Be sure to check out what they have coming next for their readers. I try to pick authors who are interesting studies and ask them unique questions for our Q/A section.
Check out the Showcase feature of the HBS Author's Spotlight. I have included those authors in this class. Also, we have added the Author Bundles we have posted this month.
Thanks to the following outstanding authors for a great month. Here is a summary of our May 2015 crew.
C. Michael Bennis
Author Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Suspense
Author's Blog: C. Michael Bennis
Website: C. Michael Bennis
Twitter: @CMBennis
E-Mail: C.MichaelBennis@gmail.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Next: My fourth novel will be released 4th quarter 2015. The book features an 8-year-old boy who lives in the wilderness of Northern Wisconsin where his best friends are talking animals. The stories were a nightly creation for my boys.
Social media: It’s immeasurable, but I believe social media definitely boosts book sales, visibility and URL traffic. I have a select group of followers. We support one-another and often review each other’s books. The relationship is very caring.
Support groups: Tucson Sisters In Crime, Sisters in Crime Inc., Romance Writers of America (where I have a home page) and Society of Southwestern Authors.
Free Books: I’m a former Ad Sales guy, readers-per-copy build audience.. I speak to senior living residences where I give autographed free books (beforehand) to all scheduled attendees. They forward the books to their families who then forward them on… I’m not losing book sales but gaining readers.
Reader list: Yes, [I maintain a reader list using] Prospects & Contacts in MailChimp. [Other methods are ] Public speaking to book clubs, author book signings, email comments on my url http://www.cmichaelbennis.com via info@cmichaelbennis.com
Reviews: I'm negligent on this very important issue. I solicit reviews from friends & colleagues on Twitter and from a few book reviewers. Usually the best route to a good review is by exchanging book reviews with another author of the same genre.
Author's Book List
Dangerous and Desirable
Signs of Destiny
Rules of Engagement
For the rest of the story...View C. Michael Bennis - HBS Author's Spotlight
Leslie Kohler
Author Genre: Mystery
Twitter: @LeslieKohler
E-Mail: lesliekohler@cox.net
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Next: My next book is “Uninsured Lives” which is scheduled to be released this summer. It’s a sequel to “Disposable Lives” in which Maggie Leman finds herself entwined in another web of murder and deception.
Social media: Because I started out as a self-published author, social media has been huge for me. I run posts as teasers to my upcoming books, so when they’re released, readers are waiting for them. I also use social media, through book excerpts and posts about things such as the book settings or the designer clothes my characters wear, to inform my audience as to what they can expect when they purchase my books. I have fun with social media, and post not only through my Facebook author site, but on my personal Facebook and Twitter accounts to let my followers know the fun and often goofy things I’m up to. After all, my protagonists are somewhat fashioned after me.
Podcasts: Because of my busy work schedule as a special education teacher, I haven’t done as many appearances with “Disposable Lives” as I did with “Sins of the Border.” After “Sins of the Border was released, I had an author pod cast, in which I’d promote fellow authors, along, of course, with myself. It was fun.
Short stories give the reader a sample of one’s writing style and ability. Because you can do various deals on Amazon with them, such as free giveaways, they’re a good marketing tool. I began writing short stories for the youth market when my children were young, as that was a genre I related to as a mother.
Author bundles: I love being part of my mystery group, Desert Sleuths-Sisters in Crime. And I’m honored to be included in So West, So Wild. The great thing about being published in this anthology is when the group schedules appearances and signings, I not only help sign and sell So West, So Wild, I have the opportunity to market my own novels. This is huge, and I’m grateful for Sisters in Crime for giving me these opportunities.
Reviews [professional reviews, social media, reading audience]: I rely on all of these. It’s nice to have a few professional reviews, which I do seek out, but you want the vast majority of your reviews to come from your readers.
Author's Book List
Disposable Lives
PAPÁ'S BOOTS
SHADOW OF DARKNESS
Sins of the Border
For the rest of the story...View Leslie Kohler - HBS Author's Spotlight
D.R. Ransdell
Author Genre: Mystery, Travel, Romance
Author's Blog: Author D.R. Ransdell - Author News Blog
Website: Author D.R. Ransdell
Twitter: @dr_ransdell
E-Mail: Dr_ransdell@yahoo.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Next: Dizzy in Durango will come out in the fall.
Covers: For Mariachi Murder the publisher offered me a few possibilities, I ran them past readers, and then we chose one of the favorite options.
Short stories: I haven't seen an impact on sales, but since you're always trying to develop a readership, any kind of writing is useful! Once in a while I have a good idea for a short story and run with it. Most of the time I'm wrapped up in longer projects, so a short story is a nice break.
Support groups: I belong to two national organizations: Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America. I also belong to the local chapters of those groups as well as Arizona Mystery Writers.
Free Books: I've often given away books as part of a promotion or to get reviews. That's a very popular way to get your name noticed! Before you have time to develop a big platform, you have to compete with lots of other authors. Giving away books gives you the chance to stand out.
Reader list: Building a reader list is a slow process! Generally I "meet" someone on Facebook, etc., and then ask if they'd like to receive my bi-annual newsletter.
Blog: Doing a blog gives me a chance to reach out to a bigger audience, entertain people quickly, and reminisce about travel locations and other fun things I've been involved with.
Reviews: There are a lot of blog reviewers out there, so I usually send out lots of queries. For Dizzy in Durango I'll also seek out professional reviews. I'll also be asking all the people in the mystery chapters I attend for volunteers. Usually people are incredibly generous about swapping reviews.
Tucson Festival of Books: The Tucson Festival of Books was a great chance to interact with readers, writers, and passersby. To prepare for the festival I made a very complex schedule…The festival is great--I just wish it were twice as long and that there were two of me!
Author's Book List
Island Casualty
Thai Twist
Mariachi Murder
For the rest of the story...View D.R. Ransdell - HBS Author's Spotlight
Mimi Sebastian
Author Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Author's Blog: Mimi Sebastian - On the dark side of love
Website: Mimi Sebastian - On the dark side of love
Twitter: @SebastianMimi
E-Mail: mimi@mimisebastian.com
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Next: Trial by fire! I’m currently finishing the second book in my pirate historical series and hope to have it released in June.
Personal appearances: I’m going to be at the Payson Book Festival in Payson, Arizona July 24.
Covers: With my publisher, I complete a book cover questionnaire and they usually try to incorporate my ideas. With my self-published pirate series, I have complete control, which is great, and I work with a talented cover artist who does a great job in making my ideas come to life on the cover.
Short story - The Werewolf’s Devotion: It’s hard to say if they’ve had an impact. It was a story that came to me about one of the minor characters in the Necromancer Books and I decided to make it into a booklet as a giveaway and introduce people to my writing.
Support group - Buildin’ the Dream: All the local authors I’ve, through the local Romance Writer’s of America chapter, and other groups have been amazing people and I’ve learned so much. Writing can be a lonely, often frustrating endeavor. My author friends are my life line at times, and we share our experiences with marketing, writing, etc.
Free books: I’ve done lots of book giveaways and the jury is still out on their effectiveness. At this point, I’ve decided to only offer free books via review sites in exchange for an honest review. I’ve liked the blog hop giveaways. Those direct traffic to your site and maybe introduce you to someone who may not have heard of you
Reader list: I have a new release e-mail list, which is still a work in progress. While I do promote the list at times, I want it to grow organically. So far, I’ve used social media linked to some kind of giveaway, like my short story, and having a signup sheet at book signings.
Blog: Often, it feels like I’m just trying to keep the sinking ship afloat. I’m not a regular blogger and have a hard time finding things to blog about. I don’t want to post for the sake of posting. I mostly use my blog as a way to communicate about my books, promote other authors (spotlights and interviews), and topics of interest to me.
Author's Book List
The Necromancer's Redemption
The Necromancer's Betrayal
Devil's Island
The Necromancer's Seduction
For the rest of the story...View Mimi Sebastian - HBS Author's Spotlight
Shelley Young
Author Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Historical, Mainstream, Erotica
Website: Shelley Young - Amazon International Bestselling Author
Twitter: @dardiandreshaj
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Next: I’m currently working on book three of the Dardian Dreshaj series. Titled The Blood Trail, Dardian finds himself perhaps up against his most skilled component.
Social media: As an author, social media cannot be ignored. I love my tweeps on Twitterville. I have garnered solid fans, interviews, book sales, and radio interviews all from Twitter. This could be why I personally find Twitter more satisfying, but I have garnered attention on LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook as well.
Personal appearances: I will be in the May/June issue of Focus on Women magazine. For those of you who would like to check it out once it’s released, you can simply go to focusonwomen.net.
Book trailers: Book trailers are a necessity, and I can honestly say that my trailers have helped me with not only book sales, but with exposure to interviewers and potential readers. I create my trailers on my own through my subscription through Animoto.
Short stories in the Dali series: …I did the Dali series after a discussion I had with a fan. It was something that she wanted and she asked me to try my hand at it, so I did. I had to pull back from the series, because the more I wrote of it the more the readers wanted! It began to take up too much time.
Free books: Many believe that free giveaways are dead. I agree and disagree. The trick is not to use free giveaways as your only marketing tool. I waited until I had three books on the market before I did a giveaway. I did it for exposure. Nothing more. As a way for people to know that I was out there and I had a few books that if you liked my genre, you would love. And I can honestly tell you that I did the giveaway too soon. I should have waited until I had no less than six to ten novels on the market.
Reader list: If I could spend more time on marketing, I’m more than positive that my exposure and sales would increase drastically. What I’m focusing on now is releasing new novels so I’ve pulled back on marketing and my book sales have seen the impact. The strategy now is quantity.
Author's Book List
Dali's Fantasy
Plain Dealing
Dali's Ultimatum
Possessing Dali
The Blood Feud
The Blood Tie
For the rest of the story...View Shelley Young - HBS Author's Spotlight
HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Lorna Dounaeva
Featured Book: May Queen Killers
Author Genre: Thriller, Romance, Mystery
Website: Lorna Dounaeva
Twitter: @LornaDounaeva
E-Mail: Lorna.Dounaeva@live.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Lorna Dounaeva is a quirky British crime writer who once challenged a flamenco troupe to a dance-off. She is a politics graduate and worked for the British Home Office for a number of years. Her debut novel, FRY, is a chick-lit psychological thriller which combines romantic suspense with an intriguing crime mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Her influences include Single White Female, The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, The Exorcist and American Psycho. She has two active toddlers who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets. She is addicted to coffee and anticipates an intervention any day now. She is not thought to be dangerous.
Author's Book List
May Queen Killers
FRY
For the rest of the story...View Lorna Dounaeva - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Lorhainne Eckhart
Featured Book: The Reunion
Author Genre: Romance, Mystery & Thrillers, Young Adult
Website: Lorhainne Eckhart
Twitter: @Leckhart
E-Mail: Lorhainne@LorhainneEckhart.com
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart's books have been described as Longmire meets old school Dallas and she recently received the 2013 Readers' Favorite Award for Romantic Suspense for her title Lost and Found. With over 30 titles under her belt, she is frequently a top 100 bestselling author in multiple genres such as Romance, Westerns and Mystery/Suspense, including such series as The Outsider, Walk the Right Road, The Wilde Brothers, The Saved and her most recent addition The Friessens: A New Beginning.
Lorhainne lives on sunny Salt Spring Island with her family where she is working on her next novel.
Author's Book List
The Reunion
Traded
A Vow of Love
A Different Kind of Love
Friendly Fire
The Price to Love
Blown Away, The Final Chapter
Bounty
Lost and Found
VANISHED
The Choice
The One
Saved
The Wedding
The Unexpected Storm
Runaway
Secrets
The Awakening
Fallen Hero
The Forgotten Child
For the rest of the story...View Lorhainne Eckhart - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Christoph Fischer
Featured Book: The Gamblers
Author Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Author's Blog: Christoph Fischer
Website: Christoph Fischer Books
Twitter: @CFFBooks
E-Mail: ChristophFFischer@googlemail.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Christoph Fischer was born in Germany, near the Austrian border, as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. After a few years he moved on to the UK where he now lives in a small town in West Wales. He and his partner have three Labradoodles to complete their family.
Christoph worked for the British Film Institute, in Libraries, Museums and for an airline. ‘The Luck of The Weissensteiners’ was published in November 2012; 'Sebastian' in May 2013 and The Black Eagle Inn in October 2013. "Time To Let Go" , his first contemporary work was published in May 2014, and “Conditions” in October 2014. His medical thriller "The Healer" was released in January 2015 and his latest historical novel “In Search of a Revolution” in March 2015.
He has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.
Author's Book List
The Gamblers
Sebastian
The Luck of the Weissensteiners
For the rest of the story...View Christoph Fischer - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Dianne Harman
Featured Book: Murder and Brandy Boy
Author Genre: Romance and Literary Fiction
Author's Blog: Dianne Harman Author
Website: Dianne Harman Author
Twitter: @DianneDHarman
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Dianne Harman draws her stories and characters from a diverse business and personal background. She owned a national antique and art appraisal business for many years, left that industry, and opened two yoga centers where she taught yoga and certified yoga instructors. She's traveled extensively throughout the world, most recently dividing her time between Huntington Beach, California and Sacramento, California, where her husband was a Senator. An avid reader, Dianne brings the richness of her life experiences to her novels, Blue Coyote Motel, Coyote in Provence, and Cornered Coyote - all of which are available now in the Coyote Series.
Being a dog lover and having attended numerous cooking schools, she couldn't resist writing about food and dogs, thus the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery series, which includes family recipes! Kelly's Koffee Shop and Murder at Jade Cove have been on the top of the culinary, cozy, and animal charts within a week of being published and the third in the series, White Cloud Retreat, will be published very soon. Kelly's Koffee Shop was recently voted as one of the top 30 Best Self-Published Books of 2014.
Several books in the series have been designated by Amazon as All-Stars because of their sales and Dianne has been named by Amazon as being one of their most popular authors.
An Award Winning Bestseller, Blue Coyote Motel was selected as a quarter finalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award contest, Goodreads Psychological Thriller of the Month Book, and e-thriller Book of the Month. Blue Coyote Motel and Coyote in Provence were finalists in Chanticleer's CLUE awards contest.
Blue Coyote Motel is a suspenseful love story which begins in the barrios of Southern California and spans the globe in such diverse locations as Provence, South America, and the Himalayas. The beautiful Latina, Maria, and her husband, Jeffrey, a scientist fired from a prestigious laboratory, struggle to build a new life in a remote Southern California desert area as owners of the motel.
Along with the anti-aging hormone, Jeffrey invents a "feel-good" wonder drug to help Maria with her depression. As Jeffrey becomes insane, he begins to experiment with the wonder drug. Six wayward travelers, including an alcoholic priest, a couple who own gold mines in Brazil, a depressed widow, a struggling salesman, and a Native American pediatrician, find themselves spending the night at the small motel. The next morning they wake up feeling better than ever. Has Jeffrey's miracle drug delivered? Or is the nightmare of addiction only beginning?
Coyote in Provence and Cornered Coyote complete the trilogy which spans the globe and introduces a character, Slade Kelly, a loveable irascible private eye, who many say has become their favorite literary character. The Mafia, food, wine, art, Provence, courtroom drama - all find a place in these books.
Author's Book List
Murder and Brandy Boy
Murder in the Pearl District
Murder in Cottage #6
Marriage and Murder
White Cloud Retreat
Murder at Jade Cove
Kelly's Koffee Shop
COYOTE SERIES
CORNERED COYOTE
Tea Party Teddy's Legacy
Coyote in Provence
Tea Party Teddy
Blue Coyote Motel
For the rest of the story...View Dianne Harman - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
Aaron Michael Ritchey
Featured Book: Elizabeth’s Midnight
Author Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Literature & Fiction
Author's Blog: Aaron Michael Ritchey
Website: Aaron Michael Ritchey
Twitter: @AaronMRitchey
E-Mail: aaronmritchey@gmail.com
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Aaron Michael Ritchey is the author of The Never Prayer and Long Live the Suicide King, both finalists in various contests. His latest novel, Elizabeth’s Midnight, will hit the streets May of 2015. In shorter fiction, his G.I. Joe inspired novella was an Amazon bestseller in Kindle Worlds and his steampunk story, “The Dirges of Percival Lewand” was part of The Best of Penny Dread Tales anthology published through Kevin J. Anderson’s WordFire Press. His upcoming young adult sci-fi/western epic series will also be published through WordFire Press. He lives in Colorado with his wife and two ancient goddesses of chaos posing as his daughters.
Author's Book List
Elizabeth’s Midnight
The Never Prayer
G.I. JOE: Post-Traumatic Stress Commander
Long Live the Suicide King
For the rest of the story...View Aaron Michael Ritchey - HBS Author's Spotlight Showcase
HBS Bundles and Co-Authored Showcase
Featured Set: HBS Author's Spotlight Bookshelf – Spring Fever 2015
Melody Anne
Title: Her Unexpected Hero
Author Genre: Romance, Young Adult
Website: Melody Anne
Twitter: @authmelodyanne
E-Mail: authormelodyanne@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Melody Anne is the author of the popular series, Billionaire Bachelors, and Baby for the Billionaire. She also has a Young Adult Series out; Midnight Fire and Midnight Moon - Rise of the Dark Angel. She's been writing for years and published in 2011. She hold a bachelors degree in business, so she loves to write about strong, powerful, businessmen.
When Melody isn't writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and pets. She lives in a small town that she loves, and is involved in many community projects.
See Melody's Website at: www.melodyanne.com. She makes it a point to respond to all her fans. You can also join her on facebook at: www.facebook.com/authormelodyanne, or at twitter: @authmelodyanne.
She looks forward to hearing from you and hopes you enjoy her stories.
Sharon Black
Title: Going Against Type
Author Genre: Romance, Contemporary romance
Author's Blog: Sharon Black - Going Against Type
Twitter: @authorsharonb
E-Mail: sharommablack@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
SHARON Black grew up in Dublin. She studied history and politics at University College Dublin and then did post-graduate in journalism at Dublin City University.
She has worked for national newspapers, including The Evening Herald and The Irish Examiner.
She had short stories published in U Magazine and won the 2010 Dromineer Literary Festival short story competition.
When she is not writing, she reads, walks and sees friends. She co-founded a local book club 14 years ago. She loves theatre, old Hollywood films, science fiction and good stand-up comedy. She lives in a Dublin coastal village, with her husband and their three children.
Catherine Bybee
Title: Seduced by Sunday
Author Genre: Romance
Website: Catherine Bybee
Author's Blog: Romance by Catherine
Twitter: @catherinebybee
E-Mail: catherinebybee@yahoo.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned novels Wife by Wednesday, Married by Monday, and Not Quite Dating. Bybee lives with her husband and two teenage sons in Southern California.
Stacy Eaton
Title: Barbara's Plea
Author Genre: Crime, Thriller and Mystery
Website: Stacy Eaton
Author's Blog: Stacy Eaton, Author
Twitter: @StacySEaton
E-Mail: Mybloodrunsblue@aol.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Stacy Eaton is a police officer by profession. Currently, she is assigned as the department detective and enjoys digging into cases and putting the pieces of the puzzles together.
Stacy resides in southeastern Pennsylvania and is the wife to a police officer and the mother of two. She is very proud of her son who is currently serving in the United States Navy and equally proud of her tween daughter who is a black belt and cheerleader.
Stacy also currently servers on the Board of Directors for her local Domestic Violence Center. When Stacy is not working her demanding job, or spending time with her family, she works on her business and volunteers with the World Literary Café. When there is time, she writes.
Dianne Harman
Title: Murder and Brandy Boy
Author Genre: Romance and Literary Fiction
Website: Dianne Harman Author
Author's Blog: Dianne Harman Author
Twitter: @DianneDHarman
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Dianne Harman draws her stories and characters from a diverse business and personal background. She owned a national antique and art appraisal business for many years, left that industry, and opened two yoga centers where she taught yoga and certified yoga instructors. She's traveled extensively throughout the world, most recently dividing her time between Huntington Beach, California and Sacramento, California, where her husband was a Senator. An avid reader, Dianne brings the richness of her life experiences to her novels, Blue Coyote Motel, Coyote in Provence, and Cornered Coyote - all of which are available now in the Coyote Series.
Being a dog lover and having attended numerous cooking schools, she couldn't resist writing about food and dogs, thus the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery series, which includes family recipes! Kelly's Koffee Shop and Murder at Jade Cove have been on the top of the culinary, cozy, and animal charts within a week of being published and the third in the series, White Cloud Retreat, will be published very soon. Kelly's Koffee Shop was recently voted as one of the top 30 Best Self-Published Books of 2014.
Several books in the series have been designated by Amazon as All-Stars because of their sales and Dianne has been named by Amazon as being one of their most popular authors.
An Award Winning Bestseller, Blue Coyote Motel was selected as a quarter finalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award contest, Goodreads Psychological Thriller of the Month Book, and e-thriller Book of the Month. Blue Coyote Motel and Coyote in Provence were finalists in Chanticleer's CLUE awards contest.
Blue Coyote Motel is a suspenseful love story which begins in the barrios of Southern California and spans the globe in such diverse locations as Provence, South America, and the Himalayas. The beautiful Latina, Maria, and her husband, Jeffrey, a scientist fired from a prestigious laboratory, struggle to build a new life in a remote Southern California desert area as owners of the motel.
Along with the anti-aging hormone, Jeffrey invents a "feel-good" wonder drug to help Maria with her depression. As Jeffrey becomes insane, he begins to experiment with the wonder drug. Six wayward travelers, including an alcoholic priest, a couple who own gold mines in Brazil, a depressed widow, a struggling salesman, and a Native American pediatrician, find themselves spending the night at the small motel. The next morning they wake up feeling better than ever. Has Jeffrey's miracle drug delivered? Or is the nightmare of addiction only beginning?
Coyote in Provence and Cornered Coyote complete the trilogy which spans the globe and introduces a character, Slade Kelly, a loveable irascible private eye, who many say has become their favorite literary character. The Mafia, food, wine, art, Provence, courtroom drama - all find a place in these books.
J.A. Jance
Title: Cold Betrayal
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Website: J.A. Jance
Author's Blog: J.A. Jance - NYT Bestselling Author
Twitter: @JAJance
E-Mail: jajance@jance.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
J.A. Jance is the top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; four interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family; and eight books featuring Ali Reynolds.
As a second-grader in Mrs. Spangler’s Greenway School class, I was introduced to Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz series. I read the first one and was hooked and knew, from that moment on, that I wanted to be a writer.
The third child in a large family, I was four years younger than my next older sister and four years older than the next younger sibling. Being both too young and too old left me alone in a crowd and helped turn me into an introspective reader and a top student. When I graduated from Bisbee High School in 1962, I received an academic scholarship that made me the first person in my family to attend a four year college. I graduated in 1966 with a degree in English and Secondary Education. In 1970 I received my M. Ed. In Library Science. I taught high school English at Tucson’s Pueblo High School for two years and was a K-12 librarian at Indian Oasis School District in Sells, Arizona for five years.
My ambitions to become a writer were frustrated in college and later, first because the professor who taught creative writing at the University of Arizona in those days thought girls "ought to be teachers or nurses" rather than writers. After he refused me admission to the program, I did the next best thing: I married a man who was allowed in the program that was closed to me. My first husband imitated Faulkner and Hemingway primarily by drinking too much and writing too little. Despite the fact that he was allowed in the creative writing program, he never had anything published either prior to or after his death from chronic alcoholism at age forty-two. That didn’t keep him from telling me, however, that there would be only one writer in our family, and he was it.
My husband made that statement in 1968 after I had received a favorable letter from an editor in New York who was interested in publishing a children’s story I had written. Because I was a newly wed wife who was interested in staying married, I put my writing ambitions on hold. Other than writing poetry in the dark of night when my husband was asleep (see After the Fire), I did nothing more about writing fiction until eleven years later when I was a single, divorced mother with two children and no child support as well as a full time job selling life insurance. My first three books were written between four a.m. and seven a.m.. At seven, I would wake my children and send them off to school. After that, I would get myself ready to go sell life insurance.
I started writing in the middle of March of 1982. The first book I wrote, a slightly fictionalized version of a series of murders that happened in Tucson in 1970, was never published. For one thing, it was twelve hundred pages long. Since I was never allowed in the creative writing classes, no one had ever told me there were some things I needed to leave out. For another, the editors who turned it down said that the parts that were real were totally unbelievable, and the parts that were fiction were fine. My agent finally sat me down and told me that she thought I was a better writer of fiction than I was of non-fiction. Why, she suggested, didn’t I try my hand at a novel?
The result of that conversation was the first Detective Beaumont book, Until Proven Guilty. Since 1985 when that was published, there have been 21 more Beau books. My work also includes 14 Joanna Brady books set in southeastern Arizona where I grew up, and seven Ali Reynolds books, set in Sedona, AZ. In addition there are four thrillers, starting with Hour of the Hunter and Kiss of the Bees, that reflect what I learned during the years when I was teaching on the Tohono O’Odham reservation west of Tucson, Arizona.
The week before Until Proven Guilty was published, I did a poetry reading of After the Fire at a widowed retreat sponsored by a group called WICS (Widowed Information Consultation Services) of King County. By June of 1985, it was five years after my divorce in 1980 and two years after my former husband’s death. I went to the retreat feeling as though I hadn’t quite had my ticket punched and didn’t deserve to be there. After all, the other people there were all still married when their spouses died. I was divorced. At the retreat I met a man whose wife had died of breast cancer two years to the day and within a matter of minutes of the time my husband died. We struck up a conversation based on that coincidence. Six months later, to the dismay of our five children, we told the kids they weren’t the Brady Bunch, but they'd do, and we got married. We now have four new in-laws as well as six grandchildren.
When my second husband and I first married, he supported all of us–his kids and mine as well as the two of us. It was a long time before my income from writing was anything more than fun money–the Improbable Cause trip to Walt Disney World; the Minor in Possession memorial powder room; the Payment in Kind memorial hot tub. Eventually, however, the worm turned. My husband was able to retire at age 54 and took up golf and oil painting.
One of the wonderful things about being a writer is that everything–even the bad stuff–is usable. The eighteen years I spent while married to an alcoholic have helped shape the experience and character of Detective J. P. Beaumont. My experiences as a single parent have gone into the background for Joanna Brady–including her first tentative steps toward a new life after the devastation of losing her husband in Desert Heat. And then there’s the evil creative writing professor in Hour of the Hunter and Kiss of the Bees, but that’s another story.
Another wonderful part of being a writer is hearing from fans. I learned on the reservation that the ancient, sacred charge of the storyteller is to beguile the time. I’m thrilled when I hear that someone has used my books to get through some particularly difficult illness either as a patient or as they sit on the sidelines while someone they love is terribly ill. It gratifies me to know that by immersing themselves in my stories, people are able to set their own lives aside and live and walk in someone else’s shoes. It tells me I’m doing a good job at the best job in the world.
Marla Madison
Title: Iced Malice
Author Genre: Suspense, Mystery & Thrillers
Author's Blog: Marla Madison
Twitter: @MarlaAMadison
E-Mail: mam887@gmail.com
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Author Description:
Marla Madison is a retired Federal Mediator, now working as an Arbitrator for the state of Iowa and the Federal Mediation Service. She's Not There is her debut suspense novel, and Relative Malice, her second. Marla is working on a third suspense story, that while not a sequel to She's Not There, does have some of the same characters.
Marla lives on Prairie Lake in Northwestern Wisconsin with her significant other, Terry, a beloved shelter-dog, Skygge, and Poncho, an opinionated feline from the same shelter.
Also an avid reader of suspense, some of her favorite authors are Tana French, Lisa Gardner, Jeffrey Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, Tess Gerritson, and Tami Hoag.
When not reading or writing, Marla enjoys playing duplicate bridge, golfing, and going on long walks with her dog.
M.R. Mathias
Title: The Legend of Vanx Malic
Author Genre: Fantasy - Magic & Wizards
Website: M.R. Mathias Fantasy Author
Author's Blog: M. R. Mathias Connection Hub
Twitter: @DahgMahn
E-Mail: mrmathiasjr@aol.com
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Author Description:
M.R. Mathias rose from unknown to award-winning, best-selling author at a pace most authors can only dream about. He is a prolific writer of epic fantasy novels, novellas, and short stories. Despite his busy writing, publishing, and promotional schedule Mathias continues to aid his fellow indie authors by posting about their books at Twitter and Facebook etc.
He shared his considerable knowledge of self-promotion in publishing The First Ten Steps. The book has become an important indie guide for navigating the often murky waters of using social media sites to get your eBook in front of avid readers.
Mathias has taken cross promotion to a new level in his "Indie Kindy" giveaways where he gives away a FREE Kindle Touch and or Kindle Fire loaded with independently published books. These events create a great deal of interest for the authors involved and to independently published books as a whole.
Wendy Corsi Staub
Title: Witch Hunt
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Suspense, Contemporary
Website: Wendy Corsi Staub
Author's Blog: Wendy Corsi Staub
Twitter: @WendyCorsiStaub
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Author Description:
With the upcoming release of her twenty-second suspense thriller, THE BLACK WIDOW (2/24/15; HarperCollins), New York Times bestselling suspense novelist Wendy Corsi Staub will have published more than eighty novels over the course of her distinguished career. Wendy has twice (2011 and 2013) been nominated for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark award and is the recipient of the RWA Rita Award, the RT Bookreviews Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the RWA/NYC Golden Apple for Lifetime Achievement, four WLA Washington Irving Awards for Fiction, and numerous other honors.
All of her adult thrillers and in-print backlist are available on Amazon and most are--or will soon be--available as e-books and audio books as well. Check out the book trailers for THE BLACK WIDOW, THE PERFECT STRANGER, THE GOOD SISTER, NIGHTWATCHER, SLEEPWALKER, and SHADOWKILLER, on this author page.
Wendy is also a bestselling novelist with the chick lit and romantic comedy published under the pseudonym "Wendy Markham," with such titles as IF ONLY IN MY DREAMS, THE BEST GIFT, the innovative "SLIGHTLY" series and many more.
For Young Adults, Wendy has authored the beloved four book LILY DALE series - AWAKENING, BELIEVING, CONNECTING, and DISCOVERING.
P. C. Zick
Title: Behind the Bar
Author Genre: Literature & Fiction
Website: P. C. Zick
Author's Blog: Living Lightly
Twitter: @PCZick
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Author Description:
P.C. Zick began her writing career in 1998 as a journalist. She's won various awards for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and fiction. She describes herself as a "storyteller" no matter the genre.
She's published five works of fiction and two nonfiction books.
She was born in Michigan and moved to Florida in 1980. She finds the stories of Florida and its people and environment a rich base for her storytelling platform. Florida's quirky and abundant wildlife - both human and animal - supply her fiction with tales almost too weird to be believable.
Her fiction contains the elements most dear to her heart, ranging from love to the environment. In her novels, she advances the cause for wildlife conservation and energy conservation. She believes in living lightly upon this earth with love, laughter, and passion.
"This is one of the most exciting times to be an author," Ms. Zick says. "I'm honored to be a part of the revolution in writing and publishing."
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