Guest blogger Glenn Berggoetz

                                                       

https://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Evening-Come-Glenn-Berggoetz/dp/1080923667/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LU8ROG12QKD2&keywords=glenn+berggoetz&qid=1569848883&s=gateway&sprefix=Glenn+berg%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-1

                                                                     
amazon.com/Two-Loves-Glenn-Berggoetz-ebook/dp/B00872AWTW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Two+Loves+by+Glenn+Berggoetz&qid=1569848956&s=digital-text&sr=1-1


Please tell us about your latest book.

My new book is Waiting for Evening to Come. The book is about the friendship that develops between a young white boy and an elderly African American man in rural Indiana in the 1950s. I’ve also written a screenplay and stage play version of the story, and I’ve landed an agent to represent those versions. The agent is first attaching some names to the script before trying to sell it to a producer or studio, and Dennis Haysbert, the older African American gentleman in the Allstate insurance commercials, has read the script, loved it, and signed a Letter of Intent to play the lead role of Benjamin in the film adaptation of the book. This has me excited for the possibilities for not just the book getting turned into a film, but also for future book sales and a possible stage run for the tale.


What can we expect from you in the future?

While I’ve had seven books published, I’ve also written the screenplays for twelve produced feature films, and I have nearly twenty other completed feature film scripts that maybe my agent will be able to eventually sell. Because I enjoy writing in various styles – novels, poetry, screenplays, stage plays – and write in many genres (drama, comedy, horror), I pretty much follow my whims at what and how I will next write.


How do we find out about you and your books?

I’ve set up a Facebook page for my books titled “The Books of Glenn Berggoetz” that’s located at https://www.facebook.com/glennsbooks/. I also have a website that’s devoted primarily to the dozen feature films I’ve written and directed and for scheduling speaking appearances. This website is located at http://www.glennspeaks.com/.


How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

A fair amount. With Waiting for Evening to Come, much of the dialogue is similar to the racist talk I sometimes heard while growing up. I also put a lot of my grandfather into the main character of Benjamin. Benjamin is a wise and kind man, as was my grandfather John Hayes. I also included some stories in the novel that I heard when growing up. For example, when Benjamin is telling a story to Jack, the young white boy, about Benjamin’s deceased wife, much of what he tells Jack are the tales I heard about my grandmother, Bridget Hayes. The same typically can’t be said for the screenplays I write (with the exception of the screenplay version of Waiting for Evening to Come). My screenplays are typically close to, if not all, fiction.


When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

I first wrote in the summer of 1988, writing a short story and a novella. Like so many other writers, I felt I had thoughts in my head that had to be shared. It wasn’t until a couple years later that I finally thought I had written something decent enough to be published and started querying magazines about my short stories (this was pre-internet days) by sending out dozens
and dozens of letters, then spending a small fortune going to stores that made copies of documents to get plenty of copies made, then spending another small fortune paying for postage.


Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I have no schedule. Sometimes I go a month without writing anything, then I’ll go months where I write pretty much every day.


What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?

Since I live by myself, this is not a problem for me – I write when I feel like it.


What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

I’ll watch college basketball and football, go for long walks (typically very early in the morning when the stars are still visible in the sky), or go visit my favorite people, most of whom live a thousand miles away.


Where do your ideas come from?

Many of them come from personal experiences or from the thoughts floating through my head on my long walks.


Do you feel humor is important in books and why?

Absolutely. While Waiting for Evening to Come sticks very closely to the dramatic tenor of the book, my first novel (also published by Solstice Publishing), Two Loves, certainly has some light-hearted moments mixed in.


What kind of research do you do?

With Waiting for Evening to Come I didn’t have to do any extra research because, as an undergrad, I was a history major and have a bachelor’s degree in that subject, and since Waiting for Evening to Come is historical fiction and reflects some of the mores of 1950s America, I was already very familiar with what was going on in the U.S. during that time.


Please tell us about yourself.

I try to be a thin book – easy to read. Besides that, I’ve never married nor had any children. I’ve always lived pretty simply, at one point going years without owning a TV, then going years where the only TV I had was a five-inch black-and-white model. I work as a college professor teaching writing classes, British and American literature, and cinema. Since my little doggie
died two years ago, my life is pretty quiet for the most part. I keep telling myself that at some point in the near future I’m going to start to do some traveling.


What are some of your favorite things to do?

I love hiking, but now that I’m living in Indiana (after a decade in Colorado) I don’t have many chances to do that. As I’ve gotten older I’ve had to reduce the amount I eat to about 40%-50% of what I used to eat, so on those rare occasions when I actually eat a full meal I enjoy that. I certainly enjoy reading, and I enjoy watching college sports.


Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?

I wrote my master’s thesis over some of Kurt Vonnegut’s novels, so he’s an author I enjoy reading. I’ve developed quite a fondness for Stephen King in the last decade. I’ve also long enjoyed reading Leo Tolstoy’s works.


Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’m hoping my agent will be able to sell a couple or three of my screenplays so that I have enough money to stop teaching and start traveling and hiking on a regular basis.


How many books have you written, how many have been published?

I’ve had seven books published, but the first three novels I wrote (back in the 1990s) have not been published, so I’ve written ten books total.


After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?

I’ll buy some copies to give to other people, but typically after all of the rewrites I’ve done, then the more rewrites after working with the editor, I’ve already read the book a dozen times or more, so I usually move on to read other books I’ve never read and have long wanted to read.


Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?

I am quite partial to Benjamin and Jack in Waiting for Evening to Come. It seems as if their relationship with each other is the most interesting relationship I’ve ever written, and I love that Benjamin is a quiet hero, the kind of hero all of us can be. And for right now at least, Waiting for Evening to Come has supplanted my stream-of-consciousness, extended prose poem book Guernica Still Burning as my favorite book that I’ve written.


What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

Hearing from someone who has read the book who tells me that the book made them feel something.

If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

I’d probably be watching too much TV.


What is your greatest desire?

To be happy as often as possible!


Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Write what you feel you have to write, whether anyone will end up reading it or not. Writing is something I do because it feels as if I don’t have a choice, I simply have to do it, so I’m going to do it whether anyone reads my words or not. Be like Emily Dickinson, letting the words be part of who you are, not worrying too much about how others perceive your writing.



My Solstice page – http://www.solsticeempire.com/products.aspx?categoryid=432
Amazon Waiting for Evening to Come page – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1080923667/
Amazon Two Loves page – https://www.amazon.com/Two-Loves-Glenn-Berggoetz-ebook/dp/B00872AWTW/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=Glenn+Berggoetz&qid=1569680531&s=books&sr=1-7

Guest Blogger: Debbie De Louise

I'm proud to announce the release of The Mistaken Mission, my time-travel short story that's a sequel to "Stitches in Time," a story I wrote in 1999 for the anthology, Cat Crimes Through Time.

mybook.to/mistakenmission

eBook & Kindle Unlimited: (Link will be sent on October 1st)

Nineteen years ago, Gina Garrett’s father disappeared into the past using a time-travel disk he and his partner created. The only person who believed Gina when she explained what happened was her father’s partner’s son. When he, now a detective, shows up at her door claiming that he needs her to help him prevent a murder that happened a year ago, she hopes they can find her father, too.

Excerpt

A few minutes after I hung up, there was a knock at my door. Checking the peephole with Stripey at my ankles, I saw a tall man with red hair and a matching beard. He wore a police uniform. I opened the door hesitantly.
“Gina Garrett. Sorry I came so late. I was just off my shift. Did your mother tell you I called?”
I swallowed a gulp of my own saliva and almost chocked. “Yes. She did. Come in, uh, Mr. Logan.”
“It’s Andy, remember?” He walked through the door.
“What’s wrong? Maybe that’s a silly question.” He paused. I was aware of him looking down at me. Even as a boy, he’d been taller than the tallest girl in the neighborhood.
“I know you must be surprised, even shocked to see me after all this time. When we moved away, I should’ve written or called you. I’m sorry.”
I turned around. “Have a seat. We can talk. I’ll make coffee, or maybe you’d like tea?” I led him into the small kitchen.
He straddled a chair, his long legs looping over it. “Nothing, thanks, but you can go ahead and make yourself a drink if you want.”
“I was about to have some champagne. I don’t drink often, but I was . . .”
“Celebrating your birthday,” he finished for me.
“You remember?”
“How could I forget? I was sorry for you when I heard what happened. Mother agreed that your father ran away with another woman. I never believed that.”
“Neither did I.” I sat across from him, and he turned his chair.
“Looking back, now that I’m a detective, I realize things didn’t make sense. Your dad took nothing with him – no wallet, money, or clothes.”
“They said he had another set of clothes and a fake ID, that he left the state or country with his mistress.”
The smile Andy had greeted me with faded. “Gina, I’m here for another reason than to dredge up old memories. I need your help with a case.”
“Why me? I have no police experience unless you count some of the stories I’ve covered.”
“I know you’re a reporter. I checked you out, but that’s not why I’m here.” He gazed at me through his blue eyes, and I saw images of him and me as kids riding our bikes around Boston Public Garden, playing softball in the street with a few other friends, taking walks through the neighborhood.
“I never doubted what you said all those years ago, about your going back in time. Recently, I may have found proof that you were right.”

OCTOBER FREEBIES

October 1st. - HAUNTED HONEYMOON

mybook.to/hhoneymoon

Ghost Cat. Don’t honeymoon without one.
Francesco and Gina are not your typical engaged couple. They met in a cemetery and spent their dates watching horror movies. But when Francesco suggests they honeymoon in a haunted house in Venice, Gina is shocked when she learns the place may actually be Francesco’s childhood home where his parents were murdered.

OCTOBER 15:  DEADLINE

mybook.to/Deadline

When college student Susan Shaffer wakes up on the wrong side of the bed in her dorm room, strange things begin to happen. Time seems to shift and draw her into an imaginary deadline that would rival those of the stories she writes for the student paper. Unable to face horrible news that she can’t remember happening, she traces the events of the last few days. Discovering the awful truth of why these hours are a blank, she must meet a deadline that is truly deadly.

OCTOBER 29: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

getbook.at/Knowledge

On the one-month anniversary of the death of her beloved cat, Librarian Margaret Goodley, uses her excellent research skills to cast a spell to bring Bluebell back to life. Unfortunately, there are unexpected consequences when two other women who have lost their own loved ones on the same day interrupt the ceremony.

Author Bio

Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a reference librarian at a public library on Long Island. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Long Island Authors Group, and the Cat Writer’s Association. She has a BA in English and an MLS in Library Science from Long Island University. Her novels include the four books of the Cobble Cove cozy mystery series: A Stone’s Throw, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Written in Stone, and Love on the Rocks. Debbie has also written a romantic comedy novella, When Jack Trumps Ace, a paranormal romance, Cloudy Rainbow, and the standalone mystery, Reason to Die. She lives on Long Island with her husband, Anthony; daughter, Holly; and three cats, Stripey, Harry, and Hermione.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.delouise.author/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Deblibrarian
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2750133.Debbie_De_Louise
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2bIHdaQ
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/debbie-de-louise
Website/Blog/Newsletter Sign-Up: https://debbiedelouise.com

Guest Blogger: Lauryn Dyan

                                                 
https://www.amazon.com/Hollow-Stars-Lauryn-Dyan/dp/1625268912/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Hollow+stars&qid=1568998658&s=gateway&sr=8-1

As lead singer of popular, emerging rock band, Tracing Stars, Kennedy has the swagger of a badass, or at least she used to. While caught up in the booze, passion, and chaos of her first major rock tour, her dreams are erased by a string of ever-worsening blackouts. Now the instability of her mind has landed her in a psychiatric hospital. Despite being convinced one of her tour mates sabotaged her, she lacks any evidence. Trapped in the asylum, she alternates between the past and the present determined to recover her lost memories so she can return to her band before she’s just a footnote in their rise to fame.

Guest blogger: Consuella Harris

                                                
https://www.amazon.com/Surrogates-Consuella-Harris-ebook/dp/B00L4MAXYG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Consuella+Harris&qid=1568900101&s=gateway&sr=8-1





What can we expect from you in the future?
I plan to write an autobiographical story.

How do we find out about you and your books?
http://consuelharris.com


How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
My first two books were fiction and had no relevance to my life.


When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
I’ve always been interested in writing. Over the years, I’ve written Plays, songs and ultimately two books.


Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
I go with the flow, however, for my next book, I intend to set a daily schedule.


What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?
I’m retired and live alone with a dog and she respects my time.

What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?
Read and take naps.


Where do your ideas come from?
My first book “The Surrogates” came as a result of the increasing number of children born from Surrogates. As a writer I became to think, “What if?” I then began to think of different situations which could affect the surrogacy process. Through my book I chose multiple Surrogates, and different races and various plots.


Do you feel humor is important in books and why?
It depends on what the Writer is wring about.

What kind of research do you do? I had to research the subject of surrogacy in order to make the story as realistic as possible.
.
Please tell us about yourself.
I am now a 72 year old African American, with one child (a girl); five grandchildren and five Great grandchildren. I’m retired and lie alone. I love reading and staying current with the world around me. I love to travel and meeting new people.


What are some of your favorite things to do?
Reading, bowling and traveling.


Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?
Too many to answer, usually, I select a book based on the topic, not the author. In addition, I love mysteries.


What do you think of critique groups in general?
I don’t know a lot about them.



Where do you see yourself in five years?
77 years old and with my autobiographical novel being published.


How many books have you written, how many have been published? Two and both have been published.

After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?
Yes, I’ve purchased the books and read them.

Among your own books, have you a favorite book?
Favorite hero or heroine? Yes, “The Surrogates” My favorite heroine was Denise, she took a traumatic situation and tried to help others.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
To see a thought become something real involving people, complicated situations and hopefully in the end a message of hope.

If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
I can’t imagine anything else, my life has including writing songs, plays, poems, essays and books.


What is your greatest desire?
To see “The Surrogates” become TV movie.
Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers? Yes, never give up!!

Guest Blogger: R.B. Shifman

                                            
https://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Leaves-This-Place-Savage-ebook/dp/B07XZC1TF3/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Everyone+Leaves+This+Place&qid=1568827219&s=gateway&sr=8-1


Please tell us about your latest book.

“Everyone Leaves This Place” is about an eighteen-year-old young woman, Evee Salazar, who undergoes an out-of-body experience. In her senior year, Evee butts heads with her mom and wavers between two guys, one of whom she thinks might be stalking her. To slow her down, her mom sends Evee to sit with her Gramma Cynthia at assisted living on Friday nights. To teach her granddaughter some gratitude, Gramma, who’s descended from Pilgrims/witches, decides to switch bodies with Evee temporarily. Mayhem ensues, and, worse, a mysterious figure steals Gramma Cynthia’s spell book and threatens to ruin Evee’s life forever.
The story starts off sort of light and fun, Freaky Friday-ish, if you will. However, I pleasantly surprised myself at how heartfelt the last third of the book turned out. Beta readers thought it’s funny too.





What can we expect from you in the future?

This book is part of an Upper YA/NA series, Savage Spells, in which I plan to write two more novels. The series becomes darker and more deliciously devious and mystical with each novel. In Book 2, the simple witch story from Book 1 will take some wicked turns and involve some science fiction elements. The next books will incorporate a level of mysticism absent in the first book—they will expand the mythology surrounding Evee Salazar and the ‘Witches of America.’
I’m also starting another series, probably a trilogy, for Upper MG/YA. It’s tightly under wraps. The only thing I’ll say is that it’s SWEEEEET!




How do we find out about you and your books?
https://rbshifmanauthor.com/
and https://www.facebook.com/RB-Shifman-Author-103770317675113/
and https://twitter.com/rshifman










How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

Let’s say enough of my life experience is in my work to make my wife mildly uncomfortable.

But seriously, I always write about what I know, usually from experience. For example, as a slightly-past-middle-aged man, I felt qualified to write about the interactions between three generations (Gen Z, Gen X, & the Silent Gen) in my debut novel. I also take inspiration from my current hometown of Doylestown, PA in creating the fictional Dairytown, PA.

In other works, which are unpublished for now, I’ve drawn on intensely personal and painful experiences.




When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

I wrote some stuff in my early teens, but I truly began writing with a passion when I hit my mid-thirties in 2002. At this time, I felt compelled to write a novel that harkened to the nostalgia of my childhood – “Riverwood: Remembrance,” which is part of my “Seams Along the Near World” series. I wrote four books in that urban fantasy series from 2002-2018. I’m proud of “Dark Water & the Maiden,” which I wrote last, from 2013-2018; this story is a prequel. This book, set mainly in 1973, could be the most emotionally resonant work I’ve ever created. I submitted ‘Dark Water,’ because it had all 5-star reviews on a free site, but it didn’t get picked up.




Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I try to write in the morning, for a few hours, at least a few times a week. I do work a contract job, where the work is variable, so I often need to adjust my schedule.




What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?


People leave me alone. Mostly.







What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

I work out. I walk because I have a bad knee and can’t run anymore. I listen to music. And, last but not least, I chill with my wife, Sheri, watching TV or hanging out around Doylestown.





Where do your ideas come from?

The ether. Seriously, sometimes it feels like my ideas come from another dimension.




Do you feel humor is important in books and why?

Yes. It keeps people engaged and makes characters likable. I’ve never understood people in real life who are humorless, as they seem to take themselves too seriously. A certain amount of humor keeps the ball rolling so to speak, moving that narrative forward.




What kind of research do you do?

For this debut, I researched the Salem Witch Trials and the Pilgrims to help create Gramma Cynthia’s backstory. An expert on late-seventeenth-century English helped me with dialogue for a short, ‘cut-scene’ chapter in 1692. I researched online how people lived in the colonies in the late seventeenth century. But most of the rest of the novel is inspired or informed by my real-life experience. Though of course, as I said earlier, everything in the story—people, places, and situations—is fictional!




Please tell us about yourself.

God is the most important, guiding force in my life. Without God I truly believe nothing else in my life would fall into place. Doesn’t mean God always makes things perfect for me, but because of God, my wife and I have a close, loving relationship, and I learn more every day about my purpose here on earth.

My family is important to me, including my wife, son (20) and daughter (18). My daughter is transgender, and LGBTQ rights are important to me (they were important to me before I knew she was transgender).

I’m a writer by nature. I wrote an awful book when I was fourteen on a typewriter. I’ve worked as a market researcher, but a writer is what I am.




What are some of your favorite things to do?

If you want to know about my interests, outside of hanging with my wife—I like dancing to DJ Earworm when nobody is watching, reading all sorts of stuff (from bestsellers like ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ to YA like ‘We Are Okay.’), working out/walking (I was a wrestler in high school and a coach for youth wrestling many years), and watching University of Miami Football. I do like a good Netflix series. We just finished Season 2 of ‘Dark,’ which was mind blowing.

I’d like to travel abroad someday.






Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?

C.S. Lewis. Other than that, a wide array. I like the Fredrik Backman books. I love ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ by Neil Gaiman




What do you think of critique groups in general?

I don’t know much about them.




Where do you see yourself in five years?

If things proceed as I desire, writing full time. We’ll see. I do like market research contracting, but if I could make a full-time living by writing, I probably would.




How many books have you written, how many have been published?

My Seams series has four books. And there’s this debut that is published. So five total.





After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?

Haha, I’m doing that now. It’s hard because I read it dozens of times during editing.




Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?

Evee Salazar from ‘Everyone Leaves This Place,’ is near and dear to my heart.
After this, Paul Branch from ‘Dark Water & the Maiden.’




What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

When somebody says your book touched their heart. If you write from the heart, you tap into this universal need for connection and permanence, which I believe is Divine. If a book makes you shed a tear, that’s where it’s coming from. My debut, at first, seems very light-hearted (sort of like the reader’s first impression of Evee), but I believe it taps into some deep emotional territory. I hope it resonates with people, which is most rewarding.

Also, when you write something, and you know it’s super-hot (well crafted, sharp, highly readable, engaging, etc.). That’s a GREAT feeling because it only happens, for me, about 20-25% of the time.




If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

I honestly don’t know.




What is your greatest desire?

To see my wife and children thrive and to serve a higher purpose here on earth. I know that’s two things. I believe these two things are connected though.






Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Sixteen years. That’s how long it took me between writing my first novel and publishing. Also, keep your mind open to advice and learning new things to improve your writing. It helped me for sure.

Guest Blogger Robert Hoppensteadt

https://www.amazon.com/Shelter-Robert-Hoppensteadt-ebook/dp/B07RBBKP2G/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Shelter+by+Robert+Hoppensteadt&qid=1567619253&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Please tell us about your latest book.
My latest book is titled The Shelter and was released in May by Solstice Publishing. It is a timely
story about a virus, frozen in permafrost since the Ice Age, thawing out and wreaking havoc.
Near Nome, Alaska, an ancient hut is discovered made of mammoth bones. Inside, the
skeletons of six prehistoric hunters are found, but the site also contains the virus that killed
them. Once thawed, it enters the human population once again. The story has some really
strong characters, some romance, a few billion deaths and an ending that won’t make you feel
like crying for a week.

What can we expect from you in the future? I am finishing up on another virus related story,
this one set a thousand or more years after our modern world is destroyed by a weaponized
virus that also causes gigantism is some of the food chain enters and a mutation in children
born of mothers who survived. The story itself is set on the west coast of America in a world
where technology is shunned and where raiders, monster predators and tribes of mutant
humans all threaten a fortified city built on a hill just outside the ruins of San Francisco.
I am also working on a fictionalized auto-biography. I had a wild and interesting youth.

How do we find out about you and your books? You learn more about me at these links:
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RHoppensteadtauthor/
Buy my books here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07R3CFZC9
or here at Solstice: http://www.solsticeempire.com/products.aspx?categoryid=436
You can also follow me on Twitter @RHoppensteadt

How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing? A lot, I draw on people I
knew, emotions I have experienced and places I have been to make certain my characters are as
authentic as I can make them.

When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms? People
have told me I should write for a long time. About 20 years ago I took a year out of my career to
write a novel but it didn’t get very far. I had people to support so I went back to the corporate
world where I was pretty successful. I wrote a lot of poetry over those years, some of that
published. I was able to retire early and now I am writing full time.

Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow? I go with the flow, I am a
night owl though and I often find myself writing until two or three in the morning.

What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there
constant interruptions? My wife doesn’t interrupt me, my two cats have absolutely no sense of
propriety.

What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries? I live in a great historic and scenic area so
I walk, I read, I go to movies, we travel, I do yoga a few times a week. Living in the DC area
these days and there are a lot of very cool places to go, a lot of museums to see and most of
them are free.

Where do your ideas come from? I am not sure, sometimes I will see a story somewhere and run
with a tangent, sometimes they pop into my head and won’t go away.

Do you feel humor is important in books and why? If the story calls for it, some things aren’t
very funny but even then scenes can contain humor as a way to ease tension and give the reader
a break.

What kind of research do you do? For The Shelter I did a lot. Average temperatures, sunrise
and sunset, a lot of research on viruses, the CDC, the Alaska National Guard, Native Americans ,
Nome, local flora and fauna, everything necessary to be as true to the setting as I could be. I
didn’t travel there but I have lived in small remote towns. My HS graduating class was 9 people
in a town of 375 where the nearest place that could be called a city was almost to hundred miles
away.

What do you think of critique groups in general? I have been in some good ones and some bad
ones. It really depends on the people you surround yourself with – do they do the work, are they
empathetic and pay attention to detail, and are they good enough themselves to give valuable
feedback if it is a writing group. I found it worked better for me in poetry where you could focus
on the project and workshop it, and some of the people I had in that group have gone on to be
fairly successful poets.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Hopefully alive and still enjoying life.
How many books have you written, how many have been published? I have written three books,
one self-published long ago, one published by Solstice and one I am just getting set to query.

After you;ve written your book and it;s been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it? I do
but not for at least a few months, the editing process requires reading so many times I really
don’t need to look at it. I do buy it just to see the finished product.

 Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine? I don’t really have
enough out there to have a favorite, but in The Shelter I did grow attached to Matt and Molly.

What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
If you weren;t writing, what would you be doing? I have a lot of other interests I would be
pursuing, probably focusing more on my hobbies. I like to collect things.

What is your greatest desire? To live a happy and fulfilled life, to be of service to the people I
love and care about, to have no regrets about things I wanted to do but never got around to.

 Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers? Sure – just keep trying. I
queried over one hundred agents and publishers before I found a home for The Shelter. There
are something like eighteen million books out on Amazon, and agents and publishers in these
days of electronic submissions can get dozens of queries a week. Do your best work, make sure
what you send as a completed product is professional in its presentation and that you have done
the absolute best you can with the story. Also, if you think writing is the hard part you will
probably be wrong unless you are also a marketing genius and extrovert.

Guest blogger: Paige Etheridge

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QXTVZRJ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Please tell us about your latest book.
“Cyber Knot” is a Cyberpunk where nature has reclaimed Earth, which is generally not the case
in that genre. The book deals with the part of the definition of Cyborg not currently being
explored. The return of Pagan religions and other trends are also covered. Oh and there’s the
cool Cyborcas! I promised to bring them into the world and I was true to my word!

What can we expect from you in the future?
A novel dealing with the Pink Weredolphins based on the Encantado myth surrounding the
Amazon River Dolphins. I’ve been haunted by dreams of an Indian Woman on the border of
Pakistan waiting for me to write about her, so that’s coming too.

How do we find out about you and your books?
Here are some links to follow me and find out more about my work.
https://www.instagram.com/paige.etheridge/
https://www.amazon.com/Paige-Etheridge/e/B07MHJW92Q/
https://twitter.com/PaigeEtheridge1

When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
All my life. There was never a point I wasn’t desiring to tell stories. I just knew that at some
point my writing was finally ready.

Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
I follow the seasons as well as astrological currents. For example, I tend to start a new book in
Aries season in the spring and wrap up in the winter months around Capricorn and Aquarius
Season.

Where do your ideas come from?
Dreams. Random thoughts during the day. All my books are expansions on one of those.
What are some of your favorite things to do?
Walking around cool places. Gaming; I play a lot of Metal Gear Solid and Pokemon Go. Yoga.
Swimming. Cooking foods from all over the world. Photography. Journaling. Writing.


Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?
It was Twain, Gaiiman, and Hawthorne for years. Recently my love of reading has been on
hiatus and I’m wondering if it may be gone forever. I’m not sure if I’ve just been over-saturated
from reading so much for so long. But likely, it’s just time for people to focus on producing my
own books and stories rather than others. Recently, I’m only reading when it’s research for a
current project of mine.

How many books have you written, how many have been published?
I’ve completed two “Kissing Stars Over the Rising Sun’ and “Cyber Knot”. Both are published.
I’m currently editing my third and playing around with my fourth a bit by cooking Indian Food.
But I am still married to my pink dolphins so they are my priority.
After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?
I love having a copy. But once a book of mine is done, I don’t read it again except for the
occasional excerpt as I create my own book ads for marketing. I’ve read and reread my own
book so many times before it’s published, so by the time it’s out in the world it’s all for the
readers.

 What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
Producing an idea that was in your head and turning it into something physical into the world.
Watching those stories and characters take on a life of their own once you release your book
into the wild.

What is your greatest desire?
Own a house in Salem. Be able to camp out in Tiger Lily Cafe whenever I want. Things like that.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with my life though.

 Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?
If producing books is something you really want to do for the right reasons, there’s a way to do
it. Follow your gut in getting where you want to go.