Hello! Today with us we have Angelina Kerner (friend) and Megan Kuykendall (author)! *Applause*

Angelina Kerner: Could you please share with us your journey as an author and what inspired you to pursue writing?

Megan: I’ve always had a love of reading. I was happiest growing up when it was time to go to the library. I checked out every type of book I could especially anything on myth and lore of all kinds. I hated when a book or series would end because I had such a vivid imagination that I would start thinking about what the characters would do next after the book said the end. My grandmother encouraged me to write my stories or thoughts down and that’s when I realized I loved writing as much as reading. From that moment forward I always had a notebook with me creating my own worlds. With the encouragement of my grandparents and my teachers I have created the worlds I write about today. The myth and lore I learned about growing up fuels most of my writing today. 

Angelina Kerner: What themes or messages do you aim to convey through your work, and how do you believe they resonate with your readers?

Megan: My themes very but I think the main theme all my books have is no matter what is going on around you never give up. Keep moving forward and never leave a friend behind. If you stick together anything can be possible. I also believe love of all types is represented in my books Lovers new and old , friendship, the love between family members. In this day and age every type of love is need for you to thrive and keep going. I think those are the big one anyway. I hope my reader can relate and feel the emotions my characters are going through and are happy with how things end up. 

Angelina Kerner: Can you tell us about your latest book/project and the creative process behind it?

Megan: Right now I am writing book 2 in my Cupid Series and it is pivotal because it is actually going to link all my paranormal series together. This means you will see some of my main and sub characters from each series will be popping up to work with each other. Some you find out are old friends or maybe old rivals. or they might be meeting for the first time to overcome the bad guy for the story. Anyway it goes book two A Deadline for Love is going to be entertaining and exciting with a few plot twists even I didn’t see coming. 

My creative process is usually an idea pops in my head and then I run with it. my brain is a mess most of the time but I usually know how it starts and how the story ends when I start to put pen to paper for the first draft. I am very much a just run with it and see where it ends up type of writer.

Angelina Kerner: As an established author, what advice would you give to aspiring writers looking to break into the industry?

Megan: Find your writing friend circle. You do a lot of the work all alone in writing but to have like minded people on your side rooting for you to succeed there is nothing more important then that. We are all insecure about our writing or our ability to write. Find those friends online, at home. in a writers group a the library or that co worker that cant wait to see that next chapter. That support will get you though those time where you doubt yourself. Also your editor is your best friend find out that you can work well with and give you honest and good feed back to make your story better. 

Angelina Kerner: How do you handle writer’s block or challenges during the writing process, and what strategies do you use to overcome them?

Megan: I hate it when my characters decide to stop talking to me. I tend to take a step back for a few days, maybe even a week or two from the work. There is something my brain need to work out before I can continue with my story. Some of the ways I deal with it is go for a walk or turn on some music and loose myself in it for a while. I like to go for a walk or hike and just let my brain blank out while I ground myself. My favorite is my best friend and I go out and talk about my story so far. Where I had to stop. What I need to do with it to get to the end. Most of the time this kicks everything into gear and I can go home and write down the next few scenes of the book. When all else fails I pull out one of my other projects that are next in line and start it work on it. That sometimes gives the break I needed to work out what needed to happen then boom an idea pops up and I am off to the races again. 

Angelina Kerner: Are there any specific genres or writing styles you haven’t explored yet but would like to in the future, and what draws you to them?

Megan: Most of my work is Paranormal Romance and I am very happy with this genre. I don’t really see myself leaving this genre anytime soon but you never know, one day I might just get a new idea that will take me on a grand adventure.

Angelina Kerner: Are there any specific authors or literary works that have influenced your writing style or storytelling approach?

Megan: R.R. Tolkien was huge. I read all his works by the time I was twelve. By this time I was in love with any kind of myth I could find and Celtic was huge to me. His stories just brought to life a lot of the myths I had been reading about and it stayed with me all these years.

Angelina Kerner: As an author, what role do you think research plays in creating believable and immersive fictional worlds or narratives?

Megan: I research a lot but I put my spin on the myths and lore I find. So all my stories are based on lots of research but then I take it and make it work for the stories. I was taught that magic has a life of its own and shows itself in different ways to different people. Well, I research and let the myth talk through my stories in the way I can relate to it.

Angelina Kerner: What do you believe sets your writing apart from others in your genre, and how do you strive to innovate within your field?

Megan: I try to be real with my characters. In my worlds there are more characters than just the man and woman that fall in love. The romance takes a back seat most of the time to the actual story I am telling. There is evil that needs to be destroyed or at least pushed back into the darkness it came from after all. And there are more people in your life than the man or woman you fall madly in love with. I try to bring the whole story to life, not just the romance part of the story. I like to say my stories are paranormal with a romantic twist.

Angelina Kerner: In your opinion, what are some key elements that make a compelling and successful book, and how do you strive to incorporate them into your writing?

Megan: Real life. I like to watch people and interact with people which is really weird for an introvert. But I waitressed for 20-plus years so I was there but never really part of it all. I could watch and listen and interact with people without the overload if that makes sense. I try to bring real life into my stories. My characters make mistakes and can be ruff around the edges sometimes but they are down to earth and want to help make the world better for those around them. I try to bring the goodness in the people I see out in the stories I tell.

Thank you for participating in Support An Author event!!!

Hello! Today with us we have Ashley Mangels (reader) and Elizabeth Kirke (author)! *Applause*

Ashley: What inspired you to become a writer?

Elizabeth Kirke: Honestly, I don’t know. It sounds cliche to say I’ve always wanted to be an author, but I think it’s true. I know I wanted to be an artist when I was like 4 or so, but I half-jokingly say now that it’s only because I couldn’t write yet. I was writing stories as soon as I learned how and I never stopped.

Ashley: What genre do you mainly write in, and are there any you want to write in?

Elizabeth Kirke: Fantasy is my favorite to both read and write. Usually I tend toward urban/contemporary fantasy, but I’m starting a cozy fantasy series. Someday I’d like to try my hand at a sci fi.

Ashley: Who is your favorite character in your books and why?

Elizabeth Kirke: I have a soft spot for most of them, but I think it’s probably Danio. He started out a fan favorite, so I got lots of requests for more of him, and he charmed his way into the middle of everything. I think I like him because has a lot of fun abilities to write, as well as a complicated personality and backstory. I really enjoy doing scenes with him where I get to leave little breadcrumbs for readers to notice either when they reread or to wonder about on their first time through.

Ashley: Are any of your books based on real life events? 

Elizabeth Kirke: Yes! The first book in my urban fantasy series, Semester Aboard was inspired by an actual cruise that I did. While there was no magic on board (that I’m aware of, sadly), the characters visit the same ports, do the same in-port trips, and in my mind the ship has the same floorplan.

Ashley: What is your favorite part about being a writer?

Elizabeth Kirke: There are so many great things about being a writer. Certainly being my own boss is one of them. I think maybe my favorite though is getting to talk about my books with readers. I have always loved going over or coming up with fan theories and talking about books I was reading with friends. So, it’s really cool to be able to do with readers about my own books and getting to sort of be on the other side of it.

Ashley: Which book has been your favorite to write so far?

Elizabeth Kirke: That’s a tough one. I think Semester Aboard is always going to be my favorite – it was my first novel and, as I said earlier, it was inspired by a real life event that was a major part of my life. Writing it, and even discussing parts of it now, is really nostalgic for me.

Ashley: Do you have any tips or advice for someone wanting to start writing?

Elizabeth Kirke: Honestly, it’s just start. Once you’ve got something that grabs you, then you can worry about what to do with it. All the planning and researching about publishing and writing tips and such won’t help unless you’ve got a story in you first.

Ashley: How do you overcome writer’s block?

Elizabeth Kirke: Luckily I usually have enough projects that I can switch to another one. But if I have a deadline and need to focus on a specific book, it usually helps to talk to some friends (shout-out to my editor) and just chat about the characters, like random questions about stuff that isn’t shown in the books. It’s enough to get me started again.

Ashley: Who was your favorite villian to write about?

Elizabeth Kirke: Alaria for sure. My first villain, in my first book, wasn’t super planned out; I just kind of made him a bad guy and went from there. He also doesn’t really feature much as far as the bulk of the book is concerned. Alaria was fleshed out with a solid backstory, played a much bigger role across several books, and then just combined her lust for power with a dash of sadism and a desire to watch the world burn. So she’s fun to write because she’s just irredeemably evil and all-powerful.

Ashley: Do you have a favorite reading snack?

Elizabeth Kirke: I always have a mug of coffee or hot cocoa in my hand, whether I’m reading or writing… or doing anything really.

Thank you for participating in Support An Author event!!!

Hello! Today with us we have Angela Jones (reader) and Scarlett Philips (author)! *Applause*

Angela Jones: What is your writing process like? Do you outline the book, have a storyboard, write notes, etc? OR do you just let it all just happen?

Scarlett Philips: I am what’s called a pantser. I’m not really big on planning. I just write. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it lol, I write everything in order from beginning to end. I can’t skip around like some authors do. Now I do often leave placeholders mainly for names and descriptions and now and then I’ll placeholder a sexy scene, but not often because everything I write affects what comes next. So if I skip a scene and write the next scene when I go back to the skipped scene, I may have to change the scene I already wrote to fit the scene I skipped. This does make editing easier because my first drafts are pretty clean. My brain edits as I type (thanks audhd) So when I’m done there’s not a whole lot of editing and changing stuff. It’s mostly fixing typos lol

Angela Jones: What do you enjoy about being a writer?

Scarlett Philips: I like writing stories. Always have. Just the act of writing… when my brain cooperates lol

Angela Jones: What do you dislike about being a writer?

Scarlett Philips: Editing lol Describing things, because descriptions don’t mean anything to me because I can’t see what I read so my brain helpfully just skims over descriptions when I read lol so I don’t feel the need to write them… but I guess other people think they’re necessary lol

Angela Jones: Tell me a little bit about the research process in writing. Do you do a lot of it for your books? How do you go about all that?

Scarlett Philips: I research too much lol when I need to research anything, I do a deep dive and learn so much that I don’t even use lol For Returning to Everton, I did some serious research on wine for the trip to the winery. I know nothing about wine at all. Don’t ask why I decided they needed to go to a winery for a date lmao but anyway sooo much research and you know what? My editor had the audacity to tell me to cut the scene that all that info wasn’t needed! Um no. I did too much research for it to not be in the book lol

Angela Jones: How do you market and promote your books?

Scarlett Philips: Hahahahahahahaha

Angela Jones: How do you unwind and recharge when you’re not writing?

Scarlett Philips: I read. I can’t read while I’m writing so as soon as I’m done writing a book I take at least a week and just lose myself in books.

Angela Jones: What advice would you give to anyone starting out as a writer?
Scarlett Philips: Don’t compare yourself to other authors. It’s hard but everyone’s experience is different and that’s ok.

Angela Jones: What do you think is the biggest misconception about being a writer?

Scarlett Philips: That we actually know a lot of words lol Words are hard. The thesaurus is my best friend. And often when I’m writing I’ll get stuck on a word. Like I’ll know what I want to say but not how to say it. Like I don’t know the word for what I want to say so I search whatever I can think of until I find it lol I’ll be like it’s kinda like this word but not so I’ll look up that word and hope I can find a word that’s like it but not 🤷😂

Angela Jones: How do you overcome burnout or any creative/writer‘s blocks?

Scarlett Philips: Ummm burnout I just take a break. Forget about writing, don’t even get on my computer, just read and watch TV until I’m ready to write again.

Angela Jones: Do you stick with one genre or do you enjoy writing in several?Scarlett Philips: I basically write pnr fated mates. That’s my thing. I’ve tried to write contemporary and I think I did pretty good lol but I always go back to fated mates. It’s just easier because there’s a reason to explain the characters getting together fast and not having to drag the beginning of the relationship out for half the book lol

Angela Jones: How do you decide on what point of view to write in? 

Scarlett Philips: Sometimes it’s just obvious that a certain scene needs to be told by a certain character’s pov and sometimes I have no idea and ask my decision maker whose pov should be next and just go with whatever she says 🤷

Thank you for participating in Support An Author event!!!

Hello! Today with us we have Debbie Buller (friend) and Johnna Dee (author)! *Applause*

Angelina Kerner: Could you please share with us your journey as an author and what inspired you to pursue writing?

Johnna Dee: I started out writing poetry. It slowly progressed from there. One day I was talking to my bestie and we just created this story that was “the clan of mist”.

Angelina Kerner: What themes or messages do you aim to convey through your work, and how do you believe they resonate with your readers?

Johnna Dee:  I love fantasy, but blend I’m bits of reality. In one story I talk about having anxiety or self doubt. Just things hopefully readers find relatable.

Angelina Kerner: Can you tell us about your latest book/project and the creative process behind it?

Johnna Dee: I signed up to be apart of an anthology series about shifters. I sat thinking up lesser known shifters which lead to foxes. Then throw in their natural predators, mountain lion shifters

Angelina Kerner: As an established author, what advice would you give to aspiring writers looking to break into the industry?

Johnna Dee: You’ll read your story so many times it’ll drive you crazy. It’s ok to step back and wait a week. That way you can look at it with fresh eyes when you’re getting frustrated.

Angelina Kerner: How do you handle writer’s block or challenges during the writing process, and what strategies do you use to overcome them?

Johnna Dee: I start over. Whenever I can’t figure out the next step I go back to the beginning and reread.

Angelina Kerner: Are there any specific genres or writing styles you haven’t explored yet but would like to in the future, and what draws you to them?

Johnna Dee: ohhh! I’ve just got different fantasy ideas brewing. I’ve thought about paranormal fantasy with ghosts.

Angelina Kerner: Are there any specific authors or literary works that have influenced your writing style or storytelling approach?

Johnna Dee: Phyllis a. Whitney, Nora Robert’s, sjm, etc.

Angelina Kerner: As an author, what role do you think research plays in creating believable and immersive fictional worlds or narratives?

Johnna Dee: I love studying different myths and trying to blend them into my worlds I create. In my release coming up I have a berghest. Which is a type of demon dog. I blend in some of the historical elements with some of the ones that I have added in attributed to him.

Angelina Kerner: What do you believe sets your writing apart from others in your genre, and how do you strive to innovate within your field?

Johnna Dee: This is a hard question. It’s so hard to stand out some days I like to believe it’s my blending of the story, mixed in with the myth mixed with my charming personality, and the wit I bring to my characters.

Angelina Kerner: In your opinion, what are some key elements that make a compelling and successful book, and how do you strive to incorporate them into your writing?

Johnna Dee: I think if you can have a blend of emotions that a book brings to you it makes it a great book. If it makes you cry, laugh, or gasp if it brings out all these emotions.

Thank you for participating in Support An Author event!!!

Hello! Today with us we have Angelina Kerner (friend) and Mara A. Miller (author)! *Applause*

Angelina: Could you please share with us your journey as an author and what inspired you to pursue writing?

Mara: I started writing when I was really young. I remember asking Grandma Miller if she had a typewriter, and her letting me sit at a desk with it to just type away.  Then later, I remember playing Final Fantasy VII, and really being fascinated by Cloud and Tifa’s love story (there’s a whole love triangle aspect in the game and fans are still arguing over who is better for Cloud and I am 100% a Tifa/Cloud fan). Shortly after mom tossed a romance novel by Nora Robert’s at me (Dance Upon the Air) and told me to read it—I was about 12 and JUST beginning to read because I have dyslexia. It was a mix of the reading a LOT of romance novels and playing the Final Fantasy games that got me writing-I didn’t realize it at the time—FanFiction. I wrote FanFiction for years and got stuck on a vampire story that I still haven’t finished. It wasn’t really until high school that I knew deep down I was a writer, and I started writing FanFiction with my friend, Kelli, who later introduced me to a FanFiction website that I still sometimes use. In college, I had a brief four-year period where I thought I wanted to be an anthropologist, but it was all over when I got into a creative writing class and fell in love with my now ex-husband. There was a whole Kindle Worlds period where I published one of my fanfics, All This Time, and was still writing an AU/AH FanFiction for The Vampire Diaries, and realized I had an original romance novel. This was in 2012/2013 after I went through a divorce. And it was Cheap Guitars. I ended up pulling that story off the website. And I kept in touch with my ex’s first ex-wife because I still felt like a mom to their son, and every single time that man did something that made me angry or die laughing, I wrote a new book. (There used to be curtains that hung in my bedroom that his first wife made into curtains. Green paisley was the pattern. He took them, and then his third wife fashioned those curtains into vests for the groom’s party and I still can’t breathe from laughing if I really start telling the story.) That’s when self-publishing was really becoming popular. I had gotten my anthropology degree, and had just graduated with my English degree, and the program finally gave me the tools I needed to finish writing a novel. I’m still dyslexic. The dyslexia will never go away, but writing was the tool I needed to come over the learning disability. And now that I have a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, I feel like I’ve conquered a learning disability that could have potentially stolen the joy of reading and writing from me. Besides, I love a good angst romance, so of course I write them.

Angelina: What themes or messages do you aim to convey through your work, and how do you believe they resonate with your readers?

Mara: Dealing with death and loss can seem like a strange thing to put in a romance novel, but I also have a literary side, and it’s something I had to go through at a very young age when my father died. He was a truck driver, and only 36 when he passed away. I also had a professor once who told me about what hurts, so…

But also, that women are strong, and if they aren’t in the beginning, they can get stronger. People have told me that they are shocked when a character passes in Cheap Guitars, and they fall in love with the characters and feel like they are friends.  

Angelina: Can you tell us about your latest book/project and the creative process behind it?

Mara: Right now, I am pausing finishing The Cheap Series. The Blue Ridge which I have been fleshing out, has a lot of the same backdrop as the Cheap series too, and so I am thinking about turning Cheap Promises into the first book in the series. The only difference is that I’m dipping my feet into paranormal rom com territory since the female leads are witches. I love it because it’s like I’m paying homage to the Three Sisters trilogy that made me fall in love with reading.

And Sims. I play way too much Sims. I keep a notebook next to me to make notes while they’re in school or work or building skills. And I like to build houses. I can always tell when I’m about to go on a huge writing binge when I spend a few weeks playing Sims 4. I tell myself stories about the sims and even write on Facebook about what they’re up to sometimes.

Angelina: As an established author, what advice would you give to aspiring writers looking to break into the industry?

Mara: Just write. When you see other authors pushing out a bunch of books, don’t expect yourself to do it right away. If it happens? Awesome. No? Well, it’s not a reason to let imposter’s syndrome to take over. Rejections are a part of the traditional route. Self-publishing gives you control over your work. Remember why you started writing and use that to fuel your creativity.

Angelina: How do you handle writer’s block or challenges during the writing process, and what strategies do you use to overcome them?

Mara: Sims 4.

Angelina: Are there any specific genres or writing styles you haven’t explored yet but would like to in the future, and what draws you to them?

Mara: I want to write paranormal rom com, or just rom com in general. Apparently, I’m funny. And I think it would be hilarious to write about a character with anxiety who smokes too much. I love a good rom com. The Bromance Book Club series by Lissa Kay Adams had me howling over the fart jokes.

Angelina: Are there any specific authors or literary works that have influenced your writing style or storytelling approach?

Mara: Nora Robert’s, Colleen Hoover, Jane Austen, a little bit of Poe. I read a lot of literature. Have read a lot of literature because my undergraduate and graduate studies had a lot of reading.

Angelina: As an author, what role do you think research plays in creating believable and immersive fictional worlds or narratives?

Mara: Research is everything. I need to know way too much. How drinks are made at the bar, something common that’s wrong with a car that my mechanic in the story is thinking about, and I’m not end sure I could list everything I’ve googled in the past 24 hours.

Angelina: What do you believe sets your writing apart from others in your genre, and how do you strive to innovate within your field?

Mara: My characters are real. And raw. And I have the anthro background, and I think that makes me more observant with people.

Angelina: In your opinion, what are some key elements that make a compelling and successful book, and how do you strive to incorporate them into your writing?

Mara: The heroine has to be strong. You’ve got to hit all the important points of storytelling in a three-act structure. Romance novels are formulaic, so yeah, follow the formula, but you can break the rules sometimes. Rules are meant to be broken.

Thank you for participating in Support An Author event!!!