Interview with Jordan Maxwell

1. Jordan Maxwell, What is/are the title(s) of your book(s)? * * My first novel is titled “Dandyflowers”. My second, which continues the story, is called “Dandyflowers – Laura’s Diaries”. *********** *

************* 2. What is your genre and why did you choose to write in this genre? ************* * My books tend to cross over a couple of genres; those being Young Adult and Romance. I write for these two genres because they are the most popular and have the biggest audience. I also write in these styles because I have to children; a daughter and a son, who are both “readers”. I want to have stories available to them that I would approve of. *************** * 3. Is there a particular message you wish to transfer to your readers? ************* * The “Dandyflowers” series; I am writing the third and final book in the series right now, has one core message that is: Love the ones you love with all you have all the time because you never know when your last goodbye will truly be your last goodbye. ************ * 4. Did you find yourself researching information during the writing process? * ************* Absolutely! The majority of my books take place between August 1962 and August 1969 and a lot of well known events took place during that time period i.e. John Glenn orbiting the earth, the Kennedy assassination, Bobby Kennedy’s murder, Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, the Apollo 11 moon landing etc. To include these in the story line I had to do quite a bit of research to make certain I was being accurate. One of the hardest things I had to do was find the name of the man who did the countdown for Apollo 11; it took me weeks to find out his name. By the way, his name is Jack King and as of the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing he was still alive and well!! ************** * 5. Do you see yourself writing other types of books in the future? * ************** I am planning on writing a book about the Holocaust which has so much potential. I’m not sure what direction it will take, but we shall see. I have already adapted my first book into a stage play; that was an interesting process and quite a bit of fun too! * *************** The script with limited production rights is available to any non-profit i.e. high school, college or community theater group at no charge; details can be found at: www.dandyflowers .com * *************** 6. Do you speak to groups? If so, do you enjoy it? * *************** I have spoken to book clubs and groups such as that. I do enjoy it, but being in front of groups of people is an easy thing for me to do. My “day job” is a paramedic, but I am no longer on an ambulance every day. Instead, I teach the continuing education for about 1,500 EMTs and paramedics in the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department. If I can make it through that boisterous group, I can make it through anything! * *************** 7. What have you found surprising since becoming a published author? Just how much fun book signings can be; how much of an upper it is when someone tells you how much they loved reading the books! * *************** 8. Can you describe the day that you saw the first book you authored in your hands? * *************** I really do not recall the day I got the first copy of my first book, but I do remember with great clarity the day my kids saw it for the first time in Barnes & Noble. It was January 27, 2007 at 1:32 pm; I know this because I still have the picture I took on my cell phone that is time / date stamped. * *************** I knew ”Dandyflowers” was on the shelf so I slowly headed towards the aisle where it was and waited to see if my kids would notice it; they were oblivious. I finally put my hand on the shelf immediately underneath the book and drummed my fingers (yes, I’m subtle) when my then nine year old daughter finally saw it and pointed it out to my then six year old son. That day I got the best compliment from my kids. They said as they were holding a copy, “Daddy, we’re proud of you!” I will tell you I walked quite a bit taller the rest of that day! * **************** 9. Is there any particular thing that you wish you had known before getting the book in your hands? * **************** I wish I had known about vanity vs. traditional publishing. Knowing the difference would have saved me quite a bit of frustration and three to five years of lackluster results. * *************** 10. What was your favorite childhood toy? * *************** That is tough. I had a lot of toys that I enjoyed playing with while growing up. If I have to pick just one I’ll pick my snow sled. It’s about four feet long and has metal runners. It would scream down hills especially after you waxed the runners. It is nearly forty years old now and I still have it. I wish we would have had a good “sled snow” this past winter, my kids love riding on it almost as much as I did!

Interview with Warren Martin

This is an interview with author, Warren Martin 1. How long have you been an author and when did the desire to write (the writing bug) bite? I’ve been a published author just a short period of time with the release of my first book in May 2012. My interest was sparked about five years ago by chance when my son asked me to read something he was writing and it got me thinking about writing. I probably caught the bug to write when I was a kid living in New York City back in the early 1970’s watching shows like Mission Impossible. I got a typewriter, an instruction book and taught myself to type. I then started to write scripts for Mission Impossible and other shows as a hobby, although at that time I didn’t pursue it any further other than just writing. Over the years since living in New York I’ve had many ideas for books and movies and my wife Debbie believed my ideas were great and always encouraged me to start writing. 2. Why did you choose the genre you write in? Are there plans to write in another genre? I joined the Army in 1976 and served 21-years, retiring in 1996. The experiences I gained during my time in the Army has contributed a great deal to the knowledge I’ve gained and provides an excellent source for material. While in the Army I was in the Infantry, Military Police and Special Forces, all of which has provided me with a broad range experience that I can apply to writing in both the military and crime related genres. 3. Please tell about each title here: My first book is a fiction titled “Forgotten Soldiers: What Happened to Jacob Walden.” Although a war related subject, I consider the book to be more of a cold war mystery centering on an Air Force Captain shot down in Vietnam in 1970. I chose Forgotten Soldiers as a title because I felt it appropriate for the plot of the story that develops into a mystery of what happened to Jacob Walden. A hidden message in the book is to create awareness of the Cold War era and those who served during that period. 4. Do you do speaking engagements? Tell about your subject matter. I am available for speaking engagement and my current subject is the Cold War. Through the almost 40 year time span in my book I interject some Cold War events as they related to characters within the story. My intent for a speaking engagement is to provide a short review of the Cold War while interjecting the extreme seriousness of the period and sacrifices made by people who served. Each generation has a tendency to forget the past generations sacrifices and I would hope to share some knowledge that may instill upon anyone interested how important it is to learn from the lessons of history while remembering those who have seemingly been forgotten. 5. What has been your most rewarding experience as an author? So far the most rewarding experience has been getting the first book in the mail. But better than that was a few weeks later getting my first two customer responses within a few days of each other in which both said they couldn’t put the book down and read it in one night…now that was moment. 6. Where can your books be purchased? My book can be purchased direct from me through my website. On my website there are also links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, and the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA). 7. How can readers reach you through twitter? through facebook? through your blog? through your website? I can be easily reached through an e-mail link on my website, on my blog, and on my Facebook page and also the Forgotten Soldiers Facebook page. 8. What was your biggest surprise at being an author? There were lots of surprises and I am still getting them every week, but I have to say the most unexpected was the support, closeness and general overall generosity and extensions of friendships from within the writing community. I was truly surprised with the genuine willingness of author and publishing related individuals and professionals to share their experience, knowledge and friendship. 9. What is your favorite hobby besides reading and writing? While it may not be considered a hobby by some, my work, participation and support of fraternal organizations that I am a member of is like a hobby to me. I’m chapter secretary of our local Chapter of the Special Forces Association and also a member of the American Legion and both organizations are very active in supporting charitable and services activities. Our Special Forces Chapter conducts an annual fund raiser event every August which has developed into a very worthwhile part of my life. We were fortunate this year to be given access to the Washington Missouri Fair for our event and are looking forward to a successful event. Green Beret Casualty Fund Benefit: https://www.facebook.com/GreenBeretCasualtyFundBenefit