Author Spotlight- Interview with Science Fiction and Fantasy Author A. L. Kaplan

Tell us about yourself and how we can connect with you.

Born on a cold winter morning in scenic northern New Jersey, my stories and poems have been included in several anthologies and magazines. Recent publications include the debut novel, Star Touched, and Wolf Dawn, a short story. I am the Maryland Writers’ Association’s President and I hold an MFA in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art. When not writing or indulging in my fascination with wolves, this proud mother of two lives in Maryland with my husband and dog. Visit me at my website: ALKaplanAuthor.com, Twitter: @alkaplanauthor, and https://www.facebook.com/AuthorA.L.Kaplan.

What would you like to promote? (Add links, description, and a photo!)

Star Touched

Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population. Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble. Will Tatiana flee or stay and fight for the new life she has built? Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

Wolf Dawn

A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret

Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.

But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.

What is your favorite movie that was based on a book?

Hands down, Lord of the Rings. One word spun through my head, as I left the theater, awesome. I reread the entire trilogy when I got home, and again before each of the other two movies. As soon as it was available, I bought the director’s cut on DVD. They’ve been watched and re-watched countless times.

What genre do you write in?

I write mostly science fiction and fantasy. Sometimes a blend of the two. I’ve also been known to scribble out a depressing poem or two.

What was your favorite childhood book?

Looking only at books I read in early middles school or earlier, there are three books that top my list. Two of them were by the same author. Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, and Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. Apparently, I have a thing for kids surviving on their own. (I also love the musicals Annie and Oliver.)

How did you get started with writing?

I’ve been creating stories for as long as I can remember, but didn’t start writing until late in high school. Even then, I kept it to myself. My ‘artistic’ handwriting and ‘creative’ spelling used to get in the way. Instead, my ideas became the subject for my art. (MFA Sculpture) I have a lot more skill and confidence now.

Do you connect with any of the characters in your book?

There are bits of me in most of my characters, but I hope I never have to experience what I put them through.

How do you make sales as an author?

I do best at in person events, but also promote online. 2020 was a rough year. All the conferences and book fairs I had schedules were canceled because of covid-19.

What is your favorite genre to read?

I read mostly fantasy, but with try anything my youngest daughter recommends. She knows what I like.

What inspires your writing? / How do you come up with plots or characters for your book?

I’ve gotten a lot of ideas from dreams and nightmares. There are at least three scenes in Star Touched born from this source. (Read chapter 3 for starters.) Sometimes a song is the inspiration. “Mathematical Shield” grew out of Carrie Underwood’s “Little Toy Guns.” Every time I heard the story, the story played out in my mind. Now if I could only find a market for it….

What do you like to do for fun?

I have too many hobbies for my own good, but I love reading and hanging out with my dog. She loves agility.

What advice do you have for new writers just starting out?

“Never give up. Never surrender.” Oops. May have stolen that from Galaxy Quest. Seriously, though, just keep writing. Even if it is the same word over and over. Eventually, it will morph into something with wings.

What projects are you working on right now?

I’m working on several short stories, a sequel to Star Touched, and a YA Fantasy.

Thank you A. L. Kaplan for this lovely interview! Be sure to check out her books and social media pages.

If you are a fellow writer, author, or blogger and want  your own interview go to https://noshwithchefjulie.com/contact/

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Author Spotlight- Interview with Fiction Writer Jon Bolitho-Jones

What would you like to promote?

Well, I would like to promote my book When the World Falls Down. It’s a quirky YA Fantasy story – Douglas Adams meets CS Lewis and the film Labyrinth. Link found right here: https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/young-adult/when-the-world-falls-down/

I am also here to promote myself too! I am a writer/actor from the northwest of England. Here’s my Twitter handle: @JonBolihtoJones. and here’s my writing website: https://www.jonbolithojonesauthor.co.uk/

What does success look like to you?

Oooo that’s quite a question. For me, it would be making a full-time living from my books and my writing, interspersed with a bit of performance too. It’s also having people enjoy my work and being recognized as a writer.

What genre do you write in?

Fantasy. Well I mostly write YA fantasy but I’m also trying my hand at Science Fiction and Horror – the genres often being mixed together.

What was your favorite childhood book?

That would be the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Absolutely brilliant. If you know Animals of Farthing Wood or Watership Down, well it was basically that but with swords, lots of fighting, and classic fantasy tropes.

How did you get started with writing?

In some ways, I have always enjoyed making up magical, fantastical worlds, though it was only when I was 11 that I began to write them all down. After lots of false starts though I started When the World Falls Down, completed it and then wanted to share it with the world. When it comes to actually create a story and getting it down in a Word document I generally begin by coming up with an idea, or simply choosing one from my bank of ideas. I then write out a loose chapter by chapter plan and then start writing and getting it done. I do a bit each day, approximately 2,000 words, and so steadily it gets written. The first draft is usually a mess so then it goes to the editing stage, which is pretty long, but that’s where the real work begins.

How do you attract new readers?

Generally what I have tried so far is posting blog articles and free short stories. Along with that, I engage with people on social media when I can, especially on Twitter. Pretty much everything is done online really.

Do you connect with any of the characters in your book?

Yes. I tend to write from my own emotional experiences, so there are little parts of me found in almost all of my main characters. However, my lead is actually based on my wife.

What is your favorite thing about being a blogger, writer, or author?

It has to be when someone reads my works and really enjoys them. Positive reviews are great, though I also like sitting and chatting about the lore, characters, and mysteries of my book with anyone who is interested.

How do you make sales as an author?

I’m not quite sure so far. I’m still experimenting at the moment. I’ll let you know when I find out!

What are you reading right now?

The Hobbit. I’ve just finished Anthony Beevor’s book about the Spanish Civil War though. I know – very different material.

What is your favorite genre to read?

Fantasy, SciFi, and historical non-fiction

What is your favorite comfort food?

Chocolate, though on savory days cheese. I am also a sucker for charcuterie boards.

Who are your top three favorite authors?

Tolkien, Walter Moers, and Terry Pratchett

How do you come up with plots or characters for your book?

Happy accidents maybe? In reality, I draw inspiration from everywhere whether books, films, TV shows, videogames, moments, personal experiences, and then gradually ideas form into something tangible in my head. These are then written down in “ideas” documents so I don’t forget them. Some of these ideas actually get combined too. I have a character (and race) in my book who was originally intended for something else.

If you could learn how to make any food what would it be?

That’s another tricky one… My answer – all the food! I like cooking and it’d be nice to know how to make everything and know exactly what goes well with each other for dinner parties.

What do you like to do for fun?

I am a big geek really, in particular miniature wargaming. I collect Warhammer, and though I’m not a great painter, I like to put them together, create new characters and frightening new worlds. I also like board games, reading, and old-school video gaming (no Fortnite or Call of Duty for me!)

What advice do you have for new writers just starting out?

Get on that social media as soon as you can. Even if you’d don’t have a book out, start building up that author platform and making connections. Also, prepare for disappointment and rejection, find good reliable people to read the work that gives you honest feedback, and keep pushing on with your writing and creating.

What helps you to stay motivated and keep writing?

I would say stubborn determination and the thrill of creating new stories and worlds. I write for fun too sometimes.

What projects are you working on right now?

I’ve actually just finished the 2nd book of my other YA fantasy series. Only the first draft though, so it still needs a lot of work. Along with that I am also querying my manuscripts and reading a short story for a competition. Perhaps most importantly I am in the very early stages of publishing the sequel to When the World Falls Down.

Thank you Jon for a wonderful interview!

To connect with Jon and read more check out these links~

When the World Falls Down – https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/young-adult/when-the-world-falls-down/

Our Little Patch of Paradise – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0872XZPBM

The Clown in the Basement – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clown-Basement-Edimorian-short-story-ebook/dp/B08JK7SVKQ

Website – https://www.jonbolithojonesauthor.co.uk/post/10-things-you-need-to-know-before-visiting-edimor

If you are a fellow writer, author, or blogger and want  your own interview go to https://noshwithchefjulie.com/contact/

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INTERVIEW WITH MYSTERY CRIME AUTHOR GLENIS KELLET and her book-THE VILLAGE NARCISSIST

Tell us about yourself and how we can connect with you.

I was born a triplet! I soon began to love all animals, particularly horses. I worked on a nearby farm in my spare time. My writing career started when I was at school, I would be about 8 to 9 years old. My teacher introduced us to writing books; we had to choose a book on any topic from the school library and write a booklet about it. I loved it! I found I could express myself better when I write than when I speak! I progressed to writing my college thesis, it was made into a hard-bound book which I still treasure. Later, I wrote freelance articles for horse and pony-type magazines for a while. Then, in my late 20’s I started a writing course, unfortunately, I was unable to finish it, as my husband and I had to move to the family farm and manage it. It wasn’t until I retired, after a hectic life, that I had the time to write! I think you are born to be an author; like you are born to be an artist, musician, or dancer. We all enjoy our careers and are passionate about what we do.

Website: https://gk6181.wixsite.com/website-1

Social Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlenisKellet

Inst: https://www.instagram.com/gkauthor/

What would you like to promote?

The Village Narcissist – it is about a brazen, obnoxious person who purchases The Old Vicarage in a remote place called Deadend Village, the road actually stops at the base of the fell. A body is found hanging from a noose made from a bell rope! Strange disappearances occur! It wasn’t until the gruesome village history was revealed; that the baffled police could solve the chilling mysteries connected to the bell tower. The fictitious villager’s characters play a colorful and humorous part in this book – bringing the small village to life – it’s a gripping murder mystery, injecting the gruesome, spine-chilling history of this remote village into its final sinister twists and turns! I’ve lived in a couple of lovely villages – there are always a few who wish to take over the activities and the management of the village. I thought I would take it to the extreme with my characters and create something truly gripping, with mystery, intrigue, and murder – turning the whole village upside down!

What inspires your writing?

My many experiences in my businesses inspire me, I’ve met a lot of unusual characters in my time and have had many incidences occur. I use these valuable experiences to help write my books and create my characters. Initially, an idea will pop into my head; it may have been triggered by something I’ve read or seen, or someone has mentioned. Over about a year the story continues to develop in my head becoming more complicated. So, I have to start writing notes to remember everything. The characters start to form in my head too, I take a few different characteristics from people I have met or seen in films to form my characters.

What does success look like to you?

I love it when people write fantastic reviews, it’s as if we are on the same wavelength and they understand what I’m trying to put across, each of my books has a message. Here is a terrific example of what I mean.
https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=171348

What genre do you write in?

I write murder mysteries with a touch of romance. I don’t like my books to be too serious and dark so the romance and humor I inject into them, help them to be more balanced. I like my fiction novels to be fast-paced and easy to read, not bogged down with heavy descriptions. My books have been described as being very plot-driven which keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

What is your favourite comfort food? 

Most definitely it has to be Chocolate! I don’t need chocolate when I write as I find writing to be so intense!

What projects are you working on right now?

I have already completed my next book, titled – ‘Lethal Revenge’. It is presently being proofread by the publisher. Again, it’s set in a rural situation, it is a fast-paced, thrilling intriguing murder mystery to baffle the police and the reader. I can’t tell you anymore but I know this one will shock you to the core when all is unveiled! Here is a picture of what it may look like when it is published.

What advice do you have for new writers just starting out?

I would advise you to be yourselves when writing. Everyone is absolutely unique and has many thrilling individual experiences to offer to their readers. Write what you have experienced or know about and most of all what you enjoy writing about! Your options for publishing your book are on Kindle Create, with a self-publisher, or through one of the publishing houses. If you are self-publishing, I advise you to have your manuscript proofread and typeset professionally. The book cover is your ‘window’ to potential readers, I advise you to have a ‘professional look’ it will immediately catch the eye of a reader.

You must also realize that writing your book is the easy part, it’s the networking and marketing that is the hardest task! Your book is a tiny drop in an ocean of books out there – you have to regularly market your book on numerous platforms to be noticed; like Twitter, Facebook (with its many sites for readers and writers), Instagram, WordPress, Pinterest, and many more. Make sure you are advertised on Amazon UK & USA, Goodreads, Barnes&Noble, Google books, Worldcat, BookBub, and others. Have as many reviewers, review your books as you can possibly afford, many will do it for free for a free book.

Send your book information and a little about yourselves to newspapers and magazines. Sell your book to family, friends, and neighbors. Arrange to have book signings at libraries, hotels, and other places, when it is safe to do so during this Covid 19 pandemic. When you finally start selling your distinctive masterpieces, it’s a euphoric experience like no other! I advise you to never give up!

Thank you Glenis for a lovely interview!

If you are a fellow writer, author, or blogger and want  your own interview go to https://noshwithchefjulie.com/contact/

To read more author interviews click here https://noshwithchefjulie.com/category/author-interviews/

Author Spotlight: Indy Perro and His Novel Central City

Tell us about yourself and how we can connect with you. 

Indy Perro is a novelist, an independent thinker, and a recovering academic. Indy has a degree in history, graduate degrees in religious studies, comparative literature, and education, and has spent more than a decade teaching philosophy, religious studies, writing, and literature. You can usually find him on Twitter @IndyPerro and Facebook @authorindyperro or at https://indyperro.com. Visit Central City, the setting for his novels, at https://centralcitybooks.com.  

What would you like to promote? (Add links, description, and a photo!)  

CENTRAL CITY
Kane Kulpa learned which laws could be bent and which broken after a short stint in prison courtesy of Detective Vincent Bayonne. Bound by time, integrity, and the reality of life in Central City, Bayonne and Kane made peace with the past. Now, gang tension spirals from corrupt to deadly, and a series of murders stresses Kane and Bayonne’s uneasy alliance. Kane balances on a razor’s edge to protect his bar, power, life, and family, and Bayonne hustles to keep another lonely man from being strangled.

Central City is a city struggling for identity. The cops protect the rackets, and the criminals shelter the injured. Innocence is only an appearance, and rage finds a voice. 

https://amzn.to/35YwNOF

JOURNEYMAN 

After the events of Central City, Kane Kulpa struggles to consolidate power in the underworld, and Detective Vincent Bayonne investigates the death of the mayor’s son. The mayor’s justice and Bayonne’s goals appear to coincide, but in Central City, nothing’s as simple as it seems. To keep the city from falling into chaos, Kane must acknowledge the truth about himself, and Bayonne must support Kane, even as he struggles to accept the men he and Kane have become. 

What inspires your writing? 

I’m inspired by philosophy, particularly phenomenology, epistemology, and philology. I like word games and wordplay. I also like to tease ideas apart to see how they work. Fiction, to me, is a testing ground for ideas, and through writing, I can explore how ideas play out in a cause-and-effect environment. 

What does success look like to you? 

I want to write and publish in such a way that I can continue to do so again tomorrow.  

What is your favorite movie that was based on a book? 

Miller’s Crossing or The French Connection, or, possibly, The Thin Red Line. That’s a difficult question! 

What genre do you write in? 

I write mysteries and experimental fiction. My novel Central City and its sequel Journeyman are both hard-boiled, noir novels with two protagonists, a detective and a criminal. I’m currently working on a stand-alone novel set in Central City, the setting for my noir novels, but the new work has a different vibe and rhythm. It’s set a few decades into the future and although there’s a mystery at the core, the novel explores the consequences of commercial culture. 

How did you get started with writing? 

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. I spent most of my youth either in the gym or the library, and during the cold, Midwestern winters of my youth, the library had longer hours than the gym. 

What is your favorite thing about being a blogger, writer, or author? 

It’s a wonderful opportunity to think through my fingers every day and to connect to other people. I love meeting and engaging people who are interested in art, culture, and ideas. 

What are you reading right now? 

The Grammatical Man by Jeremy Campbell 

Pimp by Iceburg Slim 

Midnight in Peking by Paul French 

What is your favorite genre to read? 

Mystery and almost anything nonfiction. I read history and philosophy to gain inspiration for the novels I’m developing. 

What is your favorite comfort food? 

Meatloaf! I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that… 

Who are your top three favorite authors? 

Although I reserve the right to modify this answer on any particular day, I would say: Cormac McCarthy, Elmore Leonard, Carlos Fuentes, Dorothy B. Hughes, Chester Himes, Borges, and W.S. Maugham. Did you say three? 

What is a typical day of writing look like for you? 

I wake up, walk my dog, meditate, write for a few hours, take care of other business, and then I hit the gym. 

How did you get published? 

It happened on the way to Carnegie Hall… 

What has influenced you the most as a writer? 

For inspiration, I go to art exhibitions, films, and concerts. Seeing and experiencing non-literary art helps me keep the faith and makes me feel as though I’m not alone in trying to understand and evoke the human experiences. Writing can be so solitary, and our culture has grown more alienating as it has grown more commercial. I feel inspired when I feel connected to a broader artistic community. 

Any other information you would like to include for our readers? 

I love connecting with people interested in art, literature, and culture! Come find me on Twitter @IndyPerro and Facebook @authorindyperro or at https://indyperro.com, and visit Central City, the setting for my novels, at https://centralcitybooks.com. 

Thank you Indy for this lovely interview.

To start your own interview

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To read more interviews

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For further reading check out these posts-

https://noshwithchefjulie.com/interview-with-romance-writer-amy-jewell/

https://noshwithchefjulie.com/interview-with-fiction-author-morgan-elbert/