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Wynsome Peters Author Interview
Unlikely follows two friends who investigate mysterious activities in an abandoned house and uncover something unexpected. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The inspiration was to write a story about people who live in a smaller community. Where life goes at a slower pace. Where if everyone does not know each other, they know of the person. Where everything happens the same. So, when the two friends discover something unusual it gives one friend the opportunity to branch out and discover something new.
Nate and Zachary are intriguing characters. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I wanted personalities that were opposite but able to get along; to show how a sense of adventure versus a sense of logic complement each other. As the story progresses the roles of adventure and logic are sometimes swapped.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
You should be able to guess one if you have already read the book. Friendship, the other one is the pressure of pleasing your father.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next book is a YA called Watchers Eye and comes out the summer of 2021.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
Slowly as the earth turns, this city is being swept away into living life in an unharmonious way. New buildings, mostly banks are being built for the homes where the newcomers are coming; although they are on the outskirts.
One new arrival is the new school system, no longer are they going to buck the system and have 6th grade remain elementary.
The kids go with the flow, while the parents can see a hint of the conformity and being puppeteered.
One norm that no one wants to discuss is one vacant solitary building that looks eyeless. It’s the only reminder and remainder of what used to be.
Two main characters Hiccup and Pontmus happen to be traveling past the “used to be” when movement catches one of their eyes.
It’s from that one shadow that the sleuthing begins. One boy is going to uncover whatever is going on; while the other rather have the police handle it.
Why he is so determined to find out can be unearthed by checking out his family. Being the middle child has neither the perks of being the leader or being the spoiled. The dad has a job that places a demand to find things out that once was thought impossible
This gene of discovering has lain dormant in him since where he lives is so tame but things are about to go from normal to un.
The personality that wins out causes more sleuthing which uncovers very little until happenstance collides with reality.
One of the new families to move in, breaching the solitude of the city has a child who is so oddly articulate, it’s cool.
He becomes an unknowing accomplice in whatever is going on.
Sleuth boy gets his chance to really find out what is happening when he takes over a temporary job offered. Right now, all he has is his assumptions and imagination.
He is not trying to get caught; in fact, he doesn’t believe he will. He is so caught up that he doesn’t see the signs that show that the table has been turned and he is no longer the only spy.
Capture is imminent, but not only does he get ensnared, his friend, who had a moment of bravery is also entrapped.
Now what can they do?
These people are adults, bigger, stronger smarter. Hiccup notices that the smart gene may have passed on them. While he tries to play on that notion, his friend fades into despair.
Still leading, Hiccup’s brain is swirling with ideas on escape. Each one does not produce the wanted effect.
Will they ever be found?
This author writes her debut novel under a sobriquet. Some facts are that her real name can be pronounced in every country. She writes with a passion of telling an Unlikely story with funny parts if you have the type of humor to appreciate it. Holding a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, writing has always held a torch. This book shows the light at the end.
Unlikely
![Unlikely by [Wynsome Peters]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51-GE2gY9-L.jpg)
Every abandoned building holds a bit of mystery. At one time or another, all of us have had that moment when we imagine the life that used to inhabit the old homes and businesses in our communities–it’s just part of their charm. On the other hand, those same buildings can be homes to some truly sinister activities. When Nate and his friend, Zachary, notice something amiss with the abandoned building in their neighborhood, they make it their mission to discover the truth. What begins as an innocent exercise in eavesdropping quickly turns into an adventure neither of the boys will soon forget.
Unlikely, by Wynsome Peters, is the realistic urban fiction story centered around two middle schoolers making their way into high school and finding adventure along the way. Nate and Zachary, curious and eager to prove themselves, begin their own investigation after seeing shadows and overhearing a disturbing conversation behind the walls of a dilapidated building. The young boys make it their mission to solve the mystery and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Peters has managed to create an engaging story which will appeal to adolescent readers who enjoy mystery plots with relatable characters. The move from middle school to high school is one that causes mixed emotions and a host of opportunities to meet new people. The author has given young readers two main characters who both feel and act like them and have their own unique families full of quirks. Readers will find themselves just as invested in Nate and Zachary as they are the mystery unfolding before them.
While I enjoyed this adventurous romp, I noticed a few grammatical errors which affect the flow of the story. With a bit of proofreading, and an editor to keep the story focused, this could easily be an exceptionally fun novel.
Unlikely is an intriguing middle school adventure story that builds up and unravels a mystery in entertaining fashion. The author’s choice of characters and storyline work well and provide a relatable and engaging story for younger readers.
Pages: 137 | ASIN: B07MRF18HH
The Monsters of Their Imaginations
Hollyweird Needs is a wild SciFi story following a group of kids from a special needs school that discover a portal to the past in a new arcade game. How did this idea start and change as you wrote?
I started with my own fantasies about characters lost in space and time, and then played with all the possible twists involved with jumping through these dimensions. I should credit Steven King’s 11/23/63 for the following idea: What if these forces of space-time resisted change? I took this a step further with the characters ‘breaking’ the continuum, allowing all the fun stuff to happen, with the monsters of their imaginations pouring through.
There is a lot of interesting characters in this book. Who was your favorite character to write for?
I suppose my favorite character would be Chester. Even though there is no outstanding lead for this story, as it’s more of a buddy story, Chester is the one with the greatest understanding of how the time-jumping works, and she undergoes the most change, including how she rejects the moniker of Chester for her real Assyrian name as her self-actualization develops.
This seems like a very imaginative book. Was this an outlet for your natural creativity or was did it take some effort to put together?
I write within the genre of what I call comic fantasy, but my last couple of books (“Project Purple” and “Assunta”) wandered quite a bit from that category. You can say I got the HORROR out of my system. I probably should have published those under a different name, but I didn’t. And so now I’m back to doing what I enjoy the most—trying to be funny.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The next book is in the comic-fantasy realm, out this summer called “A Labyrinth for Loons”, about an American tourist stuck in Covid lockdown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He’s given the body of a corpse for storage because the family of the deceased is not allowed to drive it home for burial during lockdown. The dead man begins to haunt the guy, and he slips into a psychosis, losing his sense of identity and taking on the characteristics of the corpse—when it was alive. This action takes place with the day-to-day life and culture of Kuala Lumpur in the background.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
But the adults, especially those in the nearby screenwriting workshop, catch wind of the teens’ exploits, and in their own clumsy attempts to leap back into the past, tear a hole in the dimensions of time and space.
That’s when the monsters come through.
The Butts Plaza shopping center falls under siege, what with giant man-eating worms, dragons from the under-world, brain-eating zombies, killer monkey-birds, a deadly, gargantuan bouncing head, and even the Terminator–on a mission to terminate.
It turns out that forays done willy-nilly through the time continuum have consequences–mainly that the monstrosities featured in the adults’ screenplays come to life. Now the little shopping center has turned into a mish-mash of horrific goings-on.
The teens, all on various stages of the autism spectrum, must rescue the adults in Butts Plaza (and maybe the whole wide world!) from the horrors pouring through that hole in the sky.
And all of this begs the question–Who are the ones with special needs, anyway?
One Way In, No Way Out
Mann is a self-proclaimed genius at dealing drugs and is, himself, a heavy user. Mann’s life is filled with making deals, and there’s not one profession that’s not familiar with this product. Mann has seen and done it all and continues to live every day of his life on the edge not knowing what lies around the next corner. From drug distribution to fighting for his life, Mann manages to escape one harrowing situation after another. There is no calm in Mann’s life; there is no down time. And Mann wouldn’t have it any other way.
One Way In, No Way Out is the gripping action adventure story by Malcolm Boyd that tells the story of Mann Walker and his overabundance of near-misses and close calls. Mann has spent the better part of his life finding his way into and out of one sticky situation after another. The difference between Mann and any other man is that he chooses this life, time and time again–he’s addicted to the thrill it brings.
Malcolm Boyd has the proverbial way with words. From the opening line by main character, Mann Walker, Boyd hooks readers and invests them in Mann’s sordid life. I am a huge fan of first-person narratives, and Boyd more than delivered with One Way In, No Way Out. Watching the events unfold through Mann’s eyes is a fascinating way to witness the plot of this story. His life is so involved, so complicated–the only way to truly understand and relate to his character is through the personal, first-person perspective.
It’s worth noting that some action/adventure fans might be put off a bit by the exchanges between characters. Given the intense subject matter, there is some profanity in Boyd’s work. Though somewhat rough, the dialogue is integral to the plot.
I recommend One Way In, No Way Out to any action and adventure fan looking for a more down-to-earth novel. Boyd’s characters are gritty, real, and, in their own way, endearing. Mann Walker’s tale is one not to be taken lightly. Boyd takes readers on a journey that both amaze and sadden them, pulling them into the rawness of his characters’ lives.
Pages: 379 | ASIN: B01N37P508
Avenging Alex – Book Trailer
When Alex Solomon is placed in the witness protection program with her mother and child, U.S. Marshal John Chase is assigned to guard her. John’s wife Lorraine is tired of his long hours on the job. Feeling neglected and disillusioned, she has an affair that leads to the end of their ten-year marriage. She’s not quite ready to let John go, though, and will do everything in her power to win him back when she discovers that he has become involved with Alex.
As the triangle between John, Alex, and Lorraine becomes more complicated, dangerous drug lord Xavier Rivera is closing in on his target. A mole in John’s department has revealed Alex’s location, and Rivera sends an associate to take care of her. As John races to figure out which one of his colleagues is working with Rivera, no one is safe, not even his own kids.
Lewis Ericson has penned a dramatic thriller that is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats.
“Every life decision, matters more than we think.”
Ardent Grandeur follows an aspiring music artist through triumph and tragedy on his way to the top. What was the inspiration for the setup to your riveting story?
The inspiration for the book, Ardent Grandeur came from my first self-help book, “Cheaters Never Win: How to Stop Cheating in Any Relationship or Never Start,” which emphasizes the importance of figuring out your “why?” in effort to change behavior. With the fiction novel, Ardent Grandeur, I wanted to “paint the picture” of how our decisions impact those around us, and how we can cope and overcome life challenges in a better way. I want people to see how their decisions can impact others. Sometimes, the offender doesn’t always get to see how their behaviors and decisions impact others, so I give a voice to those characters in the book that allows them to tell their stories by having deep, thought-provokng conversations with their offenders. Just like the book states, “Every life decision, matters more than we think.”
Bryce is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
The driving ideals behind Bryce’s character development was to show different stages of his life and show people that despite your upbringing or what you have done in your past, people can change, if he/she wants to change and works toward making the necessary changes in their life. Even trash is recyclable. No matter how many times people travel down the wrong path in life, they can still change their direction (route recalculate like a GPS) to put themselves on the right path in life.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Some of the important themes that were important for me to explore in the book are: unconditional love, self-worth, self-efficacy, effective communication, self-love, critical thinking, behaviors, and decision making. Our behaviors can be a result from our life experiences (good or bad) and the decisions that we make in life are so important because they can impact us, as well as those around us, in a negative or positive way. Yet, even when we make poor decisions, we don’t have to be held captive to those decisions. We can get to the root cause of our behaviors, acknowledge them, and put in the work to do and be better.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am currently working on the sequel to Ardent Grandeur to continue the story and will hopefully release it by the end of 2021.
Author Website: loveexquisite.com
Ardent Grandeur is a fiction, novel about an aspiring music artist who is passionate about living a life of “Grandeur” and will stop at no end to reach the top, despite who he hurts along the way. Through triumph and tragedy, the decisions we make can lead to negative or positive outcomes. In the end, everyone in the book learns the valuable lesson that life decisions matter more than you think. The book causes us to think critically about our own life decisions and how they can impact those around us.
Changing the Rules
![Changing the Rules (The Sterling Woods Series Book 2) by [Charlene Johnson]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51eRxH7z9zL.jpg)
Stephanie Xavier hasn’t wanted for anything her entire life. She is privileged, spoiled, and has everything at her disposal. Her family’s wealth is well-known, and she has never had to hold a job or support herself. As perfect as her life seems, Stephanie is in need of much more. She has spent the better part of teens and young adulthood moving through meaningless short-lived relationships and has never known true love. The friendships she has made can hardly be called true. In fact, the only two women who still manage to spend time with her are as emotionally bankrupt as she is. When she makes up her mind to change her life, will the ones she wants to take with her be ready and willing?
Changing the Rules, the second book in the Sterling Wood series, by Charlene Johnson, chronicles the tempestuous life of Stephanie Xavier and her quest for a meaningful and loving relationship. After spending years bouncing from one man to the next in an effort to compete in a game based on sexual conquests, Stephanie realizes she wants love and not physical attention. Her problem is the man she wants, Craig, has been burned and is sure he can never love again–especially someone like Stephanie. He has heard the stories about her sex club and he knows she is the last person to commit. Their relationship seems doomed from the beginning. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Stephanie–as privileged as she is, she is a truly sad character.
Romance fans will revel in Johnson’s work. From cover to cover, the main characters are embroiled in one gratuitous sex scene after another. Buried within the explicit scenes is a storyline that doesn’t seem to get enough attention. The prologue set me up with some high expectations for the plot, but this was less a thriller and more of a romance. This is a plot-driven romantic suspense novel, with intense sex scenes, but I really wanted to see much more develop between Stephanie and several of the other characters.
I highly recommend Changing the Rules to any romance fan. With an element of mystery to the plot, I can see romance fans being intrigued with Stephanie’s storyline, her turbulent life, and the constant conflict she faces with Craig–she is a memorable character and definitely leaves her mark on readers.
Pages: 296 | ASIN: B08R81BYRT
An Overwhelming Desire To Say Something
To the North follows the adventures of Emily, Lehksi and Marty, as they attempt to uncover the truth behind the darkness plaguing their land. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
To the North is something that’s been swimming in my head for quite some time now, with the first inklings of it popping up in early/mid 2016. I would say my inspiration was based somewhat on world events around that time and since, as well as a desire to create a conflict of my own.
While I don’t think there is any specific spark that pushed me to write this story in particular, I can easily attribute its creation to an overwhelming desire to say something. I wished to draw others into a world of my own creation, a world both familiar and utterly different from our own.
Emily and Lehksi were intriguing and well developed characters. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Emily’s character was pretty solid from the start. She was designed to be someone that both drives the plot forward in her own unique way, and yet is consistently hamstrung by the events happening around her. I wanted a headstrong, motivated character that should, for all intents and purposes, not be involved with the dangerous happenings taking place around her. Yet there she is, front and center.
Lehksi on the other hand, was meant to be a more level-headed person. She served as a near polar-opposite of Emily as someone who both has the skills to act with confidence when necessary, as well as the temperament to know when she’s in over her head. However, it was necessary for her to be young and inexperienced. She knows she has a lot to learn, and in some cases that leads her to doubt herself and others.
I enjoyed the well thought out backstory and magic within your book. Were these planned or did they develop organically while writing?
Some of To the North’s backstory was planned, while some was not. I’m not in the habit of creating large lore documents, so many of the details of Odelia/Oul emerged as I wrote them. Of course I had a structural layout to guide my hand and I made sure to take notes on what had been established for consistency, but I wanted to “discover” this world for myself as I wrote it. So I gave it space to let it blossom on its own, and many times it surprised me with the results.
My magic system was created much the same way, though I did have to set some ground rules. Namely, from the start I wanted a system that can be expressed in different ways by different people. The Scriptors, for example, use magic by way of words. Others may use it in different ways, some of which have already been seen in Part 1. You should expect to see a considerable expansion on these concepts in Part 2.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I’m working on two books at the moment, the first is the conclusion to The Awakener Duology and I’ve already begun my second draft. I expect it to be released sometime near the end of the year or early 2022 depending on oh-so-many differing factors.
My other novel is still in the outline stages, and as such will likely take a bit longer to release. It will also take place in the “World of Oul” since I’d like to develop my world/lore a bit more before moving on to another unrelated series. I hope for a 2023/2024 release but we’ll see how things go.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Lehksi Olent works as a private investigator, helping those uncover the truth that is often shrouded by a world of magic and mystery. Together with her brother, Marty, she now travels the Odelian countryside in pursuit of the growing unrest taking place within the heart of a country torn asunder by unseen forces.
When their paths converge, Emily and Lehksi’s lives will be forever changed. Two paths, one future. Be it for the good of all, or for a singular desire, the fate of Odelia lies within their choices. And should they prove lacking, the world of Oul might never be the same.
To the North is the first novel in The Awakener Duology, an urban fantasy that explores what it means to discover the dark truths of an unforgiving land. It takes place in an alternate reality set in a pre-digital world, one that is governed by magic and corporate influence. Two young women must navigate numerous challenges in order to protect what is important to them, but in doing so they will make discoveries that may drive a wedge between them.
LITERARY TITAN 