romance… out came Seregn.

Helen: I’m so glad you managed to encapsulate all that you love into your novel. Congratulations again on releasing your debut book. When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

Brooke: For as long as I can really remember I’ve loved books. I remember reading The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time in primary school, gobbling up The Ranger’s Apprentice, being handed The Hobbit at age 10, and The Lord of the Rings at age 11. That kicked off a love for Middle-earth that remains to this day. I wanted nothing more than to write my own great tome with such depth and richness as Tolkien’s works. That love for writing and for story was always with me, but it wasn’t until university though I managed to complete my first manuscript – Seregn!

Helen: Who is your protagonist and why did you write her/him?

Brooke: My protagonist is Ada Wrembeck, a historical consultant in her 20s with a bit of a tragic backstory (because she’s the lead in a fantasy novel of course). I wrote Ada for a couple of reasons. For my first novel, I thought it wise to create a protagonist who, while she was different to me, had enough elements of myself (or that I could easily relate to) to make her a compelling central character. As a new author I really wanted Ada to be believable, well rounded, and complex. The easiest way to do that was to take elements of myself (a real person!) and reimagine them into her, along with adding plenty of other traits of course! As an example, Ada has a couple of panic attacks in the book, which I describe from personal experience. Secondly, I wrote Ada the way I did as part of my overall plan for the theme of the story. Ada is emotionally closed off, and fairly selfish, but as the reader we know over time that she does actually care deep down (or would if she’d let herself). This provides so much opportunity for character development as Ada begins to open up in multiple ways. Even her job (historical consultant) I chose for a reason – she is always looking back.

Helen: Ada sounds like a really well thought out character. Let’s move to your writing process. Are you a Pantser or a plotter?

Brooke: I believe these things are very much on a spectrum, but I’m very far into the planner side. Whenever I had tried to write books in the past (when I was in school for instance) I never got farther than a few chapters, which I came to realise was because I hadn’t had the story planned out properly beforehand. It was only once I’d started following a writer’s blog and read a couple of craft books – all from the plotting side of the spectrum, that I was finally able to write Seregn. Just knowing what came next made all the difference for me! That said, I believe that there is the freeform expression of ‘pantsing’ and the planning of ‘plotting’ on both sides of the spectrum, they just occur at different times. For plotters, that freeform creativity is concentrated right at the start of the process, when the brainstorming and ideation occurs. For pantsers, the ‘planning’ aspect, to me at least, is in the editing after the fact. The framework I’ve used for Seregn (and will continue to use until it doesn’t work for me) is that outlined in C.S. Lakin’s ‘The Twelve Key Pillars of Novel Construction’ and ‘Layer Your Novel’ and (for the editing process) Charlotte Nash’s ‘How to edit at novel’. I’ve found these all incredibly useful in every aspect of novel writing. It also means that I haven’t had writers block while writing the story itself.

Helen: Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?

Brooke: I would say probably the initial brainstorming. Because I am a ‘plotter’ the bulk of the creative work (in the sense of coming up with the story) happens at the outset. For me, I really just cannot start writing without knowing what comes next. I’ve found, now that Seregn is finished and I’m starting to think of other ideas, I put pressure on myself in the early brainstorming phase to come up with the next great idea, instead of letting the ideas come naturally as they did for Seregn. I suppose this could also be my equivalent of ‘writer’s block’ – but instead of occurring while I write the novel, it occurs while I plan it! Now that I’m a wife and mother (I was neither when I first wrote Seregn) it seems even more challenging to try to find not only the time, but the mental capacity to put towards cultivating creativity. But I won’t give up!

Helen: I’m glad to hear that you are now addicted to writing. I am too! I can’t stop. There is always something I need to be capturing. I usually ask which genre you write, but with one book released, tell us about what you did choose to write.

Brooke: I write fantasy. Having only written one book, I suppose I could say, specifically, portal fantasy. Which, to be honest, is almost a surprise to me, because I’m actually not that much of a portal fantasy fan. In general, I tend to prefer stories that are wholly set in a fantasy world – without being ‘tainted’ by association to ours. But, somehow, that’s not the story I wrote! I have ideas for short stories or novellas that are a mix of epic fantasy and portal fantasy as offshoots of Seregn, along with full novel ideas set completely in the world of Seregn. But definitely a fantasy writer – I’m also a fantasy reader, so it works!

Helen: When you are in the throes of writing, do you listen to music or do you prefer silence?

Brooke: I do listen to music when I write, but it’s only ever instrumental music – usually orchestral or movie scores and soundtracks. I find songs with lyrics really tend to crowd out my own words in my head, but instrumental music can help set the tone and get me into a groove when writing. I listened to all sorts of soundtracks while writing Seregn, from The Lord of the Rings to Stardust to Guardians of the Galaxy. At times there were very specific songs I’d play on repeat while writing certain scenes, because they fit the scene (and sometimes the action) exactly!

Helen: If you didn’t write fantasy, is there another genre you would be tempted to try?

Brooke: I would probably try history – when I’m not reading straight fantasy, I enjoy historical fantasy and even a time travel or two. I love a wide mix of history but particularly medieval and ancient, there’s so much that can be done in various historical timeframes, it’s similar to fantasy in that it transports you to another world – in a way.

Helen: Do you have any advice you would like to share with new writers?

Brooke: Don’t try to chase trends or fads or what you think the industry, the agents, or the publishers want. Write the story that YOU want to write, that YOU’RE passionate about. Writing a book is a massive task, so it’s important to do it for yourself. And if you’re passionate about your story, someone else will be too! As a new mum I also want to encourage others who juggle multiple responsibilities that you can work on your own timeline. Of course, sometimes you need to push to achieve a dream, but you’re not failing by doing what you can as you can!

Helen: Great advice. Thank you for sharing that with us. Thank you so much for joining me today. It has been a lot of fun learning about you and your book. Just to finish, could you share some of the books you’ve been reading recently?

Brooke:  I really enjoyed A Crack in the Rock by Amber Gabriel – if you like Seregn there’s a good chance you’d like it too – even though they’re quite different in some ways. I found it to be so well written and I was so invested in the characters – the romance is compelling without too much ‘spice’, the dark moments perfectly depicted, the rising conflict and sense of doom at the right moments of the story were so well realised. Another would be Liberation by RM Krogman, this one is more brutal in some ways, but so well done. Liberation is the first of a trilogy – with multiple novellas – and it’s shaping up to be a brilliant one. Some other books I’ve read recently are Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead (a spin on King Arthur mashed up with Atlantis), Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (and instant classic), and Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (I’m so keen to read the next one).

About the Author

Brooke Martin

Brooke has always loved reading – from the days of sturdy baby books to the day she picked up The Lord of the Rings at age 11, she’s never looked back. Her desire to be an author is nearly as old, and in those early years she spent afternoons and weekends at her computer, tapping away on her novel ideas. Since then she’s grown up, studied, and worked in radio, print, and online journalism. These days, Brooke spends her days as a stay-at-home mum, and studying a professional development course to start working as a copy editor and proofreader. All the while, her stories have been bubbling away – tales of adventure, fantasy, romance, struggle, sacrifice, and emotion – all infused with her faith and homeland. As a Christian, Brooke aims to craft stories that are accessible to everyone, whilst imbuing the tales with courage, compassion, sacrifice, faith, perseverance, and personal growth. She’s utterly thrilled to bring her first novel, Seregn, to publication.

Follow Brooke:

Author Website

Facebook

Instagram

Purchase Brooke’s book: Seregn via Amazon – also available on other platforms

Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

If you enjoy epic fantasy then the award winning Sentinal series is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fiction? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

Author Interview – Helen Pugh

Author of Unsung Women in Somerset

Today, I am excited to be chatting with Historical author Helen Pugh to talk to us about her latest book, Unsung Women in Somerset. She is also a writer of children’s historical books.

HG: I can see this getting confusing, so I’ll use my initials (HG) for me in this interview! Welcome, Helen. I am so excited to talk to you about your book. Especially as we have just been celebrating International Women’s Day. Tell us a little about your book.

Helen: Unsung Women in Somerset is a book of real-life and legendary women who lived, loved, worked and made a difference in the county of Somerset, England. Often, these women were erased from the narrative, both when they were alive and after they died in terms of how their stories were overlooked.

Starting in pre-Roman times, we go right through to the mid-20th century. The book is made up of 23 chapters that generally consist of a short story followed by historical notes, a chapter bibliography and shorter sections on other women of note from the same era.

As well as gender discrimination, some of the women encountered discrimination due to ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social standing and so on.

Examples of the women in the book include an African princess who survived and thrived despite the odds, a woman who had two funerals and an enslaved Roman woman who married a priest.

HG: I think it is so interesting that you chose a variety of women through the ages who lived in Somerset. Who are the women on the cover of the book?

Helen: The cover represents women in different eras and undertaking different tasks. The woman at the top represents the book’s Medieval women, who included a translator, various queens, churchwardens, a witch and a baroness. The woman in the middle represents the women who took holy orders, such as an abbess, a prioress, a hermitess and a vowess. The woman at the bottom represents the women in the world wars, for instance a doctor, a tram driver and a member of the French Resistance. Behind the words are sections of a 17th-century map of Somerset.

HG: I hadn’t even noticed the maps behind the words until you mentioned it. This is why I Iove asking that question, you always see more when you understand the author’s intent. What about the title, what were your thoughts behind that?

Helen: The title, Unsung Women in Somerset, refers to how many of these women have been marginalised in the past. They have not often been celebrated, mainly because most people nowadays have not heard of most of them. And I chose “in Somerset” rather than “of Somerset” because not all the women were born or raised in Somerset. Some of them came into the county later in life and so I felt the word “in” conveyed this idea better.

HG: What made you write this particular book? And why women in Somerset in particular?

Helen: I chose to write a book that focused on historical women because in general, women have been overlooked in the study of history. There are so many books, news articles etc that focus almost exclusively on men. An old saying goes: “Geography is about maps. History is about chaps.” This mindset of focusing on men when studying history has meant that amazing women who lived in Somerset have often remained obscure. Problems with the records themselves have also kept women marginalised, such as simply not documenting women’s achievements and contributions, documenting those achievements using the passive voice rather than naming the woman or women involved, not bothering to preserve documents relating to women and unforeseen circumstances like archives going up in flames.  Some women’s stories may never be known. Alice atte Castle is possibly an example of this. She is listed as a tenant of Fenny Castle, near Wells, in 1354, but I can’t find any other information about her.

Countless women, imperfect and human just like us, have pushed boundaries, in big or small ways, so that future women could lead better lives– entering male-dominated spheres, demanding their rights, breaking gender norms, taking on positions of power… The list goes on. At times, these women’s obscurity is just due to their gender but can also be because of multiple forms of discrimination, including social standing, race and disability.

And I chose to write about Somerset because I wanted to write a book that would explore the place I live in now, whereas my previous books were about where I used to live (Ecuador and so my books were based on South American history, with a particular focus on women).

I’m one of those people who used to think local history is boring but it definitely isn’t, not always. If you look in the right places, you can find incredible things, sometimes even things that happened in the tiniest hamlets. Another reason for picking Somerset is that bigger cities do get more focus in terms of history and things going on now. Bristol gets talked about a lot.

It’s exciting to get to know the spaces we visit day to day, that we look at the same hills people in years gone by looked at, walked the same paths, even if a lot has changed over time.

HG: History is full of amazing facts, you just have to dig a little to find them. I think it is wonderful that you found these unsung heroines to write about. I imagine that you have to do a lot research for each story you include?

Helen: Tons! Most of the time I spend on my books is researching. Sometimes it can take an hour of research just to write one or two sentences! It can be very tricky to pinpoint information about the women and/or tricky to find a consensus in the sources being looked at.

HG: When did you first realise you had a passion for writing?

Helen: I’ve been writing since I was really little, about 7 or 8. I wrote stories as a child, starting off with things about my teddies, then as a teenager I wrote science fiction for a while. Now I’m writing about history.

HG: Thank you so much for joining me today. It is so interesting to learn more about these amazing women. Just one more question for you. What are you working on next?

Helen:  One fascinating aspect that I’ve come across in researching historical women in Somerset is the global nature of Somerset’s residents. For instance, the Roman Empire was culturally diverse, many Medieval queens were from mainland Europe and I mentioned before an African princess who came to Somerset. With that in mind, my next research project will look at cultural diversity in Somerset and I’m also working on a junior edition of Unsung Women in Somerset, aimed at ages 9 and above.

About the Author

Helen Pugh

Helen Pugh is the author of Unsung Women in Somerset, a collection of short stories focussing on real-life and legendary women in Somerset.

Her other works include Jungle-tastic Tales and Inca-tastic Tales, short story anthologies for children based on extensive research into the rainforest and Inca history, respectively, as well as Cuentos incatásticos for Spanish speakers.

Helen studied Spanish and Italian at university and has a lifelong passion for history, especially that of women who made history but have been edited out of history.

Follow Helen:

Social links

Amazon Author Page

Purchase Helen’s book: Unsung Women in Somerset via Amazon

Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

If you enjoy epic fantasy then the award winning Sentinal series is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fiction? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

Author Interview – A. S Norris

Author of The Wayward Apprentice

Today, I am excited to be chatting with fantasy author A.S Norris to talk to us about his latest book, The Wayward Apprentice.

Helen: Welcome, Andrew. I see you already have three books published in the Jack Wartnose series (Love the name!) and now we go back to the beginnings in The Wayward Apprentice. Tell us a little about it.

Andrew: It’s a novella titled “The Wayward Apprentice: A Jack Wartnose Prequel.” It serves as an origin story for my series’ main character, Jack Wartnose, covering his rise from starving wretch and pariah to entering the mage academy. Along the way, he faces heartache, triumph, and the weight of his actions as he begins his path to redemption in the series’ main books.

    Helen: There are some specifc items on the cover. Can you tell us how you what your thoughts were behind the design?

    Andrew: Without giving too much away to spoil the novella, the room and table are from a certain room in the story where Jack Wartnose is confronted with a life-altering decision. The items on the table each represent certain key moments within the story. Kudos to my lovely wife for crafting this cover for me.

    Helen: Typically I ask how you came up with your title, but as this is the prequel to the Wayward Mage series, I see the logic.

    Andrew: The first book in my series, “The Adventures of Jack Wartnose,” is entitled “The Wayward Mage.” The story of Jack Wartnose begins when he is already a mage apprentice and on his fateful quest for the elusive Tome of Time. So, it seemed natural to title my novella “The Wayward Apprentice” as he begins his journey into mage apprenticeship and while also being called to become an apprentice of sorts by his benefactor in the story. There’s more about this benefactor I can’t wait to reveal, but that will all be told within the books of the series.

    Helen: What made you write The Wayward Apprentice?

    Andrew: From a pragmatic viewpoint, I needed a short story I could offer for free as a reader magnet to get sign ups for my newsletter. Yet, as with my other books in the series, I took great care to not half-ass it. Rather than tell a one-off story, I carefully put in plot points that would tie into other plot points in books 1 through 4 of my series. As a result, the story took on a life of its own until, before I realized it, I cracked 30,000 words. I am rather proud of what I wrote, given the limitations to keep this tale short and readable.

    To get this free prequel novella, Sign up to Andrew’s newsletter here.

    Helen: Tell us more about your protagnist, Jack Wartnose. He sounds quite the character!

    Andrew: Jack Wartnose, he’s a mage apprentice in his mid-30s on a quest for an item that may have caused the last world ending cataclysm. Along the way, he comes across his childhood love and finds out he fathered a son with her when they were teenagers. Reunited, he fulfils his promise to her to marry her and ends up taking his new family along on what he believes will be a simple journey. Only, it becomes at times a life-and-death struggle as Wartnose has to overcome his wayward past in protecting his growing family and get them safely to the tome before his growing list of enemies kill him or find it first.

      I wrote him because I wanted an adult protagonist. I was tired of YA and coming-of-age stories, and I wanted a character with some life experience that required a redemption arc. Then, as the ideas flowed in, I was struck with the idea of instead of the “wise, old mentor” character with the young hero, why not have that mentor be the “young hero’s” actual father. From there, the story just wrote itself as Jack Wartnose is confronted not only with his one young adult son from his now-wife, but with other children he discovers from previous lovers during his wayward past.

      Helen: If Jack could answer this next question, what would he say? Why should we read your book?

      Andrew: “Come for the award-winning epic fantasy adventure, stay for the humour, excitement, heart, and fun, relatable characters.”

      Helen: And what are you working on next? Are there more Jack Wartnose stories?

      Andrew:  Book 4 of my series, “The Adventures of Jack Wartnose,” titled “The Condemned Mage.” Now that my novella is finished, I’m full steam ahead on finishing the edits for this book to release later this year. It continues the adventure of Jack Wartnose and his growing family, having just narrowly escaped mage assassins in Book 3, “The Hunted Mage.” While fleeing for safety, he encounters one of the assassins, and realizes they shared an “intimate” history together.

      Helen: Sounds intriguing! When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

      Andrew: I’ve dabbled with writing since senior year in high school. Actually, I finished a novel about a mercenary on his death bed telling his story to his protégé and started a few others, along with a great many poems. Unfortunately, after accumulating a number of drafts and such, my laptop’s hard drive suddenly died. And in that same week, I physically lost my other back up hard drive, so everything I wrote then is lost to time. However, it may have been a blessing in disguise because I took a hiatus for several years as a result, lived life, had many adventures of my own, got married, and suffered setbacks and experienced triumphs to where, when I started writing again in earnest in 2021, everything clicked for me in a way my earlier writing didn’t. I haven’t looked back since.

      Helen: It is so great that you went back to writing. Sometimes I think there is just a ‘right’ time to start writing. Which part of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?

      Andrew: If we’re talking just writing, the editing process. I’m currently editing Book 4 in my series. I’m on my fourth read through and I’m still finding little plot holes and grammatical errors. But my absolute bane is marketing. I struggle wrapping my head around it. Someday I hope to crack it.

      Helen: I have to agree that marketing is the challenge. I enjoy the writing and editing process as a whole. It is such an amazing feeling when everything clicks. Who inspired you to write?

      Andrew: Primarily, God. Seriously, the whole beginning of this started from a funny and heartwarming vivid dream I had back in mid-2021 and the ideas that keep coming to drive this story I believe are truly inspired. Certainly didn’t come from me alone. As far as authors go, my big three would be Tolkien, Brian Jacques with his “Redwall” series, and Terry Pratchett with his “Discworld” series.

      Helen: Which genre do you typically write in?

      Andrew: Fantasy, because I believe it offers me the most creative freedom, and because I think fantasy helps us the most in real life. By giving readers heroes who bravely fight and defeat the dragons, metaphorically speaking, I believe it helps others to bravely face their own dragons in life.

      Helen: Let’s move on to your writing process. Most independent authors also have a day job. How do you fit your writing into your everyday life?

      Andrew: With difficulty. I have to wake at 5AM to get a couple of hours in before my normal job. Then I have a short time during my lunch break to crank out as much as I can. Evenings are devoted to family and winding down so I can sleep at night.

      Helen: I wish I could do that, I am not an early morning person, I am a definitely a night owl. Do you listen to music while you write?

      Andrew: Yes, and depends on my mood and what I’m writing. If I really need to concentrate, then classical, synthwave, or instrumental metal are my go-tos.

      Helen: Do you plan out your novels or are you a pantser?

      Andrew: I plan out the major plot points for my story. But how I get from A to B is anyone’s guess. I let the characters guide me between those points.

      Helen: All authors experience moments of self doubt or writer’s block. What do you do to cope with this?

      Andrew: I recognize that not everyone will enjoy my stories. But for those that do, they keep me going. I manage writer’s block by walking away for a short time. I find that if I can’t find a solution, I go and work on something else and eventually the solution finds me.

      Helen: How do you find new ideas for your books?

      Andrew: They just come to me. That’s why I made the comment about God being my primary inspiration because it’s not as though I’m actively thinking about these all the time. I have a day job and family responsibilities that take up 90% of my day’s activities and thought processes. So, when I get ideas, it usually comes in my dreams or just out of the blue.

      Helen: Thank you so much for joining me today, it’s been great chatting with you. Just to finish, what advice would you give new writers?

      Andrew: Writing is a marathon. It will require great discipline to constantly write and keep learning the business of writing (marketing, building relationships, etc). I’m still learning and improving every day. Don’t assume quick success

      Helen: Anything else you’d like to add?

      Andrew: I am writing my books for adults, but I didn’t want them to be chocked full of inappropriate material. I have challenging material in my books, but never done in an exploitive or pornographic manner that parents would be embarrassed to have their children read or to be caught reading in front of the children. So, I tell people my books are “written for adults, but teen safe.”

        Also, my first two books have won a combined seven book awards, with many other accolades to their name. So, if anyone thinks that by not making my books overly “spicy” that they’re boring or unreadable, I ask you reconsider. Good literature should be like cooking: use spices in the appropriate amounts to give your work interesting flavours yet not so much that it overpowers the meal. That’s what I strive to do (and have done) with my books.

        I hope you will give my books a read. I believe you will find them full of charm and excitement you get from the best fantasies! You can find them on Amazon, search “The Adventures of Jack Wartnose,” or click here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1KTK13M. And, for those who want to test drive my writing, sign up for my newsletter to get my free novella, “The Wayward Apprentice:” https://www.asnauthor.com/. It’s a free sign up, you can leave anytime, and you can unsubscribe any time. So what do you have to lose, except a few hours of a good, free read?

        About the Author

        A.S Norris

        Telling fun, exciting and Godly adventures with timeless values, low spice romance, and a pinch of humor that any parent can read alongside their teenagers without embarrassment.

        Subscribers to my newsletter get a FREE novella prequel, “The Wayward Apprentice,” as well as a FREE map of the world of Aemilia. Sign up at my website (Search “asnauthor”).

        A.S. Norris is a bit of an adventurer himself. He has traveled to Asia and the western Pacific Ocean, Europe, and the Caribbean. Additionally, he has traveled over half of the United States and backpacked or camped in many of its national parks. Now his life consists of adventures as a family man with his lovely wife and spirited baby daughter. THE ADVENTURES OF JACK WARTNOSE is his first novel series with more coming in the near future!

        Follow Andrew:

        Author website

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        Purchase Andrew’s book: The Wayward Mage via Amazon

        Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

        Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy epic fantasy then the award winning Sentinal series is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fiction? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

        By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

        By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

        Author Interview – Philip J Dennis

        Author of Behind the Curtain

        Today, I am excited to invite Philip J Dennis back for a return visit to talk to us about his latest book, Behind the Curtain. You can check out his interview back in 2021 here.

        Helen: Welcome back, Philip. I’m thrilled to see you have released more books since we last spoke. Congratulations on the release of Behind the Curtain. Tell us a little about it.

        Philip: My newest novel, full novel, is Behind the Curtain. I released it last May on Amazon.

        It follows the life – partial life – of Jason Scott, from starting off as a child, becoming a child actor, and then, as an adult, returning to the movie business.

        The story, though, is told partly as a retrospective. It starts with Jason at a wellbeing centre. Sort of like a rehab centre. As part of his treatment, he has agreed to work on a biography with a journalist friend. There’s a little back and forth between timelines, but I know that can get confusing in books, so I would switch between third-person and first-person tense. It really helps to allow Jason to be the one telling his story.

        I do have a short stories collection on Amazon. All Hope is Gone, and other short stories, if people want to have a look at that too.

        Helen: I love the cover. You’ve continued with the theme of silhouettes which give it a touch of mystery. What were your thoughts behind your design?

        Philip: I’d mentioned this in our last interview. The style of the cover originated back to my first book, Isaac’s Fall. I had an image in mind, but did not want to spend large amounts of money for a cover artist to put together. At the time, I was only starting out. It was a hobby that I was hoping would lead somewhere.

        So, my next books in the trilogy followed the same style – a silhouette of the main character against an appropriate background. When I was designing the cover for The Wrong Apocalypse – which you read and gave a very generous review for – I kind of felt that the silhouette-thing was now sort of my style.

        With Behind the Curtain – a silhouette of a man on a stage, a curtain behind him, spotlights and lens flares all around, it fit the story. I can see hidden meaning in that, which is funny, because it is pure fluke. Not intentional at all. I wonder how many writers do something that people read deep meaning into and it was completely unintentional. Just a fluke. Haha.

        Helen: Your title also suggests hidden meanings. How did you come up with the book title?

        Philip: Behind the Curtain was a working title. It was not intended to be the final one. It was a simple title that gave a hint at what the story was about. But I would start to refer to the story by that title, and then on later drafts, I ended up working the title into the story and part of the dialogue. It was already part of the theme, and the ending – hint, hint – so it just stuck.

        Helen: I had a feeling there was a connection to the story somewhere! Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?

        Philip: Funnily enough, this book I started writing about ten years or more before it was released. It was actually the second book I started to write. Isaac’s Fall being the first. When I started it, I knew nearly all the major plot points, and I got about ninety percent of the way through it on the first draft. But I was struggling with the tone and the flow of the story. I felt that the story was too big for me to be able to do it justice. I might have mentioned this in our last interview. I have definitely mentioned it somewhere before.

        When the Pandemic hit, I wanted to revisit it. I read over the first draft, refreshing myself on simple story points, and started again. This time I got about a third of the way through and hit a wall. It was a hard time and I didn’t have it in me to do a book so serious. That’s when I started to write The Wrong Apocalypse. That was light and fun, and it just flowed out of me. Very cathartic, given that we were at the end of Lockdown.

        After that, I went back to it.

        I was also spurred on by the book Daisy Jones and The Six – this was before the TV series, of course – completely different in regards to story and style, but it reminded me of the film Almost Famous, which was something of an inspiration for Behind the Curtain anyway.

        So, to get back to your question, a major challenge for my writing is being in the right headspace to be able to write the story, and knowing what you can accomplish at that time. It’s perfectly fine to leave a work-in-progress and move on to something else for a while. You’ll circle back to it eventually. If you try to force the story, if you aren’t feeling it, then that could work against you.

        Helen: Who inspired you to first start writing?

        Philip: Easy. My wife. Jan. I first started writing following a really weird and vivid dream I had. This is going back about fifteen years now. I told Jan about it the next day and she thought it was such a weird, detailed dream, but that it would make a great story. So, secretly, I started writing down what I knew from the dream, putting it into a narrative.

        A week or two later, we were talking about it. Jan said that she had started to write it down. I didn’t know this, at the time, and told her that I had too. She said she had written about three or four pages, then asked me what I’d done. It was about forty.

        Anyway, it was her that spurred me on to keep writing. I wrote about seven drafts of that story – which is not one that I released. I will come back to it though. It is a really interesting premise. Seven drafts, though, was a lot of time. But, it was practice.

        Jan would read over what I had done, give me notes, tell me what worked and what didn’t, which she does for all my writing. She is the first person I write for, the first person to hear my ideas, that I talk them over with, who reads the chapters as and when they are done, and then the finished story.

        She has also stopped me deleting everything in a fit of frustration on a number of occasions. Thank God!

        Helen: That is so funny that you both started writing the same story. I’m glad you took your pages and turned them into a book! What are you currently working on?

        Philip: At the moment, I am jumping between a couple of WIPs. I’m focusing on a second book to Somewhere Else. That was a kid’s book I wrote for my son, Jacob, with him as the main character. It is a fun, adventure, fantasy/fairytale book that pokes fun at some of the tropes of fairytales and their characters, or archetypes. I don’t have a name yet, but I will think of something.

        The other one was a paranormal-thriller. Not a horror, I should state. I won’t go into the premise of it, only because it is early in the first draft, and I don’t know how long it will take to complete.

        I also want to do a sequel to The Wrong Apocalypse – got some notes and chapters on that. And then I’ve got a couple of other new stories running through my mind too. Do you ever find you have ideas but not the time to work on them all?

        Helen: I have so many ideas and not enough time to write them! I have three epic fantasy series started, and the challenge for me is which series to focus on, because I love the characters in all of them, and they are so different! Enough about us. Which books have you been reading and would recommend to others?

        Philip: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Such a good book. Short, but that’s not a negative. If you can, get the illustrated paperback. The artwork is great.

        Been reading a lot of Blake Crouch over the last year or so. Wayward Pines series. Dark Matter, Recursion, and Upgrade.

        And I’ve started Mantis by Kotaro Isaka. It’s the third in a trilogy. You’ve probably heard of the film Bullet Train. That was the second book in his trilogy. They are fun, action-packed and an easy read.

        Helen: And which is your favourite book?

        Philip: Still American Gods by Neil Gaiman. And Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. If you want something whimsical, then go for Good Omens. If you want something that plays around with religion, myth and folklore and makes them its own, go for American Gods. That might be due another re-read soon, I think.

        Helen: Thank you so much for joining me today. Just to finish, what advice would you give new writers?

        Philip: Keep writing for you. You are the first person you should be writing for. I know that I said that my wife was the first person I write for, but I meant that as externally. It’s like that saying, “Charity begins at home,” well, writing begins with you.

        I think Neil Gaiman said something, to butcher his saying, “The first draft is for you. The second is for the reader.”

        And, keep writing. Get the first draft done. Even if it is full of holes. Get it done. The holes can be filled in later drafts. They call it a Vomit Draft, I believe. Get it all out, no matter how bad. You can clean it up later. Bit of a gross analogy but I like it.

        About the Author

        Philip J Dennis

        Philip J Dennis, born and raised in Liverpool, England, is the author of several books spanning different genres, from paranormal and crime thriller, to a children’s book he had written for his son, a comedy horror, and a fictional biography.

        His novels include the …and all that’s in between trilogy. Isaac’s Fall, Harmony’s Choice, and Faith’s Rise. As well as Somewhere Else, The Wrong Apocalypse, and the newly released Behind The Curtain.

        He currently lives in Liverpool, with his wife and son, and continues to write. He can be followed on Instagram @Philip_J_Dennis as well as on Goodreads, where he welcomes questions and queries.

        Follow Philip:

        Amazon Author page

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        Purchase Philip’s book: Behind the Curtain via Amazon

        Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

        Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

        By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

        By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

        Author Interview – Carole Wolfe

        Author of My Best Mistake

        Today, I am joined by chick lit author Carole Wolfe to talk about her My Best Series.

        Helen: Welcome Carole. It was great meeting you in Miami at the Readers Favorite Book Awards. Congratulations on winning an award for your book My Best Mistake. Tell us a little about your book.

        Carole: My Best Mistake – Tasha’s Story won the bronze medal in the 2023 Reader’s Favorite Fiction – Chick Lit category. It is book one in the five book My Best Series. My Best Mistake – Tasha’s Story follows single mother Tasha Gerome as she struggles to become her own person. Everyone wants something from her while she’s looking for a little peace and quiet.

        Helen: Congratulations again on your medal. What were your thoughts behind your cover?

        Carole: The current cover is the third cover for the book. Originally, the book cover had a pair of legs (mine) posing in pink pig slippers. It was cute, but confused readers. It also made it difficult to create the covers for the rest of the books in the series. The new cover is pink and represents the small town where Tasha lives. The rest of the books in the series have similar covers with images that represent something important to the story or main character. It makes it easy for readers to know that these five books are in the same series.

        Helen: Covers can be quite diffficult to get right, but your My Best Series covers look great together. How did you come up with the series titles?

        Carole: The word mistake usually has a bad connotation, but we don’t learn unless we make mistakes. The best mistake you can make is the one that changes your life. That’s what Tasha has to discover in this book. The series is called My Best Series because each character must make their best attempt at something to grow and evolve. 

        Helen: I love finding out the reasoning beind covers and titles! When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

        Carole: I’ve been writing since I was a kid. In the third grade, my friend and I “published” a book on typing paper and bound it with blue yarn. I still have that book, and I look at it to remind me where I started and why I still write. And the friend that I published with is one of my biggest supporters!

        Helen: How wonderful. That is a great reminder of where it all started. What are you working on now?

        Carole: I’m writing a new Women’s Friendship Fiction series about four friends in their fifties. They are in a running group together and are supporting each other through life’s twists and turns. The new series introduces some new characters but includes characters from the My Best Series as well. Readers don’t need to read the first series to enjoy the second one. But anyone who has read the first series might discover some fun references to past adventures.

        Helen: It’s nice when you can link series! How do you come up with your ideas for your books?

        Carole: Everywhere! I’ve gotten some great ideas while being in line at the grocery store, at a movie theatre and on an airplane. Plus, people are always talking on their phones, and I routinely make up the side of the conversation I can’t hear. That can be funny! I also get lots of ideas from my family. For example, one time when we went to the airport, my son announced he didn’t wear any shoes. While that didn’t make it into a book directly, it got me thinking about what happens if you forget to put on shoes. And that’s how pink pig slippers ended up on my first book cover.

        Helen: Love it! Authors are always thinking ‘What if…” If we were all given the same prompt, everyone of us would come up with something different! What genre you do you typically write and why?

        Carole: I write Women’s Fiction and Chick Lit. I want readers to finish my books and feel. It doesn’t necessarily matter what emotion is felt, as long as the reader finishes the story feeling different than before she or he read the book. (And I say she and he because men read Women’s Fiction as well! I have several male readers who have finished the entire series.)

        Helen: Who inspired you write?

        Carole : As I mentioned before, I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but two teachers fueled my writing inspirations as I grew up. My high school yearbook advisor encouraged me to apply to journalism school, and as a result, I received a scholarship. Once in college, my journalism professor told me, “Someday I’m going to read a novel you wrote.” Those two teachers encouraged me to pursue my dream of being an author.

        Helen: It is so important for teachers to encourage young people to express their creatvity. I am so glad you had that support. What is the best thing that’s happened to you since you began writing?

        Carole: I’ve met some incredible people and made wonderful friends. Writing is a solitary practice, so it’s great to have a group of people who understand what I’m doing and why I might not be immediately available to chat. Other writers are also great for bouncing ideas off of and asking questions about how they are handling new technology or practices in the industry.

        Helen: Let’s talk a little about the writing process. Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?

        Carole: Character development is an ongoing challenge for me. Creating engaging characters is essential. Readers don’t always have to like the characters. But if the story’s characters aren’t interesting, readers (including myself) don’t finish the story. Making a character too likeable or too mean is problematic as well. I spend a lot of time thinking about what my characters are doing and why.

        Helen: How do you fit your writing into your everyday life?

        Carole: This is a great question, and the answer changes as my life changes. When my kids were younger and we were always on the go, I wrote while I waited in the carpool line, watching at soccer practice and sitting in the dentist’s office. I fit in time even if it was only for ten minutes. As the kids got older, I scheduled my writing time into two hours blocks. That worked for a while as I was writing my first series, but now that I am also marketing and promoting my books, I’ve had to change things up again. I do recommend keeping an open mind. If something isn’t working, then change it. Don’t try to keep the same schedule you’ve always had if it isn’t working.

        Helen: Do you listen to music when you write, if so, what do you listen to and why?

        Carole: I listen to the same music all the time. I have the soundtracks of several movies that instantly tell my brain it’s time to write. None of the songs have words, though. Otherwise, I’d be singing too much to write!

        Helen: I’m the same. I listen to a lot of classical music, so I have the noise in the background, and yet sometimes, I don’t even notice when the TV goes to sleep and I’m surrounded in silence. I’m so immersed in the world I am writing about that my surroundings disappear. So far, I have been fortunate not to hit writer’s block. Have you encounter writer’s block, and if so, what do you do to overcome it?

        Carole: I take a walk outside. It’s good to get away from the computer for a bit and get some exercise in. The change of scenery helps my brain. I usually come up with a solution to whatever has been bothering me. It’s like the characters need to get outside and stretch their legs as well. 

        Helen: I agree, I thnk sometimes you have to let the back brain noodle on a plot knot and the solution will come to you. You can try too hard sometimes. What advice would you give new writers?

        Carole: Do what works for you. There is no one way to write. Feel free to read craft books, listen to podcasts about writing and go to conferences, but you don’t have to do everything in the exact way someone else does it. It’s great to get advice, but what’s important is to do what works for you.  

        Helen: Great advice. Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Just to close us out, what is the best thing that has happened to you since you began writing?

        Carole: I’ve met some incredible people and made wonderful friends. Writing is a solitary practice, so it’s great to have a group of people who understand what I’m doing and why I might not be immediately available to chat. Other writers are also great for bouncing ideas off of and asking questions about how they are handling new technology or practices in the industry.

        About the Author

        Carole Wolfe

        Carole Wolfe writes women’s fiction that makes you smile. She enjoys running at a leisurely pace, crocheting baby blankets for others and drinking wine when she can find the time. After moving nine times in twenty years, Carole and her family have settled in Texas.

        Follow on:

        Author website (Sign up to newsletter via website)
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        Purchase My Best Mistake via Amazon:

        Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback | Audiobook

        Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback | Audiobook

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

        By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

        By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

        Author Interview – Suzanna C. Grose

        Author of Turned into Gold

        Today, I am joined by dark romance author Suzannah C. Grose to talk about her debut novel Turned Into Gold.

        Helen: Welcome Suzannah. Congratulations on publishing your first book. Tell us about your book, Turned Into Gold.

        Suzannah: Turned Into Gold, A handsome but insane scientist with a tortured soul is in love with a beautiful young woman who is brutally raped and murdered. He wants to bring her back to life and avenge her murder. Can he bring her back to life? And if so, will she love him as much as he loves her? Will he discover who committed the murder and how will he get his revenge? This story illustrates the transformative power of love and the inner strength needed to rise above horrific circumstances.

        Helen: That is quite a tough subject to write about, and gives me Frankenstein vibes with the man’s efforts to bring her back to life. Why did you write this particular book?

        Suzannah: It was for a contest that I wanted to enter, but my husband told me to publish it myself.

        Helen: Your cover is quite simple, but I love the splash of gold. Tell us how you decided on the design.

        Suzannah: I kept going back and forth between different book covers. Nothing seemed to fit the story. I had an idea what I wanted to look like, and one of my best friends made it for me. I love it!

        Helen: Who is your favourite character from your book?

        Suzannah: Theodore Black, he’s a morally grey character that you can’t help but to love him. He’s a dark and mysterious character, but he absolutely would do anything for Elizabeth. I would love anyone that would love me the way that Theodore loves Elizabeth.

        Helen: When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

        Suzannah: When I was in third grade, I won a writing contest. I used to write fan fiction and stories on Wattpad. So, I have always loved writing since a young age.

        Helen: It’s so great that your love of writing has stayed with you. Which genre do you prefer to write?

        Suzannah: I write dark romance, romance, thriller… Mostly dark romance and romance novels. I love writing novels in the dark romance genre because I like more of a realistic story. In real life, love is not just rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes it’s hard, dark, but you come out of it with a beautiful love story.

        Helen: What is the best thing that has happened to you since you began writing?

        Suzannah: I published my book in 2022.

        Helen: Publishing a book is pretty special, and such an accomplishment. If your Main Character could answer, why would they say we should read your book?

        Suzannah: I think Theodore Black would say, “People would love to read mine and Elizabeth’s story because it shows the power of love.”

        Helen: What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve received, and by whom?

        Suzannah : I would have to say, “Show not tell.” I have to remind myself that when I’m editing and making sure, I’m showing what is going on in the story and not just telling the reader what is happening.

        Helen: Every writer experiences self-doubt. How do you overcome the fear and the little voice in your head to keep writing?

        Suzannah: When I read a review on my book or even a rating, it pushes the negative thoughts away.

        Helen: Are you a pantser or a planner? Do you write free form, or do you have a framework you stick to?

        Suzannah: Free form mix with planner, I have bullet points that I used to help write. It helps me remember what I have to write in a chapter or keep track of something.

        Helen: Thank you for joining me today. It’s been great chatting to you. Just to finish, what are some of the books you read recently that you would recommend to others?

        Suzannah: Four Treasures of the Sky. I love the book, I will definitely recommend it to anyone. I did not see the ending coming, I was very shocked.

        About the Author

        Suzanne C. Grose

        Suzannah Grose is a writer and poet. She loves to write and she loves to read. Her first book came out in 2022, it’s called Turned Into Gold. You can find it on Amazon.

        Follow on Instagram

        Purchase Turned Into Gold via Amazon:

        Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

        Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

        By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

        By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

        Author Interview – Amy Marie Ayres

        Author of Star Sick.

        Today, I am thrilled to be chatting to indie science fantasy author Amy Marie Ayres about her debut novel Star Sick.

        Helen: Welcome Amy. Tell us about your book Star Sick.

        Amy: So, STAR SICK was released back in April, partly as a joke to myself that I could get it ready for release on that day (4/20) but also because I felt it was the only one of my ongoing projects that was finally ready to be out in the world.

        It was a bit of a nerve-wracking decision, but the overall response has been great. Not everyone gets it, but I expected that as I was writing it. It’s kind of a niche genre wherein it embraces its tropes, but its parodic so it makes fun of itself. It’s a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously, if that makes sense- from a writer who very much does from time to time.

        Helen: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Star Sick, and loved the nod to the Wizard of Oz. (You can find my review here.) Your cover contains many elements. Could you tell us a little about it?

        Amy: I love this cover by Miblart, they were recommended to me by other indie authors, and I still use them. They really understood what I was going for. Luccee really is the center of the story, but reluctantly so, and this image is the part of the story where she really starts to embrace her true nature-I could go on.

        Without too many spoilers, the color on her face is the result of her encounter with an alien species in the distant celestial city where she ends up. Her hair was short at the beginning, but has since grown out, showing the passage of time. And she is hiding in the brush watching something- it’s a scene right out of the book.

        The images around her represent her world and her relationship to it.

        Helen: Miblart did a great job! The cover is very distinctive. Why did you give your book the title Star Sick? Is there a special meaning, or back story about the title?

        Amy: I love this question because I have such a fun answer. All the books in this eventual series will have the word Star in the title. So, the other titles I was throwing around for this one will eventually be used. One day someone on twitter said: “replace one of the words in the current title of your WIP with the word sick.” I did that, and they commented and said it would make amazing title and that she would read it. Thus, STAR SICK was born.

        Helen: Your books sounds very intriguing, understanding your thoughts behind the cover and title is so interesting. What made you write this particular book?

        Amy: When people ask me this question, I try to nail down the exact reason, as to not ramble on and waste their time, but there are just so many reasons.

        First, the initial idea for Luccee honestly came out of some unfortunate pre-pandemic depression I wasn’t even fully aware of. I had concluded a few years before that some of my familial relationships were unhealthy and I was carrying some unhealthy baggage as a result.  I started channelling some of that into the writing of this character who I felt was deeply misunderstood. I wasn’t sure how far I would take that, I think I took it to levels beyond even what I was experiencing, for some comedic effect.

         With some therapy, and some improvement to my daily life, I was starting to feel better, but this was ironically just before Covid hit and the lockdowns happened.  The lockdowns terrified me to be honest, as did Covid at the time. But I had this odd feeling of like, I didn’t really miss socializing (at first). I just wanted to keep me, my family, and others safe.

        But I started taking a closer look at society during that time, why we do what we do, how we are influenced by each other and the media-it’s all in there. A large part of the premise of the book is that sometimes what people tell us about the world and ourselves isn’t always true, but it’s what they need us to think now so that the status quo can be maintained and there isn’t mass panic-especially in a dystopian world, where people are always grasping for normalcy.

        There always seems to be a convenient scapegoat for society’s problems, and Luccee fit the bill. I began to think of how invasive it would be for it to be illegal to want to stay inside and avoid socializing because of your introversion, trauma, neurodiversity, or whatever reason.

         I thought about how some aspects of society are very much predicated on our abilities to socialize and network and expand our circles beyond our comfort zone. I started asking myself questions:  When it is good to do that? When is it not good? I wanted to explore and pick it all apart. But I’ve rambled long enough!

        Helen: I think every author can ramble on about their books. I know I can! It is part of the joy of being an author and being so proud of our creations. Tell us about your protagonist in Star Sick and why you wrote them.

        Amy: Luccee is the FMC in STAR SICK, like I said she sort of represents who I would be if I ever really went off my rocker and if I was put in a similar position of having to choose between assimilation and freedom. Luccee has a lot to learn about herself, and I hope I accurately depicted that kind of emotional transitional arc of still having to grow as a person even when you fight it tooth and nail.

        Helen: If Luccee could answer the question: Why should we read your book? What would she say?

        Amy: A true answer would give away the ending, but I’ll just say that Luccee would want people to know all the things she learned about the universe and herself. She would want this book to exist purely because it is an historical account of everything she and her friends went/go through. And people in our time as well as the future beyond her future could stand to learn from their journey.

        Helen: What are you working on next?

        Amy: So true to form I always have more than one going, they are usually just at different stages.  I am currently writing a prequel to STAR SICK, that I hope will be just a fun little novella teaser for the series. My big fancy project still in the editing stages, is Five Doors. It has some similarities to STAR SICK, but it’s a contemporary/paranormal fantasy novel about a different woman named Marilyn with different problems in a much different world. She’s friends with the devil, but that’s all I’ll say!

        Helen: Intriguing! Let’s move onto your writing process. How do you fit writing into your normal day?

        Amy: For me, the only way this was possible was by moving my writing beyond a hobby and doing my best to exist within the writing sphere daily. So, I work in the publishing industry, I have groups of writing friends and critique partners, I consistently market myself and network in the industry, etc. But of course, like anything else since the birth of my daughter I tend to give her all the time and attention I used to give my writing. Schedules and calendars keep me honest! NaNoWriMo ensures that I make myself write a good chunk at least two months out of the year.

        Helen: It can be tough to juggle so many responsibilities and fit in writing as well. When you do get a chance to write, do you prefer silence when you are writing or do you have a favorite playlist?

        Amy: I find music incredibly inspiring. I tend to like to listen to anything that feels cinematically immersive, where my mind can paint pictures of what is happening in the song either musically or lyrically. It can happen with my favourites or even a random Spotify song I’ve never heard before.

        Singer/Songwriters (especially rock and folk) are fantastic storytellers. When I started writing Five Doors, I almost exclusively listened to the album Once I was an Eagle by Laura Marling. If you’ve never heard of her, I highly recommend going back through her discography, there’s something for everybody.

        You know who is incredibly inspiring is Twenty One Pilots, lyrically they are just all over the place, but I love it and the music itself does lend itself to sci-fi. They tell stories too.

        Funny enough, Steve Miller (of Steve Miller Band) is an incredible storyteller, so was Elliott Smith. You can listen to those guys, they have incredibly different vibes of course, but you can sort of build a universe within the music. Those are just two random examples.

        I recommend listening to a song called Beg, Steal, or Borrow by Ray LaMontagne it’s a great example of what I’m talking about. Songs that move you emotionally-happy or sad, I really think they get those neurons firing.

        Helen: Writer’s can take inspiration from almost anywhere! Have you had any trouble with writer’s block and any tips to overcome it?

        Amy: I hope I don’t come across as a jerk saying this, but I’m one of those people who doesn’t believe in writer’s block. I believe in the things that cause it: grief, self-doubt, or even happy times when we are just too busy with our wonderful lives to write (it happens!)

        The way that we overcome it by whittling down to our reasoning to what is holding us back. Because each time we experience “writer’s block”- it could be for a different reason, so we get frustrated because our previous methods to overcome it stop working.

        I think I would recommend to anyone who frequently experiences writers block to have a separate journal just for pouring out some angst that isn’t tied to our writing. I suggest writing a few pages before you attempt your current project again, and getting down to the bones of why you feel stuck, that often helps get us unstuck. I also have some great suggestions here.

        Helen: Thank you for sharing such great advice. Do you have to do much research when you are writing a book?

        Amy: The research for STAR SICK sort of did itself, as the news and internet were in our faces every day. I find I do tend to do a lot of research for this universe from daily hot button topics to broken societal ills, to even specific things about our planets and universe and space travel. For this type of book even memes are great research. People channel a lot of hostility toward society into memes these days.

        Helen: Thank you so much for spending time with me today, it’s been great chatting with you. Just to finish, do you have any advice for new or aspiring writers?

        Amy: You have an amazing, fun skill/craft, so don’t waste it or throw it away when people doubt you.  Find some writing friends, they will help carry you through to the next stage beyond “new writer”. But also know you won’t be “good at this” for a long time. The process takes decades to perfect, and years to even get close to slightly better, so you need to embrace that now.

        Know that the first few things you write are not going to land at all, and they will be terribly written. But keep at it and you’ll get better. Also, the people with the most confidence are usually faking, so don’t be intimidated by them. And yes, doll, you do need an editor. It’ll be the best money you ever spent.

        About the Author

        Amy Marie Ayres

        Amy is an author who writes a variety of genres including comic dark romance, women’s fiction, speculative dystopian science fiction, and magical realism based on Irish folklore. She has a background in poetry and was previously an academic. Amy has experience with voice acting, theater, podcasts, and comedy writing. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, stepson, daughter, and cat. Amy’s debut novel Star Sick, a humorous science fiction novel with talking robot dogs, is now available on Amazon.

        Follow on Instagram

        Author Website

        Purchase Star Sick via Amazon:

        Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

        Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

        By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

        By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

        Author Interview – H.M Duval

        Author of Unnatural, Book One of the Dream Walker series.

        Today, I am thrilled to be chatting to indie fantasy romance author H.M Duval.

        Helen: Welcome and congratulations on your forthcoming release of your second book in the Dream Walker series called Untouchable which is currently on preorder. Tell us about your Dream Walker series.

        H.M Duval: I am currently working on my second novel, Untouchable. It is the second book in the Dream Walker series, the first of which (Unnatural) I published May 2023.

        The Dream Walker world takes place hundreds of years after worldwide nuclear devastation. What’s left of humanity survives the harsh conditions by staying inside walled cities. The main character, Penelope Kendall, is a citizen in one of these cities who works as a guard for the Executors, a fascist military group running the human government. Their mission is to protect what’s left of humanity from the mutated flora and fauna of the wilds outside the walls, while also preparing for a second war that will eradicate mankind’s greatest threat, the savage Unnaturals, from the face of the planet.

        Having spent her entire life inside the walls of her home city, Penelope doesn’t dream of anything other than survival and protecting her family. But the mounting pressure she feels within the walls is driving her toward a breakdown. Tensions come to a head when she’s threatened with criminal charges for defending herself. She decides to defect: leave the safety of her city and travel far enough away that her defection and crimes can’t follow her.

        Survival is anything but guaranteed, and would be completely impossible without the unexpected help of one of the very Unnaturals she had been defending her city from. Together, she and her enemy must become a team in order to survive – if they can manage to see eye to eye.

        What starts as an uneasy alliance grows into a powerful partnership. One that has the potential to change the course of the entire world, if they are brave enough to face it.

        The Dream Walker series is a planned trilogy intended for mature audiences, and it is recommended to read them in order.

        Helen: Your cover is very distinctive and has many elements. How did you come up with the design?

        H.M Duval: I LOVE my cover! It’s one of my favorite parts of the book. The woman on the cover is how I imagine Pen: vulnerable but shining with inner strength. There’s a certain fragility about her, covered in facets and cracks, but she’s determined. The cracks also bleed into branches, speaking to one of the larger themes throughout the series. It took a lot of trial and error to get it right (and great feedback from my beta babes), but I’m thrilled with how it turned out. I made it myself via Canva using Pixabay stock photos as a base.

        Helen: I think that is one of my favourite questions, because there is always so much more to the cover than you first realise. You did a great job! Not only an author, but a cover designer as well. Why did you give it the title Unnatural? Is there a special meaning, or back story about the title?

        H.M Duval: The title, on the surface, refers to the beings that live outside the walls. But it also speaks to the way that Pen doesn’t quite fit into her society, how she is deemed ‘unnatural’ because she thinks and behaves differently. And, in accepting those differences, she discovers that she has the ability to Dream Walk, a skill that transports her out of the natural world and into a spiritual one.

        Helen: Your books sounds very intriguing, understanding your thoughts behind the cover and title is so interesting. What made you write this particular book?

        H.M Duval: This book series is particularly precious to me. The story itself was inspired by a dream when I was a teenager, but I didn’t have the skills or experience yet to deliver it the way I wanted. So it sat on a shelf in my mind for many years, through college and early parenthood. And then I decided it was time to give it another chance, and I’m so glad that I have.

        Helen: Congratulations on publishing your book. That is such an achievement, and I am so glad you are planning a series. When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

        H.M Duval: I’ve always loved storytelling and writing. I remember writing my first “book” in third grade, when we had a class project to tell a story and the teacher had them bound into hardcover books. Which, in hindsight, was a ridiculously cool project to inspire elementary school students to think of themselves as authors! I ended up asking for more pages because I wanted to tell a longer story. Over time, I had more and more stories incubating and hatching in the corners of my mind. All those stories kept clamoring for attention so, really, I had no choice but to give in and become an author!

        Helen: You had great teachers! That really is a cool project. That feeling of holding your finished book in your hand is unbeatable! Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?

        H M Duval: Remembering all the little details I’ve seeded throughout large story arcs that span multiple books, and making sure they all get to germinate and grow. I’ve started using a new drafting/outlining process as I prepare to start the third book in the Dream Walker series, though, and that has helped a lot.

        Outside of that, giving myself grace to ride the ebb and flow of creative inspiration is one of the best ways I’ve found to combat writer’s block. And it really helps to be an indie author–I can set my own timeline!

        Helen: Who inspired you to write? Who are your favourite authors?

        H M Duval: I’ve always enjoyed writing for myself, but it wasn’t until I got brave and told one of my friends about the Dream Walker idea I’d been harboring for twenty years. She asked me if I was going to publish and I said, “Oh, probably not.” Without missing a beat, she asked, “Why not?” and I realized I didn’t have a good answer. So I started paying attention to authors that I looked up to, like Elise Kova and Ruby Dixon, and asking myself, “If they can do it, why can’t I?” So I did!

        Helen: I’m so glad your friend made you think twice. Writing is such fun! Which genre do you enjoy writing?

        H M Duval: Fantasy Romance. I’m a big believer in finding the magic in the mundane, and there is something profound about fantasy stories that invite us to reach beyond ourselves, to reach for something bigger than we thought possible. And then we have the opportunity to bring that inspired version of ourselves into our daily world. Plus, I’m a sucker for a good love story. It’s so human, so very integral to the way we each live and navigate our world, whether or not that love is romantic.

        Helen: You mentioned you are writing book two, tell us a litttle about your progress.

        H M Duval: Untouchable is the sequel to Unnatural, and the second book in the Dream Walker series. It digs deeper into themes of choice and family, of conquering past demons to embrace the future. Of needing to be completely dismantled to build something new. And that’s all I can really say without giving anything away!

        Helen: If your Main Character could answer, why would they say we should read your book? 

        H M Duval: Her story is worth sharing, because she’s a woman we can all relate to. We resonate with her experiences and, in putting a voice to her journey, resonate on a deeper level with ourselves.

        Helen: Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?

        H M Duval: I’ve really come to understand myself in a different way. The creative side of myself, the muse, I’d not really given a lot of time and space to. It didn’t feel productive or “real” enough to warrant spending intentional time on. But since giving myself permission and really digging into my creative process, I’ve learned more about myself and my thoughts and emotions. And I’ve been able to connect with readers where my books have become the bridge that binds us together. It’s incredible!

        Helen: Thank you so much for spending time with me today, it’s been great chatting with you. Just to finish, all writers experience elements of self doubt. Could you share how have you overcome these types of feelings?

        H M Duval: I have a lot of practice with behavior modification (I’m a certified clinical exercise physiologist in my “day-job”), so I have experience at being “louder” than that little voice. But it takes work, and it takes being intentional about sitting down and reminding myself WHY I chose to write in the first place. I write for myself. I write for that one reader who will pick up my book and be inspired to think and change and dream because of it. I write for my children, who see me taking a dream and making it reality. I won’t give up on any of them, so the only option is to keep writing!

        About the Author

        H M Duval

        H M DuVal is a mother, Kinesiologist, and author of the Dream Walker series. She has always had a passion for good stories: telling them, sharing them, and getting lost in them. Fiction and fantasy genres, with a healthy dose of romance, are her favorite. She loves the incredible power they have to spirit us away from the mundane and into the sensational, and believes that shift in perspective helps us find the magic inside our own lives.

        She hopes that while reading her work, you are similarly transported. H M DuVal lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley with her husband, two children, dog, cat, and horse.

        Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @author.h.m.duval for release news and updates.

        Where are the books available?

        H M DuVal’s books can be bought anywhere books are sold. The printed editions are available via the IngramSpark catalog, and the ebook format is available via Amazon and the Kindle Unlimited store.

        Author Website

        Purchase Unnatural via Amazon:

        Amazon UK: ebook | Paperback

        Amazon US: ebook | Paperback

        Preorder Untouchable (Releases 17th November, 2023)

        Amazon UK: ebook

        Amazon US: ebook

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free copy of Sentinals Stirring

        By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

        By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.

        Author Interview – M.D LaBelle

        Author of May I Alpha? and over 40 other books.

        Today, I am thrilled to be chatting to multi genre author, M.D.LaBelle.

        Helen: Welcome. Tell us a little about your latest book in the Paranormal Romance Defiant collection, May I Please?

        M.D LaBelle: The current book that I am working on is May I Please? It is the second in the Defiant Collection.  The first being May I Alpha? 

        It is a paranormal romance that has its own unique twists and turns.  In the first book I introduced a new concept, past lives and that each werewolf remembers all of them as if in a dream.  They can use this to enhance the lives they are living and hopefully stop bad things from happening again. 

        However, Anastasia is a human in this lifetime, which causes all kinds of troubles for the two of them.  In the second book, their troubles compound and Alexander must realize that she may never be fully tamed no matter how hard he tries.  After all, wild things are not meant to be restrained.

        Helen: What were your thoughts behind your cover? The couple are the same so the same characters must flow through the collection.

        M.D LaBelle: Paranormal romance is always magical, and this is a romance, so I placed the man and the woman in the clouds holding each other, with a moon behind them.  The sayings always come directly from the books.  I picked purple this time for the second book so you can distinguish between the first and the second.  The first book has a blue cover.

        Helen: How did you come up with your title?

        M.D LaBelle: May I Alpha? And May I Please? I named it that, because there is a BDSM element to it with the Domineering man trying his hardest to dominate over the beautiful woman and how she is willing to do this because she loves him.

        Helen: What made you write this particular book?

        M.D LaBelle: With every book, I write them because I have vivid dreams.  I am writing this one now because the first book went over so well, and the story is not fully completed.  The first book did have an ending, but the story was so loved that the readers begged for me to continue Anastasia and Alexander’s story on.

        Helen: It is so wonderful when your readers engage with the characters and want more! When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

        M.D Labelle: I have always loved to read horror novels, but when I was 12, I wrote a horror story and won the Young Author’s Award.  It is published in a collaboration called The Who’s Who of America and it was from the 1980’s.  For years I forgot about writing until I graduated from Central Michigan University with an art degree.  Then I became pregnant and wrote a children’s book.  It was never published because while I was still pregnant with my oldest daughter, a drunk driver hit me, and I lost all those memories and so much more. 

        For years after learning how to walk again, I was in so much pain that I didn’t do much of anything, except for watch over my children.  However, one night when they were old enough to go to school, I had a vivid dream that turned into something else.  I decided it was time to write again but I had never thought to publish it because I didn’t think it was good enough for anyone else, let alone to sell. 

        After a time, my family pushed me to publish and then I found an inexpensive way through KDP.  It took a year or two before I ever did, but in April 2021, I published on my own.  The first time someone bought my book, and it wasn’t a family member, I was ecstatic.  So, then I began to think that just maybe I had a calling.  From then on, I wrote a book and then published it. 

        Now, I have over 44 novels, and novellas published on all the major online bookstores, and even on my own eBook store within 2 years.  I also have them in several physical stores, plus I do a lot of book signings, and other events where I sell my signed author copies, and my merchandise.  I am proud to say that at least one of my books has sold well over a million copies between paid web novel platforms, bookstores, online bookstores, in person book signings and my own website at https://www.mdlabelle.com

        Helen: That is fantastic, congratulations on your success. You are such a prolific writer, I can’t belive you’ve published 40+ books in two years! Quite amazing. Which genre do you typically write and why.

        M.D LaBelle: I am a multi genre author. I have novels in horror, fantasy, erotica, thriller, romance in various genres and tropes such as dark romance, CEO romance, paranormal romance, also young adult fiction, and children’s fiction.

        Helen: Who inspired you to write? Who are your favourite authors?

        M.D LaBelle: Of course, authors like Anne Rice, Danielle Steele, Koontz, and King filled my head as a young child, so it is only fitting that I would love to write about horror.

        Helen: I know this can be a tricky question, but who is your favourite character from your book? 

        M.D LaBelle: I would have to say Anastasia because she is both sassy and independent.  She knows what she wants and has a mind of her own, but she also has so much to learn. 

        Helen: If your Main Character could answer, why would they say we should read your book? 

        M.D LaBelle: Anastasia would say that “You should read this sizzling hot paranormal romance because it is sinfully delicious, has a one-of-a-kind story line and always delivers in a world where most stories are no longer original.

        Helen: Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?

        M.D LaBelle: I must mention the fact that there are not nearly enough hours in a day for all my ideas.  I constantly have ideas popping into my head.  As a matter of fact, I have well over a hundred planned in the next several years and I will have at least 50 done by the end of this year.

        Helen: It is quite amazing how many books you’ve written. How do you come up with all the ideas for your books?

        M.D LaBelle: Like I said in an earlier question, I often have vivid dreams that I take them from.  They often are like movies, but I also will see a picture and a story instantly forms in my head or if I hear a song that stirs up an emotion.  That is when my thoughts go rogue and develop stories.  One, I have written up the blurb, made a cover and the storyline summed up because my niece used to be a kickboxer.  It spurred a story in my mind that I have yet to publish.

        Helen: Let’s talk a little about your writing process. What resources do you find most useful when writing?

        M.D LaBelle: I would have to say that the most useful keys are Microsoft Word and the second Canva.  I use both every day, but without Word, I would not be able to write quite so effortlessly. 

        Helen: What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve received, and by whom? 

        M.D LaBelle: To not pay attention to reviews and not take them at heart, because they are for the readers not for the authors.  They are not to make us better as writers, but to direct the reader to buy or not what is good in a book or could use some work.

        Helen: That is great advice, thank you for sharing. Do you listen to music when you write, if so, what do you listen to and why?

        M.D LaBelle:  I used to listen to music when I first started to write but quickly realized that my mind worked quite a bit faster when I could hear the words of the story in my head, not the music.  It only served to slow me down.

        Helen: Research can be a bit of a time consumer. Do you find you have to do much for your books?

        M.D LaBelle:  If it is something I don’t know about, I read about it first.  For instance, I didn’t know anything about werewolf romance novels, so I read a few when I first started writing so I understood the myths and how they treated each group, but I still added my own elements and made a completely different storyline.

        Helen: Are you a pantser or a planner? Do you write free form, or do you have a framework you stick to?

        M.D LaBelle: I never plan anything.  My fingers lead and I follow.  As I write, I often will go in a completely different direction than I had intended to, and it is always more interesting and fantastical that way.

        Helen: What is the best thing that has happened to you since you began writing?

        M.D LaBelle:   I have won two international competitions, awards, and have been #1 on the Amazon Bestsellers list so many times that I have lost count with numerous novels in varying genres.  I also have been in the top 5 of Kobo and other bookstores for at least 2 books.  However, when I sold over a million copies of The Luna’s Mate:  The Alpha King, I realized that dreams really could come true if you try hard enough.  Even if it seems that the odds are against you and insurmountable. 

        Helen: I am so excited to hear of your success. It gives other writers’ hope that they can succeed as well. What advice would you give new writers? 

        M.D LaBelle: Never give up.  If you feel like quitting, just remember that you wanted to do this and that everything worth doing is hard.

        Helen: How do you fit your writing into your everyday life? 

        M.D LaBelle: I have teens, so when they go to school, I write.  For a year and a half, I was writing 24/7 but it took a toll on my body and mind, so I have slowed down and fit it in around the rest of my life.  Plus, I write really fast and then edit each chapter after I write it.

        Helen: What is your favorite book and why do you like it so much? 

        M.D LaBelle: I love them all.  Each one is so different that I could never pick, but if I had to pick, I would say The Lake because it is everything in a book that I love to read.  It has suspense, mystery, horror, thriller, and it develops the characters and the storyline completely.  It leaves you guessing until the very end how it will turn out.  Plus, I love creature features.

        Helen: It has been a pleasure chatting with you. Was there anything anecdotal you wanted to share before we finish?

        M.D. LaBelle: Ironically, when someone says you need to find your reader base, you need to listen because it is entirely true.  At first, when I had written the dark romance Just Love Me, I could not get anyone to read it.  But once I found my target audience, it spread like wildfire and everywhere I look in those specific groups, readers are recommending it.

        Helen: Thank you so much for spending time with me today and congratulations on your writing success. It is is wonderful to meet someone rocking the Indie Publishing world! Just to close us out, one final question. Do you have any advice to overcome self-doubt?

        M.D LaBelle:   I had never really had too much of a problem with it because I was always writing.  That is until this summer.  I wrote in a new sub-genre, dark romance.  I have what I know to be a wonderfully written dark romance series of novellas.  They were meant to be a fragment of a split personality female serial killer’s life.  However, some could not wrap their head around it because they did not understand that she suffered from split personality disorder.  It was a big twist, so I didn’t want to just come out and say it in advertisements.  I guess I had thought that the reader could figure it out by what I said in the book, but I was wrong in a few cases.  It hurt because my ratings suffered. 

        Also, it was fast paced because I wanted to make it different from everything else out there right now.  Now mind you I do have many absolutely wonderful 5- and 4-star reviews from those of my readers who did understand, but then I also received a few 1 and 2’s from those who didn’t.  When I started to get 1- and 2-star ratings, it really made me start to question myself and my ability to write.  I had thought in the beginning that it would be possible to make it another #1 Bestselling series, but the damage had already been done because now readers see those 1 and 2’s and how it brought down my average. 

        I am lucky to have a wonderful husband who is always backing me and pushing me towards the next book, otherwise I would have quit and never wrote the rest of my stories.

        About the Author

        M.D LaBelle

        M.D. LaBelle is an international, award-winning, bestselling author from Mount Pleasant, Michigan, with numerous novels that hit #1 on the best-selling charts on Amazon. She has won two awards in the last year. Also, she is an author of several different sub genres of romance, dark romance, erotica, horror, thriller, fantasy, youth horror and children’s books. She currently has over 48 of her novels on all the online bookstores and her own. Her presence is all over the internet in social media under her pen name. The Lake: The Complete Special Edition can be purchased in store at Barnes & Noble physical locations, but the rest of her works can be found anywhere books are sold.

        Contact M.D. LaBelle via her Website or on social:

        Purchase May I Alpha? via Amazon:

        Amazon UK: ebook

        Amazon US: ebook

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

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        Author Interview – Michelle Angelle

        Authors of the romantic comedy, Dear Pink series

        Today, I am thrilled to be chatting to the writing duo Michelle Gaunt and Angelle Gremillion, who write behind the pen name Michelle Angelle.

        Helen: Welcome Michelle and Angelle. Tell us a little about the latest book in your romantic comedy series.

        Michelle Angelle: Dear Roomie is another standalone novel in the Dear Pink series, teaming with forced proximity and forbidden love. We had a great time writing it and revisiting old friends.

        Ghita Russo’s dating history is dire. Men kick her cat, demand full frontal photos, and can’t let her win at a simple game of mini golf. Determined to protect her heart, Ghita lives by a strict set of dating rules. Rule Number One: Never date your best friend’s brother, no matter how insanely hot he is. But some rules are meant to be broken.

        When Ghita needs to save money and her bestie suggests renting a room to her brother, she finds herself dancing dangerously close to the edge of disaster.

        Logan Scott, recently free from a toxic relationship, moves to Dallas for his dream job. After meeting his insanely brilliant roomie, he can’t deny his attraction, especially as the chemistry ratchets up between them.

        Helen: Now, that does sound like a fun premise. Plenty of opportuinty for mayhem and mishaps! What were your thoughts behind your cover?

        Michelle Angelle: Ghita is an intense and ambitious business woman, so she uses puzzles to unwind and calm her brain. When Logan moves in, he finds puzzling equally relaxing. Soon, the sexual chemistry igniting between them makes it impossible for Ghita to concentrate on anything other than Logan. Logan is against her rules, but he might just be her perfect match. 

        Helen: What a great connection to the story. The cover makes even more sense now! How did you decide on the title?

        Michell Angelle: Dear Roomie is part of our Dear Pink series, so some of the titles will have a play on “Dear…” In Dear Pink, we introduce the loud, fun, supportive Russo family. Gabe Russo gets the girl in Dear Pink, but the rest of his six sisters have their own love story to tell. Dear Roomie is Ghita Russo’s story. We also wrote a holiday romance featuring Gloria Russo, Until Next Year. We purposefully didn’t choose “Dear” in the title to set it apart from the others as a special holiday edition that features a new year in every chapter..

        Helen: Nice, and that title works beautifully. What made you write this particular book?

        MIchelle Angelle: Readers often ask us how we dream up our stories. We are inspired by everyday life and have a running list of ideas. For Dear Roomie, the idea occurred to both of us at the exact same time…like kismet.

        A friend of ours told us about this utopian coffee place, La La Land Kind Cafe, where they mentor foster youth aging out of the system. There, kindness is the priority. We visited and were not disappointed by the sunshiny joy that filled the space.

        As we were sipping their signature lavender bloom matcha latte, two college-aged girls sat at the table next to us. Pink sweater said, “I’m dying. I’m in love with Jeremy.” Plaid shirt said, “So? What’s the problem?” Pink sweater answered with the three words that would launch the plot of this book: “He’s my roommate.”

         Yes, we are “people watchers” and “coffee shop eavesdroppers.” Don’t judge, we can’t help ourselves!

        We won’t recount the rest of their conversation because that’s private. But we knew immediately how to complicate this already complicated love story. It’s all thanks to La La Land Kind Cafe and those great drinks for the inspiration.

        Helen: That is such a great way to find new book ideas. I hope you dropped off a copy at the cafe once you finished it! Now Dear Roomie is out what are you working on next?

        Michelle Angelle: Our next project is a trilogy featuring a strong female protagonist who knows what she wants but discovers more than she bargained for after meeting three very different men.

        Helen: When did you realise you had a passion for writing?

        Michelle Angelle: Twenty years ago, we started a book club and fell in love with the contemporary romance novels our group read. Inspired to write, and wanting to work together, we immediately started dreaming up characters. Unlike traditional rom-coms on the market, we wanted side characters that had agency and strong voices. Together, we imagined scenarios involving two lost loves forced together in impossible situations. We all have a “WHAT IF” person from our past, and it’s fun to fantasize about various scenarios. We started a running document of story ideas to dip into for our future books. Luckily, we both have a lot of ideas and quickly the pen name Michelle Angelle was born.

        Helen: How do you plan when to write? Co-ordinating yourselves must be quite difficult.

        Michelle Angelle: Between juggling kids, husbands, and part-time jobs, the writing time happens amidst the chaos. Our biggest challenge is trying to do it all. Luckily, we have each other on speed dial and can dive into work the moment we answer the phone. Since we write together, we share docs and emails constantly. Because we don’t have a consistent writing schedule, our superb mind-reading powers come in handy.

        Helen: What advice would you give to new writers?

        Michelle Angelle: We often get asked questions from new writers. Our advice is to read a lot and write constantly.  You can’t sell a book if you haven’t written one, and the best place to find writing inspiration is in a book.

        Helen: Great advice! What have you found has been the most challening part about the writing and publishing process?

        Michelle Angelle: Being a writer is inviting strangers to judge you. Every book has a piece of you in it, and when a reader doesn’t like your book, it can feel personal.  Writers need to be vulnerable and take risks, but they also need to prepare for some hurt feelings and rejections. It’s a great exercise in letting go of the ego.

        Helen: It’s been a pleasure chatting to you both. Thak you so much for spending time with me today. Just to finish, every writer experiences self-doubt. How do you overcome the fear and the little voice in your head to keep writing?

        Michelle Angelle: Writing together is our favorite part of the writing process! Many authors describe their writing process as solitary, but we are lucky to have each other. When we write, we inhabit a separate plane of reality where only our story and characters exist. It’s our happy place. We love our work.

        About the Authors

        Michelle Angelle

        Michelle Angelle is the pen name of two good friends. Our love of clever romances, great breakfast diners, and late-night wine tastings led to many sassy stories. One day, we started writing them down.

        Contact Michelle Angelle via their Website or on social:

        Purchase Dear Roomie via Amazon:

        Amazon UK ebook | paperback

        Amazon US ebook | paperback

        Also available in Kindle Unlimited at time of posting.

        As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.

        If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

        Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

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        By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

        By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.