Inside Scoop Live!

Writing started for Gary D. McGugan after a 40-year career in the world of business. He’s worked in supermarkets, sold appliances, distributed motorcycles, launched an automobile dealer network, and provided financing to help businesses grow. Every industry was very different from the other. Each company had a distinctive culture and character, but all were units of large corporations with operations around the globe.
Travel has always been a large component of his business roles and he’s now visited more than 650 towns and cities in more than fifty countries for either business or leisure.
Experts say we should write about things we know best. In Gary’s case, those subjects are business, travel, and people. As an author, his goal is to entertain readers around the world — one at a time.
Topics of Conversation:
Technology, organized crime, and other inspirations for a novel of intrigue
Female protagonists in fiction and writing from the perspective of the opposite gender
Killing off his characters
The influence Gary's worldly travels have on his writing
Exploring options outside fiction and what's next
 
A Web of Deceit
Fate, misfortune and opportunity entangle three rivals in a quick-paced suspense thriller. It's a jet-setting, exhilarating trek across five different continents where the risks can be fatal but the payouts oh-so-rewarding.
Connect with Gary McGugan!
Website:  https://www.garydmcguganbooks.comFacebook:  @gary.d.mcgugan.booksTwitter: @GaryDMcGuganInstagram: @authorgarydmcgugan 
Read our review of A Web of Deceit

Award-winning author Christian de la Huerta is an acclaimed speaker at various settings, including universities, conferences, corporate training, spiritual communities and the TedX stage. Audiences find Christian's message particularly relevant in these times. Christian also practices as a spiritual coach and a leadership development consultant whose work ranges from individuals and couples in private practice to major corporations and non-profit groups.
Topics of Conversation:
What is the Soul of Power?
Why women's empowerment is so important in the world today.
What are the different types of power?
How do we take back our power?
Deepening your experience
Awakening the Soul of Power, the first book in the Calling All Heroes series, rethinks what heroism means in the 21st century and reveals practical tools to help you embark on a journey to personal freedom. If you long for healthier relationships and a life filled with meaning and purpose, this book holds the keys to unlocking the secrets of personal empowerment and unleashing your inner hero.
Awakening the Soul of Power focuses on personal empowerment because the way you embody, express and relate to power impacts every area of your life.
If you long for healthier relationships and a life filled with meaning and purpose, this book holds the keys to getting what you want. 
CONNECT WITH CHRISTIAN DE LA HUERTA!
SoulfulPower.com
Unleash Your Inner Hero Facebook Group
Instagram
Soulful Power You Tube Channel

BRITT EAST is an author and speaker who uses his experience, strength, and hope to challenge and inspire change-oriented gay men to get down to the business of improving their lives. With over two decades of personal growth and development experience in a variety of modalities, such as the 12 Steps, Nonviolent Communication, yoga, meditation, talk therapy, and the Hoffman Process, Britt is committed to building a personal practice of self-discovery that he can then share with gay men everywhere. He lives in Seattle with his husband and their crazy dog.
Topics of Conversation
Using his experiences to establish a platform to help others 
Britt's personal experience growing up gay in the South
Using "A Gay Man's Guide to Life" for personal transformation
Coming from a place of service for personal growth
Realizing your full potential
and more...
A GAY MAN'S GUIDE TO LIFE presents an approachable, no-nonsense path for gay men, to set down the excuses and get to the business of improving their lives. No new-age mumbo jumbo or wishy washy self-help jargon. Just real work focused on real results to unleash our true selves and unlock our best lives.
CONNECT WITH BRITT EAST!
Website: https://www.britteast.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brittdawsoneast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/britteast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britteast/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTGeWrvrfCAlq4oUPiEBTHQ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/britteast/
eMail: info@britteast.com
 
 

As an attorney and civil justice advocate, author Mark M. Bello draws upon over 40 years of courtroom experience in his Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series.
A Michigan native, Mark received his B.A. in English Literature from Oakland University and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. After working extremely high profile legal cases, Mark wanted to give the public a front-row glimpse of what victims face when standing up for justice.
Combining his legal experience and passion for justice with a creative writing style, Mark not only brings high-quality legal services to his clients but captivating novels to his readers.
When Mark’s not writing legal and political novels, he writes and posts about fairness and justice in the civil justice system on his website, Legal Examiner and Injury Board. In his spare time, Mark enjoys traveling and spending time with his family. Mark and his wife, Tobye, have four children and 8 grandchildren.
 
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
Drawing inspiration from today's headlines
Social justice issues
Sexual assault reporting before and after the MeToo Movement
Creating characters we love and those we love to hate
Writing two novels at one time
What's next?
SUPREME BETRAYAL is a dynamic and action-packed journey of injustice, betrayal, murder and revenge as white privilege, partisan politics and greed take precedence over the truth.
 
CONNECT WITH MARK BELLO!
Visit his website: https://www.markmbello.com/
Follow him on social media:
FacebookTwitter
Watch the book trailer video
Read the Reader Views review of Supreme Betrayal

DERRYEN PLANTE is a survivor who battled back from a traumatic brain injury and redefined herself in the wake of a horrific attack that altered the course of her life.
Derryen received her BS from St. Lawrence University in 2015 (mathematics-economics combined and psychology), her master's degree in criminal justice from Boston University in 2019, and is currently working on her doctorate degree in business administration from Northcentral University. She currently works as a Principal Revenue Agent for the State of Maine, where she resides with her two adorable cats, Kanga and Roo.
She wrote this book to create a connection with others suffering with an invisible injury and to offer them strength to build a new life post-injury. From the broken pieces, she was able to create something beautiful. She hopes she can inspire others to do the same.
To connect and learn more about Derryen visit her website at DerryenPlante.com.
 
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
The 20-second attack that changed her life forever
Writing about her experience as a way to help others
How her experience changed her perception of depression, PTSD and other invisible illnesses
Recovery - Expectations vs. Reality
Coming to Terms
What life looks like now
 
YOU'VE GOT SOME NERVE
Derryen Plante knew her destination in life long before she reached it: she was going to be a special investigator for the federal government working on high-level crimes. Every step she took was in preparation for one day achieving that dream. Then, without warning, her dream was shattered.While completing a unit check at the juvenile prison where she worked, Derryen was violently attacked by one of the inmates. She suffered a traumatic brain injury that sent her into a spiral of PTSD, depression, and multiple medical interventions. As she navigated her life after the attack, Derryen struggled to accept her new reality. She’d built her entire life around a dream that no longer seemed possible. Without that, who was she?You've Got Some Nerve is Derryen’s real, raw, and honest account of how she redefined her life, navigated the challenges unique to brain injury recovery, and found support in unexpected places. Her journey offers keen insight into how each of us can support those suffering with the long-term effects of an invisible injury.
CONNECT WITH DERRYEN PLANTE!
Visit her website: https://www.derryenplante.com/
Follow her on social media:
FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedIn
Read the Reader Views Review of You've Got Some Nerve
 

Melissa Muldoon is the author of Dreaming Sophia, Waking Isabella, Eternally Artemisia, and The Secret Life of Sofonsiba Anguissola.
She is an artist, designer, and creator of the Studentessa Matta Dual-language Blog and Youtube channel. Through her many projects and her programs to study in Italy, Melissa promotes Italian language and culture.
She has a B.A. in fine arts, art history, and European history and a Master's in art history. She studied painting, language, and art history in Florence.
Melissa's four books set in Italy celebrate art and creativity. They tell the stories of women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future.
For more information about Melissa Muldoon and her books, visit her website at MelissaMuldoon.com
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
Her inspiration behind the story of Sofonisba Anguissola
Creation of the world's first "selfie"
Sofonisba's spirit, independence, and self-worth paves the way for female artists and all women
Writing Historical Fiction
Writing and marketing during a pandemic.
Next for Melissa
THE SECRET LIFE OF SOFONISBA ANGUISSOLA
Sofonisba Anguissola was a woman who dared to dream far beyond the limitations set for women during her era – truly a woman before her time. Her story demonstrates the power behind the sentiment, “anything is possible” and her achievements helped pave the way for generations of women to come. That Sofonisba is “the most famous woman you’ve never heard of” as indicated in the subtitle, is representative of the way she left her mark on the world – humbly, through hard work, humility, resilience, integrity, and respect. Through Melissa Muldoon’s exquisite rendition the world can see – 500 years later, that Sofonisba Anguissola was a true heroine and role model for all women on the road to equality.
CONNECT WITH MELISSA MULDOON!
For more information visit Melissa’s author webpage: MelissaMuldoon.com & Amazon Author page
To find Melissa on her other Social Media platforms please visit Linktree where all Social Media links are conveniently compiled for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Goodreads and her other websites (https://linktr.ee/MelissaMuldoon)
Read our Review!

Kaylin McFarren has received more than fifty national literary awards, in addition to a prestigious RWA Golden Heart Award nomination for Flaherty’s Crossing—a book she and her oldest daughter, New York Times/USA Today best-selling author Kristina McMorris, co-wrote in 2008.
Prior to embarking on her writing journey and developing her popular Threads psychological thriller series, she poured her passion for creativity into her work as the director of a fine art gallery in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon; she also served as a governor-appointed member of the Oregon Arts Commission and currently oversees interior design projects for the Yoshida Group of Companies.
Her self-published books are written in multiple genres and include award-winning romantic thrillers, mysteries, a time-travel adventure, and now, a paranormal fantasy. She hopes that her stories are entertaining and that they linger in the minds of readers long after her final twists are revealed.
In addition to writing, when she’s not traveling between homes in San Diego and Portland or spoiling her two pups and three grandsons, she enjoys giving back to her community through participation and support of various charitable, medical, and educational organizations, and encourages others to do the same.
To learn more about Kaylin McFarren and her work, visit her website. 
Topics of Conversation
Stepping outside her normal genre – writing about the supernatural world
Why she pushes her characters to their limits
Bringing relevant social issues into the mix – women’s rights
A woman as the ruler of hell?
Writing and publishing a book during a pandemic
SOUL SEEKER
Crighton Daemonium arrives in the peaceful town of Lochton, Illinois, searching for wicked souls to add to his count. Benjamin Poe, a devoted husband, father and firefighter, finds himself in a battle of wills against this evil, manipulating demon, while protecting his only son. Ultimately, Poe is tricked into committing murder and Crighton is rewarded with the soul he was sent to retrieve. Following Poe’s execution, Crighton continues his dark malevolent duties, until he's kidnapped by members of The Sovereign Sector. This group of scientists, notorious for experimenting on supernatural creatures, forces Crighton into a soulmate relationship with the very angel he was sent to capture for the King of Hell, Lucifer. With secrets revealed, darkness rules and loyalties shift. The demonic soul-seeker soon becomes the target of Lucifer's revenge, and his journey to redemption and freedom—or eternal enslavement—begins.
CONNECT WITH KAYLIN MCFARREN!
Website: http://www.kaylinmcfarren.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKaylinMcFarren
Twitter: https://twitter.com/4kaylin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4kaylinmcfarren/
WATCH THE BOOK VIDEO
READ THE READER VIEWS BOOK REVIEW

Dr. Randy Overbeck is a veteran educator who has served children as a teacher and school leader. For more than three decades, his educational experiences and responsibilities ranged from coach and yearbook advisor to principal and superintendent, and he’s lived the roles of many of the characters in his stories.
An accomplished writer, he has been published in trade journals, professional texts and newspapers, as well as in fiction, now with his third published novel.
As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop.
When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation “Things That Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.
To learn more about Randy Overbeck and his work visit authorrandyoverbeck.com.
Topics of Conversation
The paranormal world and believing in ghosts
Choosing a new location for each mystery
Writing in a different time period
Favorite part of research process
Centering your mysteries around a social justice issue.
CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY
No matter how far you run, you can never really escape a haunted past. Darrell Henshaw-teacher, coach, and paranormal sensitive-learned this lesson the hard way. Now, with his job gone and few options, he heads for Cape May to coach a summer football camp. The resort town, with gorgeous beaches, rich history and famous Victorian mansions, might just be the getaway he needs. Only, no one told him Cape May is the most haunted seaport on the East Coast. When a resident ghost, the Haunted Bride, stalks Darrell, begging for his help, he can't refuse, and joins forces with Cassie, another sensitive. As Darrell and the street-wise teen investigate the bride's death, they uncover something far more sinister than a murder. Can Darrell and Cassie expose those behind the crimes before they end up becoming the next victims?
CONNECT WITH RANDY OVERBECK
Website: https://www.authorrandyoverbeck.com/Email: randyoverbeck@authorrandyoverbeck.com
Facebook: @authorrandyoverbeckTwitter: @overbeckrandy
Watch the book video
Read the Reader Views Book Review

As an attorney and civil justice advocate, author Mark M. Bello draws upon over 40 years of courtroom experience in his Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series.A Michigan native, Mark received his B.A. in English Literature from Oakland University and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. After working extremely high profile legal cases, Mark wanted to give the public a front-row glimpse of what victims face when standing up for justice.Combining his legal experience and passion for justice with a creative writing style, Mark not only brings high-quality legal services to his clients but captivating novels to his readers.When Mark’s not writing legal and political novels, he writes and posts about fairness and justice in the civil justice system on his website, Legal Examiner and Injury Board. In his spare time, Mark enjoys traveling and spending time with his family. Mark and his wife, Tobye, have four children and 8 grandchildren.Learn more about Mark and his work by visiting his website at www.markmbello.com.
 
Just a few of the topics of conversation:
School shootings and the root causes
Using an author platform to get the news out about relevant social justice issues
The Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series
 
BETRAYAL HIGHWhat does a kid do when it just won’t stop? Kevin Burns has had enough. Today, the bullying stops. Today, he has easy access to his father’s gun cabinet. Today, Kevin exacts his revenge.Bloomfield, Michigan, an affluent Detroit area suburb, is home to trial lawyer Zachary Blake. Other school districts envy Bloomfield, that is, until Kevin Burns commits shocking, all too familiar, acts of senseless violence. In the aftermath of the tragedy, everyone wonders ‘why?’.Zack Blake seeks answers, justice for the victims, including his own son. How does a kid get a cache of weapons?In Betrayal High, a Zachary Blake legal thriller, award-winning author/attorney Mark M. Bello answers these questions and more in this fifth installment of what many readers are calling the country’s best courtroom drama series. Prepare to get Betrayed . . . again.
 
CONNECT WITH MARK M. BELLO!
Website: https://www.markmbello.comFacebook: @markmbellobooks Twitter: @markmbelloInstagram: @markmbellobooks
 Mark’s books can be found on his website, Amazon, Goodreads, and all other online retailers. The books are available for reader, in print, or as audiobooks.
Read Our Review of Betrayal High

Colleen M. Story inspires writers to overcome modern-day challenges and find creative fulfillment in their work. Her first non-fiction book, Overwhelmed Writer Rescue, was named Book by Book Publicity’s Best Writing/Publishing Book in 2018, and her novel, Loreena’s Gift, was a Foreword Reviews' INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner, among others. Her latest release, Writer Get Noticed!, was a gold-medal winner in the 2019 Reader’s Favorite Book Awards for writing and publishing, and a recent 1st-place winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards. With over 20 years in the creative industry, Colleen is the founder of Writing and Wellness (writingandwellness.com) and Writer CEO (writerceo.com). Please see her author website (colleenmstory.com) or follow her on Twitter (@colleen_m_story).
 Topics of Conversation:
About Writer Get Noticed!
What is an Author Platform?
Using your Strengths to Develop your Niche
The Three-Brain Decision Making system
On Writing and Wellness
Have you been writing for years, but feel like no one notices? Have you publishedyour stories, only to gain a handful of readers? Do your marketing efforts feel like shouting into a void?
Veteran writer and motivational coach Colleen M. Story helps you break the spell of invisibility to reveal the author platform that will finally draw readers your way.There are more books out there than ever before, and readers have many other things vying for their attention. A writer can feel like a needle in a haystack, and throwing money at the problem rarely helps. What does work is creating a platform that stands out, but in a sea of a million platforms, how is one to do that?Writer Get Noticed! takes a new approach, dispelling the notion that fixing your writing flaws and expanding your social media reach will get you the readers you deserve. Instead, discover a myriad of strengths you didn't know you had, then use them to find your author theme, power up your platform, and create a new author business blueprint, all while gaining insight into what sets you apart as a writer and creative artist.
 
CONNECT WITH COLLEEN M. STORY!
Writing and Wellness (http://writingandwellness.com/)
Writer CEO (https://writerceo.com/)
Author Site (http://colleenmstory.com/)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-m-story-81408034/)
Twitter (@colleen_m_story)
Read our review of Writer Get Noticed!

Gary D. McGugan loves to tell stories and is the author of Three Weeks Less a Day, The Multima Scheme, Unrelenting Peril and Pernicious Pursuit. Whether sharing a vision with colleagues in large multinational corporations, helping consulting clients implement expert advice, or writing a corporate thriller, Gary uses artful suspense to entertain and inform. His launch of a new writing career—at an age most people retire—reveals an ongoing zest for new challenges and a life-long pursuit of knowledge. Home may be in Toronto, but his love of travel and broad business knowledge accumulated from extensive experiences around the globe are evident in every chapter Gary writes.
Topics of Conversation:
Writing novels of intrigue
Using international settings
Incorporating current relevant issues into the plot
Creating authentic female characters
Interests outside of writing
Coming Soon
Snatched from a safe house in The Netherlands in the middle of the night, Howard Knight finds himself in the crosshairs of a vindictive crime boss relentlessly determined to even old scores. His lover, Janet Weissel, barely escapes the grasp of the unwelcome intruders. Her daring getaway takes an unconventional path to another country, a clandestine outfit, and a new purpose.
With The Organization’s vast resources as a backdrop, Pernicious Pursuit is a tale of survival, cunning schemes and dogged determination with seemingly insurmountable odds—while surreptitiously fighting back against deep-seated misogyny, abuse and the degradation of women by the nefarious criminal element.
Connect with Gary D. McGugan!
Website: https://www.garydmcguganbooks.comMonthly Blog: https://www.garydmcguganbooks.com/rendezvous-blogFacebook: @gary.d.mcgugan.booksTwitter: @GaryDMcGuganInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorgarydmcgugan 

Jessica (Tyner) Mehta is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, multi-award-winning poet, and author of over one dozen books. Place, space, and personal ancestry inform much of her work. She’s also the Editor-in-Chief of Crab Creek Review and owner of an award-winning small business. MehtaFor is a writing services company that offers pro bono services to Native Americans and indigenous-serving non-profits.
Her novel The Wrong Kind of Indian won gold at the 2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs) and at the American Book Fest Best Book. Jessica has also received numerous fellowships in recent years, including the Everett Helm Visiting Fellowship at the Lilly Library at Indiana University in Bloomington and the Eccles Centre Visiting Fellowship at The British Library in London. Jessica is a popular speaker and panelist, featured recently at events such as the US State Department’s National Poetry Month event, “Poets as Cultural Emissaries: A Conversation with Women Writers,” as well as the “Women’s Transatlantic Prison Activism Since 1960” symposium at Oxford University.
She has undertaken poetry residencies around the globe including at Hosking Houses Trust with an appointment at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in England, Paris Lit Up in France, and at the Crazy Horse Memorial and museum in South Dakota. Her work has been featured at galleries and exhibitions around the world, including IA&A Hillyer in Washington DC, The Emergency Gallery in Sweden, and Institute of American Indian Arts in New Mexico. 
Topics of Conversation:
About writing poetry
Integrating poetry with technology through her "Red/Act" Exhibition
Poetry Performance Art and her "emBODY poetry" work
How writing serves as a means of trauma management (bibliotherapy)
A reading from "Savagery" 
 
Poetry. Native American Studies. SAVAGERY joins Mehta's oeuvre as a reflection of what it means to be indigenous in today's increasingly hostile, post-colonial America. Reflecting on self, place, and space and with strong confessional leanings, SAVAGERY joins the ranks of other much-needed indigenous poetry of the era to provide a lens (and mirror) into indigenous issues and disparities while also providing a constant offering of hope. These poems are raw and very, very necessary.
Connect with Jessica Mehta
websites: www.jessicamehta.com and www.mehtafor.com
Twitter: @bookscatsyoga
Instagram: @bookscatsyoga

Dianne Romain grew up in Missouri and studied philosophy at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. After completing her PhD in Philosophy at UC Berkeley, she taught feminist ethics and philosophy of emotion at Sonoma State University and published Thinking Things Through, a critical thinking textbook. While in California, she practiced fiction writing techniques in a women’s writing group. In Guanajuato, where she lives with novelist Sterling Bennett, she took up the trumpet as research for her debut novel, The Trumpet Lesson. Her current writing projects set in Guanajuato include short stories and a second novel.
 
Topics of Conversation:
About “The Trumpet Lesson” and the Inspiration Behind the Story
Living in Guanajuato, Mexico
Learning to play the trumpet as research for her Novel
Bringing diverse characters together
Differences between writing fiction and non-fiction
Supporting non-profits
New projects from Dianne Romain
 
THE TRUMPET LESSON
Fascinated by a young woman’s performance of “The Lost Child” in Guanajuato’s central plaza, painfully shy expatriate Callie Quinn asks the woman for a trumpet lesson ― and ends up confronting her longing to know her own lost child.
When Callie became pregnant in 1960s rural Missouri over thirty years ago, her outraged father, with her mother’s acquiescence, insisted that no one know―and Callie complied. She went away, and she gave up her baby. She did it to protect the baby’s father―a black teen―from the era’s racist violence.
When Pamela, the trumpeter whose music flows from her heart, enters Callie’s life, Callie begins to dream of opening her own heart. But instead she remains silent, hiding her longing and risking giving up everyone she dares to love in order to safeguard her secret. Callie tells herself she does so to protect her daughter, but ultimately, in order to speak, she must confront the deepest reasons for her silence―the ones she’s been concealing even from herself.
 
CONNECT WITH DIANNE ROMAIN!
Website: https://dianneromain.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DRomainGTOTwitter: https://twitter.com/dianne_romainInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dianne_romain/YouTube Channel: Dianne Romain
Read our review of “The Trumpet Lesson”

James D. Bell is an award-winning author and retired Judge who received the highest bar association approval ratings ever given to a Mississippi Circuit or County Judge. He is listed in Preeminent Lawyers, Outstanding Lawyers of America and Top 100 Attorneys of North America.  He is the author of two novels, Vampire Defense and Maximilian’s Treasure.  His short story, The Adventures of Sherlock Hound, was published in Mardi Allen’s collection, Dog Stories for the Soul, alongside stories from Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Willie Morris and others.  The son of a Choctaw mother and a Mississippi businessman, Judge Bell is devoted to his wife, Joanne.  They live near Jackson, Mississippi and have four children.  Judge Bell returned to law practice but is frequently called back to the bench by the Mississippi Supreme Court for short term assignments.
Topics of Conversation:
About “Maximilian’s Treasure” and the Inspiration Behind the Story
Is Maximilian’s Treasure real?
Finding solutions from our differences.
About writing to make people laugh out loud!
New projects from James Bell
 
MAXIMILIAN’S TREASURE
Rumors of a legendary treasure trigger a battle over possession of a Choctaw family farm. Two young lawyers, John Brooks and Jackson Bradley, agree to help the family keep their farm. Early legal success prompts the drive-by murder of the patriarch of the family. The grandson chases the suspects whose bodies are found on the farm, scalped. At the same time clues to a vast treasure are found on the farm. Jackson, pursued by fortune seekers, adventurers, an exotic beauty and a homicidal maniac, follows the clues from a Caribbean reef to the Chiapas jungle. John stays behind to defend the grandson and continue the fight for the farm. His efforts are complicated by arson, murder, race riots, and the realization that he lost his one true love. Though there is great distance between them, their adventures are intertwined as they rush toward a triple climax that could shake the world. Join the adventure and discover your “Maximilian’s Treasure.”
CONNECT WITH JAMES D BELL!
Website: http://maximilianstreasure.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VampireDefense
Twitter: https://twitter.com/James_D_Bell

Margaret Franceschini’s desire to write in a dramatic way began at a young age. Her passion for poetry and short stories can be traced back to early childhood when she wrote about the creatures she watched in her backyard. Entering into adult life led her to join poetry sites, where she was able to share her innermost feelings with those of the same type of writings.
Later in life, she became intrigued with children with autism as she worked best with this population. Earning her credits with col­lege writing, her essays always composed with her daily observation of their progression.
Through the years, she found the path to sincere friendships. While forming these friendships, she was able to gain trust and give these friendships emotional support. They shared the trials of young love and the conflicting decisions of their pregnancies. Weighing heavy on their hearts with this dilemma, and abandoned by the father, left them alone, with a decision of either abortion versus adoption.
Her story is a portrayal of young women of any generation that had to make a life-changing decision that, either way remained etched in their hearts for a lifetime.
Topics of Conversation:
The inspiration behind “Veil of Secrecy”
Researching her subject and the level of detail involved
Margaret’s writing journey – from poet to novelist
Personal interests outside of writing
A bit of insight into her next project
Margaret’s advice to emerging authors
 
VEIL OF SECRECY
An ambitious young woman who dreams of leaving her small town to follow her dreams learns the heartbreak of reckless love. As a young woman trapped in the confines of her small Newfoundland fishing village, sixteen-year-old Julie dreams of someday making her way out into the world and becoming a journalist. The daughter she gave up at birth must learn the same lesson, but will she follow in her mother's footsteps and give up her dreams? What happens when a daughter, given up at birth, makes the same tragic mistake as the mother she never knew? In 1950 Julie was deceived in love and had to give up not only the child of that union, but her dreams of escaping her small fishing village to become a journalist. Twenty years later, Marina, too, is deceived in love and has to forfeit her child, but dreams are not to be thwarted the second time around. The only refuge for young teen girls at that time was an old plantation pavilion called The Fold located in Nova Scotia. Hidden away on acres of lush green grass and surrounded by the wonder of the sea, The Fold holds the mystery and secrets of those who suffered emotions of forfeiting their infant and the suffering that remains within their veil of secrecy.
 
CONNECT WITH MARGARET FRANCESCHINI!
 
Website: http://www.pagepublishing.com/books/?book=veil-of-secrecyFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/VeilOfSecrecyBook/https://www.facebook.com/franceschinistoriesAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/Veil-Secrecy-Margaret-Franceschini/dp/164544080X/
 

Steve Bassett was born, raised and educated in New Jersey, and, although far removed during a career as a multiple award-winning journalist, he has always been proud of the sobriquet, Jersey Guy. He has written for several publications, including the Pulitzer Prize winning Salt Lake Tribune. He’s worked for the Associated Press, where his exposés gained national recognition, and CBS television news in Los Angeles, earning three Emmy Awards for his investigative documentaries.
His book, “Golden Ghetto: How the Americans and French Fell In and Out of Love During the Cold War,” was published in 2013. “Father Divine’s Bikes,” Book One in his Passaic River Trilogy was published in 2018. “Payback: Tales of Love, Hate and Revenge,” is the second novel in the trilogy continuing the historical noir crime drama surrounding Newark, NJ in the post WWII era.
TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:
- About “Payback – Tales of Love, Hate, and Revenge” and the Inspiration Behind the Story- The German-American Bund and the Minutemen- Redlining then and now – and other parallels in the story to current events- Personal Interest – on owning a 600 year-old property in Central France and the differences between French and American Culture
Payback – Tales of Love, Hate and Revenge, the second book of the Passaic River Trilogy, is a drama so intense that it would be improbable anywhere but 1946 Newark. Across the country millions were dealing with the loss of loved ones, and horrible memories were being buried for the greater good. But not in Newark. Two mutilated bodies were pulled from the putrid Passaic River, and the sawed-off arm of a third man was found neatly wrapped and tied at the city dump. The three victims were members of the German-American Bund, Hitler lovers who had to pay the price for supporting a murderous madman. Someone was sending a message that only revenge could clear the mind and free the soul.
CONNECT WITH STEVE BASSETT!
Website: https://stevebassettworld.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevebassettworld/
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/SteveBassett19
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevebassettauthor

Steve Bassett was born, raised and educated in New Jersey, and, although far removed during a career as a multiple award-winning journalist, he has always been proud of the sobriquet Jersey Guy. He has been legally blind for almost a decade but hasn’t let this slow him down. Polish on his mother’s side and Montenegrin on his father’s, with grandparents who spoke little or no English, his early outlook was ethnic and suspicious. As a natural iconoclast, he joined the dwindling number of itinerant newsmen roaming the countryside in search of, well just about everything. Sadly, their breed has vanished into the digital ether. Bassett’s targets were not selected simply by sticking pins in a map. There had to be a sense of the bizarre.
First there was The Long Branch Daily Record on the New Jersey shore. Mobsters loved the place. It was one of their favorite watering holes. A mafia soldier was gunned down not far from the paper. Great fun for a cub reporter. Curiosity got the better of him with his next choice the Pekin Daily Times located in central Illinois. Now a respected newspaper, it had once been the official voice of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920’s. Pekin had saved its bacon during the Depression by tacitly approving two time-honored money makers, prostitution and gambling, earning an eight-page spread in Life.
Next it was the Salt Lake Tribune. The Pulitzer Prize winner was then, and still is, considered one of the best daily newspapers west of the Rockies. Bassett’s coverage of the invective laden contract talks between the United Mine Workers and the three copper mining giants led to his recruitment by the Associated Press. 
Bassett’s series for the AP in Phoenix uncovered the widespread abuses inherent in the Government’s Barcero program for Mexican contract workers. The series exposed working and housing conditions that transformed workers into virtual slave laborers, forced to buy at company stores, live in squalid housing and pay illegally collected unemployment taxes that went into the pocket of their bosses. The series led to Bassett’s promotion and transfer to the San Francisco bureau.
His final AP posting was in San Francisco. Bassett’s five-part series on the Wah Ching gained national attention by exposing the Chinese youth gang as the violent instrument of Chinatown’s criminal bosses.
Then came CBS television news in Los Angeles, three Emmy Awards for his investigative documentaries, and the prestigious Medallion Award presented by the California Bar Association for “Distinguished Reporting on the Administration of Justice.” Along the way he found time to author “The Battered Rich” (Ashley Books) exposing seldom discussed but widespread marital abuse among the affluent.
 
His book, “Golden Ghetto: How the Americans and French Fell In and Out of Love During the Cold War,” published in 2013 by Red Hen Press under its Xeno imprint, traces the sixteen-year history of what was then the largest U.S. Air Force base in Europe. It pieces together a love affair that defines trust, hope, renewal, prosperity, and finally the discovery that it was all a Cold War delusion.
His first fiction work, “Father Divine’s Bikes,” is a historical, noir crime novel set in 1945 Newark. A gangster war, three murders, a gun-toting paperboy, and the numbers racket punctuate the tragic story of two gritty altar boys adrift in a world of poverty, crime and hopelessness. The boys live in a world ripe for grifters like Father Divine and his promise of heaven on earth.
Bassett currently resides in Placitas, New Mexico with his wife Darlene Chandler Bassett.
To learn more about Steve Bassett, visit his website at www.stevebassettworld.com.
Topics of Conversation:
About Father Divine’s Bikes and the Inspiration Behind the Story
America’s Urban History
Who is Father Divine?
Multi-Generational Characters
Interests Outside of Writing
The VA and Assistance for Veterans with Disabilities

Lucinda Clark is the Founder of P.R.A. Publishing and the Poetry Matters Project Ltd. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa. now residing in Georgia. She has written and published a four-part poetry series titled View From the Middle of the Road with various emerging writers from many areas of the arts. She is currently a contributor to the Accentuated Reading Project. Her mission is to build community connections through collaborations based on literary arts.
Lucinda describes herself as follows: “I am a woman who went on a journey of self-discovery and found that my view(s) on life are determined by updates to my perspective based on new things I experience, meaning, things can change at any time.”
Learn more about Lucinda and her work at www.poetrymattersproject.org
Topics of Conversation:
History of the Poetry Matters Project
Poetry Matters Project Literary Prize – 20 Year Anniversary
Where are they now? Update on some of the past contest winners.
Getting involved – as a contestant, judge or volunteer
Poetry Diversified 2019 Anthology
Poetry Readings by Lucinda Clark

Michael McCord, the former political editor and columnist for The Portsmouth (NH) Herald, is an award-winning journalist and writer.
A U.S. Army veteran, he covered his first presidential primary campaign in 1980 and has written for dozens of publications – including the Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Globe, New Hampshire Business Review, Boston Herald, New Hampshire Magazine – and has won New England & New Hampshire press association awards for investigative reporting, political commentary, feature and historical writing, and business journalism.
Among many adventures, he profiled James Dougherty, Marilyn Monroe’s mostly unknown unknown first husband, for Boston Globe Magazine. He also co-wrote the produced theatrical play “think twice before you think” about the life and writings of e e cummings. His essay on the history of the New Hampshire presidential primary was included in the 2008 analogy The American Presidency.
His Real America saga includes The Execution Channel: A Political Fable (2013) & End Times: More Great Adventures in Real America (2019). Penelope will be the final book in the trilogy.
He lives in Exeter, NH with his artist wife Anne and their cat Vito (the Twitter star of the family).
To learn more about Michael McCord visit his website at www.michaelmccordauthor.com.
Topics of Conversation:
A vision of “Real America”
How the Real America in the book compares to the current political climate in the U.S.
Satire – a fun book to write
How the Information Warfare plot plays out
Promoting and Self-Publishing
and more!

Jeannine Kellogg loves a grand adventure and a great story. She has traveled to fifteen countries and her adventures include hiking in New Zealand, sea-kayaking above the Arctic Circle, and wading through rice fields in Thailand. Yet she has grown certain that the great inspirations are found not in distant adventures, but in the often-overlooked details of everyday life.
Jeannine’s career has spanned a variety of industries and roles, but it has mostly involved analyzing lots of numbers and telling stories in numbers. Mid-career she switched it up and starting telling stories in words. She loves ice cream. Guinea pigs. Mathematics. Children. History. Practical jokes. Family. Thai food. Friends. Music. And, of course, writing.
Her first novel, The Tukor’s Journey, began in a windstorm as Jeannine and her nephews dove deep into sheltered waters seeking sparkling blue stones only visible when sunlight broke through the clouds. She built a story around that diving adventure, and over time, inspired by the encouragement of her nephews, it grew into The Tukor’s Journey series.
Jeannine enjoys nothing more than encouraging kids to seize life’s wonderful adventure and take the lead in their own powerful journey. She invites you to connect with her on social media. And she would be delighted to visit your school.
To learn more about Jeannine Kellogg visit her website at www.jeanninekellogg.com.
Topics of Conversation:
Introducing a world of adventure through extraordinary animals and locations
Encouraging outdoor adventures
Characters who use their own skills and imagination to invent and solve problems
Storytelling and instilling hope
The Publishing Industry vs. The Gaming Industry