​The first time I ever thought of truly writing a book, other than small stories for my mom for mother’s day, was when I was in the ninth grade. I wrote over 100 pages on a story. Sadly I quit the story because I was told I would never write a book. Thankfully those people didn’t have the last word.
In 2009, a year after my first son was born I had a crazy dream. When I woke I went about my day like normal. The next night I had the same exact dream. Morning came and I thought that was weird. The third night I had the same dream again. This time when I woke up I thought, “Okay, I get it now.” I wrote the dream down in all its detail. The next night the previous dream continued from where it left off. The next day I wrote the dream down, this continued for a whole week. Each night the dreams continued, and each day I would write them down. At the end of the week I had the epiphany that this is three books in a series called “Apocalypse”. I started writing the first of the three books using the notes I had taken as a map to guide me. I wish I could say I finished quickly and moved on to the second, that would be convenient, but life is hardly ever convenient. During the creation of Apocalypse: Usifrim I went through five computers, two total wipe outs/rewrites from the start, many lost chapters, and many lost corrections. It took me six years to write the first draft, since it has taken another year and a half to edit my book.
I knew the best things are plagued with setbacks, so I pressed on and am happy to announce my book is available for purchase now. Thanks to my horrid experience I am now blessed with advice for future authors. Some of which are; always save your work in various places (I now e-mail to several people, save to three flash drives, two hard drives, and two devices.),  when writing the first draft- Just Write- (My favorite position is laying on my tummy with my arms out in front on the keys typing what I see in my head. Yes there are errors galore, but it gets done.), get a great editor (Someone that works with you and does magic with your words.), check your copyright licenses on any images you use- including covers, and don’t listen to the nay-sayers (They will come in swarms and have every reason in the world for you to stop. I let them get to me in the ninth grade, and that was a grave mistake.)
If you find yourself losing steam in your writing, or second guessing writing at all, think about what motivates you. My motivations are easily my family (Kids, husband, parents, siblings, cousins, ect.) and my future. When I think of my future I like to look up pictures (I am very visual). I find pictures of cars, homes, vacations, property, toys for my kids, donations I can give, and anything that I would want for my family or myself. It may sound superficial, but I like to think if I get _____ done, I can have “that” someday.
All it takes is a little inspiration. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Mine comes from dreams. Ever since that first dream that haunted me for three days in 2009, I have come into a habit of writing my dreams down. Now I have many “stories” that came from dreams to choose from in the future.
I am hoping for a great success in my near future with my book Apocalypse: Usifrim. For now I am not counting my chickens, because they haven’t hatched, but I do have high hopes for this book and those that will come after.
One thing I am extremely grateful for was the opportunity to meet one of my favorite authors in the flesh at the SLC ComiCon. Jenni James is not only an amazing author of various best sellers, but she is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. She inspired me greatly with her writing because she had many children in her care, and a husband who was no longer in the picture and she was able to produce a new book every month. Her skills as a writer and charm in person make her someone I attribute much of my success to. I highly recommend her and her books to anyone and everyone.

​Claire, an orphan living at the Usifrim Academy, has spent her life preparing to bond her soul to a demon in order to fight for a safer world. She wasn’t prepared for Nero Kelldonis, a strong and sexy demon of the seventh sin, Lust. Claire’s moral foundation is shaken and her long-time crush boils over. All this, coupled with her fragile self-esteem, is wreaking havoc with her mission: save her home from utter destruction.
 
You can find Sheena Perry on; instragram (@perrysheena), twitter (AuthorMissPerry),  facebook (AuthorSheenaPerry), wattpad ( @AuthorMissPerry), and email ([email protected])

​Like so many other authors, I never dreamed of being one; though in all honesty, the signs were always there if only I’d been paying attention.  As a child, I was a consummate daydreamer.  My happy place was most often found wandering my grandparents’ farm in rural Nebraska, dreaming up intricate stories in my head.  Writing in school came easily to me.  When I was in college, the professor of my required creative writing class continually called attention to my work as an example of what to do.  Despite all of this, it never occurred to me to actually write anything.  I thought knowing how to write well was no big deal.  Couldn’t everyone do it?  Didn’t everyone have movies running in their heads, with the only requirement for writing that you snatch those images and commit them to paper?
 
Fast forward into adulthood… While working as a paralegal in downtown Minneapolis, I rode the bus to and from work, an hour each way, every day, all week.  Needless to say, I inhaled books.  It was during these years that I discovered historical fiction novelist Sharon Kay Penman.  After several years of loving her books, social media became a “thing”, and I began to actively engage in her Facebook fan club -- and through that, with Ms. Penman herself.
 
In 2011, Ms. Penman published her book, Lionheart, her most recent addition to her growing list of books about the Plantagenet kings and queens of England.  As the result of a Facebook conversation in which she mentioned that authors rarely get detailed comments from readers about the specifics of why they love the books they read, I decided to do just that.  Consequently, I wrote her an embarrassingly long review (12 pages) of Lionheart.  After she recovered from her shock, we began to communicate regularly.  It was Ms. Penman herself who asked me the fated question, “Have you ever thought about writing?”  My favorite author became my own inspiration for writing.  And thus The Scribe’s Daughter was born.
 
I decided to tackle writing my first book from the first person perspective.  As someone who loves to daydream, and who has an inner monologue continually running in her head at any given moment in time, it seemed a natural method of writing a story.  For reasons still unknown to me, I immediately imagined that scene from the Disney movie Aladdin where Aladdin has just stolen an apple and is running away from the city guards, singing the song “One Jump”:
 
Gotta keep
One jump ahead of the breadline
One swing ahead of the sword
I steal only what I can't afford
 
I loved the idea of a feisty female heroine, so I re-imagined that scene from Aladdin, but this time with a character who would become Kassia.  She intrigued me so much that I kept writing, adding one more scene, and then another.  Her sarcasm and caustic wit grew on me, and I couldn’t stop writing.
 
Kassia’s story attempts to explore the idea that strength and resilience, self-worth or the inherent value of a person, is not determined by outward circumstance or external labels.  Kassia experiences then overcomes a great deal of trouble and trauma, but in the end, she finds out that she is stronger than she knew, that she is worthy to be loved.
 
I have an older sister, and more than once it has struck me how two sisters can share a childhood yet come away from it with differing perspectives on that childhood.  As such, I wanted to write a second book, telling Kassia’s sister’s story.  Originally I wanted to explore the idea of perception solely, but as events unfolded during the writing of Irisa’s tale, my purpose became less about perspective and more about personality.
 
The King’s Daughter follows Irisa, the sister whose fate is left in question early on in the first book.  Her internal development followed a similar path to Kassia’s but for different reasons.  Over the course of her tale, Irisa finds out that the truths alluded to in the first book are not all as they seem.  So here is a hint at the question of perspective that intrigued me early on.  As Irisa develops as a character, she discovers her own internal strength and self-worth like her sister, but her journey comes about in a way very different from her sister.  While many of life’s problems are similar for each person the world over, how a person approaches solving those problems varies greatly depending on one’s life experiences and personality.  This is definitely the case for Kassia and Irisa.
 
My next book will be a prequel about Irisa and Kassia’s mother, diving into the background of the sisters’ stories and how they ended up in the place they did.  While children certainly live lives of their own, their journey is begun by the path their parents have chosen, at least initially.  The third book will explore that fascinating topic.
 
The Scribe’s Daughter was released in 2015, and the sequel, The King’s Daughter, is available now for pre-order.  

​In this gripping sequel to The Scribe's Daughter, a young woman finds herself unwittingly caught up in a maelstrom of power, intrigue, and shifting perceptions, where the line between ally and enemy is subtle, and the fragile facade of reality is easily broken. Irisa's parents are dead and her younger sister Kassia is away on a journey when the sisters’ mysterious customer returns, urging Irisa to leave with him before disaster strikes. Can she trust him to keep her safe? How much does he know about the fate of her father? Only a voyage across the Eastmor Ocean to the land of her ancestors will reveal the truth about her family’s disturbing past. Once there, Irisa steps into a future she has unknowingly been prepared for since childhood, but what she discovers is far more sinister than she could have ever imagined. Will she have the courage to claim her inheritance for her own?


​Website:
www.stephaniechurchillauthor.com
 
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/stephaniechurchill
 
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/WriterChurchill
​

​From September 1939 to the Blitzkrieg of May 1940, 'Run The Gauntlet' follows the adventures of an RAF light bomber squadron at the beginning of World War Two. Having traded in their Fairey Batttles for new Bristol Blenheims, Falcon Squadron are off to war. The CO, Wing Commander Winwright must overcome the lethargy of peacetime and mould his unit into an effective fighting force. Pilot Officer Chandler is the new arrival and the welcome has not been exactly friendly. The old hands view him with suspicion and he must survive friendly fire as well as enemy action to show them what he is capable of. On a routine training flight, Flying Officer Hagen catches a glimpse of the hell that is waiting for all of them if they let their guard down for a moment. Facing the battle hardened Luftwaffe, Falcon Squadron are about to discover that war is far from a game. Supporting the Blenheim Society. This novel has been written with technical input from members of the Blenheim Society based at Duxford. The worlds only flying Blenheim is owned, operated by Blenheim (Duxford) Ltd who are the trustees of the aircraft and she was restored to fly under the auspices of the Aircraft Restoration Company who provide the licence coverage. Operating such a rare aircraft is an expensive undertaking so £1 from every novel sold is donated to help keep this warbird in the air for future generations to enjoy.
​Check out Vincent on Facebook

Ghostly phenomena plague the lofty halls of the museum with the arrival of a mysterious ebony statue. A prominent pastor is found dismembered after a night alone in the museum. The local police are stumped as the bodies keep piling up.

Despite slaughtering 135 men, the spirits of two man-eating lions failed in their mission to stop the invasion of modern technology into the heart of the African continent. A hundred years later, a new sorcerer has claimed the power to command the spirits of the lions. He releases them into the museum that houses their mortal remains. Neither ghost hunters nor exorcists can muster the power to defeat the spectral lions. Finally, Artemis Lewis, a Native American shaman, takes a stand. ​


​
​Check out Monica's Website
Like Monica on Facebook
Follow Monica on Twitter
  Bunnyzine Archive (Ears O'Fluffin's first case begins in Volume 2, Issue 6)