1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I got into writing at an early age. There was a class assignment to write a short story and I enjoyed it so much that I never really stopped after that. The short story I wrote was a complete rip-off of War of the Worlds (I’d seen the 1953 movie that past weekend), but (hopefully) my work is more original now.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
Well in the case of Blood Pudding, I’ve always enjoyed horror and comedy. There’s only so long a single joke can be sustained for, however, so I realised I’d have to either tell lots of jokes on the same theme, or write the entire setting to be the joke, while the story was the horror. It was a fun project and I really enjoyed writing it.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
I’m not sure there’s any singular lesson to be found in Blood Pudding but I think the horror comedy genre in general is a great lesson in not taking things too seriously. I love horror but I’m also very prepared to mock it, and I think that’s important in life.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
I was drawn to horror because I’ve always been very afraid. As a kid I was scared of the dark and clowns and aliens and monsters and just about everything. The more I looked into trying to understand my own fears the more I came to appreciate horror as a genre. I’m endlessly interested in fear and what causes it.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
I guess this doesn’t make sense to answer for Blood Pudding as it’s just a short story. My upcoming book, Change & Other Terrors has several interesting characters who I’ve enjoyed spending time with as I’ve written them. Unfortunately most of them end up far too insane or dead to be in a position to answer questions.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Oh wow that’s a really tough question to answer but I guess Twitter has given me the most interactions, and I’ve gained the most traction there. How that translates into readers, I’m not entirely sure.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
There’s so much advice out there and I think it’s important to recognise that not all of it works for everyone. Your writing journey is going to be unique to you, so you need to be flexible in applying advice and working out what fits and what doesn’t. I would say that getting a first draft out without expecting it to be perfect right away is solid advice. Every writer will be subject to edits, so it’s good to expect that there will need to be changes and adjustments to your work, no matter how polished you think it may be.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
Well my immediate future is dominated by the imminent release of my debut short horror collection Change and Other Terrors, which is due out this August. Pre-orders are now live at: https://thecrowshoppe.com/products/change-and-other-terrors. Beyond that, I’ve got a novella, my love letter to slasher horror, coming out with Grendel Press, which is TBD currently, but look out for more info on that very soon. I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone.
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About the Author
I’m a UK-based author currently lurking around the streets of Cardiff. I enjoy scaring people just as much as I enjoy making them laugh, so I try to get both into my work. I’m a horror movie nerd, a dungeon master, a comic book obsessive and a cryptid enthusiast. I like strong beer and smooth whiskey – please bear this in mind when making your offerings. HWA member.
Here are some words of wisdom that my mother shared with me when I was growing up:
1. The currents in rivers are just the same as the currents in buns. You can purchase some if you have a current account.
2. If you unscrew your belly-button, your bum will fall off.
3. You can do a passable impersonation of an elephant by waving your arm about in front of your face and shouting “Give us a bun! Give us a bun!”
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I loved writing and journaling as a child, and I wrote my first short story when I was in the fourth grade. I began to take it seriously as something I would like to do with my life when I was in college. I then pursued an MFA in writing a few years later. From there I became a professional writer in high tech, which was a wonderful career but not very conducive to pursuing my passion for creative writing, especially since in addition to my very demanding career I also got married and raised a family. But the kids are pretty much out of the nest, and I’ve been writing fiction with purpose for about five years.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
I love the art of the short story, and it has always been my primary focus for creative writing. For the past five years, I’ve been involved in a writing community called Write Club, and we write a story each month based on a prompt. Several of my stories have been published in literary magazines and anthologies, which has been thrilling. I decided the next step was to put my own collection together. Since I’m based in Minnesota, the lakes and harsh winter climate of this state are often the backdrop for my stories, and it seemed natural to shape them into a nice collection.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Life is challenging. We all know that. But what is so interesting and entertaining is how we all deal with the curve balls that come at us. That is first and foremost at the basis of my storytelling – an exploration of our quirky human ways of interacting with the people in our lives (with all of their own quirks), and how we face bizarre or difficult circumstances. In addition to that, I really try to leave readers with a feeling of hope. I just think we need more of that today than perhaps ever before. If we never lose hope, we can get through just about anything.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
I love how satisfying a good short story can be, and how the best short story writers can take your breath away with the impact of their words. A few of the incredibly talented short story writers from the 20th and 21st centuries that have inspired me include John Cheever, Flannery O’Connor, Raymond Carver, J.D. Salinger, and Alice Munro. If you read Salinger’s Nine Stories collection, or Alice Munro’s collection, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, you’ll see what I mean when I talk about the power of a short story. It’s my mission to master that, and to have that kind of impact on readers. I think of it as a fine art.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
I think it would be Frederick in The Usher. I would ask him how he’s going to go forward. In the story, we see him at a turning point, but we don’t know where his path will take him. I would love to know.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
It’s funny, because I have always kept my personal social media separate from professional. But a few weeks ago on the day I launched the book, I went ahead and put it out on LinkedIn in addition to Facebook, X and Instagram. It was the platform where I got the most people saying they were going to buy the book. I was so surprised. By contrast, X (formerly Twitter), where I have been working to build relationships with like-minded people, was on the other end of the spectrum.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
I believe it is really important to find a writing community where you can get feedback on your work. My involvement in writing communities has made all the difference for me in honing my writing craft. It also makes it a much less lonely endeavor!
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
Yes, I’m working on another collection of short stories that take place in a fictional town in Minnesota. Whereas the stories in my first collection really would not be considered genre stories, the next collection will include ghost stories, thrillers and magical realism. I’ve got a contact form where people can let me know if they would like to hear about its release at https://bit.ly/ContactJayna.
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About the Author
Jayna Locke is the author of Somewhere in Minnesota, a collection of short stories about characters experiencing life’s unexpected twists and turns, and about grit, hope and resilience.
She is a Minnesota writer who has had a lifelong love of fiction. She earned her MFA from the University of New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in various literary journals, as well as several anthologies — all available on Amazon. She is reachable through her website, jaynalocke dotcom, or on X at jaynatweets.
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
As a child, I grew up reading books by Tolkien, Hobbs etc. and developed a strong interest in fantasy. In school, I found history to be a difficult subject and a trick I grew fond of was to substitute real events with more fantastical versions of them incorporating elements of magic and sorcery to make them more interesting and thus easier to remember. Even long after school, I’d look back at important historical moments and altered variations I had cooked up in my mind. Even to this date, I find these altered histories more interesting than novels that have clear demarcation of good and bad characters and ones featuring happily-ever-after endings.
For the last decade my focus has been on software and cloud infrastructure consulting. While architecting software systems, I have often wondered what if the real world was programmable like a computer. What if there was a system in place to enable us to define precise contracts and this system was freely and fairly accessible to all of mankind. I wondered if this would lead to betterment of humanity or bad actors would just find more creative ways to exploit it. The concept of runecraft in my books embodies this concept.
For many years, I built up adhoc storylines along these ideas and for a long time they were just disconnected fragments in my mind. But a year ago during a career break due to illness I decided to put my thoughts into words. To my surprise, I did manage to mash them together into a coherent storyline and the emerging result looked like something that at least one reader would enjoy – me.
So now I am taking the chance and putting in a bit more effort into transforming this into something that others may also find enjoyable. Whether or not that actually happens, remains to be seen.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
The primary inspiration is the observation that evil lurks in every corner and every heart. I am not a nihilist but one historical theme that has been very close to my heart is that cost of small mistakes and wrongdoings by many individuals add up over time, often catastrophically.
The atrocities committed by East India company in India, the brutalities by Mughal invaders before that, the injustices against lower castes by Brahmins, were all possible not because of a grand master plan by an evil genius but due to many many individuals making separate wrong decisions in self interest. Same holds for global events like rise of Nazis & fascists in the west or the bombing of Japan in the east.
We only realize the true impact of these decisions after catastrophic events like the genocide of ’71 (একাত্তরের গণহত্যা) in Bangladesh (where part of my family originally hails from), the Bengal famine of ’43, Massacre of Jallianwala Bagh etc. but by then the chain of misdemeanors is so long that there is no realistic way to serve justice meaningfully.
The storyline for The Revenge of the Wraith Paladin stems from a question I asked myself as a child – what if the Mughal invaders of India were an alien race from beyond this world.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
I hope to inspire to inspire people to look beyond broad categorizations of good and evil and focus more on nuances and to question all they see and hear.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
I was inspired by many many authors whose great works I have had the pleasure of reading over the years. In particular, I’d like to thank:
1. Michael Moorcock: For demonstrating that flawless elegance and mind-numbing horror can be blended together seamlessly
2. John Bierce, Stephen King and Sanderson: For demonstrating that complex plots and intricate systems of magic can and do work well for fast paced fantasy
3. Tower curator: For demonstrating that blood sorcery can be elegant.
4. Will Wight: For demonstrating that the concepts of authority and ascension can be such amazing plot drivers.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
I’d sit down with Nazaar, the grandmaster. I’d try to understand how, despite of all the obstacles that he continues to face at every turn, he finds the courage to keep plodding forward with ever more ambitious plans.
He was the only character in my book who seemed to evolve on their own during my writing. Most of what we read about the grandmaster in The Revenge of the Wraith Paladin series, was just not present in my original plot plan.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Primarily twitter, discord and to some extent Reddit, where I have had some really nice interactions with people who love books & fantasy. I’d like to thank them all for the valuable advice and criticism that they took out the time to share with me.
I also remain very optimistic about the future of federated social networks like Bluesky and mastodon – they have small but rapidly growing community of book lovers. I’d encourage more people to be a part of these networks.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Bit too early for me to answer this, but I’d like to advise folks to write things that at least they themselves would enjoy as a reader. But if you do have something interesting to say, modern technology has made it easier than ever to put your thoughts forward and connect to a global community. Don’t wait too long – YOLO.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I am currently working on a parallel series titled “The Grandmaster’s Gamble” that explores Nazaar’s past. It has some overlap in characters with Revenge of the Wraith Paladin, but can be read independently. The second book of this series is also planned to be released later this year.
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About the Author
Avid fiction aficionado and fantasy author dabbling in the grimdark, arcane and all things forbidden and forgotten.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A fallen angel must contend with her growing friendship with a human tribesman and the promise of her dream of returning to heaven by a secret, beautiful angel who visits her at night as the war continues between humanity and heaven in author Richard Harland’s “Ferren and the Doomsday Mission”, the second book in the Ferren Trilogy.
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The Synopsis
The unique friendship between an angel and a human is the only hope for the future – but can they remain friends?It’ s one thousand years since medical scientists brought a dead brain back to consciousness. When they discovered the reality of life after death, they laid claim to Heaven and set off a war against the angels.Now the Earth is a ruined wasteland. Descendants of the original scientists continue the war with their armies of artificially created Humen. When the greatest of Doctors, the all-knowing Doctor Saniette, takes control of the Bankstown Camp, the fighting moves to a terrible new phase.Miriael is the angel who fell to Earth, ate mortal food and can no longer return to Heaven. Ferren is the young tribesman who has been her only friend since her own kind abandoned her. Together, they work to unite the tribes in an alliance independent of the Humen.But suddenly Miriael has another friend. A beautiful, caring angel visits her in secret and offers her what she most desires: the chance to return to Heaven. The consequences will be extreme … for her, for Ferren, for the world.
The Review
This was another fantastic entry into the author’s rich, fantasy-driven dystopian world. The immense scope of the world-building the author took on in bringing this story to life was incredible to see expanded upon in this book. The threat of Dr. Saniette and the Humen in this story and the action-packed drama that unfolds as the battle rages on make this narrative genuinely memorable.
Yet the action and drama are so well balanced, thanks to the rich character dynamics. The friendship and the evolution of the relationship between the protagonists, Miriael and Ferren, is the core heart of the narrative. However, the exciting directions their journey takes them on as individuals, from the interesting romance/love triangle between Ferren, Kiet, and Zonda to the twist connection Miriael has to Asmodai, and the impact Miriael has on the growing alliance amongst the last of the tribes of humanity made this a remarkable narrative to get lost in.
The Verdict
Exhilarating, thrilling, and heartfelt, author Richard Harland’s “Ferren and the Doomsday Mission” is a brilliant sequel and a memorable fantasy-driven story that readers won’t put down. The twists and turns in the story will keep readers on the edge of their seats, and the cliffhanger final moments will bring readers back for the third book of the Ferren trilogy. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
Interview with Richard Harland
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What is the biggest difference between writing a solo novel and a series?
I don’t have much experience of starting out to write a series! The only time I’ve done it was with my Wolf Kingdom quartet, and they were kids’ books. My first novel The Vicar of Morbing Vyle was a standalone until fans pushed for a sequel. My SF/detective movel The Dark Edge was a standalone until my publisher demanded sequels. And ditto with my steampunk fantasy, Worldshaker – I was ready to be asked for a sequel, but I’d spent 20 years planning the novel as a standalone.
With Ferren and the Angel, I wasn’t even ready to be asked for a sequel. I loosened it up at the end when my publisher first talked of a sequel, but that was only in the last stage of editing before publication. There’s a whole complicated story there, which I haven’t much explained to anyone anywhere.
ANTHONY: Let’s hear it.
OK, confession time! There’s an earlier version of The Ferren Trilogy called The Heaven and Earth Trilogy. It came out only in Australia, published by Penguin Australia, had some success, but wasn’t marketed very well (internal publisher politics!) and Penguin let it go out of print. That first publication was twenty years ago.
My new publisher, IFWG, sells mainly into the US, and it seemed a smart move not to make a lot of noise about the first version, which never even existed in America. Why create confusion? But it ended up being confusing anyway, because the audio format of Ferren and the Angel is under a separate contract and still on sale on Amazon. Not so smart after all!
But here’s the best bit of the story. After the Penguin version dropped out of print, and after I’d moved on to some international success with Worldshaker and its sequels, there were still fans of the original trilogy who’d fallen in love with it and refused to forget about it. They wanted those novels out there and wouldn’t let them die! They hounded publishers year after year, until they finally succeeded. One day, out of the blue, I received an email from IFWG Publishing, saying they’d like to do a reprint of the Ferren books. Yay!
ANTHONY: So is this a reprint or a new version or what?
It’s a total rewrite! Although I’d moved on to writing other books, I always had the feeling that the trilogy deserved better than it got. The fans of the book believed that it deserved better from publishers, but I believed it deserved better from its author too! The raw material was there, the incredible future world where the armies of Heaven do battle with the armies of the Earth – so much potential! But not fully realized. When IFWG offered to do a reprint, I said I wanted time to rewrite the books first. After twenty years of mulling over the stories in the back of my mind, I just knew they could be better told. And now they are!
It’s a wonderful thing, to be given a second chance. I haven’t wanted that chance for any other novel I’ve written, only the Ferren books. They’re finally turning into the books they were always meant to be!
Um, maybe I’ve left the question behind … What was your first question again?
ANTHONY: What is the biggest difference between writing a solo novel and a series?
Right! I knew there was some connection! The thing is that when Penguin Australia were about to bring out the early version of Ferren and the Angel, they hit me with the request for a sequel to be written within twelve months. Which was great, but … I’m not a fast writer, and, even more, I needed time to recharge my batteries for imagining a whole further expansion of the world and story. I think I did well – better than I could ever have expected – with the ideas I came up with. Trouble was, I was forever playing catch up and never had time to shape them into a truly effective story dynamic.
I always felt that Book 2, originally called Ferren and the White Doctor but now called FERREN AND THE DOOMSDAY MISSION, needed more of a rewrite than any other volume, I read through the Penguin version before starting, but then hardly looked at it again while I went through the rewrite. And the rewriting just flowed! I guess the difference was that I knew where the story was going, so I knew how to set it up right! I’d planted the seeds properly in Book 1 and got them growing at the start of Book 2. When I wrote the original Ferren and the White Doctor, I remember always struggling to pull the story back into line. With the rewrite, it just unfolded all by itself!
I guess I experienced the hard way what makes a series a series. The three novels in the new Ferren Trilogy all have their own individual story dynamic, but now they’re not merely tacked on one after the other – they grow out of each other, bigger and bigger with every volume.
So what’s the biggest takeaway you want readers to have when finishing your series?
I suppose as the trilogy develops, it puts you more and more on the side of Heaven. For all their blinkered sense of superiority, the angels and archangels do hold strong ethical principles – and they learn to shed their sense of superiority in the end. Their basic goodness comes through, whereas the Humen who make up the armies of Earth are just plain bad and nasty. But there’s no religious message. The beauty of angelology – the traditional lore about angels and Heaven – moves me emotionally, but I’m still an agnostic.
I think the takeaway would be more of a humanist one – for human beings to believe in themselves, respect themselves and stand up for themselves. That’s what the Residuals, descendants of the original human beings, learn to do in the course of the trilogy, even as they eventually choose to fight alongside Heaven.
As for the moral balance between Heaven and the Humen, I’d say that the Humen lack reverence for anything and everything – they’re only interested in what they can exploit for their own purposes. I suppose that’s my religion – a humanism that isn’t self-centered but has respect for what’s other than ourselves. It’s not a message, and I’m not preaching it, but it probably colours the story and events.
Do you plot out your novels and the characters within them, or do you write and let the story develop at its own pace?
I don’t like the word ‘plot’ because it’s sounds mechanical and controlling, but it’s true I do a huge amount of thinking and imagining before turning a story into actual words. I’ve always had a very vivid visual imagination, so I tend to watch my story unfold like a movie before verbalizing it.
One thing I love is a narrative that builds and converges to a huge rolling climax. In Ferren and the Angel and Ferren and the Doomsday Mission, the climactic scenes take up nearly a quarter of the book – and the climax of Book 3, Ferren and the Invaders of Heaven, will be the biggest of the lot! But you can’t produce those sorts of climaxes just by ambling along page after page. I don’t believe in weak endings or fade-out endings (I mean, I don’t believe in fade-out endings for fantasy fiction), but I also don’t believe in artificially imposed big endings. The climax has to grow naturally out of everything that’s gone before.
Am I starting to sound like a broken record? I believe you have to grow those big climaxes by planting the seeds early on. I’m the sort of author who’s always looking ahead – I don’t know exactly how the final development will work out, but I can sense when I’ve got all the material for it. Like the volume of a wave that’ll just sweep me along at the end!
I think of being an author as like being on the back of some humungous, lumbering beast! The beast is the story, with its own vast mass and momentum. You can’t drag it round suddenly to where you want it to go, e.g. a big, rolling climax. You have to begin guiding and nudging it right from the start, looking far ahead and applying tiny prods that are all the influence you ever get to have.
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About the Author
Richard was born in Yorkshire, England, then migrated to Australia at the age of twenty-one. He was always trying to write, but could never finish the stories he began. Instead he drifted around as a singer, songwriter and poet, then became a university tutor and finally a university lecturer. But after twenty-five years of writer’ s block, he finally finished the cult novel, The Vicar of Morbing Vyle. When he contracted his next book to a major publisher, he immediately resigned his lectureship to follow his original dream.
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I’ve considered myself a writer (small “w”) for as long as I can remember. My father was a professional editor, so I guess an affection for the written word has always been in my blood. My second-grade teacher read a short story I wrote to my entire class when I was 7. But I didn’t consider myself a Writer (capital “W”) until Six Moons, Seven Gods was published. Although my primary career in public service required loads of writing and editing, it’s only since retirement that I have found sufficient time to write for pleasure.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
I’ve been wanting to write novels ever since I was a child. When I finally found time to put pen to paper, Six Moons, Seven Gods is what flowed out. I can’t say there was any specific inspiration, but I was definitely motivated to write a fictional story that would stimulate a variety of emotions in the reader. The movie Camelot had a profound impact on me when I was young; my father read Tolkien to me and my sisters, and later in life I thoroughly enjoyed reading Herbert’s Dune series and Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard series to my son. So I suppose a bit of all that helped to inspire me.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Very few things in life are strictly black and white; the world is filled with shades of gray. Nothing’s quite as simple or self-contained as it first appears or we might like to make it. The same is true of this novel’s plot and its characters.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
Good question! I didn’t sit down thinking, “I’m going to write a fantasy novel.” But when I finally found time to put pen to paper, Six Moons, Seven Gods is what flowed out: fantasy, with tinges of grim dark and romance. Go figure!
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
If I knew the environment was truly safe, I’d sit down with villain Reynard Rochon and ask him how he met his sidekick, Spiro, because I’d like to know what forged the strong bond between them, and what drives their interesting relationship.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Gosh. I wish I could say that one social media site was significantly more helpful than any other, but I have not found that to be the case. That said, I’m still fairly new to the game, so I’m hopeful that a year or two from now I’ll have a better answer!
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Three pieces of advice: first, writing’s a journey. Don’t look too far ahead. Focus on your passion and the here and now. Write, write, write, and enjoy the traveling, one step at a time. Had I known early on what it would take to be published, and all the work involved in getting one’s book into the hands of readers, I might never have finished my first novel, let alone started it. I was so naïve to think that–you know–if you write something worthwhile, someone’s going to want to publish it and people will then read it. Simple, right? The truth, of course, is so much more complex and challenging, regardless of whether you are trying to secure the representation of a traditional publishing firm, or you have decided to self-publish. Unless your intended audience is limited to friends and family, finishing your novel (quite the accomplishment in and of itself) is only half the battle. So my advice is to take it slowly and enjoy the journey—don’t peek too soon or too closely behind the publishing world’s thick curtain lest thatcause you to turn back. Tackled one issue at a time, none of it as overwhelming or intimidating as the big picture first appears; there’s lots of support out there, and if you persevere, all those little challenges just make reaching your destination that much more rewarding. Carry on!
My second counsel is to listen to your heart while you are writing. Mine will generally tell me when I’m on the right track, and when I’ve gotten lost. The characters and scenes that I have been most engaged with during the creative process typically turn out to be those that readers also find most entertaining. So now, when I find myself slogging through some piece that I don’t find particularly exciting or enjoyable to write, I ask myself: why is that? Am I asking the reader to suffer with me? Is there not something I can do to the storyline or character to make writing (and reading) this more entertaining?
Lastly, I strongly suggest that you read your work aloud and slowly, either to yourself or to an interested listener. You’ll be surprised at the number of errors and opportunities that expose themselves. This advice was given me by my father, a professional editor by trade, and I have benefited from it ever since.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I’m currently working on the sequel to Six Moons, Seven Gods, and having a lot of fun with that! Folks who want to stay up to date on its progress can subscribe to my newsletter at rawalkerwriting.com!
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About the Author
Award-winning author Robert A. Walker grew up in Northwestern Massachusetts. After graduating college, he packed his scant belongings in a car with rusted-out floorboards and headed west. He’s lived in California ever since, and now resides along the Pacific Ocean with his wife and dogs. When not fabricating stories, he can be found roaming local tennis courts or working on a never-ending list of DIY house projects.
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I have always loved writing and use to write a fair amount of poetry. It is both a way to express ideas and calming for me at the same time.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
The Demon Secret came out of my love for horror when I asked myself “Why do Demon possess he living, there had to be a bigger reason.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Have Fun in life.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
I have always been a horror fan, so it fit me well. I even have Horror tattoos.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
Father Ellis, to better understand what made him want to sell out…
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Yes, there is support out there for new writers.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
IF you love to write and share with the world, kill it. If your in it for fame and fortune, you will be disappointed.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I have three book currently in progress, but took a break to promote The Demon Secret. I will keep writing as I love to do it and have fun in life.
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About the Author
I was raised in a poor household with parents that drank beyond excess, so I found my escape in books from the world that I was brought into. Books were free from the library and I could imagine myself as a hero saving the world. When I read a book I want to be able to smell the air, feel the warmth and be immersed in the world that is before me. That is how I want my work to feel to the readers, like that are more than readers, that are part of the journey.
1.Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I live with my retired dentist husband; my three adorable granddaughters live with their parents in Arizona. I was a teacher and a dental office manager. I’ve always written as my therapy. In retirement I put some short stories and essays on the Internet, and received good feedback, so I kept going.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
The movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding inspired me to write about my growing up in a family building in Chicago’s South Shore. Most ethnic neighborhoods in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s were alike. Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspired me to write about women’s rights.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Memories of their past. Confidence to conquer life’s problems. Be aware of what is going on in the world. Enjoy a good fiction story.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
I mainly write family sagas, though two of my books are mysteries, and two are collections of essays. I write laughter and tears.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
Interesting question for a fiction book. I would asked my protagonist, Sherrie, “As a woman, are you better off today than you were at the beginning of the book?”
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
I am terrible with the Internet. Facebook is my main social media.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
It is never too late to follow your dream. I was in my sixties when I started to write professionally.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon
This is book number six. Book number seven will be coming out next year. It is a second book in the Laughter and Tears series. It is called We won’t Go Back. You can get my books at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Speaking Volumes, Walmart, Target, and several other online book outlets.
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About the Author
Charlene Wexler is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She has worked as a teacher and dental office bookkeeper and as “a wife, mom, and grandmother,” she said. In recent years, Wexler’s lifelong passion for writing has led her to create numerous essays as well as fiction.
She is the author of the books Lori, Murder Across the Ocean, Murder on Skid Row, Milk and Oranges, and Elephants In The Room.
Her work has appeared in several publications, including North Shore Magazine; the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry’s Vision magazine; Alpha Omegan magazine; the book and CD Famous Poets of the Heartland: A Treasury of Beloved Family Poems, Talent, OR: Famous Poets Press, 2014; and the Gazette newspaper of Chicago.
She also has had essays and fiction published on the websites AuthorsDen.com, The Best Short Stories, Cat Stories, Cats and Dogs at Play, End Your Sleep Deprivation.com, Funny Cat Stories, Funny Cats Playing, Funny Passport Stories, How Old is Grandma?, Laughter Is My Medicine, Moral Short Stories-Ethical Tales, One Bright Star.org, Scribd.com, Short Stories for Women, True Cat Stories, and Way Cool Dogs.com.
Wexler’s first novel, Murder on Skid Row, was published in 2010. It is the story of a double-murder on Chicago’s Skid Row in the 1960s. Murder on Skid Row won an international Apex Award of Excellence from Communications Concepts, a writing think tank outside Washington, DC.
Published as an e-book on Smashwords and as a print edition by Central Park Communications in 2012, Milk and Oranges, is a collection of her short fiction and essays examining life, love, and the tragedy and comedy of the human condition. Whether she is tackling fiction or essays, Wexler writes from the heart. With a keen eye for detail and a way of looking at the world a bit sidewasy, wexler’s writings in Milk and Oranges entertain while they make you think.
Milk and Oranges received a Bronze Award in the Women’s Issues category of the eLit Book Awards competition sponsored by the publishing services firm Jenkins Group Inc. of Traverse City, MI, and a rare international Grand Award in the Apex Awards competition by Communications Concepts in 2012.
In 2014, Charlene published two novels as e-books on Smashwords and Amazon Kindle: Lori, a family saga spanning several decades, and Murder Across the Ocean, a murder mystery set in England. Murder Across the Ocean also is available from Amazon as a paperback.
In 2016, Amazon Digital Services published her book Elephants In The Room, Charlene’s latest collection of short fiction and essays examining life, love, and the tragedy and comedy of the human condition.
Her short story Abracadabra Magic received a “Very Highly Commended” rating in the AuthorsDen.com Tom Howard Prose Contest, 2009.
Wexler is active with the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity, the Authors Marketing Group, the Chicago Writers Association, Children’s Memorial Hospital philanthropy, Lungevity (an organization that fights lung cancer), the McHenry Bicycle Club, the Museum of Science and Industry, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Richmond IL Book Club, the Jewish United Fund, and the University of Illinois Alumni Association.
“I have always used writing as therapy,” Wexler said. “Now I have the time and opportunity to pursue it as a career.”
Her advice for other aspiring writers–even grandmothers like herself–is to “follow your dream. You can do it, and it’s never too late.”
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I was inspired to go into psychiatry 50 years ago after reading a book by Carl Jung. I realized that he was applying clinical insights from his practice to construct a philosophy of human nature. So that is what I have been doing all these years.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
Ever since I retired 17 years ago, I have been writing dense philosophical essays that people had difficulty understanding. When Chat GPT-4 first became available about a year ago, I realized that here was a tool that could help render my writing into something anyone could understand, and then last October, when DALL-E-3 integrated with Chat GPT-4 I decided to illustrate my revised book.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
The most important theme is to humanize severe mental illness by demonstrating that they are pathological exaggerations of everyday emotions we all know intimately. Just as important is that mental illnesses become “emotional fossils” that illustrate how our emotions and motivations evolved through the ages. Mental illnesses are a way we can empathize with our evolutionary past, like a sacred mythos.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
My writing has always been philosophical. I am after the truth of “why we became human,” which is the name of my blog site.
5) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Blogs like Anthony’s have been extremely helpful.
6) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
You just have to love the process of writing itself. If you love it, keep doing it and it will reward you one way or another.
7) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I just made a full-length movie out of “The Evolution of Human Motivations” https://youtu.be/sq9DNpiI9zQ. Next, I am thinking about trying to write a version of our “inside” evolutionary journey for young adults, or, alternatively, in the form of an epic narrative poem, like Homer’s Odyssey and the Iliad.
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About the Author
In 1971, as a surgical resident in New York, I realized my true calling lay elsewhere. Inspired by Carl Jung’s integration of medicine and philosophy, I pursued psychiatry in Washington, DC. My journey led me to working in a maximum-security prison, where an inmate slashed my face with a razor blade dramatically shifting my focus to immersing myself in Darwin’s works. This sparked my dedication to evolutionary psychology/psychiatry, participating in its early development in the late 1980s while managing a hospital-based psychiatric practice.
A pivotal moment came around 9/11, reading E.O. Wilson’s words on humanity’s need for a sacred narrative, igniting my mission to forge a “new mythos” of human nature. My work focuses on interpreting major mental illnesses as disorders of evolved emotions and motivations, supported by mainstream scientific findings in psychiatry and human evolution. Recently, technologies like Chat GPT-4 and DALL-E-3 have helped visualize these concepts. My e-book, “The Evolution of Human Motivations, An AI-illustrated Odyssey,” available on Amazon, encapsulates this journey.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Author Lori Van Dusen shares the roller coaster that was her rise in the world of Wall Street in the memoir “Running with Grace”.
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The Synopsis
Nothing about Lori Van Dusen’s childhood indicated she’d become one of the nation’s top independent financial advisors. She was born prematurely with a genetic blood disorder. Her parents divorced when she and her twin brother were less than a year old. But her big, boisterous, loving Italian family, led by her beloved grandfather, a first-generation American with only an eighth-grade education, taught her that the only limitations in life are those we impose on ourselves.
As a young person, Lori wanted to sing on Broadway, not manage money on Wall Street. But in 1986, this quiet, serious young woman walked into the rough-and-tumble, eat-what-you-kill world of Shearson Lehman Brothers and never looked back. She fought her way to the top by thinking outside the box and working her ass off despite the jeers, insults, and sideways glances. Her secret weapon? A need to prove herself so strong she could outwork anyone.
But Lori’s trajectory to the top was not a straight, upward line; it was a rollercoaster. She hit the pinnacle of success only to have it ripped away in a legal battle with one of the biggest banks in the world. She was raped by a PhD candidate at Harvard, swindled by a business partner, and battled two life-altering medical diagnoses. None of that, though, would compare to having the two people she loved most in the world taken way too soon.
Despite the fear and pain, Lori remained hopeful and resilient. In this memorable, poignant, and inspiring memoir, she shares her lowest lows and highest highs as well as hard-earned wisdom from her bumpy personal, professional, and spiritual journey. Life was never meant to be fair, she learned, but we must keep running with grace if we are to find purpose and joy in the face of adversity.
The Review
This was a moving and compelling read. The author did an incredible job of layering this narrative and true story with a healthy balance of drama and heart. The author’s personal tale brought the detailed aspects of the financial industry to life, and her experiences while making her way up the corporate ladder were insightful and engaging.
Yet, it was the heart that was poured into this narrative that made the story so gripping. The memoir proved to be more about the trials and tribulations that the author faced both in their personal and professional life rather than a linear tale of the world of Wall Street, and this allowed the reader to connect and fully feel the emotional weight of the author’s life experiences. The tension and heartbreak the author’s life touches upon and how she overcame tragedy to become the person she is today send a sad yet uplifting message that readers can resonate with powerfully.
The Verdict
Remarkable, insightful, and engaging author Lori Van Dusen’s “Running with Grace” is a must-read memoir and business book. The heartfelt delivery of such a personal story and its impact on the author’s life and readers looking to make their mark in the world will keep people invested in this thoughtful and heartening read. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
About the Author
Lori Van Dusen, CIMA®, is the Founder and CEO of LVW Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm that serves both wealthy families and individuals, as well as nonprofit institutions throughout the United States. An advocate of client-focused strategies for more than 25 years, she has become the voice of reason for providing comprehensive integrated solutions in a fragmented financial services industry.
Lori began her investment advisory career in 1987 with Shearson Lehman Brothers, which was later acquired by Citigroup Smith Barney. By 2004, she had achieved the title of Managing Director with Citigroup Smith Barney. She founded LVW Advisors in 2011.
A recipient of numerous accolades, Lori was named to Barron’s Financial Advisor Hall of Fame, which recognizes advisors who have appeared in 10 or more of Barron’s annual Top 100 Advisor rankings. Additionally, Lori was ranked #1 in New York – NY State on Forbes’ 2023 and 2022 Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list, and has been ranked for five consecutive years on Forbes’ America’s Top Wealth Advisors list and Forbes’ America’s Top Women Advisors lists. In 2022, she was named CEO of the Year by Institutional Investor’s RIA Intel.
In recognition of her involvement in the Rochester community, Lori was recognized in the Rochester Business Journal’s 2023, 2022, and 2021 Power 100 list and received the 2020 Women of Excellence distinction with the Circle of Excellence honor. The Circle of Excellence recognizes a small group of women each year with longstanding, notable success in the community who are leading the way for other women. Additionally, Lori was inducted into the 2019 Rochester Business Hall of Fame and joins a prestigious list of Rochester business leaders who have been previously inducted. Lori has also been recognized by the Girl Scouts of Western New York as one of the 2019 Women of Distinction.
Lori is passionate about numerous philanthropic causes, serving on several boards focused on urban education, health and wellness and the fine arts, including the Monroe Community College Foundation Board, the University of Rochester Medical Center Board, the F.F. Thompson Health System Board, and the Memorial Art Gallery Board of Managers.
Lori was one of the founders of the Association of Professional Investment Consultants (APIC) and Citigroup Institutional Consulting. She holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst® designation, administered by the Investments and Wealth Institute® (formerly IMCA) in conjunction with The Wharton School. Lori received her undergraduate degree from Ithaca College and a Master of Education from Harvard University.
Lori is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book Running with Grace: A Wall Street Insider’s Path to True Leadership, a Purposeful Life, and Joy in the Face of Adversity, published in 2023.
A native of Rochester, New York, Lori is a long-distance runner and an avid yogi, and enjoys decorating and savoring the area’s local music scene. She regularly cooks and hosts large Italian meals for her family and friends.
No compensation was paid to obtain the above awards. LVW Advisors paid a fee for promotional materials related to Forbes and Barron’s awards. Please see our Disclosures page for additional information.
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Interview with Author Lori Van Dusen
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I’ve always had a connection to the page. I believe writing regularly helps me be more creative and also helps flesh out ideas. I’ve been writing regularly since university. I’ve contributed a number of white papers to my industry journals, write out every speech I’ve ever delivered and journal daily as a way to relieve stress and organize my thoughts. I will admit though, I’d never considered myself a writer with a capital W, and certainly never appreciated how hard it was to write a book.
2) What inspired you to write your book, Running with Grace?
I began writing Running with Grace as a personal journal to help with my healing process from the unexpected loss of my husband. When I lost my mom, just a short time later, I wished she had captured her life story for me before she passed away from cancer. I miss her every day, and thought if I had her with me on the page, it would be such a comfort.
I started the project as a way to capture my life’s stories for my sons, and as I shared it with people, including my sons, they all encouraged me to collect the stories into a book to publish them.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
Resilience, for sure. I am hoping the book inspires people to find their inner strength and embrace moving through all the things that happen to them, both the good and the horrific. I don’t think you don’t need to go through unspeakable tragedy to be wise, but as I look at my life now, I realize that I am a much wiser and more thoughtful person for going through the loss of my husband and mother.
If my book helps people even get through one day a little lighter, then I think it will have been worthwhile.
It’s been so gratifying to me to see the reviews from people who have read the book. Running with Grace is a Wall Street Journal bestseller and been praised for its “emotional power” by Kirkus Reviews and Readers’ Favorite describes it as “a story of triumphs and defeats inspiring readers to never give up.”
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
I never thought I would write a memoir. I had been toying with writing a book of business lessons from a woman in finance and I had even began an outline before my husband died.
After my husband died, I started to believe there had to be a reason all these tragic things had happened to me, and that I wanted to share the lessons that I had learned. It’s such a deeply personal book that the only way I thought to reach people was to write it as a memoir. My individual stories became chapters with the thread of resilience tying them all together.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book (apart from yourself!), what would you ask them and why?
Without a doubt, my grandfather. I have so many questions for him that as a child I would have never thought to ask. I would love to learn more of his story–about his upbringing and how he became the person of such deep integrity. I’d also love to know what it really felt like when as a man in his middle age he became essentially the father to twin babies. I can’t imagine that was easy, but I never felt anything but love and support from him.
6) Has there been a social media site in particular that has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
LinkedIn has been hugely beneficial for me. Not only is it the only social media site I personally spend time on, but I’ve found the connections I’ve made to be richer and more fruitful. LinkedIn recently connected me to a podcast series, that invited me to do a live chat for their subscribers. To support the event, they purchased books as well as interviewed me. LinkedIn hasn’t been overwhelmed by the noise of the other social media platforms, yet. And I am hoping it stays that way.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Find a great editor. No one writes a book alone. The book writing process is much more difficult than I expected. I independently published and invested in professionals to guide me through what feels very much like the wild west process.
I also suggest an aspiring writer assemble a group of trusted beta readers who will give candid feedback. My beta readers were incredibly helpful, especially at identifying some of the business discussions that were too insider baseball for a wider audience. Every writer (and person really) has inherent biases and a diverse group of outside readers can spot them for you. Include people who don’t know you personally to get the most objective feedback.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Are any new books/projects on the horizon?
If readers learn anything from the book it is that the old Yiddish adage “Man Plans and God Laughs” is true. It’s futile to control the future. The only thing you can control is your actions in the present. My life has played out in no way that I had ever envisioned and my hope is that this book will introduce me to an audience outside the finance community as the message is really relevant to women and men everywhere.
