Meet Multitalented Author, Michelle Matkins

Today I’m thrilled to be interviewing the wonderful author, Michelle Matkins. First Michelle, could you tell us about your books?

Hi Katheryn!  I’m so excited to be interviewed on your blog. So far, I have written 13 books. Under the name Michelle Ann Hollstein, I’ve written a fantasy trilogy; The Niberia Chronicles, and a cozy mystery series; The Ms. Aggie Underhill Mysteries. I also have a brand new YA Paranormal series; A Lost Souls Novel, written under the name Michelle Matkins.

Why did you become an author?

Honestly, I was bored at work. I know, sounds silly. I was working as an administrative assistant for many years and when I’d finish all of my work, I’d get bored. Most people within the company played Solitaire or surfed the net, but I decided to utilize my time with writing. I couldn’t just open a book at my desk and read like I wanted to, so I figured I’d write my own book instead. When I finished writing the 1^st one, I couldn’t stop. I was completely hooked. I couldn’t wait to get started writing the 2^nd book.

Meet author Liam Taylor

I haven't had the chance (or the time!) to do an author interview for a while now, but today it's great to welcome Liam Taylor, author of The Shard Chronicles. First, can I ask what your book is about?

It’s about the life of Austin Cooper, a boy growing up in present-day Colorado. Loved and respected by his family and friends, he’s keeping a terrible, disheartening secret from them all. He’s not like everyone else. He has a unique ability that ensures his role as future protector of a powerful object, an object in the ownership of a man, the only other human like him. An object with a true origin lost over the span of time. An object that wants him dead.

After a troubling incident involving Austin, the man departs, searching for answers, and leaving the boy to deal with a new set of problems. He’s displaying more abilities... impossible without possession of the object... and the worst one yet, the school bully, intent on destroying the one person capable of stopping his vicious deeds.

Why I Love Strong Female Characters by James West

Today I'm doing a blog swap with author James West. I'm over at his place, at http://jamesawest.blogspot.com eating chips and salsa,and talking about sheikh romances, while he's kindly agreed to come over here to talk about why he loves strong female characters (as do I!) and eat some local flat bread, olives and hummous and maybe even a bit of camel's hump? Over to you James! 
  
First, I want to thank Katheryn for inviting me to guest post on her fantastic blog! It’s so nice to be here.

I knew right away I wanted to talk about strong female characters, a topic that has been on my mind as I work on my new novel. I will apologize for the shameless plugs right up front, because I will mention some of my work in this post :)

I come across this subject occasionally when I am on Goodreads, KindleBoards, etc. Like with most things, people seem to be split down the middle on what they prefer.

Fantasy, Faeries and Magic. Meet Rosemary Lynch

I am very pleased to welcome author, Rosemary Lynch, who has kindly agreed to tell me all about her wonderful books and what inspired them. Over to you Rosemary!

I have always loved fantasy, and right from an early age, faeries and magic have held a special place in my heart. As a child, I spent a lot of time reading in my favourite apple tree at the bottom of the Garden, and creating magical worlds and stories of my own. I have always tinkered with writing; when my girls were young, I wrote farm animal stories for them based on their ‘pets’ which lived on my mum and stepfather’s smallholding, and a few faery stories as well.

Courage and Invisibility

I love having guest writers here and today it’s wonderful to welcome Catherine Kirby, the very talented author of Sari Caste and See Through. Over to you Catherine!

I'm honoured to be invited to contribute to your blog Katheryn, thank you. I hope your readers will enjoy this piece about my books and a little about myself.

I spent a great deal of my early life moving around the country. My parents seemed unable to settle anywhere for long. I've had experience of living in a variety of places and of meeting a good variety of people. All of this helps with creating characters. The experience helped me observe differences in communities and how a place can affect the people who live there and vice versa.