AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Steve Donahue

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

I don't think anyone decides to become a writer. It's something you are born to do. I developed an interest in writing in middle school and it stayed with me for the rest of my life. 

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?

I loved books by John Jakes, Ernest Hemmingway, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. My first favorite author was Matt Christopher, who wrote sports novels for young readers. I still love classic literature.      

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel Where Freedom Rings?

I have always been fascinated with the Underground Railroad and those who were brave enough to risk their lives for their freedom. I'm equally impressed with the abolitionists who assisted the freedom-seekers, for they had so much to lose if they were caught, but they risked it anyway because of their fervent belief that slavery is wrong. 

4. What was it about the Underground Railroad that made you say, "I have to write a novel about that?"

There are many nonfiction books about the Underground Railroad, but I noticed that there are few novels about it. I wanted to highlight this amazing institution and honor those who fought against slavery. 

5. What kind of research did you have to do in order to make this book accurate?

I read many articles about the Underground Railroad, and I read William Still's book, The Underground Railroad, which provides startling insight into the plight of runaway slaves. I was so impressed with his book that I included him in the story. 

6. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

I have other published books in many genres, including The Manila Strangler (Mystery), Amy the Astronaut and the Flight for Freedom (Sci-Fi), and Comet and Cupid's Christmas Adventure (Fantasy). I don't see myself locked into one genre. I have ideas for many stories across many genres.  

7. What would you do if you were a part of the Underground Railroad?

I would be an abolitionist who helped hide and transport freedom-seekers to the north.  

8. Would you like to see Where Freedom Rings as a film? Who do you want to see play your characters?

Yes, I would love to see it as a film. I think Kerry Washington (from ABC's Scandal) would be a great choice for Kelsa, and Chadwick Boseman (Jackie Robinson from the movie 42) would be a solid choice for Kelsa's husband Wade. Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) would make an interesting Jackson Mallard. Of course, having Oprah Winfrey produce the movie was also be wonderful. 

9. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

I would like to be a best-selling author, of course, and I have many more ideas for other books. Hopefully, I will continue to develop my writing skills and produce quality books that readers love.  

10. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

I make my living by working for a health-care company as a customer service representative. If I weren't writing, I would probably just do that for the rest of my work-life.   

11. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

My current work-in-progress is a historical novel about the Holocaust. That is another topic that I have a strong interest in.  

12. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

1. I am a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan.
2. I don't drink coffee (can't stand the smell or the taste of it).
3. Dogs always seem to like me.

Purchase Mr. Donahue's novels via: Amazon

BLOG TOUR/BOOK REVIEW: "All The Butterflies In The World" by Rodney Jones

With her senior year looming, Tess McKinnon has two goals: hanging out with her best friend, Liz, and avoiding her judgmental, alcoholic mother. Then yummy John Bartley arrives—to tell Mrs. McKinnon that her daughter is dead. Distinctly still alive, Tess is baffled by John’s tales of 1800s time travel, rewritten lives, and love. She knows she’s never seen him before, but her feelings refuse to be denied.
When Tess and John discover an aged newspaper clipping that indicates John’s uncle was hanged for Tess’s murder in 1875, John decides to return to his time to save his uncle’s life. Not really sure she even believes in this time travel stuff, Tess checks the article after John leaves. The words have changed, and she is horrified to find that John has been hanged instead.
Armed with determination and modern ingenuity, Tess must abandon her past and risk her future for a chance to catch her own killer and find her first love for the second time.

Picking up after the first book left off (spoiler alert; sorry, I couldn't avoid this one), we find John Bartley once again trying to convince a living Tess McKinnon that he's really from the year 1875, and traveled through a time-loop to 2009.
John thinks that this time they might both live happily ever after, never going back to his time...as long as Tess doesn't call the psych ward on him!
But a trip to a local museum of their town shows him that his uncle was wrongfully hanged for Tess's murder, and he had vanished. He wants to go ball and make things right, but in order to do that he might never see Tess or 2009 again.

Just like its predecessor, All The Butterflies In The World is a fictional masterpiece. Combining historical fiction, romance, upoer-YA/NA themes and sci-fi, you won't find another book similar to this on Amazon!
What I love most about it is the emotion behind the words, the conviction the characters have. You don't feel like you're reading a fictional account of fictional characters, but rather the story of good friends for whom you hope there's a happy ending.
The biggest difference between the two books is that, What book one was solely from John's perspective, this book alternates between his POV and Tess's. It clearly displays the differences between the two characters' mindsets, and also the sweet similarities. You get to experience first-hand as Tess falls in love with John, while you live with John in the jail, before his trial.
This book has something for everyone: sci-fi fans, romance addicts and historians specializing in the 19th century. It's one of my new favorites!

5/5--a fictional masterpiece!

Purchase All The Butterflies In The World via:

Official site (has all purchase links)

BLOG TOUR/BOOK REVIEW: "The Sun, The Moon, and Maybe The Trains" by Rodney Jones

John Bartley is a teenager in the year 1875. He lives with his aunt and uncle and has a very typical life of a young man in that time. When he was younger, he found a ribbon made of a very odd material. Years later, he gets lost in that very spot. When he finds his way back to the road, it's not 1875. It's 2009. He needs to get back home, and 21st Century teenager Tess is determined to help.
What do you do when you're lost in the wrong century?

I've read over a thousand books in my life so far. I've read a few books about time travel, and none have drawn me in like this since Stephen King's Dark Tower series (though it's a vastly different story). You get to know John, his family and his time first, before you join John as his world gets turned upside down.
The characters, each and every one, no matter how brief their appearance is, are integral parts of the story. Each of them are full of originality and they all make the story that much richer.
There's a lot more going on than just an interesting plot. There's the noticeable differences between the times: electricity, cell phones, the Internet, soda, cars and television are just a few things that confuse John. Tess can't wrap her head around the fact that women in 1875 wear dresses down to their ankles, can't vote and most can't even work.
The story is also a reluctant love story. John is at the age where he needs to start courting women, and Tess is a modern American teenager. The reader knows immediately what they realize quite late, they love each other. This is a tale of love that transcends through time and space, literally. 
Science fiction mixed with historical fiction, with an added a dash of romance and a heap of suspense, all culminating to one of the most unexpected endings in literature make this a book you can't afford not to read!

5/5--a masterful piece of work!

Purchase The Sun, The Moon and Maybe The Trains via:

Red Adept Publishing (has all purchase links)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Terri Lee

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

At thirteen. That's when I wrote my first novel. It was right around that time that I talked my teachers into launching a newspaper at Twin Hills Junior High in Sebastopol CA. Along with being the editor, I wrote a little serial mystery story for each edition that garnered rave reviews. Needless to say, I was hooked. Sometimes life takes a meandering path and I lost track of that dream for awhile, while I was busy living other dreams. Not regretting a single moment, because sprinkled along that path are all my experiences. many of them written about at length. There are probably a dozen leather bound journals filled with a million random thoughts, safely tucked in the back of my closet. Exactly where they belong. 

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today? 

My tastes have always been and continue to be eclectic. I love biographies about historical figures, fiction, and everything in between. Amelia Earhart's story was the first one to capture my imagination. I was sure I was destined to pick up where she left off, circling the globe, looking adorable in my little leather jacket. I had a change of heart  when I read Florence Nightingale's biography and thought perhaps I might selflessly devote my life to caring for the sick.  But then I read Gone With the Wind and realized that I was Scarlet O'Hara. Well...you get the point. Today my tastes still run to biographies, history and good fiction. I love Pat Conroy, Jan Karon, Garth Stein and Suanne Laqueur. I'm a sucker for a great line, where ever I may find it. 

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel The Bootlegger's Wife?

Real life. It's a true story, based upon my grandparents. When the idea presented itself to me, I was shocked that I hadn't thought of it before. But I'm a firm believer that things happen when they're ready to happen. So, apparently I wasn't ready to write this story until now. 

4. Will we ever see Frances and Frankie again?

The short answer is yes. But not in a sequel. They will appear in a future story when I tell the tales of my childhood years. Those two provided the solid foundation upon which I stand today. And it will be lovely for me to talk about them again. 

5. Do you think, personally, that love is worth what Frances endures?

Absolutely. Life is difficult, and hardships will fall across your path no matter which road you take. But to have a love like that, a hand to hold through it all...isn't that what we all search for?

6. What is it about Prohibition and the Depression that, you think, makes stories set then so engrossing?

It seems to me as if the country was in her teen-aged years. Quite full of herself. Testing boundaries. Embracing everything that was new. The dresses were short and flirty, the hair-styles were sassy, the champagne flowed and like I said in my book... "people had been riding high on a carnival ride that had no end when suddenly the wheels came off."  I also think we're drawn to that period because so many of us have grandparents who are not some dusty statistic in a history book, but rather people we've known and loved who lived those years. Perhaps they've shared some of their own experiences with us. Therefore the connective tissue to that era hasn't been stretched too thin yet. It's very real.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at. Were any of the characters based on real people?

I don't know about genres. I can't see myself writing something that I'm not interested in reading, so I doubt if there will be any Zombies in my future. My first novel, Back to Austen, was a regency era romance. Jane Austen would approve. And the story ideas that are lined up in the pipeline are all diverse enough to keep me excited. But there's always one common denominator...love.

9. What would you do if you were Frances?

I would have chosen the same path. I am her granddaughter. For me, love is the only answer. 

10. Would you like to see The Bootlegger's Wife in theaters? If so, what actors would you like to see play your characters?

I love this question, because I have a Pinterest board devoted to The Bootlegger's Wife that provided all kinds of inspiration during the long months of writing. Mila Kunis is Frances. Her tiny petite frame, dark hair and big doe eyes are exactly what I pictured for Frances Durant. 
Frankie is a little more difficult. I really can't think of a current actor who captures his essence. But Leonardo DiCaprio when he played Jack in Titanic...there...that's the look. That lock of hair falling over his face. That devil-may- care grin. Those gorgeous blue eyes. That's Frankie Lee. [Author provided photos of chosen actors are below.--KSR]

11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

I hope to still be telling stories and I hope that people are waiting in line to read them. 

12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

All of the other things that I already do. Love, laugh, read, garden, cook, decorate...but I can't imagine NOT writing. I've always written. Mostly for myself. And that's fine too. 

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

My current work-in-progress is still in the development stage. Lots of research, plotting and outlining are taking place. Lucky for me...I love the entire process. I can tell my fingers are itching to get into the story. I know when it's time, because the characters start pushing harder. Talking more. They can be quite demanding. This story is set in the south in the early 1960s. This affords me another chance to delve into history. Back to Austen was set in 1815. The Bootlegger's Wife in 1920s...so hey, at least I'm moving forward. Ha ha. 

14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I can't imagine collaborating with another author, because writing is so personal to me. But of course there are writers I'd love to sit with and pick their brain for an hour or two. I'd have to throw it way back to Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Mark Twain. Three literary giants, who represent their time yet are just as fashionable today as the day they first put pen or quill to paper. 

15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

Three things? This reminds me of the picnic scene at Box Hill in Emma. Where the participants are asked to provide "One thing very clever... two things moderately clever...or three things very dull indeed." I shall strive to not be too dull. 
Number 1: I married my high school sweetheart. Like every other good love story, we have defied the odds and just celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary.  
Number 2: I love silliness. Silly words. Silly faces. Which makes me quite the hit with my grandchildren. I'm a comedian's dream audience. I'm wired to laugh. 
Number 3: I wrote my first REAL novel in my mid-fifties. More than surprising, I think that's inspirational. It just goes to show that it's never too late for your dream to find you. 
In closing I'd like to thank you Kelly, for providing such insightful questions. I loved the fact that I had to give these a little thought.  It's been a real treat. Thanks for inviting me, and I hope your audience will be intrigued enough to take a chance on The Bootlegger's Wife.

Find Terri Lee online via:

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