Category Archives: Author Spotlight

Author Interviews, Author Spotlight, WOTR Event

#WOTR21 #6YearFamily #AuthorSpotlight – JM Walker

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Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

J.M. Walker – J.M. Walker is an Amazon bestselling author who hit USA Today with Wanted: An Outlaw Anthology. She loves all things books, pigs and lip gloss. She is happily married to the man who inspires all of her Heroes and continues to make her weak in the knees every single day.

“Above all, be the HEROINE of your own life…” ~ Nora Ephron

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

I find the ones that follow the first book because I suck at keeping track of timelines and details. I have a notebook for a series and I still forget things.

What comes first? The plot or characters

Characters – I don’t plot. I’ll take notes but that’s about it.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

Tijan and Lily White. They are both my unicorn authors!

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

Um…well I’ve talked to both of them so…I guess I would ask Lily to help me get deeper into the dark subjects I write about. Go beyond the blood and gore kind of thing.

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series.

The blurb. Always the freaking blurb.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

Meeting and interacting with readers! So this would include all of the book signings I’ve been to as well!

What is your definition of success?

Besides being able to quit the day job of course, which I think is a goal for a lot of authors – I think I’m pretty successful. Sure, I don’t have a movie deal or anything but I have readers. They are what keeps me going and striving to be a better author, person, etc. I really couldn’t do this without them.

What are your social links?

Website: https://www.aboutjmwalker.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jm.walker.author
Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JMsJems/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmwlkr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjmwalker/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5132169.J_M_Walker
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y7dpjkud
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-m-walker
Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/o2i6u2

What are your buy links?

https://www.aboutjmwalker.com/books

Author Spotlight

#AuthorSpotlight – Quinn Ryder

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Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself and which Twinsie do you know.

“Well, I can’t tell you my real name because anonymity is everything when you write under a pen name, but I go by Quinn Ryder. I’m new to the MC/Mafia dark romance world, but have been writing under a different pen name for over five years. I like to think of myself as a jack of all trades, because there’s no genre I’m afraid to tackle as long as I have the inspiration to get the words out on paper. (or computer screen 😉 ) I am married with two kids, both in those crazy teenage years where attitude is in abundance, and friends are your only reason for living. I might as well live in a zoo with how many pets I have, and I spend most of my time either homeschooling the hormonal teens, dabbling in the underbelly of the criminal world with my stories, or editing for other authors. I enjoy watching movies, spending time with my family, and writing, writing, writing. As for the Twinsies, I’d love to get to know each and every one of you. I’m new to your blog, but you definitely have a new subscriber. ”

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

To be honest, the actual writing of certain books has never been hard for me. What is hard is the spontaneous bursts of inspiration that tend to lead me away from finishing series. I’ll be writing in one series, then get an idea for another. When you’re writing for two pen names, you have to go where the words take you, and sometimes it’s into new worlds that are screaming to be written.

What comes first? The plot or characters?

PLOT! There are times where I’ll have a book in my head but the characters refuse to name themselves. 95% of the time I have the blurb to my stories written before I have even started the book.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

Hmm, I’d really like to meet Cassie Mae, Suzanne Collins, and JK Rowling (Mainly because my daughter is a super freak when it comes to Harry Potter, and I’d love to see her face while meeting one of her idols.) but I did already meet one of my Unicorn authors, RS Grey, when I first started getting into publishing.

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series?

Blurbs have always come easy for me, titles and names have as well, so, in my opinion, the hardest thing about writing for me has always been writing the middle of a story. I write the beginning of a book, then the ending, and it’s the middles of a story that like to mess with me. I think of it as kinda like building a sandwich where you only have slices of bread and you have to go searching for that perfect ratio of meat, cheese, and condiments to pile in between that give your sandwich all the pizazz and flavor to make the perfect bite. Writing is like making sandwich. You have a solid beginning and a mind-blowing ending you know the readers love, but you also need those pieces of brilliance in between to round out your story and make it the perfect mix that readers can’t wait to sink their teeth into.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

I think my favorite memory as an author would be publishing my first book. I was reluctant to take that leap off the proverbial ledge into the writing world because I was afraid I would sink, and now that I’m here, I keep treading water looking into the vast sea of amazing stories wondering which wave I belong to.

What is your definition of success?

I think success is what you make of it. For me success was the first time a reader contacted me to tell me how much they loved my story and how the book affected them in a emotional and positive way. I never expected people to love my books the way they do, but the outpouring of love I get from my readers is all the success I need. Sure, becoming a best-selling author who brings in a lot of money is a writer’s dream, but as long as people love my stories, that’s all the success I’ll ever need.

What are your social links?

“Website: https://authorquinnryder.wixsite.com/mysite Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorquinnryder Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorquinnryder/ Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/quinn-ryder Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20312549.Quinn_Ryder”

What are your buy links?

“Specter’s Wake: https://books2read.com/SpectersWake Dusty’s Tracks: https://books2read.com/Dusty Sergio: The Santoyo Brothers Book One: https://books2read.com/u/ml2daY Revving For Love Anthology: https://books2read.com/Revving Sinful Valentine: https://books2read.com/SV Killing Me Softly Anthology: https://books2read.com/KMS ”

Author Spotlight

#AuthorSpotlight – Andrea Joy

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Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself and which Twinsie do you know.

Andréa Joy. I write romance in its various forms from dark to contemporary to MM and RH. I know Jo-Anna

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

I think they’re equally hard. The first because you’re establishing characters and hoping readers will like them and the plot enough to pick up the rest of the books in the series. And the rest because you have to make sure they’re just as good or better than the first book.

What comes first? The plot or characters?

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

Lucy Lennox

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series?

Definitely blurb writing.

What are your buy links?

amazon.com/author/andreajoy

Author Spotlight, WOTR Event

#WOTR21 #AuthorSpotlight – R. K. Gleason

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R.K. Gleason

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

R.K. Gleason – I’m married to one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and she is the one who encouraged me to write. I published my firs book in 2015 and at the time of writing this, I have 12 books in my library. I never intended or aspired to be an author and I always just thought everyone had an imagination as vivid (or corrupt) as mine. It wasn’t until I was 53 years old I realized that wasn’t the case and not everyone had their own movies playing in their heads all day. I rationalized it was what made me a consummate liar but never equated it to being an author. That was 12 or more books ago and just take a look at the twisted nonsense I’ve put out since then. I never started any this for the money and on the extremely rare occasions when someone recognizes me, it always makes me nervous. Mostly because the first thing that pops into my head is the person is with law enforcement.

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

I guess it the first one, or maybe the ones that follow. Hell! I have no idea. They’re all fucking hard. What I can say is writing the follow ups are usually more familiar but that doesn’t always make it easier. Some of my returning characters are assholes and unpleasant to be around. Sort of like family members and accepting the good with the bad. I seldom like the things my characters say or do but I still love them all. Perhaps I enjoy spending time with the villains the most and especially when they didn’t start out that way. Heroes are easy but villains, those fuckers are complex! For me, the best part of starting new books, is it’s like meeting a whole new group of people you haven’t learned to distrust yet.

What comes first? The plot or characters

This is like the age old chicken or egg question, so settle back and let this one sink in. The egg had to come first and here’s why. You have to have an egg to hatch a chicken. Meaning, the chicken had to come from an egg, because it’s the truth and you know it. Hatching from an egg is part of what makes it a chicken! But that fucking egg could have come from anywhere. A penguin could have laid the thing! Or an ostrich. Hell, the egg could have come from an alligator or a snake. But where ever it squeezed its way out of, there was a chicken inside. As far as plot or character goes, it depends on how the movie starts.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

David Wong, but meeting your idols doesn’t always work out as you’d hope. I learned that lesson with Tom Savini.

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

What are your feelings on the movie version of John Dies at the End? Have you aver seen a shadow man? Who really wrote the lyrics to Camel Holocaust?

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series.

The blurb, because it’s the longest out of the three choices.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

Traveling to Belfast with my wife for a book signing at the Titanic museum. We spent my birthday walking around the city and ended up miles away at a museum we had never heard of or planned on visiting.

What is your definition of success?

I think success is to be utterly happy and I think I’ve already made it. This pandemic has understandably been very difficult for people. We’ve been fortunate enough to have jobs that allowed us to work from home since this all began. This means I’ve been able to spend every day with my best friend and we never seem to get tired of each other’s company. If that’s not the true meaning of success, I’m not sure what else there could be. Sure, I’d like to be wealthy, but only so we could do more things together. Fame has its appeal for some, but I’m a little socially awkward and have a gift for saying or doing the exactly wrong thing at the worst time, and being a celebrity drives people to be on the watch for those things. Nope, No thanks. Although, maybe sleeping in might be nice.

What are your social links?

Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/y5kyqxwk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GleasonRk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r.k.gleason/
Website: https://www.rkgleason.net/

What are your buy links?

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/yb6fgdy2
Audible: https://tinyurl.com/y8dojb8d

Author Spotlight

#AuthorSpotlight – J.L. Baldwin

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Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself and which Twinsie do you know.

“J.L. Baldwin I know J.M. Walker! She’s one of my favorite humans EVER. A bit about me? Oh, goodness. Ummm…well, I’m a huge Disney nerd. I plan on moving to Florida soon to be closer to Disney World. That just about sums up my personality! haha! No, I’m just kidding. Well, other than writing, I love to read a lot. Not as much as I’d like to, because I have stories to write. 😉 I recently got into The Office so that’s my new obsession. #JimIsMine Other than that, I don’t really have much about me to talk about. I’m boring. LOL!”

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

The first book. ALWAYS. If it’s a continuous storyline spread out among several books, that’s a big harder to tackle. But if they are standalone books, then that’s easier. I kind of already know how the characters are going to be from the first book so that kind of sets up the rest. The writing comes a lot faster. It’s that first book that makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. haha

What comes first? The plot or characters?

It’s equal. Sometimes I develop the plot first, other times the characters. For the current series I’m writing, the plot for the first book kind of came first. I just made some minor changes then the characters started talking. I’ve never had a book where I know right off the bat how each main hero of the book is going to behave this early in the game. I’m about halfway through book 1, and the next two books, the heroes are so freaking loud, I can’t silence them.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

J.M. Walker! She’s one of many. She could write a cookbook, and I’d buy it. Others are, Colleen Hoover, K. Webster, etc. The list is endless.

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

“1. What’s your outlining process? 2. Do you always have characters in mind when you’re developing a plot? Or do they come afterwards? 3. Which one of your books do you see being made into a movie or TV show? ”

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series?

BLURB *hiss* The blurb writing is the WORST. Omg. I’m so glad there are blurb writers out there because even though I haven’t used one yet, I am glad to know they’re available if I need them. LOL. Oddly enough, I can’t write a story unless I have either a title or working title that can be changed later. I need something as a foundation.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

Meeting readers. Seeing how excited they were is a feeling that will never grow old. I’ve always said I will never take being an author for granted, and seeing how excited people get over your books is the best feeling in the world.

What is your definition of success?

Success is being able to take a family vacation for the first time in years because you finally can afford it, or putting your kid through college so they don’t ruin their adult lives with student loans. Or buying a house with the money you’ve made doing something you love. Being successful to me means living comfortably. I don’t care about becoming rich. Okay, I lie. I’d love to be rich and own yachts and mansions, etc. But, if I’m able to live a comfortable life, pay my bills, put some money into savings, and not be stressing out over money every day like I am right now, that’s what being successful means to me.

What are your social links?

“Reader Group: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwinFBGroup Twitter: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwinTwitter Instagram: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwinIG Facebook: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwinFB Goodreads: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwinGR Amazon: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwin Bookbub: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwinBookbub Newsletter: https://bit.ly/JLBaldwinsNewsletter ”

What are your buy links?

www.amazon.com/author/jlbaldwin

Author Spotlight

#AuthorSpotlight – KC Freeman

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Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself and which Twinsie do you know.

KC Freeman – I’m a contemporary fantasy/paranormal romance author who writes in my “spare” time due to also being crazed mom of 5 (plus a puppy). I found this signup posted on the Nikki Holt Sexton (reposted from JM Walker).

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

1st

What comes first? The plot or characters?

plot

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

Sarah J Maas

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

1) Are we going to get any more Feyre/Rhysand books? 2)Do you research the fantasy creatures you use in your books or just make it all up? 3) What are your go-to steps to get past writer’s block?

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series?

THE BLURB!

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

Reading the first review (thankfully, it was a good one)

What is your definition of success?

Someone can say that my writing/story touched their imagination and gave them a fresh perspective on guardian angels

What are your social links?

“https://www.facebook.com/KCFreemanAuthor https://www.instagram.com/kvcfreeman5/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19024932.K_C_Freeman https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kc-freeman https://www.linkedin.com/in/kc-freeman-author-425a541b5/”

What are your buy links?

“https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZHMNMGZ/ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rekindled-prophecy-k-c-freeman/1134332705 https://zimbellhousepublishing.com/product/rekindled-prophecy-ebook/”

Author Interviews, Author Spotlight, WOTR Event

#WOTR21 #6YearFamily #AuthorSpotlight – Teresa Gabelman

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Teresa Gabelman

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Love family, reading, writing, meeting book peeps and my animals. Sums me up pretty well.

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

Definitely the books that follow the first one in a series. The longer the series the harder it gets for me and yet, it’s me who makes it hard by adding more and more characters. LOL!

What comes first? The plot or characters

Definitely characters for me. The plot goes on as a I write. I’m not a plotter at all. I have an idea of how the story will go and end. Tried plotting but the characters don’t like it and change the plot as they laugh at me for trying. So, yeah, I gave up on plotting.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

Sherrilyn Kenyon

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

What is Acheron’s address? What is Acheron’s phone number? Yep, that’s pretty much it. If you have read Acheron then you will know why I want this important information….but remember….he’s mind. 😉

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series.

The blurb which is from hell.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

Meeting so many amazing people who love books as much as I do!

What is your definition of success?

When someone writes to tell me how much one of my books has helped them through a difficult time. Nothing better!

What are your social links?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teresagabelman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TGabelman
AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/author/jared1840/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/teresa-gabelman

What are your buy links?

https://amzn.to/33wer6Y

Author Spotlight, Uncategorized

#AuthorSpotlight – Quell T. Fox

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Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself and which Twinsie do you know.

Quell T. Fox. I am an indie author. I write reverse harem, both paranormal and contemporary. I currently have 9 books published. I don’t think I know either (sorry!) a fellow author shared this link.

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

The first book in the series for sure! Trying to get everything in order is the hardest for me. Once I have that first book down, the rest flows because characters and plot are mostly developed at that point.

What comes first? The plot or characters?

Characters always speak to me first. Plot takes me some time to get down.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

Probably KV Rose. My favorite series is by her. Also a huge fan of J Bree.

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

What inspired the darkness? How long does it take you to plot out? Who do you go to for talking out ideas?

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series?

Blurb, blurb, blurb. Did I say blurb? They are my enemy. I struggle so hard! It’s almost embarrassing.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

I love each and every fan that reaches out to me to talk about my books. Those are definitely my favorite moments.

What is your definition of success?

Funny because I wrote a paper about this in 8th grade and won something for it. Had to read it in front of the entire school. It was not fun. But what I said then was that “success is being happy in what you choose to do,” and I still believe that. It’s different for everyone, but happiness is the goal in life. To me, that is success.

What are your social links?

“Www.Facebook.com/quelltfoxauthor Www.Instagram.com/quelltfoxauthor Www.Facebook.com/groups/quelltfoxauthor QuellTFox.com”

What are your buy links?

Author Interviews, Author Spotlight, WOTR Event

#WOTR21 #6YearFamily #EventHost #AuthorSpotlight – Anya Breton

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Anya Breton

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Anya Breton – I write naughty. I dig rubber chickens, I have crabs and they go on adventures with me. I’m the WOTR Llama Queen.

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

The last half of all books is harder than the first, no matter where it falls in a series.

What comes first? The plot or characters

Characters! My stuff is always character driven.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

Right now I’d say Kate Meader. She writes HOT, fun books.

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

Um, I’d just be fangirling. Honestly, the writing process is so specific to each person that it wouldn’t help much for me to ask what hers would be like. I might ask which were her favorite to write and what we can expect in the future.

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series.

Oh my god, the blurb, totally the blurb. It is painful as all hellllll.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

My favorite memories include hugs from amazing readers. Always the hugs. Please, give me more hugggssss.

What is your definition of success?

Hugs. haha

What are your social links?

https://www.facebook.com/anyabreton,

https://twitter.com/anyabreton/,

https://instagram.com/anyabreton/

What are your buy links?

https://anyabreton.com/

plus

https://www.amazon.com/Anya-Breton/e/B004QWCUVU

Author Interviews, Author Spotlight, WOTR Event

#WOTR21 #AuthorSpotlight #6YearFamily – A.D. Ellis

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A.D. Ellis

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Hi! I’m A.D. Ellis. I’m a mom to a 13 year old and a 15 year old. I’ve been teaching for 22 years and I’m in my second year as an instructional coach. My whole career has been spent in the inner city of Indianapolis and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I published my first book in 2014 and never once looked back; I absolutely love the book community and writing stories.
I’m a huge fan of Schitt’s Creek, Kingdom, Pose, The Handmaid’s Tale, Eastsiders, Sense 8, Sex Education, the new Tales of the City, and pretty much any good romance or romantic comedy.
I taught myself to crochet and love to do it, but I don’t have as much time for it as I would like lately. I’ve adjusted to a new schedule of going to be around 8:30pm so I can get up at 3:45am to get ready for work and have some writing time. That leaves my afternoons and evenings free for family, dinner, catching up on shows, reading, and relaxing before bed.
I love hard cider, wine with friends, and I’m pretty much addicted to tea. Pizza, chocolate, and sushi are amazing. I rarely turn down a good pork taco, noodles, or bread. Chocolate covered peanuts are from Heaven.
I’ve published over 30 books and I have several more in the works. My early titles are small town male/female romance, but I switched to male/male romance back in 14/15 and it’s totally where my heart is now.

When you are writing a book, which is harder? The first book in the series or the others after it?

Both? The first book is hard because you’re just getting to know the characters. The next books are hard because you have to remain consistent with things that happened in the first book. Were those eyes blue? What was that neighbor’s name? They definitely both have their challenges.

What comes first? The plot or characters

I’m kinda 50/50 on this one. Sometimes I’ll get hit with characters and build a plot around them. Sometimes I’ll get hit with a plot and fill it in with characters.

What author would you love to meet (Who is your unicorn author)?

I’ve met so many great ones! I think I’d likely go way back to authors of my childhood and want to meet Beverly Cleary, Ann M. Martin, Roald Dahl, or Barbara Park.

If you could ask that author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

I’d just ask them to tell me what they do with their ideas, how does a book come together for them, and what book they loved writing the most.

What is harder? The blurb writing, naming the book, or naming the series.

Oh Lord! ALL OF THEM!! Sometimes a title will come to me right away, sometimes I end up at THE END with no title at all. If I can figure out a series name, the individual titles usually come easier. The blurb isn’t fun, but I think I’m getting a little better at it. I (as a reader) hate long blurbs and I’ll pass on a book immediately if the blurb drags on and on, so I’ve adapted to the current way of blurb writing (in my genre at least) and I keep them short and sweet with a focus on the tropes.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

There are so many! I love all of the fun signings, meeting readers, and hearing that people love my stories. The best part of being an author is finding friends I never would have had in my life if it wasn’t for my books. That part makes all the hard parts worthwhile.

What is your definition of success?

I think there are different levels. My first success as an author came when I wrote THE END on my first book. Another success was when I hit publish on that book. Holding my physical book in my hand is a success. Each title published after that is a success. Growing as a writer is a success. Finding a circle of friends who gets me and supports me is a success. Having readers contact me to say my books touched them in some way is a success.
Yes, having money to continue publishing is a success and I do need to keep making sales in order to keep writing and publishing, but I don’t look at money as the biggest marker of success. At least not for me.
(Maybe if I was making millions I’d feel differently- hahahaha!)

What are your social links?

https://www.adellisauthor.com

https://www.twitter.com/ADEllisAuthor

https://www.facebook.com/adellisauthor

https://www.instagram.com/adellisauthor

What are your buy links?