T.P. Keane's Blog

RELEASE DAY BLITZ FOR KEPLER ONE - THE CHOOSING


From award winning author TP Keane, comes a gripping and dark young adult, science fiction/romance novel.



Zoe has only one chance to escape the radiation, and being a lowly Tier Five is the least of her obstacles



The story
The radiation on Earth is killing everyone Zoe Ruthland cares about. After winning the Lottery, she is the only Tier Five citizen given a chance to start over on a new planet. Seen as unworthy, a criminal, many want to see her fail. Zoe must survive training, and the other cadets, to secure her place on the Kepler One spacecraft. But something sinister lurks behind the Government’s plans to save humankind and Zoe has no idea that she is an integral part of it; that she is chosen for another reason.
The Book Trailer
Excerpts
***“No, wait! That’s not fair. Why should I have to stay when the likes of her get to go?” a boy in white screamed, pointing at me. “She’s too thin and weak anyhow. Send her back to the filth she deserves to be in and I’ll go in her place. She’s useless, all her kind are. That’s why they dress them in grey, so they can blend in with the useless dirt. Shadow!” The boy spat in my direction, but his spittle didn’t reach me. Shadow was the nickname they gave tier five citizens. I hated it. It meant that we weren’t real, we were only shadows that appeared, made no difference to the world, then died in the light of others more deserving. All eyes were on me, even Tristan’s. His dark stare raked over me as if to size me up, and he didn’t look impressed. A heat rose in my cheeks and a nervous flutter started in my stomach, but it wasn’t because of Tristan’s gaze. I could feel a fight coming on; I had seen enough of them in my tier to recognise the beginnings, but I was no good at fighting. I had received enough beatings to know that, too.*** Tier Five was darker than I remembered. Accustomed to the brighter lights of the higher levels, my eyes took a moment to adjust. There wasn’t much to see. The corridors around the exit were deserted. Too often the temptation of escape drew the desperate close, and it was all too easy to make a bolt for the door when it was in line of sight. Most tier fives stayed away to keep that temptation at a good distance. There was also the pot-shots that the Tierless soldiers would sometimes take at a passing citizen. Why not? Who would demand justice for a Shadow? Murder was common here, and the temptation to dip one’s toe into sin was prevalent on both sides of the doors. *** In the darkness, there was no pain, just peace, emptiness, and quiet. It was soothing and devoid of everything that had made life difficult. I wasn’t sure if my body floated right-way-up or swirled in every direction, but I was aware of some movement even if I couldn’t pinpoint it. There was no sensation of up or down, no colour or temperature, just the peaceful nothingness that suspended me and caressed my skin in its viscous pleasantness. I’d known this darkness before, in dreams on tier five, but they had never been so visceral, so real. It occurred to me to wonder how I’d gotten here, but the thought was soon forgotten as the peace lulled me into a calmness. Drawn to an amity I’d never known, I didn’t want to leave the darkness or question it. I didn’t want to return to that terrible agony called life. Had I died? A small sadness fluttered in my chest. Jason would be upset. Poor Jason, I thought. I hope he . . . I hope . . .  My thoughts melted out of my brain through my ears and joined the darkness. I floated for what seemed like many hours in the ambience, content to lose myself. But, like all good things that happened to me, my peace didn’t last. A low thud reverberated all around me, like the deep warm tone of a timpani drum. It was followed by the lulling silence again. The sound shifted and moved the darkness in a rippling wave which reverberated through my being. I snapped to attention, straining my ears to hear what had made the noise. Squinting into the nothing futilely, I tried to see something other than the black, but I was alone as far as I could tell. *** 
***

 You can find your copy for 99c BELOWAmazonGoodreadsSmashwords
About the author

TP Keane was born in Galway, Ireland, and is the middle child of seven. An atrocious student, she spent most of her school days dreaming about fantastical adventures and terrifying monsters. In blatant refusal to accept the adult she had become, TP Keane brought forth her mystical worlds in the form of her first epic fantasy novel, The Paladins of Naretia, which won first place in the Acclaimed Books writing contest, and her children’s novel, Dear Bob, The Misadventures of Petunia Pottersfield, which is also up for an award. 

More information about TP Keane and her other works   
can be found on her WEBSITE  

Dear Bob
Dear Bob has officially made its way into the world. This children's first chapter book is a heart warming story about a young fairy whose only desire is to be normal. But Petunia can't help her catastrophic ways. Things blow up around her, monsters are created from simple potions, her wings fly her into thistles and leave her hanging upside-down in a pair of frilly knickers on the washing line. Her playmates get turned into warty toads and no one wants to be near her. It's no wonder why Petunia just wants to be normal.

The book blurb

Petunia Pottersfield can’t help being clumsy, she was just made that way. Every fairy in Furrow Grove knows her as “The Jinx” and no matter how hard she tries to not be herself… it always ends in disaster. But when something strange starts happening to the other fairies, it’s up to Petunia to discover the truth and save them. She must break fairy rules and fight the rising darkness all on her own… and do it without killing them all. 
Check it out
Dear Bob is available in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, Paperback and Audible, and has plenty of mishaps and action to entertain the whole family.
For the first two weeks, you can buy the book for 99c on Amazon
Even Better News! To celebrate the release of Dear Bob, I am giving away a ... wait for it... $100 amazon gift voucher for participating bloggers . Plus anyone can even enter to win this beautiful prize by heading  HERE. 


Please show the love by entering and spreading the word. Petunia is all alone in her battle to save the world and could use some friends.



Don't forget to subscribe and be the first to hear about fantastic new authors featured on Books and Authors. Please note that subscribers will only receive an email when there is a new post, email addresses will not be used for spamming or advertisements. 

The drums of war have sounded and I must respond. The queen has fallen, and Naretia has been plunged into a devouring darkness. Now, I must help this world find its way into the light before they are consumed.


Yes, it has come to that time where I must hang up my blogging hat and don my writers cap. My social media frenzy must come to an end so I can create the second adventure to my fictional world. The Paladins of Naretia have fallen, now I must see who is left.


 
For the next six months, or so, Books and Authors will go dark and the worlds within will grow dusty and weathered. But fear not, I will still be around to answer emails and tweet the occasional important tidbit.


But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The dust wont be allowed to settle for long. I will be back after Christmas to bring you more novels that will capture your imagination and trigger the primal fears within. Fingers crossed, one of them will be my own.

Until then, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time out of their busy day to read and comment on my blog. I am truly grateful that you helped me reach my goal of over 10,000 page views a month. More importantly, I am grateful that you helped to spread the word about the wonderful authors I interviewed and hope to see you all again after Christmas.

May your imaginations fly you to dreamful adventures, never to suffer the doldrums of reality again.

In this weeks author spotlight I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming back Charles O'Keefe, author of The Newfoundland Vampire series. Today we discuss his third novel in the series, The Gathering Dark... oohh, sounds intriguing, doesn't it?
Since we last talked about your previous book, The Newfoundland Vampire, what have you been up to? (in the literary sense… not being nosey or anything.)
Hey TP no don’t worry I didn’t think you’re being nosey I actually like to ask a lot of questions too. First off thanks so much for having me on your blog again, I really appreciate it.  So since the first book well there’s a second one but I believe hard talked about that Conroe. Well first a few other people were thrown a bit of a loop when “Distinguished Press” dissolved. I won’t get into the details now because it’s kind of a sore subject so and I’ll just say that we formed our own little authors publishing group called “Four Phoenixes Publishing”, composed of yourself, Joe Chianakas, Jennifer L. Gadd and yours truly. We help promote each other’s books, talk about writing and generally encourage and help each in writing and in life. In the meantime though I was doing some editing my third vampire book, ”The Gathering Dark” and I’ve been getting up to speed on all the ins and outs of being a self-published author. I also had to find a cover artist and I've discovered that can be rather difficult. I have been with three different artists (one said I was too critical and quite, another said he was too busy and quit). Luckily the third time is the charm and I’m happy with the way my new cover turned out (it’s also the first time I’ve had original art from a local artist, which makes me happy). On the editing side it took about six months (with an editor for most of it who wants to remain nameless) before I finally got the book ready. I’ll say that just learning how to all the formatting/editing tasks to get a book ready for an Ebook and print is quite daunting but with help, patience and lots of hours I got through it. I’m happy to say The Newfoundland Vampire book III “The Gathering Dark” will be available as a digital book on July 22, 2016 and the paper copy should be in my hands (and hopefully on a few store shelves) by the end of August. Finally while waiting for my then editor I also got about half way through writing book 4 (I hope to have that done by early next year).
Tell me what The Gathering Dark is about and how you expanded it from the first two books?I’m the kind of person who is always thinking ahead, to be honest shortly after I finished book 1 I knew the main story arc would end, I just didn’t know how long it would take me to get there. To answer your question, this book introduces several new characters, one I’m particularly fond of is Anne Bonny (based on the famous female pirate). She’s a good combination of fun/serious/sexy/adventuress/brave/intelligent. I enjoy the challenge of writing a realistic, powerful and interesting female character and I hope I done that here. There are a bunch of other characters who show in this book (filling up one half of the vampire council) that you’ll have to read to discover. I advance the timeline of the coming vampire war, for this first time in this book I skip time, something I felt was necessary for the story. Joseph grows and matures in this story, I also show how all of the terrible events he has both participated in and seen affect him. Cassandra also goes through some character growth and we also get to see how both her and Joseph do on their own. I love story arcs and I complete the arc of one character who has shown up in both the first and second book. I think in this book I show what lots of other vampires are up in the world not just Joseph and Cassandra and I even have something of cliff-hanger and a big surprise at the end.
Is there another Newfoundland Vampire book in this series?If you’re referring to book two then yes, it’s called The Newfoundland Vampire book two “Killer on the Road”. If you meant book IV, the answer is coming soon. My tentative title for what could be the end of the series is “War of the Fangs”, I know that’s corny though and it may change. Look for book four sometime in 2017!
How many hours a day/week do you spend writing?I’d love to say I do it 30-40 hours a week but sadly I still have a day job. I usually write a moderate about, three to four hours a week (unless I’m on vacation when it can expand to twenty or more). If I have a lot to get done editing/promotion wise I up it to ten hours a week, I usually do a little five days a week and often take the weekends off.
Do you have any rituals or habits that help you write?I am a creature of habit so yes. I often like to write in the morning once I’m finished breakfast, so it usually in the timeframe of 7:30-9:30am (I don’t go to work early as I’m a co-owner). It’s always at my kitchen table and I often take breaks to check my phone or look out the window. I always try to do any writing where I can see out the window, it helps be calm, focused and inspired.
What was the best thing anyone has ever said about your books and which one was it about?Excellent question! I actually have a short story about the nicest thing anyone ever said about my books (and it was book one “The Newfoundland Vampire”). I was at a book signing in a local mall and towards the end of it a young woman came up and said, “I noticed you’re selling your book. I’m sorry I don’t have any money on me but I wanted to wish you luck and I wrote this note for you.” I said “Well thank you.” She smiled, waved and left and I was left with the note. I kept it and will share it with you now it said, “Every writer starts off with one word, one phrase, one book. Then builds their success on passion and love for their stories and imagination. Don’t be discouraged at what people say if negative. Write for yourself.” I was touched, I immediately got up to go and thank her again for the lovely sentiment but she was gone. It’s the little moments like that which make being a writer all worth it.
If there was one thing you’d like the readers to know about your characters, that isn’t obvious in the text, what would it be?I’d like the readers to know how much I’ve come to care about Cassandra in particular. I’ve tried really hard to make her a realistic, fun and interesting character. She is the first character that truly felt alive to me. I’d also like to add that for every character I did research and tried to get the way they act and speak in my books to be as close to how they act in real life as possible.Excellent questions TP, thanks again for having me, always a blast!
The book Links:Amazon.comBarnes and NobleSmashwords
My links:www.charlesokeefe.com TwitterFacebookGoodreads

As many of you know, I attended the New England Author Expo, orgainsed by Christopher Obert of Pear Tree Publishing, as a blogger. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I learned a great deal from the panels of authors, editors, and many more, who dished on their experience of the publishing world and offered invaluable advice. Not only that, but I also got to meet and interview some amazing authors. This week, over the course of seven days, I will be sharing the stories of those wonderful imagineers, and today I share the inspiring story of Ashley Royer: A young author (17) repped by agent David Fowler and published with Harper Collins. Her book, Remember to Forget, has taken Wattpad and the nation by storm. So how did she do it at only seventeen?




I hear that you are also a vlogger, could you tell me a little bit about that?So, I have my youtube channel and I make random videos of me talking and singing songs. (Check out her song, Jet Black Heart... I loved it) I also do things with my book. But I started in Wattpad. This is where I began writing Remember to Forget and another book when I was around twelve or thirteen. I gained quite a large following. Right now I have ninety-two thousand followers there and I have a total of thirty million reads for both of my books.

And how did it progress from writing on Wattpad to getting your agent? I wrote on Wattpad for two years and I didn’t tell anyone about it, not even my mom. I kept it a secret, but then because of my youtube channel she found a comment about it one night. Normally I delete all the comments, but it was the middle of the night and I couldn’t delete it so she saw one about my book. She didn’t tell me for about a month and then she sat me down and told me she had gotten me agent and an attorney. 

Did that come as a shock to you?I kind of knew that she had found it because she kept saying things that only happened in my book. So I definitely knew that she knew, but I wasn’t expecting her to get an agent and attorney and help me publish my book.

So how has the experience been? Has it been a whirlwind and something you’ve not expected? Definitely. It came out in April of this year so it’s still sort of new. But I’ve gone to Chicago for a book conference and I’ve done a book conference in Boston. That’s definitely a new experience for me but I like it a lot.

And how have you found the sudden stardom, is it something you’ve not gotten used to yet?Well, for me I just feel like the same person, but then I go to book signings and book conferences, or even just concerts, and people are so excited to meet me. Like, I will literally have girls who will hide behind the bookshelves in Barnes and Nobles because they’re too nervous to meet me. And at a conference I had a girl run across the whole venue with no shoes on, just so she could meet me. So that stuff, when it hits me, it’s like… wow, people actually want to meet me. And then when I go to work, everything is normal. I have a friend who works with me, that says I live a Hanna Montana life.

So, tell me about your book and what it’s all about?So, my book is about a boy, Levi, who stops speaking after his girlfriend dies in a tragic accident. He uses his phone to speak and he deals with depression and anxiety. When he moves from Australia, where he lived with his mom, to Maine with his dad, he meets new people and they help him through all his struggles. It is his story of getting to be a better person.

How have you found the response to your book? Most people have really, really enjoyed it. They like how they can connect with the characters and how it deals with common teenage struggles, so a lot of my readers can connect and relate to what they going through. They can see themselves at the characters, which is what I try to do while writing. A lot of people say that it is an inspiration to them, which is amazing.

It really is. Have you any plans for another book? I hope to. I’m sort of working on a sequel for Remember to Forget. But I’ve been working on that for almost a year and it’s not quite done. It’s just so hard with trying to do this book and I’m still a senior in High School, so I’m still dealing with that.

How has that juggle been? Em, sometimes it’s tough, but I like it.  

If you would like to find out more about Ashley Royer, click the links below. 
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Wattpad 

If you'd like to check out her book it can be found where books are sold, including
Amazon

Don't forget to subscribe and be the first to hear about fantastic new authors featured on Books and Authors. Please note that subscribers will only receive an email when there is a new post, email addresses will not be used for spamming or advertisements. 

 

As many of you know, I attended the New England Author Expo, orgainsed by Christopher Obert of Pear Tree Publishing, as a blogger. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I learned a great deal from the panels of authors, editors, and many more, who dished on their experience of the publishing world and offered invaluable advice. Not only that, but I also got to meet and interview some amazing authors. This week, over the course of seven days, I will be sharing just some of the stories of those wonderful imagineers. While I was there, I had the pleasure of meeting the very talented Rick Felty, author of the Tabitha Fink adventures - The Cat With One Eye and On a Mission to Mars. 



               Could you tell me a little bit about Tabitha Fink?Sure. So, we had a cat named Tabitha Fink and when we got her she was an adoption and came to us with only one eye. She was a great cat, like everyone’s pets are, and we had a lot of fun with her. But we thought, “There’s something interesting here about Tabitha Fink, and perhaps some stories that could be told.” So, over a couple of years of contemplating what to do, we came up with the first book which is called, Tabitha Fink―The Cat With One Eye, and it is a very early reader that tells her story and is set up in a way that pre-readers can enjoy, with simple words. The goal of that book is to basically say, “You’re as special as anyone else, just by being you.” So, even though Tabitha only has one eye, her message is I’m happy with being me.

That is fantastic, and I can see that your book has won a couple of awards, could you tell me about those?Yes. So, I’m new to this and entered my book into a couple awards. I won the best children’s book award with the Beverly Hills Book awards. Then with the Feathered Quill Book Awards I was second place for the same category.

That’s amazing, congratulations. I can see you have Tabitha Fink ― The Cat with One Eye and On a Mission to Mars. Are there any more in the works?Yeap, there sure is. The next one is going to be coming out in the fall and it’s called Ninja at Night. It’s basically about not being afraid of the dark.

And finally, if you could offer an aspiring author advice, what would you tell them?Start writing and read a lot. The more you read the more you become exposed to styles and to approaches of good writing. And then just to write a lot. Don’t be afraid to have to expect to edit what you’ve written. Otherwise just do it and with self-publishing you can get a book made very easily. So just do it, especially if you have an idea that you’re passionate about.

To find out more about Rick Felty, click the links below.Website
Facebook
Twitter
His books can also be found onAmazon



Don't forget to subscribe and be the first to hear about fantastic new authors featured on Books and Authors. Please note that subscribers will only receive emails when there is a new post, email addresses will not be used for spamming or advertisement.

As many of you know, I attended the New England Author Expo, orgainsed by Christopher Obert of Pear Tree Publishing, as a blogger. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I learned a great deal from the panels of authors, editors and many more, who dished on their experience of the publishing world and offered invaluable advice. Not only that, but I also got to meet and interview some amazing authors. This week, over the course of seven days, I will be sharing the stories of those wonderful imagineers. To that end, I would like to introduce, Jennifer Owen Davies, author of the young adult series Children of Annwn, featuring The Promise, The Battle, and Gilgamesh, and the adult romances Capturing the last Welsh Witch and The Vineyards of Allegretti. 

Please tell me about your books and if there are any that are part of a series?The children of Annwn is a young adult fantasy series. Basically it’s a coming of age story about overcoming your fears and the challenges you have to face. My main character, Mia Childs, is seventeen and she really doesn’t feel that she fits into the world she lives in. But that’s for a very good reason. She discovers that when she meets a boy, that she’s not actually human. It begins a saga of discovering who she is and embracing the good and bad parts of her. She faces her fears and becomes a very strong warrior by the end. It’s a great story full of magic, fantasy, romance, and the characters follow from book one through to book three. There’s also a possibility that this series might be extended.
Then I went on to write my two women’s fiction. Again, I love the supernatural, the paranormal side. I’m from Wales originally so I wanted to capture that a bit more. I wrote Capturing the Last Welsh Witch, and it’s doing really, really well. I’m very happy with it. My main character has been hunted throughout life as a witch. In fact she’s had several lives like this and had, at one point, been hung as a witch. So, currently she’s on the run from the FBI and a secret group. It’s about overcoming fears, because she was betrayed, so she has to learn to trust again and fall in love. It’s a really fast paced, action adventure, cat and mouse saga, but it has got a happy ending.
My latest novel is a contemporary one. I’ve always loved Italy, wine, and Tuscany. It’s set in Tuscany and it’s about first, unrequited, love amongst the vineyards. It’s about the secrets we hide inside and what happens when those secrets are spilled. So there’s murder, mystery, and a bit of hot romance as well.

There seems to be a supernatural theme throughout most of your books, could you tell me about your inspiration for these books?I think I’ve always loved stories and I read from a very young age. I enjoy a good cross-section of books from Cassandra Claire, to Stephanie Meyer, to many more. I love books and I think when you read, and read, you get so many ideas that come into your head and you just want to write. I used to just write in notebooks and not really think anything of it. But I started filling one, two, three, note books and my husband said “you’ve got to start putting these onto the computer.” So I did, and then I realised that I enough to complete a story. So it was my next challenge then was to get that story to make sense. It took me a long time, over years really. It was challenging, but once I realise that I could do it, that I really liked the story, I just couldn’t stop. It’s become a love, a passion and it’s not something I ever want to give up.

And finally, if you could give any advice to someone who wanted to be an author, what would it be?To not give up, it’s not easy. You can’t go in it thinking you’re going to be financially set. That’s not the reason I ever started writing. To just run with it, to network with other writers because at times it can be very dark and hearing readers come back to me and tell me they loved my book is the reason I keep writing.


If you would like to find out more about Jennifer and her books, please check out her links.
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter


If you would like to check out her books, click below
Amazon



Don't forget to subscribe and be the first to hear about fantastic new authors featured on Books and Authors. Please note that subscribers will only receive emails when there is a new post, email addresses will not be used for spamming or advertisement.

As many of you know, I attended the New England Author Expo, orgainsed by Christopher Obert of Pear Tree Publishing, as a blogger. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I learned a great deal from the panels of authors, editors, and many more, who dished on their experience of the publishing world and offered invaluable advice. Not only that, but I also got to meet and interview some amazing authors. This week, over the course of seven days, I will be sharing just some of the stories of those wonderful imagineers. Today's enticing read comes from author Jennifer W Smith, who penned Flying Backwards, and The Rare Pear.


Could you tell me a little about your books?Sure, my first book, Flying Backwards, is about a flight attendant who is a small town girl and she wants to find her way in the world. So, she applies to become an international flight attendant. She, meets three different suitors along the way, so it’s a romance story about who will she end up with in the end. I was a flight attendant for a couple of years, so it inspired this story and all the places this character has been to, I have also been.
The second book is a series I wrote and I kind of changed genres for this. It features an old Hotel in a tiny New England coastal town. So my character finds something hidden behind the walls that sends her into another realm. It has history, romance, mystery and a little evolution theory in there. It’s a fun fantasy adventure. 

That sounds amazing. Could you tell me have you anything lined up next?Yeah, so I’m plugging along with the Broken Water series. The first book is out now, the second book will be out September and the third in the Spring and I’m writing the fourth book now.

Wow that’s a lot. If you were to give advice to an aspiring author, what would it be?Just to stick with it and maybe to join a writers group, because you need a whole community of people to help you, motivate you and give you tips.


If you'd like to find out more about Jennifer and her books, here are just some of her links below.Website
Facebook
Twitter


Jennifer W Smith's books can be found atAmazon 

Don't forget to subscribe and be the first to hear about fantastic new authors featured on Books and Authors. Please note that subscribers will only receive emails when there is a new post, email addresses will not be used for spamming or advertisement.

As many of you know, I attended the New England Author Expo, orgainsed by Christopher Obert of Pear Tree Publishing, as a blogger. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I learned a great deal from the panels of authors, editors, and many more, who dished on their experience of the publishing world and offered invaluable advice. Not only that, but I also got to meet and interview some amazing authors. This week, over the course of seven days, I will be sharing just some of the stories of those wonderful imagineers. As I perused the tables of tales, I came across one that caught my attention. Meet, Maggie Van Galen, author of The Adventures of Keeno & Ernest (The Banana Tree & The Diamond Mine).

Could you tell me a little bit about your books?Well, Keeno is a very mischievous little monkey and Ernest is a very wise elephant. They’re best friends in the jungle. Keeno seems to find himself getting into trouble and Ernest has to get him out. There’s a moral to every story and the morals tend to get older as the books get older. So, in the first book, Keeno finds a banana on the wrong side of the river and decides to cross it anyway. He learns a lesson about following family rules, friendship, and listening. And then in the second book, Keeno learns a very valuable lesson about stealing. So, he wants to make a necklace for his mom and he goes to the diamond mine. He gets caught and Ernest has to rescue him. So, again he learns a very valuable lesson about stealing no matter what your intentions were.

Could I ask what your inspiration behind the books was?So, when I was a little girl, my dad used to tell me stories about Keeno and Ernest. I remember he was a phenomenal raconteur and he would take you away to wherever his stories were. His characters became ingrained in my memory. He passed away about twenty-five years ago and unfortunately he never wrote any of the stories down. So, when my oldest son, who’s now thirteen, was born I started making up my own stories about his characters. And it sort of carried on from there.

That’s so lovely. If you had any advice for someone wishing to become an author, what would it be?My tag line that I always sign on my books and is all over my website is “Always follow your dreams.” And that would be my advice to anyone wanted to be a writer, artist, or whatever you want to be.

And I see your illustrator is Joanna Lundeen, can I ask how you came to know each other?Well, before I published any of my books I used to go into my kids classrooms and tell the stories. I didn’t have anything written down, it was just in my head. I’m definitely a storyteller before I am a write. One day, the teacher said, “You should really try to get this published, we could use it in the classroom.” I was hesitant. But when my youngest started school and life became less hectic, the kindergarten teacher put me in touch with her best friend Joanna Lundeen, who is a classically trained artist. She had never actually done a book before, so she was incredibly excited to get stuck in. With the third book coming out near Christmas, called The New Friend, Joanna will be doing that one as well.
To find out more about Maggie, click the links below.Website
Facebook
Twitter
 Her books can be found onAmazon
Don't forget to subscribe and be the first to hear about fantastic new authors featured on Books and Authors. Please note that subscribers will only receive emails when there is a new post, email addresses will not be used for spamming or advertisement.

As many of you know, I attended the New England Author Expo, orgainsed by Christopher Obert of Pear Tree Publishing, as a blogger. And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I learned a great deal from the panels of authors, editors and many more, who dished on their experience of the publishing world and offered invaluable advice. Not only that, but I also got to meet and interview some amazing authors. This week, over the course of seven days, I will be sharing the stories of those wonderful imagineers. Without further ado, I'd like to welcome Martin Herman, author of The Jefferson Files and The Hidden Treasure Files, historical murder mysteries.





Could you tell me a little about your books?Well, let me start by telling you about The Jefferson Files because that was my first book published. The Jefferson Files is a historical murder mystery. I’ll give you the cast of characters. I have Thomas Jefferson, a secret society that I created on those pages, a dead body, the Potomac River, a group of college students, a diary that stays hidden for almost two hundred years and a computer hacker. Did I just say Thomas Jefferson and a computer hacker in the same sentence? How could that be? And that is my mystery. The way I write a book is to create a character that is so completely full, that even if you don’t like them, you can’t help but care what’s going to happen to them. I try to grab you early. So for instance, in The Jefferson Files, if I can keep you interested until page fourteen, I own you. (He said with a broad smile). And I also like to create a scenario at the beginning and a scenario at the end which is completely different. And so, how I get from one end to the other, becomes the fun of writing it and talking about it. Two characters from The Jefferson Files, although the books stand alone, are also in The Hidden Treasure Files. In this book I start with a small antique store that has an auction every week. It tells the story of a piece of history, a permit which allows the holder to make alcohol legally during prohibition, being sold. The auctioneer looks at it and says, ‘it’s an interesting piece but who remembers prohibition? And it’s such an ugly frame. I’ll put it up for two dollars, maybe I’ll get a dollar.’ Within ten minutes two people had bid it up to a hundred thousand dollars. Within the first half-dozen chapters I’ll introduce you to people from Russia, China, and Germany, each of whom did something to make this so valuable. And when all is over, you will see an ending that will actually whisper in your ear “Surprise!” 
They both sound so interesting. What was your inspiration for The Jefferson Files?First of all, he’s been my hero since I can remember. And I came across a small news item in USA today, about a dozen years ago, about a sting operation the FBI were doing against politicians on the take. And it just struck me, what would Jefferson have done if someone put a bushel basket of money in front of him and said “all I want is a little influence.” He’s my hero, I would have hoped he would have beaten the crap out of him, but who knows. He was human, they were human. And so as it started to fester it was… let me put a real dilemma in front of him. What if I put a dead body that floats up the Potomac River behind the Whitehouse? He instantly knows who did it, he instantly knows he can’t touch them because of their political power. What would he do? And that’s how it started. 

Can you tell me, what have you planned next?Well, I’m 22,000 words into my third book. And again it’s a couple of characters from my previous book in a completely different story.

If you'd like to find out more about Martin Herman's works, he can be found here.Blog
Facebook
His fantastic books can be found here.Amazon

Don't forget to subscribe and be the first to hear about fantastic new authors featured on Books and Authors. Please note that subscribers will only receive emails when there is a new post, email addresses will not be used for spamming or advertisement.