FEATURED AUTHOR: FENGQIN DADSWELL

ABOUT THE BOOK 

One child for life was the law in China.

Dama has raised her three sons in the village, Flying Dragon. Children- boys- are essential to carry on the family line, but her three sons have failed to produce any and now her pregnant daughter-in-law is living in a hidden cellar to avoid a forced abortion. Meantime Fenghua’s only nephew has been kidnapped, probably sold. In a land where people are viciously punished for wanting to be parents, and where the law keeps changing, peasants will go to desperate lengths in order to have a baby boy, legally or otherwise.

Mingming and Fenghua must make a hearbreading decision in order to have the baby they long for. Dingming wants to marry but his lady is elsewhere. Xingming hasn’t yet met a wife. will dam’s offspring be able to carry on their family line?

Book Details:

Title: Fate

Author: Fengqin Dadswell

Genre: non-fiction


Published: Olympia Publishers (August 31, 2018)

Print length: 325 pages

INTERVIEW WITH FENGQIN DADSWELL

Q: What’s the story behind the title of your book?

A: I worked in Population Research Institute of Peking University, China. I did a lot of investigation about the one child policy in China. I got the first-hand material from my research.

Q: Who are you?

A: 
I am retired at home.

Q: Where’s home for you?

A: London.

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: 
I grew up in the rural area of China.

Q: What’s your favorite memory?

A: I was born in a family of 36 people. My grandmother is head. When my parents moved out I was under 7. They left me behind. Every time I wanted to see my parents I had to walk 10 miles on foot. My grandmother companied me to visit my parents. We took food with us. These journey left me a deep memory.

Q: I'll bet. What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
A: English.

Q: What do you love about where you live?
A: Countryside with vegetable garden.

Q: Have you been in any natural disasters?

A: Tangshan earthquake in 1976, I was in Beijing, but it affected Beijing.

Q: What is the most daring thing you've done?

A: When I was lecturer of University, I help poor students a lot, such as gave them money or food, whatever they need help with.

Q: What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
A: 
I left my children when they needed me.

Q: What makes you bored?
A: Nothing to do.

Q: What is your most embarrassing moment?
A: When I gave a speech in front of thousands people, but I lost my voice.

Q: What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?

A: I got to know Ron Amitron in 2016, but would like to know him when he just came out in 2005.

Q: What makes you nervous?
A: Interviews.

Q: What makes you happy?
A: Be here and now.

Q: What makes you scared?

A: One day I took my son to swim, but he disappeared in the swimming pool. I jumped into the pool and rescued him.

Q: Wow! What makes you excited?
A: To see Ron Amitron.

Q: How did you meet your spouse?

A: The first one was my classmate at University. The second one I met in the library of Exeter University. I asked him how to index by the computer.

Q: What are your most cherished mementoes?
A: When I got fellowship from UN.

Q: If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
A: Cash.

Q: What brings you delight?

A:
 When I was working in the field in rural areas I got a news to be sent to study in Peking University.

Q: What’s one of your favorite quotes?
A: Be here and now.

Q: What’s your favorite line from a book?

A: "What could the Chinese peasants do about the authorities? Hundreds of years...thousands of years, the world around them had not changed."

Q: How did you create the plot for this book?

A: When Western started to adopt Chinese girl orphans, I wanted to write Fate, to tell them how noble they were.

Q: Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
A: The story came from true facts but not one person.

Q: On what real events is your book based?
A: Nearly 40 years one child policy in China.

Q: Are you like any of your characters?
A:
 I like Dama and dama’s three sons and their wives. They were kind hearts.

Q: Who are your favorite authors?
A: Count Lyof N Tolstoi.

Q: What book are you currently reading and in what format?

A: Invasion! Constitutional United States of America by Soverein elite Star Command.

Q: What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?
A: Truth is within your heart, not in the mind.

Q: Do you have a routine for writing?
A: No.

Q: Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

A: I like to write outside, sitting in the grass field if the weather is nice.

Q: Why did you decide to self-publish?
A: When I wrote Fate 20 years ago, I  tried to publish without money but failed until I got money from my husband. I decided to self publish. I wrote 3 novels, but no publisher to publish without money. I gave up for more than 20 years. When my husband told me that he would like to pay, I was very grateful. I chose Fate to publish. My daughter helped me find my publisher online. It took around 1 year to get published.

Q: What steps to publication did you personally do, and what did you hire someone to do? Is there anyone you’d recommend for a particular service?
A: My husband and my daughter did editing. the publisher did editing too, but not enough.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: Retired, not working.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Fengqin Dadswell was born in a small village in northeast China. Her parents could not read or write. She was lucky to enjoy free education, graduated from Peking University. After working 14 years in this University as a researcher she came to study MA degree in Exeter University. She lives in London. Fate is her first book to be published.

Connect with Fengqin: 
Facebook   

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Olympia Publishers

FEATURED AUTHOR: GENE DESROCHERS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Boise Montague’s life in Los Angeles has fallen apart. After his wife dies, he returns to the tiny island where he grew up. Unfortunately, coming home doesn’t bring him the peace he’s looking for.



Things have changed drastically since his last visit. The island has moved on and so have the people he once knew. When Boise tries to find the one friend he thinks he can count on to be there for him, he’s confronted with another death. A murder. A murder that the police did not think important enough to investigate thoroughly.



Boise wants answers. He enlists a local reporter named Dana, who has theories of her own, to help him dig deeper. 

With not much left to lose, a bone to pick with the justice system, and a relentless partner, Boise sets out to do what the police would not: solve the murder of Roger Black.



The island of St. Thomas is a gleaming tropical paradise. Welcome to the Caribbean, where murder is as common as sunshine.

Book Details:


Title: Dark Paradise

Author: Gene Desrochers   

Genre: Mystery/Crime

Publisher: Acorn Publishing (June 25, 2018)

Print length: 337 pages

On tour with: Parners in Crime Virtual Book Tours

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH GENE DESROCHERS


A few of your favorite things: Tennis; Islands; my wife and kids; reading mysteries; watching The Matrix for the seventieth time; kind people.
Things you need to throw out: Not much, I’m an avid thrower-outer.


Things you need in order to write: Pen and paper.
Things that hamper your writing: Distracting myself with other tasks like writing short stories or reading or washing dishes
.

Things you love about writing: Coming up with a new twist or phrase. Reading what I’ve written later and feeling like someone else wrote it. Creating a world out of blank white.
Things you hate about writing: Constantly feeling like it’s not as good as it seems in my head.

Easiest thing about being a writer: The unlimited potential.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Disciplined, daily writing
.

Things you love about where you live: The weather and the unlimited number of things to do.   
Things that make you want to move: The cost of living and arrogant, self-absorbed people.


Things you never want to run out of: Tennis balls, pencils, paper, kisses from my wife.
Things you wish you’d never bought: Rainmaker stock, many other stocks, I suck at picking good stocks.


Words that describe you: Angry, friendly, other-centric, visual, verbal.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: Angry, afraid of success, overly deferential (although maybe changing).

Favorite foods: Pasta with olive oil and parmesan cheese, really any Italian food without eggplant or red meat, any kind of saag, bananas and nuts (together), freshly baked bread, especially croissants, doughnuts, mango smoothies.
Things that make you want to throw up:  Eggplant, maggots, rancid food items, especially lettuce, body odor.

Favorite music or song: Wow, so tough. Concrete Blonde (many songs): The whole self-titled album, and most every other song especially the cover of Leonard Cohen’s Everybody Knows and Only You Can Make Me Cry. The Police: "Tea in the Sahara" and "Do Do Da." Gorillaz: First album. Eminem: "Slim Shady." Muse: "Uprising." Recently, Portugal the Man.
Music that make your ears bleed: That Pop Country cross-over crap.

Favorite beverage: Chai Tea with sugar
.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Sauerkraut

Favorite smell: Baking bread or my wife. I also like the smell of cigars.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Body odor.

Something you’re really good at: Tennis and conversation.

Something you’re really bad at: Dunking a basketball, splits, and patience when people stop in the middle of the street even if I’m not in a hurry.


Something you wish you could do: Fly.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I’m impatient when people ask me to repeat myself and often sound angry even if I’m not.

Something you like to do: Play tennis, bowling, go to the theater to watch movies (still prefer that to watching at home).

Something you wish you’d never done: Very personal! I once said something very rude to a girl on my high school tennis team who was a nice person after she lost a tennis match.

People you consider as heroes: Gandhi, Colin Kaepernick, Frederick Douglass.

People with a big L on their foreheads: A guy where I work named Jay who brags about having never worked and lies all the time…Reminds me of Donald Trump who also fits this category;
People who are narcissistic and spend every second recounting their accomplishments or talking about themselves without asking anyone else anything; Googlers.



Last best thing you ate: Turkey Soup.

Last thing you regret eating: Too much turkey on Thanksgiving (my stomach hurt).

Things you’d walk a mile for: Tennis, library, the chance to promote my work, most things (a mile is not far).
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: People who go on about themselves or talk loudly on their cell phone.

Things you always put in your books: Characters who get caught up in their thoughts and don’t listen.

Things you never put in your books: I hate it when people jump into water wearing all their clothes with no regard for what’s in their pockets unless it’s an emergency situation.

Things to say to an author: I loved your main character, they were so complex and nuanced! I think your book would make a wonderful movie / series.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I liked it, but there’s too much happening; I couldn’t get past the first page; I liked it except it didn’t make any sense.

Favorite places you’ve been: Peru (sacred valley); Rome (felt like I’d lived there in a past life); St. John; Los Angeles; New Orleans
.
Places you never want to go to again: Florida (except the beaches), small southern towns.

Favorite books: Mysteries, Harry Potter (is that now its own genre?)

Books you would ban: What? The Art of the Deal. But really, I don’t think books should be banned.

People you’d like to invite to dinner: Harrison Ford, Sam Harris, Roger Federer.

People you’d cancel dinner on: Donald Trump; Any of his family; Kardashians; Kanye West; John Isner; Rodrigo Duterte; Donald Rumsfeld; Dick Cheney.

Favorite things to do: Play tennis, watch tennis, talk tennis, read interesting stories, edit interesting stories, travel to spiritual locales, watch Friends.
Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: Stringing tennis rackets; looking closely at elective plastic surgery; drinking large quantities of alcohol; being around drunk or mean people regularly.

Things that make you happy: People who say hello to complete strangers; a kiss from my wife; playing Settlers of Catan or Puerto Rico with my kids; Ms. PacMan.

Things that drive you crazy: Movies or stories that have people dance for no apparent reason without music; people who stop at yield signs for no reason–especially when there’s a merge lane; technology that actually makes things harder and longer than it did without the technology; fervent, mindless patriotism, especially at sporting events; religious people who push their mythology on everyone else.

Most embarrassing moment: Can’t remember…luckily…maybe ask me later.

Proudest moment: Holding my first novel physically in my hands.

Biggest lie you’ve ever told: If confronted, I generally tell the truth, but as a youth I snuck out of the house often to ride around my neighborhood at night and generally skulk around like I was a spy. Once I had a friend over and we did it together, and we were caught lying about it in my step-father’s Coca-Cola truck. We got reamed out, and I got grounded for quite a while.

A lie you wish you’d told: Can’t think of one right now.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Marry my wife, and recognize how special she is for all these years and somehow manage not to screw it up.

Biggest mistake: Getting involved with the girl I moved to LA with when I knew she was self-centered and depressed, which led to me opening a retail business that she said she’d do the work on, but instead ran into the ground and caused me to lose all my money!

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Moving to and toughing it out in L.A.

Something you chickened out from doing: Telling someone (several times) I wanted to date them.

The last thing you did for the first time: Attend a Lakers game.

Something you’ll never do again: Invest in Real Estate I don’t look at physically first.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gene Desrochers hails from a dot in the Caribbean Sea called St. Thomas. He grew up with minimal supervision and free-roaming animals in a guesthouse that also served as a hospital during wartime. He has spent his life steadily migrating west, and now finds himself in Los Angeles with a beautiful wife, cats, and kids. After a lifetime of writing and telling short stories, he ventured into the deep end, publishing his first novel, Dark Paradise in 2018. If you ask, he will regale you with his Caribbean accent and tennis prowess.

Connect with Gene:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Instagram


Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

FEATURED AUTHOR: ELLEN MANSOOR COLLIER

ABOUT THE BOOK

When young Galveston Gazette society reporter Jazz Cross hears rumors of grave robbers at the Broadway Cemetery, she and photographer Nathan Blaine investigate, hoping to land a scoop. The newshawks witness meetings held by clandestine gangs, and enlist her beau, Prohibition Agent James Burton, to help capture the elusive gangsters red-handed.

Meanwhile, the supernatural craze takes Galveston by storm, and Jazz is assigned to profile the society set’s favorite fortune teller, Madame Farushka. Sightings of a ghost bride haunting the Hotel Galvez intrigue Jazz, who sets up a Ouija board reading and séance with the spiritualist. Did the bride-to-be drown herself—or was she murdered?

Luckily, Sammy Cook, her black-sheep half-brother, has escaped the Downtown Gang and now works at the Hollywood Dinner Club, a swanky nightclub owned by rival Beach Gang leaders. During a booze bust, Downtown Gang leader Johnny Jack Nounes is caught and Jazz  worries: will Sammy be forced to testify against his former boss? 

Worse, when a mystery man turns up dead, Sammy is framed for murder and Jazz must find the real killer and clear Sammy’s name. As turf wars rage on, Jazz relies on her wits and moxie to solve both murders before the Downtown Gang exacts its revenge. 

Book Details:

Title: Deco Dames, Demon Rum And Death


Author: Ellen Mansoor Collier


Genre: Historical cozy mystery


Series: A Jazz Age Mystery, book #5


Publisher: Deco Dame Press (12/18/2018)


Print length: 290 pages


LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH ELLEN MANSOOR COLLIER

A few of your favorite things: Books, antique markets (I collect Deco flapper accessories), museums, traveling, my dogs, good coffee and peach iced tea.
Things you need to throw out: Old clothes and magazines (I’m a former magazine journalist and feel guilty if I don’t read all the articles, but I try to recycle).


Things you need in order to write: Comfortable chair/peace & quiet or mild background noise—depends on my mood . . . if I need stimulation, I’ll take my laptop and sit outside at a café or patio.
Things that hamper your writing: Loud noises/voices, writer’s block (when I’m stuck on a scene), trolls, phone calls/marketers. I live in a big city, and it’s often hard to find blocks of time without being interrupted constantly.

Things you love about writing: Those “Eureka!” moments when you finally work out a problem scene or resolution or tie together plot twists; being able to work around the clock when inspiration hits, often in my PJs; great reviews and compliments! 
Things you hate about writing: Trolls—the fact that anyone can rate your work when it’s clear they haven’t even read your book(s); editing; writer’s block; interruptions.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Dress code (or lack thereof).

Hardest thing about being a writer: I’m outgoing, and it’s hard to isolate yourself and focus at times; marketing, coming up with fresh ideas and plot twists in a series; working with artists who don’t understand your vision; being attacked in print by trolls .

Favorite foods: German chocolate cake, stuffed grape leaves with meat, salmon, juicy medium rare steak.
Things that make you want to throw up: Hot peppers; super spicy foods.

Favorite music or song: Instrumental jazz.
Music that make your ears bleed: Techno.

Favorite beverage: Arnold Palmer, peach tea, mango margaritas (can I pick more than one?)
.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Pickles, beets, horseradish.

Favorite smell:  Cinnamon.

Something that makes you hold your nose: The usual.

Something you’re really good at: Procrastinating.

Something you’re really bad at: Anything mechanical or technical.


Something you like to do: Visit art museums; go to plays; movies; concerts; dance; swim. 

Something you wish you’d never done: If I told you, I’d have to kill you off in my novels, LOL.

Things you always put in your books: Animals, humor.

Things you never put in your books: Sex scenes (I always worried what my mother would think).

Things to say to an author: “I love your books! How do you do it? I couldn’t put it down! I want to buy a dozen books and give them to my friends! Can I have your autograph?” (Just kidding).

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I didn’t finish; I lost interest; the ending was predictable; I thought it was boring (thankfully no one has told me that).

Favorite places you’ve been: Paris, London, Rome, Siracusa, Sicily, Venice, New Orleans, Galveston (of course).

Places you never want to go to again: Jasper, Texas.

Favorite genre: Historical mysteries.

Books you would ban: Explicit erotica.

Favorite things to do: I love outdoor antique markets, the thrill of the hunt—takes my mind off everything, especially writing (but it’s also great for people-watching!); Taking walks (nature trails); drinking tea or coffee at sidewalk cafés; listening to great music; a good meal with good friends.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: Going to the dentist.

Things that make you happy: Good books; traveling abroad; getting great reviews; a beautiful view; my dogs; listening to good music; especially jazz; weekend getaways.
Things that drive you crazy: Loud noises; traffic jams; people talking and/or eating at plays and movies; rude waiters/clerks/people.

Proudest moments: Seeing my novels on display at hotels, gift shops and bookstores.
Most embarrassing moment: Book signings where hardly anyone shows up.



Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I went skiing at Snowmass, near Aspen, and realized I was seriously afraid of heights when I was in the ski lift–too late! Enjoyed the overall experience in retrospect, not the cold . . .

Something you chickened out from doing: Bungee jumping.

The last thing you did for the first time: Skiing at Snowmass.

Something you’ll never do again: Go on a sleigh ride at Snowmass (too cold!).



READ AN EXCERPT FROM DECO DAMES, DEMON RUM AND DEATH




One

The plump gypsy woman caressed my hand, studying my palm as if it held the map to Lafitte’s pirate treasure, rumored to be lost in Galveston Bay. Madame Farushka certainly looked the part in her colorful scarf, flowing hair, a fringed shawl wrapped over her peasant blouse and skirt. Was she an actress or a clairvoyant or a fake?

Flickering candles dotted the dimly-lit room, strands of sparkling beads and crystals criss-crossed the windows, the scent of sandalwood floated from an Egyptian bronze incense burner. A crystal ball gleamed in the center of the table, beckoning like a jewel from King Tut’s tomb.

The fortune-teller cleared her throat. “You face a lot of struggles as a working woman, with many challenges ahead.”

I bit my tongue to keep from blurting out: So what else is new? Every dame I knew had problems.

“I see a lot of changes in your life,” the seer chanted, gazing into the crystal ball. “Upheaval, uprooting.” She closed her eyes, swaying from side to side. Suddenly her dark eyes flew open and she looked up in alarm. “Someone close to you is in danger. Are you married?” Her kohl-rimmed gaze bore into my skull, as if reading my mind, daring me to reveal my secrets. Wouldn’t she already know them if she truly was clairvoyant?

I shifted in her silk slipper chair, tapping my fingers. “No, why?”

“A loved one then, perhaps a sweetheart or a family member. A young man. He’s in grave danger.” Madame Farushka gripped my hand, her voice a hoarse gasp. I tried not to be fazed by her theatrics, but I admit I was worried.

“What kind of danger?”

She peered into the crystal ball. “Terrible danger. Life or death.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s all I foresee.”

OK, so now I was curious. “What does the man look like?”

She stroked her temples, rings of gold bracelets jingling on her arms. “He’s tall, handsome, young...with a dangerous occupation.”

That described my two favorite fellas: my fair-haired Prohibition agent beau, James Burton and Sammy Cook, my black-sheep half-brother. Sammy served as maître d’ of the Hollywood Dinner Club, the swankiest spot on the Gulf Coast.

“Is he blond or dark?”

The seer shook her head. “I’m sorry. I lost the vision.”

In other words, my dollar was all used up.

What a load of hogwash. Sadly their risky jobs always put Sammy and James in danger. This phony-baloney hadn’t told me anything new.

“Is that all?” I stood up, annoyed that I’d wasted a whole dollar on ten minutes of trivia.

“You’ll have to come back for a second reading.” She held out her palm, fishing for a tip. When I gave her a nickel, she scowled, as disappointed as I was. Now I wondered: Was she a fortune-teller or a fortune-hunter?


Excerpt from Deco Dames, Demon Rum And Death, by Ellen Mansoor Collier. Copyright © 2018 by Ellen Mansoor Collier. Reprinted with permission from Ellen Mansoor Collier. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  


Ellen Mansoor Collier is a Houston-based freelance writer and editor whose articles and essays have been published in several national magazines. She's interviewed Suze Orman, Nancy Brinker, and many unsung heroines and heroes for various publications including: Family Circle, Biography, Modern Bride, First, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Country Accents, Nation's Business, Playgirl, etc. Several of her short stories, both mystery and romance, have appeared in Woman's World. Set during Prohibition in 1920s Galveston, her Jazz Age mystery series was inspired by real-life gangs and historic events, but the plot and details were changed to protect the guilty—as well as the author.



Formerly, Collier has worked as a magazine editor, a substitute teacher, a community newspaper reporter, and in advertising/marketing as well as public relations. During college, she once worked as the world's worst cocktail waitress, against her mother's wishes. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Magazine Journalism, and served as president of WICI (Women in Communications, Inc.) and as an editor on UTmost, the UT Magazine, her senior year. Flappers, Flasks And Foul Play is the first novel in her Jazz Age Mystery Series, followed by Bathing Beauties, Booze And Bullets, Gold Diggers, Gamblers And Guns, Vamps, Villains And Vaudeville, and Deco Dames, Demon Rum And Death. 



Ellen says, "After a 'gangster tour' in Chicago where we visited Al Capone’s old stomping grounds, I found out Galveston had its own share of turf wars between rival gangs and bootleggers. I had no idea this sleepy beach town had such a wild and colorful past, and became fascinated by the legends and stories of the 1920s."




Connect with Ellen:
Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  
Etsy shop: MODERNEMILLIE  |  Pinterest

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

FEATURED AUTHOR: EMMANUELLA HRISTOVA

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder is a collection of poems that explores a tumultuous year of love, heartbreak, and all kinds of unimaginable loss. Emmanuella's debut poetry book documents the birth and death of a relationship, and the death of her sister. Each poem is an emotional time-stamp that plunges the reader into the depths of the author’s feelings as they burgeon and wane. The book reads like a diary and chronicles the boundaries of the things that we all feel: passion, heartache, and pain that gives way to hope.




Book Details:

Title: The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder    

Author’s name: Emmanuella Hristova

Genre: Poetry 


Publisher: Self-published through Lulu (April, 2018)

Print length: 50 pages

INTERVIEW WITH EMMANUELLA HRISTOVA

Q: Emmanuella, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?
A: I started writing when I was young, but I didn’t know it. When I traveled with my mom, I took copious amounts of descriptive notes about each trip we would take. Then, as a teenager I wrote short emo love quotes for my Xanga page (which I later deleted, much to my regret). But as for poetry, I didn’t start writing what I would now categorize as poetry until I was in graduate school, three years ago.

Q: What inspired you to write this book?
A: When I graduated with my bachelor’s degree, a young woman I used to mentor gave me a green Moleskin notebook. She told me to document all of my adventures. My undergraduate graduation characterized many changes in my life, and at the time I was working out my own definition of feminism. But what began as short musings about sexism jotted down on the BART train, eventually became woeful poems about oppression, harassment, and assault.
And then, two months later, I fell in love for the first time. I never decided to write my poetry collection; it came out of me, rather. I documented the relationship from beginning to end, birth to death. I wrote to express my feelings and sentiments. It wasn’t intentional. Pent-up emotions swelled up inside of me, and they didn’t have any place to spill other than onto blank pages. Eventually, that green Moleskin became a chronological account of one of the darkest periods of my life.

Q: How long did it take you to write this book?
A: I wrote all the poems in The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder over a period of one year, from June 2015 – June 2016. Then I let the completed word document sit in my computer for about two years, because I wasn’t ready to face it. And, I was still in love with my ex-boyfriend for quite some time after we split. So, I couldn’t face what I had written about him and what I had written about my sister’s passing. It wasn’t until two years after my sister passed away that I opened up the document again and read some poems to a friend. She told me to publish. I worked with a dear coworker of mine, Maria Ciccone, who helped me edit the content and order of the poems. That took about two months because we both did it while we were teaching full time. The editing and putting myself out there were the hardest parts, even harder than writing the collection.

Q: What do you hope readers will get from this book?
A: When I first began this book, it was my diary. It helped me heal through the most difficult part of my life. I took the time and effort to craft and edit what I had written during that time period, in order to give it to others so they too can heal. I published the most intimate parts of myself in order to help others going through a heartbreak or losing someone to cancer. I especially wrote it for women, as a lot of the poetry is written through a lamenting, feminist lens. As one reviewer put it, I am “simply a woman in a man’s world, and this period in [my] life has acted as a catalyst for [my] revolution”. The final chapter is dedicated to grieving and healing women:
The aftermath.

For crying girls everywhere, 

hiding in the bathroom stall.

May you find your healing.

Q: How did you come up with the title of your book?
A: The title of my book came from a poem in the collection called “October 7th.” The line is:
The inexpression of my

internal sexuality 

spilled out to my lips and 

my kisses tasted like disorder.


It’s about wanting to proceed in a relationship, but being unable to due to lack of trust. It’s about wanting, but not acting, and your world coming undone as a result. The title The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder refers to the fact that most poems are named after the day they were written; it reads like a diary because it was my diary. The title is different and unique, and I love it for that.

Q: Do you have a day job?

A: I was a high school ESL teacher for two years, but I’ve taken a break from full-time work to finish writing my first novel. I moved to Vietnam, so I could live off of my savings and write for enjoyment.

Q: How would you describe your book in a tweet?
A: Reads like a diary and chronicles the boundaries of the things that we all feel: love, heartache, and pain that gives way to hope.

Q: How did you come up with your cover art?
A: The cover art is very special to me. It began as a painting that I completed while I was writing my book, when I was depressed over a spurned lover. It perfectly characterized the raw emotions I felt at the time through a bleak, black background and dark red paint splatters. When it came time to self-publish my book, I designed everything myself using Photoshop. My painting became the background, then I overlayed simple text on top that that included the title, my name, and a short description. I wanted something minimalistic, that could look good while small for the eBook market, and something that represented me and the themes of the book. 


Q: Tell us about your favorite chapter in the book.
A: Even though it’s really hard to pick a favorite, I love the fourth chapter called “The end.”
The end.
I cannot stop writing 

about you without

seeing the end of everything.


It’s up to debate, but the fourth chapter is arguably the darkest chapter of the whole book, since it deals with my breakup and finding out that my sister was dying. I love this chapter because it holds some of my favorite poems. When I was at my lowest point, my poetry got the most raw and angry. There’s something about embracing anger and scorn that evokes the most powerful and real emotion.

Q: Who are your favorite authors?
A: My biggest influence would be Georgi Gospodinov--his novel The Physics of Sorrow in particular. He's a contemporary Bulgarian author, and the novel is about a sense of apathy and identity-finding following the communist fall in Bulgaria. It also dabbles slightly in magical realism, which is surprising to see outside of Latin American literature, but it's fantastic.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is also another novel that has kept inspiring me long after I finished it.
Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite poets; her boldness in exploring her own darkness encourages me to explore mine.
Similarly, the musical artist BANKS and her album Goddess is the soundtrack to which I wrote The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder.
rupi kaur inspired me to self-publish and promote myself on Instagram! And, I also think we have similar writing styles and themes.
I also really enjoy supporting female authors. Yaa Gyasi wrote one of my favorite books that I read in 2018: Homegoing.
And then lastly, George Orwell and Charles Dickens stand as two of my favorite classic authors; their novels 1984 and Tale of Two Cities still resonate with me to this day.

Q: What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?
A: Currently, I’m reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children on my Kindle. It’s such a breathtaking and imaginative story! I also love how the author writes, it’s both figurative and curt at times.


Q: Where do you prefer to do your writing?
A: Back at home in the Bay Area, I frequent the same writing cafés: Caffè Strada in Berkeley, Farley's in Oakland, Barrelista in Martinez, Coffee Shop in Walnut Creek. The ambiance needs to be peaceful and romantic; twinkling lights, kitschy furniture, and a patio are preferable. I like to write with a delicious latte in hand and a luxurious string of words on my mind. Now that I’m in Vietnam, I still go to cafés but I drink a Vietnamese iced coffee instead—they’re equally delicious. 

Q: Where do you call home? 

A: Home is the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The west coast is the best coast!



Q: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
A: 
I’m a very social introvert, but an introvert nonetheless. That’s why I write, to express the feelings I struggle to say out loud. 



Q: What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
A: The hardest thing I ever had to write was one of the final chapters in the novel I’m currently working on. One of the closing scenes is a literal description of my sister passing away in front of me. There’s also another incredible aspect about that scene that happened that I can’t share, lest I give away the end of the book. In order to write the chapter, I had to listen to a sound recording of the day she passed away. I’ve had that sound recording in my computer for almost three years, but haven’t touched it. And I put off writing that chapter for a long time. I’m actually still working on it; it’s holding up the completion of my novel.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: Currently, I'm writing my first novel. It's about my life, but it's written in novel form. It tells the story of a young Emmy, a gifted daughter born to Bulgarian immigrants in the United States. Upon moving, they never imagined that they’d lose everything. And not even Emmy’s gift of prophesy and her religious faith could have prevented the deaths of most of her family members. Meanwhile in another realm, a golden statue of a young girl wakes up. Once Zoe realizes who she is and why she's there, she embarks on the perilous mission to get Emmy out of the labyrinth-like castle. Meanwhile, Emmy's left to deal with the psychological trauma of losing loved ones too soon, and with her inability to make the American Dream materialize. She turns inward--to the fantastical world she's built for herself to hide from her grief. However, this home she's created is holding her captive, and she can't seem to get out of her own mind. Guided by some fantastical sidekicks, she loses herself inside the dream-world that she hasn't shared with anyone. The world in her dreams, and in between dreams, and she doesn’t know if she’ll make it out alive.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emmanuella Hristova was born in Oakland, California and grew up in the Bay Area. She is the third daughter to Bulgarian parents who immigrated to California shortly before she was born. She began drawing at the ripe age of four, and studied the fine arts for five years in high school. There, she received many art accolades including a Congressional award for her piece "Boy in Red" in 2009. In 2015, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. She began writing poetry at age twenty-four when she was in graduate school. She earned her Master's in Education from the same alma mater in 2017. Emmanuella spent two years as an English teacher in Richmond, California. During that time, she self-published her first poetry collection: The Day My Kisses Tasted Like Disorder. Currently, she is writing her first novel. She speaks English, Bulgarian, Spanish and is now learning French.



Connect with Emmanuella:
Website  |  Goodreads  |  Instagram


Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iBooks  |  Kobo  |  Lulu  |  Bookshout 


I WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and hope your holidays are filled with family, friends, and lots of books–and much free time to read them!

FEATURED AUTHOR: KAYA QUINSEY

ABOUT THE BOOK

Author Kaya Quinsey returns with her trademark blend of romance and adventure, in this page turning story about a love to remember and a Christmas never to forget.



Successful broadcaster Jessica Beaton has it all: the perfect New York City apartment, high-flying career, and handsome boyfriend. And with Christmas around the corner, she has her sights set on one thing. A ring. 

But Jessica is humiliated when her co-host and boyfriend, Brett Fanshaw, almost proposes to her on-air before backing out, leaving her dumped and embarrassed on national television. In the midst of her heartbreak, Jessica leaves to go home to Pebble Shores for the holidays for the first time in years. 

While retreating at her family's seaside cottage to evaluate her life, Jessica finds herself butting heads with Dean Adams, the mayor of Pebble Shores, who isn't thrilled to have the media spotlight shed on their small town. Jessica couldn't imagine anyone being more of a Grinch.


Over the Christmas season, Jessica finds herself more enamored with life in Pebble Shores, the community spirit, and to her own surprise, Dean Adams. Can a small-town mayor and big-city broadcaster have the romance that Jessica always dreamed of?



Book Details:


Title: A Coastal Christmas

Author: Kaya Quinsey

Genre: Christmas Romance

Publisher and publish date: Books To Go Now (October 2018)

Print length: 100 pages (paperback edition)

INTERVIEW WITH KAYA QUINSEY

Q: What’s the story behind the title of your book?

A: I chose the title A Coastal Christmas for two reasons. First, it pays homage to the primary setting, which is the idyllic fictional community of Pebble Shores. Pebble Shores is located right on the Atlantic coast. As the hometown of the main character, Jessica Beaton, Pebble Shores is full of quirky and compassionate residents, holiday-themed celebrations, and is the polar opposite setting from Jessica’s busy life as a broadcaster in Manhattan. Second, when you hear ‘A Coastal Christmas’, you know that it is, without a doubt, a holiday-themed book. And with Christmas around the corner, Jessica has her sights set on one thing. A ring.

Q: What’s your favorite memory?

A: I feel like every time I travel, I come away with a new favorite memory. But without a doubt, my most romantic and favorite memory is when my (now) fiancé proposed at sunset in San Sebastian, Spain.


Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?

A: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

Q: I like that! If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?

A: As long as I knew that my family, including my cat, was safe, I would have to say my photo albums. I have quite a few, I’ll admit, so I know it’s not just one thing, but I would do my very best to save them all. It is such a different experience looking through a photo album rather than going through the pictures on a computer. When it’s right in front of you on paper, it becomes that much easier to feel transported back to the moment when that picture was taken.

Q: What brings you delight?

A: Writing, being by the water, exploring new places, visiting art galleries, eating fantastic food, and the single most significant one– ample time with my friends and family.

Q: If you could live anywhere in the world, where in the world would it be?

A: Perhaps the Mediterranean Coast, with my family and friends living just down the street. The miles of sandy seashore, the food, and the climate – it’s hard to beat.

Q: What’s your favorite line from a book? 

A: “Life offers you a thousand chances . . . all you have to do is take one.” 
― Frances Mayes from Under the Tuscan Sun

Q: Who are your favorite authors?

A: Peter Mayle, Frances Mayes, Sophie Kinsella, and Mary Kay Andrew.


Q: What book are you currently reading and in what format? 

A: I am currently reading Mr. Gandy’s Grand Tour by Alan Titchmarsh in hardcover. It is excellent!

Q: Where is your favorite bookstore, and what do you love about it?

A: Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, Italy. It is this small little bookstore that opens onto a canal. From the floor to the ceiling, it is absolutely packed with books. There is even a gondola inside filled with books. When you’re there, it feels magical. I have never been anywhere else like it.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: A romantic novella set in one of my favorite cities – Venice. Keep an eye out for Valentine in Venice!




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kaya Quinsey holds her undergraduate and master’s degree in psychology. Her first novel, Paris Mends Broken Hearts, was released in April 2018. Her second book, A Coastal Christmas, was released in October 2018. Her books have sold in seven countries. Kaya’s passion for culture, travel, and psychology blend for a reading style that is fun, full of surprises, and easy to read. A romantic at heart, Kaya’s writing offers a contemporary twist to traditional love stories. She hopes to inspire women through her stories to fiercely chase their dreams.

Connect with Kaya:
Website  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Google+

Buy the book:
Amazon  |   Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  |  Chapters/Indigo

FEATURED AUTHOR: DIANNE ASHCROFT

ABOUT THE BOOK

A small town, a big party, a stolen gift. When an artefact from the Titanic is stolen before her town's 150th anniversary celebration, it's up to Lois Stone to catch the thief.



Middle-aged widow Lois has moved from bustling Toronto to tranquil Fenwater and is settling into her new life away from the dangers of the city. Then two events happen that shatter her serenity: her house is burgled and an antique watch belonging to a Titanic survivor is stolen from the local museum. Her best friend, Marge, was responsible for the watch's safekeeping until its official presentation to the museum at the town's 150th anniversary party, and its disappearance will jeopardise her job and the museum's future. Lois won't let her friend take the blame and the consequences for the theft. She's determined to find the watch in time to save her best friend's job, the museum's future and the town's 150th anniversary celebration.



And so begins a week of new friends, apple and cinnamon muffins, calico cats, midnight intruders, shadowy caprine companions and more than one person with a reason to steal the watch, set against the backdrop of century houses on leafy residential streets, the swirling melodies of bagpipes, a shimmering heat haze and the burble of cool water.




Book Details:


Title: A Timeless Celebration

Author: Dianne Ascroft

Genre: cozy mystery

Series: Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries, book 1

Publisher: Indie (October 25, 2018)

Print length: 245 pages

On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT INTERVIEW WITH DIANE ASHCROFT




A few of your favorite things: Tortoiseshell cats, miniature goats, my Kindle, rocking chairs, wooden floors.
Things you need to throw out: Clothes that I’ve had for more than two decades, old magazines that I’ve already read (or sometimes haven’t read), Christmas cards I received last year.


Things you need in order to write: Laptop, copy of the story’s plot outline.
Things that hamper your writing: My cats begging for attention, loud conversations nearby.


Things you love about writing: Creating and developing stories and characters that eventually become what you imagined they would be.
Things you hate about writing: The writing and revising needed to get the story and characters to the point where they are as real to readers as they are in my head.

Things you love about where you live: The tranquil rolling hills, wild deer that loiter near the house, hares that hop along the lane past the front door, silence.
Things that make you want to move: Cold rain and high winds that batter our house in winter, the distance I must travel to attend a concert or see a film.

Words that describe you: Quiet, creative, quirky.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: Impatient, forthright.

Favorite foods: Moussaka, treacle bread, anything with cinnamon or maple syrup on or in it.
Things that make you want to throw up: Anchovies on pizza, cooked liver.

Favorite music or song: Irish and Scottish folk music, songs by Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart and Eva Cassidy.
Music that make your ears bleed: Trance and techno.

Favorite beverage: Hot apple cider, caramel latte, tea
.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Ouzo.

Favorite smell: Lilac bushes
.
Something that makes you hold your nose: Liver cooking.

Something you’re really good at: Crosswords, quilting
.
Something you’re really bad at: Riding a bicycle, crocheting
.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Chocolates, mocha ice cream.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Wasps.

Things to say to an author: I can’t wait to read your next novel, I’d like to see that character in your next book
.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Why did it take you so long to write that book? You must be making a fortune from your writing.

Favorite places you’ve been: Port Stewart, Northern Ireland; Otter Lake, Ontario, Canada; Grindelwald, Switzerland; St Gilgen, Austria.

Places you never want to go to again: Algonquin Park, Canada during blackfly season, the top of Croagh Patrick, Ireland on a foggy day, Lake District, England on a wet, windy day.

Favorite genre: Historical fiction, cozy mystery, women’s contemporary fiction
.
Books you would ban: Novels that contain extremely graphic violence.

Favorite things to do: Hiking, swimming, reading in front of the fire, cuddling my cats.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: Housework, public speaking.

Things that make you happy: Spending time with my pets, reading after all the chores are done, walking in the countryside
.
Things that drive you crazy: Grocery shopping, sitting in traffic jams, cleaning the bathroom.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Moved to Northern Ireland with little money and no job, walking along a cliffside path, riding a horse
.
Something you chickened out from doing: Crossing Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge in Northern Ireland.

The last thing you did for the first time: Recorded a videoclip
.
Something you’ll never do again: kiss the Blarney Stone, try to walk or drive through a snow drift.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dianne Ascroft is a Canadian who has settled in rural Northern Ireland. She and her husband live on a small farm with an assortment of strong willed animals. In her spare time she enjoys sitting in front of a roaring fire, wandering the countryside and listening to Scottish and Irish traditional music.

A Timeless Celebration is the first novel in the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series. Her previous fiction works include The Yankee Years series of novels and short reads, set in Northern Ireland during the Second World War; An Unbidden Visitor (a tale inspired by County Fermanagh’s famous Coonian ghost); Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves: A Collection of Short Stories (contemporary tales), and an historical novel, Hitler and Mars Bars, which explores Operation Shamrock, a little known Irish Red Cross humanitarian endeavour.


Connect with Dianne:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the book:
Amazon 

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