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After a heartbreaking betrayal, Melissa Legacy shuns romance. So when her best friend joins the Lovers Oasis website and fears her fiancé will find out, Melissa agrees to meet the anonymous Romeo, prepared to explain her friend’s change of heart—then she sees him.

Failing restaurant entrepreneur, Craig Wheaton hasn’t been home since his mother’s tragic death. Now he’s back to confront his demons and stand beside his brother as best man. Dreading the reunion, he agrees to meet his avatar lover, but at the last moment he reconsiders the arrangement—until he lays eyes on her.

When Craig assumes Melissa is his online consort, she impulsively plays along, resulting in an afternoon of unexpected intimacy. But with Melissa using her friend’s identity and Craig dealing with a family fallout, is a future together impossible, or will they discover that love at first sight is Only the Beginning?

My sister and I are both nurses, and when nurses get together they talk about ways to earn money other than nursing. We were vacationing and the last book of the Twilight series was coming out. She said, “Wow, that Stephanie Meyer must be so rich, you should write a book.” I was like, “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” But aloof as I was, she planted the seed and I started thinking about a story. It took another four years, but I finally had a book published, Butterflies Don’t Lie (it was the seventh full manuscript I’d written). Since then I’ve had seven other novels published. And while I’m not rich, and both my sister and I are still nursing, I credit her for getting me started.

Butterflies Don’t Lie, released September 2014 by Nimbus Publishing. YA contemporary coming of age.

It’s the classic mistaken identity troupe, which is so fun to write! I wrote this story as a love letter to my beautiful city, Halifax Nova Scotia, and I posted it on Wattpad as a thank you to all the readers who helped my other romance novel get published, The Right Fit.

Wow! I have no idea. I’m really too boring to be in any book. I mostly steal traits from people I know and give them to characters in my stories.

This is nearly impossible to answer, but I’ll go with the scene where Craig surprises Melissa at her apartment. 😏

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Edward and James Shaw are twins who are successful executives at Rock Star Records.  The company that was started and operated by their father, Irvin, who is a well-known hip hop artist.  Edward has a great love for music and is focused on ensuring the success of the business, just like his dad.  James on the other hand has a great love for women and power.   Unfortunately, they were blindsided by the challenges of life which were of biblical proportions.  Edward found himself in the struggle of his life to save his marriage and his career after there had been some horrible choices made, while James found himself fighting for his freedom.  

The only way for them to find their way through the drama, infidelity, damaged trust, addiction, meaningless sex, and betrayal was to build a solid relationship with God.  When Edward and James hit rock bottom mentally and emotionally, they found out who they were and what the Lord called them to do.  They both began to walk into their purpose realizing that although the storms came one after another, after another and almost took them out; they survived through the grace of God…   

Take this journey with Edward and James and the rest of the Shaw family as they endure the many trials and tribulations of this life.

I have always been interested in storytelling as long as I can remember. However, my storytelling was originally in the form of poetry and songs. As I got older, I knew that I wanted to write book but didn’t know what I wanted to write about until early 2017.

When I was going through the darkest time of my life, I developed a process called Finding Life’s Love Song. The process of dealing with all the baggage I was carrying sparked the idea of writing a book, Love Song, that somewhat illustrated the benefits of releasing the baggage from past hurt.

Biblical Proportions describes situations in our lives that have a substantial impact. It does not matter if it is a good situation or a bad situation, either way there will be consequences and how you deal with said consequences is very important. This idea of writing the book Biblical Proportions was dropped in my spirit as I was reading the Bible and recognized that the situations we are dealing with today are already written. At that moment I recognized that stories needed to be told to: one to bring awareness to how relatable the Bible is; two show the readers how important developing a relationship with the Lord is; and three share an overall message.

Jackie is the most like me. She was dealing with unnecessary drama because she lacked confidence and did not know her worth. In the end, she knew what she wanted, and she was no longer willing to settle for anything less.

The favorite part of Biblical Proportions is the ending because you get to see both main characters, Edward and James Shaw, growth as men.

The hardest part to write in any of my books is when something bad happens to the character. It is surprisingly painful. I have gone back to read both my books and have cried because of certain situations (and I know it is going to happen).

In addition to having the great pleasure of being an author, I am also a songwriter, music producer, and speaker. I also have tons of other idea swimming in my brain but haven’t fully immersed myself into them. But we shall see what happens.

I read my book reviews on occasion. If there are constructive things that people have to say, I will consider them. However, I understand that everyone is not going to like my work. So, I pray about it and use discernment.

Charles Dampor was supposed to be a blessing, but instead turned out to be a curse. A family torn by deception and greed now saw Emily for what she was, and a co-worker with a vicious past of his own now has his own personal vendetta against her. If Emily doesn't open her eyes and see the doors she's unlocked, she'll find herself at the bottom of Lake Bermin...with Charles's ex-wife.

When I was 20, my late and great friend Greg put the idea into my head. The idea was alcohol-induced, as we decided that our lives were so entertaining that we’d be doing the world a disservice if they didn’t get to read a story of our lives. And from that day forward, putting words to paper became my passion.

It was a short story, titled Danboro—a story about a reporter who chased a story about a haunted house and the one man who managed to escape it. And when he tracks down the man, he unknowingly brings the bad spirit with him.

The story was a finalist in a short story competition and was published in an anthology with the other top stories.

The story actually came by simply starting with some characters and branching out. I was having some serious writer’s block and I asked my wife to give me some ideas of characters. She gave me some, and then I created a story around them, but I never felt like the story was ready until I added Herb into the picture.

The beginning, for sure. I’m an avid reader and I fall head over heels for a book that captures my attention right away. So I try to write the same way, and I’m happy with how this beginning turned out.

The beginning and end of every chapter. This goes along with the favorite chapter for me—I love a book where the chapter ends and I just cannot shut the book. So, once again, I try to mimic my writing style to match my reader expectations.

I’m a typical guy—sports, sports, sports. Growing up, all I ever wanted to be was a professional ice hockey player. I’m getting a little older now, and my body aches at random points of the day for no apparent reason, so just thinking about playing sports sounds painful. That being said, I still have this dream that one day my writing will make me so famous that the Philadelphia Flyers let me take some sort of a “celebrity shift” on the ice during a preseason game. That’s the little boy in me—still chasing my childhood dream.

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Years ago, I was working on a book of interviews. People answered questions eagerly but when I came to edit the transcripts it became clear that, although they were telling a story, it was buried in what they said. When we talk, we don’t formulate a beginning, a middle, and an end. We start with what we feel is the most important point and then usually we go to the end and then backtrack to fill in details and often end with the beginning. But no matter how we tell it, it’s all stories. This experience gave me a crash course in shaping narrative.

Stories are how we understand ourselves and everything around us. People who are unable to form a narrative cannot function in our world. In the branch of psychotherapy called narrative therapy, therapists found that, in dealing with people who had been through terrible ordeals including war, torture, or great loss, the patient who could form a narrative, who could tell a story about what happened and why it happened, might recover and go on. Those who couldn’t do that remained in a state of disfunction.

Ursula Le Guin said, “Stories held in common make and remake the world we inhabit. The story we agree to tell about what a child is or who the bad guys are or what a woman wants will shape our thinking and our actions, whether we call that story a myth or a movie or a speech in Congress.”

I believe this to be true.

When I was 11 years old, a Bay Area newspaper held a contest for kids to find the best essay about, you guessed it, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.” Mine was one of the three winners and our essays were published in the paper. Does that count?

A few years ago I was researching a project on the environment and I read through many of the important nonfiction books on the subject of climate change and related problems mounting in the natural world. It’s heavy stuff and it occurred to me that approaching these issues from another angle, in an imaginative and entertaining manner, could be a good idea. I wanted to write something … different. As I worked on Threshold, it became differenter and differenter. Then all these animals showed up. To tell the truth, it got out of my control. The characters wrote this. I was an innocent bystander.

I would like to be more like Raoul, a very transgressive little fellow, but I’m afraid I’m more a goodie two-shoes like the main character, Banshooo.

The scenes with the crazy-wisdom master, Sid. He really tells us what we need to know.

Several characters die. I liked them and didn’t want them to go but that’s the way of it, in stories, in life, in the natural world.

Well actually, I’d like to be King of the World. I’m sure I would do a good job. No, really. Seriously. Don’t you think you could make things better if you were able to decree all those things you know would help. In lieu of that, I write. It’s a way to get your hopes, dreams, ideas, fears, all of it out there.

I’ve always been interested in writing. Prior to graduating high school, I’d write short stories about some of my interesting friends. After graduation, I spent some time in the Navy and started a family. My life became so busy, I didn’t feel I had the time to write. No longer able to suppress that need, I studied writing at UCLA and started my author career.

Trojan (2016), a techno thriller. Inspiration for it came from a work scenario during my attendance of a computer science class while on active duty in the US Navy. One of the instructors removed the covers off a few of the computers in the lab and I noticed the tiny chips, the brains of those machines, were all manufactured overseas somewhere. It shocked me and made me a little nervous that our defense systems could be dependent on foreign parts. It begged the question … what if an unknown entity embedded rogue computer logic within the hardware components of those machines at the time they’re manufactured, causing them to crash at a predetermined time, incapacitating our defense capabilities? That question led to the formation of Trojan.

Inspiration for my current release, Preordained (2018), came from childhood events in my life. My parents moved our family from New York to South Carolina when I was in the first grade. The locals in the surrounding areas, both family members and neighbors, would speak of ghost, paranormal and supernatural events, believing with everything in them that those stories were real. I’ve enjoyed watching and reading numerous stories of that ilk and when I decided to pen one, naturally, I decided to make the setting be one of the neighboring counties to where I grew up.

Art is the most like me. I’ve discovered that all my stories reflect aspects of my persona within the main protagonist. The number one characteristic is Art’s willingness to sacrifice all and fight for what he believes in.

My favorite parts of the story are the dynamics of Art’s personal relationships with his girlfriend Angela Hunter, his maternal grandmother Sarah, and his son Benjamin.

The hardest parts to write were the last two chapters because of the resolution Art found at the end of the story, and the flaw I gave his partner and love interest, Angela Hunter. The story had only one way to end and when I wrote it, it took a toll on me. The flaw that I gave Angela, is one that people close to me also experience.

I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I have always had a very active imagination, but I never dreamed that one day I would be publishing my mind’s musings.

Call of the Wolf, the first in the Dark Blood Trilogy, was my first book I published, I have had stories on fanfiction sites, but I don’t really count them as published.

I used to be part of a role play group on twitter that was set in 17th century France. A few of the characters are loosely based on the characters from the group. At first the Dark Blood Trilogy was going to be an historic novel, but I just couldn’t get on with it. Being a big fantasy fan, I decided to write what I enjoy. So I took the characters and put them into the paranormal world that this book is based in.

I think Samantha is very much like me. I loved writing her, she is so strong and independent. She is humble and very loyal to those who deserve it. Her character is very much like me too, hot headed, but can be tamed by the right people. As for the character least like me, I would have to say the vampire lord Thanatos. He is just plain evil, with no compassion. A very cold and selfish character.

This is a tough question because I truly enjoyed writing the whole series. I think my favorite part in the whole series has to be when Samantha, and her parents Emilie the white witch and Aleron the vampire come together as one to destroy the evil that has taken many of their people. It’s such a special moment for me to have them reunited.

I can’t remember a time not being interested. It just took me twenty-something years to decide I’d do something about it. I mean, I would write some stuff—usually weird—as a child, but it was just fun. Now that I’ve started, I’d be hard-pressed to stop.

This one! 😊 Unless the creative writing assignment I did as a ten-year-old for my sixteen-year-old aunt counts.

About a year ago, I was feeling quite bored and unfulfilled. I was working, I had accomplished most of the big quests on Skyrim, you know…the creative blues. I can’t draw or sing. So, eventually, I started to write, and the story blossomed. The characters felt so real I couldn’t abandon them. I also was inspired to incorporate my favorite story aspects: a bit of magic, a bit of romance, a bit of intrigue, some conflicts I could relate to—albeit wholly exaggerated.

Cori’s temperament resembles mine to a small extent. Rylo, the male main character, doesn’t eat meat and neither do I, though for varying reasons. Least like me would probably be Dwyn. He’s exceptionally extroverted, a little pushy, etc. But I strive for my characters to be independent, fully-rounded entities. I hope that all readers find a trace of relatability in them.

The commotion towards the end. It ends with “to be continued…” but before that. Not only do some answers come to surface during this part, but I grew more comfortable with action scenes through it. And…it leaves lots to pick up on in book two. Not to fret—it’s not a painful cliffhanger!

The middle for sure. Oh, that wretched middle. I knew where the story was going early in the game, but there are so many potential scenes that can pave the way. I stuck with what felt like the most natural sequence of events. I wanted to implement story ties—little, non-distracting things—that have important implications later in the series, but while continuously moving my characters forward in a meaningful way.

My day job is cleaning teeth, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it my ideal career, though it has its moments. This is random, but I’d love to be a high school counselor.

I’ve literally always had a wild, rampant imagination so the challenge was just putting it on paper.

An article about graphic design in my college’s newspaper.

The idea behind the series was always one I tossed around in my head, a lot. I thought it was such a unique concept because you never hear about such weapons and such superpowers so I thought it would spark interest in readers. I modeled Ryder, the story’s protagonist, against my own personality mixed with the woman I strive to be.

Definitely Ryder. She has my sassiness, independence, and my strong will.

When Ryder tells Chase her back-story, that she’s died once before, encountered the Grim Reaper and seen all his terrifying details, and stolen pieces of his deadly Scythe in order to escape death. When you meet Mister Grim, from her perspective, it’s one you’ve never heard before or can barely fathom.

I always knew which climactic scenes I wanted to tie into the story so the most challenging part, as it is for most writers, was getting from one to the next. Linking them together while keeping the nail biting, edge-of-your-seat feeling up.

I don’t think I can remember a time when I wasn’t a storyteller. I started talking at a very young age and, according to my family, it took off from there. I was always rambling on about something made up. I do recall during a 4th of July party when I was very young that I told my older cousin a story about how the stars, when they get scared, form the constellation of a flashlight and the sun shines through it so they can see in the dark. Oh, kids. From there, I know that my father brought home a typewriter from his work and I was absolutely obsessed with it. It was a huge, metal monstrosity, but I used it daily to write down stories and ideas.

I actually started my professional writing career as a screenwriter, working on some Scooby-Doo animated movies, but my first published book was Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy—The Making of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. It is the definitive look at the making and legacy of the iconic horror film. (Though I suppose one could count the short essay I wrote for our local SPCA when I was a child; it was published in their newsletter!)

I’m a huge fan of 80s and 90s horror movies and teen movies. I have always loved the young people going through their adolescent turmoil and, when they think life can’t get any worse, there’s a masked kill after them! I wanted to do something that was a sort of throwback, or homage, to those kinds of movies: a bunch of teenagers, a secluded location, some dark secrets, a masked killer and, of course, the big unmasking and reveal. It also let me have a little fun with the characters, what they do, and what they say.

I’m probably most like Layna. I think she is the most grounded in that she isn’t necessarily born to be a part of the world she was placed in regarding the school she is going to, but finds a way to fit in. She is also someone who wants to really figure out what is going on and why. I’d probably do that as well. At east I think I would if a masked killer was after me or my friends. But, you know what, I would go out in the dark, by myself, even if there was a killer around. When I want answers, I want them. I ain’t afraid of no ghost.

I love the prologue because, for me, it set the stage and the tone. Seclusion and mystery. It let me give a small taste of the events to come.

The killer’s reveal. I knew who it was going to be, and why, and I wanted to make it scary, fun, thrilling, and action-packed. I didn’t want it to feel like when the mask comes of, “Oh, it’s over.” Far from it. When the mask comes of, the fun and drama starts where we learn the who, what, and why. It was coming up with those things and keeping it fun and thrilling that was challenging. But, I’m really happy with the way it turned out. It ended up being another of my favorite moments in the book. I love a god reveal!

I seriously considered being a marine biologist. I had actually wanted to do that since I was very little. But, since I didn’t follow that through, I’ll stick with screenwriter as my other career!

Only the reviews my agent sends me! Actually, I do read some of them. I think it’s all part of the creative process. You put something out there and you want people to enjoy it. Some will and some won’t. I’ve definitely learned that you can’t please everyone, but I do my best to make sure I am putting out something I can be proud of. There are always a million reasons someone will love something, or not love something. If I can reach people, make them think, laugh, afraid, argue, cry…whatever, I’ve done my job.

So, so many! S.E. Hinton is an all-time favorite of mine. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of reading her work. Same with Lois Duncan. Stephen King, William Goldman, Wes Craven, Shirley Jackson, Agatha Christie, Kevin Williamson…the list could go on and on.

I am currently writing book two of the Jinxed trilogy and I am really excited about where it is going. I am also working on a non-fiction project on the making of a really fun and well-known movie from the 80s. I can’t say what it is just yet, but it is a lot of fun. Like my previous book, “Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy—The Making of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street,” this will be all about the making and legacy of the film.

To learn more about me and my work, engage with me, or just peek in, check out my website: www.thommyhutson.com, follow me on Twitter: @ThommyHutson, Instagram: thommyhutson, and Facebook: facebook.com/thommyhutson

I’d always wanted to write the story of my family history and many times pulled out a yellow legal pad to start writing it. That’s when I discovered I didn’t know how to write a book. I’ve been a member of a research group for 15 years, and was assigned a paper about Joseph Campbell, author of “The Hero’s Journey”. During that process, I learned what the steps are to writing a book. That was over 10 years ago.

“In Search of Sushi Tora”, (Arrowhead Publishing 2011)

I personally experienced a situation similar to a large element in the story because there was friction in my family about religion. I was raised Jewish, my husband was raised Catholic. Although we felt that what was of greater importance was living a morally responsible life and raising our children to be respectful, responsible and good community-minded people, there were those in my extended family who couldn’t make those distinctions solely because of the religious differences. This led to a variety of unpleasant situations. I decided the book needed to be written to encourage people to not judge others, to promote the idea of tolerance of others’ ideas and beliefs, and to understand there is more to people than their religion or lifestyle. If you set aside religion and sexual preferences, there are so many commonalities. That’s also why there are gay characters in the book, as well as people whose lifestyles may not be the norm. It follows my overarching mantra, “People are just people.”

Holly Thomas, the protagonist, is most like me in that she has many self doubts and insecurities because she doesn’t know that her strongest point is being herself and standing up for what she believes in. Instead, she allows people to ride roughshod over her and is almost destroyed (mentally and emotionally) in the process.

Edward Thomas is least like me. He is religious, single-minded and believes that his faith is the only true way to approach life. He is intolerant of any other points of view.

The scenes with just Leah and Rachel as they struggle with becoming Moms — including their efforts to implant Leah and their emotional adjustment to what it means to be a mother/parent.

The scenes in the jail cell. It was painful because I had to relive it.

A University history professor teaching American and English history. I would also interweave Constitutional law into it.

Mornings are often the best, right around 5:30 or 6. I can write for a long stretch then. I think it’s because my brain is awake (yes, I’m one of those annoying “morning people” – providing there’s COFFEE!). The rest of the day, writing has to compete with daily life. Lately, my brain has been getting a “second wind” for a writing stretch at around 8:00 at night, and my hubs kindly puts on earphones to listen to the TV so I can have some quiet time.

When I’m not writing, however, I’m always, always, ALWAYS thinking about the story.

Physically, it’s making sure that I get up from the laptop regularly and move around! Luckily I have a flock of chickens that get me outdoors a few times a day. I also spend time daily on my exercise bike – I look forward to it because I allow myself to read my favorite novels there! Needless to say, I often end up biking much longer than planned…

As far as the actual writing goes, the trouble starts when the characters abandon the storyline I’d so carefully planned, and head off in another direction. I often feel like I’m running after them, yelling “Wait, I thought we were going to do (fill in the blank)” or “Hey, you can’t do that!” Sometimes I end up written into a corner for a while… It all works out in the end, thank goodness, as soon as I stop struggling and really listen to my characters. They often take the story to places I hadn’t even imagined. They surprise me, and the story is better for it.

I’ve always loved things that make me smile – stuffed chickens, ceramic gnomes, space aliens, rubber brains, etc. But ever since I started the Grim series, I’ve noticed more metaphysical and fantasy items have made a home for themselves on my desk: crystals and rocks, decks of tarot cards, a tiny statue of a mechanical dragon. My absolute FAVORITE is a small figurine of a winged black horse (see the photo!). My sister found it when we were shopping together, and it reminded me SO much of something that one of my characters would ride in the Wild Hunt. My imagination starts revving every time I see it!

I honestly can’t remember. I started writing stories as a little girl. Then, when I was in my teens and undergrad college, I switched over to writing poems and feature journalism, and wrote in both those genres for years. About five years ago, I started thinking about writing book-length fiction. 

I published poems from the time I was in my early twenties—and I sold stories about food and music to newspapers then, too. Then I taught and cooked. The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins is my first grownup romance. Only took me forty years to get there!

I like ghosts! My house has been investigated for them, and we have two. And my husband and I have experienced ghosts in places we’ve traveled. The woman who did the investigation in our house, Linda Zimmerman (who writes on the subject), says that ghosts know when they have friends among the living. The Chef and The Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins just takes that thought to the next level!

Alma, the protagonist, is a chef—and I was one too, back in the 80’s, when the book is set. She’s a lot gutsier than I was then, and a lot tougher. She has some of my insecurities, but not about what she looks like, which was something I struggled with back then. Which, of course, was silly. I looked fine.

I like the funny parts, and there are lots of them. There’s a lot of kitchen humor: raccoons in the bread order, a wire scrubber hidden in my main character’s bra! I like the ending a lot. There are a lot of twists at the end of the book, and knitting everything together was very satisfying to me as I wrote the last couple of chapters. 

I hadn’t written adult romance before—I have a bunch of YA out under another name—and while I loved the freedom to write sex scenes, I am grateful for my anatomy-specific editor! (Managed to shock my husband with that part of the book when it was all done, I did!)

My very first stories published were travel articles for print magazines—a long time ago. My first fiction story published was Last Shot, published as a single on Amazon: a very dark, psychological tale about a man trying—and failing—to successfully commit suicide, over and over, and how he changes in the process. It’s intense, but ultimately a comedy.

It was time to finally sit down and write a novel-length story, whether or not I felt ready for the challenge. I picked up the first few pages I’d already written for a story I knew was going to be “a long one,” based on one sentence I woke up with one morning: “he remembered everything.” I knew the main character remembered things he shouldn’t, things that surprise him, things that might make other people upset, and I started writing to discover what all those mysteries were. I hoped to at least get to 50k words, but the story ended up requiring 117k words to tell it!

Tres, the main character, is probably most like me; I think he’s like all of us. He has very specific struggles and gifts, but when it comes down to it, he’s just someone trying to find his place in the world, to fit in with everyone around him, to discover what makes him different but not wanting to be too different. He wants to belong, and he wants to know what he’s supposed to do with the life he’s been given. He’s not afraid to change his mind or his direction, try different things, and explore different things in finding his answers.

I always like to write things down but storytelling didn’t really occur to me until I felt the urge to tell a particular story, that of the refugees who survived the Cambodian genocide.

“Savng Nary” is my first full-length novel. I’ve had a few articles and stories published in professional journals and cycling newspapers here and there over the last twenty years.

In the late 1980’s I was working at a refugee center non-profit in Olympia, Washington, helping to resettle refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This was right after I had come from two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, so I was very familiar with the cultures and the issues the refugees had lived through and were now facing. Their stories were heartbreaking and planted the seeds for the book I would later write.

I would say Gail is most like me because we both taught English to refugees and had a “hook” that enabled us to move quickly and more deeply into friendship with our students. For me, it was having lived in SE Asia; for Gail, it was her handicap and how matter-of-factly the Cambodians accepted her – without pity or embarrassment. Also, we both have a bit of the rebel in us!

Well, my initial try at answering this question gave away a major plot point, so I am going to be a little vague here. But I love the party scene, where the protagonist, Khath, sees a photo of a person he believes may have been Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The ensuing chaos destroys a perfectly wonderful celebration and pulls the plot into darker territory. And just when things were starting to go so well for our protagonist!!

Probably around the time that I was 18 or 19, so a good almost 20 years ago. I always had stories to tell, but I didn’t know how to tell them. I slowly got interested in how to write a book, though I’ve been reading my whole life.

I wrote a romance novel in 2009, and it wasn’t my best work I have to admit. Mainly because it wasn’t the genre I should have been in. I published You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine almost ten years later and I’ve grown so much as a writer, that I have to say that it’s certainly a far superior book.

I guess changing my life is what inspired me to write, You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine. I had gone through some pretty horrendous things in my life, things that I talk about in the book. I could have let those things, like abuse, haunt me but instead, I accepted the fact that it made me the person I am today and to acknowledge that I didn’t deserve those things. I’ve moved on and now I’m just hoping to help others to get rid of their demons.

It’s a memoir, so it’s all like me.😀

I love the chapter title: Dating is Cool, But Have You Ever Tried Stuffed Crust Pizza! It’s a hilarious take on the ups and downs of dating in today’s society!

I experienced familial emotional abuse from an older sister while I was growing up. It certainly impacted a huge part of my life. I’ve moved on from those experiences but digging it all up again was by no means an easy ordeal. I prefer my demons tucked away nicely in a locked closet.

I can’t imagine being anything else but an author. But if I had to choose something else, it would have to be something in the world of an entrepreneur. I do not function in a 9-5 atmosphere. I need to have flexibility and freedom.

Young, terrified, and bound to a vampire, Louella Eschete fled the bayou and swore off magic. Years later, she’s returned to the tiny town of Cypress, Louisiana to take her rightful place as head of her magical family, whether she likes it or not.

In order to keep the tentative peace formed between the various races of powerful beings who rule side by side, she must face her own demons. Mainly one, Cristobal Cortez.

Now a master vampire, and lord of the seven cities surrounding New Orleans, her former lover has moved up in the world. Their relationship gets way more complicated when his court is framed for a rash of murders they didn’t commit.

Forced to play her role as his bond mate, and launch an investigation into the darkness threatening to overturn truces, she may be in over her head.

It’s something I always did. Once I learned how to read, I just progressed to telling my own story. I was writing fanfiction before I knew what it was, and creating my own original work.

Don’t Fear the Reaper

The character Louella and her bondmate, Cristobal came to me , and the story was built around them. I love exploring the concept of a secret world that exists beside our own, hidden from mere mortals. It’s always been one of my favorite premises to read.

I’d have to say Halycon. Regardless of what happened in my life, I’d never turn to a dark magic that would slowly consume me until nothing of my former self remained.

When Louella stands up for herself for the first time and lets people know what she will and won’t accept.

When I was seven years old, I hadn’t even “found” the first genre that would help me fall in love with reading and turn me into an avid reader for life (the genre was stories of girls my age with horses and ghosts—don’t laugh!), but my 2nd grade English teacher asked all of her students to write a new story every single week. Mine were all true, from whatever adventure I had that week or interesting thing I witnessed, but the teacher praised my stories the most and begged me to read them to the class each week. I guess that made me realize I had a knack for telling a story, or at least spotting what makes real life most interesting.

My very first stories published were travel articles for print magazines—a long time ago. My first fiction story published was Last Shot, published as a single on Amazon: a very dark, psychological tale about a man trying—and failing—to successfully commit suicide, over and over, and how he changes in the process. It’s intense, but ultimately a comedy.

It was time to finally sit down and write a novel-length story, whether or not I felt ready for the challenge. I picked up the first few pages I’d already written for a story I knew was going to be “a long one,” based on one sentence I woke up with one morning: “he remembered everything.” I knew the main character remembered things he shouldn’t, things that surprise him, things that might make other people upset, and I started writing to discover what all those mysteries were. I hoped to at least get to 50k words, but the story ended up requiring 117k words to tell it!

Tres, the main character, is probably most like me; I think he’s like all of us. He has very specific struggles and gifts, but when it comes down to it, he’s just someone trying to find his place in the world, to fit in with everyone around him, to discover what makes him different but not wanting to be too different. He wants to belong, and he wants to know what he’s supposed to do with the life he’s been given. He’s not afraid to change his mind or his direction, try different things, and explore different things in finding his answers.

I started writing stories in college. I read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, and I decided I wanted to write stories that were entire worlds unto themselves.

My first story published was called “Keats House” in a journal called Moondance in 2003. Her Dear and Loving Husband was my first novel published in 2011.

I had read the Twilight books and watched True Blood and I began wondering what it might be like for a vampire who loses the only woman he’s ever loved.

James is most like me because he’s very bookish and very loyal. The character least like me would be Kenneth Hempel, the reporter out to prove that James is a vampire. Kenneth isn’t very generous or understanding.

Mirabelle is a writer who just can't finish any of the stories she starts. When her twins leave home for college, they take with them Mirabelle’s sense of identity. As she strives to adjust to her empty nest she is visited by someone unexpected: a character from the very first novel she ever attempted to write.

Characters from all of her unfinished works begin to materialize in her home, in her car, at her job. They talk, yell, and some even throw things at her. Mirabelle can see them, smell them, touch them and though she knows they’re not real, she can’t help but engage them. She created them, after all. They become part of her daily life and she finds herself alternating between hiding them from and sharing them with her almost-always-doting husband, Alex.

Some of Mirabelle’s characters are like good friends, encouraging her to finish something she’s started. Others manipulate her for their own needs and story lines. Good and bad, these characters are part of her and Mirabelle discovers she needs to both fix and finish them before they destroy her life, her sanity, and her marriage.

I was in eighth grade. I wrote a story about a Boat Captain that my teacher loved and I realized how much I loved writing it. That was when I decided to be a writer.

This one! Unfinished is the first thing I’ve ever published. It has been an extremely long road.

This story grew out of fear and frustration with myself for not finishing my stories. I had been querying another work for over a year and getting nowhere. I felt like I was sitting on top of a big pile of unfinished, incomplete, unpublished work.

Mirabelle, the main character, is very much like me. She is a writer who doesn’t finish the stories she starts which is exactly how I was until this book.

I love Mirabelle’s relationship with Cody and the changes they go through together.

Buy Link: Amazon

Henna is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Order of Napthol, and her runes ’s runes tell her that the future of Kavet is balanced on the edge of the knife. The treaties between Kavet and the dragon-like race known as the Osei have become intolerable. The time has come for the royal house to magically challenge Osei dominion. Prince Verte, Henna' lover, is to serve as the nexus for the powerful but dangerous spell, with Naples--an untested young sorcerer from the Order of Napthol--a volatile but critical support to its creation.

Amid these plans, Dahlia Indathrone’s arrival in the city shouldn’t matter. She has no magic and no royal lineage, and yet, Henna immediately knows Dahlia is important. She just can’t see why.

As their lives intertwine, the four will learn that they are pawns in a larger game, one played by the forces of the Abyss and of the Numen—the infernal and the divine.

A game no mortal can ever hope to win.

I have always been a storyteller, from the time of my earliest memories (and before). When I was five, I ran through a glass door and cut myself pretty badly. When we got me to the hospital, they separated me from my parents to ask what had happened. My mother describes waiting in terror, worried that THIS was when my storytelling would come out...

As I grew up, I learned more about how to tell a story well, and it was in seventh grade that I first decided I would try to publish a novel, but the desire to tell stories has always been there.

The first novel I published was titled In the Forests of the Night. It was a young adult urban fantasy about a vampire named Risika who needs to face an old enemy in order to finally come to terms with her own identity. Forests, which became the first of my Den of Shadows series (nine books in total), was released in May, 1999, when I was a freshman in high school.

My most recent novel, Of the Divine, is the second book in the Mancer Trilogy. It was inspired by a vast collection of things, ranging from writing block and anxiety to political advocacy.

In 2006, I was under contract for the fourth book in the Kiesha’ra Series, and was struggling to put it together. It was the first book I had ever signed a contract for without having a completed rough draft. It was also the first book I had ever published with an explicitly gay protagonist, and it explored some very personal issues to me— which meant I was terrified of getting it wrong.

I needed to get away from the young adult realm of Nyeusigrube, so I decided to participate for the first time in National Novel Writing Month, and I started Mancer. The book was supposed to be a silly throw-away, but as I often joke, I got “distracted” by silly things like plot and characterization. Because it wasn’t under contract, I felt more free to explore the topics that had me so intimidated in Wolfcry, such as sexuality and the pressures to conform to societal expectations despite one’s own true needs and desires.

In the end, instead of a 50k throw-away experiment, I had a 300,000 word trilogy with a complex world, interesting characters, and a conflict I wanted to further explore— and share.

There’s a little of me in many of these characters, but there’s no one of them that I look at and say, “That’s me, right there.”

Naples includes a lot of my teenage angst and the poor relationship luck (due mostly to my own poor decisions) I had at his age. Terre Verte has some of my arrogance (yes, I know I can be at times) but also my desire to try to help people when I can. Henna has my other-ness; I spend a lot of time being the only queer and the only Jew in a room. Maddy is the mother and teacher in me, though strangely, her 2-year-old son was written eight years before my daughter (who was 2.5 when the book came out) was born. Hello has my tendency to jump ahead in a conversation.

So, they are all a little me, but none othem are me.