How do you come up with plots or characters for your books? What genre do you write in?
For many years, I taught high school and college writing. I’ve written and published poetry and taught creative writing, but I never considered writing a middle-grade book until a young lady I tutored got upset with me. She constantly needed assistance learning her vocabulary words for the week. I wrote creative sentences and left blanks for her to complete. One day, she insisted that I stop putting her name in the sentences. When I asked what I should use instead, the fruit was her response. FRUITLAND residents Coco Coconut and her sister Candace took my tutee’s place in the sentences. To date, I’ve self-published three ebooks set in FRUITLAND. More details can be found on my website: bookswithlessons.com. There you’ll find links to purchase ebooks as well as many backstories (Meet the Characters).
How did you get published?
Several years ago, a close friend encouraged me to take a self-publishing class. I hadn’t anticipated finding a course so easily. Thankfully, the next day when I went to a local library, I saw an ad for a free self-publishing course. That-two hour session transformed my life!
I had been working with an artist for years, but her educational goals got in the way. When I shared my notes from the class, she agreed that the time to complete my first book had finally occurred. We researched the best self-publishing platforms and selected Draft2Digital for the ebooks and IngramSpark for the first paperback.
If you could live in any book what would it be?
If I could live in any book, it would be in THE RELUCTANT BALLERINA, my Work In Progress (WIP). It’s set in a section of New York City where several of my special favorites are located: a natural food restaurant and an independent bookstore. Both are just down the street from the main character’s home.
What advice do you have for new writers just starting out?
New writers, please find at least one person to encourage you. Don’t let anyone steal your dreams and goals! Many people don’t have the courage to either write or publish their work; instead, they choose to discourage others. The same friend who encouraged me to self-publish also said that I should try Twitter, with the goal of finding additional tutoring clients. Although no tutoring clients surfaced, I found the #WritingCommunity and a #MG group. In fact, about ten members of the #WritingCommunuty inspired me so much that I dedicated FORMING NEW FRIENDSHIPS, my most recently published ebook, to them.
What helps me to stay motivated?
As I mentioned, I also tutor. Whether my tutees are 10 or 21, I focus on encouraging them. I’ve noticed that when each session concludes I feel rejuvenated, which helps me to stay motivated. Since I’m constantly editing their work, it is easy to transition to editing my own writing.
Thank you Meryl for this wonderful interview! Be sure to check out her websites and books for more.
Tell us about yourself and how we can connect with you.
I live in France and am a freelance English language teacher in Luxembourg. I have worked in Asia, Australia, and Europe for universities, research institutions, government departments, and non-profit organizations.
My Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology) from The University of Queensland, Australia, was on Asian Immigration and the Criminal Justice System. I have a French Language Certificate from Sorbonne University in Paris and am currently learning Spanish.
I get a lot of pleasure writing fiction manuscripts (e.g. “Future Perfect” and “The Whisper of Regrets”) and non-fiction books (e.g. “Journey to the World of Public Service Employment,” “Cross-Cultural Liaison: An Inconvenient Love”, “Intelligence, Giftedness: Pre-cradle to Post-grave”, and “A Guide for Everyday Writing”). My fiction manuscripts are based on true stories.
What is your favourite movie that was based on a book?
The Mission (The story was taken from the book The Lost Cities of Paraguay by Father C. J. McNaspy, S.J., the film consultant.)
What is your favourite thing about being a blogger, writer, or author?
I have the freedom to choose the words and decide what and how I share my experiences and thoughts with others.
How do you come up with plots or characters for your book?
Once I’ve decided on a story, plots take their course, and the characters mirror those I have seen or meet professionally, socially and personally.
What do you like to do for fun?
I play chess online while watching a movie in Spanish and doing aerobics.
What helps you to stay motivated and keep writing?
Readers’ feedback: “I read The Whisper of Regrets in two days”; “It’s the first novel in English that I read, and only in one week”; “I bought it because you’re my teacher and never imagined I’d finish reading it”.
This review was posted on Amazon’s Kindle: “The novel plunges us right into the intimacy of Laurent, Adele and their two children. Witnessing their marital issues is awkward, not only because it is personal but also because it is clear something is rotten, and tragedy is just around the corner. This psychological novel is written in a gripping and clear style. The characters sound real and ordinary. Therefore, you can easily identify with them and feel for them while reflecting on your own life. I recommend this book if you like suspense, dialogues and description of daily life. – Marie-Pierre (3rd Finalist French Short Story Contest).
What projects are you working on right now?
Non-fiction “It Takes Two to Tango: A teacher’s experiences before and during the pandemic” – For teachers, trainers, learners, and users of the English Language
Tell us about yourself and how we can connect with you.
I am a retired medical malpractice, products liability, and wrongful death attorney living in the Boston area. I grew up in a small town south of Kansas City and moved here in 1968. I attended Kansas State College played college football and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States army. After the army, I attended Suffolk University School of Law in Boston and got my law degree.
During law school, I spent some time playing in bands, singing at weddings, and working as a single performer in nightclubs. I have also written hundreds of songs, even though many of them suck worse than a turbo-charged Hoover upright. I also spent some time in Nashville, writing songs, scoping out bars, and trying to break into the music business. Unfortunately, that time ended before I got my big break and I discovered that I would always be a songwriter trapped in a lawyer’s body. After law school, I started my own law practice and began working as a trial attorney. I was also a law professor for many years and taught courses in Torts, Evidence, Medical Malpractice, and Negotiations.
My wife’s name is Linda. She is a former senior vice president at one of the leading teaching hospitals on the East Coast and genuine inspiration. As a plaintiff’s attorney, you can imagine how much of a hit I was when I accompanied her to the Christmas party with all the physicians. We have been married for thirty-five years and live in North Andover, Massachusetts.
I was lucky enough to have three books traditionally published since 2017. My first was WHISPERS FROM THE SILENCE about country singers and songwriters. That was followed by my first medical/legal thriller, UNEXPECTED ENEMY, about a woman who gives birth to an interracial child after she gets the WRONG SPERM at a clinic. My third book CLASS OF TWO is the story of two lawyers, one black & one white, college roommates & football All-Americans, who go to trial against the country’s premier heart surgeon. Maybe that’s why my favorite question from readers is why I’m a Boston malpractice lawyer, but still I wrote my first book about Nashville songwriters. I always say it’s because people love books about goddess women, hot guys & sizzling music but would beg for a lethal injection if I wrote about hearsay!
What inspires your writing?
My education, training, and experience have given me an insight into writing for the medical/legal thriller genre. During my career, I have cross-examined numerous doctors and watched them explode in anger because they were being called to account for their actions in front of a jury. I have also looked into countless numbers of eyes of patients who will never be the same after their bungled medical treatment. Patients such as the 38-year-old vice president of a bank, who had just lost her second breast and would soon lose her life, because her doctor told her she had fibro-cystic disease, not cancer, and not to worry. Or, the 39-year-old who presented with blood in his stool and was told not to worry, it was only hemorrhoids, until five years later he was diagnosed with stage IV adeno-carcinoma, and would soon leave a wife and two daughters under ten years old, without a husband and father. Or, the parents of a two month-old boy, who went in for surgery on a tortioned testicle, and left the operating room as a eunuch, because the surgeon used the electro-cautery to compromise the blood supply to his only functioning testicle, causing it to die, and leaving him in a state of castration.
Writing seemed to be a natural outlet because of the empathy I felt for my clients whose lives were changed forever by medical mistakes. Many of my clients suffered catastrophic damages and there is no way to compensate them for their injuries. Therefore, I feel honored to dedicate my writing to those all those whose paths crossed with mine, especially those lives that will never be the same.
What is your favorite movie that was based on a book?
The Godfather by Mario Puzo. The screenplay by Mario and Francis Ford Coppola was stunning and the dialogue is so crisp and precise, I have been known to quote certain scenes verbatim.
What genre do you write in?
I have two medical/legal thrillers out and one romantic comedy about songwriters who fall in love in Nashville.
How did you get started with writing?
I started drafting stories years ago but was working 80 to 90 hours per week and did not have the time to bring my stories up to publishable standards. So, I waited until I retired and have been able to publish three novels since 2017.
What is your favorite thing about being an author?
Being able to tell stories that desperately need to be told.
What are you reading right now?
I have just finished STRINGS-BOOK TWO-ATONEMENT by Andrea Rendon and DOGGONE DEAD by Dane McCaslin. Both were excellent reads by two terrific authors.
How do you come up with plots or characters for your books?
My main characters are based on myself and the events in my life during various stages. For example, J. W. Steele, my main character in WHISPERS FROM THE SILENCE is me as a young man (sometime during the late 1800s, I think). The characters in UNEXPECTED ENEMY are composites of doctors, lawyers, and ancillary persons. This novel is based in part on the time my wife and I went for infertility treatment including in vitro fertilization. Jake Skylar, the co-protagonist in CLASS OF TWO is also based on my career as a medical malpractice trial lawyer, while Aubrey (Ace) Evans, his law partner, and former teammate and roommate, is a composite character of my football teammates and United States Army comrades. I also went to college during the 1960s and witnessed firsthand many of the events of racism and discrimination that I described in CLASS OF TWO. It was a turbulent time to be certain, and today, every time I think we have made some progress in inequality and race relations, I also feel the stark realization that we still have, as Robert Frost once said, “Miles to go before we sleep.”
What do you like to do for fun?
My years as a musician have helped me give something back, as now I teach guitar and songwriting to my neighbor’s teenage daughters. Taylor Swift is their favorite singer, and they asked me to teach them songs from her and Miley Cyrus. Unfortunately, the closest I came was James Taylor and Billy Ray Cyrus so they now refer to my repertoire as “Civil War campfire songs”. My theory about the power of words blossomed when I taught them a three-part harmony version, which blended the lyrics from Taylor’s “Stay, Stay, Stay”, with those of Maurice Williams, whose biggest 50’s hit was called “Stay”, and inspired covers by the Four Seasons and Jackson Browne. Teaching them has also convinced me this is what songwriter Lori McKenna meant when she wrote about helping who’s next in line, in the Grammy-winning hit she wrote for Tim McGraw, called ‘Humble and Kind’.” That’s why I have found whether I’m acting as a songwriter, a lawyer, or just a guy, words are what matter most. As Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb of the BeeGees once told us in their mega-hit, “Words” are the only thing we have that can take our hearts away.
What is something about yourself most people don’t know?
My first book, WHISPERS FROM THE SILENCE is based on the time I shut my law practice down right after I passed the bar and went to Nashville to write songs. It’s also a tribute to songwriting and all the nights I wrote songs by staying up all night waiting for the sunrise, while gulping stale coffee and watching coals die in a fire, as I stared at the shadows on the wall while begging the silence to whisper the lyrics to me. That’s also why I believe that every situation in life can be explained by a song title or lyric. This belief was enhanced when I was cross-examining an expert witness at trial and he told me he believed the defendant had no choice but to treat the patient, my client, exactly the way he did. That was when a vision of Elvis popped into my mind and I asked the doctor, “are you saying he was caught in a trap and couldn’t walk out?”
What advice would you have for new writers who are just starting out?
Never, never, never give up. I published my first book at 71 years old.
What projects are you working on now?
I have two works in progress. One is about a 70’s/80’s band that reunites after their business careers are in their twilight. The other is about a plastic surgeon and Viet Nam veteran who is accused of identity theft and murder, and how his life was based on a lost love when he was just a seventeen-year-old kid.
Other information and a thank you to my readers. I would also like to extend a shout-out to all my readers and say, “thank you for picking my books. I know you have more choices today than ever before and I am extremely grateful that you chose my novels.” Also, as some of my favorite songwriters/singers might say, I hope that WHISPERS FROM THE SILENCE helps you “PUT SOME DRIVE IN YOUR COUNTRY.” AND I also hope that my thrillers, UNEXPECTED ENEMY and CLASS OF TWO, fill up your senses like a night in a forest or a walk in the rain. So, as one of my all-time favorite groups, ABBA, once said, I hope that if all my readers have to do the same again, they will, my friend, “TAKE A CHANCE ON ME.”
This is a question I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I write romance and two out of three of my self-published books are cozy romances. During my time at University I studied law and, as you can probably imagine, came across some rather nasty events. I then sought out books that allowed me to escape into a dream-like world where happiness and goodness surrounded me. This has greatly influenced my cozy romances, however, I am eager to step away from this a little and challenge myself.
What is your favorite thing about being a blogger, writer, or author?
Being able to put what’s in my head down on paper. I can talk for days so being able to put that energy into my writing is amazing. There’s no better feeling than stepping away from my writing and knowing that everything that has been buzzing around in my head has been captured in words.
What are you reading right now?
I’ve just finished reading Witch’s Mirror by Eva Alton and it was so good I don’t feel ready to pick up another book. Eva had a wonderful way of weaving beautiful stories filled with details, scenery, brilliant characters, and pure excitement.
What is your favorite comfort food?
Halloumi. If I’m having a bad day then I’ll treat myself to a halloumi and roasted tomato sandwich for lunch.
If you could live in any book what would it be?
I’d pick my own books. The village of Ivy Hatch, which stars in both The Vintage Bookshop of Memories and Christmas at The Vintage Bookshop of Memories, is my dream village to live in. I love the idea of a close-knit community, quaint cottages, and lots of independent shops. I’ve just finished editing Christmas at The Vintage Bookshop of Memories and I’m really missing having my head inside the village.
What projects are you working on right now?
I’m about to start editing a romantic suspense that I wrote a couple of months ago. It’s very different from my previous books but I’m excited to show people another side to my writing!
Also be sure to check out her new book! Christmas at The Vintage Bookshop of Memories
Whisk yourself away to the village of Ivy Hatch and enjoy the Christmas Day celebrations…
Katie Wooster’s life has been turned upside down; she’s single, homeless and unemployed. With Christmas around the corner, Katie finds herself in The Vintage Bookshop of Memories. As the village’s magical charm begins to weave its way into Katie’s heart, can her best friend, Prue Clemonte, persuade her to leave the past behind her and open her heart to romance again? Local farmer, Austin Harrington is ready to sweep her off of her feet, but Katie isn’t sure she’s ready for a new relationship.
As Katie watches her best friend marry her soulmate, she wonders whether she can have her own happily ever after.
Return to Ivy Hatch this Christmas, where the residents are waiting to celebrate with you…
My children, I have to leave something behind before I die if it fails at least I tried and they can see that.
What does success look like to you?
All 12 of my books done and moving on to my next project proud I completed my goals.
What is your favorite movie that was based on a book?
Well at heart Interview with the Vampire and Queen Of The Damned. I know cliche
What genre do you write in?
Fiction/ Sci fi/ Horror/ Fantasy bit to sum it up but can go broader
What was your favorite childhood book?
If we are talking about the early years of an old hockey book when I was 7, I thought it was so cool. Teenage Thirsty by M.T Anderson
How did you get started with writing?
I felt alone and wanted to create something I could share with my friends. The first story ever was a fanfiction of Harry Potter where I and my friends were in Hogwarts ( my teacher did not approve and had never seen a Fanfiction before)
How do you attract new readers?
Handing out business cards to the website/ the blog explaining the chapters ( I need to work on that) making music for a soundtrack for the reader. And merch with its name. I advertise like nuts.
Do you connect with any of the characters in your book?
All of them. Lotus in his quest for a purpose but thrown into adulthood I feel his crushing loneliness talking to ghosts I get. Fox in the sequel is a representation of how I feel as a father and at times a failure why it’s taken so long to write.
What is your favorite thing about being a blogger, writer, or author?
I can work from home/ the car/ the beach everywhere its true freedom! You can be what we strive to be a mini-god for a world you created and share with the entire world!
How do you make sales as an author?
I give away my books for free if I see someone in person. They then buy one for friends and family. I don’t put my price too high also.
What are you reading right now?
The unfettered mind Takuan Soho then how to speak with the dead a practical handbook for research material for the next few books.
If you could have superpowers what would they be?
To heal like Jesus the people of the world and first my son.
What is your favorite genre to read?
Lovecraft its sci-fi horror and awesome.
What is your favorite comfort food?
Coffee ,tea, and thats it fruit bars mmmm
Who are your top three favorite authors?
I don’t agree with her view but one Anne Rice Two Dan brown ( he is the master for keeping you reading). Three Darren Shan ( he is just epic and has personally talked to me via myspace so long ago. He is a true author to his fans)
How do you come up with plots or characters for your book?
I play d&d as a dungeon master put my pcs in a campaign based on what they do I use in my book ( stripped of all D&D lore and mechanics of course) and it makes for enjoyable reading and my friends feeling included.
What is a typical day of writing look like for you?
Me taking Tech Support calls writing in between. Me up at 1 am on work nights making music as I think of what next to add. Me staying up all night trying to finish a book and edit and publish it to be stopped by a toddler who needs me to hold him.
If you could learn how to make any food what would it be?
Vegan meatloaf that sticks together gluten free
What do you like to do for fun?
My fun is my work but being with my children helping and healing my son and watching his 1 year old baby brother smile at him and my 5 year old make eye contact and smile but wishes to speak.
What is something about yourself most people don’t know?
I come off as a no at all as or full of himself. In truth, It takes everything I have to be positive. At heart, I have been an antisocial pessimist but trying to be the opposite but balance is what I need and strive for.
How did you get published?
I said F***K it and went through KDP it gave me a printing press and a distribution market making that easier. Better than getting lost in a slush pile of sent manuscripts to famous publishers.
What advice do you have for new writers just starting out?
Just write, self promote, give away your book. Build a platform and don’t quit your day job you must build an empire with funds not just dreams and ramen (ramen is bad for you!)
What has influenced you the most as a writer?
My wife, she is my goddess and model and believes in me.
What helps you to stay motivated and keep writing?
Death… It will come and I can not let any project go unfinished once these books are done I switch to others.
If you could live in any book what would it be?
One where my son did not have severe brain damage and could say “ I love you daddy” that one but no one I write or create to do so ever seems to happen so I pray, I cry, I scream, I breathe, I put on a brave front leave my office and say “ okay buddy lets try to ride a bike today you’ll push those pedals one day!”
What projects are you working on right now?
Bloody Fox Book Two in The Sacred Grover series. Many others but that’s the main thing I can really discuss in heavy detail. All others need retooling and revision.
Any other information you would like to include to our readers?
Read my books. I’ll make them cheap, even send you one. They show the world through my eyes and expose things in a way that are missed. Think 1985 meets Lord of the rings with Lovecraft tones. You won’t be disappointed.
Tell us about yourself and how we can connect with you.
I write under the name of Tenkara Smart, a first name given to me by my husband which in Japanese translates to ‘descends from heaven.’ I love to connect with other readers and writers on Goodreads and Facebook.
What inspires your writing?
I believe that we are all vibrational beings and that our souls travel through many lifetimes. I was inspired to create fictional books based on these ideas, focusing each novel on how a human, in each incarnation, deals with the struggles that each lifetime can bring. I was also inspired by stories from my husband’s life as well as others I have known, pulling this all together to create six books in my series, The Many Lives of Wolf.
In book one, She Named Me Wolf, I was inspired to share this story because of the way that Wolf deals with abuse from his alcoholic father. Wolf’s response and coping mechanisms are special and magical, and I hoped that other people who have been in an abusive situation might connect with Wolf’s story and find inspiration from his inner strength, wisdom, and how his powerful imagination helped him to overcome the odds.
What does success look like to you?
Every time a person says they enjoyed She Named Me Wolf and that they look forward to reading the next book in the series, that is success to me.
What was your favorite childhood book?
I loved the Judy Blume books, especially, “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret.” As a girl going into teenage years, it was impactful to me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I also loved reading The Chronicles of Narnia and getting lost in the enchanting, magical worlds of Narnia.
How did you get started with writing?
With a degree from San Diego State University in English Literature as well as post-graduate work in creative writing/copywriting, I ended up working for 20+ years in customer service and operations for a major running retailer in the USA. Eventually, my husband and I agreed that I could quit my job and devote my time to writing. His work took us from Southern California to Qatar and now to Australia, and I write when I feel inspired, which is at least several times per week.
Have you connected with any characters from books you have read?
Recently, I really connected with Eleanor Oliphant from the book Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I didn’t connect with her because I am socially isolated but because of her humorous, candid insights, many of which she had the guts to say outload. Though I could relate to her thoughts and comments about the world around her, I would never have the guts or the honesty to say them out loud and I admired that about her. I loved how Eleanor’s ‘mind’ created her reality and it wasn’t until she had a paradigm shift that she really began to live and enjoy life.
How do you come up with plots or characters for your book?
First of all, as crazy as this sounds, I have been living with a ghost for over five years now, and she lets her physical presence be known in my house on a regular basis, so the paranormal part of my novel came easily to me. Additionally, I have had deep, spiritual experiences with my husband that have revealed to me certain truths, and I am fictionalizing those things I believe in my books, especially about one soul reincarnating through different lifetimes.
What advice do you have for new writers just starting out?
Take the time to find your mentors and experts. Jumping into a giant ocean of writers, with so many who are excellent at their craft, make it difficult to market your book and get noticed. Make sure you get help, especially a brilliant cover design and editor, and maybe an agent or publisher to help ensure your wonderful story and writing have the best chance to get discovered!
What projects are you working on right now?
I am working on the second book in my series based on the life of a samurai warrior named Junsaku, planned for release next year. Also, I am working with a ghostwriter and considering turning my book into a screenplay. In my opinion, She Named Me Wolf would be an incredibly powerful, on-screen experience especially because of the ghosts and the animals, using live-action screen effects as seen in the new ‘Jungle Book’ or ‘Lion King’.
Any other information you would like to include to our readers?
If you should decide to read She Named Me Wolf, just want to say THANK YOU and I hope that you enjoy this story of friendship, survival, and the power of imagination.
Success happens, in my opinion, the moment you write something that someone you’ve never met before connects with. It’s really a testament to the nature of humanity and how connected we really are through intangible forces like emotion and thought.
What genre do you write in? If more than one how do you balance them?
I began with writing only magical realism/low fantasy tales. Writing about people didn’t make sense to me without some otherworldly influences. Later, a dystopian tale came which had stemmed from the ever-present idea in my mind that we exist in an illusion of freedom, not in freedom itself.
How did you get started with writing?
I’ve been writing since I was child! I even went through a phase when I was about 12 in which I thought I was a poet. Hehe
Do you connect with any of the characters in your book?
All of them! I don’t think I’ve ever written a character that I wasn’t attached to in some way or another. I think they’re all little souls living inside my body with me.
What are you reading right now?
Currently I’m switching back and forth between The Shining by Stephen King and Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer.
Who are your top three favorite authors?
My top three favorites will always be Anne Rice, Kurt Vonnegut, and Chuck Palahniuk.
What projects are you working on right now?
I’m working on multiple projects. It’s frustrating because I love them all and I feel so drawn to each of them, but I can’t focus on one for too long without missing the others. I have three new standalones plus a sequel to my dystopian novel, 2288, and a sequel to my satire/social commentary book called Amethyst.
Any other information you would like to include to our readers?
Hi Julie, my name is Johnn A. Escobar. The book that I am currently promoting is titled: El Misterio de Crowswood (Spanish Edition)
What inspires your writing?
My inspiration comes from a book, a painting, or music.
How do you attract new readers?
Through social media, especially Twitter, that’s where I’m most active.
Who are your top three favorite authors?
It’s hard to choose, but I’d say my three favorite authors are: Edgar Allan Poe, Howard Philips Lovecraft, and Stephen King.
How do you come up with plots or characters for your book?
Through real life situations, some strange event inspires me and then I begin to elaborate on the characters and their personalities, once that is done I think about the plot, always with the idea in mind of the event that inspired me.
What projects are you working on right now?
I am currently updating some of my already published books, there are fourteen in total, and about two months ago I published four unpublished books.
Any other information you would like to include to our readers?
What is the name of your blog or book and how did you get started?
I started this blog Nosh with Chef Julie after I graduated college from Johnson and Wales University with a degree in culinary arts in 2016. Going back to school fueled my passion for cooking and writing so much more. After that, I decided to create cookbooks of my own and I’ve been writing daily ever since.
What is your favorite food?
If I really had to pick one I’d go for some pho every day, after that I’d have to say dessert.
What foods do you crave all the time?
Snack wise I love chips and salsa or peanut butter toast with banana and honey. In addition, salty and sweet pairings are my weakness like yogurt pretzels! Along with those, the foods I usually crave are takeout foods for example like Mexican dishes, Asian foods, and Indian curries.
What is your favorite comfort food?
I love a big bowl of pasta or Mexican foods like enchiladas and tacos. Similarly growing up I always craved the spaghetti and the taco salads my Mom use to make.
If you could learn how to make any food what would it be?
I always wanted to learn how to make Korean food.
What is your favorite thing about being a blogger, writer, or author?
Connecting with other writers, seeing comments on my blog, and reviews for my books is always nice.
What advice do you have for new writers just starting out?
Most importantly, move beyond your fears and just write what is in your heart and don’t be afraid to put your work out there.
What do you like to do for fun?
I love to go on hikes and be outdoors. Watching sci-fi movies like Star Trek and old classics with Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe are some of my favorites. Furthermore, I adore cooking, and collecting cookbooks is a hobby of mine. In my downtime, I like to read mysteries and ya fantasy books with magic and dragons. Anything with a heroine story always gets me. In addition, I also dabble in painting on canvas and I try to go to art museums when I can.
What helps you to stay motivated and keep writing?
Getting feedback from my readers and connecting with other writers is always inspiring. In addition, I’m always trying to push myself to learn more and become a little better every day.
How do you attract new readers?
I engage with other writers on my social media sites, and blogs on a daily basis. I’m learning SEO techniques to help with optimization and traffic to reach out to more people, and I promote my books regularly.
What has influenced you the most as a writer?
As a writer, other authors inspire me to be better. Above all, my readers also keep my wanting to do my best and keep going.
What are you reading right now?
I’ve been reading Joanne Fluke lately. She writes a series of food-themed murder mysteries and I’m a sucker for all of them.
What is something about yourself most people don’t know?
I had an older brother Troy (he was 19 at the time) that I lost to suicide when I was 16 years old. In spite of going through it, I’m stronger now in my faith and more humbled. At that age and going through what I did was grueling, traumatic, and I felt helpless. One organization that helped me and my family get through it is The Compassionate Friends. They are a non-profit that helps families and people going through loss and grief. For information, to get help, or to donate go to https://www.compassionatefriends.org/
What kind of music do you like to listen to?
I love k-pop music, electronica, new age, downtempo, Celtic, musicals, folk, country, classical…to sum up, it depends on my mood at the time. When I’m writing It has to be instrumental or new age.
If you could live in any book what would it be?
Alice in Wonderland.
Who are your top three favorite authors?
Lewis Carrol, Mary Weber, and Christopher Paloini.
If you could have super powers what would they be?
Elemental powers for instance like Storm in the x-men comics. In addition I’ve always dreamed of being able to do magic.
What is a typical day of writing look like for you?
First I wake up make coffee and check my reports. Then I engage on my social media sites and work on writing my next book or blog posts. After that, I follow up with fellow writers and bloggers for tips and advice and connect with my audience on social media.
What projects are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on a new candy and cereal-themed cookbook. Easy recipes using boxed ingredients with a fun twist. To sum up, recipes with nostalgic ingredients take you back to your childhood. Fun recipes for parties, cooking with your kids, or if you’re a kid at heart, this cookbook is for you!
Any other information you would like to include to our readers?
Above all, I wanted to thank all my readers and those that support me and my books. You all inspire me on a daily basis to do my best!
Nosh with Chef Julie 
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