Hello fellow book lovers!

I love this time of year! Autumn leaves and dark evening by the fire.

Book news!

Both of my novels The Things We Left Behind (dystopian) and Earth and Bones (crime) are currently on submission with a publisher which is very exciting. I am just waiting to hear back so keep everything crossed for me!

Stuff Your Kindle Event

AVA is currently only 99p and will be until the end of the BUZZFEST event. The event is open to all genres so there will be something for everyone.

Indie Author Insight chats with Brian J. Smith
Author of Strange Discovery and Other Strange Discoveries

Hello Brian, thank you for joining me at Indie Author Insight. Please introduce yourself.

My name is Brian J. Smith and I'm a native of Ohio. I've been writing fiction since I was thirteen because I was an outcast and wanted to put my imagination on paper until my sixth-grade teacher asked me to submit some for extra credit. My inspiration for writing came from all of the times I used to tell my little sister bedtime stories but I assure everyone that they had happy endings.

What sort of things do you like to write now?

It's a paranormal mystery called "Dark Avenues" (it's available as a stand alone on eBook and included in my short story collection called "Dark Avenues"). I was inspired to write it when I challenged myself to write a story detailing something that I enjoyed doing when I was a kid and I remembered doing headstone rubbings in summer camp. It's about a man who carries on the tradition of headstone rubbings that he and his now dead wife shared; one day he gets a rubbing from the headstone of a teenage girl and finds himself stalked by the spirit of a teenage girl. Suspense, horror, mystery, paranormal and supernatural.

Excellent and what are you working on now?

I'm working on a weird folk horror novel about a small town preparing for a ritual. I'll be rewriting an occult detective novella that'll be part of a trilogy that I know everyone will enjoy if that is their cup of tea. I've finished a novella collection and another short story collection as well.

Being an author has its highs and lows. Can you tell me about the best moment in your author career and how you overcame any low?

The best moments of my writing career has always been the reviews I receive from my readers whether bad or good or fair; if they read the story and enjoyed it I've done my job. When it comes to lows, I'd have to say it's rejection. Rejection stings but if it doesn't work at one place doesn't mean another place won't accept it.

Personally, I find marketing the hardest part about being an author. Do you have any marketing tips you could share for other indie authors out there?

Be aware of anyone offering interviews. Live interviews or Q&As like this. If you want, show excerpts of your novels on social media to give people a little snippet of what to expect. Don't give anything away though.

And if you could give your past self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Don't give up. Keep going.

Do you have any hobbies you enjoy when you’re not writing?

Cooking, fishing, taking long walks, listening to music, reading, podcasts. I love podcasts.

Thank you so much for joining me. Is there anything you’d like to add before we finish?

I'd like to recommend a slew of authors for other people to try. Kenzie Jennings, Eric LaRocca, Mary SanGiovanni, Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, H.P. Lovecraft, Gaby Triana, Jessica McHugh and Stephen King.

Thank you for reading.

Lydia x