Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Hook & Jill is a fairy tale for “grown-ups.” Neverland is a place we long to return. It calls to us even — and especially — once we are past the innocent age of Peter Pan. Adults who re-read Peter Pan to their children can fully appreciate J.M. Barrie’s nuances and undertones. Hook & Jill revisits the delights of the original tale, and takes it further to develop the more mature themes at which Barrie only hinted in his children’s classic. Those who fell in love with Wicked and its adult perspective of Oz may find an equal fascination with the Neverland that I bring to life in an uninhibited new vision.

Q: What is the book about?
A: As Wendy Darling mothers the Lost Boys in Neverland, she struggles to keep her boys safe from the Island’s many hazards. The obvious villain is Captain Hook, insidious and seductive, a master manipulator devising vengeance for his maiming. But a more subtle threat encroaches from an unexpected quarter.… The children are growing up, and only Peter knows the punishment.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: Peter Pan has inspired writers, musicians, artists and actors for over a hundred years. But Hook & Jill is the first novel of Neverland to allow adults to fully return there. As grown-up readers recognize, Barrie threaded the loom for a deeply psychological coming-of-age. I took up Barrie’s strands and wove them to create an intricate and satisfying, if frightening, voyage into adulthood.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Hook & Jill is not a story for those who wish to remain forever in childhood. It challenges the assumption that morality can be viewed — as children view it — in terms of black and white. The dark side of innocence is exposed, and what appears to be good may prove otherwise, while what seems to be evil… is irresistible.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: The mythology of Peter Pan is the magic mirror to my own experience. As an emerging adult, I discovered myself to be in the same predicament as Wendy and the Lost Boys. I, too, was forbidden to grow up. Yet I, too, could not help doing so. Like the children in Hook & Jill, in making my own decisions, I cast myself out of “Paradise,” reaping both the troubles and the rewards of independence.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Both adult and young adult.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Jenny Roberts yearns to escape her small hometown of Paris, Idaho and accomplish something remarkable in the world. She has many dreams but the only thing standing in her way is an unpleasant memory from her past, which haunted her since childhood. She must learn to forgive before she can choose which dream to follow. Meanwhile a legendary ten-foot grizzly by the name of Old Half Paw is seen in the area and its boldness has frightened the community.

Q: Why am I the best person to write this book?
A: This book is about dreams and the importance of following our dreams. I have given personal ancestral experiences to my characters in this family saga to add some reality to this historical fiction novel. I believe that real family experiences bring a story to life.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: It’s different because I’ve used my own family experiences in this book along with the legend of Old Ephraim, the ten-foot grizzly bear as a sub-plot.

This legendary ten-foot grizzly really existed in the southern Idaho region. After much research, I used every detail of this grizzly to add a little adventure to the story.

I blend romance, adventure, history, humor, and courage into this family saga, using emotion to bring my characters to life.

A reviewer wrote: “Jenny’s Dream tells a beautiful story that incorporates the value of loyalty, love, family and forgiveness into it. I also enjoyed how the author put real experiences, taken from her family and friends, into the plot. This is a great touch. Jenny’s Dream is a wholesome novel that will be enjoyed by family members of all ages who would enjoy a great historical romance. I think this series is destined to be a classic.”

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Jenny is 20 years old and has three dreams. Her first dream is to accomplish something remarkable in the world.

She has read about the courageous women who forged their own paths and accomplished a lot in their lives. They were self-reliant, daring and determined women such as Susan B. Anthony who fought for Equal Rights, an important part of American history. This was Jenny’s Dream, to make a difference in the world. This is something I believe we all want to do in our lives… to make a difference!

Her second dream is to become a journalist. Writing is second nature to her ever since she was a child and this is her greatest desire. In fact, moving to Houston, Texas sounds quite intriguing to her.

Her third dream is to find a most wonderful, down to earth man to spend the rest of her life with: the man of her dreams! Little does she know that her kindred friend, Will Jones, has gradually fallen in love with her. She hasn’t known him very long but he instantly became a kindred spirit, someone she could talk to and express her inner most feelings. There is one thing standing in her way of focusing on these dreams. She must learn to forgive and put her past behind her. This story is about accomplishing one’s dreams and the miracle of forgiveness.

Jenny says, “Dreams are an important part of life, and without them, life would be so dull. If we can envision it, then I believe it can be accomplished.” Lucy Maud Montgomery touched me as a writer and I loved her books. She strongly believed in dreams. Montgomery once wrote: “While solitude with dreams is glorious, solitude without them has few charms.” That’s how I feel. I believe that dreams are an important part of life.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Women of all ages; helping professionals; and anyone interested in stories about relationships, dysfunctional families, and how an individual’s upbringing can inform who they become.

Q: What is the book about?
A: A story about how a person can connect to others in a meaningful and satisfying way, despite a tortured past and a tangled family history. In this tale, Amber Cushing, abused by her mother’s boyfriend, strives to overcome this history; propelled along on a path characterized by a whirlwind of wrong choices, she continues seeking answers and solutions, struggling to find love and acceptance.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: Some of the issues presented in this book came about because of my career as a social worker, helping abused children and young people overcome their tragic histories.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: I injected my own personal experiences into the story, transforming what might ordinarily be a simple chronicle of abuse into a tale of hope and redemption.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Some of the peripheral characters in this tale are repeated in some of my other books, such as Miles to Go. My first published novel, An Accidental Life, introduces the character of Savannah Chacon, a former teen parent, who has transcended that history to become a promising college student; incidentally, she shares the boarding house where Amber Cushing lands, like a wounded bird.

Below are links to my home page and a couple of blogs; a link to Author’s Den, which features books and a blog; the link to My Space; and finally, a link to my GoodReads Author profile.

http://laurelrainsnowcreations.com/default.aspx

http://laurelrainsnowcreations.blogspot.com/

http://www.zimbio.com/member/laurelrainsnow

http://www.authorsden.com/laurelrainsnow

http://www.myspace.com/laurelrainsnow

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1185466.Laurel_Rain_Snow

And here is a link to an interview for COOL BOOK OF THE DAY.

http://www.coolbookoftheday.com/miles-to-go/

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: I wrote this book about my beloved sister because she is a unique woman and led such a fascinating life; I wrote it to appeal to adults and the mainstream market. It’s an epic love story/mystery/thriller that ––judging by reviews on Amazon.com––is appealing to men as well as women and more mature teens … people from all walks of life.

Q: What the book is about?
A: This story is part fiction (faction?), but based on the life of my beautiful older sister and her seven marriages. This is from the publisher’s description: ” … sixty-four years–1933 to 1997–of happiness and tragedy. Always searching for her first love and her childhood, the enchanting child/woman captivates many men along the way, each wealthier than the one before … each sending her scurrying back to her childhood home, 1106 Grand Boulevard, a trail of broken hearts in her wake.”

“1106 Grand Boulevard” is the story of passions that last a lifetime; of family love and betrayal; of spousal abuse and sadistic child abuse; a story of Billie Jean’s desperate search for happiness, self-worth, and maturity … a story of people needing people and people using people.”

Q: Why I am the best person to write this book?
A: Since I’ve always been a writer and am the sister of the main character in the book, I’m the only one who could do justice to her complex character … her exciting life.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?:
A: In most love stories the heroine is married only once; how unrealistic is that in today’s world? As award-winning author Frank Nappi said in his review: “The resiliency of Dravis’s heroine, Billie Jean, is indeed refreshing, wonderfully antithetical to the all too common saccharine, off-putting portrayal of many of fiction’s leading ladies.” Nappi is the author of the new sensational novel, The Legend of Mickey Tussler and Echoes from the Infantry.

Q: Is there anything else to know about this book?
A: The title of 1106 Grand Boulevard is the actual Ohio hometown address of the author and the main characters in the book. The cover photo is a picture of her late father, John D. Barger, at age 90, while the home viewed through the car window is 1106. Dravis took the photo when her father drove her and the book’s heroine past the home while they were visiting from California in the 1980s.

For more about 1106 Grand Boulevard and Dravis’s other novels, go to:
http://bettydravisauthor.googlepages.com/
http://tinyurl.com/2b3rko

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: This is the first book in a series of magical adventures for ages 9-12.

Q: What is the book about?
A: When Grandma Emma signed up for cooking school, she never realized that she was actually learning magic. Her first recipe, to clean the dog, turns her small black and white dog, Domino, pink and green. When she tries a recipe for more days in the week, the formula expands and spills onto the kitchen rug. As she bends to clean up the mess, her pink and green dog jumps up onto her, causing her to fall through the rug.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: I am a grandmother of six, who enjoys going on adventures with my own grandchildren. Although the adventures in Through the Rug have come from my imagination, Alyssa is my granddaughter and she is the star of her own adventure.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: The main difference between Through the Rug and other magical adventures is my character, Grandma Emma. It is unusual for a visit to Grandma’s house to turn into an adventure. Adventures in Wishville are a shared secret between Alyssa and her grandmother.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Come along with Grandma Emma, her ten-year-old granddaughter Alyssa, and her dog Domino as they fall through the rug. They find themselves in the land of Wishville, where all wishes are granted. They encounter fish that dance, an amusement park where they can ride every ride for free, a reception where they can eat as much as they wish, without getting full, and every kind of adventure you can imagine.

Through the Rug is available on Amazon.com. A portion of this books proceeds have been donated to The Literacy Action Center.

Through the Rug 2: Follow that Dog is also available on Amazon.
Look for my Through the Rug 2: Follow that Dog video trailer on YouTube and Metecafe.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Young and older adults. It has particular appeal to people who are familiar with the military, higher education, government, or large hospitals (these are the principle characters and settings in the story)

Q: What is the book about?
A: The Scoloderus Conspiracy is a non-stop thriller set 300 years in the future when the United Americas Trade Federation rules the known world. The Libre Voyageurs have fought this formidable government for decades, only to suffer one disastrous defeat after another. They now have a daring plan that will annihilate their enemy. Scoloderus is a three-day journey of abduction, deception, betrayal, and devastating revenge.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: This book dramatizes the tensions that occur when the military and academia cooperate in a joint project. It also serves as a thinly veiled metaphor of the concerns we should all share about military research and development, and the many uncontrollable realities of implementing large-scale deceptions. I worked as a research psychologist for the U.S. Army. I also worked as a U.S. Department of Defense consultant and worked in higher education and academic administration where I conducted research on academic excellence and faculty support and evaluation.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: This book is about ideas and the extraordinary ways we can get information when we think we have no options. This book is also about the excitement of having several very bright and capable people trying to foil each other’s plans and not being caught.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: This book moves quickly; however, one cannot read it quickly. It has many characters and these people will not conform to the reader’s expectations of them. No one knows how this story concludes until reading the last two pages (guaranteed). See www.ScoloderusConspiracy.com for more information.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Mystery lovers, horse lovers, romance and suspense and lovers.

Q: What is the book about?
A: When the death of a racing stable’s prize horse and his trainer is blamed on the stable’s owner; his son, Adam Blakely, goes undercover convinced that the trainer’s partner, Maggie McGregor is the killer.

Determined to leave the tumultuous world of horse racing, Maggie returns home to try and find peace. When a handsome horse owner moves his horse into her father’s boarding stable and asks Maggie to train his horse, family finances dictate that Maggie accept–and that’s when the accidents begin.

Drowning in deception and lies, Maggie and Adam search for a killer and uncover an insurance scam so insidious, it threatens to rock a horse racing empire and bring the killer to their doorstep.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: The seed of this story came from a scandal that happened in Northern Illinois about a decade ago. (The Horse Mob) Race horses and show horses were being murdered for insurance money, then the heiress, Helen Brach, disappeared. I had horses up in the same area and knew some of the people who were involved. In the Arms of the Enemy is an entirely different story, none of the characters even remotely resemble any of the people involved. This is a work of fiction. But, I thought the premise of the story needed to be told.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: The only books I know that come from this situation are non-fiction works. I’m sure there are mysteries that have similar themes, but I’m not familiar with them.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: This book is dedicated to those horse lost to man’s greed and inhumanity and to those humanitarians who make it their mission to serve and protect them.

This is my first published novel.

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: The Ezekiel Code – a metaphysical,  mystery,  adventure thriller – is intended for general audiences from teen to adult and especially those who enjoy the kind of stories told in books and movies like National Treasure, Indiana Jones, The DaVinci Code, The Celestine Prophecy, TheThe X-Files, and even The Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor. If you’re a fan of any of the above then this book’s for you!

Q: What is the book about?
A: Zeke Banyon, a Catholic seminary dropout, runs a large homeless shelter in Seattle’s old waterfront district. Angela Martin, an attractive young anthropology student, comes to work for him as his assistant. Together, they stumble upon a strange kind of code and a cryptic note tucked inside an old book that contains a little known story about an artifact known as the Lost Scroll of Ezekiel. They also discover the mystery involves an ancient prophecy about a catastrophic event that would end all life on our planet. Surprisingly, they also discover this prophecy has a curious tie to the Mayan calendar that will end on December 21, 2012. They find themselves in a race against time to figure out the code and what it means. What they don’t know, but soon discover, is that powerful people – a group of rogue Jesuit priests and agents of the secretive Illuminati, hell-bent on establishing a New World Order – are watching their every move. The action carries Banyon and Angela from Seattle to New York and then to a mysterious little village in the South of France and eventually to a point in the Antarctic Ocean where all the mysteries, trials, twists, and tribulations encountered over the course of many months come to a spectacular down-to-the-last-second climax and a dramatic conclusion.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: The idea for the book came to me during a conversation with a friend in an all-night diner back around 1997. We were talking about how the first part of the book of Ezekiel in the Bible could be easily interpreted as an encounter with an extraterrestial craft, possibly from another dimension of time and space. My first thought was that the idea would make a great movie project for someone like Steven Spielberg. Then it occurred to me that I could write it as a novel. Having spent years studying and researching a wide range of esoteric subjects, as well as having written several feature articles on related subjects for FATE Magazine I certainly felt qualified to take on the project. But what really makes me the best person to write this book is that the plot device (the “code”, if you will) that drives the story from beginning to end is actually based on my real-life work exporing the possibility that the English alphabet is somehow encoded in such a way that it can be used as a system of gematria (a form of “sacred numerology”, for lack of a better term) as developed and practiced by the Greek and Hebrew priests and mystics of ancient times. Much of what appears in the book was actually derived from the well of data that my work has produced. So, really – now that I think about it – no one else could have written The Ezekiel Code. Apparently destiny chose me for the job.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: There are a few other novels out there that deal with the issue of 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar. The Ezekiel Code differs from them considerably because of the unique plot device (the “code” mentioned above) that drives the story. It’s all drawn directly from my personal research and development of an English-based system of gematria. This whole idea will be new and unfamiliar to most readers but it’s also completely new and unfamiliar to the two heros in the story too! Believe me, they are totally clueless when their very normal lives are turned upside down by this mystery that suddenly confronts them. Their task is to figure it all out. So the reader can just sit back and go along for the ride because Banyon and Angela do all the work!

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: “2012 is coming…The clock is ticking…The code must be deciphered…And only one man can save the planet…If he can just figure out how before it’s too late.”

“Entertaining and enlightening!”
– Jay Weidner, documentary producer and co-author of Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye

“An amazing feat!”
– Peter A. Gersten, editor, PAG eNews

“Synchronicity at its best! A WOW of a read!”
– Ellen George, amazon.com power reviewer

“Exciting, awesome writing!”
– Tuesday Miles, host of Paranormal Talk Radio

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Secret of the Sands is suitable for kids and adults, anyone ages 12 & up. It’s got the fun, silly, light-hearted aspects of movies like The Mummy and Indiana Jones series, paired with deep, underlying meaning & messages…Our intent in writing the story was to make it accessible to a wide audience, in the same way our favorite stories and movies are. If your kids liked Harry Potter – then they can certainly read our story.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Secret of the Sands is a mystery novel exploring the origins of ancient Egypt, a pre-pharaonic time, and it has a dual, intertwining storyline between Egypt’s past & present… For 12,000 years a dark and deadly secret has been hidden deep below the Great Sphinx of Giza. In present day Egypt, a frightening, yet awe-inspiring story unravels as archaeologists race against time to decipher an ancient truth…

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: My co-author and I have been fascinated by ancient Egypt since we were small children. We also share
a love of epic stories, so much so we had to create one of our own. In addition, I (Rai) was a member of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities for many years and I have taken two (non-credit) university courses in Egyptology. Further, I have always held certain beliefs about the Great Sphinx of Giza. That coupled with a program I saw on The Discovery Channel many years ago, where they were talking about how the actual age/origin of the Great Sphinx is still a topic of debate today, fueled my fire to write this story.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: It has a dual intertwining storyline throughout the novel – as mysteries are discovered in present-day Egypt, a window to the past opens and the reader learns the origins of the mysterious artifacts. Each jump back in time sheds more light on the present and the truth of the discovery. In addition, this story presents an alternate (fictional) historical account of ancient Egyptian history. Our book touches on many speculations out there today…

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: It is a repeated Amazon.com Bestseller in the category of “Books, Religion & Spirituality, Fiction”. We are also in the process of making Hollywood connections to have it made into a feature film one day. Filmmakers – give us a call, we have a future summer blockbuster for you!

To learn more visit: www.secretofthesands.com and our MySpace page:

Question: Who is the intended audience?
Answer: Adults and young adults, specifically young adult women.

Q: What is the book about?
A: Protection specialist Natasha Chamberlain thinks guarding an English rock star while she tours the Southern states should be easy and loads of fun but a bullet in her leg after the first concert changes her mind. Join Natasha and the dynamic dual Pit and Bigun as they chase a cyberstalker while trying to guard a rock star with a penchant for drugs, sex, shoplifting, and sweets.

Q: Why are you the best person to write this book?
A: It’s the third in my series; about an independent, contemporary woman trying to cope with a traditional world. It takes place in Knoxville, TN, my home town.

Q: How is this book different from other books on this topic?
A: My bodyguard experienced date rape and because of this seeks to be stronger, mentally and physically, so she will never be this vulnerable again. She also sees herself as protector of the innocent, animal and human, who cannot fend for themselves.

Q: Is there anything else we should know about this book?
A: Professional reviewers are comparing it to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, although my series is Southern. It features a Weimaraner, and proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to a local Weimaraner rescue as well as the local animal shelter. I try with each book to call attention to the abuse and neglect and unnecessary euthanization of animals across America, and encourage readers to adopt or rescue a pet.

Chasing Secrets – available 10/08!
The Bodyguard and the Rock Star – “I just want to know if I can nominate it for some kind of award.” – LAS Reviewer
The Bodyguard and the Show Dog – 2006 Reviewers’ Choice Award, DWAA Fiction Finalist
The Bodyguard - Best First in Series 2005
Chasing Demons – published in USA and Japan
Wayne’s Dead – Myshelf’s Top 10 Reads for 2002, published in USA and South Korea
Chasing Horses – Madcap Award for Best in Romantic Comedy