Now available on Paperback, Kindle, and Nook is the hilarious novel Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet by K.C. Hilton. The author has taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk about her newest book.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Since I was young, I had always expressed my creativity through photography. "A picture says a thousand words," I was told, but I wanted more. A picture may say a thousand words, but a book will give you the details of the story. About ten years ago, I had a dream. Two months later, I decided to write about the dream in detail. It wasn't long before I realized I had a story to build on. So, I began researching and learning the art of writing. That story was 90 Miles to Freedom.

What was your first book/story published?

The first book published was actually the second book I wrote, which was The Magic of Finkleton.

What inspired you to write Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet?

I own and manage a used car lot with my husband. The experiences in my real life make for excellent material in the Julia Karr Series. I'm a used car dealer by day and a writer by night. I don't get much sleep. I was actually in the middle of writing another young adult book, when Barbie came to visit. That afternoon, I decided to write a book from the perspective of a female car dealer.

What character in Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

That's easy! Julia is basically me, in every way.

What is your favorite part in Cars, Coffee, and a Badass Ninja Toilet?

My favorite part would be Romeo and Julia's home life. The love they have for each other and the amusing things they say and do at home. It balances out the crazy stuff that happens on the car lot.

What was the hardest part to write?

That would be the story about the car jacker. Recalling that memory was one of the hardest things I've had to do. Just writing that chapter took me two days and had me shook up for a week. I wondered if writing it was even worth it.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

As a career, I'd choose to be a Dental Hygienist, because I literally fall short of the height requirements to be an Airline Stewardess. However, working at Disney World would be much more fun, in my opinion. Although, some people might consider that a job, not a career.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Now available to purchase on Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, ThriftBooks, and Target is the fantasy novel CrossTown by Loren W. Cooper.




The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk about his new novel CrossTown.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

As early as I can remember, I hung on family stories, I read voraciously, and I told myself stories in play or for relaxation. It took me until college to think about writing for publication.

What was your first book/story published?

First short story published was Eyes of Yesterday in 1995.

What inspired you to write CrossTown?

The initial scene with the Jigsaw Man came to me after seeing a horror movie done badly. It made me want to write a scene with similar elements where it was done well.

What character in CrossTown is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

The White Wolf is the most fun to write. He captures my smartass element. Unlike me, he feels little need to filter his acerbity.

What is your favorite part in CrossTown?

The setting itself. All the myriad Ways of Possibility branching out through time and space.

What was the hardest part to write?

The setting. CrossTown blurs character and setting. Capturing the breadth and depth of it is impossible. You can only shoot and hope to get close to the target.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

Now available to purchase on Amazon, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble is the novel The Chaos Stories by Charles O'Keefe.



The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk about his newest book.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

I think it started for me when I was 13, back then I had this crazy idea that I could write the script for video games (and my friend would do the art). I think we did up at least one game, maybe two. It helped that year that I had a teacher I really liked who got the class to do some interesting writing assignments, showed me how to be a better writer and used to lend out comic books for me to read. The other big encouragement was I start playing Dungeons and Dragons then as well, which is a great way to stimulate anyone's imagination.

What was your first book/story published?

It was a long time before I got motivated enough (and organized) to do any serious writing. My first book was published in April of 2012 (I was 36). This was with Penumbra Publishing (who are sadly now gone) and I had been working on the book off and on for about 8 years. Even once it was accepted I was still waiting about 7 months for it to be published, I used my time wisely and had the rough draft of book 2 done by then.

What inspired you to write "The Chaos Stories"?

I had always loved to read short-stories and I had written a few before (I was lucky enough to even have one published at the back of a novel that Penumbra published). I had been reading a lot of short stories beforehand (along with Stephen King's book on writing) and to be honest I find I need to write, With three books published (all vampire) I was ready for a change. I know it sounds corny but my own life and my desire to write is all I need for inspiration.

What character in "The Chaos Stories" is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

That's an easy one for me. About 40% of the book is deleted scenes from my vampire books and one those characters, Joseph, is a younger version of me. That doesn't mean he's identical to me, I'm in my 40s and Joseph will be forever in his 20s physically (since he's a vampire). Joseph also makes different choices than me, never takes over the family business, never gets married, doesn't age, drinks blood and of course often has fights to the death with other vampires. Seriously though, Joseph does have most of the same ideas and principles I do, he's just a little more extreme and outspoken than me, I've mellowed out somewhat as I've gotten older. I agree with him on lots of things, we're both vegetarian, both against animal cruelty and hunting, both big geeks, we both enjoy nature, love women, always been fascinated with red heads, both love literature and both have strong family ties. Also, like Joseph, I often felt alone in my early 20s and longed for companionship, the big difference is how I met my girlfriend (now wife) and how now I enjoy time to myself more than I ever did in my 20s. He represents ultimately what my life could have been if I had made different choices and if vampires were real.

What is your favorite part in "The Chaos Stories"?

There is a moment in "Footprints Part 1" where Marlon, one of the main characters, makes two impossible shots with a rifle. He is blindfolded and still manages to hit two cans hundreds of feet away. I loved how it was something that actually could happen but is so unlikely that it means his skill is beyond human. It's a small thing in the story but it means a lot, when Marlon makes these kinds of insane shots he is indeed using a supernatural power. This supernatural power comes at a cost, when he uses it evil energy follows him and bad things can happen. It is also something that was originally not in the story and a great example of why you need to a good editor to make a story even better and more cohesive.

What was the hardest part to write?

Today, Val Muller, the author of the young adult novels The Man with the Crystal Ankh and The Girl Who Flew Away, has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his writings.

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When did you become interested in storytelling?

When I was very young, my dad read “The Night Before Christmas” to me several times each night. As the days and weeks went on, he left out one word here, then two words, then a phrase, until I had basically memorized the whole poem (with a little prompting). They were “big words,” and I wasn’t sure what all of them meant, but one day the meaning became crystal clear.

We were up in Connecticut, where I grew up, and it had snowed that day. It was evening, and I was in my pajamas. My dad called me to the dining room window and told me to look into the back yard. There, the pristine snow was sparkling as it reflected the full moon. He recited the line to me: “moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the luster of midday to objects below.” We talked about what that meant, and it was at that moment that I realized how powerful words were. I realized I could be on the beach in the heat of summer, and that line would evoke this particular image in my head, one of a nighttime snowfall. It was then that I knew—subconsciously, at least—that I wanted to be a writer.

What was your first book/story published?

I always jokingly say that my first “book” was written in third grade. It was made of several pieces of notebook paper cut down into quarters and stapled together. I wrote an illustrated a mystery tale in which the neighbors engage in vigilante justice after their friend’s murder.

2008 is when I started taking my writing seriously. Although I always wanted to be a writer, it was something I assumed just “happened.” After college, I realized I had to make it happen. My first published story was written for kids and was published by New Moon Girls magazine. It was a spooky tale about camping inspired by my experiences in Girl Scouts.

What inspired you to write The Man with the Crystal Ankh?

I have played the violin since third grade, and I was always fascinated with the power of composers (like writers and artists) to reach beyond their lifetimes and inspire those who were born after their deaths. In Crystal Ankh, one of the characters takes that literally and prolongs his life using supernatural methods.

What character in The Man with the Crystal Ankh is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

I see parts of myself in the protagonist, Sarah Durante. In some ways, she’s like me: a little bit of a misfit, a little dorky, and loves the violin. But because of the nature of the tale, she gets into spooky situations that terrify me even thinking about them. So in that sense, I’m glad she’s not me.

I have had several spooky dreams and premonitions, and those was scary enough for me.

What is your favorite part in The Man with the Crystal Ankh?

I really enjoy the musical scenes. During these scenes, Sarah enters a trance-like state and is able to physically leave her body, wandering close by. In these scenes, she’s able to sneak upstairs or down into the basement to discover various pieces of the puzzle. There’s something chilling about leaving the body.

What was the hardest part to write?

In one scene, the antagonist possesses his dog so that he attacks the protagonists. The would-be kind canine thus becomes the enemy. My characters are literally up a tree and have to decide what to do. Their only option is to attack the dogs. With two corgis of my own and always having loved dogs, this scene was difficult for me to write because it contradicts the way I feel about dogs—both how they act and how people should treat them.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

Well, I’m a high school English teacher, and I love being able to talk about writing and literature all day. But if I could choose from absolutely anything, I would choose to be a photographer specializing in outdoor shots. I love being outdoors, and finding unique angles with a camera invigorates me.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Now available on Amazon and Smashwords from Devildog Press is science fiction horror novel Prey by Tim Majka.

The Other Side Has Broken Through

Following the mysterious death of his parents, Detective Eric Archer goes home to the idyllic Western New York town of Chadwick Bay. There, he joins old colleagues and makes new acquaintances in Jessica Benitez, Eliseo Gomez, and the enigmatic Dr. William Dirk.

They uncover decades-old family secrets that shakes the foundation of their reality.

Alliances are formed, friends become foes.

An ancient entity’s plan to enslave the people of Earth is about to be unleashed. With the fate of humanity at risk, Eric Archer and his friends must race to unravel the mystery of how to defeat a God-king.

When did you become interested in storytelling?

My seventh grade English Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Lynn Clarke got me hooked on storytelling. We had a unit of study in creative writing during which I wrote an episode of STAR TREK (the original series), she gave me an A on it and many positive accolades about pacing and characterization. I didn’t write much creatively for many more years, but as a history teacher I need to be able to tell a story to hook the students, as veteran teacher once said to me, “You have to perform five shows daily and you need to have as much energy in the last as you do in the first.”

What was your first book/story published?

Prey from Devil Dog Press in June of 2017 was my first published work.

What inspired you to write Prey?

I was having a conversation online with an old high school friend, who happened to be writing some horror short stories. I had recently hung up my whistle after 13 years of coaching high school football and didn’t know what to do with myself (it is all consuming if you want to do it the right way). I had always wanted to write, as we talked I got more excited at the prospect of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys, as it were). Searching through my desk, I found an CD-ROM with no label, I popped it in my desktop tower and it contained one Microsoft Word document titled PREY. It was three lines of a story I had started to write back at the beginning of my teaching career, how and why that disc was in the drawer at that time, I have no idea. I started writing from there.

What character in Prey is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

The main character of Prey, Eric Archer, loves his family and always wants to do right by them. He is intelligent, tough, sarcastic, and funny, but when there is work to be done, it’ll get done. In many respects he’s the most like me.😀

I am least like Sheriff Pontillo, that bastard. 😀

What is your favorite part in Prey?