Oana

Interview with Anthony Pathfinder about the challenges of publishing in today's market About The Author Anthony Pathfinder was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to the United States as a child. A voracious reader, his love of reading subsequently led to his writing a selection of short stories as a teenager. He has published seven novels. He does not categorize, classify or put a label on what he writes e. g. Romance, Suspense, Adventure, Thriller, Urban Fiction, Action, and Horror. That said, he's building his readership daily and is currently working on a truth-based story entitled, Treasure. He's writing a screenplay for his first novel Fair Game. Anthony is also an editor, proofreader, graphic designer, reviewer, and contributing writer for the Urban Book Source. Writing is his life! He lives and breathes to write. To find out more about him, please visit his website.  Interview Oana: What drives you to write and publish books?Anthony Pathfinder: Knowing that my work will impact someone's life is the driving force behind what I do. Also, I am motivated by the challenge to grow and mature in my creativity.Oana: What was the most valuable source of information for you as a self-published author?Anthony Pathfinder: Researching and reading whatever literature I could find about the self-publishing business. Knowing some aspects of the business is one thing, but getting a full understanding is invaluable. So for me, research is the ultimate source.Oana: What is the most challenging part of the self-publishing process?Anthony Pathfinder: There are a number of things; however, having...

Interviews with self-published authors about the challenges of publishing in today's market About The Author Author Luna Charles in her own words… I am a self-published author, Certified Life Coach, and the Director of Hardcastle Enterprises Corp., a business I created to help people realize their full potential. My first novel,  Men Are Not The Problem, is a heartfelt story of overcoming adversity and finding the love within which can heal all wounds. The success and theme behind this novel inspired me to write Love, Laugh and Live with Passion, a mixture of short stories and activities. Its purpose is to teach people the steps I took to overcome my own misfortunes. It features twenty weeks of exercises and factual tales from my life. I write, I speak to the youth, and spend time with my two daughters and husband. I was born in Haiti but have lived in South Florida for the last 21 years of my life. Interview Oana: What drives you to write and publish books? Luna Charles: Last year, if I had been asked that question. I would have said that it's something unexplainable. It's this need that if I don't write, anything else that I do won't really matter. Then last week, my sister Geanny sent me this link to a Ted talk presentation given by Author Elizabeth Gilbert in which she said something like during the Roman and Greek periods, they believed artistry was not something a person could produce on their own. But rather, it...

Interview with Vic Fortezza about the challenges of publishing in today's market Vic Fortezza was born in Brooklyn in 1950 to Sicilian immigrants. He has had more than 50 short stories published worldwide. He has five books in print: novels Close to the Edge, Adjustments, Killing, Exchanges, and the story collection A Hitch in Twilight. He was employed in data entry in the commodity trading business in Manhattan for nearly 25 years, until 2007. He still lives in Brooklyn, where he is promoting his work on the streets. He has accounts on several social media sites. Many of his short stories are available on the web for free. Google his name to find them.  Interview Author Oana: What drives you to write and publish books?Vic Fortezza: I try to make sense of the bittersweet mystery of life. I suppose recognition is a big part of it. And, of course, the hope of someday making a decent living at something I love.Author Oana: What was the most valuable source of information for you as a (self) published author?Vic Fortezza: The internet. I owe a great debt to two friends who constantly suggested I go online. Without the ease of electronic submissions, I might have abandoned the literary quest long ago. Using snail mail, I sometimes would not hear from a publisher for up to a year. There were times I wanted to rip my mailbox apart. On the web, I've frequently heard from publishers the same day, and a lot of...

  Interview with Amanda Reen   Amanda Reen is a thirty-three year old multiracial woman from rural Wisconsin who resides in the Boston area of Massachusetts with her husband Jeffrey and her daughter Olivia. I had the pleasure to meet Amanda while I was working on the series of interviews about the complex image of the African American woman. After we exchanged views briefly we both agreed that her story wouldn't fit in the African American series, and that the issues she was willing to discuss should be highlighted in a separate interview. So here it is, an honest and uncensored account on what it is like to be a person of both Caucasian and African American descent in today’s United States. Oana: Tell us about your experiences growing up as a person of both white and African American descent. Have you ever felt “disconnected” with any of those groups and why? Amanda: I grew up in Rural Wisconsin. I did not meet an African American person until I was about seven years old. My father, being multiracial himself, had left when I was about six months old and I never had his presence to draw from. Let me sort out my coming into fruition with this: my mother told me she cheated on my sister’s dad (a white man) with my dad (a black man) because it was the biggest insult to a white man. That was my first realization of disconnect with white people. It opened my eyes to the fact...

Interview with Linda Braggs Director/Owner of Serenity for Life Sober Living in Arizona An Arizona native, Linda Braggs is a writer, motivational speaker and creator of Serenity for Life Sober Living. She spent her childhood in Arizona and California and as a young woman she was soon acquainted with the destructive force of addiction that held her in its horrible grip for fifteen years.A mother of four children, grandmother, sister, daughter and aunt, she found relief in God and his Love and then turned to help others, bringing hope into their lives.She is currently working on a book titled, Colors of Addiction. Oana: What is the importance of the family in your life?Linda: The importance lies in unconditional understanding or at least a constant pursuit to understand it. It's loving each other wisely. I want to leave more than a memory for my family. Family means loving them, knowing the worst part of them and undoubtedly leaving them with a sense of knowing I was one of the best people who ever crossed their path. My family resides in that secret place of my heart, where only God dwell; in my soul. Oana: Would you say that the fact that you are an African American woman influenced the way you were treated throughout your life (school, workplace)?Linda: I'm sure the fact I am an Afro American woman influenced the way I was treated on a social level, but not in my home or on a scale larger enough for me to...