Featured Interview With Author Marji Laine

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Dallas, Texas, and still live in the area with my hubby of almost 37 years and a rescue named Rosie (a.k.a. Madame Barksalot).

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, and as a latch-key kid, I spent my evenings with the Brady Bunch and the Huxtables, with plenty of Happy Days.

I also saw most of America – the lower 48, at least. Since my mom was a teacher, we took long road trips in the summer. Only the far northeast and the far northwest were missing from my trip log by the time I graduated high school.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I've always had a fascination with books. On those long road trips, my place was in the back of our station wagon. I had the drinks, the snacks, and my books. Paradise!

I wrote my first screenplay in 2nd grade – a crime film where my best friend and I died at the end, misunderstood tragic characters who had been driven to crime. It was magnificent. LOL!

I really started writing early on in my marriage, on the flight home from my honeymoon to be exact. But I never completed any of my novels until almost 20 years later. When I wrote those magical words, "The End," I was hooked!

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I grew up on Trixie Belden and Phyllis A Whitney novels. I loved the twisted mysteries with just enough suspense to keep me turning the pages. And of course, a little romance to keep things interesting!

I still prefer to read books like that especially if the characters are Christian, although now, those books are usually classified as suspense. That is also what I write. My suspense is gripping, but would not be classified as a thriller. And it absolutely must have some unexpected twists and turns in it. I don't write suspense without mystery, although I do sometimes spin up a mystery that only has light suspense. And I almost never write without some romance added.

I also write in the Christian realm. My faith is too much a part of me. It seeps into my stories without thought most of the time. I write about broken characters thrust into impossible situations who must rely on their faith and the people God has put into there path for their very survival.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, THE VISITOR CATCHES A BOUQUET, is part of a 7-book, multi-author project that is the culmination of a two-year collaboration. Each book stands alone with it's own mystery along with light suspense and family drama.

In my book, the final book, the family visitor, who has made the rounds all over the US, arrives in Dallas in time for a grand gala for her family's charitable foundation followed by her great-niece's wedding. (Think "Murder, She Wrote with a little twist.) The problem is, she stumbles upon the body of a murdered man. A man that she recognizes.

Mac, the visitor's great niece, spins the story from her point of view, since she's stuck trying to hold everything together when first her great aunt and then her groom get stuck in the pokey. Her grandmother certainly isn't any help. With growing dementia, grandmother tends to find fault everywhere. She trusts little and dislikes much and is actually pushing that the wedding be postponed indefinitely.

The family strain stretches even tighter when Mac's dad's business becomes involved. Mac's a peacemaker, but even she is pushed beyond her limits as the possibility of the wedding, let alone the chance for happiness, become the substance of fairy tales.

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Marji Laine’s Website

Marji Laine Facebook Page

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Featured Interview With Author Olivia C. Garner

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Olivia. I am a newbie author. Writing the book „ How to Become the Me I Want to Be?“ has been on my mind for a long time, but it took my children to grow up and leave the house for me to get around writing it.

Many years ago, at the beginning of my professional career, I participated in a seminar on the rules of the game of success, which turned out to be a game changer. It taught me to develop a vision of my future self, set goals, manage my time, be grateful, and much more. I have achieved a lot of the goals I set for myself as a young woman, including finding m partner for life, having children, creating a business, staying healthy, and reaching financial independence. After all these years, I still use some techniques I learned there, even if I altered them and tailored them to my needs. My own experience has very much informed this book.

It always struck me that some people or children I had perceived as super bright somehow did not get very far. In contrast, others, much less talented people, worked hard and never gave up, thus managing to create their own successful companies or becoming successful professionals. And I observed that turning your life around is possible independent of age.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I discovered my fascination with books rather late when I started university. Since then, I have been an avid reader of historical fiction, crime stories, and classics.

My own book, „How to become what I Want to Be, “ has been brewing for years in my head, so when I finally sat down to write it, it was not difficult. I hope this is reflected in the book, as I want it to be engaging and easy to follow while delivering results.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
It might sound funny, but I enjoy children's books. On top of the list are definitely J.K Rawlings's „Harry Potter“, Tolkien, Michal Ende, Erich Kästner, and Cornelia Funke. I find Marguerite Duras, Oscar Wilde, and Hermann Hesse inspiring, and the futuristic novels by Hans Uwe Kling are entertaining. That makes a wild mix, but I like diversity.

I believe that books outside academia need to be engaging, tell a story, and convey information in a readable and concise way. Reading and Learning should always be fun! My book heavily draws on my own experience. I hope I created an enjoyable guide on how grit, perseverance, and resilience can be developed as an adult leading to a fulfilling life journey.


Tell us a little about your latest book?
I had a clear vision when writing „How to become what I Want to Be “: I wanted my readers to unlock their potential. First-hand experience taught me perseverance, grid, or stamina (whatever you want to call it) is the most important factor in achieving your desired goals. Not talent, but rather the ability to stick with your goals over a long period through the inevitable setbacks and walls you will certainly hit.

Consequently, long-term goals must be passionate. They must make you get out of bed early in the morning and give your best every single day. And if it didn’t work today, they make you try again tomorrow. This sounds very challenging, but it becomes fun as soon as some glimpse of success appears.

And I wanted to equip my readers with an easy-to-follow step-by-step approach to help them set such passionate goals that they can stick with them and achieve results.

I take the reader on a journey to set long-term and meaningful goals, break them up into smaller, more easy-to-digest goals, create habits, and engage in deliberate practice to unlock success and create virtuous circles. Many little hints and tricks that add up. These methods are applied to specific areas of life such as professional, financial, health and well-being, personal interests and relationships. I encourage my reader to pick one or two to start with, perhaps the most troubling or urgent to fix to get the fundamentals right.

My objective is to engage the reader, to take him on an exciting journey to become the desired self. It’s an exciting journey, I think, the most exciting journey of your life. I hope my reader enjoys the book as I enjoyed the journey of writing it!

Take the journey of setting long-term and meaningful goals, break them up into smaller, more easy-to-digest goals, create habits, and engage in deliberate practice to unlock success and create virtuous circles. Many little hints and tricks that add up.

These methods are applied to specific areas of life. Pick one or two areas to start with, perhaps the most troubling or urgent to fix to get the fundamentals right.

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Featured Interview With Author Richard R. Becker

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My grandparents raised me for ten years, splitting our time between Milwaukee and Minocqua, Wisconsin. We were poor, but my grandfather kept up a family lake cottage by mortgaging their house every summer and then paying off that mortgage with his seasonal job. When my grandmother began to lose her battle with cancer, they decided to reunite me with my mother, who had remarried and started their family in Burnsville, outside Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The transition was sold to me as a summer vacation, but the stay never ended. It was traumatizing, especially after my grandmother died. Eventually, we moved to Las Vegas in the early 1980s.

I moved away from Vegas as soon as possible after graduating high school. But fate and circumstances led me back, and I made a home there, started a business, and became part of the community. Since my son went off to college and graduated, my wife and I have been raising our teenage daughter, now a high school senior. She's a travel softball player, so we don't have pets. But, you know, I think we all want pets, eventually. My son already has a cat, and I work with an online pet records company.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My fascination with books began as far back as I can remember. My grandmother would take me to the library every few weeks to check out books. I wasn't interested in reading them as much as looking at the pictures and using them as source material for drawings. I fancied myself as an artist and used pictures to tell stories. It was a practice that landed me in what my elementary school called "the barracks." It wasn't until I was pulled from public school to repeat the third grade that I learned to read.

Writing came much later for me, too. While my first story, a serial, was published in a junior high school newsletter, I didn't become a competent writer until college. After a year at Whittier College in California, I transferred to the University of Nevada, Reno, and entered their journalism program as a pathway into the advertising field. I learned to write because it was the only way to survive the program's required reporting classes.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some recent favorites include Pierce Brown, S.A. Cosby, Joe R. Landsdale, Jandy Nelson, and Haruki Murakami. So my reading is like my writing, eclectic. Frank Herbert deserves some credit for that. My seventh-grade teacher introduced me to Dune to expand my literary interests.

Ernest Hemingway and John Updike have been influential to me in their ability to write straight, honest prose about human beings. I've also learned a great deal from Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, and David Mamet by taking their online classes.

Oh, fun fact. W. Somerset Maugham is back on my reading list. Not only did I enjoy The Razor's Edge, but I recently discovered he is a distant cousin by way of my first cousin (6x removed) Mark Lemon, founding editor of Punch. Crazy, cool.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Third Wheel is a debut coming-of-age novel about belonging, betrayal, and breaking away in Las Vegas, 1982. The story follows teenage protagonist Brady Wilks as he makes a series of bad choices that eventually spiral out of control.

Specifically, his friends want to cash in on a small-time drug-dealing operation by selling cartel-supplied heroin. Without the benefit of a role model or confidant, aside from a taboo love interest, he has to figure it out on his own, and he doesn't have much time to do it.

The early reviews, including Kirkus, have been excellent. They've said Third Wheel is “exhilarating,” “engaging,” and “dark, skillful, with plenty of heart.” It's very encouraging for a debut novelist. While my first book, a short-story collection, called 50 States, received several awards and accolades, there is something decidedly different about releasing a novel. Like the author, readers invest more in the characters. So, you want to get it right.

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Richard R. Becker’s Website

Richard R. Becker Facebook Page

Richard R. Becker Twitter Account

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Featured Interview With Author Joseph Lewis

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am the second youngest of a family of ten, raised in Wisconsin in the country on a river. Loved that life. I began writing in sixth grade, though nothing was published until 1987 when I wrote a short story, Dusty and Me, that a magazine snatched up. My first book, Taking Lives, the prequel to the Lives Trilogy was published in 2014. I now live in Virginia with my wife of 31 years. We have three children, Wil (deceased in July 2014), Hannah, and Emily. We have one grandchild, Mason.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
In sixth grade I had a phenomenal teacher who gave of story starters. They consisted of three or four paragraphs on a notecard, and if we had time after a test or after seat work, we could take one the complete the story. There wasn't any credit involved, but she would give us feedback on them. I ate those up, and the writing bug bit me. As I said above, my first book was published in 2014, and I now have nine published and they have earned nearly twenty awards.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I like to read in the thriller-crime-mystery genre, which is the genre I write in. However, what sets me apart from others is that some of my characters are a patchwork family of seven adopted brothers, each with baggage, some big, some small. So my books have a coming-of-age theme to them embedded in a thriller-crime-mystery. My favorite authors are James Patterson, David Baldacci, John Sandford, and Michael Connelly. One reviewer stated, "If you like James Patterson, you'll love Joseph Lewis." To me, that was high and humbling praise.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
Fan Mail is told through Brian's eyes. He questions his place and acceptance in his adoptive family, and he wrestles with his identity. Two of his brothers and a family friend receive fan mail from an unknown stalker that is threatening. When the letters are ignored, they become dark. There is so much stress and strain on the family, due to a car bombing and the letters, their father has a heart attack and the family is torn apart. Brian does all he can to keep his family together, and puts his life on the line to protect his brothers.

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Joseph Lewis’s Website

Joseph Lewis Facebook Page

Joseph Lewis Twitter Account

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