Who’s That Indie Author? Karen Hugg

Author name:  Karen Hugg

Genre:  Literary Mystery

Book:  Song of the Tree Hollow is about a young woman named Vero who moves back home to care for her sick cat Sophie while her mom is in rehab. But after Sophie dies from a heart attack and is revived by the vet, she leads Vero to a tree hollow that hums whenever she touches it. Unsure whether it’s haunted, Vero has to figure out its mystery, which ends up revealing a dark family history. In the end, she has to save her mom before she dies at the hands of a person who knows what’s buried beneath the tree.

When did you begin your writing career? Technically I began my career not long after college when I worked as an editor at small publications and doing some freelance writing, but I started seriously writing fiction around 2006.

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner? I’m definitely a planner. I worked as a garden designer for over 10 years so I’m always “designing” my novels and stories. If I don’t, I get anxious and worried.

What’s your working style – morning or late-night writer?  I write whenever my kids are at school or the house is quiet!

Do you work at a computer or write long-hand? I compose on a computer because I’m so messy from crossing words out and rewriting little bits as I go.

What gets those words flowing, coffee or tea?  Tea though I love a perfectly constructed latte.

Favorite book:  It’s so difficult to pick! I love literature of the 19^th century, the romanticism and focus on the struggle of the poor or marginalized in Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens’s novels. I also love those books because they combine great sentences and an interesting plot. So, any author who does that will be a favorite.

Favorite movie:   I gravitate toward sweet indie films. Films that tell a small, slice-of-life story.

Favorite musician:  Music is a huge part of my and my family’s life. I was a musician in college, my husband’s a pianist, and my kids all play instruments. I love all kinds of music. In 2018, I dove into the world of Tchaikovsky, who wrote some of the most emotionally tense and beautiful pieces. He was also a troubled soul, which makes him fascinating to me. His Piano Concerto No. 1 is at the heart of my book, Song of the Tree Hollow.

Social media links:
Website:  karenhugg.com
Twitter: @black_salvia
Facebook: Karen Hugg
Instagram: karenhugg
Pinterest: Karen Hugg

Awards/special recognition:
Semi-finalist, the Del Sol First Novel Prize contest
Second place, Mothers Always Write, micro-essay contest

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Who’s That Indie Author? Robbie Cheadle

Author name:  Robbie Cheadle

Genre:  Children, poetry and supernatural/horror for adults

Books:  The Sir Chocolate series of books for young readers (3 to 9 years): 1. Sir Chocolate and the Strawberry Cream Berries; 2. Sir Chocolate and the Baby Cookie Monster; 3. Sir Chocolate and the Sugar Dough Bees; 4. Sir Chocolate and the Condensed Milk River; 5. Sir Chocolate and the Sugar Crystal Cave

The Sir Chocolate books are about a little man who lives in a world where you can eat everything, even the houses and the trees. I co-authored these books with my younger son, Michael. Sir Chocolate and his friend, Lady Sweet, have adventures together as various problems crop up in Chocolate Land such as the Baby Cookie Monster who has lost his mother and who is causing havoc while he searches for her and the Condensed Milk River which mysteriously dries up. The Sir Chocolate books are aimed at providing entertainment for parents and children and include simple recipes and biscuit art that children love making.

Silly Willy Goes to Cape Town (8 to 10 years) is a story and includes step-by-step instructions on how to make fondant art figurines and flowers and five lovely party cake recipes and instructions.

While the Bombs Fell (9 years upwards) is a fictionalized autobiography of my mother’s life as a very young girl growing up in the English town during World War II. It includes a few authentic WWII recipes.

When did you begin your writing career?  I was first published in August 2016 and started writing a few years before that.

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner?  I have the basic story line in my head when I start and then I go from there. I suppose that makes me a bit of both as I go off in new directions when I start writing.

What’s your working style – morning or late-night writer?  Definitely morning, I am not a good night time person at all.

Do you work at a computer or write long-hand?  Long-hand? What is that? Just kidding, definitely I write on a computer.

What gets those words flowing, coffee or tea?  Tea, I get up at 5 a.m. most days and make tea before I do anything else.

Favorite book:  The Shining by Stephen King (Adult) and Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (children)

Favorite movie:  I don’t watch movies or TV.

Favorite musician:  I like Queen (Freddie Mercury)

Social media links:
Blog: robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com
Goodreads Author Page: Robbie Cheadle
Facebook: @SirChocolateBooks
Twitter: @bakeandwrite

Awards/special recognition:  Word Weaver competition Honorable Mention for my children’s short story. Two short stories in Dark Visions, an anthology of horror stories which was a #1 Amazon best-selling book pre-Halloween.

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Who’s That Indie Author? Alethea Kehas

Author name:  Alethea Kehas

Genre:  Fantasy & Memoir

Books:  The Labyrinth, book 1 in Warriors of Light series & A Girl Named Truth, a memoir

 

When did you begin your writing career?  I was mostly a closet writer (with a few published pieces) before I went back to school to get my MFA in creative writing about a decade ago.

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner?  I suppose a little of both. I let the inner guide lead as much as possible and with my fantasy series I don’t know what’s going to happen until I write it.

What’s your working style – morning or late-night writer?  I’m fortunate to work mostly from home as a healer and yoga instructor, so I write whenever I have the time and motivation.

Do you work at a computer or write long-hand?  Computer. I have horrendous handwriting and can type much faster than I can write by long-hand.

What gets those words flowing, coffee or tea?  Tea, definitely tea. I love tea.

Favorite book:  Impossible to say. As a young girl, my favorite books were by L.M. Montgomery, in particular her Anne of Green Gables series. In adolescence, I fell in love with The Catcher in the Rye, in college, the romantic poets, especially Keats. Now, it’s really any well written book with a good message.

Favorite movie:  Another tough one. I’m honestly not sure I have a favorite movie. Can I go with a TV series? I absolutely love the Avatar series. I think they’re absolutely brilliant and probably helped inspired my Warriors of Light series.

Favorite musician:  Deva Premal

Website and social media links:  website: aletheakehas.com
Facebook: @InnerTruthHealing and @AletheaKehasAuthor
Twitter: @AletheaKehas
Instagram: truthheals and warriorsoflightclub
Pinterest: Aletheakehas

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Looking for indie authors – is that you?

We all know how hard it is to write and promote yourself. How many writers are also book publicists? Even if you are both, do you have time to do both? Probably not. That’s where Book Club Mom comes in.

Who’s That Indie Author is a regular feature on Book Club Mom. It’s a free and easy way to promote yourself and your books and, at the same time, allow readers to know a little bit about you. Because we want to know how you got started, when you write and whether you prefer coffee over tea!

Who’s That Indie Author is also a great way to meet other writers and book lovers as they check out your profile, leave comments and share your information on social media.

After you submit your information, Book Club Mom will publish your profile on WordPress, Twitter and Facebook, the way to go when you want to get people to know you.

For more information, email Book Club Mom at bvitelli2009@gmail.com. I’ve prepared a brand new set of questions that are sure to get people interested!

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Who’s That Indie Author? Gigi Sedlmayer

Author name:  Gigi Sedlmayer

Genre:  Surviving cancer, I couldn’t go back to work. I had too much pain in my body. Radiation damage. My husband showed me how to use a computer, while he thought I might like to write some stories, since he had written the story about the adoption of our twin girls from Fiji.

Since I love animals, I started to write some short stories about animals for children. I was even so bold and sent them in to competitions. I didn’t get a prize, but was commended often, that I am on the right track for writing and should not stop writing. That gave me confidence to go on.

One of the short stories was about Talon and Matica. And writing it, the idea came, that I could expand the story and write a series.

The books were aimed for children, but when I published the first one and got the first reviews, they nearly all said, the book should be for all ages, because adults can benefit from them as well, finding themselves in it, not only children.

Books:  Talon, Come Fly With Me; Talon, On the Wing; Talon, Flight For Life; Talon, Connected; Talon, Encounter

        

Bio:  I was born in Berlin, Germany, on 19 May 1944. Escaping to the West before the wall went up, we moved a lot around, changing schools and having no friends. Finally settling in Munich.

Studying architectural drafting, I met Albert in 1965, marrying in December 1967. In May 1975 we moved to New Zealand. Because of language challenges, I started a handcraft business. In 1988 we decided to adopt and became adoptive parents of twin girls from Fiji the year after. In September 1992 we immigrated to Australia.

In 1993, I was diagnosed with cancer. Surviving, I started to write stories. First only short stories, until I wrote the story about handicapped Matica and her giant condor, Talon. A lot is in Matica about me and my life.

Favorite thing about being a writer:  That I can express myself, my feelings about the topic, my innermost thoughts. To put them on paper, well on the screen, it just gives me joy to let people, readers know, that they can achieve their dreams, when they put their minds behind it and do that something what they love and fulfilling their dreams, as Matica is doing, as I have done. It is achievable. But only with determination, love and joy in their hearts.

Matica’s dreams were the condors. And she achieved what she dreamed of. I achieved as well, I might say, writing the Talon story.

Biggest challenge as an indie author:  The biggest challenge, for me anyway, is “the advertising” so people see my books, like them and buy them. Up to now, it didn’t happen. Many approached me to help me, but I have to pay, well, that, I can’t. I always think and still hope, that someone out there would love my books so much, that they would do it, and would be paid after the success. I am still waiting.

Favorite books:  I have so many, so can’t put them all down, it would fill the page. I love to read science fiction books.

Contact Information: Website: gigised.com
Facebook: Gisela Sedlmayer and @gigisedlmayer
Twitter: @GigiSedlmayer
Amazon Author Page
Goodreads Author Page

Awards/special recognition:  The Talon series has been a consistent nominee, medalist and finalist for the Book Excellence Awards, Global eBook Awards, Independent Author Network Awards, and Authorsdb, and has received many 4- and 5-star reviews by the Online Book Club and Readers’ Favorite. In addition, Book 5 was the Sole Medalist Winner with New Apple in the Young Adult General Fiction category of our Annual Book Award 2017 Book Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing.

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Who’s That Indie Author? Michelle Scott

Author name:  Michelle Scott

Genre:  Supernatural thriller and romance

Books:  Just the Two of Us; The Soulless; Stage Fright

Bio:  Michelle Scott received her MFA from Wayne State University.  Her stories have appeared in such places as Tales of the Unanticipated, All Possible Worlds and Realms. Straight to Hell, the first book in her Lilith Straight urban fantasy series, is published by Carina UK, an imprint of Harlequin Romance.  Michelle lives in southeast Michigan with her husband and three children.

Favorite thing about being a writer:  I love being able to create characters and see how they interact. To me, it’s kind of a grownup way of playing with dolls. I also like to take a single situation and turn it into a story.

Biggest challenge as an indie author:  To me, the biggest challenge is staying organized. When I’m trying to juggle several different books, plan a blog tour, and design covers, things can get a little crazy.

Favorite books:  Anything by Stephen King. On the other hand, I also love Elin Hilderbrand and Jody Picoult.

Contact Information:
Website: michellescottfiction.com
Twitter: @mscottwriter
Facebook: @MichelleScottsFiction

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Who’s That Indie Author? David Liscio

Author name:  David Liscio

Genre:  Crime Fiction

Books:  Serial-killer thriller Deadly Fare; mafia thriller Blood Sons; currently working on the third book in the Hannah Summers series.

   

Bio:  A newspaper reporter and magazine photojournalist for over thirty years, I was fortunate to cover crime of all sorts, including organized crime, murder investigations and dramatic court trials. I live on the Massachusetts coast with my wife and dog. An avid sailor, I’m also a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician, occupations that inform my writing. I continue to write articles and make photographs for magazines.

Favorite thing about being a writer:  I get to exercise my imagination.

Biggest challenge as an indie author:  Marketing the books. It takes a tremendous amount of time.

Favorite book(s):  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway; Cannery Row by John Steinbeck; Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and so many others.

Contact Information:
Website:  davidliscio.com
email is davidliscio@gmail.com
Amazon author David Liscio
Goodreads author David Liscio
Twitter: @DavidLiscio
Instagram: d_liscio
Facebook: @authordavidliscio

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Who’s That Indie Author? Janice J. Richardson

Author name:  Janice J. Richardson

Genre:  Nonfiction, Fiction (Mystery)

Books:  The Making of a Funeral Director, Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery Series – Casket Cache, Winter’s Mourning, Grave Mistake, First Call

Bio:  I am an identical twin, a special needs mom and a former funeral director. A news junkie, I’m an avid reader of nonfiction, historical fiction and anything that has words on it. Retired now, I am always reinventing myself, and as I look back at my various careers,  I would do it all again. Well, some of it. A little bit anyway.

Favorite thing about being a writer:  Getting to know readers, supporting authors. One of my biggest thrills is hearing from readers that they learned something from my books.

Biggest challenge as an indie author:  Promotion, marketing

Favorite books:  A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini), The Lover’s Portrait (Jennifer S. Alderson), Anne of Green Gables series (Lucy Maud Montgomery).

Contact Information:
Facebook:  Janice J. Richardson
Twitter:  @richardsonjan1
Email:  themakingofafuneral.director@gmail.com
Goodreads: Janice J. Richardson

Awards/special recognition:  Winter’s Mourning: semi-finalist in first lines contest (AUTHORSdb) 2018; Casket Cache – Best Canadian Cozy Mysteries (Listopia)

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Who’s That Indie Author? N.A. Granger

Author name:  N.A. Granger (Noelle)

Genre:  Cozy Mystery

Books:  The Rhe Brewster Mystery Series: Death in a Mudflat; Death by Pumpkin; Death in a Dacron Sail; Death in a Red Canvas Chair

         

Bio:  N.A. GRANGER is a Professor Emerita at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. After forty years of research and teaching undergraduates and medical students, plus earning her EMT license, she decided to use her knowledge of human anatomy and emergency medicine in mystery writing. In addition to the Rhe Brewster Mystery Series, she has written for Coastal Living and Sea Level magazines and several times for the Bella Online Literary Review. Her latest mystery, Death in a Mudflat, was released in June of this year. You can find more of her writing and musings on her website: saylingaway.wordpress.com. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband and a Maine coon cat who blogs, and she spends a portion of every summer in Maine, researching for her books and selling them, too.

Favorite thing about being a writer:  Using my little gray cells! I’m a pantser – I just sit down and write – and one of the best parts of the day is going back and reading, sometimes with a “where-the-heck-did-that-come-from?” – what I’ve written that day.  A close second is having someone tell me they love my books!

Biggest challenge as an indie author:  Marketing and publicity. I’ve done all the suggested tried and true things and also used publicity firms. I’m not sure they were worth the cost for the outcome. I think I’ll just pound the pavements, going to Indie bookstores and seeking readings on my own, and push the email, twitter and blogging. What’s unfortunate is that M&P are no fun!

Favorite books:  This is challenging. A sampling: books by P.D. James (one of my favorite mystery authors), Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth, Tolkien’s The Ring Trilogy, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Sarah Orne Jewell’s Country of the Pointed Firs.

Contact Information: Email: sailingawayng@gmail.com
Blog: saylingaway.wordpress.com
Twitter: @rhebrewster
Facebook: Noelle A. Granger
Amazon: N.A. Granger

Awards/special recognition:  Mmm. I won second place in the Bloggers Bash writing contest in 2017 – my first time winning anything…

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Who’s That Indie Author? Michelle Burke and Lilamani de Silva

Author names:  Michelle Burke & Lilamani de Silva

Genre:  Non Fiction – Motivational, Self Help

Book:  15 Minute Pause, A Radical Reboot for Busy People

Bios:  Michelle Burke is a sought-after leadership and team coach, consultant and speaker. She is Founder of Energy Catalyst Group, devoting her 20-year career to helping organizations becoming thriving energized workplaces. A few clients include Sony PlayStation, Microsoft, Disney, HTC and Snap Inc. Lilamani de Silva and Michelle have created card games and educational products for over 17yrs. Lilamani’s eclectic career has included publicist at London Zoo, Assistant producer of natural history documentaries for Discovery and Animal Planet.

Favorite thing about being writers:  Inspiring people to have more joy and share insights

Biggest challenge as indie authors:  Spreading the word – promoting the book’s message

Favorite books:
Lilamani: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Signature of All Things Elizabeth Gilbert
Michelle: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Contact Information:  15minutepause.com, energycatalystgroup.com

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