Meet the Author: Raven West

Author Raven West

Author Raven West describes her writing style as one of light entertainment with great, believable characters in somewhat unusual settings.  She says, “My first novel ‘Red Wine for Breakfast’ is set in a Los Angeles radio station. My second novel; ‘First Class Male’ takes place in both the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York and Manhattan. My third novel ‘Undercover Reunion’ is set in a small town in Minnesota. Even though each is very different, there is a universal theme of relationships, work ethic and overcoming obstacles and challenges they never expected. My novels may be fiction, but there is enough reality in each of them that a reader believes the characters are real, and these situations are definitely plausible.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Raven West”

Meet the Author: David Antrobus

Author David Antrobus

Author David Antrobus says that what sets his style apart is his flagrant disregard for any sense of decorum or discipline whatsoever. He says his writing is more Capote than Cormac—more Houellebecq than Hemingway. He also went on to say it is the  literary equivalent of Casablanca-meets-Spinal Tap. Knowing David as I do, I’d have to agree with that assessment. I’m just not sure what it means.

By way of example, when I ask David where he finds his inspiration, he says,  “Life, movies, (comic) books, music, the internet, the inside of fortune cookies… and by that, I mean the actual inside of fortune cookies and not the little scrap of paper with the fortune on it. Hey, don’t look at me like that; they’re very smooth and almost always a pleasing shade of brown.” They are, aren’t they? Continue reading “Meet the Author: David Antrobus”

Meet the Author: Kristen James

Author Kristen James

Kristen says she has always been passionate about stories and took up writing at a young age. Many of her early novels, back in middle school, were actually rewrites of her  favorite movies. “Of course I didn’t see that until later on! I rewrote The Swiss Family Robinson into The Island Tribe, a story about kids. I began getting published in 2005, first in a short story journal out of Australia called Skive and then a small press in Canada called Lachesis Publishing. Around that time, I joined the self publishing bandwagon and found I enjoy designing the book along with writing it. My books are mainly romance with other genres thrown in,” she says.

Kristen’s describes her writing style as conversational with vivid descriptions and characters that draw in the reader. She says most of her reviews mention how much the reader liked the characters and the mystery element in her romances. “Several things might set my novels apart such how I use Oregon and the beauty here, the warm characters, and my dialogue. I’ve gotten quite a few compliments on that.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Kristen James”

Meet the Author: Patricia Florio

Author Patricia Florio
Author Patricia Florio

Patricia Florio has worn many hats.  This New York City native has been a federal court reporter, newspaper freelancer, and now a travel writer and published author.  But she attributes her desire to write from growing up in a large, Italian family which sat around the dinner table sharing stories.  “I believe I’m a natural storyteller,” Patricia says.  “I write in a conversational way that anyone can read without going to the dictionary every paragraph.”

Her childhood isn’t the only thing that inspires her, though.  “Music moves me.  Different kinds of music from Tony Bennett to Dave Matthews; words of songs push me to the computer to start writing where I left off the day before.”  Music is always a good thing to keep someone company.  She says that her biggest challenge being a writer is all the hours spent in isolation. Staying in touch via social networking is one way she deals with it, and like most of us, she has to be careful to limit her time spent socializing. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Patricia Florio”