Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Author Interview with Sylvia Hubbard


Creative Expressions Literary Services is pleased to announce Virtual Book Tour for Beautiful by Sylvia Hubbard. The tour will run July 23-August 6, 2017.
Publication Date: July 7, 2017
Genre: Romance and Suspense
Paperback: 324 pages

Tell us a little about yourself and your background? I’m a happily divorced mother of three, living in Detroit and loving life.
According to my mother, I used to lie to her when I was young (about six years old) and she would punishment me by making me write my lie down. I found that my lies look better on paper than verbally. My pain became my life’s pleasure.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?
I’d love to be able to just sit down and write all day, market and social media manage
in the evening and then go out on dates with my beau at night, then wake up and
start the day over again, just like that.

What are you working on at the minute?
The Murderer’s Lover – about a woman who finds out she had a one night stand with a possible serial killer…and she wants to again.

Are you a pantser, plotter, a little of both?
I’m clearly a pantser. I just sit down and start to write. Usually at the worst part in my characters life and then roll ahead from there.

Do you have any tech tools that help you with your output?
I have this awesome electronic pen that I use to write out my stories when inspiration hits me. It records my strokes electronically and I can even save what I have written to be downloaded later and sometimes even digitally typed. I list other items that help me in my writer’s life on my website https://howtoebook.org/products/amazonproducts/

Do you put yourself on a schedule with a word or page count goal?
I never have a word or page count goal, I write until I’m tired. I know I’m
addicted to writing so overall a day, I should have produced about 10,000
words. Whether it’s from blogging, copyrighting, work writing, status messages
or fiction writing.

When did you decide to become a writer?
The day I met Beverly Jenkins. I saw someone like me who was an author and knew I could be an author too. She’s my Shero. Where do you do most of your writing? Up until Mother’s Day of this year, I did most of my writing lying  or sitting In bed. My beau fixed up an office for me at home and I’m happy as a lark.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Believe in your idea and bring your writings in your head to fruition because you do not want to die with them inside of your brain. There is no download or recovery. There’s just you not leaving a legacy.

Do you write full-time or part-time? I’m a part-time writer.
I have three kids and as a busy single mom, I still need a benefit job to support braces, glasses, really great health care until they are I don’t mind the sacrifice. I love being a mom and I handle my writing career around my “benefit” job like a pro.

With this being your 40th book you must have figured out a way to be so prolific.
Get to work. Use every second of the day to be proactive at something. Stop telling myself I’m going to do it and just do it. And most of all, stop getting caught up on what I couldn’t do or accomplish and just try to do better the next day. I always love hearing about an author's writing process so can you tell us about some bits of yours? When I need a lot of emotion in a scene especially when it comes to expressing how characters feel about something very strongly, an argument or even a powerful seduction seen, I have to literally talk it out and hear the convo out loud before I can write it down. I also hate complete silence. I have to have music playing or the tv running for white noise to I can concentrate.

How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
In so many ways. I read my earlier work and I’m like wow I’ve grown. From listening to my editors, to learning more about my craft, I think my stories have grown creatively exponentially.

What is the hardest thing about writing?
Getting everyone in my family to respect my writing time and giving over the story to the character to let them finish telling it.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
For a three hundred page book, (about 100 thousand words) it takes me about four
months when I sit my butt in a chair at least four times a week for about an hour.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In 10 years? 5 years
I hope to be traveling and speaking more about writing publishing and marketing, plus single busy mummying. In ten years, I hope to be a relaxing on the beach, just writing books and skyping speaking events. LOL

What other genres do you write?
Suspense Romance with a touch of noir, erotic, thriller, adventure, action, women’s contemporary, urban and/or drama. So someone will fall in love and someone will die, but I’m not sure what order it will come in.

Did you do any research for the book, Beautiful?
If so, how did you do it? (Searching Internet, magazines, other books, etc.) For Beautiful, Madison spliced plant DNA in order to create super veggies. I had to under a lot about DNA, extraction techniques and proper growth techniques. She also came up with beauty products naturally made and I had to get into a lot of organic techniques on how to make beauty products naturally. It was a fun
journey and I enjoyed learning how to do those things.

What about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The strength of Madison and the journey she had to take to find the strength she already had inside of her. People will learn you really make diamonds from pressure and love – agape love between a man and woman can be shared in so many different ways, but you really have to love from your heart to understand it and receive it.

Do you have a saying or motto for your life and/or as a writer?
Never give anyone the keys to drive you crazy.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Book Spotlight: Beautiful by Sylvia Hubbard



Creative Expressions Literary Services is pleased to announce Virtual Book Tour for Beautiful by Sylvia Hubbard. The tour will run July 23-August 6, 2017.
Publication Date: July 7, 2017
Genre: Romance and Suspense
Paperback: 324 pages

About the Author
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Sylvia Hubbard knew she’d wanted to be a writer of romance long before she knew there were black writers in the world. Weaving stories magically as a summer past time to writing stories to get through the humdrum of school, she was able to create something from nothing.

Today, she has independently published over 40 books, is the founder of Motown Writers Network and The Michigan Literary Network, CEO of HubBooks Literary Services, runs over five blogs on a variety of subjects, host The Michigan Literary Network Radio Show and is a happily divorced mother of three children in Detroit, Michigan.
“I’m no superwoman,” she states with a smile that seems infinite on her lips. “I’m just being an asset in the world instead of a liability.”


About The Book
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Madison wanted more than anything to be beautiful and meeting a tall, handsome stranger was the answer to her prayers. Yet, was meeting the stranger all a ploy to steal her valuable research? Or did he really love her? She must discover the truth, but will she survive or lose herself and everything she has worked for. Find the answers wrapped around suspense, drama, and romance in Beautiful, Author Sylvia Hubbard’s 40th Novel. Read chapters 1-5 of Beautiful for free

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Beautiful BookTrailer




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Thursday, July 20, 2017

Author Interview with Shondra M. Quarles


Hi Shondra, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Hello Latoya, my name is Shondra M. Quarles, aka Eye Heart Teaching.  I was born in New Mexico and currently live in Texas.  I am an Early Childhood teacher with over 20 years experience working with young children.  I am also an author of children’s books.  I am just getting my feet wet in regards to writing and self-publishing.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?
My ambitions for my writing career are to become a best-selling author and to sell a million copies of one of my books in my lifetime.

Which writers inspire you?
I am actually inspired by many of the children’s books I have read to the children I teach.  Dr. Seuss (as controversial as he may be) is one of my inspirations.  I love the rhyming style and the use of nonsense words.  His books are really fun and I want to write fun books.

What are you working on at the minute?
I am currently working on a children’s book about Black Lives Matter.  It is actually a poem that I wrote so it should be interesting and relative.  I am very excited about the project.

What genre are your books and why?
I write children’s books because I love teaching children and reading is important to their success in life.

In 10 words or less can you create a quote that describes you and your writing?
If I could create a quote that would describe me and my writing it would be “I’m an introvert whose thoughts become pictures in readers minds.”

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
If I could choose an actress to play the main character in  my book The Teacher Who Didn’t Want to go to School, I would choose Halle Berry. She is very dramatic and would bring Ms. Confetti to life.

When did you decide to become a writer?
I was actually inspired to become a writer by my kindergarten students in 2014.

Do you write full-time or part-time?
I write part-time. Teaching takes up a lot of my free time.  It is a very demanding career.

Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
I write when I feel inspired.  I can’t just sit down and write a story.  I have to feel connected to an idea and then my story begins to unfold.

Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?
No, I don’t aim for a set number of words/pages in a day because I write really short stories and poetry.  I could write an entire story in a day if I have inspired thought. Or, it could take longer depending on how focused I am.

Where do your ideas come from?
Some of my ideas come from my life or real life events.  I have even dreamed ideas and created stories based on dreams…which is pretty interesting.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
I just go wherever my ideas take me.

How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
I have always been a creative person.  However, I feel that my creativity has evolved since I began writing.  The more I write, the more I think outside of the box. But, not all of my writings are actual books as of yet.

What is the hardest thing about writing?
The hardest thing about writing is finding the time to write while working a full time job.  I have written many late nights and it can be exhausting.

What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
I am working on a project and the hardest thing about writing this book is bringing all of the pieces together.  Some writers have to hire illustrators, etc. I have to find the best person for the task, and be able to pay that individual for their talents.  Writers invest a lot of resources in their projects.  These resources include time and money. It is hard to write books on a budget.

What is the easiest thing about writing?
The easiest thing about writing for me is that once I have an idea my writing just flows.  I am so engaged and happy when I find my flow.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
The time it takes me to write a book depends on my flow.  I can write a short story in day or it can take weeks or even months.

Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
In 5 years I see myself as a successful best-selling author who is financially independent.  

What advice would you give to your younger self?
The advice I would give my younger self first is to slow down and enjoy life including family.  Also, don’t let other people dictate your self-worth.  You are worthy of living your best life and you don’t need others to validate you.  Lastly, don’t chase after people, chase after dreams….

Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?
I would love to meet Oprah and just pick her brain.  She came from humble beginnings and now she is a billionaire.

If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
If I could have been the author of an original book it would be ( I don’t know…there are so many great stories out there.  But, none of them are my story so I can honestly say ….I don’t know.)

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
The advice I would give to aspiring writers is keep writing! That is all.
Please connect with me at



Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Book Spotlight: The Make-Believe Wives by Darliss Batchelor

Meet Darliss Batchelor

Darliss Batchelor is a wife, mother and grandmother. I am a former Computer Lead Analyst/Programmer with a degree in Computer Science. I have authored four books so far: Secrets, Hell is a Skyscraper: A Trio of Novelettes, Something Else to Want and my most recent release, The Make-Believe Wives. Additionally, I help authors bring their book publishing dreams to reality through my publishing business Word in Due Season Publishing, LLC.

What I like to read/write: My reading preferences are simple. I love fiction. There are numerous authors I love but some my favorites are: Victoria Christopher-Murray, ReShonda Tate-Billingsley, Frank Peretti, Melinda Michelle, Chicki Brown, Terri Blackstock, Angela Hunt and Terry McMillan. Two of my favorite books are Temptation and The Deal, The Dance and The Devil. Temptation was the first faith-based book I ever read. The Deal, The Dance and The Devil is a book I wish I had written. It was awesome on too many levels to describe.

Connect with Darliss
               Website: www.DarlissBatchelor.com
               Facebook: www.Facebook.com/BooksbyDarliss
               Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/DarlissBatchelor

The Make-Believe Wives
Chapter 1 Excerpt:

Janay slammed the glass into the bottom of the sink and watched it break into a million pieces. She chased it with two plates and a bowl that were within reach. No need to worry about washing those. Frightened by the noise, her baby girl screamed and she joined her. Unlike Naomi, Janay’s scream was from sheer frustration. She pulled herself together and went to gather her daughter from the adjoining family room. Naomi raised her arms as her mother approached and Janay picked her up. Once comforted, the toddler wiggled to get back to her playtime. Janay returned her to the center of the toys she had spread out over the family room floor and exhaled.
Her husband, Evan, had taken Nahla and Nia out for a daddy-daughter day. Naomi was too young for today’s activity. Janay returned to the kitchen and stared at the glass and ceramic gumbo in the sink. She picked up a few of the larger pieces of glass and sat them on the granite countertop, mentally adding resealing it to her already overloaded to-do list. She remembered literally vibrating with excitement when they bought this stone. Now, it brought tears.

Janay went to the bathroom to wash her face, hoping it would make her feel better. She pulled the plush fire engine red face towel from the bar and ran cold water over it. Looking in the mirror, she noticed the frustration etched in her face and the tent city that had formed below her eyes. These had become her constant companions. She patted the area with the cold towel and went back to the family room to check on Naomi. Her routine had gotten old.

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