Author Profile: Lindsey Kelk

Author Name: Lindsey Kelk

Website: http://www.iheartnewyork.co.uk/lindseykelk

Bio: Lindsey Kelk is a British writer and children’s book editor. When she isn’t writing, reading, listening to music or watching more TV than is healthy, Lindsey likes to wear shoes, shop for shoes and judge the shoes of others. She loves living in New York but misses Sherbert Fountains, London and drinking Gin & Elderflower cocktails with her friends. Not necessarily in that order..

Titles: I Heart Hollywood, I Heart Paris, and I Heart New York

Bio Retrieved from Iheartnewyork.co.uk

Author Profile: Tilly Bagshawe

Author Name: Tilly Bagshawe

Website: http://www.tillybagshawe.com/index.php

Bio: Tilly Bagshawe upset the nuns at her catholic girls’ boarding school by getting pregnant unexpectedly at seventeen. Expelled but undaunted, she gave birth to a beautiful daughter alone and went on to Cambridge University as a single mom, taking her baby with her. Tilly had a successful career in finance before fulfilling her dream of becoming a writer. Now married with two more children, she lives in Los Angeles and London. In addition to her bestselling novels, Tilly has contributed to numerous British newspapers and magazines including Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Elle, The Sunday Times, The Times and The Daily Mail.

Titles: Showdown, Adored, Do No Disturb, Scandalous, Flawless. She also has two titles published under Sidney Sheldon: Mistress of the Game, and After the Darkness.

Author Profile: Tonya Plank

Name: Tonya Plank

Website: http://www.tonyaplank.com/

Bio: Tonya Plank was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She has a B.A. in English and Political Science from the University of Arizona, an M.A. in History from Brown University, and a J.D. from Rutgers Law School at Newark. She worked as an appellate public defender in New York City for many years. While practicing law full-time, she wrote her first novel (Swallow), which was published in December 2009. Swallow, an Amazon best-seller in legal fiction, received several awards, including a gold medal for best regional fiction in the 2010 Independent Publisher Awards (IPPYs), the gold medal for women’s fiction in the 2010 Living Now Book Awards, and was a finalist in the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards and the National Indie Excellence Awards. A former competitive ballroom dancer and a longtime balletomane, Tonya writes a dance blog, Swan Lake Samba Girl, which has been lauded by James Wolcott of Vanity Fair and Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal, and has been cited in those publications as well as the New York Times Arts Beat blog, the Washington Post, and CNN.com. The blog won a 2007 award from the Public Defender Network for best blog by a public defender that has nothing to do with the job. She also writes for the Huffington Post and several dance publications.

Currently: Tonya lives in New York and is working on her second novel, an urban / legal drama about a group of young men who witness a shooting from various perspectives.

Author Profile: Marla Martenson

Name: Marla Martenson

Website: http://www.marlamartenson.com/

Bio: Marla Martenson was born in Tacoma, Washington, the “City of Destiny.”  She has a natural flair for acting and a deep interest in reading and writing poetry and short stories. At the age of sixteen, Marla was living in Iran with her family, learning to speak French and Persian, when the revolution forced their return to Washington State. After a year of college there, the pursuit of an acting career drew her to Hollywood and a stint in television commercials and print modeling.

Restless and eager for new challenges, in the early nineties it was on to Chicago, where she discovered that she could use her personal dating experiences to help others. She subsequently turned this talent into a career as a matchmaker back in Los Angeles, where, since 2001, her skills have led many couples to matrimony. Marla’s work inspires people and gives them hope that they can find their soul mates. She found and married her own, musician and composer Adolfo Jon Alexi, in Mexico City in 2002. A world traveler and culture nut, Marla describes herself as having a French flair, a Persian heart, Italian fire, and Mexican taste buds!

Currently, Marla writes for such online publications as www.naomishow.com, (www.abfabwomen.com) and Examiner (www.examiner.com). She was named the “Over 40 Female of the Week” in February, 2010, for Over40Females.com. She is also a correspondent for World Wide Good News.

Currently: Marla and Adolfo reside in blissful harmony in Los Angeles, where she continues to bring her considerable matchmaking expertise to bear on the single population of star-studded Southern California while her talented husband serenades them with his own songs and music.

Titles: Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate Is Waiting, Good Date, Bad Date, and Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker.

Bio Retrieved from Marlamartenson.com

Author Profile: Rosy Thornton

Author Name: Rosy Thornton

Website: http://rosythornton.com/

Bio: Rosy is an author of contemporary fiction, published by Headline Review. Her novels could perhaps be described as romantic comedy with a touch of satire – or possibly social satire with a hint of romance. In real life she lectures in Law at the University of Cambridge, where she is a Fellow of Emmanuel College. She shares her home with her partner, two daughters and two lunatic spaniels.

Titles: Hearts and Minds, More Than Love Letters, Crossed Wires, and The Tapestry of Love.

Author Profile: Mary McNamara

Author Name: Mary McNamara

Website: http://www.regal-literary.com/client_sites/marymcnamara/index.html

Bio: Mary was born in the suburbs of Baltimore, but spent most of her childhood growing up in the rural town of Westminster. Knowing she always wanted to write, Mary attended the University of Missouri, majoring in journalism with a minor in women’s studies. She worked for Ms. Magazine for a few years before moving to Knoxville, Tennessee and working for a communications company, then moved to Los Angeles to write for the LA Times.

Currently: Mary currently works as a television critic for the LA Times, along with working on her fiction novels.

Titles: Oscar Season and The Starlet.

Author Profile: Robert Rave

Getting his start as a New York publicist working at one of the city’s most renowned firms, Robert Rave takes his behind-the-scenes view of the world of high-society and celebrity elite to set the stage for his light-hearted, witty literary adventures.

In his first novel, Spin, Rave chronicled the life of Taylor Green – a young corn fed publicist trying to make a name for himself in the cut-throat world of high-stakes PR.  As Taylor finds himself in increasingly bizarre yet hilarious situations for the sake of his job, he is forced to weigh the fame and fortune he seeks against his own character and moral code.  Dubbed “a Devil Wear’s Prada for straight guys” by Entertainment Weekly, Spin was acclaimed by critics as a must-have summer beach read, and established Rave as one-to-watch on the “chick-lit” scene.

On August 3^rd Rave will release Waxed, an equally titillating novel which follows the Impresario sisters who run New York’s hottest waxing salon.  Against the backdrop of this sexy yet taboo vocation, Rave tells a textured story of the three women as they struggle with relationships and strive for personal fulfillment. With equal parts wit, wisdom and humor, Rave layers in charming cameos by the many women (and men) who visit the salon, to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable read.  Rave also launched www.youvebeenwaxed.com, a companion website to the novel.  The site serves as a meeting place for women and men to share their often funny, and sometimes painful anecdotes of personal grooming.

Rave, recently named a Forty Under Forty by The Advocate, is also a regular contributor to the The Huffington Post.  Rave currently resides in Los Angeles with his two French Bulldogs, Stanley and Freddy.

Bio written by Robert Rave

Author Profile: Susan McBride

Author Name: Susan McBride

Website: http://susanmcbride.com/index.shtml

Bio: Susan McBride is the author of THE COUGAR CLUB, a stand-alone novel about three forty-something friends who discover you’re never too old to follow your heart (HarperCollins/Avon, 02/10). Selected by Target Stores as a Bookmarked Breakout Title, COUGAR was also named a Midwest Connections Pick by Midwest Booksellers and was on MORE Magazine’s list of “February Books We’re Buzzing About.” Susan has also penned five Debutante Dropout Mysteries for HC/Avon: BLUE BLOOD, THE GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, THE LONE STAR LONELY HEARTS CLUB, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB, and TOO PRETTY TO DIE. In addition, she’s written several young adult novels for Random House, including THE DEBS; LOVE, LIES, AND TEXAS DIPS; and GLOVES OFF. Once called “The Lou’s Whodunit Queen” by Sauce Magazine in St. Louis, Susan was named one of the city’s “top singles” in 2005 by St. Louis Magazine but tied the knot in late February of 2008. Susan was the cover girl for the February 2009 issue of St. Louis Woman Magazine, where she was featured in the article, “Paperback Princess.” A breast cancer survivor, Susan often speaks to local women’s groups about her experience. Susan has won a Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery, a Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Amateur Sleuth Mystery, was twice nominated for Anthony Awards for Best Paperback Original, and was one of three finalists for the William Rockhill Nelson Award for Literary Excellence (for Kansas and Missouri Authors).

Currently: Susan currently lives in Brentwood, MO, with her husband.

Titles: The Cougar Club, Blue Blood, The Good Girls’ Guide to Murder, The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club, Night of the Living Deb, Too Pretty to Die.

Guest Post from Author Fleur McDonald

Author Fleur McDonald took the time to answer some common questions published writers are asked. Fleur has two published novels  Blue Skies and Red Dust. Please check out Fleur’s website for more information on her writings and more tips for writers.

How were  you able to get published?

About five years ago, I decided I wanted to write a book that I would like to read. Without too much thought, I decided on the topic of stock stealing. I still don’t know why I thought of it, particularly at a time when I was completely sleep deprived with two littlies, but I thought I could develop intrigue and mystery around this subject.

I set about writing. Once I had written five chapters, I asked a friend to read it to see if it was any good. I also sent it to my writing mentor for his opinion. The responses were brilliant and overwhelmed me. I decided I needed to keep writing.

Patience has never been my strong point! When I had written about a third of the story, I thought I’d try Allen and Unwin publisher’s ‘Friday Pitch’. This offers first-time authors a chance to have their first chapter and a synopsis read and considered by its publisher Louise Thurtell. I wanted to know what she thought about it—never mind finishing the manuscript!

Her response was just as encouraging as others I had received, although it wasn’t what she was looking for at that time and she encouraged me to try another publisher. I didn’t want to now I had established contact with Louise. So I waited about a year, tweaked it a bit more, and resent it—but I did little work on finishing the manuscript.

Suddenly, not only was there was a phone call saying ‘Yes! We want your manuscript!’, there was a contract and … an unfinished manuscript!

I got to work quick smart and finished the rest of the story in about six-months.

My journey to get to this point has been amazing. It blows me away whenever I think about it. I don’t have any writing qualifications or experience in writing for publishers. I just wrote the book I wanted to read. From that, I was picked up from the ‘slush pile’, handed a contract, now have two books published with another two book deal  and have also sold the rights for both Red Dust and Blue Skies to Germany. (Red Dust has already been released there with Blue Skies due out next year.)

Has anything in general surprised you since becoming an author?

Hm, not sure. I didn’t really know enough about the industry when I first started, to be surprised by anything. I just went with the flow and did what ever I was told to do!

I guess the response to my books has been surprising and very overwhelming. Red Dust flew off the shelves as did Blue Skies, but that may be more because there is a hunger for Australian stories than anything else.

I also love the way that Allen and Unwin are as passionate about my books as I am – I’m not sure if I’m surprised by that or just grateful!
How many times were you rejected before finding your agent?

I haven’t actually ever been rejected by an agent, when I was submitting my fiction novels. I got my first two books published without an agent, but Gaby Naher, from the Naher Agency is now my wonderful, patient and calming agent and negotiated my two book deal.

I was rejected by plenty when I was pitching my children picture books.

One thing I will  point out here – it’s harder to get an agent once you are published. Most people think it wouldn’t be the case, but it is. My publisher introduced me to both Curtis and Brown and Gaby Naher. Curtis and Brown wouldn’t take me on, because they had a similar client and because I had already negotiated two books. Just something to be aware of.

How long does it take you to finish writing a novel?

About a year – I diddle around for the first part – don’t do much, just think a lot, write lots of notes and then when I realise I’ve only got about six months before it’s due, get really stuck in and write. I usually have enough ideas and thoughts to be able to do that.

What gave you the drive and motivation to write a book and push to get it published?

Well, I never really started out with the thought that I would try and get published. I started to write a book that I would like to read and then, it was one of my friends who thought I should try.

I started researching the industry and submitted for the ASA Mentorship program, but didn’t get anywhere there. I don’t like failing so that was probably my turning point!

Author Profile: Suzanne Beecher

Author Name: Suzanne Beecher

Bio: I did not go to college, but I have 1 1/2 years of auto mechanics in a trade school. Brakes jobs are my specialty. I’ve owned a restaurant. I founded and published a business magazine, “In Business” in Madison, Wisconsin. The magazine is still being published. In my mind, some of my greatest achievements are: a nonprofit program, “Meals For Madison, that I founded to feed the homeless in Madison; homeschooling our youngest son, from fourth grade through high school; and still being best friends and in love with my husband after 27 years. I write a daily column, (290,000 people read with me online every day), I design book clubs for publishers, booksellers and libraries across the country. And I speak to groups every chance I get because I love to tell a great story. When I tell people about my life, listing all the things I have done and the troubles I have seen, they are amazed. I have four children, two grandchildren and a wonderful husband who said he married me because he knew his life would never be dull. I don’t intend to let him down. I’m on the ride of my life.

I invite you to sign up and read with me at www.DearReader.com.

Titles: Muffins and Mayhem

Bio Written by Suzanne Beecher

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