Author Interview – Page 70

July 22, 2020

Interview with Natalie Nascenzi, author of Out Of Chaos

1. Please introduce yourself so that the readers will get to know you better.

Hey there! I’m Natalie! I’m a poet, copywriter, and author living in Manhattan, New York City.

But I’m also a sunrise enthusiast, sunset chaser, word collector, ukulele player, and amateur astrophysicist. Oh, and a veggie lover, big-time science geek, and the neighborhood bird lady. (Team #feedthebirds !)

I’m a total word nerd. My love for alliteration, word play, and rhyming patterns is displayed loud and proud through my writing style. If you’re interested in “dancing with words” then you’ve found the right poet! I like to believe that a sentence is like a symphony…to which the words should dance; with each other, off of the page and around in your mind.

My goal is to inspire others, promote hope, and deliver the message: No matter what you go through, you are not alone. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel and a shoulder to lean on.

You can follow me on Instagram: @nncenzi
or reach me at nnascenzi147@gmail.com

2. What inspired you to start writing poems?

I’ve always been a writer. It’s in my bones. When I was younger I loved writing poems but somehow I fell away from it. My love for words led me to pursue a career in advertising as a copywriter, but I continued to write short stories and prose as a hobby.

Then, chaos happened. Poetry fell back in my lap. Through a series of wonderful chance encounters, I was inspired to continue writing poetry (but that whole story is in my book!) Here’s the main message everyone!! Fate always finds a way to bring you back to where you’re meant to be!!

3. What do you hope your readers take away from your book “Out Of Chaos”?

My greatest hope is that my readers are inspired to do the thing they’ve always been afraid to do. I hope they find that no matter what they go through there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There is always hope. Above all, they are not alone in any hardship they may face.

My goal is to connect with each and every reader on a personal level and deliver the message: Out of any chaos, there is change. There is hope. There is victory.

4. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

You can usually spot me wandering the streets, making friends with strangers, or writing in random spots all over New York City.

OR, I’m seeing the sun somewhere, playing my ukulele, and learning about physics. Mostly, I find places to sit around the city to read and think. I love to lay in the park and watch the clouds pass.

5. Which is your favorite poem from your book and why?

Ahh!! I like all of them for different reasons. Usually, I’ll get a random poem stuck in my head (kinda like a song!) and that will be my favorite poem for like, a week.

Right now, I have two poems stuck in my head “The Inverted City” and “The Duality of Selves”

The Inverted City is very special to me! I consider it the turning point in my entire poetic journey. The story of this poem and it’s importance is in the back of my book! So, when you read it, you’ll find out!!
Hint: It was inspired by a painting 🙂

The Duality of Selves is just stuck in my head lately. Not sure why!

6. What is your favorite Quote?

“If you remain calm in the midst of great chaos, it is the surest guarantee that it will eventually subside”
-Julie Andrews

7. What are you working on next? Are you planning to release another book soon?

Another book?Hmmm…Maybe. Who knows what’s next!!

Other than that, I’m working on a few side projects with ii Publishing! They are currently accepting submissions so if you’re interested in becoming an author, hit them up on Instagram! @iipublishing

8. Who are your favorite living poets?

My favorite poets are the ones I’ve met throughout my poetic journey. They are all exceptional writers and people!! Here are a few: Tonii (@tonii2eyes), Donavan McNeil (@macadonbk), TJ McGowan (@theeverydaybite), Kira Stephens (@Words4food) and Dara Kalima (@kaliskamera)!

9. How do you come up with the cover of your book “Out Of Chaos”?

The cover is one of my favorite stories of making Out of Chaos! Tonii, founder of ii Publishing, and I were sitting at my favorite coffee shop brainstorming ideas for a cover.

I was throwing out the CRAZIEST ideas (all of which were definitely not possible). We were having a blast laughing at all my wild ideas. Then, Tonii opened his iPad to show me some of his ideas. His background caught my eye (it was an image very similar to the cover now.) He said it was his original artwork.

In that moment, we both KNEW it was perfect.

The cover is mean to be art. That’s why there is no title! The image is an abstract interpretation of the sun over the ocean and it represents duality. It’s colorful (like me!) but it demonstrates the juxtaposition of darkness and light. Not only is this cover extremely symbolic in many other ways, it’s downright… REALLY pretty!!! So, shoutout to Tonii for his amazing art!

10. Lastly, do you want to give any advice to someone wanting to write and publish poetry?

This is my favorite thing to say to everyone:

Write.
Write.
Write.
As much as you can!!
Believe in yourself.
Don’t second guess.
Trust the process.

Don’t be discouraged by the setbacks. Any challenges and obstacles that you face will make you stronger, but only if you refuse to let them hold you back or stop you from reaching your dreams. It sounds cliche’ but trust me when I say, absolutely anything and everything you put your mind to is POSSIBLE.

ABOVE ALL, never stop writing.

July 21, 2020

Interview with author Zachary Ryan

1. Please introduce yourself so that the readers will get to know you better.

My name is Zachary Ryan. I’m a LGBT, Young Adult, Coming of Age author. I’m thirty years old, and I currently live in Chicago. I recently got married to my husband.

2. Congratulations for your recent book Silent Screams. How do you come up with names of its characters?

Thank you so much. I honestly just randomly come up with the names. I’ll be on Instagram, and I’m like I like that name, so I’m going to go with it. The only one that I was hard press was Zachary. I’ve always wanted to do a female character named Zachary, and I was like it’s my 50^th novel, so I might as well.

3. What are your favorite part and least favorite part of the publishing journey?

I think my favorite part is hearing people say how connected they get with my books. I think that is why I want to write. I try my hardest to write characters that are relatable. I think the hardest for me is when I first started out, I was writing novels that I didn’t really enjoy. People destroyed me for that. The reviews can be hard sometimes.

4. What are your hobbies apart from reading or writing?

Going out with friends or binge watching the Housewives franchise.

5. Which is your favorite season to write in and why?

My favorite season of all time is Fall. I think it’s nice to go to a coffee shop and sit outside and just write. But I also love when it’s snowing, and you have your bag full of your writing stuff. I love the romance of it all.

6. What is your favorite Quote?

“What do you plan to do with this one wild and precious life,” Mary Oliver. I might have butchered the exact wording. I discovered it in Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider.

7. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I’ve written 52 novels at this point. I have two favorites because I have two different styles of writing. Silent Screams would be one because it’s my 50^th novel, and it’s something extremely special to me. The other would be my newest novel that I just finished called Cutthroat Cheerleader. It’s super campy, and I love it.

8. How do you do research for your books?

I usually don’t do much research for my novels. I will look up people on Instagram and use them to describe my characters.

9. Can you share something your readers don’t know about you?

I’m actually a twin, and I have six brothers. Everyone always is stunned when I tell them that.

10. Lastly, who inspires you the most and why?

I think music inspires me the most. With Silent Screams, I heard this song called Prom Queen by Katie Turner, and I was instantly thinking of this novel. Music puts me in the mood to write. It makes me feel my characters, and it makes me connect with the emotions I’m going for with each chapter. My goal with one of my books is to write as the chapter names the song I listened to when I wrote the book.

Zachary Ryan Author’s Profile

July 20, 2020July 20, 2020

Interview with Author Brandon Clarke

1. Please introduce yourself so that the readers will get to know you better.

My name is Brandon Clarke and I am the author of the “Dark Mysteries of the Paranormal” series. I live in the United States of America, and I really enjoy writing, being creative and I also cosplay.

2. When did you first realize you wanted to be an author?

I first realized I wanted to be an author when I knew I had a story to tell. Doing cosplay I would often invent original characters that came from the imagination of my mind. I would create a back story for them. One day when I was reading a steven king novel it clicked in my head that I wanted to tell my own story and create a novel and since then I have had a blast doing so..

3. From where did you have the idea/inspiration to write “Dark Mysteries of the Paranormal Saga”? Do you believe in ghosts?

I got the ideas from when I cosplay and since childhood I have always been a big fan of the horror and supernatural genre. I loved Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, ghost face and shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ghost whisperer. Also yes I do believe in ghost. There is definitely forces beyond this world that we don’t really know much about and so I absolutely believe in ghost.

4. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

When I am not writing I am hanging out with friends, I love going to the movies, going out to eat and love cosplaying.

5. What is the most difficult part of your journey as an author?

The most difficult part of my journey is since I am an independent author everything falls on my shoulders. Creating advertisements so that my books can be seen is a lot of money and work. Its sometimes discouraging when you feel like your not moving forward as an author because no one is buying your books. I try to keep a positive mindset and believe that this will pan out for me and I will get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

6. What is your favorite Quote?

“Never invest in someone who doesn’t have as much to lose as you do.”

7. What are you working on next? Are you planning to release another book soon?

Yes I am currently working on my third novel called “The Rainbow Dimension” Its the third installment of “Dark Mysteries of the Paranormal” I want to say I can have it released in the next month or so. But I don’t want to rush because there is no need for rushing. I have the option of taking my time with it and adding things to the story to making it better. But the book has been finished its just needs a little extra care. I also finished the fourth installment of the series called Atlas and his Amazing Wonders. I have been working on both and will try to get it done before the end of the year.

8. What do you hope your readers take away from your books?

I hope they love the characters, I hope they can see that stories can be told from different narratives and perspectives. As a member of the Black LGBTQ community I feel like our perspective in never shown as often and I want to prove that you can have a gay character as the focus of the story and the story can still be amazing and riveting. We don’t have enough characters of color and part of the LGBTQ community who are witches or mermaids or werewolves. I mean have shows like chilling adventures of sabrina where the character ambrose is not only black like me but he is also bisexual. I love that. I feel like we need more characters that show different walks of life. And that is what I am going to strive for in all of my books. Diversity and representation for the ones who are left in the shadows.

9. Do you read or write daily?

I don’t necessarily read daily. The last book I read was Stephen kings “The outsider” I really enjoyed that book and the tv series. I write most days because I am writing a ten book series. So that keeps me pretty busy.

10. Lastly, do you want to give any advice to readers and aspiring writers?

I think the only advice I can think of is write what you are passionate about. There is an audience for everything and when you write about things that spark your flame the writing comes out better and you just have fun doing it .

Books by Brandon Clarke:

The brave and the wicked

The ghost of kyle sugarbaker