Presenting Mr. John Holt!

After the series of interviews I ran about Taylor Street, I thought I'd do one about a chap who used to be with Taylor but has moved on to pastures new.

John Holt started his own publishing company called Phoenix and has struck out on his own with great success.

He still has contact with the old "Gang" though, (hence the interview) and is as busy as a housefly on his bucket list.

Check out the blurbs for a couple of his works and then he'll tell you about himself.

A killing in the city.

‘To make a killing in the City’ is a phrase often used within the financial world, to indicate making a large profit on investments, or through dealings on the stock market - the bigger the profit, the bigger the killing. However, Tom Kendall, a private detective, on holiday in London, has a different kind of killing in mind when he hears about the death of one of his fellow passengers who travelled with him on the plane from Miami. It was suicide apparently, a simple overdose of prescribed tablets. Kendall immediately offers his help to Scotland Yard. He is shocked when he is told his services will not be required. They can manage perfectly well without him, thank you.
This Edition has been re-edited, re-worked and re-issued by Phoenix.

The Mackenzie Dossier

Kendall could just see the television screen. There was a photograph of Governor Frank Reynolds. Across the bottom of the screen the ticker tape announced in large black letters 'Governor Reynolds Murdered'. The voice over was filling in whatever detail was available. Apparently his body had been discovered earlier that morning. He had been found lying in his garage. He had been shot twice. One shot to the upper chest, the other hitting his shoulder. 'Police believe that the weapon used was a 38 caliber revolver,' the reporter said. Kendall froze. Anthony Shaw had also been killed by a 38 bullet. Kendall was not quite sure of what it all meant. What connection was there between Anthony Shaw, and the State Governor, and the business mogul, Ian Duncan. And what about Senator Mackenzie? Where did he fit in? And who or what was Latimer? Only a short while ago Kendall was a small time private detective , a Private Eye, investigating an insignificant little murder with no clues, no witnesses, and no motive. In fact, no nothing. Now he had so many pieces of a puzzle he didn't know how they fitted together. He didn't even know if they all came from the same puzzle.

So now you know peeps!!

So, Mr. John Holt, lay it on us !!

1.) Tell us about yourself

I am a retired Chartered Surveyor. For many years I was a Senior Project Manager with the Greater London Council. When that was closed down I set up my own surveying practice, preparing survey reports for house purchase, preparing plans for extensions, or new houses. In 2004 I suffered a heart attack, and finally retired in 2008. I live in Essex with my wife and daughter and a cat called Missy, who has adopted us. I like most kinds of music including Classical and American Blues. For many years I wrote articles for one of the leading Blues magazines, now sadly no more.

When it comes to the movies, once again I hate modern movies in general. The greatest films came from the fifties and sixties. Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Cagney, Bette Davies and later stars like Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas. Not forgetting the great musicals, Singing In The Rain, Oklahoma, West Side Story and the Sound of Music.

I came to writing novels quite late in life. I had always wanted to write but could never think of a decent plot. In 2005 we went for a holiday in Austria. We stayed in a place called Grundlsee. This was the first of three lakes. The next lake, Toplitz, was used by the Germans during the war to test torpedoes and missiles. As the war came to an end many items were hidden in the lake, including millions of counterfeit pounds and dollars. There was also jewellery, weapons and documents. There were rumours that gold bullion was also placed in to the lake. Several searches were made, but no gold was discovered. In my first novel, “The Kammersee Affair” (soon to be re-issued as "The Kammersee Incident" under the Phoenix banner), gold is found, only in the third lake, Kammersee.

2.) What genre do you specialise in?

Well of five published books four feature my private detective Tom Kendal.  So it has to be Crime.

3.) What's your inspiration.

I don’t know about inspiration, but a list of my favourite books would, without a doubt, include Dickens. Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations just cannot be bettered.

4.) Who is your favourite author, why and did he/she inspire you to
write in any way?

Agatha Christie, the master of crime, would be high on the list. Alistair Mclean, Hammond Innes and Wilbur Smith would also feature. I was brought up on Enid Blyton - remember the Secret Seven and the Famous Five. Sadly not so fashionable these days, but great fun.

Having said that I do not write like any of them. I couldn’t hope to. I write in my own style, basically to please me. If others also like it that’s terrific.

5.) What are your plans?

Since parting company with Night/Taylor Street  I have created my own self-publishing banner PHOENIX.  So far I have re-issued two of my novels, “The Mackenzie Dossier” and “A Killing In The City”.  I am currently working on re-issuing “The Kammersee Incident”, which i hope will be ready in a month or so.  Then sometime in November I plan on re-issued “The Marinski Affair”, another Tom Kendall novel.  I am also working on four other novels, all at various stages ranging from barely started, to approximately two thirds complete.

6.) Go for it, sell your work. (Links, reviews, whatever you want).

Links to my works are as follows:

“The Mackenzie Dossier” –

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Mackenzie-Dossier-ebook/dp/B008U6STIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344452934&sr=8-1

This is, I believe, the first outing for the author's detective character Tom Kendall and he's faced with murder, political intrigue and powerful people who would rather he kept his nose out of their business. Coming onto the stage, quite far into the story, the intrigue and double dealing of the key players, in particular Duncan, is already, much in evidence and it's down to Kendall to unravel the various clues in his own methodical style to ensure that justice is served. I like Kendall as a character, he's dogged, determined and has a wry sense of humour. I also enjoyed the unhurried way the story develops.
I've read one other book by the same author, a more recent Kendall escapade, and I'd certainly seek them out to read in the right order, although as each book reveals a separate case, I don't suppose the order in which they are read matters greatly.
A recommended read, for those who enjoy a gradual, unravelling of intrigue, rather than a quick reveal.

“A Killing In The City” –

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Killing-In-The-City-ebook/dp/B0093N363S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346663588&sr=1-1

The story of doggedly determined Kendall, the Miami detective who always gets his man. No manic car chases or shootouts, but simply, the very clever and subtly amusing antics of the outwardly slow witted but inwardly razor sharp, Kendall as he sets out to prove a fellow traveller was murdered. His long suffering secretary Mollie provides the perfect foil and straight woman for his dry humour, and the plot itself is topical and well executed.

The author reveals the clues and punchlines with perfect timing and also gives us a view of London as seen through the eyes of first time visitor's, which in itself is informative and amusing. A deliciously corrupt baddie and an overworked inspector from New Scotland Yard, are added to the mix to give an entertaining story of good versus bad in a totally believable tale. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Recommended!

“Epidemic”

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epidemic-John-Holt/dp/161667170X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4

Detective Tom Kendall is not some superhero sporting rippling muscles, but a very human man, who is pestered to eat more healthily and exercise more - just the same as most of the rest of us. He is likable for just that reason.
His case starts as an accident that might not have been an accident, but this is just the beginning. Kendall uncovers a far bigger crime - a crime that has caused enormous suffering to thousands of innocent people.
The plot is carefully thought out in every detail, and the author is to be commended for his story.

“The Marinski Affair”

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Marinski-Affair-John-Holt/dp/1616670150/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3
The Marinski Affair began as a dull mundane case involving a missing husband. Okay, so he was a rich missing husband, but he was nonetheless, still only a missing husband. The case soon developed into one involving robbery, kidnapping, blackmail and murder. But was there really a kidnapping? And exactly who is blackmailing who? Who actually carried out the robbery? Who committed the murders? Who can you trust? Who can you believe? Is anyone actually telling the truth? What have they got to hide? And what connection was there with a jewel theft that occurred four years previously? All is not as it seems. Tom Kendall, private detective, had the task of solving the mystery. He was usually pretty good a solving puzzles, but this one was different, somehow. It wasn't that he didn't have any of the pieces. Oh no, he wasn't short of clues. It was just that none of the pieces seemed to fit together.

"The Kammersee Incident" 
This is my latest offering and it should be out sometime next month.

OK, a very in depth review of his work there, if crime's your thing, you know where to go :-)

Thanks for reading peeps.

Take it easy.

Reggie :-D

The Taylor Street Gang files, part 11. Lily Byrne.

So a surprise late entry from the lovely Lily Byrne today.

This is Lily on herself. Normally I write a little something myself but I always liked this quiet introduction so I thought I'd steal it from her page on Taylor.

 I faffed around at writing for many years until I had my daughter, but becoming a mum seemed to kick start something in me: I realised that I now had a purpose and time was limited, so I must get on with it.

The winter of 2009 was severe and as I and my family live  in a small village, we were house bound by unusually deep snow for southern England. So I settled down in my office (i.e. the corner of our bedroom) and began my first book, which was published in 2010.

I haven’t stopped writing since. I go through phases of planning my story, writing furiously, or editing it. It is much easier now my daughter is at school and I get a few hours of work done each day.

My daughter has truly been an inspiration to me: she has had severe health problems in her short life but is always smiling and laughing, planning for the future, full of ideas. Working at home writing and editing has been ideal, I love my life.

Nice innit?

Anyway, here's the blurb from Lily's two latest books and then it's head down for the blowtorch and pliers interrogation.

Ragnar the Murderer.

A tale of love and treachery.

It is a time of uneasy truce, of two races living side-by-side, inter-marrying even, but forever on the look out for treachery among their neighbours.
They meet, they bathe together and they consort. Life is short, fun is likely to be brief, and opportunity has to be seized wherever it can be found without unleashing long-held rivalries and carnage.

Then the youthful Dane, Ragnar, falls in love with Aelfwyn the Angle who is already promised by duty to one of her own village.
Ragnar and Aelfwyn's passionate love affair is a secret which will never be hidden for long, but theirs is not the only secret around.

When Ragnar finds himself charged with murder, he and Aelfwyn are forcibly parted. But is Ragnar really a cold-blooded, cynical killer or is there a more sinister plot being played out?

Ragnar & the Slave Girls (Ragnar the Dane)

A tale of abduction, ritual and honor ...

It is 915 AD, and in this sequel to 'Ragnar the Murderer', the Danes and the English continue to live in uneasy peace. A peace that is threatened when several Englishmen are attacked and murdered 'in the Danish way', and their wives and children are abducted. To what purpose nobody knows.

It is a time when slaves must submit themselves to every one of their master's desires, without hesitation and on pain of death. Have these young women been sold into slavery and what will have happened to them if they have?

Meanwhile, Ragnar's kinsman, shackled to a demanding and dissatisfied wife, gets a slave girl of his own …

So, Lily Byrne, come on down!!

1.) Tell us about yourself

I live in the South of England with my husband and daughter. I have had so many jobs since I left school, from banking to education, but writing has always been my real love. I have been writing as long as I can remember, but my first ‘proper’ book was published in 2010 by Night Publishing (which was the name Taylor Street Publishing used to have). Since then I’ve had about six more published, some by Taylor Street and some by myself. I don’t write really long books, most are novellas, which is why I can write them quickly I suppose.

2.) What genre do you specialise in?

It's hard to say, as I’ve written contemporary dramas and historical romances. But the general theme is ‘forbidden love’ or maybe unlikely or unrequited love. I’m fascinated by relationships and their difficulties.

3.) What's your inspiration?

People and their weirdness, kindness and endless variation. Why do some people ‘click’ and get on well, and some repel each other?

4.) Who is your favourite author, why and did he/she inspire you to write in any way?

I spent so many years studying literature that its quite put me off reading. I suppose I tend to read popular psychology books, which does actually help me with writing books as I can image characters with certain personality traits. I hope that makes sense.

5.) How do you feel about Taylor?

I love it actually. There is a real family feel about Taylor Street. Everyone supports each other and there is no backbiting. I know that sounds cheesy and corny but its true. I feel looked after there and not like a tiny, unimportant cog in a huge impersonal wheel.

6.) What are your plans?

To carry on writing my Ragnar series but also other things. My daughter wants to write children’s books with me, that may be the next venture.

7.) Go for it, sell your work.

My new book, Ragnar and the Slave Girls, the second in the series, has just come out, so here are the links to it and my other books!

My page on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Lily-Byrne/e/B005D4JBI0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1348661717&sr=1-2-ent

My page on Amazon.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lily-Byrne/e/B005D4JBI0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1348661793&sr=8-2-ent

My latest offering, Ragnar and the Slave Girls on Amazon,com

http://www.amazon.com/Ragnar-Slave-Girls-Dane-ebook/dp/B009G7PZNK/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348677234&sr=1-5

... and on Amazon.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ragnar-Slave-Girls-Dane-ebook/dp/B009G7PZNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348677198&sr=8-1

OK!

Thanks very much for being here Lily and all the best with Ragnar and the Slave Girls, which is worth buying for the cover alone in my humble, testosterone crazed opinion.

Take it easy peeps.

Reggie.

The Taylor Street Gang files, part 10. George Polley

Number 10 and it all seems to be going swimmingly :-)

George Polley is our tenth prey. A man of infinite patience whose calm exterior and rational aura hides the soul of a lunatic.

George lives in Japan and is full of oriental wisdom like, (I quote)

" Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you
   with experience."

... And, "The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list."

... And my fave, "To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research."

Seriously, you open his page on Taylor and there's a whole list of 'em. Anyway, you could be forgiven for thinking he's a tad cracked... and, well he is, but in a good way. 

Here's a blurb or two for a couple of George's more recent books on Amazon and then we'll see what he has to say.

Grandfather and the Raven

George Polley's 'Grandfather' stories are fables capable of teaching children - and not a few adults - about the value of appreciating all living creatures, of the wisdom of being open-minded enough to seek solutions in unlikely places, of the rewards of working systematically towards your dreams, of the futility of bullying and aggression, and of the reassurance of a loving and harmonious environment in a world which tips all too often towards the arbitrary destruction of war.

As ever, George Polley recounts these near-legends in a voice which lulls and beguiles, and above all nudges us towards a kinder and more spiritual approach to the world around us.

The Old Man & The Monkey

'The Old Man & The Monkey' is a stunningly beautiful story of a relationship which develops between an old man and a creature which is regarded as a dangerous pest in Japan, a snow monkey, in George Polley's moving allegory of dignity in the face of racism.

George Polley, THE PRICE IS RIGHT !!!

                       ... err, I mean, COME ON DOWN !!!

1.) Tell us about yourself. 

I’ve been writing fiction since the late 1960s and have done it off and on ever since, fitting it into a busy career. I began writing poetry in the early 1970s, and published quite a bit of it over the next nine years, mainly in Midwestern little poetry magazines. About 12 years ago I began writing seriously again, mostly short stories that I self-published. I’ve also written 4 or 5 novels over that period, none of which were finished.

I’ve been married to a wonderful lady named Aiko for the past 32 1/2 years, and we live in Sapporo, Japan, where we moved in late March 2008. Finally retired from my career, I now write full time. I’ve published two books, “The Old Man and The Monkey” and “Grandfather and The Raven”, both by Taylor Street Publishing, one ebook (“Grandfather Stories”), published by Abbott ePublishing (no longer available), plus several short stories, all since moving here.

2.) What genre do you specialize in? 

That’s a very interesting question, because I’d never thought in terms of genres until Tim published my two books. I guess you’d say that they’re both “literary fiction”, though both appeal to children, especially “The Old Man and the Monkey”. I have a children’s novel (“Bear -- The Story of a Boy and His Unusual Dog”) that TSP has accepted, and am writing its sequel. I also have a psychological thriller that I’ll have finished next year, plus a novel about Mexico City (“The City Has Many Faces”) and one about a Tokyo artist (“Seiji”) that I’ve been working on for a couple of years. Then more “Bear” books, and God knows what else, other than another thriller featuring my favorite husband and wife team, Sikká Årén and Magnus Verhoeven.

3.) What's your inspiration.

A 7th grade English teacher told me I was a very good writer after I wrote a sci-fi story as a class assignment. I ignored it for years until I couldn’t ignore it any longer, and began writing. I see it as a “calling”, as something that I am on this planet to do. I also have tremendous fun writing, sometimes very serious things, sometimes silly things, and sometimes funny things. I love poetry, which I came about quite literally by accident when my typewriter broke. Since I can’t write more than one legible line in longhand, I put my story aside, took my typewriter to the repair guy, and began writing poetry. And the darned stuff took off! I couldn’t believe it. I even had a poetry broadside published by an arts group, and two poetry chapbooks published before seriously getting back into fiction. Now I’m hooked on both.

4.) Who is your favourite author, why and did he/she inspire you to write in any way?

I think you’re asking about influences which, for me, are many. My early influences were Henry Miller and the great Cypriot novelist and poet Nikos Kazantzakis (I even remember his translator’s name; it was Kimon Friar). Miller showed me ways to expand and use my imagination. With Kazantzakis it was the power of his language and imagery and the strength of his characters. “Zorba the Greek is still one of my favorite novels and movies. Then I discovered the Latin Americans, and the whole new world of magic realism. Gabriel Garcia Marques, Jorge Amado (Brazilian), Carlos Fuentes, Jose Donoso, Mario Vargas Llosa, the list is endless. My head was spinning. More recently it’s been Haruki Murakami. His novels blow my mind. There are so many levels to each of them that they seem endless. And Stieg Larsson, the author of the Millennium Trio (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and its two sequels), who made my hair stand on end. Endless, just endless. I learn from all you guys, too. I feel like a kid in a huge toy shop, and I don’t know which way to go first because it’s all so damn much fun!   

5.) How do you feel about Taylor?

I love it. I think Tim and Kathleen are taking it way beyond what the old NP was, and that Taylor Street has the real potential of being a really big player in the publishing field that’s rapidly emerging from the ruins of the old.

6.) What are your plans? 

To live another 20 years (that’d put me at 98) and publish a minimum of 4 books a year. Keeps my brain alive, mon ami. Yee-ha!

7.) Go for it, sell your work. (Links, reviews, what ever you want).

Okey-dokey.

My website: http://www.geogepolleyauthor.com  There is a blog on it, so do drop by there.

My book blog. Inactive right now, but it’ll give you an idea of one of the things I’ve been doing:http://www.tostadaspeaks.blogspot.jp 

George, thank you very much matey, and don't forget, "A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory." (Another one from the list.)

Thanks for reading peeps.

Carry on.

Reggie :-D

The Taylor Street Gang files, part 9. Jessica Degarmo

So, next up is Jessica Degarmo, one of the more prolific authors at Taylor, Jess crams so much into her life she has less free time than Madonna's age-issue therapist.

She's also a VERY nice person with the nicest smile in town  :-D

Anyway, let's get down to brass tacks, (never understood that saying).

Here's the blurb for her latest release, Historically Yours (Johns Creek Second Chances)

When recent divorcée Chloe Johns McClain decides to start her life all over again by moving from Iowa to upstate New York to take up her family inheritance, the ancestral home of the Johns family, she is not expecting to walk straight into a feud with a member of the other historic family of the town, Chase Landry.

The origins for the enmity between the Johns family and the Landrys is obscure to Chloe, but her arrival sure kicks the glowing embers of rivalry back into a raging fire.

And just when it looks like they are slowly reaching an amicable solution, Chloe discovers something in the joint past of the two families that really pours gasoline onto the flames ….

So, without further ado, HERE'S JESSICA !!!

1.) Tell us about yourself.

I’m a wife, mom, recent college graduate, an insurance agent, the lead singer in a classic rock band, former country music DJ and the published author of six novels. And I’m tired, and in dire need of a cookie. J

2.) What genre do you specialise in?

I guess you could say I specialize in romance, whether it’s lighthearted or deeper. I try to infuse my book with meaning, with something more than a fluffy bit of brain drain. There’s nothing wrong with fluffy romance, but I guess I’d like to leave the world knowing I imparted even the slightest bit of wisdom into someone, somewhere. Makes me feel like I’ve actually done something, you know?

3.) What's your inspiration.

My inspiration is the world around me. My husband and kids, of course, are a constant source of inspiration. They inspire me to keep going even when I don’t want to. I do everything for them. They’re why I started writing in the first place. I wanted to help them, to give them a better life.  And I draw inspiration for my individual books by many different places. It could be a conversation with a co-worker, a movie I saw on TV, a demand from my publisher to try a certain genre, a dream, a place I’ve visited. It could be anything, but when inspiration hits, it usually his hard.

4.) Who is your favourite author, why and did he/she inspire you to write in any way?

LaVyrle Spencer is my absolute favorite. Her books are beautifully written, infused with tender life lessons, and they’re highly readable, lovely, addictive.  She’s the person I aspire to be like, and I’ve learned a lot about writing simply by reading her.

5.) How do you feel about Taylor?

Taylor Street is a wonderful place. It’s saved me, really.  I had no idea how publishing worked when I first started out, and Tim Hewtson took me under his wing and took a chance on me. I had a few other offers to publish my first book, but I think I made the right decision. The company is fantastic. I’m not sure there’s another place out there that would be as accessible, kind, honest, amenable and dedicated to its authors.  I’ve learned so much and made some wonderful friends that will last a lifetime. I’ve also grown as an author, and I’ve been given opportunity after remarkable opportunity to keep growing and experience what it feels like to be even the slightest bit successful. Thanks, Taylor Street!

6.) What are your plans?

My plan? To continue to write, of course. I love my day job, and I can’t see leaving it, but I love to write. It’s more than a hobby. It’s a life-changing commitment and I’m thrilled to be where I am with it. I’m working on some new books, and I think some readers will be absolutely shocked at what else there is rolling around in my brain! I’d like to continue to surprise people. And I’d like to purchase a cabin in the woods or a hut on a remote desert island to escape to when real life gets to be too much. How’s that for plans? ;)

7.) Go for it, sell your work. (Links, reviews, what ever you want).

Please check out my website at www.jessicadegarmo.com. As far as my books go, you can find them all here at my Amazon author page: amazon.com/author/jessicadegarmo

Thanks for having me here, Reggums! You rock!

No no, YOU Rock Jess, and thanks for turning up :-)

So peeps, now you know.

As you were.

Reggie :-D

The Taylor Street Gang files, part 8. Mike Church

If there's one guy at Taylor who can manages to make me smile every time he writes on the Taylor website, it's Mike Church. 

He has that cynical reserve that Michael Pailin perfected on his BBC travel shows; the ones where he'd be confronted by a naked Fakir standing on one leg wrestling a python and his only comment would be a raised eyebrow and dry smile.

If Palin ever throws the towel in, I'm putting Mike up for the job; I'm telling you, he's a natural for it.

I'm afraid I don't have a picture of the man himself, well I do but he wants me to use my Facebook profile pic, the one with my Dad pretending to sleep on my shoulder... 

Whatever, as I wrote, dry smile and raised eyebrow. Here it is, (I can almost hear the muscles in his brow clenching to raise...)

Anyway, here's the Blurb for Mike's first book, (on it's second run with a new picture and everything), called, "Huh?".

"It is not so much that Colin's adult education class is a riot – although lippy Jack and snide Nicola do their best to make it so, and even that nice, demure, octogenarian Miss Tedley has been known to lend a hand – it is more that Colin's own mind is a riot of conflicting thoughts around the luscious Amanda, life, school politics, literature and the rules of English usage, grammar and syntax.

And Colin does have an unfortunate name and a tendency to land himself in more trouble than he is already in - or, at times, under - as the world comes crashing down on him.

Will he ever prepare a class, get the better of arch-enemies Simon and Dolores, or seduce Amanda into paying any attention to him whatsoever?"

So now you know peeps.

Mike Church, 

                         THIS IS YOUR LIFE...

Tell us about yourself

I did French at Warwick, then came out to northern Spain, where I’ve been working as an English teacher and director of studies ever since. My wife is a nurse but refuses to take my headaches seriously. We have two teenage ‘kids’ who are permanently broke and hungry.

What genre do you specialise in?

Other than flippant phrasebooks, I don’t specialise in anything, though I feel more comfortable writing comic novels than vampire romances. I hope to write a tearjerker one day, or anything serious, basically. Life’s not funny, you know.

What's your inspiration?

Music, favourite songs, dreams (real and imagined), the people around me, the silly things people say and do...  Plus, when all else fails, any outlandish “What if?” question eg. What if people took me seriously? What if I painted that apple orange just for the hell of it? What if I ran out of stupid examples after just two lines?

Who is your favourite author, why and did he/she inspire you to write in any way?

I have several favourite authors – Tom Sharpe, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, Robert Rankin, Jerome K Jerome, Richard Jones, Timothy Hewtson… – though, much as I admire these wonderful  writers, and many others,  nobody has inspired me to write in any particular way. I write my way full-stop;  or semi-colon.

How do you feel about Taylor?

I suppose the first step is to tie him to a tree? Oops, wrong forum again, sorry.

Taylor? It’s very exciting, isn’t it! I have no idea where we’ll all be in ten years’ time but… What if Taylor were successful? What if we became a major player? What if I could think of a third question?

What are your plans?

Carry on writing of course.  I’d like to retire as soon as possible and, finances and health permitting, see the world with my wonderful wife. If we could stop off and have a coffee or beer along the way with all my virtual friends from Taylor, That Right and Facebook, well that would be a huge plus.

Go for it, sell your work. (Links, reviews, what ever you want).

I’m incapable of selling myself, so please visit my Blog if you’re remotely curious. Thank you.

No Mike, thank you mate and thank you for the nice compliment on question four.

Believe it or not, he's a good guy really, great taste in authors ;-)

All the best.

Reggie.

The Taylor Street Gang files, part 7. Teresa Geering.

The Darling of Taylor, Teresa Geering, (Mad Tee to everyone there).

I've known Tee since I started trying to get my act together with writing. We used to "hang around" the Struggling Authors website like a pair of vultures, picking up information here, doling out bad info there and giggling about it like teenagers on crack.

It was Tee who dragged me kicking and screaming over to Night, (the forerunner of Taylor Street).

Known as one the most helpful people on Taylor, let's checkout the blurb for her two books and then head on into the questions.

The Eye of Erasmus.

'The Eye of Erasmus' is the first of a series of four inter-related fables about time and fate, told in Teresa Geering's characteristic hypnotic prose.

It tells of Erasmus, a baby born during a thunder storm, who is clearly destined to be special, with his flashing black eyes and haughty ways, until he finds love.

The trouble is that the girl literally ‘of his dreams’ hasn't actually been born yet.

No problem …… Oh, but there is ……. Danger lurks ……..

Shasta's Summer

'Shasta Summer' is an entrancing addition to Teresa Geering's romance / fantasy series 'Erasmus, Shasta & Merlin' in which the cunning and resourceful Erasmus continues his devilish attempts to secure the beautiful and enchanting Shasta as his own, while she and Merlin renew their enduring love for each other, impeded by the unfortunate fact that a spell from a previous century has transformed Merlin into a cat.

Written in seductive and mesmerising prose which gives it the feel of an authentic time-honoured fable, 'Shasta Summer' continues the tradition of the much-acclaimed 'The Eye of Erasmus' which records another such attempt by Erasmus when he espies Shasta across the centuries in a vision.

The books in the series can be read and enjoyed in any order and by readers of any age from six to ninety-six.

 1.)   Tell us about yourself

 Answer: I’m a complete nutcase who loves to write.

2.)  What genre do you specialise in?

Answer: Normally I time travel with my books and shove in a bit of fantasy here and there. I love a good bit of Romance as well though. Don’t you? My current work in progress is time travel interspersed with drug taking and crime. A new venture for me but I love a good crime if you can get away with it.

3.)   What's your inspiration.

Answer: I love to people watch and get inspiration that way. Some people call me a nosy ol’ bugger while others are convinced I’m a pervert! LOL They don’t know what I’m up to though, but when I tell them what I’m doing, they’re keen to know how I will use them as a character.

4.)  Who is your favourite author, why and did he/she inspire you to write in any way?

Answer: I don’t have a favourite author at all. If I’m attracted to a book cover I will investigate. If the first couple of pages grab me then that’s good enough for me to continue reading.

5.)  How do you feel about Taylor?

Answer: Taylor Street Publishing is probably one of the best publishing houses I have ever come across. Although new and a small company its prime consideration is always its authors and how they can best promote them. I do believe that with their combined vision it will become a publishing house of major repute.

6)  What are your plans?

 Answer: To settle down in front of the TV with a nice curry and several glassed of red wine… Oh did you mean my writing career? Well I plan to write many more books which will be of varied genre. Otherwise you can become stale I think. I will of course have endless money generated by the sale of my books!! I will buy Richard Branson’s island from him at a knock down price and invite all my author friends to join me as money will be no object. J

7.) Go for it, sell your work. (Links, reviews, what ever you want).

Answer: My first book The Eye of Erasmus was published in June 2010 followed a year later by Shasta Summer. Both books are published by Taylor Street Publishing House of San Francisco. I have been very lucky with sales and during June/July I sold 183 books and had 2300+ free downloads. This seems to have generated even more sales and I understand I have sold several more this month also.

                               

Links: Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Eye-of-Erasmus-ebook/dp/B003VS0DR8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347120696&sr=1-1

              Amazon US - http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Erasmus-Omnipotent/dp/1453634754/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347120795&sr=1-1&keywords=eye+of+erasmus

           Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shasta-Summer-ebook/dp/B0054RWUKW/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_1

            Amazon US - http://www.amazon.com/Shasta-Summer-Teresa-Geering/dp/1463574185/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347120997&sr=1-1&keywords=shasta+summer

            Blog: http:// tgeering.blogspot.co.uk

Many thanks my friend xxx

No, thank you Tee ;-)

So now you know peeps!

Reggie.

The legendary Mike Church interview.

Mike Church, yes THE Mike Church, interviewed me the other day, (with the questions I sent him!!).
Anyway, here it is, enjoy dear reader. Enjoy...

The Mike Church water torture.

Feel free to comment :-)

Reggie.

The Taylor Street Gang files, part 6. Jillian Ward

Part 6 in our "Getting to know you" series for Taylor Street publishing.

Today we have a lady in the house, (finally). Jill Ward is a writer of numerous books, but "Saving Nathaniel" she published with Taylor. 

Let's check out the blurb for "Saving Nathaniel" and then go straight in with the questions.

Saving Nathaniel

Nathaniel Mackie is treading an emotional knife-edge, and the abyss is beckoning. Following the deaths of his wife and baby, he has lived with unresolved guilt and grief, and it is tearing him apart.

One rainy day, Megan Thomas literally bursts into his kitchen - and into his life.

Before long, their relationship becomes more than employer and housekeeper. Under her gentle, compassionate influence things begin to change, and he starts to come to terms with his past.

When Megan's temporary secondment is over, the extent of his dependence and affection becomes apparent. He loves her and wants her back.

But will she want him and all his accumulated baggage cluttering up her life? If not, what then? The prospect of living the rest of his life without her is a prospect he cannot contemplate.

He would rather die.

Okay, nice one Jill, that sounds very heavy, so how about you...

1.) Tell us about yourself

I'm as plain and ordinary as they come, in every sense of the word;  former medical secretary who gave up the 9-5 rat race to settle in pastures new and is now living it large(!) in a village on Royal Deeside in Scotland (Note the *Royal* bit - the akshual Queen is a neighbour (as is Billy Connolly)). Got a family, got a dog, got a best friend, got a car, got hot water, got a flushing loo. What more could I ask for? Oh yeah, a few quid in the bank wouldn't go amiss. Basically if I don't write I'm a headcase, so I'm saving my sanity one word at a time.

2.) What genre do you specialise in?

Romance is my bag, because lovers gotta love, even if they have to walk over hot coals to do it, so I would say that might qualify as *specialise*. However, I've also tried my hand at a saucy riverbank romp, a psychological revenge drama and at the moment my toe is dipped in paranormal romance. Next stop - horror. I truly am a Jill of all trades, yet sadly at the moment, mistress of none. I'm sure I'll fall into my niche sooner or later.

3.) What's your inspiration?

People, places, my dear muse (a real sweetheart - see THREE WAY STREET for how we met). It's not the cash that's for certain.

4.) Who is your favourite author, why and did he/she inspire you to write in any way?

I love to read the classic authors - Hardy, Thackeray, Austen, etc, and I rather enjoy Stephen Kind and Clive Barker, but I don't think they inspire me to write 'like' them. I want to create my own voice, although a friend from back in the Autho days said she could spot my style a mile off and using a pseudonym would be pointless. Bugger - busted, but I'm still trying, pseudonym and all (Lucy Pepperdine for those who didn't know).

5.) How do you feel about Taylor?

If it hadn't been for the wonderful peeps at Taylor St and the support of fellow Taylor St authors and readers, Saving Nathaniel would either still be languishing in the bowels of my lappy, dusty and neglected, or else I would have gone down the route of self pubbing and all the pitfalls therein. Taylor took a chance on a complete novice unknown, gave the work a spit and a polish and got it 'out there' and so far, so good. Seeing my work on Amazon and Smashwords for all the world to see fills me with unimaginable pride and gratitude to Taylor St, which in turn has given me confidence to continue writing.  For the majority, having their work published is nothing but a pipe dream. For me Taylor made a dream come true, and the pipe is just for smoking.

6.) What are your plans?

To write more, and to write better. With each subsequent book, I feel I am honing my voice, my technique, and my craft to a standard equal to any professional writer and would hope that Taylor would take a chance on those too *none too subtle hint*

7.) Go for it, sell your work. (Links, reviews, what ever you want).

SAVING NATHANIEL (Taylor St)  http://goo.gl/N1IWb

LINDA LOVES...? (Indie)   http://goo.gl/G8haH

WATCH YOUR BACK! (Indie)  http://goo.gl/G8haH

THREE WAY STREET (Indie)  http://goo.gl/HE0Dc

ON THE FLY (Indie)  http://goo.gl/cZtpi

ANIMA MEA (Indie)  http://goo.gl/rrS1J

More info at www.bluequilbooks.com

Jill's a lovely lady who actively supports Help for Heroes, a fact I find extremely endearing and I, for one, think she ROCKS !!

Thanks Jill :-)

Right peeps, that's all for now.

Reggie :-)

The Big Fangtastic Books interview.

I'll be honest, if you've been reading my blog, or my Facebook page, then there'll be nothing in here that will be new.
However, I'm duty-bound by my own vanity to reproduce it here. Sorry, I don't want to, b ut ego demands and ego gets, you know the score. And there's a pretty girl on here as well, which does make up for it.
The Fangtastic Books interview.
Have a read if you're bored.
Thanks.
Reggie.

The Taylor Street Gang files, part 5. Robert Craven.

Rob Craven wrote one of my favourite books from last year, "Get Lenin", and if you're a Facebook friend of mine you've probably seen his link on my page a couple of thousand times.

 A really good bloke, a fan of Guinness, (which puts him in the "Good Bloke" category straight away in my eyes) and also a talented story teller. Here's the blurb for Rob's latest book, "Zinnman" and then we'll squeeze some info out of him.

Zinnman.

In this assured and compelling sequel to 'Get LENIN', it is 1941, and the Allied intelligence team of Henry Chainbridge, Peter De Witte and Eva Molenaar are tasked by Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden personally with destroying a terrifying new weapon of mass destruction being developed jointly by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, using Chinese prisoners of war as guinea-pigs before giving it its first full test on the Russian Front.

As ever, Eva is the sultry Polish-born spy putting her body on the line at the heart of the enemy, Chainbridge is the reserved master strategist and De Witte is the suave, blind intelligence gatherer in love with Eva Molenaar, but does she still love him back or has she fallen for a German agent?

Thanks very much for the interview Reg, and congratulations on ‘The Division of the Damned’, it's a wonderful read!

                My name is Robert Craven and I have 2 novels published by Taylor Street Publishing ‘Get Lenin’ released June 2011 and its sequel ‘Zinnman’, released August 2012. I live in the seaside town of Rush, north of Dublin, Ireland and I’ve been living there for nearly 12 years. I work full-time near Dublin Airport and in my free time write. I prefer to keep my private life private, so I’m married and a family man and that’s it.

How I got here as an author started when I was a journey man bass player in Dublin between 1986 and 1997. Over those years, I kept ‘gig’ diaries, and around them, I built a novella titled ‘‘Vocals preferred, own transport essential’’ and touted it around a few publishers. Though I got a few rejections, I also got some encouraging remarks, I learned the ropes and when I started writing Get Lenin in January 2005, had a plan.

Genre:

    The genre I specialise in is action/adventure. I think a book should be among other things entertaining and I hope with both Get Lenin and Zinnman they are good old fashioned page-turners.  The kind of books I imagine you see in an airport, while you’re waiting for the boarding call and thinking ‘‘this will do to pass the time.’’

What’s my inspiration?

    Now that is a good question! Good writing inspires me – well written novels, historical biographies or even a concise piece of journalism. I’m currently reading Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim books, and it’s like discovering a new band you want to jam along with – the way he writes dialogue and use of frags is really, really well done. Sometimes a photograph, painting or piece of music might give the few remaining brain cells a good kick and have me back at the computer typing.

My favourite author?

    Again a tough one – I suppose the biggest influence on me has been Stephen King; ‘The Stand’, ‘Salem’s Lot’ and ‘Dolores Claiborne’ stand out for me. Andrew Miller’s ‘Ingenious Pain’ is another exceptional book.  My all time favorite book though is ‘1984’ by George Orwell; there isn’t a wasted syllable in it.

On TSP

    Taylor Steet Publishing has been very good to me. After 5 years of grinding out rejection slips and no responses to my pitches for Get Lenin, Tim took a chance on it and published it last year. Then when I received the contract for Zinnman, it was the icing on the cake! Taylor Street to me is more of a family as a good few of the authors here were friends and rivals all jockeying for position on the Authonomy peer-review site. There’s a good community feel which both Tim and Kathleen have worked hard to foster and everyone has their sleeves rolled up and pitching and helping their fellow authors. It’s easy to forget that Tim’s passionate about the books TS produces, whatever the author’s style, and that’s the extra touch; you don’t get the sense that you have to adapt your work to a ‘house style’.

My plans 

     At the moment I don’t have any plan other than to complete the 3rd installment of Eva Molenaar’s adventures, it’s titled ‘A Finger of night’. I have the first draft down, but won’t go back to it properly for a few months, let it settle for a bit and also re-check the research.

    I’m also in the great position at the moment of reviewing new music for Musicians Together magazine – an on-line magazine and network for Irish & International musicians. It makes my day seeing a new CD come through the letter box!

Eva Molenaar; Ingenue, muse, model, assassin – she’s uncovered a plan, and she’s the only one who can stop it... see the links below:

Get Lenin:

http://www.amazon.com/Get-LENIN-ebook/dp/B0054EX4XW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347015245&sr=8-2&keywords=Get+Lenin

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Get-LENIN-ebook/dp/B0054EX4XW/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_1

Zinnman:

http://www.amazon.com/Zinnman-ebook/dp/B0094WYC0E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347015339&sr=8-1&keywords=Zinnman

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zinnman-ebook/dp/B0094WYC0E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347015375&sr=8-1

thanks again Reg!

Rob

Nice one mate.

So peeps, now you know.

Reggie ;-)