Wednesday, November 5, 2014

ARIA Expo Blog Tour, Ashley Richer

Mike:  Hi, Ashley.  I’m happy to have yet another Association of Rhode Island Author (ARIA) to introduce to my Overlords fan base.  As with the others, we’re going to do an old fashioned interview.  Here we go!



Mike:  Ashley, please introduce yourself to my Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.

Ashley:  My name is Ashley Richer.  I was born and raised in Rhode Island.  I have lived in Narragansett for 12 years and don’t plan on ever leaving.

Mike:  What are you working on these days and what’s the current status of that project?

Ashley:  I am in the final stages if self publishing my first children’s book of a series.  I have been writing the, “Tyler’s TALL Tales” series for 10 years now.  It is a dream come true to be publishing, “Chasing the Moon” which is the first book in the series!

Mike:  Can you tell the audience what inspires you to write?

Ashley:  My high school English teacher inspired me to pursue my writing.  She is now my editor for my books!  However, my biggest inspiration the past four years has been overcoming medical odds.  When I was 24 I survived a rare medical scare, which put life into perspective.  It was at that time that I decided to publish my books.

Mike:  What genre do you enjoy writing the most?

Ashley:  I am known as the kid whisperer… all things kid related is what I excel at. So, writing children’s books with tons of adventure and imagination is definitely my favorite genre.  However, I am writing a young adult novel too!

Mike:  Any upcoming projects we should now about?

Ashley:  Be sure to follow the Tyler’s TALL Tales adventure at www.facebook.com/tylerstalltales or help the self-publishing process at www.gofundme.com/tylerstalltales

Mike:  OK, time for some quick ones, ready?  Favorite movie?

Ashley:  The Goonies, clearly

Mike: Favorite food or dish to make?

Ashley:  I am a crockpot genius… and I make a mean carrot cake from scratch

Mike:  Favorite place you have ever visited?

Ashley:  Italy, hands down

Mike:  Favorite music band?

Ashley:  I am a country girl!

Mike:  Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of yours!

Ashley:  Unbroken

Mike:  Ashley, thanks for being such a good sport!  Is there anything you would like to leave my fans with?

Ashley:  Mike is an awesome guy, a huge supporter of his fellow authors, and a great guide for me to have as a new author.  Keep following his work and thanks for reading a little bit about me!

Mike:  Ashley, thanks for being part of this great blog series.  Please follow the links above to get in touch with Ashley and most importantly, support her upcoming book!





Tuesday, November 4, 2014

ARIA Expo Blog Tour, Don Hagist

Mike:  Hi, Don.  I’m happy to have yet another Association of Rhode Island Author (ARIA) to introduce to my Overlords fan base.  As with the others, we’re going to do an old fashioned interview.  Here we go!



Mike:  Don, please introduce yourself to my Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.

DNH:  I’m Don N. Hagist, a native Rhode Islander with a great interest in the people who fought in the American Revolution.

Mike:  What are you working on these days and what’s the current status of that project?

DNH:  I’m just finishing up the manuscript of a book called “The Revolution’s Last Men: the Soldiers behind the Photographs” which will be released by Westholme Publishing in March 2015. It deals with six veterans of the American Revolution who lived long enough to have their photographs taken, but whose actual wartime service has never been accurately told.

When that’s done, I can get back to my real area of interest, the British soldiers who fought in America. The same publisher has asked for a new work on that subject, which I’ll start as soon as this current book is done.

Mike:  Can you tell the audience what inspires you to write?

DNH:  I always enjoyed reading military biographies and autobiographies. When I began to study the American Revolution, I discovered that there are great numbers of personal stories in manuscripts that have never been published.

Mike:  What genre do you enjoy writing the most?

DNH:  Well annotated but readable non-fiction. I strive to write history that a casual reader will find lively and engaging, and that a subject-matter expert will find impeccably accurate.

Mike:  Any upcoming projects we should now about?

DNH:  I’m on the editorial staff of a web magazine called Journal of the American Revolution which has been highly successful. It’s a great example of embracing a modern publishing model – the internet – to reach a wider audience than would otherwise be likely for informative, readable history. See it at http://allthingsliberty.com

Mike:  OK, time for some quick ones, ready?  Favorite movie?

DNH:  Um… anything with airplanes. If I wasn’t writing about the American Revolution, I’d be writing about aviation.

Mike: Favorite food or dish to make?

DNH:  Oh, I like food to much to pick a favorite. It’s all my favorite!

Mike:  Favorite place you have ever visited?

DNH:  Ooo, that’s also difficult – I’ve had the good fortune to travel a fair amount and to live in some other countries. I really enjoyed living in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. But every place is full of interesting details.

Mike:  Favorite music band?

DNH:  Whatever’s playing on the alt rock stations right now.

Mike:  Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of yours!

DNH:  Again, I can’t pick just one. To Kill a Mockingbird; The Life of Pi; A Thousand Splendid Suns are favorites that I’ve read recently. I don’t write fiction because I could never do as well as those authors.

Mike:  Don, thanks for being such a good sport!  Is there anything you would like to leave my fans with?

DNH:  Besides “Thanks for reading?” In all modest, I do really good book talks, so if you need a speaker, keep me in mind!

Whether it’s reading, food, travel or what have you, always be open to trying new genres – in the famous words of Calvin and Hobbes, “There’s treasure everywhere!”

Mike:  Don, thanks for being part of this great blog series.  Please follow the links below to get in touch with Don and most importantly, buy his books!

You can get to all of his current books here:





You can follow the progress of the new book here (you don’t need a Facebook account):





Monday, November 3, 2014

ARIA Expo Blog Tour, Sean Fay-Wolfe

Mike:  Hi, Sean. I’m happy to have yet another Association of Rhode Island Author (ARIA) to introduce to my Overlords fan base.  As with the others, we’re going to do an old fashioned interview.  Here we go!



Mike:  Sean, please introduce yourself to my Overlords fans with a little information about you and where you’re from.

Sean:  My name is Sean Fay-Wolfe. I’m seventeen years old, and a senior at South Kingstown High School in Rhode Island. My first book was “Quest for Justice: A Minecraft Novel,” set in the world of the titular video game, and published in January of 2014.

Mike:  What are you working on these days and what’s the current status of that project?

Sean:  Right now, I’m working on a sequel to “Quest for Justice” which is called “The Noctem Ascension: A Minecraft Novel.” I’m working as hard as I can to have the manuscript finished by later September or early October, and the book will be published in mid-December.

Mike:  Can you tell the audience what inspires you to write?

Sean:  I’ve always enjoyed being creative in all types of areas, like music and game design… it’s just part of my personality. I wrote my first short stories in Elementary School in the back of my notebooks. I got the idea for “Quest for Justice” by playing Minecraft online, and seeing people interact with each other in the open-ended world. I thought that that world would be a good setting for a story, and two years later I had a full-length novel about it.

Mike:  What genre do you enjoy writing the most?

Sean:  I mainly write fiction set in the modern day but with some sort of fantastical twist. Examples of this are the Elementia Chronicles (the collective name of my Minecraft trilogy) and the other book I’m working on, “Legacy of the White Katana,” about a high school student who inherits a magic sword with the ability to kill demons only she can see.

Mike:  Any upcoming projects we should know about?

Sean:  As of now, my only upcoming project is “The Noctem Ascension,” which will be out in December of this year. I will release the third book in the series, “Herobrine’s Message,” the year after that, and I will probably release “Legacy of the White Katana” sometime after that.

Mike:  OK, time for some quick ones, ready?  Favorite movie?

Sean:  Hunchback of Notre Dame

Mike: Favorite food or dish to make?

Sean:  Fried eggs, the only lunch I can consistently make well.

Mike:  Favorite place you have ever visited?

Sean:  Philmont Scout Reservation, New Mexico

Mike:  Favorite music band?

Sean:  Coldplay

Mike:  Favorite book, and no it can’t be one of yours!

Sean:  Probably The Giver by Lois Lowry… it was my favorite as a kid and nothing’s surpassed it.

Mike:  Sean, thanks for being such a good sport!  Is there anything you would like to leave my fans with?

Sean:  Ever since I published “Quest for Justice,” it’s been my dream to become a full-time professional author. I’m incredibly thankful for all of those who have supported me in my dream, especially my family, as well as my fans and all those who have read my book. I’d like to thank you, Mike, for giving me this chance to put myself out there to the world. You can check out my website at www.sfaywolfe.com and follow me on my author’s page at www.facebook.com/ElementiaChronicles.

Mike:  Sean, thanks for being part of this great blog series.  Please follow the links below to get in touch with Sean and most importantly, buy his books!