Author Interview – AFN Clarke @AFNClarke

What’s your favourite place in the entire world?
To be honest, being out on the ocean alone, on a sailboat, when the sky is blue, the sun’s warm, there’s a nice breeze and the water’s so clear I can see deep into it’s depths.  Anywhere peaceful away from man-made stress with a big sky and surrounded by nature, even if it’s on a boat in the middle of the biggest storm at sea, is heaven to me.
What is your favourite colour?
If I have to choose one, I would have to say, blue. It is the colour of the sky on a bright sunny day and the ocean surrounding coral reefs. It is warm, inviting and uplifting and always gives me a wonderful sense of well-being. Without blue, sunsets would be insipid, the ocean a dark menace and my life would be grey.
What’s your favourite food?
That’s tough, I love all sorts of foods – rich curries, simple pastas, fresh fish and seafood.  But I guess one of my favourite rituals is ending each night sitting quietly with my wife and enjoying a glass of good port, a sliver of Stilton cheese and letting the activities and thoughts of the day fall away.  I’ve also got a sweet tooth, so my latest vice is chocolate covered honeycomb – hmmm – delish!!!
What inspired you to write your first book?
My first book Contact started out as a way of coming to terms with the world after returning from combat physically and emotionally wounded. I was lost, angry, sad, and felt I didn’t fit in with the so-called “normal world” – what’s “normal” after being at war, anyway?  I wanted people to understand what it was like going out expecting to be shot or blown apart every day.  How we came to terms with the stress, loss of life, fear and boredom.  Wanted families of veterans to understand why their loved ones might be distant, different.  But my primary motivation was to ensure that the lives lost and destroyed, both of soldiers and civilians, counted for something – and that politicians might stop and think long and hard before choosing to go to war.
It’s still one of my best selling books all these years later – which is, ironically, rather sad, as I had hoped it would have been redundant by now.  But it seems we humans never learn. Now I prefer writing fiction and taking my readers to different worlds through my stories. Eight books so far, with many more to come.
Do you intend to make writing a career?
Writing IS my career and I can’t imagine doing anything else.  I think it’s a career because it’s more than just something I do to earn money or pass the time – it’s a lifelong passion and activity that I nurture and grow and do everything I can to excel at and learn more about.  I hope each time I write, that passion and growth shows and inspires my readers to read more, and new writers to keep on writing and be even better.

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Genre – Thriller

Rating – PG-13

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Website http://www.afnclarke.com/

#AmReading - A Distant Eden by Lloyd Tackitt @LloydTackitt

A Distant Eden by Lloyd Tackitt

Amazon

December 2012, a massive solar storm knocks out the power grid. Three hundred million Americans are suddenly faced with a survival situation. They have no water, electricity or fuel. Food rapidly disappears from the store shelves, not to be replaced. Only three percent will survive. Those three percent will have much in common. What does it take to be one of them?

Author Interview – Karen S. Bell @KarenSueBell

What contributes to making a writer successful?

Pure luck, connections, and perhaps a pot of money to take out huge ads. I sound jaded and I am. It’s never about the writing anymore. It’s about titillation, gore, brutal murders, zombies.

If you could leave your readers with one bit of wisdom, what would you want it to be?

Try and be the change. Help bring our country to become a more welcoming place. Help this country avoid the decaying of society that was the downfall of ancient Rome. Let’s all help to move forward and stop the backward slide that seems to be taking over.

When you wish to end your career, stop writing, and look back on your life, what thoughts would you like to have?

That my children have all done well for themselves. That I have a few more good years left of good health. That everyday of living is a blessing and a gift to not take for granted.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I grew up in a world where most mothers stayed home and cared for their kids. My mother worked with my father out of necessity. Today, most mothers work out of necessity or greed. We have to have two BMWs and so on. But for whatever reason, mother’s work. And we have lousy maternity leave. No real balance for families. One day, I went into the ladies room and a woman was pumping her breast. Somewhere there is a baby crying right now, I thought. How twisted is that, that this young woman is here and not with her baby? The feminist movement was about equal pay for equal work, not hurting families. But woman are in the workforce now and still not getting equal pay. I felt women needed to start a dialogue about better balance of work and family, about longer maternity leave. No one is talking about that. I hoped I could start that conversation. I wrote that book ten years before any of the others on that topic came out, but I couldn’t find a publisher. But you know what? Women still aren’t pushing for better work/life options. We are still paying outrages costs for daycare. No help for the working mother and no one fighting for it.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

My life, movies, books, tv shows, the news, my kids.

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Genre – Contemporary romance, Magical Realism

Rating – PG-13

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Quality Reads UK Book Club Disclosure: Author interview / guest post has been submitted by the author and previously used on other sites.

Pegasus by Marilyn Holdsworth @m_holdsworth

Prologue

* * *

Gravel sprayed from beneath the tires as the truck pulled onto the open highway. Buddy Winters jerked the wheel to the right and headed toward Southern California’s I-5. He pushed his cowboy hat back and cursed as the pounding hooves in the horse van behind jolted the cab. He swore as he accelerated, “Goddamn Hammer Head.” He’d had trouble loading him in the first place. It took a blindfold and a rope around his rump to haul him on board.

“Jesus, what a pain in the ass this trip is gonna be with him stompin’ and yellin’ all the way,” he muttered. ’Course the pay was good, mighty good for only hauling three, but that Hammer Head made a dozen all by himself. But Vince Rossi was in a hurry to move him, so he’d come through with the cash, half up front and the rest when Buddy delivered. Buddy patted the wad of cash in his jeans pocket. Old Man Rossi would turn over in his grave if he saw how hard his son was pushing those animals. Buddy scowled at the memory of the senior Rossi. Never let me transport any of his horses, not after that bay cut her leg and came in lame, Buddy thought bitterly. Hell, not my fault she pitched the whole way.

“Enough to drive a man crazy, and now this nag today is every bit as bad,” he grumbled as he stomped on the gas. ’Course if he tossed him about a little to shut him up, the nag couldn’t talk. Even if he could, where he was going nobody would be listening. So what if he played with him a bit? Shouldn’t be shrieking like a banshee back there, stirring up the others. A crescendo of whinnying drowned out the twangy country song on the radio. Again Buddy cursed, and this time he hit the brakes hard, accelerated, and then hit them again. He repeated this three or four times. He heard the horse slam against the side of the van. “Shut up back there.” He turned up the radio. Yes, siree, he’d make good time and collect from Rossi, maybe get a little extra if he was ahead of schedule. Never could’ve worked with the old man. Hell, he expected you to go slow with them, treat them like royalty. Seemed like he wanted you to stop every couple of hours, shovel out the shit, and feed them sugar lumps laced with champagne. But not Vince. He was a gambling man and knew how to make money out of these hay burners. Just like he’d do if he owned them, Buddy acknowledged approvingly. Make the money and head for a tropical island with girls in the sun. Buddy smiled at the thought of girls. His expression soured again when he remembered he’d asked Millie to make this run with him, only to have her turn him down. Damn lonely out on the road. She should have come.

The truck picked up speed as it moved into the flat country. Buddy watched the rearview mirror carefully; no need to get pulled over. After all, he was after a bonus for early delivery. The miles fell away as the day wore on, interrupted only by the stomping of the horse in the van and Buddy’s violent stop-and-go driving. He’d known that horse was going to be trouble as soon as he’d looked at him. The sleek chestnut coat had shone in the sunlight, glistening like it had been sprinkled with gold. Never before had he seen a horse that color at the track. Most were bays or dark sorrels with an occasional gray, but this one had a different look and a different temperament to go with it. Defiant and proud, he dared anyone to try to beat him. Guess that was what Vince Rossi saw in him, too. The way he ran him, most horses would have broken down. How many races had he put him in one right after the other? Jeez, the guy was sure out to make the money, use them up, and get rid of them.

The van lurched again, this time smashing Buddy against the steering wheel, and he swore again. He checked the time and his location. Hell, just over the next ridge was the Quick Stop Café. Maybe he’d do just that, make a quick stop. And if he was lucky, that Tammy would be there serving the food and drinks. Tammy - what a dumb name for a kid stuck out in the sticks with no future and an old man about as dumb as her name sounded. With a name like that you’d think she was in the movies or on TV or something. But hell, she sure seemed friendly last time he came through. Maybe he’d get lucky, real lucky, this time. Like maybe her old man was out of town—that kind of lucky. Buddy smirked to himself. He prided himself on knowing women, and this little piece looked like she could use some action. Jeez, that tight little T-shirt was stuck down in her jeans so far that her tits poked out like buttons. He squirmed at the thought of Tammy and her T-shirts. Yeah, he’d make a stop. And if he got real lucky, like in-the-sack lucky, he’d make up the time by taking a shortcut he knew. Not a very good road, but it sure would cut off the miles, and a few bumps and grinds would do that old Hammer Head in the back some good. Yeah, he’d look in on Tammy.

Buddy guided the van into the parking area, where a few semi-trailer trucks were already scattered across the dirt lot. He climbed out of the cab and headed for the café. The restless pawing in the van made him hesitate for a moment. Maybe if he pitched them a little hay they’d settle down. But hell, he didn’t want to stop for that, and besides, no way did he want to give old Hammer Head more energy.

* * *

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Genre - Adventure / Romance

Rating - Adult

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Accountability Leadership by Di Worrall @DiWorrall

CHAPTER 1

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR LEADERS

As a leader, how can you influence more of your people to step up to the plate, see opportunities, and take ownership, rather than get by with minimal effort?

When you observe your superstars, you see how effectively they engage in their work. How can you get more of your people to be like them?

Increasing staff engagement may seem simple in concept, but it’s not so simple in its practical application. This chapter reveals what you can do as a leader to help your staff work better and feel more engaged and satisfied with work. You do this by creating conditions of accountability. In the long run, they’ll thank you for it.

I believe that the vast majority of working people crave opportunities to find renewed enthusiasm and energy in their jobs. Most employees – those who are neither stars nor problem hires – respond well to challenges and stretch goals with the right leadership.

Which begs the question: How do you reach the hearts and minds of the people working for you and ignite their enthusiasm and energy so they bring their best to work each day?

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Genre - Business, Leadership, Workplace Behaviour, Human Resources, Executive Coaching

Rating – PG

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Website http://www.diworrall.com.au/

#AmReading - Falling Into Infinity by Layne Harper @Layne_Harper

Falling Into Infinity by Layne Harper

Amazon

Pre-med student Caroline “Charlie” Collins, a sophomore at Texas A&M, knows exactly what she wants in life and the order that it will happen: finish college, complete medical school, and then fall in love. A chance meeting with A&M’s star quarterback Colin McKinney changes everything. A friendship between the two grows over time and blossoms into a powerful love affair. Charlie and Colin must learn to cope with his transition to playing professional football, the crushing attention of the media, and constant demands of his fans. At the same time, she’s struggling with how her dream of attending medical school will fit into their already stressed relationship and Colin’s new life. Falling Into Infinity asks the question is just loving someone enough to make a relationship work?

Author Interview – Cerece Rennie Murphy @CereceRMurphy

How do you write – lap top, pen, paper, in bed, at a desk?

I usually start with a story and chapter outline that I write by hand. From there, I will write the chapters on my laptop.  But if I’m having trouble visualizing a scene, I will go back to pen and

How much sleep do you need to be your best?

At least 7-8 hours.  Usually, I get between 5-6 hours.

Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge and thank for their support?

I’d love to thank my family and friends, especially my Mom and my husband, Sekou.  Their belief in me is so humbling.

Tell us about your new book? What’s it about and why did you write it?

Sure.  The Order of the Seers trilogy is about a group of people who can see the future and are enslaved for that ability.  The first book is all about how they escape the organization that is trying to exploit their gift, reclaim their power and start fighting back.  There’s lots of action, adventure and suspense.  There is even a little romance, too.  The second book in the trilogy, titled The Red Order, came out this past summer and picks up right where the first one leaves off.  Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that The Red Order has even more action than the first book and is a bit darker because you get to know your villains a lot better.

If you could have a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive, who would you ask?

I would probably just invite God.  That should cover everything else I want to know.

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Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – NC-17

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Website http://www.crmurphybooks.com

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Quality Reads UK Book Club Disclosure: Author interview / guest post has been submitted by the author and previously used on other sites.