Posts Tagged ‘Author Interviews’

Pump Up Your Book Feature Interview: James S. Kelly, Author of I Didn’t Forget

“The clock struck twelve. Lucille and three of the other laundry workers took off the scarves protecting their hair, looked in the mirror, applied some lipstick, walked down a long corridor and up two flights of stairs to the main cafeteria. It was Tuesday and meatloaf was the special today. To Lucille, it brought back memories of family meals with mashed potatoes, kernel corn and buttermilk biscuits. Most of her family had passed away; she wondered why time had passed so fast.” — From I DIDN’T FORGET by James S. Kelly James S. (Jim) Kelly is a retired United States Air Force Colonel with over 100 combat missions in
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Featured Interview: Soren Paul Petrek, Author of ‘Wolves At Our Door’

I’m not on holiday, she told herself, but it’s my first time out of Germany, and I’m not going to waste it. She’d wanted to help with the war effort, and now she had her chance. Even after the invasion, everyone back home still thought Germany would win—Hitler told them so, and the propaganda films left no doubt. Why wouldn’t she believe it as well? –From Wolves At Our Door by Soren Paul Petrek Soren Petrek is a practicing criminal trial attorney, admitted to the Minnesota Bar in 1991.  Married with two adult children, Soren continues to live and work in St. Paul, Minnesota. Educated in the U.S., England
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  • June 4, 2019
  • Author Interviews
  • Comments Off on Featured Interview with Patrick Stull, Author of Encounters

Featured Interview with Patrick Stull, Author of Encounters

American artist Patrick Stull has spent the last eighteen years mostly creating imagery about the lives of women. He searches for what lies beneath the surface of his subjects, empowering each one he encounters. He has recently ventured into the realm of surrealism, creating powerful imagery that reflects on our humanity while dealing with the meaning and power of art. His latest book is the fine art photography book, Encounters. Visit his website at www.patrickstull.com. Book Description: With photography at its base, Stull offers a nuanced explication of his encounters to allow the viewer an opportunity to form a relationship with his art. While looking within ourselves, exploring our
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Featured Interview: Greg Messel, Author of ‘Dreams That Never Were’ @gregmessel #Interview

“Way to go slow, John. Senator Kennedy was shot. You and some other people were also wounded by the assassin.” “No, no, no!” I yelled. “Bobby was shot? No, not this time! This wasn’t supposed to happen! Assassin? Is Senator Kennedy going to be all right?”  — From Dreams That Never Were by Greg Messel Greg Messel grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and lives on the Puget Sound in Edmonds, Washington, with his wife, Jean DeFond. Dreams That Never Were is his 11th novel and is a historical fiction account of a young reporter caught up in the events surrounding the assassination of Sen. Robert F.
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Featured Interview: Michael Houtz, Author of Dark Spiral Down @MichaelHoutz #Interview

“Park remained in his position, looking into the easterly darkness and willing himself to catch a glimpse of light from the mainland. The tremble of the craft’s internal twin engines barking to life vibrated the soles of his boots. Moments later, the vessel moved forward. The last time he’d checked the nose of the forty-two-foot infiltration boat, his rescue craft pointed north in the direction of the intersection of China and at their borders. I will not fail. The world will fear my name.” From Dark Spiral Down by Michael Houtz After a career in medicine, Mike Houtz succumbed to the call to hang up his stethoscope and pursue
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Featured Interview: Lee Matthew Goldberg, Author of The Desire Card @leematthewg #interview

“A shadow passed behind a tree, bigger than any animal. He propped himself up against a rock, too exhausted to move any farther, closing his eyes and waiting to die. He could see tomorrow’s headlines declaring his death as a mugging gone wrong.” –From The Desire Card by Lee Matthew Goldberg Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of SLOW DOWN and THE MENTOR (St. Martin’s Press), which was acquired by Macmillan Entertainment with the film in development. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar. The first two books in a thriller series, THE DESIRE CARD and PREY NO MORE, are forthcoming
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Interview with Alison Littman, Author of ‘Radio Underground’ @alimcshpiel #interview

“I tiptoed past the Ministry of Interior, where red geraniums lined the building’s windows. In the secret prisons below, police tortured people with whips, limb crushers, nail presses, and scalding and freezing baths. Or else they just executed them. But the geraniums were always fresh.” –From Radio Underground by Alison Littman Alison Littman lives in San Francisco where she’s a writer by day and standup comedian by night. A former journalist in New Mexico, she covered politics and education while also contributing articles on John F. Kennedy and The Beatles to various specialty magazines. Her feature stories focus on listening to rock ‘n’ roll behind the Iron Curtain and
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Author Interview: Preston Howard, Author of ‘The Sheltering Palms’ #historical #satire #vbt

“I USED TO BE SOMEBODY—when Preston Howard walked down the street, kings and queens would move off to the curb. Okay, so that bit of paraphrased hyperbole, courtesy of George Thorogood, might qualify as excessive, but for sure, when I rode into town, mayors, city managers, and police chiefs became more than a little queasy over what kind of wrath I might bring down on their community.” –From The Sheltering Palms by Preston Howard Preston Howard spent his entire career working on behalf of police officers, representing them under adverse circumstances, negotiating contracts to improve officers’ benefits and working conditions, and training police union officials in the art of
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Interview with Juliet Huck, Author of 50 Ways To Get Your Way @JulietHuck #Interview #VBT

“Persuasion in NOT a call to action – it is a directed action. It is time to break up the myth that persuasion is a call to action. To “call” is to “invite.” This puts all the power in someone else’s hands. While to “direct” is to “control.” This is the ultimate way to give you the power you need to get what you want. Inviting someone to do something allows them to say no. You must lead or direct them to what you want in simple words, statistics and/or visuals proportional to the magnitude of your need. Think of a traffic cop. They are not inviting you to
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Interview with Sheila Roberts, Author of ‘Winter at the Beach’ #womensfiction #interview @_sheila_roberts

“Someplace good, she realized as she crawled into bed. A holiday festival was bound to lure people to town. Who didn’t like fairs and festivals, especially holiday ones? She could see it now—the storefronts all lit up with multicolored lights, trees in the restaurants decorated with glittery shells and little lighthouses and mermaids, amusement rides and cotton candy and hot chocolate down at the pier, a live Nativity scene in front of one of the churches. And a Christmas parade with Santa bringing up the rear for a grand finale. You had to include Santa. In fact, the jolly old guy was such a draw, maybe they could include
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Interview with Terje Gerotti Simonsen, Author of ‘Our Secret Powers’

“The majority of the considerations in this book are based on strange incidents reported by scientists of one kind or another—archaeologists, anthropologists, psychologists, physicists and philosophers. Such people are more often than not very resourceful with well-developed skills in observation as well as in thinking. It therefore seems reasonable to take their reports seriously, even when—or especially when—they dare to speak against the consensus and vouch for the paranormal. It is not unusual to think that those scientists who report having experienced paranormal phenomena are misinterpreting their experiences at best or are fraudulent at worst. I suggest we take ‘the road less travelled,’ and regard ‘the defendants innocent until
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  • October 1, 2018
  • Author Interviews
  • Comments Off on Interview with Marian L. Thomas, Author of ‘The Caged Butterfly’ @marianlthomas01 #VBT #Interview

Interview with Marian L. Thomas, Author of ‘The Caged Butterfly’ @marianlthomas01 #VBT #Interview

“I want you to laugh a lot. I believe that laughing is like a sweet-smelling aroma for the soul and the heart. I used to laugh all the time. Back when life was good and innocent, and I was good and innocent. Don’t prove my dream a lie. Don’t be a caged butterfly. Become something and someone that is even better than what I could see. I don’t know what your new parents will call you, but in my heart, I whispered Thomas Gray Livingston III in your ears, if you be a boy. Mama thinks that you are and like I said before, she ain’t never wrong. If
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  • September 3, 2018
  • Author Interviews
  • Comments Off on Interview with Brenda B. Taylor, Author of A Highland Emerald @rayburnlady #historical #romance

Interview with Brenda B. Taylor, Author of A Highland Emerald @rayburnlady #historical #romance

“The words spewed from Da’s mouth. A sinister, dark shadow cloaked his face. Muscles twitched in his jaws and his hands clenched in tight fists. I stepped back. He abruptly turned, making his way up the stone steps to the upper story bed chambers, feeling the wall for security. When his foot struck the arisaid I’d dropped on the stair, he reached down, seized the garment, flung it with a vehemence I rarely witnessed from him, and continued up the staircase. The large dog followed at his heels. Not knowing what to do, I grabbed the arisaid, wrapped it closely around my shoulders, pulled the hood over my head,
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  • August 20, 2018
  • Author Interviews
  • Comments Off on Interview with Nancy Gray, Author of Spine Chillers: The Scarecrow #vbt #puyb

Interview with Nancy Gray, Author of Spine Chillers: The Scarecrow #vbt #puyb

“Sophie got into the backseat of the car and didn’t glance back in the direction of the scarecrow until they were driving. When she did turn to look, even though she knew it wasn’t possible, the scarecrow’s head seemed to be cocked in a different direction, slightly upward, as though it was watching them leave. Just as she was about to say something to her parents, a wall of crows flew up from the cornfield and obscured her view. When they were gone the head was resting down again. Sophie made a whimpering sound in the back of her throat that she was glad her parents didn’t hear and
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  • August 1, 2018
  • Author Interviews
  • Comments Off on Interview with Joerg H. Trauboth, Author of Three Brothers

Interview with Joerg H. Trauboth, Author of Three Brothers

“Buddy McAllen is not far away. In fact, they almost trip over his ejector seat. The wind fills his parachute, causing it to pull away from the long, slender body of the American pilot and then deflate again. Buddy is shaking. The right side of his head along with his short blond hair is covered in blood. George sees a large dark stain on Buddy’s olive-green flight suit just above his right hip and, underneath him, a rather large pool of dried blood on the ground…” –From THREE BROTHERS by Joerg H. Trauboth Joerg H. Trauboth (Wikipedia) was born just outside of Berlin in 1943 during an air-raid. He
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Interview with Traci Highland, Author of Miss Behave

“Dear Miss Behave, Last weekend I was at the pool with the children, and there was a woman naked and walking around the locker room.  I hate to be prissy, but to be naked around young children like that just isn’t right.  She comes to the pool regularly and I am not the only one who has happened upon her strolling around the locker room without clothes.  Now I know there are showers and that people change in locker rooms, but showers should be taken while wearing bathing suits and there are private changing rooms that are clearly marked.  How can I convey to her the accepted rules of
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Interview with Kamlesh D. Patel, Co-Author of The Heartfulness Way @heartful_ness #VBT

“The effect of the very first Heartfulness meditation on me was so profound that it was clear I had found my direction and anchor in life. But the effect of meeting Babuji was beyond even that – something so precious and subtle in its essence that it defines description. While universes and dimensions have opened in my inner world since that time, it is only one aspect of what has unfolded during these last four decades. What is even more wonderful is the walth of everyday qualities that have come through Heartfulness practice – qualities such as love, acceptance, humility, service, compassion, empathy, and a higher purpose to existence.”
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Q & A + Book Giveaway with P. Christina Greenaway, Author of ‘Written in Ruberah’

The PUYB Virtual Book Club hosts P. Christina Greenaway, author of the paranormal romance novel, Written in Ruberah, and Dream Chaser: Awakening. Visit our Virtual Book Club to ask questions of and leave comments for the author for your chance to win a digital copy of Written in Ruberah. The giveaway runs from now until March 23, 2014. ABOUT THE BOOK New York real estate broker Miriam Lewis takes off for a brief getaway to a remote inn on the rugged cliffs of Cornwall. Rest and romance with her boyfriend seem like the perfect cure for a life that appears to be going nowhere, and too fast. Entering Cornwall, Miriam crosses the River Tamar
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Jo Kessel, author of ‘Weak at the Knees’

We’re honored to be chatting today with Jo Kessel, author of the new adult contemporary romance, Weak at the Knees! Jo is a journalist in the UK, working for the BBC and reporting and presenting for ITV on holiday, consumer and current affairs programs. She writes for several national newspapers including the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian and the Express and was the anonymous author of the Independent’s hit column: Diary of a Primary School Mum. When Jo was ten years old she wrote a short story about losing a loved one. Her mother and big sister were so moved by the tale that it made them cry.
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Deborah Rix, author of ‘External Forces’

Deborah Rix’s favourite position for reading a book is head almost hanging off the couch and feet up in the air with legs against the back of the couch. She’s been reading too much from Scientific American for research and ideas and needs to get back to some fiction. She has a long standing love of science fiction, some of her favourite authors include William Gibson, Philip K Dick, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Douglas Adams, Iain M Banks. A bit old school. Deborah enjoyed a successful career in entertainment publicity, live music promotion and event management. Which means she slogged through muddy fields for music festivals, was crammed into concert
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with ‘Into the Crossfire’ Cindy McDonald

For twenty-six years Cindy’s life whirled around a song and a dance: she was a professional dancer/choreographer for most of her adult life and never gave much thought to a writing career until 2005. She often notes: Don’t ask me what happened, but suddenly I felt drawn to my computer to write about things I have experienced (greatly exaggerated upon of course—I’ve never been murdered!) with my husband’s Thoroughbreds and happenings at the racetrack. Viola! Cindy’s first book series, Unbridled, was born—there are four books to that series so far. Cindy is a huge fan of romantic suspense series, and although she isn’t one to make New Year’s resolutions,
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Chick Lit Author Greta Bondieumaitre

Greta Bondieumaitre is from St. Lucia, a small but lively island in the Caribbean. She started writing love stories between classes in high school to amuse her friends at lunch time. Ten years later, she published her first novel, “Her Heart’s Desire”. She later published, “Play Me A Love Song” and recently, “‘Til I Find You“. She describes writing during her post-high school years as, “self therapy”. Visit her blog at www.gretabondieumaitre.blogspot.com. About the Book: No one knows how bumpy the road to love is more than Tisha Cole. After years of excruciatingly embarrassing dates, the 25-year-old receptionist is ready to hand in her dating license, but her cynical
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with ‘Gem City Gypsy’ Kristin Kuhns Alexandre

Kristin Alexandre was raised in Dayton, Ohio where she worked as a feature columnist for The Dayton Journal Herald and the Kettering Oakwood Times. She has written two previous books: Nuncio and the Gypsy Girl in the Gilded Age,  a graphic novel that was featured at the 2011 NY City Comic Con; and Find a Great Guy: Now and Forever. Alexandre was a co-founder of Earth Day 1970 and worked on staff with House Beautiful Magazine and as a contributor to Town & Country Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor and The Daily News. Her celebrity luncheon series for the Chairman of Ammirati & Puris Advertising at The New York Yacht Club
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with New Adult Author Lilliana Anderson

Bestselling Author of the A Beautiful Series, Alter and the Confidante Trilogy, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer. Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters as well as a biographical trilogy based on an ex-Sydney sex worker, named Angelien.  Lilliana feels that the world should see Australia for more than just it’s outback and tries to show characters in more of a city setting. When she isn’t writing, she wears the hat of ‘wife and mother’ to her husband and four children.  Before Lilliana turned to
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  • September 21, 2013
  • Author Interviews, Featured
  • Comments Off on Pump Up Your Book Chats with Joseph Spencer, author of ‘Wrage’

Pump Up Your Book Chats with Joseph Spencer, author of ‘Wrage’

As a boy, Joseph Spencer immersed himself in the deductive logic of Sherlock Holmes, the heroic crime fighting of Batman and Spider-Man, and a taste for the tragic with dramas from poets like Shakespeare and Homer. Before Joseph took to spinning his own tales, he pursued a career in print sports journalism, graduating summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He covered such events as NASCAR’s Subway 500 race in Martinsville, the NBA Draft Camp in Chicago, the Junior College World Series, and Minor League Baseball’s Midwest League All-Star Game during a ten-year career throughout the Midwest. Now, he works as an emergency telecommunications specialist with an Illinois police
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with Dilruba Z. Ara, author of ‘A List of Offences’

Dilruba Z. Ara was born in Bangladesh. Nurtured on Greek mythology by her father, and hearing Indian fairy  tales as bedtime stories from her mother, Dilruba had her first story published when she was eight years old. While in university at the age of twenty, she met  and married her husband, a Swedish Air Force officer, and moved to Sweden, where she obtained degrees in English, Swedish, Classical Arabic and linguistics. She now teaches Swedish and English in Sweden. An accomplished, exhibited artist, her paintings have been used as the covers for the Bangladeshi, Greek, and U.S. editions of A LIST OF OFFENCES. Visit her website at www.dilrubazara.com. Q:
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with ‘The Greeks of Beaubien Street’ Suzanne Jenkins

Suzanne Jenkins is the author of the Pam of Babylon Series. The Greeks of Beaubien Street is a new series about a Greek homicide detective who grew up above the family grocery store in Greektown, Detroit. Jenkins has fond memories of growing up in a Greek American household in the suburbs of Detroit. She currently lives in the west Michigan lakeshore area with her husband, two dogs and two sheep. Visit her website at  www.suzannejenkins.net. Visit her blog at www.2sheepinthecity.com. Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book? The idea to write The Greeks of Beaubien Street evolved as I daydreamed about my childhood growing up in
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  • February 24, 2013
  • Author Interviews, Featured
  • Comments Off on Pump Up Your Book Chats with ‘Oddities & Entities’ Roland Allnach

Pump Up Your Book Chats with ‘Oddities & Entities’ Roland Allnach

Roland Allnach has been writing since his early teens, first as a hobby, but as the years passed, more as a serious creative pursuit. He is an avid reader, with his main interests residing in history, mythology, and literary classics, along with some fantasy and science fiction in his earlier years. Although his college years were focused on a technical education, he always fostered his interest in literature, and has sought to fill every gap on his bookshelves. By nature a do-it-yourself type of personality, his creative inclinations started with art and evolved to the written word. The process of creativity is a source of fascination for him, and
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  • January 3, 2013
  • Author Interviews, Featured
  • Comments Off on A Chat with ‘French Illusions’ Linda Kovic-Skow + Kindle Fire HD Giveaway!

A Chat with ‘French Illusions’ Linda Kovic-Skow + Kindle Fire HD Giveaway!

Linda Kovic-Skow resides in Kirkland, Washington. She earned an Associate Degree in Medical Assisting in 1978 from North Seattle Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Seattle University in 1985. She has been married for 27 years and has two daughters. An enthusiastic traveler, Linda also enjoys boating, gardening and socializing with friends. French Illusions, her debut memoir, is the culmination of a three-year project. You can visit her website at www.lindakovicskow.com. ———— INTERVIEW ———– Thank you for this interview, Linda! Can you tell us why you wrote French Illusions? About four years ago, after my husband and I dropped our youngest daughter off at
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Pump Up Your Book Chats with YA Steampunk Author SM Blooding & Win Set of Tarot Dolls!

SM Blooding lives in Colorado with her pet rock, Rockie, and Ms. Jack, who’s a real bird. She’s still learning to play the piano and guitar, which is going marginally better, and for those of you looking for an Arabic update, she has successfully learned one word, “Yalla, people yalla!” She’s dated vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, weapons smugglers and US Government assassins. Yes. She has stories. Her latest book is the YA steampunk, The Hands of Tarot. Visit SM Blooding on the web at  www.smblooding.com. About the Book: She imprisoned and beat him. And now she thinks he’s her trophy. Synn El’Asim will do almost anything to prove her wrong.
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