Featured Interview With Author Philip Gegan

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in what is now the London Borough of Bromley, in England. In those days it was in the county of Kent. I've moved around a bit since my early twenties, having lived and worked in Cambridge, Southend, Norfolk, and now Leicestershire.

When I was in my early teens I bought a small paperback book about the work of a solicitor (a UK lawyer). The picture on the cover captured my imagination. It was of a man (the solicitor) saying goodbye to a young woman (his client) on the steps of his office building. I read it and decided that was what I wanted to be. All my school studies from that time on were directed towards obtaining at least the minimum qualifications I needed to break into the legal profession.

I made it more or less by the skin of my teeth, and qualified shortly before my 25th birthday. Four years later I was in partnership with a friend of mine, and a few years after that he left the area and I became a "sole practitioner".

Although I loved the freedom and independence of self-employment without any partners, it was hard in several ways. Holidays and sickness were always a problem, together with supervising staff, and taking all the decisions myself without benefit of a "brains' trust". Eventually I had to shut it down and move in with the big players as a conveyancer in a large conveyancing firm. When that finished, I turned to computer assembly and repairs, which I had learned in my spare time, and with the help of the internet I also began doing writing jobs for people around the world.

For over twenty years I kept chickens, and loved looking after them. With my wife, we've also owned a cat, a dog, guinea pigs, hampsters, goldfish and, now, a budgie.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Since my schooldays I've always loved books, and have tended to collect them to such a degree that I have had to have clear-outs now and then to free up some space at home. I have books on a wide range of subjects – too wide to go into here.

I started writing purely for pleasure when I was about nineteen, but studies and social activities prevented anything further until my late twenties, when I had a few articles published in one or two minority interest magasines. Then I had a few articles published in the UK legal press, including an editorial in the prestigous Law Society Gazette. When Amazon and Kindle publishing came along, I wrote a few books that I self-published on their platform.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love reading genuine poetry – not the modern stuff so much, which I find lacks any real substance, but mostly of long since deceased poets like Chaucer, Tennyson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I also like some modern thriller and horror writers like Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Gresham. I find Geoffrey Chaucer especially inspiring, and frequently dip into his 'Canterbury Tales' (which I've read more than once cover to cover) for inspiration. I also turn to 'Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable' on occasion, where I know I'll find something to inspire me.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is called 'An Ancient Yuletide Saga – Christmas Folklore Fantasy in Rhyme', which is a 2,000+ line rhyming story about the origins of Father Christmas / Santa Claus. It's intended for "children of all ages" (i.e. not just for children). Obviously it's a seasonal book, so not many sales yet, but the reviews have been promising. It took me about six months to write, and I loved every minute of it.

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Philip Gegan’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author Ona Kingdon

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in the UK and, as a young child, quickly discovered that by drawing and writing stories about things I saw, I could better appreciate the world around me: indeed, there was hardly ever a time when I didn’t have pencils or crayons to hand; They became my camera to the world.

I also grew up in the world of the theatre, so drama, dance, music and the visual arts played a prominent part in my childhood: This also helped shape me into the artist and author I am now as I love to tell stories through my art and evoke emotion through my writing.

When I left school, I attended university and trained as a Teacher of the Deaf. As a teacher, I continued to use the arts in all their forms; If there was a word or phrase a child did not understand, I would draw a picture, mime an emotion, or act out a story to help me to help them understand.

Interestingly, it was the arts that gave our family the inspiration to move to Canada. When my children were young, there were a group of animators in Bristol, UK that my children loved called 'Creature Comforts'. One of their animations was of a lion in a zoo who was fed up with living in a small, damp zoo enclosure. He wanted "to live in a big country where it didn’t rain all the time." My son loved this phrase and would repeat it every time it rained and, being a small island surrounded by water, it rained a LOT. It got us thinking though, and 3 years later, we moved to Canada. It was such a great place for the children to grow up in, and a wonderfully inspiring place for me creatively.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
One of my earliest memories is of sitting beside my grandmother with a book in hand, asking her to read it to me. Her renditions would bring the pictures and words to life in my mind. I can still hear her voice telling me the stories when I see my favourite childhood books. We would also play story games together. We would choose 3 objects that we could see, and then build a magical story about them. She would begin and then, when she tapped my shoulder I would carry on. So in essence: I was writing stories long before I could put words onto paper. Once we finished the story together, she would give me some paper and pencils and I would illustrate it.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
A good book, like a beautiful piece of art, is something that captivates us and appeals on many levels regardless of genre. Initially, you may get caught up in the storyline, but something stops you and draws you back. It may be a question the author posed or an illustration that encourages you to look at the story with new insight and so you read it again. Then you discover other nuances in the piece of work that make you question or want to find out even more. It is this, rather than a specific genre or author, that I am drawn to when reading books.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
My new book ‘The Paper Butterfly’ takes the reader on a journey of discovery through the eyes of the paper butterfly. Although fiction, it is based on the true life cycle of a super monarch butterfly.

From the initial idea to the release date, it has been almost exactly three years writing and illustrating it. I began with a plan/ a storyboard and then wrote chapter by chapter. The story was created indoors, but my writing chair looks out onto my garden where I could see the butterflies fluttering around. Now illustrating, that was another story. Many paintings happened in my garden. I had the monarch caterpillars crawling across me in search of their next juicy morsel or butterflies fluttering around me as I painted them. The migration images that appear in the second half of the book were painted over our long Canadian winter and were created indoors. My paintbrush and I went on a grand adventure that winter. Over the last year, I have been editing, re-editing, proofreading, photographing and scanning all eighty-plus illustrations, and laying out the book.

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Ona Kingdon’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author Muz MURRAY

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was brought up in Warwickshire, England, studied at Art College; became a surrealist painter, and worked as a scenic artist in the theatre. As a world-travelling backpacker, I have worked in many countries,: Spain, France, Italy, Israel, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and India (where I studied all kinds of yoga). In the Sixties I founded a mystical community and Magazine called “Gandalf’s Garden” in London and became a mystical cult hero in the ‘Flower Power’ era. Because of my spiritual experiences I have been invited as a delegate to speak at Conferences all over the world. I have finally retired to work on my books in the hill of southern Portugal. I am basically a hermit. I don’t have any pets, but I live with a thousand geckos climbing my walls.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Right from the age of sic I loved books. And what a treasure it was for me to discover the children’s library! Seeing my enthusiasm, the librarian allowed me to take out six books at a time. I was a voracious reader. So I guess the seeds of authorship were sown at that time.
And the first book that really charmed me, was called “Old Mother West Wind”–a bunch of quirky stories about the misadventures of the animals and creatures of the meadow and wood. I remembered the book when I became a writer myself and wondered what it was that so attracted a six-year-old. I tried to find the book so that I could write something similar myself. But no one had ever heard of it in the UK. It wasn’t until I put the name on the Internet in my Eighth year and discovered that it was a 120-year-old American classic! However, on re-reading it, I found it so old-fashioned and poorly written by today’s standards, that on finding it out of copyright, I decided to rewrite it as a labour of love for the children of today. I have called it “Old Mother West Wind Tales” to distinguish it from the original. It is now delighting a new generation of children (and also adults, who say it takes them back to their own childhood).

At sixteen I began my fantasy “Ifflepinn Island” which took me sixty years to complete, in between world-travels and work. But in later years, after becoming a spiritual mentor to thousands of seekers worldwide, I began to write my spiritual self-help books “Sharing the Quest: Revelation’s of a Maverick Mystic” and “You Are the Light: Secrets of the Sages Made Simple.”

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite genres are fantasy, children’sbooks, and spiritual knowledge. Some of my most read authors are:
J.R.R.Tolkien, Usula leGuin, Robin Hobb, George MacDonald, Colin Wilson, Marion Bradley, Mary Stewart, Ann McCaffery, Michael Morporgo, William Horwood, Arthur Osborne, David Godman, Kahlil Gibran, Aldous Huxley. Herman Hess, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta, Paramahansa Yogananda, Krishnamurti, P.D.Ouspensky, Gurdjieff, Edgar Cayce, James Churchward, William James, Rudolf Steiner, Sir James Jeans…and way too many more.

And books often reread:

Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, the Narnia Chronicles, the Moomin books, Duncton Wood, Watership Down, The Borrowers, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Bhagavad Gita, Cosmic Consciousness, Shantaram, Be As You Are: The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi

It is prompts from the Cosmoc that inspires my writings. I don’t feel that it is me doing it.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have already explained about my latest book, “Old Mother West Wind Tales”. But just before that I wrote something completely different, “You Are the Light: Secrets of the Sages Made Simple.” This book is the culmination of 50 years in the ‘spiritual trenches’ and gives readers insight into what real spiritualy is about. It is a profound and enlightening guide that answers the deep spiritual questions that have long puzzled seekers. Presenting the highest mystical insights of Advaita in a clear, down-to-earth style, it is designed for anyone seeking clarity on life’s greatest mysteries.
This book brings together the wisdom of the sages, without the need for years of meditation, offering direct and simple methods to achieve enlightenment. Laid in an alphabetical format for easy reference, You Are the Light tackles questions on topics such as Consciousness, Free Will, Karma, Reincarnation, the Dissolution of the Ego, and the World as Dream, among many others.

Reviewers say: “If you want real in-depth spiritual knowledge, I don’t know of any other book that does it better than this! I have all the answers I ever needed.”
• “If you want real in-depth spiritual knowledge, I don’t know of any other book that does it better than this! I have all the answers I ever needed.”

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Muz MURRAY’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author Ethan Warrener

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was raised on a farm in Southwestern Missouri, and I still live in the area. I have a couple cats, but it would be more accurate to say that my wife has a couple of cats. The cats and I have adopted a "live and let live" policy that satisfies us mutually.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in elementary school, but I really fell in love with thrillers when I was in high school. I read a lot of Frank Peretti and Dean Koontz. I actually started writing out of spite (such a pure motivation). My younger sister wrote something in fifth grade with conflict and figurative language well beyond what you'd expect from a fifth grader, and as the oldest sibling, I was not to be outdone. It wasn't until I was in high school that I had my first "Holy cow, I HAVE to write this" moment.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My tastes and preferred authors have evolved and diversified over the years. I've enjoyed Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, Andy Weir, Martha Wells, Hilari Bell, Pierce Brown, Marissa Meyer, Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, Jorge Luis Borges, George Saunders, and others. I tend to read a lot of technothriller/sci-fi, but thrillers were my first love, and I have an unceasing itch for suspense that remains hard to scratch.

I've been inspired to write by movies and music as well as books. I've been profoundly influenced by 90s Harrison Ford thrillers like Clear and Present Danger and The Fugitive, as well as movies like Children of Men, District 9, Wit, Road to Perdition, and, of course, The Lord of the Rings.

I also listen to a lot of metal, and lately I've been spending a lot of time in the melodeath/prog metal subgenres. If you're curious and want to dip a toe into that world, I'd recommend In Flames, Dark Tranquility, and Be'lakor for insight into some of my inspiration. Does it make sense for the author of a post-apocalyptic novel set in West Virginia? It does to me, I guess.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
For Home and Hearth is the first novel of The Tucker Clan Saga, with books two and three set to come out later this year. I've described it as M. Night Shyamalan's The Village if it were post-apocalyptic and set in "misty taste of moonshine" West Virginia. I aimed for a down-home, salt-of-the-earth baseline feel for the story with moments of more intense terror, tragedy, and violence. I thought the interplay between those moods would make for a unique and interesting read, and hopefully readers will agree.

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Ethan Warrener’s Website

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Featured Interview With Author KJ Fieler

Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
They say I was born in Albany, New York but my memories from that time are almost entirely about various relative's dogs because I wasn't allowed to have one of my own. At some point, we moved to Miami, Florida. I do remember that. My first memory is of Hurricane Donna. I thought it was pretty cool, but that was probably because we lost power so I got to eat all the ice cream.

Currently, we have a cat. She's, apparently Amish because she disapproves of technology and has a particular hatred for printers. She's very suspicious of the icemaker too. Her favorite thing to do is provide writing prompts for horror stories. Either she sees things I don't or she's pranking me. She stares at thin air with the same expression as someone watching the Texas Chain Saw movie.

Technically, we live in Florida but our mailman would beg to differ. Our neighbor gets the mail and sends it to whichever national park we're visiting. Some years ago I decided the thing I wanted most in a house was interchangeable backyards. So we bought an Airstream and hit the road. You haven't lived until you've had your morning coffee with a moose.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started telling stories around the age of five, but my parents and teachers called that lying. Still, I've always been a fan of imagining a better reality than the one I'm in. For many years, I wrote stories for myself and kept them in a file. A couple of college professors were my earliest fans. Once I started turning stories in as homework I got kudos, and I've been writing for readers ever since.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’d donate a kidney to meet Neil Gaiman… in case anyone needs a kidney and is in good with him. I grew up on Asimov and Clark; spent my junior high school days learning to write in Elvish, thanks to Tolkien; and found myself in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which sparked my fascination with psychology and travel.

These days I’m a devotee of Barbara Kingsolver, Jess Kid, Wayne Turmel, Cam Torrens, Gail Ward Olmsted, Lydia Kang, Harrison Kayne, Lenore Hart… Let's just say I'll likely never reach the end of my TBR list.

Tell us a little about your latest book?
In a nutshell: what happens to a person who is forced to embrace the darkness to survive? Shadow Runner is the tale of Ada, a young aristocrat who’s kidnapped and raised by a secret society. As she comes of age, she must target the very people she once called kin or attempt a daring escape. But if she leaves, she risks the lives of the ones most dear: her adopted sister and her enigmatic captor. In a world of moral ambiguity, Ada must find her humanity or surrender her soul. It’s a cross-genre blend of historical fantasy, steampunk, and young adult fiction.

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KJ Fieler’s Website

KJ Fieler Facebook Page

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