John M W Smith, author of Wacky Stories For Women: Volume One

John M W Smith is the author of eleven books including Wacky Stories For Women Volume One, available for Kindle from Amazon:
US: Wacky Stories for Women Volume 1 by John M W Smith
UK: Wacky Stories for Women Volume 1 by John M W Smith

Wacky Stories For Women Volume One by John M W Smith

Wacky Stories for Women Volume One by John M W Smith

Everything about Andy is too good to be true, so what is his secret? Has Joan really got everything that a woman could possibly wish for? Cathy is in no mood for the attentions of a cocktail -bar-Romeo, and it looks as if he’s about to turn nasty! What on earth is it that Gina’s boyfriend wants her to do to make him happy? Just what is included for Becky in this supermarket’s not to be missed special offer? Is Alison going to simply stand by while another woman walks away with her hard-won prize? How can Julia’s husband Harry possibly hope to compete with all those other candidates who have applied for The Job to die for? Paul is always putting her down and Living In The Country would be Ali’s idea of heaven if only she could get rid of him. But how? Here are eight carefully crafted stories designed to surprise and entertain you, the reader, and at the end to have you say, ‘well, I’ll be……! I never saw that coming!’

This is the first in a four volume series of stories, each with an amazing twist at the end.

Author Quiz interviews John M W Smith…

What is it that you love most about writing?

What I love most about writing is that for me, it is an escape into worlds far more interesting than the one I can expect in my daily life. In these worlds I am able to meet fascinating people with unusual characters, travel to distant places (there was, and is, a 1970s rock band called The Moody Blues, and a line in one of their songs goes "thinking is the best way to travel”. This is so true!). Without my writing I would literally wither away and die---so boring would I find the tedium of everyday life. Writing is a drug that affords escape and unleashes creativity without any harmful side effects, and I'm addicted to it. I only feel truly alive when I'm writing. Without it I grow short tempered, irritable, and depressed. For me there is no greater pleasure than to finish, to my complete satisfaction, a piece of writing. The buzz I get is huge, the sense of elation and accomplishment beyond compare! It is no exaggeration to say a writer feels Godlike in his or her ability to create worlds, characters, creatures, scenarios and landscapes at will, of outstanding complexity and simple beauty, that will make the reader gasp with pleasure, and leave him/her in a state of wonder and speculation for many hours or days. Any soon-forgotten or boring piece of writing is no good to anyone--- you might as well go out and wash the car!

Backlog Of Author Quiz Interviews...

Since Author Quiz launched a couple of months ago, several authors have submitted interviews so it’s been great to see the concept getting support from the indie author community.  In recent weeks in particular I’ve received a sudden rush of interviews so as things stand there’s currently a backlog of approximately four weeks for any new interviews to be published.

I’m mentioning this not to deter other authors from submitting their own interviews (I always enjoy receiving new interviews), but as an author myself I know that it can be helpful to have a timescale for promotional opportunities.  I therefore thought it would be useful to mention the current Author Quiz waiting list for the benefit of any authors who like to plan ahead.

Christopher Carter Sanderson, author of 1000, A Novel In Tweets

Christopher Carter Sanderson is the author of 1000, A Novel In Tweets, tweeting now on Twitter (@1000thenovel).

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Author Quiz interviews Christopher Carter Sanderson…

Is there anything about you or your writing that makes you unique from other authors?

Yes, my novel 1000, A Novel In Tweets is just that: 1000 tweets of exactly 140 characters each. It is being published on Twitter @1000thenovel and, as of November 4, 2012 it will pass the halfway mark.

Other unique things about it include that it is the second in a series of five works that all follow the same narrative. The first was 79 short fictions of 79 words each set in 1979, thus its title 79/79/’79. The third is a traditional novel, the fourth a garland of Fibonacci sonnets, and the fifth is a mega-novel.

As for me, I’m just your average guy, and have a couple of titles published — a non-fiction book from Routledge and a dramatic adaptation. Two of my musicals have been produced successfully in New York City.

Where did the inspiration for your latest novel, 1000, A Novel In Tweets come from?

It is a fairly straight-forward fictionalization of events in my life that even I have trouble believing happened. They’ve been compressed and embroidered appropriately, and nothing is completely lifted in tact from life. The fact that so many of the people I first met in High School went on to be so wonderful and famous after such completely screwed up teenage years was an inspiration. I think Truman Capote said, “all fiction is gossip.”

Marcia Kim Turner, author of Misplaced Loyalty

Misplaced Loyalty is the debut novel from Marcia Kim Turner and is available for Kindle from Amazon:

US: Misplaced Loyalty (Meredith & Hodge Novels) by M K Turner

UK: Misplaced Loyalty (Meredith & Hodge Novels) by M K Turner

Misplaced Loyalty by M K Turner

Misplaced Loyalty by Marcia Kim Turner

When it seems that all is lost, and you have no hope, Misplaced Loyalty can be fatal.

Detective Patsy Hodge leaves her old life behind, and transfers to Bristol and a new job with the CID. Wanting to make her mark as a female detective she attends a suspicious death with her new boss; straight talking, no nonsense Detective Inspector John Meredith. Within days the body count begins to rise, as victims old and new are discovered to have died in the same way. Some could say the victims were merely party to assisted suicide, others may call it euthanasia, and many believe that either way it shouldn’t be classed as a crime; but when it becomes evident that some of the victims were forced to accept a lethal injection, DI Meredith launches a major murder investigation which covers a period of over twenty years.

As more victims are discovered, and the investigation gathers pace, someone takes an unhealthy interest in Patsy. Their motive moves from irritating to sinister when her life is threatened. But just how serious is that threat? Despite being surrounded by police officers the case takes precedent, and Patsy even considers using the services of a private detective, who just happens to be friend and former boss of John Meredith. It’s far from clear if this development is connected to the case, Meredith, or perhaps both. With ill feeling developing within the team, the motives of colleagues working on the case are brought into question.

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Author Quiz interviews Marcia Kim Turner…

What are you working on now, what projects ideas do you have lined up next?

I am currently writing the second in the Meredith & Hodge series, Ill Conceived.  I am about half way through and enjoying working with the characters again.  When I finished Misplaced Loyalty I was overjoyed and have to confess that I did a little jig in front of the laptop, sad but true.  During the next week however I found was missing the characters having spent so much time with them.  I'm fine now.  I am also editing the first novel I ever completed which had a working title of 'chiclitwhodunitfarce' but when ready will be published as Murder & Moet.  As the working title suggests it is a light hearted murder mystery, and set in my favourite Cornish hotel although I have of course changed the name to avoid tarnishing their reputation.

Benjamin W.Farley, author of Three Thousand Days and Nights

Benjamin W.Farley is the author of Three Thousand Days and Nights, available from amazon.com:
Three Thousand Days and Nights by Benjamin W.Farley on amazon.com

Author Quiz interviews Benjamin W.Farley...

What is it you love most about writing?
Creating believable characters.

Where did the inspiration  for your novel, Three Thousand Days and Nights, come from?
Three Thousand Days and Nights was inspired by reading histories of the French and Indian War.

If your book, Three Thousand Days and Nights, was made into a movie who would you want to play the main character and why?
I'd want Matt Damon to play the role of Langdon Burke (in 3-K aka for title), since he possesses the quiet strength of that character. 

Vanessa Finaughty, author of the Legends of Origin series

Orion's Harvesters by Vanessa Finaughty

Orion’s Harvesters by Vanessa Finaughty

Two months after Liam MacAskill’s return to Earth from Tridor Monastery, a portal opens in Orion’s Nebula, and a continent-sized spaceship emerges. It heads for Earth, where it hovers over Africa. Shortly thereafter, a second alien species comes through the portal. Then impossibility becomes reality – the second species steals Earth’s sun.

The first species, the T’Acan – or Harvesters, as some call them – seem friendly enough, but Liam suspects they are omitting something about their reasons for visiting Earth, which seem lame to him. It doesn’t take Liam long to discover what… They have to be stopped, but how to stop an invincible enemy?

Air force and military attacks have no effect on the T’Acan spaceship, but Earth has a secret defence not even the military are aware of – a powerful weapon that harnesses ley line energy, kept hidden by warrior monks since humanity’s beginnings. It could save Earth when even nuclear weapons would fail… but will it be enough to drive the T’Acan harvesters away, and will the untested weapon work the way they hope?

As Liam races against time to warn Arthean that Tridor’s Earth may be in the same danger, even he isn’t sure he’ll make it in time.

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Author Quiz interviews Vanessa Finaughty...

What is it you love most about writing?

The way it frees me of this stress-filled, unjust world to put me in a more magical world in which justice and righteousness prevail.

When you first get the idea for a new story, do you find that the finished product tends to differ quite significantly from your original idea, or does the original idea remain more or less intact?

I usually start off with one scene that’s vivid in my head and it just flows from there. I tend to have a general overall idea of the story, but my characters lead it, so honestly, if I want to know what happens next in the story, I have to write it first.

Clive Eaton, author of The Pyramid Legacy

Clive Eaton is the author of The Pyramid Legacy, available for Kindle or PC from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

US: The Pyramid Legacy by Clive Eaton on amazon.com

UK: The Pyramid Legacy by Clive Eaton on amazon.co.uk

The Pyramid Legacy by Clive Eaton

The Pyramid Legacy by Clive Eaton

For over four millennia the Great Pyramid of Giza has guarded a secret image; until NOW!

The Great Pyramid of Giza, unlike most ancient Egyptian monuments, lacks one conspicuous feature: hieroglyphs. So when, for the first time in over four thousand years, a prominent young Egyptologist discovers the first engraving inside the Great Pyramid, why is he murdered by a senior colleague? The authorities are keen to cover it up, but they know they can’t achieve total closure whilst English robotics engineer, Ben Anderson, remains in possession of a powerful image. An image, which suggests the Great Pyramid at Giza was not built by ancient Egyptians.

What the Egyptian authorities don’t know is that unless the true meaning behind the image can be established, along with other images which will later surface, the future of mankind will face the most serious threat imaginable. Anderson manages to escape Egypt at the earliest opportunity, together with his astrophysicist girlfriend, Samantha Gibson, but the authorities are quickly on their tail when it becomes evident they have arrested the wrong person.

Keen to establish who really built the Pyramids, Anderson seeks to gain additional proof to support his theory. As he and Gibson begin to discover a series of seemingly disparate clues, they soon realise that everything is far from straightforward. Whilst seeking additional resources, Gibson is unwittingly embroiled in the internal politics of the US military, with the result that she becomes a pawn in a vicious power struggle involving a corrupt senior officer. Her path crosses that of an ex-lover and her relationship with Anderson stretches to breaking point.

As Anderson begins to see Gibson from a totally different perspective, his focus changes, and he pushes himself well beyond the limits of his comfort zone in an attempt to discover the truth. Gibson is now prepared to do anything to fulfil a lifetime ambition, but as her objective becomes almost within her grasp a virulent virus threatens to stop her . . . and Anderson has the antidote . . . together with a totally different agenda. And so an unprecedented race begins to finally reveal the true legacy of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The Pyramid Legacy is a thriller, but also has a story of love and deceit deeply woven in.