SAM Magazine

Brian Richmond, a U.K. promoter of indie authors, and I have a virtual coffee and catch up on what's new on his website Home (bluedevilbooks.com), and what's new in my life as an indie author and podcaster. We discuss traditional publishers and how today's indie author is learning to do everything, including book trailers in particular, my book trailer of The Unravelling. Brian and I share our proudest moments, the pros and cons of social media, and learning about marketing. I recap about some of the authors I've had on the podcast from Canada and abroad, and Brian and I agree, location has nothing to do with a good book. Erase the borders and it all comes down to good storytelling.

Ana Warner's two novels, The Soul Contract and The Soul Union are fictional stories to teach about the important lessons about love. Ana was born in Bucharest, Romania. In her early years she was raised in West Africa and immigrated to Saskatchewan as a teenager, where she received a Bachelor of Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. Ana began writing poetry, short stories and lyrics to music at the age of eleven. As she grew older, her quest to understand who people are and why they behave the way they do lead her to educate herself in Astrology.  We have a good conversation about self-respect, toxic reality and expectations in a relationships. I also learn about the twin-flames journey.

Benny Sims is a fan of Lee Child's, Jack Reacher series. He's worked with the aerospace industry making windows for the President's Air Force One. Benny has always liked storytelling. He can trace that fondness to reading Jack London’s The Call of the Wild when he was in second grade and listening to his great uncle tell war stories from his time as an artillery cannoneer in North Africa and Italy during WW II.

Benny was born and grew up in middle Tennessee, but his family moved to Benton, Illinois. It was there that his teachers noticed his aptitude for writing and encouraged him to pursue it. He attended college at Murray State University in Kentucky where he studied journalism. After college, he landed a job as sports writer and editor with a small newspaper near his hometown. 

Benny and I have a great conversation. We talk about his really good prologue which didn't make it into the book and why (YouTube link below), as well as Lee Child's writing style of two steps forward and one step back. I learned about the Fairness Doctrine. Have you heard of a pitch party on Twitter? You will today. And Benny surprised me when I found out when he wrote Code Gray, his debut novel. Benny writes like a seasoned author with multiple novels under his belt.

⁠Prologue for CODE GRAY Book Reading with Author Benny Sims - YouTube⁠

⁠Code Gray Book Trailer - YouTube⁠

⁠Benny Sims, Author | Books | Series | Interview | Deals | Newsletter | Contact | Site | AllAuthor

"When the rubber meets the road," Elgon Williams. It was a trip down memory lane talking with Elgon Williams about his novel, Becoming Thuperman, the first in his Thuperman series. His middle-grade reader novel takes the reader to simpler times, in fact 1988, through the eyes of Will, his 8-year old protagonist. I enjoyed interviewing Elgon as I virtually jumped across the border to Las Vegas to chat with this Science Fiction, Fantasy and Mystery author. Elgon was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio. He grew up on a farm in southeastern Clark County near the town of South Charleston. He’s a graduate of Purdue University, The University of Texas, and the Defense Language Institute. We talked books, piano, karate, life choices and even a little about the Vietnam War. 

https://elgonwilliams.com/

Multi-published author and Ellery Queen author, K.L. Abrahamson is in the dressing room. On Karen’s website, the visitor is greeted with these words, “Writing at the dangerous ends of the earth; The various incarnations of Karen L. Abrahamson.” Karen writes, mystery, fantasy, and romance. She is also a prolific short story author and her stories have appeared in numerous anthologies.  Karen has worked as a special constable, a correctional officer, a probation officer and ESL instructor. She has travelled to East and West Africa, Burma, China, Northern India, and Peru. We talk about stepping out onto the ledge when writing, real camping, and her thrilling and breath-taking novel, Through Dark Water. We had a great discussion even after being podcast-bombed by Shiva and Ozzy.

⁠Writing at the dangerous ends of the earth – The various Incarnations of Author Karen L. Abrahamson (karenlabrahamson.com)⁠

⁠Karen L. Abrahamson | Facebook

Alisha Sevigny is an author of Young Adult, Middle Grade and Children’s Books. She is a literary consultant for those seeking assistance in writing and publishing their novel. She holds a degree in Professional Writing and Sociology from the University of Victoria, is a film school graduate, former literary agent and yoga teacher. She is passionate about Ancient Civilizations and her new middle-grade series Secrets of the Sands launched in 2020 with The Lost Scroll of the Physician and is followed by The Desert Prince. No matter what your age, this is a thrilling series for any lover of Ancient Egypt, mystery and adventure.

⁠Alisha Sevigny⁠ ⁠alisha sevigny (@alishasevigny) / Twitter⁠ ⁠(2) Alisha Sevigny, Author | Facebook

Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga leads the Digital and Content portfolio, weaving in the contractual  sponsorship assets from the sports and entertainment properties in the Rakuten portfolio.  Prior to Rakuten, she worked for ASICS in Sponsorship Activation, Sports Marketing, and PR roles at the Global Headquarter (Kobe, Japan) and Scandinavian office in Stockholm, Sweden.  She also worked as a Tokyo based BBC World Service freelance reporter. Vanessa holds a  Master’s Degree in "Olympic Studies, Olympic Education, Organization and Management of  Olympic Events" from the International Olympic Academy and a BA Journalism from City  University, London. She has run 6 marathons.

Vanessa is also an author. She published her  debut novel in Swedish on International Women’s Day 2020, and had it translated into English. Forget-me-not Forever is available on Kobo as an eBook. Join Vanessa and I as we talk about translations, Frankensteining-sections of text, using the New York marathon as a metaphor for life and why Vanessa is constantly receiving pancake emojis. 

⁠Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga - Senior Manager | Global Sports Digital Strategy - Rakuten | LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Vanessa Åsell Tsuruga | Facebook

International Amazon Bestselling author, S.M. (Shoshona) Freedman, joins me in the dressing room. Her debut novel The Faithful was selected by Suspense Magazine as a "Best Debut of 2015." The sequel, Impact Winter, was published in 2016. Shoshona and I talk about writing what we fear, nightmares, keeping the intensity and keeping the story human. Shoshona acknowledges "working" to write the perfect narrative paragraph, and she jokes about the original title for her standalone thriller The Day She Died, a novel I could not put down. We delve into Judaism and Catholicism.

Shoshona is currently working on the third and final instalment in The Faithful Series. Her standalone psychological thriller novel, The Day She Died, published by Dundurn Press, is being released April 27. Signed copies of The Day She Died is available through Book Warehouse. Shoshona is a proud member of the Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. At my urging, Shoshona shares what it was like to watch the sun set on a rooftop in New York City during Thrillerfest. ⁠S.M.F (smfreedman.com)⁠ 

Crime Wave is the  Canada West anthology published by the Sisters in Crime - CW chapter. It features K.L. Abrahamson, J.E. Barnard, Alice Bienia, Marcelle Dubè, Debra Henry, Winona Kent, Charlotte Morganti and Merrilee Robson. Melodie Campbell writes the Foreword in this collection explaining why crime has always been a woman's genre, and each of these talented authors joins me in the dressing room. I learned a lot such as retro-fitting a story, skiing 10 kilometres in -20 degrees in the Yukon, working from a 3-act structure, the snowflake method of plotting and there's even some Shakespeare. As much as these authors are dedicated and serious about their craft, they are also incredibly funny.  Thank you Sisters in Crime - CW for joining me in the dressing room. We have to do this again in person. Cheers.

As a child Judy Toews published the neighbourhood news at $0.25 a pop, then she was the editor of two school newspapers. Her first novel, Give Out Creek, was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Unpublished Crime Novel and the 2019 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery novel. Her protagonist, Stella Mosconi, is a newspaper reporter, and we discuss Judy's second novel in the Stella Mosconi series, Lucky Jack Road.

Judy used to work as a nutritionist. She has a love for science and forensic work. Judy shares a few good resources, such as ⁠Howdunit Forensics: A Guide for Writers⁠, written by D.P. Lyle. To learn more about Judy check out her website ⁠https://www.jgtoews.com⁠