I'm co-hosting with Marsha Casper Cook on the Michigan Avenue Media podcast today. The topic is reaching your creative potential and we'll talk about things that help with creativity and creative slumps. 

Find the show here:
www.blogtalkradio.com/michiganavenuemedia/2023/02/21/reaching-your-potential--michigan-avenue-media

Apple podcasts: 
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reaching-your-potential-michigan-avenue-media/id1375404913?i=1000600994143

Find Marsha's work here: amzn.to/3Kw6Hba

Find Krysten's work here: amzn.to/3IoEe43
​

Check out the new book trailer for my middle school novel, True Colors. You can find the book here on Amazon (Affiliate link):
​

ADVICE FOR YA READERS by Joey Paul
 
      When I saw the call go out for contributions for this kind of blog post, I knew I had to sign up because as someone who’s been writing since they were a teen, it made sense for me to pass on both my experience as a teen writer, but also as an indie author who’s got twenty books out in a variety of genres and has drafted over forty.
 
    Before I get into the advice, I should give you a little background. I’m 41, and was born and have lived my whole life in the same town in the UK. My parents split for good when I was 13, which was also the year that I lost a few people, including one of my friends from school. I went from hanging out with one group of friends, though I was always more on the edge of them, to moving across town and having to find my way with new friends. I stayed at the same secondary school, but I didn’t have people to walk to and from school with, and we moved a lot those next few years because we were living in rented places so there was always the fear I’d either have to change schools (nightmare) or would move out of reach of any friends (also a nightmare).

    As it turned out, I ended up in another friend group that contained my now best friend and we got through those days together. She and I have been friends for almost 30 years (yes I am old!) and we still live together now. She actually became my full time carer when I first got sick at 19, and later ended up needing to use a wheelchair full-time. So that’s the background out of the way, now onto the advice!
 
     My best friend and I, her name’s B, we would write stories together, but even within our small friend group, we were very much the weird ones. She was voted most likely to be on another planet in the yearbook, I can’t remember what I was voted, it’s been a fair few years, but it was probably something along the same lines. Our idea of a good Friday night was going to the local library and checking out books, which we would then devour through the week and go back again. It might sound familiar to you if you’re also a reader, which I hope you are, but my advice is simple: embrace the weird. Don’t be afraid to stand out, don’t be afraid to be who you are.
 
     I know it’s not as simple as it sounds. I know that bullies and other people want you to conform, but I have to say that while bullies were a thing, and while I was a target, I didn’t shy away from who I am, and who I was back then. If I hadn’t embraced my love of telling stories, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t have written all those stories and I wouldn’t have found a career that I could achieve while being chronically ill and disabled. When I had to stop working a conventional job because of being so sick, it was writing, it was those stories that I’d started as a teen, that gave me something to cling to and something to keep me going. It sounds drastic I know, but my point is that embracing that side of myself, never being afraid to be who I am, that’s what has kept me going on even the most dark days.
 
     A few years ago, I was asked by a disability blog to write a letter to my 15 year old self, and I said things along the same lines as I’m saying here. Everyone has things they don’t like about themselves, and everyone has their own hurdles and struggles to get through, but there is always something about you that makes you who you are. For some kids it’s music, for other it’s drama, others it’s art, and others still, it’s writing or reading, or any number of things. Some kids are more academically minded, others lean more to cooking or working with their hands. None of this is a bad thing. None of this is wrong, and none of this are things to be ashamed about.
 
     Embrace your weird side, don’t be afraid of accepting that it’s part of who you are, and that while it may change and adapt as you get older, it’s okay to spend time exploring it. It’s okay to spend time having fun and being yourself. I was lucky to find B, I was lucky to have that small group of friends who did accept me, and were okay with my weirdness. I don’t remember much fondly about my school days, but I do remember the fun I had telling stories, and making friends, and being myself.
 
     So be yourself, embrace the weird, find your friends, there are always going to be others who like the same things and want to do the same things. Embrace it, accept it, and know that these days are not the only days of your life. You will get past the hard times, and you will move onto better ones.
 
    And maybe, one day, you’ll sit down and look back at that weird and realise that it’s gotten you to the point you are today. I know mine did.

Pick up Joey's books here (affiliate link): 
Amazon US:  amzn.to/3YcAWb6

www.joeypaulonline.com
 www.instagram.com/AuthorJoeyPaul
www.twitter.com/MsJoeyBug
www.facebook.com/JoeyPaulOnline
www.youtube.com/JoeyPaulOnline
www.goodreads.com/JoeyPaulOnline

I'm excited to share a new feature on the blog of young adult and middle grade novels offering advice to our readers. I had such a great response to this when I posted about it online and I'm thrilled to begin this project.

I'd like to introduce YA fantasy author, Annie Sullivan to share her thoughts on what she wishes she had known when she was younger.

When I first set out to write books with for young adults with princesses, pirates, and thieves, I didn't know I'd be writing about issues—like bullying, gossip, and difficult family relationships—that kids today face all the time. So when I started writing A Touch of Gold about the cursed daughter of King Midas who faces pirates, sirens, and thieves on her quest to retrieve her father's stolen gold, I wanted to entertain readers. 

However, like most authors, as I got further and further into writing and editing the book, I realized my main character, Kora, had a lot of my characteristics and faced many challenges that I had also faced as a child. She became a way to address those issues in a way that hopefully readers can learn from. Because as my writing evolved, my goal became creating books that would help kids escape a hard world and come back to it a little bit more ready to fight their own battles after seeing their favorite character take them on and win. 

One way I did that in A Touch of Gold was have Princess Kora be an outcast in her society. As the daughter of King Midas, she was turned into a golden statue by her father when she was a young girl. Now, she's been turned back into a living, breathing human being, but she has some side effects from her time as a golden statue—like having golden skin and the ability to sense the other objects her father turned to gold. Due to this, rumors fly that she turns back into a golden statue at night, that she leaves golden footprints, and even that looking in her eyes can turn you to gold. With gossip like that, Kora has virtually no friends and a lot of enemies who want to see if her blood runs as a gold as the rest of her. Thus, she keeps to her father's palace, always wearing a veil and heavy gloves, but even in her own palace, the servants run in fear. 

Yet, when Kora has to be the one to retrieve her father's stolen gold, she's forced to leave behind her palace and face the real world for the first time in years. She has to learn to get past the stares and mean words of others, and as she does, she discovers what makes her different is truly what makes her special. It's what gives her the ability to do what others can't. And too often in both real and fantasy worlds, people who look or act different are ostracized. But Kora's character makes the point that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that talent and power and morals can come from anyone—no matter their shape, size, color, or form. 

So as I look back at A Touch of Gold and onward to other books, it's become clear to me that what I'd wish I'd known when I was younger, around Kora's age, is that each one of us has something that makes them special. Some people can draw pictures that look photographs. Others can play piano. And still others can make a basket from anywhere on the basketball court. But there are so many other things that people should be valued for too outside skills. Being able to forgive others, having compassion for animals, making strangers feel welcome, helping someone in need. These are all things that each person can showcase that will truly change the world—even if it's just the world for one person. So that's the takeaway message here: you can change the world. You don't need magic powers or the ability to fly. Just being yourself is enough. 

Author Bio:
Annie Sullivan is the author of three young adult fantasy books: A Touch of Gold, A Curse of Gold, and Tiger Queen. She grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and received her master's degree in Creative Writing from Butler University. She loves traveling, kickboxing, and anything related to Jane Austen. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter (@annsulliva), on Tik Tok (@authoranniesullivan), or on her blog: anniesullivanauthor.com.

Website: https://anniesullivanauthor.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/annsulliva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnieSullivan/
Twitter: twitter.com/annsulliva
Tik Tok: @authoranniesullivan

Find her book here on Amazon (affiliate link):
amzn.to/3H0t2Kl

. YOu canI'm so excited to share with you my new book cover for Best Friends...Forever? 

A middle school series dealing with friendships, frenemies, first crushes, & finding your path in life.

Landry Albright hopes the new year will start off in an amazing way—instead she has to deal with more frenemy issues, boy drama, and having most of her best friends make the cheerleading squad without her. Suddenly, it seems like all anyone can talk about is starting high school next year—something she finds terrifying.

Landry gets her first boyfriend, but then gets dumped just as things come to a head with her friends. She feels lost and left out, but finds good advice from what she considers an unlikely source. Landry learns to speak up for what’s right, tell the truth (even when it hurts), and how to get past the fear of failure as she gets another shot at competing in the American Ingénue competition. Can Landry find where she fits in and feels comfortable while staying true to herself?

​The cover was done by Cora Graphics.

You can find the book here (affiliate link). It's free in Kindle Unlimited: ​

So excited to show you the new cover for my middle school book, True Colors. It's a funny middle school novel that deals with self-esteem, handling mean girls, first crushes, and staying true to yourself. 

The updated version of the ebook is available now and the paperback will be coming very soon! The ebook is free with Kindle Unlimited. All the books in the series have been updated and they will be getting new covers soon and new paperback versions soon.

The cover was done by Cora Graphics who I've worked with now for almost nine years! 

​You can find the book here (affiliate link). It's free in Kindle Unlimited: 
​
amzn.to/3hE25Um


"From Readers' Favorite-"Krysten Lindsay Hager did a great job of capturing that young tween voice and I think young girls will absolutely love this story! And parents will certainly approve of the healthy message about friendship and staying true to oneself."

Blurb:

A little competition can really bring out people's true colors.

Landry just wants to be one of the interesting girls at school who always have exciting things happening in their lives. She wants to stand out, but also wants to fit in at school. Landry gets "unfriended" by her two best friends after she advances in a competition and they aren't chosen. She tries to make new friends, but gets caught up between wanting to be herself and conforming to who her new friends want her to be. Along the way she learns that being popular is nowhere as glamorous as it seems, how to deal with frenemies, a new crush, and that true friends see you for who you really are and like you because of it.

​Let me know what you think of the new cover!

Columnist Dorothy Rosby joins author Marsha Casper Cook and myself on the podcast today (Nov. 17th at 12 pm EST) here: 

www.blogtalkradio.com/michiganavenuemedia/2022/11/17/author-interview-michigan-avenue-media

Check out my pre-interview with her below:

What is the book about? 

’Tis the Season to Feel Inadequate is a collection of humorous essays about the stress we put on ourselves in the name of celebrating. All of our holidays, special occasions and not-so special occasions can have this effect on us. I start with Christmas and work my way through the year because no holiday makes me feel more inadequate than Christmas—except maybe Nude Recreation Week. 

Do you ever get writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?

 I’m not saying it’s not real, but as someone who’s been self-syndicating a humor column in the West and Midwest for more than 20 years, I’m saying I better not get it. And the way I stave it off is by a daily discipline of writing—even if I don’t like what I’m writing. Occasionally I  have to get up and walk away, clear my head. But that can be dangerous if I overdo it. Writing is the only cure I know for writer’s block. 


How did you get into writing humor?


It was my experience as a humorous (allegedly) speaker that led to writing humor. For many years, I’ve been a member of Toastmasters, an organization where members practice their public speaking skills. I loved doing humorous speeches and I won some humorous speech contests. So I decided to type up some of my speeches and submit them to my local newspaper. The editor agreed to take me on as a humor columnist and I’ve been writing a column ever since. Eventually I began marketing to other newspapers and now my column runs in small community newspapers throughout the West and Midwest. 


Why is humor important? 

As a humor writer, I often feel like what I do is trivial. But I reassure myself that when I’m escaping into my writing, I’m also giving my readers a way to escape the troubles they face. I often hear from readers who tell me that a good laugh is just what they needed. One reader who was going through a difficult time, commented on my blog post, “Thank you for making this day a little more tolerable.” If what I write can do that, that’s enough for me.
 
What advice do you have for new writers? 

Believe in yourself. You’ll get a lot of  rejections, and if you don’t I hate you. Not really! What I meant to say is, if you don’t get rejections, you’re probably not submitting enough. Some readers may even say very cruel things about your work. The way I see it, there are two kinds of people in the world. Those who do something with their life and those who criticize those who do something with their life. That’s easier. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn from criticism. You definitely should. But you have to have this unshakeable belief that you're good and getting better at what you do no matter who tells you otherwise. You can pout now and then, even fall into despair for a day or so. But you can never give up.  
 
Check out her new book: ’Tis the Season to Feel Inadequate: Holidays, Special Occasions and Other Times Our Celebrations Get Out of Hand
 
Christmas comes but once a year; chaos never ends!

Happy Halloween, merry Christmas and joyful Lumpy Rug Day. We didn’t make that up. Lumpy Rug Day is celebrated every May 3, though “celebrated” might be too strong a word.  

It’s the American way to create a celebration for everything, then turn it into a chore or worse, a nightmare. ’Tis the Season to Feel Inadequate is a collection of humorous essays about holidays, special occasions and other times we let high expectations take the joy out of our celebrations. It’s understanding for those who think Christmas form letters can be honest—or they can be interesting. And it’s empathy for anyone who’s ever gotten poison ivy during Nude Recreation Week or eaten all their Halloween candy and had to hand out instant oatmeal packets to their trick-or-treaters.

Dorothy Rosby has been lampooning our celebrations in publications across the West and Midwest for more than twenty years. Join her in celebrating National Bicarbonate of Soda Day December 30—in case Christmas gives you indigestion.
 
Bio:
Dorothy Rosby is a South Dakota author and humor columnist whose work appears regularly in publications in the West and Midwest. Her humor column received first place honors from the National Federation of Press Women in both 2015 and 2020. And in 2022 she was named the global winner in the Erma Bombeck Writers Competition, sponsored in part by the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in Dayton, OH. She is the author of four books of humorous essays. 
 
You can learn more about her at:  https://dorothyrosby.com/

Pick up her book here:

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you

I'm excited to have singer Laurie LaCross-Wright from the Rusty Wright Band on the blog today. I first met Laurie years ago when I was covering the band for a newspaper. From then on I covered the band when they had performances in the area and Laurie and I became friends. I have loved watching her (and the band's) career and just this week the band's new album, Hangin’ at the DeVille Lounge, debuted on the Billboard Blues chart at #9. 

Here's some info about the band: :The band’s 2015 album, “Wonder Man” reached #8 on the Billboard Blues chart, #4 in the Midwest Heatseeker chart, #3 on the Hit Tracks 100 chart (Europe) and was nominated for Album of the Year in Vintage Guitar Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards alongside Sonny Landreth, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, and Joe Bonamassa.  The song “Gonna Come a Day” from that album was selected from approximately 19.000 entries as a top finalist in the 2015 International Songwriting Competition. Wright’s 2013 album “This, That & The Other Thing,” earned widespread radio airplay across North America and won Blues 411’s Jimi Award for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year."

​Tell us about your latest album.

Our new record Hangin’ at the DeVille Lounge has been percolating in the back of our minds for almost 20 years. Sometimes it’s the odd tidbits in life that stick in a person’s memory. The inspiration for this concept album came from a now defunct dive bar in Flint, Michigan that used to take delight in aggravating the church just up the road. When the church’s marquee sign boasted “Sinners Welcome!” the Deville Lounge changed their flashing sign as well. “Sinners Welcome! We have beer!”  We drove past the bar one night heading home from a gig and darn near laughed our fool heads off when we saw that sign on the roof of the bar. Across the decades the culture of Blues music has been filled with references to ‘selling your soul’ and the ‘devil at the crossroads’ mythology. The wordplay of The ‘DeVille’ Lounge was just too good to ignore.

For years Rusty has been penning tongue in cheek tunes that boogie their way around that  ‘devil at the crossroads’ theme – but I guess ‘DeVille at the crossroads’ is more accurate in this case. Anyway, we have re-imagined OUR DeVille Lounge as an unusual bar tucked out of sight at the edge of New Orleans, a true juke joint with decades of human dramas, energies and memories embedded in the walls.

Rusty’s songs run the gamut. Songs like Trouble’s Always Knockin’, Devil Man Blues, and Goin’ to NOLA follow a more traditional Blues path, while the powerful No Man is an Island was inspired by a story about an autistic child. House of Spirits summons memories of juke joints and theaters the band has performed at that had a reputation for being haunted. No One Cares at All touches on human trafficking while Devil Music and Burnin’ Precious Time unleash the more rock-oriented side of Rusty’s personality.

The record just came out October 7th and reviews that have come in so far have been overwhelmingly positive so we’re breathing a sigh of relief. With a concept album you never know if people are going to ‘get it’. This is a very loosely connected collection of story songs. I’d love to create a theatrical blues revue from this music, adding actors and dancers to the production. We could take the show to theaters across the country. I think that would be great fun.

I heard you opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd. What was that like?

They were awesome to perform with and were very gracious. They watched most of our set from the side of the stage, just out of sight. We later learned how unusual that is.  Over the years we’ve been privileged to share stages with a number of legendary bands and performers. The thing that has been most surprising to me is how many performers are quite introverted and even shy once they’re out of the spotlight.

Tell me about how you got your start in the music business.

I was 14 years old the first time I sang on stage by myself, playing my guitar for accompaniment. I sang ‘House of the Rising Sun’ at our high school talent show. I think I was the only freshman competing. I’d decided to enter because I wanted desperately to be a singer and knew I needed to get used to performing in front on people and I thought this would be a good way to push myself, lol. I hadn’t expected 1100 people to cram themselves into our school auditorium. I managed to control my nerves with the exception of my left knee, which I couldn’t keep from shaking uncontrollably. I didn’t win the talent show but I made it through the song without falling down or puking and no one threw anything or booed me off the stage so yeah, I became a singer that night, although it was still a few years before I started getting paid for singing.

I wasn’t a naturally gifted singer. I had to work hard to develop my voice. Once I left high school I found I had to retrain my voice, changing my vocal technique so I sounded like a pop and country singer rather than a choir girl who over enunciated everything. I didn’t wait for someone else to make things happen. I took out loans for equipment. I was aggressive in auditioned for singing jobs. I juggled multiple jobs and stayed with them as long as I could continue singing most nights of the week. I worked a day job as a newspaper reporter on and off for years and later freelanced for regional and national magazines. Eventually I became more of a music writer which meshed nicely with my singing ‘career’. I joined a local band for a few years early on but continued to perform on my own. Once I left the ‘weekend warrior’ band I performed on my own for a very long time. Eventually I found booking agents willing to work with me and I put my belongings in storage and went on the road, spending a number of years traveling as a solo lounge entertainer. I had a 27 state radius that I traveled and spent most of the year living in the high end hotels I performed at.

I look back now and shake my head. There were no cell phones then. No GPS. I drove across the country with a Rand McNally atlas flopped across the passenger seat beside me. I made great friends but it was a lonely lifestyle at times. My long-distance phone bills were enormous. The phone companies charged by the minute and I called my mother every day and we’d talk for hours. My mother was brought up to believe the unknown was something to be feared. She was always afraid to follow her dreams – I think she was afraid to even have dreams of traveling and doing exciting things and living life differently from the narrow world she’d grown up in. It was hard on her when I started traveling extensively but I decided early on that I was not going to live in fear. If I wanted to try something, I tried it. My adventures weren’t always successful but I never regretted trying.

In the late 90s I was settled back in Michigan and had started an all-girl band. Rusty Wright and I had been together for a couple of years when I parted ways with the guitar player in my band. I asked him to step in on guitar so we could fulfill the performance contracts I had yet to fulfill. That was in 1998 and we’ve been performing together ever since.

Like me, Rusty started performing at a young age. Playing music and creating music were always foremost in both our minds so it wasn’t long before we realized we were well suited to making a musical life together. It takes a certain kind temperament and a whole lot of tenacity to continue pursuing a livelihood that offers zero security and no guarantees that if you do A, B and then C you can expect success to follow.  

We started the Rusty Wright Band in 2004 as an original music project. Within a few years we were touring across North America and headlining smaller music festivals and playing some really big festivals. In 2009 we began touring internationally. We’ve seen a lot of really cool places and met a lot of really interesting people over the years. Our first record came out in 2004 and we just released our 8th album a couple of weeks ago. Technology and marketing trends change so quickly we have to reeducate ourselves every time we put a new album out but we’ve managed to keep up with it all okay. This is our third time making the Billboard charts. We’ll never make enough money for a mansion on a hill but we’ve been able to spend decades doing what we love and that’s what I consider a pretty darn good life.

 
Who are some of your musical influences?

My musical tastes are all over the map. Of course I love blues music but I grew up hearing nothing but country and bluegrass. I loved Patsy Cline’s voice because my parents played her albums on our console stereo when I was little. I learned a lot of the folk songs of the 60s because that’s what my first guitar teacher taught me. I really connected with early 70s singer songwriters like Jim Croce and James Taylor because I could easily play and sing those types of songs with just my guitar. Heart was a huge influence, as was Linda Ronstadt, Barbra Streisand and Carole King; Later, I latched onto the music of Bonnie Raitt, Pat Benetar and a country singer name K.T. Oslin who was very popular in the early-mid 1980s.

I also enjoy some medieval music, accapella vocal groups, hard rock, classic and southern rock, and some older, melodic metal but I’m not into the growl-y cookie monster vocals so common in today’s metal scene – and I’m not into rap. To be truthful, I haven’t listened to much music in the past few years. I had Covid very early on and it left me with Tinnitus. I hear a constant high-pitched hum in both ears and it sometimes clashes with the music I’m listening to so audio books have been my go-to jam for a long time now. I’m trying to get back in the habit of listening to music. I really like a sister group called Larkin Poe and I’ve enjoyed watching the Michigan’s War & Treaty as their star rises. There are also dozens of contemporary blues artists I listen to and follow since a lot of them have become friends.
 
What are some of the albums that have really spoken to you over the years?

Tapestry, by Carole King. Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower. Stardust by Willie Nelson. Photographs & Memories by Jim Croce. 21 by Adele. True Love by Pat Benetar (blues album!) Anything by Stevie Ray Vaughan or Etta James or Linda Ronstadt, Melissa Etheridge’s first album… these are just a few that come to mind at the moment. Some of the songs Rusty has written really touch me deeply as well. Pen or Sword and No Man is an Island are two songs that still bring out my emotions when I listen to them.
 
What advice would you give your younger self?

I was one of those kids who always felt/acted older than I was and I always suffered acutely from FOMO (although we didn’t know what to call it then). I started working at 15 and juggled 2-3 jobs my entire life. I raced from one thing to the next, constantly jumped headlong into experiences that I really wasn’t ready for and relationships I really wasn’t cut out for so I would advise my younger self not to be in such a rush to be an adult because you’re going to be an adult for a really, really, really long time.  
 
 
Who were your musical favorites when you were growing up? Anyone you pretended to be singing into a hairbrush? Any music crushes?

I used to sit in my parents’ garage with my guitar, singing. I chose the garage because it echoed out there and I could hear a hint of natural reverb when I sang. Anyway, my 14-year old self would attempt to sing Barbra Streisand songs. I had a little Panasonic cassette recorder and I would tape myself singing. I must have been pretty horrid because one day our old cat jumped up and literally put his paw across my guitar strings as if to say ‘enough already!’ Of course, I just realized this totally contradicts my earlier declaration that no one has been able to shut me up since that first talent show performance so, for the sake of a good story, let’s just pretend that the cat shut me down before I wailed my way through that song in the high school auditorium.

As for musical crushes, not really. When I was 10 or 11 I hung the pretty boy posters from Teen Beat magazine in my room but as far as musical crushes I can’t remember any. It’s been a while and I’m kinda old, y’know. Does Rusty count? I’ve been hanging pictures of him on our walls for 25 years now, lol. That’s a pretty long crush.

Also I wanted to note that Laurie shared that, "Rusty created all of the artwork. He also wrote the songs, did all of the recording, and mixed and mastered the record." 

Pick up a copy of the new album here or find it on Amazon

rustywrightband.com/cd-vinyl

Amazon: amzn.to/3ERV1fO

You can find more info on the band here: rustywrightband.com/

Please check out this podcast where Marsha Casper Cook, Krysten Lindsay Hager, and Kathi Goldwyn discuss how people handle life in 2022. How to feel good about yourself is not easy these days and Krysten and Marsha will be discussing how to get your life back and once again be able to control your destiny. 
​
Krysten Lindsay Hager is a bestselling author of YA and contemporary romance. Krysten writes romance because she loves bringing people swoony moments and hope-filled happily ever afters. Her books are known for making you laugh, cry, and swoon.

Find her work here: amzn.to/3MhP7pW

Kathi Goldwyn has a great passion for Indie Authors and has spent years promoting their books on Facebook. The writing bug hit her a year ago. She loves romance, love, and hope. She has also begun the amazing journey of becoming an author.

 Marsha Casper Cook has more than 20 years of experience in the writing industry. Marsha writes love stories about family relationships and multi- generational characters that remind her readers how much family matters. She uses her love of family to bring her characters to life.
Marsha is also the founder and Producer of Michigan Avenue Media podcasts on Blogtalk radio for over twelve years. Her shows are about writing, what's new in the entertainment field, health issues and current topics. She looks forward to meeting new friends who contact her about being guests on the shows as she continues to open the door to universal subjects that matter to everyone.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Y2RFRM7
http://www.michiganavenuemedia.com
https://www.facebook.com/kathi.goldwyn

Find the podcast here: 
​www.blogtalkradio.com/michiganavenuemedia/2022/09/15/a-good-story-is-a-good-story-the-good-life--michigan-avenue-media
​

You know I'm all about the rock star/pop star crush books, so I reached out to Kimberly King to interview her about her latest boy band crush book that releases today. Check out the interview and book blurb below.
 
We both have YA books with a character getting to date her rock star/pop star crush. What inspired you to write about this?

I design my own covers, so before I ever write a book, I like finding a couple that inspires me. As soon as I saw this couple, I knew he’d be the perfect boy band crush.
 
Who was your music crush?

This is really going to date me, but Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block was who I’d daydream about dating, haha!
 
Favorite music when you were a teen?

Bryan Adams, but really any 80’s love songs.
 
What was your favorite book when you were growing up?

I didn’t have any favorites when I was growing up, but I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books, Nancy Drew, and Anita Stansfield.
 
I have a special love for YA books as those are the books I devoured growing up. Why do you like writing YA books?

I loved my high school years! I had such great friends, but I didn’t have a love life. Like, at all. I think I went on maybe three dates, haha! So writing YA romance fills the hole I obviously feel after all these years. Just kidding! I love writing about the innocence of young love, and adding lots of humor adults don’t typically get to experience since we’re mostly over those awkward years.
 
What is your favorite book now as an adult?

It’s hard to say what my favorite book is now, but I’m leaning toward Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King.
 
I always reread my favorite books. Do you reread books and if so, which one(s) have you read over again?

I do reread most of my books, not just my favorite ones. But there is one book I fell in love with when I was younger—The Alchemist—that I won’t reread. Finishing it was such an amazing experience, and I’ve been afraid of losing the magic of such a powerful ending if I read it again.
 
Who are some of your favorite authors?

Jane Austen—I love her sense of humor—and my favorite modern-day authors are Michelle Pennington for her sweet romances and Jessica Marie Holt for her humor and lovable characters.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently writing a modern-day twist of The Frog Princess called Kissing the Prom Queen.
 
Where can we find you online? (Social media sites, website, etc.)
On Facebook : Author Kimberly King
On Twitter: @kimkingwrites
On Instagram: where_is_my_eggroll
 
This or That Questions
:
Autumn or Spring? Spring
Ocean/Lake or Mountains? Mountains
Dramas or Comedy? Comedy
Favorite singer: Too many to ever list—it depends on my mood and what I’m writing!
Song you could listen to on repeat for hours: Jesse’s Girl by Rick Springfield
Favorite show to watch: I’m not huge into shows, but I’m always up for a romantic comedy movie. Like, always.
Actor/Actress who you’ll watch in anything: Cameron Diaz

Your bio: I am a young adult author who loves creating stories that are light, fun and will hopefully make you laugh. Some of my books are magical, and some of them are just good clean romances. I live in beautiful northern Utah with my husband, six children and three cats. I love a good thunderstorm, baking, and going on drives with my family. When I’m not writing, I’m reading (or cleaning, because six kids, haha!) And of course, my favorite thing ever is hearing how people met their spouses/significant others.

Book Blurb: Want to date a celebrity? Just don't lose your heart.
 
Val Hartman can hardly believe it when dreamy Zac Miller, lead singer of the Spud Rockets, is in town for the summer. Even more shocking is when they hit it off and he asks her out. But dating a rockstar has its own set of rules, and she’ll have to follow them to stay in the game.

It doesn’t take long to discover that nothing is fair when dating a celebrity, and when a secret is exposed, all that they’ve built falls apart. Add in a troubling phone call that takes Val out of town in a hurry, and everything important in her life is about to be lost for good.
The only way to make things right again will have to be something huge, but it will be the last thing Val ever expects.

Buy Links: amzn.to/3LY80xZ

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