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I WISH I’D… BY HELEN HOLLICK

Stephanie Hopkins
B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree I guess all authors wish they had written ‘that’ novel – the one that has made Oscar status Blockbuster movie legend. The novel that hits number one in the bestseller charts and stays there … and stays there… and stays there… Or do we? Yes, of course we all want to do well, the basic facts of paying off the mortgage or being able to afford to get the car fixed is a prime motive – but the reality is, out of the thousands upon thousands of books published worldwide every year very few of them reach the heady height of Literary Stardom. Do I wish I’d written Gone With The Wind, or Fifty Shades of Grey or Harry Potter? To be honest? No, not really. What I do wish is that I had possessed the knowledge and experience I have now twenty-plus years ago. My first novel, part one of the Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy was The Kingmaking.  Writing it, I probably made all the mistakes an author is not meant to make: tell not show, too many adjectives and adverbs, point-of-view (head-hopping) changes… but were these issues that often get slammed in Amazon’s Comments sections nowadays…

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Settings the Writer Cannot Afford to Visit

Stephanie Hopkins
Brand Stoker never visited Transylvania. He based Castle Dracula on the ruined Abbey above Whitby.  Of course, the geography helped: Yorkshire is more or less on the same latitude as Romania, it exhibits similar bleak and capricious weather. There are no Carpathian peaks near Whitby but the abbey is perched on a respectable cliff and if there are no wolf infested forests, at least there some dark woods with similar pines and beeches. The smells of the natural world, especially in the 1890s, may not have been that different from Eastern Europe. But imagine if Stoker had lived all his life in Queensland.  He might have had to write some of the novel in an ice house to describe the physical sensations of almost freezing to death.  To portray the Transylvanian forests and Carpathian Mountains, he might have had to visit the European Masters in Brisbane’s art gallery. His biggest problem would have been the sun. Because Queensland is closer to the equator, the natural light is intense and a huge leap of imagination would be required to describe the dour skies above Castle Dracula. On the plus side, Queensland would have possessed at least one source of inspiration for…

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AEGIS RISING-S.S.SEGRAN

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with S.S. Segran S.S. Segran Author of the B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree Aegis Rising S.S. Segran spent a good chunk of her childhood exploring the enchanted forest of a million tales in the mystical land of books. In her early teens, she began crafting intriguing new worlds and conjuring up characters who came alive with the flick of her wand... err... pen. With the publication of Aegis Rising in her senior year of high school, she was surprised by the abundance of time that magically appeared right after graduation. She plans to use this newfound resource to expand the arc of the Aegis Series. Her future plans include studying Cognitive Science at university and helping youths in developing countries realize their potential through her non-profit organization, Aegis LeagueWhen not devouring a book or writing one, S.S. Segran can be found standing behind the cauldron of life, stirring a potion made up of chores, parkour, gaming, drawing, horseback riding and—having recently jumped off a perfectly fine airplane at fifteen thousand feet – perhaps skydiving. Read the entire Interview at Layered Pages Visit the author at her Website Learn more about the Aegis League  - Youth Empowering Youth  

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Authors' Chat

THANE-TRAVIS BOW

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Travis Bow Travis Bow Author of the B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree Thane Travis Daniel Bow is the author of Thane and its sequel, King's Table. He grew up in Reno, NV (where he raised pigs for FFA), earned degrees from Oklahoma Christian University (where he broke his collarbone in a misguided Parkour attempt) and Stanford (where he and his bike were hit by a car), and now does research and development work for Nikon. He has eight published short stories, four pending patents, one wonderful son, one beautiful wife, and one loving God. Read the entire interview with Travis Bow at Layered Pages Visit Travis at his website

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Authors' Chat

THE FEATHER CHASE-SHANNON L. BROWN

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Shannon L. Brown Shannon L. Brown Author of the B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree The Feather Chase Shannon L. Brown read and read as a kid, particularly every mystery she could find. She didn't plan to be a writer though. Although she earned a degree in journalism & communications then a second degree in education, she didn't end up working in either field. Shannon wrote her first book, a clean romance, shortly after earning those degrees in the 1980s. Submitted to a publisher, when it was rejected she changed directions. Fast forward to a day some years later when she was driving and an image of a briefcase filled with feathers popped into her mind. She knew it was the idea for a children's mystery and "The Feather Chase" was born. Shannon wrote the book while working in unrelated fields. She also began writing magazine articles on the side and gradually moved to doing that full-time. Now an award-winning writer, she has sold more than 600 articles for local, national and regional publications and, until resigning to finish the book, was the contributing editor for a jewelry publication. (This goes to show you, you never know where life may take…

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RED, WHITE & SCREWED-HOLLY BUSH

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Holly Bush Holly Bush Author of B.R.A.G.Medallion Honorees Romancing Olive Reconstructing Jackson Red, White & Screwed Holly Bush was born in western Pennsylvania to two avid readers. There was not a room in her home that did not hold a full bookcase. She worked in the hospitality industry, owning a restaurant for twenty years and recently worked as the sales and marketing director in the hospitality/tourism industry and is credited with building traffic to capacity for a local farm tour, bringing guests from twenty-two states, booked two years out. Holly has been a marketing consultant to start-up businesses and has done public speaking on the subject. Holly has been writing all of her life and is a voracious reader of a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, particularly political and historical works. She has written four romance novels, all set in the U.S. West in the mid 1800's. She frequently attends writing conferences, and has always been a member of a writer's group. She is always a member of Romance Writers of America. Holly is a gardener, a news junkie, and was the vice-president of her local library board for years. She loves to spend time near…

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Authors' Chat

MEN OF THE CROSS-CHARLENE NEWCOMB

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Charlene Newcomb Charlene Newcomb Author of the B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree Men of the Cross Charlene was born and raised in South Carolina, but left home at 18 to "join the Navy and see the world." That "world" ended up being duty stations in Florida, California, Texas, and Maryland. Her job as a communications technician led to a post-Navy career in academic libraries, where she worked since the early 1980s. Somewhere in there, Charlene had 3 children – now all grown and independent – completed a B.A. in U.S. History and a Masters in Library and Information Science, and moved to Kansas. She started writing in 1993 and published a series of short stories in the Star Wars universe. Due to life's curve balls, she didn't publish her first novel, Keeping the Family Peace, until 2012. Her love of history has taken her happily to the 12th century. Men of the Cross, published in April 2014, is book I of her Battle Scars series. Book II, For King and Country, will be published later this year. Visti Charlene at her Website Read Charlene Newcomb's entire interview at Layered Pages  

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Authors' Chat

AEREDEN SERIES-KRISTEN TABER

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Kristen Taber Kristen Taber Author of the B.R.A.G.Medallion Honorees THE CHILD RETURNS (ÆRENDEN #1)THE GILDONAE ALLIANCE (ÆRENDEN #2) Born in Bangor, Maine, author Kristen Taber spent her childhood at the feet of an Irish storytelling grandfather, learning to blend fact with fiction and imagination with reality. She lived within the realm of the tales that captivated her, breathing life into characters and crafting stories even before she could read.Those stories have since turned into over a hundred poems, several short tales, and five manuscripts in both the Young Adult and Adult genres. Currently, Ms. Taber is completing the five-part Ærenden series from her home office in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Visit Kristen Tabers Website Read the entire interview with Kristen Taber at Layered Pages         

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LITTLE MISS HISTORY-BARBARA ANN MOJICA

Stephanie Hopkins
Author Interview with Barbara Ann Mojica Barbara Ann Mojica Author of the B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree Series Little Miss History Award winning author Barbara Ann Mojica is a historian and retired educator living in New York State. Barbara spent more than forty years teaching in NYC in the fields of preschool, elementary and special education. She also served as a special education principal for a school devoted to developmentally delayed children and a special education administrator providing services to the special education population. Barbara, although retired from teacher, is staying busy: along with her series of Little Miss History travel books she writes historical pieces for The Columbia Insider, Pat Fisher and Ed Pollack Editors, under the banner "Passages." Marrying her love of teaching and history, Barbara hopes her Little Miss History character will inspire children to learn about historical people and visit landmarks such as those in MOUNT RUSHMORE, The STATUE of LIBERTY, SEQUOIA National Park, and FORD's THEATER, which are covered in the first four books of this series. Visit Barbara ann Mojica at her website Read the entire interview with Ms. Mojica at Layered Pages                                  …

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Authors' Chat

CASTLES IN THE SAND-ANNIE DAYLON

Stephanie Hopkins
  Author Interview with Annie Daylon Annie Daylon Author of the B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree Castles in the Sand Get to know Annie! I live in Chilliwack, British Columbia, with my husband David and our dog CoCo.The best thing about my life right now is that I get to be a writer. I am a member of both the Federation of British Columbia Writers and the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland & Labrador.Annie and David I love to get up at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning and go to my computer where I spend numerous hours crafting characters who tell me their stories.Among the writers who have influenced me are: Louisa May Alcott, Wayne Johnston, Kate Morgan, Jonathan Franzen, Barbara Kingsolver, Stephen Leacock, and Maeve Binchy.CoCo SmilingSecond on my list of the things I enjoy most in life is reading. Among the best books I have read lately are: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, The Crimson Petal and The WHITE by Michel Faber, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.Among my other many interests are: nature, tai chi, line dancing, walking, dogs, Mozart, and all things Newfoundland and Labrador... not necessarily in…

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