Category Archives: Author Spotlight

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?

Author Spotlight

#AuthorSpotlight – April Lynn Baker

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

April Lynn Baker. I’m from Franklin, IN and I write PNR and MC romance. I don’t know either of you. I’m new to the page.

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

The first one. That’s where the whole plot comes from for the whole series. From there it gets easier

What comes first? The plot or characters?

With me, my characters. Then I come up with my plot. I know I work backwards.

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

Esther E. Schmidt

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

What got you into writing? What do you do when you get writers block? Any advice you can give me on writing better MC books?

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

I am good at writing blurbs. I would say the other two. I’ve gotten plenty of headaches from naming my books and figuring out a series name

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

I would have to say publishing my very first book. It was amazing. But that feeling doesn’t go away.

What is your definition of success?

My definition of success is not giving up when it gets tough. Push through it and make the book worthwhile for the readers. Your success comes from them.

What are your social links?

https://linktr.ee/aprilbaker80

What are your buy links?

“Keller: Dirty Daggers MC #1 Revving For Love Anthology Love You to Death Anthology Jase: Appalachian Dragons #1 https://www.amazon.com/Jase-Appalachian-Dragons-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0876BV6H6/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=April+Lynn+Baker&qid=1605720196&sr=8-3″

Author Spotlight

#AuthorSpotlight – Carson Mackenzie

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

My name is Carson Mackenzie. I am a single mother with two grown sons. I live in the South with one son, a Great Dane, and two shelter dogs who think they run the household. I don’t know any of the Twinsies.

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

Writing the first books in a series can be hard because it is the book that will either peak a reader’s interest or not. However, to me, the books that follow are the hardest. The first book is fresh, a new idea that brings on the excitement of new characters and building a world around them. With the books that follow, as an author, you want them to be as unique as the first. The main characters in the following books deserve to not to be overshadowed by the mains in the first book and given their own different and engaging storyline. The goal is when the series is completed, readers feel from book one to the last book written had the author’s complete devotion to their characters and story was achieved.

What comes first? The plot or characters?

I start with a basic plot, then once the characters form – I start writing and allow the characters’ personalities to complete the plot as they guide me through telling their story.

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

Nora Roberts – I grew up reading her. Over the years, she is one of the only authors who’s stories and writing has kept me entertained to point I keep coming back for more.

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

When did you realize you wanted to be an author? How long did take you gain enough courage to take the plunge into allowing others to see your work? Are you a disciplined writer or do you only write when the mood strikes?

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

None. I title the book and write blurb before I even start typing the story. If it is to be a series, it is also name prior to working on book.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

My favorite memory is from my first published book. It was a private message from a reader who stated she enjoyed the story and was looking forward to reading more along with watching me grow as an author.

What is your definition of success?

Success can be defined a number of different ways – For me it is knowing people are reading and enjoying my books as much as I enjoyed writing them.

What are your social links?

“Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Carson-Mackenzie/e/B019CYGYSQ/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarsonMackenzieAuthor/ Webpage: https://www.carsonmackenzieauthor.wordpress.com/ Carson’s Crew: https://www.facebook.com/groups/carsoncrew Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carsonmackenzie4/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14764937.Carson_Mackenzie Allauthor: https://allauthor.com/profile/carsonmackenzie/ Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/carson-mackenzie MeWe: https://www.mewe.com/i/carsonmackenzie Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/l2k1l8 ”

What are your buy links?

“Speed (Book 1) – Universal – https://books2read.com/speed Crusher (Book 2) – Universal – https://books2read.com/crusher Devil (Book 3) – Universal – https://books2read.com/devil-blackhawkmc Ghost (Book 4) – Universal – https://books2read.com/ghost-blackhawkmc Jag (Book 5) – Universal – https://books2read.com/jag-blackhawkmc Coast (Book 6) – Universal – https://books2read.com/coast Snatched (Book 1) – Universal – https://books2read.com/snatched-havenmc Hawk’s Bounty (Book 2) – Universal – https://books2read.com/hawksbounty Keg’s Revelation (Book 3) – Universal – https://books2read.com/Kegsrevelation Her Way or No Way – Universal – https://books2read.com/her-way-or-no-way Touched by the Music – Universal – https://books2read.com/touchedbythemusic ”

Author Interviews, Author Spotlight, WOTR Event

#WOTR21 #AuthorSpotlight – Melonie Johnson

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Melonie Johnson

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Melonie Johnson
I’m a Star Wars junkie and Shakespeare groupie. Known as #thewritinglush, I love dark coffee, cheap wine, and expensive beer. And margaritas. And mimosas. And mules. Basically any cocktail that starts with the letter m. I met my future husband in that most romantic of places—the mall—when we were teenagers working in stores across the hall from each other. Today, we live happily ever after in the magical land midway between Chicago and Milwaukee with our two redhead daughters, a dog that’s more like a small horse, and a pair of hermit crabs. After teaching high school English and Theatre for several years, now I write smart and funny contemporary romance and moonlights as an audiobook narrator under the pseudonym, Evelyn Eibhlin. Declared a “writer to watch” by Kirkus and a “fizzy, engrossing new voice” by Entertainment Weekly, my debut series, SOMETIMES IN LOVE, has appeared on the Amazon Best Books of the month, and been featured in Cosmopolitan and Woman’s World. Watch for my next romantic comedy, TOO GOOD TO BE REAL, out July 6, 2021.

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

Even though later books in a series have more logistical challenges because you are juggling multiple books at various stages of the publication process, starting a new series is harder because you are getting to know the characters, establishing the world, defining relationships, etc. It takes time and drains a lot of creativity.

What comes first? The plot or characters

Almost always the characters.

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

I have been so lucky to meet several of my most favorite authors, including Karen Marie Moning Diana Galbadon, and Laura Kinsale.

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

1. What are your tricks for making the words flow when “writer’s block” hits?
2. Which of your books would you choose to be made into a movie?
3. If you could write outside your published genres, what would you try?

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

Crafting the blurb! So tricky to boil it down to the right bits and tie it up in a neat package.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

Romance Game Night at the Strand Bookstore in NYC

What is your definition of success?

A fan base with readers who connect with my stories and love my books.

What are your social links?

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/melonie-johnson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewritinglush/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MelonieFJohnson/_saved/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelonieJohnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelonieWrites/

What are your buy links?

Too Good to be Real: toogoodtobereal.com
Sometimes in Love series:
Getting Hot with the Scot: https://meloniejohnson.com/books/sometimes-in-love-2/getting-hot-with-the-scot/
Smitten by the Brit: https://meloniejohnson.com/books/sometimes-in-love-2/smitten-by-the-brit/
Once Upon a Bad Boy: https://meloniejohnson.com/once-upon-a-bad-boy/

Author Spotlight, Uncategorized

#AuthorSpotlight – KB Cinder

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

KB Cinder, I’m a contemporary/rom com author who writes books like Jack Off and Circle Jerk 😉 I don’t know any of the Twinsies!

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

Gahhhh. The ones after. Characters don’t always follow your plans for them.

What comes first? The plot or characters?

Characters!

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

Lucy Score 🙂

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

“1) Do you write chapter to chapter in order or do you bounce around? 2) Do you have any weird writing rituals? 3) How do you keep your funny even when life’s not so funny?”

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

Blurb. Condensing your baby into one little snippet is like pulling teeth.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

Coming up with the concepts of Circle Jerk and Jack Off. I resisted a lot of my gut instincts early on. Embracing my kind of funny has been such a relief.

What is your definition of success?

Writing what makes you and your readers happy.

What are your social links?

“https://www.facebook.com/kbcinderauthor https://www.instagram.com/kbcinderauthor/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19210548.KB_Cinder”

What are your buy links?

Author Spotlight

#AuthorSpotlight – Michelle Geel

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

“Hiya! I’m Michelle Geel, a mom of 2 kiddos & 4 dogs, and I live in a coastal city in South Africa. I’m kooky and weird, and sarcastic in the best way possible (there’s a good way?). The off-the-cuff sh*t I often spout tends to be highly entertaining to those around me and in my book, keeping my loved ones laughing is always a bonus. I’ve just signed up to the TwinsieTalk newsletter, so am looking forward to getting to know everyone on the team. I write contemporary steamy romance, and am still learning to live with my NSFW brain (I still have a daytime job). Although my first two books are trad published by DDP (Deep Desires Press), I am now flying solo as an indie-author and have released my first self-published novella, Playing Offense, just last week! (Playing Offense is part of the Girl Power Romance anthology – where women have been placed in positions which are generally filled by men.)”

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

I have not written a series yet, but I’d suppose the follow-ups would be. Especially if each book covers a different couple & there’s interaction between the couples from each book (e.g. brothers). Timelines are tricky to keep straight and readers are not fools – they pick up on every-freaking-thing!

What comes first? The plot or characters?

Ooh, toughie. It would depend what triggers the idea. If I see an extraordinarily handsome man, I’d build the story around him. If it’s the plot, the characters will soon emerge.

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

Ooh, you guys don’t make this easy. I’d have to say TL Swan, simply because I’ve known her longer and have interacted with her on a few occasions, but we’ve never actually ‘met’.

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

“Tee often speaks of how she rewrites entire books. I’d love to know whether it’s a complete rewrite, or whether she keeps the scenes she really likes (which may limit her). She has a beautiful style of writing. It pulls you right in and makes you feel as though you’re actually watching a movie. I’d love to know what (if anything) she attributes this skill to. When she jots down her plot – does she strictly stick to it, or does she go where her characters take her?”

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

B.L.U.R.B.!!! (maybe like multiplied by a few million, just to cover all the bases)

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

“C’mon, these are like final-stage questions at Who wants to be a millionaire! (and I have no lifelines left) Gosh, it’s pre-published author stage, but I guess the night I received the email from the publisher, offering to sign me & publish my first book. (I wasn’t sure that my writing was good enough to even self-publish, so their offer was a huge feather in my cap.)”

What is your definition of success?

As an author, it would be the ability to write a story so well that it completely captivates the reader, swoops them along the bumpy rollercoaster ride, and spits them out – satisfied – on the other side. #goalachieved

What are your social links?

“https://www.facebook.com/MichelleGeelAuthor/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/276850519695721/ https://www.instagram.com/mich3geel/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17773786 http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07B7DR4J1”

What are your buy links?

“Playing Offense: http://amzn.com/B08LZJWH83 Crimson Tide: http://amzn.com/1090763255 Finding a keeper: http://a.co/3PFJSt1”

Author Interviews, Author Spotlight, WOTR Event

#WOTR21 #AuthorSpotlight – Ellis Leigh

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Ellis Leigh

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

I’m Ellis Leigh, USA Today bestselling author of paranormal and sci-fi romance. I like fur, fangs, and long walks through creepy forests late at night.

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

I think the later books become harder mostly because, as authors, we build entire universes in our minds. All those details–all the foreshadowing that happens along the way–has to be logged and tracked somehow. The farther along a book is in a series, the more re-reading of past books I have to do to jog my memory.

What comes first? The plot or characters

Characters. Always. Every books starts as a GIF in my head of a particular moment in time. That moment tends to spotlight the overall goal of that character. The character profile fills in from that, then the plot builds around that moment. Character is always primary, though.

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

I met her! I adore Kelley Armstrong, and I was lucky enough to meet her at the RWA convention in New York. Her Women Of The Otherworld series inspired me to revisit my love of paranormal romance, and I am forever a fan of hers for that.

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

How do you build your characters to have such depth and personality? As a genre skipper, how much reading do you do in the genre you’re writing in at the moment? Can I have Jeremy Danvers, please?

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

All of it. Every single aspect because it affects marketing and visibility. I may want to name a paranormal romance some super simple name, but I have to be able to show a reader what’s inside at a glance. Cover, title, subtitle, and blurb are vital to a book’s success for sure.

What is your favorite memory so far as an author?

I was at a reader convention once, standing in line at the coffee shop at like six in the morning in my pajamas and hoodie. Picture it–no makeup, messy hair, bleary eyed. I’m talking fresh out of bed with no shame. It was at that moment a reader of mine came running across the lobby SCREAMING my name. She was so excited to meet me that I couldn’t even be mad when she snapped a selfie with me. I wanted to, and I’m sure somewhere out there is a horrible picture of me trying hard to smile pre-coffee, but she was a gift. I will forever be grateful for that moment of being seen.

What is your definition of success?

I don’t think I have one for myself. I always have goals–financial, production, noticeability–but nothing I could say is a direct component of “success.” Ask me in another five years.

What are your social links?

• https://www.facebook.com/ellisleighwrites

• https://twitter.com/ellis_writes

• http://instagram.com/ellis_and_kristin

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/feralbreed/

What are your buy links?

http://author.to/ellisleigh