Introducing Martha Fleming

1. Hi Martha Fleming, can you please tell me a little about yourself?

Martha: I’m just a small town country girl, a mother, grandmother, I enjoy reading & of course writing. I also enjoy pool & bowling.

2. Can you tell my readers a bit about your upcoming books Guardian Angel & Danny and the Temple?

Martha: Guardian Angel is a true story that I wrote when I was 10 years old. Danny and The Temple is just one of my loves behind the stories of Jesus & the money changers.

3. What is the inspiration behind your work? Martha:

True life & love of the bible.

4. What makes your books stand out from the crowd?

Martha: I believe my writing to be inspirational, interesting & entertaining. I believe my books are good for any reader.

5. I have just done an interview with Inspired Industries, so it would be nice to get the perspective from one of their authors - how have you found their service so far?

Martha: I believe for their services to be wonderful. I’m happy with everything so far.

6. What have you got line up for the future?

Martha: Danny and The Temple will most likely have a sequel. I also have a story of my life I’m working on that will be coming in the future.

7. What advice would you give to new authors or what advice have you found most useful?

Martha: Don’t underestimate yourself, there are people out there that will give you encouragement so never give up on yourself.

8. Where can people find out more about you?

Martha: www.inspiredindustries.net & https://www.facebook.com/pages/Martha-Fleming/263559160472455

http://www.inspiredindustries.net/

Inspired Industries - Get YOUR Book Published!

1. Tell us about your new business venture Inspired Industries.

Inspired Industries is a publishing company for authors out there. We provide a complete edit, format, book covers, marketing & promotional ads.

2. What drew you to setting this business up alongside your writing?

I’ve seen a lot of talent that has gone unnoticed & I feel all they need is a little help getting out there.

3. What can authors expect from your services?

They can expect professionalism, fast working speeds, a build of their fans, more sales & more interaction with the public (book signings)

4. What sort of authors/books are you looking for?

We’re not setting on a specific genre, we accept all genres. Of course as most know I write psychological suspense/thriller, but most authors know I’ll help them no matter what the genre is.

5. What platforms will you be offering to authors?

Our company publishes your work to every platform to include: Kindle, Amazon, BooksAMillion, Barnes & Noble, Nook, Paperbacks & we’re also offering the sale of each author’s manuscript from our personal website. So there is no reason any potential reader can’t find a way to read your projects.

6. What makes Inspired Industries the best choice for authors?

Inspired Industries is run by myself & family. I have been an author for right at 20 years & have seen the ins & outs. We’re not trying to get rich or even make a living off of other authors; I have my own projects & a job for that. We simply want to help others get their work out there to help with their goals & dreams.

Check out http://www.inspiredindustries.net/ or https://www.facebook.com/inspiredindustriesbookpublishing for more details.

Wendy Won't Go - Amanda M Lyons

1. Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and your writing style?

I’m a horror writer who lives in small town Ohio with my fiance and two kids ages 8 and 18 months. While I’m a horror writer I do tend to have other elements in there fantasy, fairy tales, urban legends, paranormal tales- all kinds of stuff. Most of what I write is story driven, usually the characters and the circumstances they’re living through are the central part of the story. It’s horror, but it’s also a story with some weight to it.

2. What inspires your writing?

Lots of things. Reading a great book, reading a bad one, having a moment where I ask myself what if?, dreams, news a piece of art, just a lot of stuff.

3. Do you base any of your characters/plot lines on yourself
or anyone you know?

Yes, but it’s never exactly based on that person or life experience, it’s always just a little to the side of being that direct about it. For instance Wendy Won’t Go a novelette I have out is a bit of a twist on the what if scenario of my son’s birth. We didn’t know until they had me open for the c-section that I had septate uterus and placenta acreta. If I had tried having him naturally there was a very real sense that I would have died like Wendy did. In a lot of ways many of my characters have slivers of me in them.

4. What advice would you give to a writer starting out?

Read, write and find readers to read your work. Do everything you can to develop your voice and your ability to hone your work.

5. Are there any of your books you'd like to plug or any
future projects you'd like to tell us about?

Wendy Won’t Go is currently out on the market and you can find it on Amazon it’s a ghost story about a family locked in grief that is so powerful it’s tearing them apart. There are other elements to it as well, it’s got little bits and pieces you can pull out and think about. It’s a long short story but it’s got a lot of impact.

I’m working with some of the author at JEA on a collaborative novel called Feral Hearts about a singles tour that runs afoul of some really nasty vamps and also a short story collection with my brother Robert Lyons II, it’ll be called Apocrypha and features some stories from both of us.

Keep up to date with Amanda M Lyons on her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-M-Lyons-Author/357528661024257?fref=ts

...and get Wendy Won't Go on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Wont-Go-Amanda-Lyons-ebook/dp/B00HCYBKYC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391675033&sr=8-1&keywords=wendy+wont+go

Allisons REVENGE

1. Can you tell me a bit about Allisons REVENGE?

TJ: Allison’s REVENGE is about a woman (Allison Dane) that has been through hard times for the better part of a decade and finally gets tired of having her back against the wall.

2. Are any of the characters/event based on you or anyone you know?

TJ: All the characters are made up, but there are some events that have happened to people I know as they did in “Deadly Mountain”.

3. What makes Allisons REVENGE different from similar/competitive stories?

TJ: Allison’s REVENGE isn’t just your basic horror, it covers psychological suspense, mystery, crime and horror. This book has twists that you never see coming, as well as scenes I’ve never witnessed in any other book or movie. How its written allows you to feel the emotion, the terrifying days of torture and even the more basic stuff that people can relate to on a day to day basis. This story also includes 3 alternate endings to sum up many ways the book could have ended.

4. Can you also tell me a bit about the prequel, Deadly Mountain?

TJ: Deadly Mountain is about some high school graduates that go on a skiing trip in Switzerland before they separate to their different colleges. The group is dragged into the caves of the snowy mountain and tortured for information thought to have been known. These teens try to escape their fate from the blood curdling serial killer.

5. What makes your writing stand out from the crowd?

TJ: I’d have to say the twists I put in all my writing and for those that have read any of my work would know the twists are never the same and I’m really big into the whole “shock” factor.

6. What (or who) inspires your stories?

TJ: You know I’ve been asked that a lot and I can’t really say there is just one thing or person that inspires me. I’m inspired just by people watching, hearing events that has gone on, listening to and watching children as their minds develop.

7. Which of your books are you most proud of (or happiest with the way it turned out)?

TJ: Deadly Mountain, Allison’s REVENGE, Holiday Horror (2014) and Devil Days are my favorites.

8. You are a brilliant help to other writers, always supporting others, what advice would you give to someone just starting out writing?

TJ: It’s always better to build bridges than it is to burn them. When you start out the first thing you’ll notice is how hard it is to get your work out there, so it’s a lot better working with others and help them as well as helping yourself than making enemies. Also, just because starting out may not seem like you’re completing your goals, don’t give up. Everything takes time.

9. How do you cope with writers block - if you suffer from it?

TJ: Fortunately I haven’t had writers block yet, but I always have a problem with wanting to write on multiple books at a time.

10. Do you have any future projects you would like to tell us about?

TJ: Well I have 3 anthologies I’m working on Holiday Horror 2015, Monster Diaries and 1 another author is putting out (Doesn’t have title yet). I also have 2 novels Silent Screams and Soul Feeders that I’m working on.

Rebirth - Nicholas Scott

1: Can you tell me a bit about Rebirth?

Scott’s best friend Dunkin has always had an obsession with wanting to become a vampire,  and after many failed attempts Dunkin is about to give up, but during a camping trip he finally finds a real vampire that is willing to turn him or so he thinks. Now Scott has to try and save his friend from certain death before it is too late and he is transformed into a deferent kind of creature of the night.

2: What is the inspiration behind your work?

I have always loved stories, be it in a book, on a stage, or on a screen. I am in love with the idea of so many different, exciting, out of this world tales being told. The real life is so boring and short if you don’t add something extra into it you are going to ruin the little time that you do have. I absolutely refuse to live in the real world, I enjoy what I enjoy and I am often told to grow up or stop enjoying things that other see as child’s play but I will not live a dull meaningless life just because that is what we are told to do. I read, watch, embrace, celebrate and write better worlds because it is a life I want to live.

3: Do you ever base any characters on yourself or anyone you know?

No, I used to a long time ago when I was younger but seeing as most of the people in my stories die people start thinking that I didn’t like them. I actually got in trouble at school once because my vice principal thought that I was plotting to kill someone from a story I had written using names of people in my class. Luckily for me the actual principal could tell fiction from real life.

4: What do you think makes Rebirth stand out from competitive stories?

Rebirth is only book one in a ten book series and the story being told spans over so many years that you will connect with the characters and as each books ends you’ll be wonder what comes next until the very end. This isn’t like many books of its kind, luxurious life or evil to the core vampires, they can die, they do have weaknesses, and they do want a war on humanity.

5:  Can you tell me a bit about your short story project?

This is an anthology of short horror stories from many different writers; the brain is just like any other muscle in your body and constantly needs to be exercised. Full length books can get overwhelming sometimes and you need to step away from them time to time but keep things moving, writing short stories keeps the gears turning and the creative juices flowing.

6: What can readers expect from it?

I have worked with many of these writers before and they write some great stuff, the stories that they have produced for this book are wonderful and the readers are going to love it. The stories may be short but the terror will last.

7: Do you have any other projects in the pipeline?

I have many, many, many stories going on what I call the back burner. I have two separate processes when it comes to ideas, there is the maybe pile in which I write the idea, and then there is the most defiantly pile in which I write a whole section on the idea and put it aside until I am ready for it.

8: Can you describe your writing style in three words for someone who has never read any
of your work?

Thought out, exciting, and enjoyable.

9: How do you think you would survive as the character in a horror story? Do you think you'd side with the hero or the villain?

Well see that depends, in a horror story with the likes of Jason or Freddy id have to side with the heroes, but if it came down to other villains as in Loki, The joker, or Venom a may have to side with the villain. I have always seemed to like villains more than I have the heroes. I am pretty resourceful so I’d like to think I would survive for a while, but I am also adventurous and would defiantly walk down into that dark cellar.

10: Who is your favorite author and what is your favorite book?

I couldn’t really just pick a favorite author, I read so many books as it is and to single one out, I would change my mind every time I thought about it. Some of my favorite books though are The lord of the rings, Harry potter, the Polar express and I love Dr. Seuss.

If you are interested in often leave little shorts on my page and have updates on the projects I am working on. Rebirth will be out in a few weeks.
https://www.facebook.com/?q=#/Wherewegotodie

1. If you could start by telling me a bit about yourself and your work.

Well my name is Mark Woods, I’m 40 and a highly successful Sous Chef with a career spanning over 20 years. I always wanted to be a writer and had a load of half-started, half-hearted ideas floating about, but never did anything about it. I was, however, a prolific reader and started writing reviews.

Horror author, Catt Dahman, went on Goodreads to ask for reviews for her Z is for Zombie series and I complied. She was made up by my reviews and even rewrote a couple of the novels in places because of my criticism. This lead to helping her get signed by Severed Press. She suggested I should be a writer because of my way with words, not knowing about my ambition, and so I wrote a short story that was featured in the charity anthology, the tall book of zombie shorts. I decided I wanted to write more and then Catt told me about an Indie Press she was setting up called J.Ellington Ashton. She asked me to join as an Editor and review writer and encouraged me to continue writing. Because of her encouragement and support, last year I had four short stories published; one of which ended up in Holiday Horror when T.J asked me to submit.

2. What was the inspiration behind your newest novella?

Time of Tides came about because Catt wanted all of our current authors at J.EA to come up with a scary fish story that had to be related to water. I wanted to get involved as I am trying to constantly challenge myself as a new writer, and started brainstorming. I came up with a whole group of ideas then tried to come up with a narrative that connected them. I liked using the idea of global warming and climate change because it is something we are all aware of. I then decided to have a family take to the water to escape the floods. the rest just followed. A number of times I nearly gave up, it was a real struggle to write, but Catt told me to stick with it and the end result was greeted quite favourably. In the end, I was quite pleased with it though it is very dark at times and not for the faint-hearted. As a side-note, six weeks after I completed Time Of Tides,, Norfolk actually did experience severe flooding and tidal waves on its coast. Now that was scary…I sat there watching the news thinking ‘is my story coming true?’ lol

3. What was the inspiration behind your story in Holiday Horror?

My story in Holiday Horror, Let it snow, was already written. I subbed it to a couple of places outside J.E.A as I wanted to be accepted outside my inner circle but it got rejected. T.J contacted me to submit something and with some quick editing to fit with the holiday theme and some cuts, it was ready. What inspired it? Well I actually had the idea of killer snowmen long before the Doctor Who xmas special a few years ago. There is always something a bit threatening about their blank stare I always thought. I wanted them to be a threat without anyone quite knowing why until it was too late. Even then, I wanted to leave the reader asking questions – not knowing why something is happening, the element of doubt and uncertainty IS scary. As humans, we like to know what is going on around us at all times. It is like a basic need.

4. Have you ever based a character on yourself?

No I have never really based a character on myself though for a six author vampire collaboration I am working on, my character I am writing is like my alter-ego and everything I am not. Basically all six authors write a different character, we meet, and then things go ear-shaped. The rest, for now, is a closely guarded secret and if I told you any more I would have to kill you!

5. What projects are you working on for the future?

My next project is a story about giant spiders inspired by the news reports about False Widows last year. I am not sure whether or not it will be another novella or something larger yet – the story needs to tell itself so time will tell. As part of my advertising for Time of tides, I am offering to use people as characters if they share my links on facebook and twitter. I am making a list of names and it is first come, first served, but anyone i dont use this time will be carried over into my next project.

I want to be more prolific this year than last, start earning some money and making an impact. Already I have been mentioned in a uk writing magazine as J.E.A’s UK Editor. I want 2014 to be my year and, so far, it is off to a good start

https://www.facebook.com/markwoodsauthor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Of-Tides-Mark-Woods-ebook/dp/B00HXKDYXA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1390349548&sr=1-1&keywords=time+of+tides

My own interview!

1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to write in the horror genre.

My name is Samie Sands, I am 27 and I live in the UK with my husband and 1 year old daughter. I am new to writing, I have always worked within the media industry – design, photography and PR, but have always wanted to use my creativity in this way. My new years resolution last year was to follow this dream, and I have come such a long way since then! I have a novel being published (which will be released early next year) and now my story in Holiday Horrors.

I have a particular interest in horror as it is such a wide ranging genre. I love the fact that when faced by really horrific situations, characters find things out about themselves that they never knew. I enjoy writing this new depth.

2. What was your inspiration for your story in the Holiday Horrors Anthology?

My story that has been featured in Holiday Horrors is actually a mini spin off story from my novel, Lockdown, which is going to be released. It’s about the very beginning of what is to become a zombie apocalypse, and the main character, trying to wrap her head around a very strange occurrence!

3. Tell us one thing about you that most people don’t know.

I am a huge anime and manga geek. One of the best things to ever happen to me was to visit Japan and see the home of where it all comes from – I even got to visit a working animation studio.

4. Name three things on your desk.

My daughters scan photo, a Hello Kitty plush that was a gift from one of my closest friends and a long line of pens.

5. What are your favorite kinds of characters to write about?

It’s always fun to write the villain! Looking from an entirely different perspective is a challenge I love. Saying that, the hardest characters to write are the ones that are similar to yourself.

6. Do you plot your work or wing it?

I always have a strong plan, which never ever seems to work out! I have found the best ideas I actually come up with, are the ones that naturally appear as the story is developing.

7. Tell us your process for working through a novel as opposed to a short story. How do they differ in your mind?

With a novel, you can flesh out your story with character and plot development and details which explain what is happening better, so once I have got the basics down, I write around that to make it all more interesting.

With a short story, you have to get everything across quicker and in a much more precise way, every word is vital. I plan out longer stories beforehand, whereas I always just start short stories with a small idea.

8. What is one thing you would tell aspiring horror writers that has helped you in your writing career?

Start with what interests you. It sounds simple, but if you don’t like your story, it’s unlikely others will.

9. Do you listen to music when you write? What does your soundtrack look like?

I prefer to work without noise as I can focus better. However, that is impossible with a 1 year old so my soundtrack has become childrens songs – something she can sing along to whilst playing so I can have 5 minutes to myself!

10. What’s next in your writer horizon?

Lockdown will be released in spring, and the sequel wont be long behind! I am currently working my butt off at the moment to get it done.

Twitter: @SamieSands

Bio:

Samie Sands lives in a small seaside town in England with her husband and daughter. She has a degree in Media Studies and has spent her career working as a Graphic Designer. She enjoys reading books from all genres, particularly horror and spends far too much time with her head in a book. Her debut novel, Lockdown, is a Sci-Fi story that will be coming out soon.

Website: http://tri-pub.com/authors/samie-sands

http://thelockdown.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/SamieSandsLockdown

http://www.twitter.com/SamieSands

http://samiesands.tumblr.com

http://www.wattpad.com/SamieSands

http://instagram.com/zombies_lockdown

http://www.pinterest.com/sslockdown/