Tell us about yourself, Shelly! Who are you and what do you like to do when you’re not a writer? I never know how to answer the question of who I am because I still don’t know the answer to that myself. I’m a lot of things; I wear a lot of different hats. I’m a mom, a wife, a history buff, an optimist, a writer, among other things.  I suppose I’m kind of a multi-faceted person. As far as what I like to do when I’m not writing, I like to read. I’m an avid reader I know every section of the library and book sales are one of my favorite things. I love to go to the movies, watch documentaries, hang out with my family and walk the dog. It’s so peaceful when I walk our dog; it’s getting out into nature. I put up the phone and it’s just us enjoying all the wonders around us. I try to get my husband and my kids to go on walks with us. Sometimes I’m successful sometimes I’m not. But I think it’s good for families to get away from all the electronics for a while and just be together without all the modern day distractions.


I agree with you, about getting away, Shelly. What inspires you to write? Almost everything inspires me to write. I see someone or something or hear something and then an entire story and conversation just starts playing in my head. It’s good unless it bed time then I just lay there thinking about all these different story ideas. And there’s something about the rain. The rain really puts me in the mood to write. 
Tell me about your journey as a writer. When did you start and how do you keep the creative juices flowing? My journey as a writer started when I was a kid. I was always writing stories ever since I can remember. But I guess I never really thought of it as a future career it was just something that I always did. I have notebooks all over the place with book ideas, poems, partly finished books, etc. They are everywhere and they span from when I was a little kid to what I wrote yesterday. I keep the creativity flowing by making sure I always have a pen and notebook near me whenever possible. You’d be surprised at how many times my, ‘I’ll just write this one little thought down’ has turned into pages and pages of story ideas. 
Give us the elevator pitch for your book. William Somers, Henry VIII’s fool lived in two worlds. One where he was surrounded by the nobility and the people we think of when we talk of the infamous Tudor court like the ill-fated Queen Anne Boleyn, and the other amazing women who for a short time wore the Tudor crown as queen. And of course King Henry VIII himself, who William would come to know intimately. But William also found himself part of a world just down the hall in the area of the castle the nobles rarely descended to, becoming friends with the servants whose lives were just as interesting and tragic as those whose lives we normally read about. Sometimes the two worlds collided impacting those from both although most didn’t even realize it.  Except of course for William, he was there and he felt the thundering tremors that ripped through all their lives as they twisted closer together.
An intriguing premise! It drew me right in. Do you have a favorite character in your story? Who is most like you? My favorite character is probably Catherine Howard because she is so young and so full of life. It’s tragic because the reader knows what she’s doing is going to cost her her life but she is like most young people who get caught up in throes of blinding love. Writing her story actually inspired me to write another book from her point of view. It will be awhile but it’s something I hadn’t planned on doing until I got to know her in this book. As far as me I am very far from Catherine Howard’s personality. I think I’m most like the servant girl Mable. She is happy with a simple life yet she longs for more. She is caring and thoughtful. I would like to think I am most like her because of the kind heart she has.
Who would you like to see play your characters in a movie? I think I would like new actors because when I watch most movies it’s hard for me to see the characters as the people they are supposed to be portraying because I still have the picture of them as a character in a different movie. With that being said I do think there are a few current actors that would make a great William because they can play such sweet characters who are more than what they seem. Of those I’m not completely sure. But the best Henry VIII I have ever seen portrayed was by Ray Winston. So I always picture him when I think of Henry VIII. Catherine Howard I pictured as looking kind of like Olivia Hussey did in Romeo and Juliet.  
Do you have a favorite time of day and place to write? Do you have a routine? I like to write at night when the house is quiet and kind of dark. I don’t have a routine but I recommend that those who want to write do. I know if I had a routine or schedule I would get so much more done than I do. But as far as place to write I like to write at home in my house I feel comfortable here. I tried to the library to write a few times but I just couldn’t relax enough out of my comfort zone to really get into my characters heads. 
What do you do to market your book? I try to find groups on social media that are interested in the style of book I’m writing like groups devoted to the Tudor era and historical fiction. I also put my book on Kindle Scout when I first published it. Kindle Scout is a contest where people vote on the book they would like to see Amazon market. Even if you don’t win the contest it gets your book out there so that people can see it. I found several readers that way. The best review I have is actually from a person who first saw my book when I had it in the Kindle Scout contest.  I also signed up with Goodreads as an author. I was already a member as a reader. I love Goodreads it’s a great place to check out books other people are reading that you might want to read as well. And if you’re an author it’s a great place for people to find your book and rate it or add it to their reading list.  I highly suggest it for authors and readers both. And another great way to market your books is to do author interviews.  I have been lucky enough to be asked to interview for this blog, (thank you Julie!) and for a few others blogs as well. Never turn down a chance for an author interview. 
You are most welcome, Shelly! Who are your three top author crushes? Who would you most like to meet? Narrowing it down to three is really hard! I have had the opportunity to read a few things from aspiring authors that are SO good! They just haven’t finished their books yet but wow there is some amazing talent out there right now that I think will be on my ‘author crushes’ lists as well as many other people’s lists someday. But as far as authors that already have books out, I have to say that I really like non-fiction, (go figure since I write fiction) so I’m going to go with some non-fiction authors for this list. Mark Bowden’ he wrote Black Hawk Down which is one of my favorite books, General Patton, not only was he an amazing strategist and one of the most interesting people I have ever read about but he wrote a book as well so I’m picking him and Mark Bowden because of the interesting real life stories they could tell me about people they have met, adventures they have had, and their ideas and thoughts. I want to know what’s going through their minds. And for my third author I’m going to pick James Alexander Thom. If you haven’t read his works I highly recommend checking them out. One of his books, Follow the River, is also on my top books of all-time list. A coworker told me about it years ago and I have read it more times than I can remember. It’s so good. He did a lot of research so he would be fascinating to meet and ask questions. 
What are your future plans for writing? I’m working on the second book in the Shattered Rose series. It will take off from where Fall of the House of Queens left off. There will be many of the same characters in the second and third of the series but instead of William the stories will be told by Annabel, the servant girl Mable’s daughter. I also want to write a book told by Catherine Howard and one by Guinevere. I have a little notebook full of ideas but those are the ones I want to get out first.
What words of wisdom would you share with aspiring authors?  I think society gets caught up in sticking people into certain slots or categories based on what they do for a job. You know when most people meet someone for the first time they tend to ask, “What do you do for a living?” and then the answer that they give defines them in other people’s minds. But I have never really believed that. I think if people look deeper they will discover that who someone is may not be what they do for a living. I think there are a lot of artists and writers out there that are doing other jobs but they are really writers or something. They just haven’t discovered it yet. I know that was kind of a long drawn out answer but I wanted to get that out so that other people might be inspired to find out who they really are. If you would have asked me that a few years ago I would have said, “I’m a construction technician” or something like that because even though that wasn’t my passion and that’s not who I felt I was as a person that’s what I was doing for a living. I still have trouble saying, “I’m a writer” because I was in so many other roles for so long. But now being able to say that is strange and wonderful. Because that’s a hat I have longed to wear since I was a kid. So despite what you think you are now if deep down you feel like you’re a writer then you’re a writer! So pick up a pen and notebook or sit down at the computer and show the world who you really are. You are who you choose to be not what you have to do to get through life sometimes. Think of Elvis who was a singer but for a time he had to work as a truck driver. Another thing I would tell aspiring authors is that remember you were once unpublished and trying too. So help others when you can, and treat others like you wish you had been treated when you were at their stage in your writing journey. The other authors aren’t competition they are allies. 
Great advice, Shelly! Thanks so much for chatting with me, today.
Dear Readers, please check out Shelly’s links.
http://www.amazon.com%2FFall-House-Queens-Book-Shattered-ebook%2Fdp%2FB06XVJTLHX&usg=AOvVaw3bOqC0q54-6Gn7WSG7nY4I


https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fall-of-the-house-of-queens-shelly-talcott/1126048765
    

I'm pleased to chat with Kevin McAllion today!
Hi Julie,
Tell us about yourself, Kevin. What do you like to do when you’re not a writer? 
I’m a journalist from Dundee, Scotland, who now lives and works in Glasgow. I’ve been working as a sports journalist since the age of 19, which is now sadly 20 years ago. When I’m not working or writing, I’m usually listening to music, watching or playing football, or updating my website rhesuspark.com, which is perhaps the world’s only spoof monkey park.
 
 What inspires you to write?
I mostly write to amuse myself, creating situations and characters that make me laugh. I also want to leave a piece of me that future generations of my family can see. One of my writing projects is a diary of things my daughter has done for every year since her birth. She will have no memory of these precious moments so I want to make sure they are recorded so she can look back at pictures and read the story behind them as well. I’ve kept it going for the first four years and hope to have a record right up until she turns 18.


  What a lovely idea for your daughter! Tell me about your journey as a writer. When did you start and how do you keep the creative juices flowing? 
I’ve been writing most my life but that has mainly been journalism. It all began with a school newspaper day that got me gripped when I was about 12 or 13. That led to me studying journalism at university then I started working for newspapers while I was still studying. It began with writing lower league match reports for the Sunday Mail and that led to a staff job as a sports reporter with the same paper. I then evolved into a sub-editor and production journalist, which is my current role. In terms of creative writing, I dabbled in poetry for a while before starting my first novel Moristoun in 2012. It was finally published two years later.  


 Give us the elevator pitch for your book.
Moristoun is an island Scottish people are sent to in the afterlife when they have died by suicide. Buchan, a lawyer who has been trapped there for over 200 years, finds out he can move to a higher realm if he helps to stop modern-day Scots from killing themselves. He is tasked with saving McSorely and brings him back to Moristoun to work as his assistant in a bid to boost his self-esteem. McSorely slowly starts to discover the reality of Moristoun and things take a dark turn when he falls for Gail, the daughter of the landlord at the Tortured Soul pub. Gail is the only other mortal in Moristoun, having been brought there by Buchan as a baby when her mum died, and her fate becomes linked to McSorely.
 
 Do you have a favourite character in your story? Who is most like you?
My favourite character is Buchan. He is the most intelligent and suave of all the people on Moristoun, having read every book at the library. He was great fun to write as he is always coming up with insightful quotes and wins any battle of wits. I’d like to say I’m the most like him, but I’d be lying. I resemble McSorely more and share a lot of his character flaws. If my life had been as tough as his, I’d probably be in the same bind.


 Who would you like to see play your characters in a movie?
Peter Capaldi would make a great Buchan while I’d like to see Ewan McGregor as McSorely. Gail is a lot harder to cast as I don’t know many Scottish actresses who are 17-18. Give it to an unknown actress and pray she doesn’t make an arse of it like Sophia Coppola in the Godfather III


  
 
 Do you have a favourite time of day and place to write? Do you have a routine? 
When I was writing Moristoun, I woke up at 7am every morning and spent the first hour or two writing. This was the only way I could find the discipline to write the book and keep the ideas flowing. If I write at night I find too many things to distract me and due to work commitments I can’t do it every day. Since the birth of my daughter, I’ve had to stop the 7am writing shifts and that’s had a big impact on my output. I need to get back into the habit of writing every day.
 
Children are good at rearranging schedules! What do you do to market your book?
It’s mostly done on Twitter and Facebook, although I have held a couple of signings in book shops. One was a disaster and the other went quite well. Just after Moristoun was released, I contacted a lot of book bloggers to see if they would be interested in writing a review and this proved quite successful. I recently made a trailer for the book, having been annoyed by the poor quality of the one made by my publisher. This has been another good way to market the book as people now prefer videos to reading. In addition to that, I’ve joined a few groups on Facebook. The group Books Go Social has been a great way of meeting fellow writers and sourcing more reviews. I attempted to get book groups interested in looking at Moristoun and giving me feedback and was thrilled when a group from a university in Glasgow agreed to take part. But it didn’t end well. After giving them 22 free copies, I waited for months and months for them to get back in contact with me. I emailed the student who had organised everything and sent messages on social media but got no reply. Even when I got in touch with the university they just fobbed me off, saying there was nothing they could do as it wasn’t an official group. An expensive mistake.
 
 Who are you three top author crushes? Who would you most like to meet?
My three favourites are Victor Serge, Gunter Grass and Roddy Doyle, although I’d like to stress there is no sexual attraction as the word ‘crush’ can be interpreted a couple of ways. I’d most like to meet Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as I read his autobiography and it was fascinating, but I’d need a time machine now as he’s passed to the other side. 
  
 What are your future plans for writing?
Just to get back into the habit as I’ve written nothing of note for the last five years. I’ve started three or four books since Moristoun but given up after a few chapters. The most interesting revolved around a man turning up at a small town in Scotland and proclaiming himself the Second Coming. When I first came up with the idea, it opened up a world of possibilities so I’d like to get properly into the writing of that book. 


What words of wisdom would you share with aspiring authors?
Try to write something truly original. Don’t just copy someone else’s style as you won’t be able to do it as well. Find your own voice and passion. Also make sure you spend as much time editing the book as you do writing it. Be harsh on yourself and cut out anything that doesn’t need to be there.
 
 
Thanks dear readers, please check out these links for Moristoun
Website:
http://moristoun.com/
Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=moristoun&tag=mh0a9-21&index=aps&hvadid=8864195614
Amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/Moristoun-Kevin-McAllion/dp/1784552844
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Moristoun
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Moristoun/
YouTube trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BguzcBFh8M
 ​

Jonathon


That horrible smell, like the worst body odour mixed with rotting meat, was still too familiar. Jonathon would never forget it. Worl, the King’s scheming brother, and all his men smelled like this. They wore the smell like the King’s men wore their red and gold badges. 
Jon’s heartbeat ratcheted up. What are they doing here? They were supposed to be caught. He glanced at the Grue woman. Her eyes were wide. Fear? Her hand crept up to her throat and for the first time, Jonathon saw the bruises on her wrist. What caused those? 
“We have to go for help.” Jon said. “The San is our best bet.”
As Jonathon looked around the circle and sniffed the air, he realized that the breeze was coming from the direction of the path to the San’s fortress. The smell was between them and the route to safety. 
Crap!
Amia grabbed Jonathon’s arm. 
“We must go this way, now!” A tremble in her hand betrayed her. Jon put his hand over hers and squeezed.
“Where do we go?” He asked.
“Wait, Jon.” Gramp stopped him. “Why don’t we just go back through to home?”
“Gramp, that smell means trouble,” Jonathon gestured earnestly. “Remember I told you about Worl? He’s not just bad, Gramp. He will kill us…” 
“Kill?” Marly’s voice rose. “I want to go home now!”
“We can’t.” Desperation crept into Jonathon’s words. “They might catch up with us before we go through and we can’t fight back. I don’t know how long it takes for the portal to work. What if they catch us while we’re asleep but haven’t crossed over?” He looked at his grandfather.
“We have no choice, Gramp. We have to follow Amia and we have to go now before it’s too late.”