Monthly Archives: September 2014
Unlocking Your Spiritual Greatness by Jim Greene – Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card
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Interview with Adventure Travel Book Author Alistair McGuiness
Alistair McGuiness grew up in the UK in a town called Luton, which lies 30 miles north of London. Family holidays were spent in County Donegal, Ireland, staying with his Grandmother in their large family home where she had once raised fifteen children.
It was these annual trips that made Alistair realise his Great Uncles were Seanachaís (Irish story tellers). After a few pints of Guinness in the family bar, brothers Barney and Francis would entertain the evening crowds with their recitations of life in rural Ireland. As their rustic voices carried across the crowded room, Alistair would watch and listen as the animated tales mesmorised the overseas visitors.
44 countries and four decades later, Alistair now calls Australia home and in the tradition of Great Uncles Barney and Francis, loves to recite stories. He lives between the beach and the forest with his wife, two young boys and a fun puppy called Peppi. After decades of adventurous escapades Alistair is calming down and has decided to write more and bungee jump less!
He works as a Business Improvement Specialist and has just spent three years as a fly in fly out employee at a remote iron ore mine site in Western Australia. As a trainer and facilitator, he has worked in Europe and Australia and is passionate about helping people and organisations to become successful.
A fun family day for Alistair would be fishing from the local jetty with his boys, taking the puppy for a walk along the beach at sunset and cooking a scrumptious curry in the evening with his wife.
An ideal adventurous day for Alistair would be a days walking and scrambling in the Lake District with friends, followed by a visit to a village pub nestled deep in the English countryside.
His latest book is the adventure travel, Round the Bend: From Luton to Peru to Ningaloo, A Search for Life After Redundancy.
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What made you decide to become a published author?
Storytelling seems to run in my family. My Great Uncles were Seanachaís (Irish storytellers) and as a child, I always enjoyed listening to their animated tales about rural life in Donegal. I feel very proud of their talents and felt it was time for someone in the family to write a story instead of telling one!
Would you consider your latest book, round the bend, to be a one of a kind? How so?
The diverse amount of adventure travel books available to readers these days can be daunting. Every jungle, mountaintop and remote village seems to be inhabited by travel writers who are eager to capture their escapades in a book. In such a competitive genre the standout for me, is when a book gives you an entertaining insight to the landscape, the journey and the local people encountered along the way.
Round the Bend captures the emotional turmoil of redundancy, the thrill of safari, the solitude of long distance travel and the apprehension of moving from one country to live in another. I wouldn’t say it is one of a kind, but in terms of adventure travel, it is has been described as inspirational.
Where is your writing sanctuary?
I live in the south west of Australia, in a small coastal town called Busselton and have found a quirky beachside café that overlooks the Indian Ocean. Being a part time writer, early mornings are my time to scribe and the ever-changing moods of the bay are a constant source of inspiration. The coffee is sensational too!
What do you believe a writer should not do as far as getting his or her book published?
You shouldn’t scrimp on professional help. It is essential that you use proof readers, editors and cover designers to ensure your book is as good as it possibly can be. You shouldn’t try and write a book that will appeal to everyone as this is near impossible. In my opinion, the narrower you make the field, the higher the likelihood of finding your tribe.
What inspires you?
The people that never give up, no matter what obstacles bar their way. We all have dreams and aspirations, but to make these come true requires passion and tenacity. I learnt to switch off the television for weeks on end, in order to get my book completed. It’s all about sacrifices.
What is one thing you learned about your book after it was published?
I learnt so much, especially the amount of book marketing required before and after the launch. Early reviews on Amazon are essential and this comes down to having a well thought out strategy including beta readers, an author platform (blog), a sign up page and plenty of buzz around the launch. Authors that sit back and wait for the publisher to do the marketing are in for a shock!
Why do you love to write about travel?
When I travel to a new country, the first thing I enjoy doing is going for a run at sunrise. During this magical hour you see, smell and hear things that are lost as the sun climbs higher. I enjoy capturing snippets of everyday life in faraway places, especially when they can be shared in a quirky way to a global audience.
You’re concocting a recipe for a best selling book. What’s the first ingredient?
I think the first ingredient should be a zesty character that the reader believes in and wants to succeed, no matter what the odds.
What’s one fun fact about your book people should know?
During the three years it took me to complete, I estimate that I wrote the book from 30 different places. These range from Greek Islands, the Australian outback, an English castle, beachside cafes, historic English pubs, an Irish hill side and from 38,000 feet somewhere over India. My mission was to write for an hour a day, no matter where in the world I was.
Did any real life experiences find their way into your book?
The book is exactly that. It is ten months of adventure travel crammed into a few hundred pages. From deep underground in a Bolivian mine, to teaching English in the Amazon and scaling Kilimanjaro to stand on the roof of Africa. They were all real experiences and I have the scars to prove it!
Aside from writing, what’s your passion?
Spending time with my wife and children, exploring remote areas of Australia, kayaking, playing tennis and coaching a local soccer team (as I’m now getting too injury prone to play).
What’s next for you?
The follow up to Round the Bend is due out in early 2015 and this will be a series of short stories about Australia. Children’s writing is something I am keen to try, so there will be plenty of coffee being enjoyed at the beachside café while I work on these projects. I blog about travel and everyday life in Australia at www.thecreativenomad.co
Happy travels,
Alistair
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Interview with Karen-Anne Stewart, author of ‘Ash to Steele’
Karen-Anne Stewart has always adored reading and has now fallen in love with writing. Her written works are The Rain Trilogy: Saving Rain, Healing Rain, and After the Rain, and the newly released stand alone novel, Ash to Steele. Her debut novel, Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy, was a nominee for the Book Junkie’s Choice Awards, and Saving Rain and After the Rain were nominees for the 2014 RONE Awards.
When Karen-Anne isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, and visiting new places. She fuels her addiction of creating new stories by her only other addiction, caffeine, and listening to a myriad of musical genres. Tucked away near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Karen-Anne lives with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and their cat. She plans on writing new adult romance as long as her fingers maintain dexterity.
For More Information
- Visit Karen-Anne Stewart’s website.
- Connect with Karen-Anne on Facebook and Twitter.
- Fan Karen-Anne at Goodreads.
- Visit Karen-Anne’s blog.
- More books by Karen-Anne.
- Contact Karen-Anne Stewart.
What made you decide to become a published author?
Thank you so much for having me today! I’ve always adored reading but it wasn’t until college that I fell in love with writing when the class was assigned a short story to write. I knew then that I wanted to be an author one day!
Where is your writing sanctuary?
I almost always have my laptop with me so I can write when I get a spare moment, but my favorite place to write is in the office my husband helped me redo in our house. The love of reading and readers helped inspire me to create #favreadingplace (which is also my favorite writing place) as my way of paying it forward with a monthly giveaway. I’ve included a couple of photos of my writing sanctuary.
What inspires you?
Music is a HUGE inspiration to me! I love music and have it busting my drums when I write every chance I get.
Why do you love to write New Adult Romance?
I’m such a sucker for romance! I’m also obsessed with hot heroes who will go through hell and back for their girl. The New Adult age range is a magical time in life when everything in the world seems possible and you feel absolutely every emotion so intensely.
You’re concocting a recipe for a best selling book. What’s the first ingredient?
Your soul. You gotta pour your soul into your work; to me, sharing my soul is what makes me addicted to writing.
What’s one fun fact about your book people should know?
Breck isn’t just a tattooed bad boy who’s an insatiable bastard; he has a heart of gold buried underneath his cocky exterior and isn’t afraid to kick some serious ass if someone messes with the ones he loves. I had a blast writing from his POV. Ash to Steele is my fourth novel, but it’s my first one written entirely in 1st person, in alternating POVs.
Did any real life experiences find their way into your book?
I’m from a very small town just a few miles from where Emma was raised in Ash to Steele, so I can relate to her struggles with the love/hate emotions behind growing up where everyone knows everything about you…or they at least think they do ;).
Aside from writing, what’s your passion?
I’ve become an advocate in the fight against human trafficking. I knew what trafficking was but not how widespread it truly is until I began writing The Rain Trilogy. During researching for Saving Rain, I became outraged and sickened by the depravity of this form of modern day slavery. I’m taking online training now so I can become a better advocate against trafficking. I strongly encourage readers to check out sites like Polaris Project and Shared Hope International to get statistics and see how amazing organizations like these are in combating human trafficking.
What’s next for you?
Currently I’m working on Feel, my first paranormal romance, and I’m loving writing Jensen and Saige’s story. You can see a sneak peek of Feel at http://www.karen-annestewart.com/Feelsneakpeek.html (18+). Feel will be live by the end of this year. Then, due to several requests, I’m thrilled to begin writing Gavin’s (sexy, badass bouncer from Ash to Steele) own story in 2015.
Thank you again for having me, and a huge thank you to the readers as well J. I love meeting readers, so please feel free to connect with me at any of the following:
Website: http://www.karen-annestewart.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6920317.Karen_Anne_Stewart
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SKarenAnne
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/SKarenAnne
Instagram: http://instagram.com/skarenanne
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