Colleen Tews

Happy Monday everyone. Today, I'm talking with author Layla Dorine. Everyone say hello. So, Layla, how long have you been writing professionally? Since 2015. That was when my first novel, Guitars and Cages, was published by Wayward Ink. Prior to that, I’d been writing as part of an online roleplaying game for roughly seventeen years and the characters developed there went into the first four novels I wrote.   What genre/s do you write? LGBTQ Fiction and Romance, MM Romance and MM+ Romance   What drives you to write? I’ve always had a cast of characters running around in my head. I used to put them into the roleplay games and a form of mental fan fiction where I would imagine the what ifs of television shows and movies. Since I wanted to keep a record of them, I started writing them down in journals, then typing them up and posting them online. As I started to realize that other people were interested in my stories, I decided that it would be fun to share them too. Now, I’m dri...

Reading is always fun. I plan on reading a book a month. This month I am reading Laurell K. Hamilton's Hit List. It is in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. So far, I've really been enjoying it.  The book throws me back to the original set of books in the series. The ones where it had less to do with sex and more to do with mystery and suspense. Not that there is anything wrong with reading sex. (Hell, I've been known to write a good sex scene every now and then.) My problem is when the sex steals focus from the main part of the story. Hit List does not have that problem.  I highly recommend this book. As well as the rest of the Anita Blake series. Hamilton is a phenomenal writer. She paints vivid pictures without being overtly flowery. She is an author I admire.  The first in the series is Guilty Pleasures. I promise you once you start reading the Anita Blake books you'll be hooked. The latest book, Smolder, releases the same day as my book Onyx. Which is March 21,...

I've known Paul Lubaczewski for several years. He has always been professional, kind, and an inspiration. Today, we're going to breakdown top ten questions the indie author gets asked the most. Thank you, Paul, for sharing with us. 1) How long have you been writing professionally? Fiction… I think about 6 or 7 years now. Before that I was a music reviewer which is a different kettle of fish entirely   2) What genre/s do you write? Horror-comedy, horror, sci fi, fantasy. I guess I’m most known for horror comedy, but I’ve published in all of the above.   3) What drives you to write?            At this point I don’t know how I’d sleep at night if I didn’t. I go to sleep plotting in my head. If I had to spend that time thinking about every stupid thing I’d ever said or done…..   4) What was the biggest hurdle you had to cross? Whether professionally or personally. I don’t know if I view things as hurdles. It’s ...

Sunday, January 8th, was my forty-second birthday. It was a beautiful day, hardly a cloud in the sky, not a care in the world. Except for some experimenting I had planned for dinner.  We had homemade surf and turf. I had never made lobster tails before and decided to give it a try. I had read a couple recipes and watched a couple presentation videos on YouTube. One thing I learned was that kitchen scissors are my friend. I'm so glad I ran out to get them last minute the night before. There are a lot of feet you have to cut off. Then there is the cracking of the shell that is damn-near impossible. No one had the hand strength to do it, but if you take the scissors and cut the front and back everything moves where it's supposed to go.  I coated the meat in a garlic butter sauce. Very simple to make and delicious. I used garlic powder instead of the actual herb. I'm a heathen, but I don't care because like I said, it was very simple and delicious. Cooking it was just as ea...

 2022 was a doozy. In January of '22 I started chemo and finished it in March. I had a breast mastectomy in April. Two weeks later, I went FanExpo Cleveland where I met Mark Sheppard and Grey DeLisle. They signed my Funkos and wished me luck with my recovery. This trip sparked a strong of conventions that my family went to that year.  Now in 2023, I feel like I am set for whatever life throws at me.  March will be a big time for me. On March 21st, Onyx will release through Kindle Unlimited. We also have a return to FanExpo Cleveland and the first CabbageCon (Avatar: The Last Airbender theme) in Columbus.  The second weekend in July, July 8th to be precise, I will be working Committed at Hill View Manor alongside on of my favorite authors, Tracy Kincaid. It will be held in New Castle, Pennsylvania.  In August, I plan on releasing the second book in the paranormal romance Dream Prophet Trilogy titled Oathbreaker. The first book, Awakening, is available in ebook ev...