1. What inspired you to write? Desire 2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites? Everything except romance. 3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future? AGAINST Blood. A crime thriller.. Newest will be called False Blood hopefully released in the fall. 4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors? Don’t give up and don’t listen to haters. ONLY those who want to help you improve their craft. 5) What influenced you as a writer?Reading alot as a kid.
1. What inspired you to write? A. My daughter and to set path for her. I was writing when I felt like but never thought of taking a journey of publishing work until then. 2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites? A. Yes. Og Mandino if I need to name one American author. I have few from other languages. 3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future? A. My recent book, Tarpee The Wish-fulfilling tree is my fist children’s picture book. My upcoming children’s book is about Mother Nature series.
4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors? A. Keep writing, you wouldn’t know who you will inspire through your writing.
5) What influenced you as a writer? How through my writing I can be part of my readers’ life and touch ppl’s lives for better.
1) Writing has always been in me; it’s something that I just can not stop my mind from doing. Any time I watch a movie or a show I can’t help but to mentally write out the dialogue and describe the scenes. It’s kind of exhausting at times! 2) I am a reader though I don’t read as much as I’d like. My most recent favorite that I’ve read is Kabal by Clive Barker. I love his descriptive writing and how he can keep me on the edge of my seat with his words. 3) My debut book is More Than Human, book one of a planned trilogy. I am currently working on book two titled More Than Wolf and I’m so excited for this book! Get ready for werewolf pirates! 4) My humble advice for other writers is to absolutely invest in an editor to go over your work – nothing puts me off more than consistent misspellings and grammatical errors. Also, always practice writing! I like to keep a little journal on my phone for me to write down descriptions of things in my environment or dreams that I have. Writing about anything helps improve your work. Just like anything else, it takes practice. 5) My biggest influence as a writer comes from two authors: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes and Annette Kurtis-Klause. Amelia inspired me as a tween because I discovered that she had published a book at the age of 15 and I thought if she could do it, then I could, too. I didn’t actually publish until I was 31, however. Annette’s story Blood and Chocolate really made me fall in love with werewolves and sparked my desire to write my own shifter fiction. If it wasn’t for those two women, I don’t know if I’d have a published book today.
1) What inspired you to write? I’ve always wanted to write, and I have tried writing books before, but with Slip on Through: Cielo Drive, it was COVID that got me back into writing. I went into lockdown not wanting to waste the opportunity, and I was very blessed to come out of it with this book.
2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites? I read a lot of non-fiction books, as I am a history teacher. Fiction-wise, I really like Stephen King. 11/22/63 is my personal favourite. I also love James Herriot books, that I have read passionately since I was younger.
3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future? Slip on Through: Cielo Drive is my debut novel that I am really proud of, and still a little mystified that it has been published. I have a sequel called Slip on Through: Watergate coming in April 2021, then at least another three books in the series after that.
4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors? Be tru to yourself and make sure that you do what is right for you. The first option is not always the best option.
5) What influenced you as a writer? History has influenced me. I love history and want to bring that love to others through historical fiction.
1) What inspired you to write?My love of video games growing up and all things fantasy like Warhammer and Dragonlance novels. Plus I’ve always enjoyed creating a good story. It’s been something I’ve done since I was a kid!
2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites?I wish I was better at it to be honest! My all time favorites are Redwall by Brian Jaques, the Lord of the Rings trilogy (sorry The Hobbit) and a new favorite is The Way of Kings, though I’m already behind on the series!
3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future?I’m desperately trying to finish my 15 book series “The Legends of Gilia”. I’m on book 14 and it’s been a wild ride to get to this point! I’ve loved making a HUGE world for my readers to dive into and can’t wait to finish the epic journey.
4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors?Write the dang book! Who cares if it’s bad to start? Just get it out there! Learn and get better! Trying, failing, and then learning from the failure is WAY better than being paralyzed by fear or the threat of one star reviews!
5) What influenced you as a writer?Daniel Arenson. He’s a phenomenal author and he’s the reason I hit publish in the first place. Great author who cares about his work and his craft and is just a super guy. Social media Links:
I have always loved storytelling and I knew that I had ideas in my head, so I decided to go for it and I just released my first book.
Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites?
Yes, I love to read but unfortunately time is not my ally. Any quiet time I get, I write or work on promotion. However, I love reading classics. Not just sci-fi but anything classic from the 1800s especially. I love reading Wells, Verne, and especially Poe. Modern writers: Asimov, Serling, King, Gaiman and Dan Brown.
What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future?
My latest (also my first) is Legacy which was released in English on April 13th and in Spanish on April 20th. Originally a short story, it has morphed into Book One of The Dominion series. I’m already writing book 2 and there will definitely be a third one.
Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors?
Keep at it, don’t give up. I found that writing is the easy part so focus on that being strong. Everything else you will learn as you go.
What influenced you as a writer?
I was always a big fan of sci-fi and horror growing up. I was first exposed to films before books in those genres. The 4 most influential films/tv shows were Alien, The Exorcist, Star Trek (TOS) and the Twilight Zone which to this day is still my favorite tv show ever.
I believe that I can make positive impact on people, particularly children, through my books. I am inspired by my ability to create meaningful scenarios and worlds populated by fictional, visually amusing characters that deliver important, factual content about subjects I care deeply about. They say an image is worth 1000 words, and I know that humans make decisions based on their emotions. These are universal truths that inspire me to create graphic novels that are bursting with high quality imagery and carefully researched information, combining these elements with fast-paced, action-packed stories to really get into readers’ minds and hearts and make a difference.
My overriding inspiration however is Nature, our planet and all the living beings on it. This inspiration currently drives me to spread awareness and technical literacy in climate change. By doing this through my graphic novels I hope to make important messages come across both clearly and in an entertaining fashion. I am still a conservation scientist but I find that I actually have more impact on people’s awareness through my graphic novels than through scientific writing.
Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites?
I am a reader and always have been! In my own writing genre I am a big fan of the European style ‘bande dessinée’ graphic novels such as Asterix, and Tintin. However I mostly read historical non -fiction and fiction, interspersed with some business books and, to really get away from it all, some science fiction / fantasy from time to time. I also love biographies about inspiring people, from contemporary rock stars to leaders and adventurers of the past.
What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future?
The Adventures of Captain Polo: Pole to Pole is the fourth book in my Adventures of Captain Polo series of fact-based fiction, educational graphic novels about climate change. This book has an open ending, like all of its predecessors, and my next project is to create the sequel, which I am tentatively calling ‘Antarctica’. That will be Book 5 in the series, and it will take Captain Polo, my main character (an anthropomorphic polar bear) and his friend Penguin to explore the Antarctic, visiting parts of South America en route. Asa with the other books in this series, I will use the story and characters to explore climate and environmental issues as well as solutions in those locations.
4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors?
Start by really getting clear about who you are writing for. What is your target audience? If you write children’s books as I do, you also need to figure out the target buyer. This is not as easy as it sounds for all of us! But having a clear idea of who you are targeting will clear the path and save a lot of wasted time and money when it comes to marketing your book. You also have to get rid of the false notion that landing a deal with a publisher will take care of all the promotion and marketing – that won’t happen! Given that an author nowadays also has to also be an entrepreneur to promote and market their books, the one golden rule is to keep on creating new books and learn how to promote and market them at the same time. In time, with enough books to your name, it will be easier to reach success, because each book cross promotes the others, and platforms like Amazon value volume, so the more books you write the better.
5) What influenced you as a writer?
The legendary authors of Asterix & Obelix – René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo – along with Hergé, creator of Tintin. These styles, though dated and hardly known in the US, are very powerful influences of my own style. As a cartoonist I was also influenced by Carl Giles, a very popular post-war journalistic cartoonist in Britain. Giles’ cartoons are known for the amount of detail, often brimming with satire, in the background. I like to do the same, and any careful reader of my books will often see little details in the background, like an escaping rat for example!
The environmental theme all my books have is influenced by my love for Nature, wildlife, and many exotic locations I have had the fortune to visit or live in. These led to my professional career, and they are also present throughout my books.
Related to the environmental theme is culture; I have traveled widely and lived in many countries, and the influence of multiple cultures, languages and settings are part of my creative approach. Some people label such elements as stereotypes, which in a sense they are, but they are to be taken in context of my inspiration and life experience. When you do that, then you understand my books are actually all about celebrating and honoring diversity, in all of its forms.
I was quite angry with a beloved author after I saw him say something I strongly disagree with in an interview. I signed up for Wattpad the next day, determined to write something which would put him in his place on that issue. I hope I have succeeded in some small way.
2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites?
Yes. I love the Wheel of Time series, the Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia.
3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future? My latest work is a ghost-writing book. I’m writing my prequel to the Call of the Lorica series now because I do not know what happens and I need to know so I can write book two. I’m a gardener-writer, a discovery writer. I have to write to know what is going on.
4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors? Love your book. I think if you love your book, you will be able to weather critics and contests much easier. When my book was first published I was afraid to really promote it. I had been to a con and one book there, a debut book, swept all of the awards.
I got home and read that book. It was not my cup of tea. In comparison, I loved my book. After that, I had no problem promoting and getting behind my work. But it took seeing how good it really was in comparison to other books to see it.
5) What influenced you as a writer?
Robert McKee and Stephen Pressfield and John Granger’s books on literary alchemy influenced my writing. I studied things they have written (all their books) and was deeply influenced by them. Social media links: Facebook: facebook.com/loricaauthor
As a child I fell in love with Edgar Rice Burroughs and devoured every one of his books. I imagined myself being Tarzan and John Carter and let myself be whisked away into those fantasy worlds. I would say he was my main inspiration to become an author.
2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites?
Anything by R.A. Salvatore, Stephen King, or Tom Clancy.
3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future?
My newest work is part two of the “I call him HIM” trilogy. It’s called “The Angel of Death” and comes out May 6th. I’m about 75% done with the third book and hope to have that one ready for preorder this summer.
4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors?
Yes, be patient and develop a following before you publish your first book. Also, take a ton of webinars and learn how to market your books.
5) What influenced you as a writer?
All the great authors that I’ve read through the years and my own personal experiences. I incorporate many things that happened to me throughout my life and add a little fictional twist to make it more exciting.
I’ve always wanted to write a novel, yet it took experiencing Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings at just the right time in my life. It touched me in a way that gave me that push: I write in hopes of giving that feeling to my readers.
2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites?
Yes! Of course, Brandon Sanderson is at the top of that list. But I also love the Dragonlance universe, and Jim Butcher’s Dresden files. Some indies I’ve enjoyed recently were books by CT Phipps, Kassandra Flamouri, and JMD Reid & Michael Evan.
3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future?
My most recent release is The Kept King, a fantasy/mystery full of plot twists. My current work in progress is Elements of Creation, the follow-up to my debut Shadows of Creation.
4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors?
Stay focused day-to-day but remember that being an author is a long game.
5) What influenced you as a writer?
This is a difficult question, as I feel influenced by nearly every aspect of life. My writing is a culmination of all of my experiences; my characters are bits and pieces of people I’ve known – frankensteined together. I can speak to specific scenes that have influences, but I try to draw on my life experience for my works at large.
Samantha Evans--Author 