#brittney tabel

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How to Contact Kathy Clark and Bob Kat

Kathy Clark and Bob Kat can be found on both Facebook and Twitter!

They can also be found blogging or posting pins on Pinterest!

For more information on the authors or their books, check out their website!

Big thanks to Kathy Clark and Bob Kat for being our wonderful January FA's!

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Interview with Kathy Clark and Bob Kat (Part 1)

1) How did you two come up with the idea of the CUL8R series? Was the premise for the third book in the series, BION, already planned for when you two started the series or did inspiration come later?

B – Kathy always wanted to write a time travel series and we thought it would work well as a YA.  I came up with the idea to set one in a circus because my great-uncle actually ran away to join the Ringling Bros. Circus in the 1920s where he met and married a woman who was an aerialist who twirled by her teeth from a rope hanging from the ceiling of the tent.

K – We thought it would be interesting to tap into the text talk phenomenon and name each book after a popular text phrase.  So, of course, the series had to have a snappy text name, too.  We were at a concert when the name CUL8R (See You Later) hit me. Bob agreed it was perfect for time travelers, so we’ve were ready to send our young adventurers back to the past.

 2) Is there any main theme or message you want readers to take away from BION, or the CUL8R series in general?

K – Our main goal was to write fun, interesting books that have normal teens thrust into unusual situations.  When they travel to the past, they find that teenagers back then had to deal with very similar problems as teenagers today.  Our teens must find solutions (and often escape from real danger) by using their intelligence, ingenuity and friendship rather than depend on something supernatural like vampires or witches to help them.  We wanted to subtlely encourage teens to work through their problems and to know that they can succeed.

3) Have either of you always known you wanted to be an author? If not, how did you two come to choose the occupation? How did the decision to write together come about?

B – Kathy has been a published author for years.  My degree is in aeronautical engineering, so my life has been very business oriented until we moved to Texas and I began working with her.  She challenged me to sit down and actually write, and to both of our surprise, I am really enjoying it.

K – My first book was published by Dell back in 1985.  I have always been an avid reader and loved making up stories, so writing was a natural choice for me.  I worked many careers before I actually was able to write full time and make a living doing something I love.  There can’t be a better job than spending time with characters you love or hate with the freedom to go anywhere or do anything (on the page) that you want.

  4) Can you tell us more about the writing dynamics and how co-writing works for you two? Do you two take turns writing chapters? Does one person come up with a direction to take the plot in and the other fleshes it out? etc.?

B – Kathy is the master, and I am her slave.  Lol  She’s the expert, so she always takes the lead, but she and I work together on the plot and the characters.  Then I write a very detailed synopsis that is in a loose chapter outline form.  We go through another round of plotting, then I write the first draft, turn it over to her and move on to the next project and to market the completed books.

K – He usually gives me about 75 to 150 pages that are pretty bare bones.  He’s not great at descriptions, romance or deep characterization.  But he’s really good at action and advancing the plot.  What I love most (other than getting to work with him every day) is that I never have to look at a blank page.  For most writers, that’s the hardest part.  I always have something pulling me forward, even if I change it, move it or even delete it, it keeps me moving.

  5) Since the CUL8R series involves time travel (with the characters traveling to 1927 in BION), how much research did you two have to do before and during writing BION? Just as the main characters did research such as going to the circus museum, did you two also go to such lengths to get familiar with the time period?

B – We researched the year heavily to make sure the events were factual.  We wanted to sprinkle in a little history that our readers might not already know.  Kathy had fallen in love with Water for Elephants, and we wanted to make it at least as authentic as that, but on a young adult level.

K – We took a trip to Sarasota, Florida and went through the Ringling Museum which is a fascinating place.  More importantly, we had the opportunity to meet an adorable man who had actually been a 3rd generation clown with the Ringling Bros. travelling show, although obviously it was years after our 1927 era.  He gave us great information about the day-to-day activities of a circus that made BION special.  And he took us, as his guests, to a meeting of retired circus performers and fans that was a wonderful experience.

  6) As indie books, I imagine the journey to publishing is much different from the road to publishing authors attached to classic publishing houses take. Can you two tell us more about the process of independently publishing?

B – What fascinates (and annoys) me about Indie publishing is that critical acclaim for a book, interest in the book and reader feedback are not closely tied to sales.  Even though we get great reviews, amazing feedback and have won almost every contest we have entered, we are still struggling to get our books noticed by the masses.

K – I had 23 books traditionally published, so I kind of took for granted how much work it was to line edit and market my books.  It’s a lot more difficult, but the advantage of having the freedom to write and publish the stories we want makes up for it.  Plus, our deadlines are self-imposed and we can produce as much or as little as we please.  Downside, of course, is the difficulty of finding readers without the back-up of bookstores, libraries and schools. 

  7) What is the most challenging part of being an author? What is the most rewarding?

B – Definitely for an Indie author, the marketing is the most difficult hurdle.  The reader feedback is the most rewarding. 

K – The challenging part is getting noticed among the millions of other books out there.  The readers who have found us, love us.  It’s just so difficult to stand out.  The most rewarding thing will always be seeing the finished product and being pleased with how it turned out.  We love hearing from our readers, and it’s always gratifying to receive industry awards.

  8) In BION, the group of four friends travel to Texas in 1927 and join the circus. If you could travel to anywhere in the past, where and when would you go and why?

B – I would go back to the turn of the century and hang out with some of the great inventors of the era…Edison, Ford and Tesla.

K – Great question!  I’m a huge fan of Downton Abbey, and I think it would be fabulous to live back then, as long as you were wealthy, but really awful if you weren’t.   I would also like to be a part of the brave people who dared to pack all their worldly possessions in a covered wagon and set out across the vastness of the U.S. without knowing what to expect.  I can’t imagine how beautiful it was back then or how difficult their lives must have been.  It would be interesting to witness, although I don’t know if I would have wanted to actually live it without my time travel return ticket.

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Interview with Emeka Iwenofu (Part 2)

8) Part of Francine's journey involves her and her quest to keep thinking positively and the law of attraction. These values, which Mary Jo helps introduce, change Francine's life for the better. How has the law of attraction and the other beliefs in the story changed your own life?

I have learned that I and only I control my destiny and I can be, do, or have whatever it is that I want. I just have to define it and burning desire for it’s achievement which combines faith with making that happen. And if I want things in my life to change, I just have to change my thinking, understanding that there are no good or bad situations. Only situations. It’s just my interpretation from those situations that makes the difference in my life, which makes sense because I had been negative for a long time, blaming the government and system for all my problems, before listening to the audio series which by the way cost $300 which was all the money I had in the world. To this day, it has been the best investment I have ever made in my life, more than college or my new car, since it was those CDs that got me the car. 

9) It was very interesting following the story of this family of Irish immigrants in the early1900s. However, at the end of the day, the main point of the story is not about history. I'm curious, why did you choose to write your novel during a historical time period instead of a more modern one?

Well if you understand the story of Jackie’s Miracle and discover how her mentor explains how it all started as told to her by Francine, you would understand. Remember, I had no intention of even writing the story until some “force” forced me to go do it. I was unable to sleep well for days. That’s how powerful it was. Either I was going to do it or become a mad man. That was it. 

#1 Make a minimum of $10,000 a month

#2 Get my wife off work forever…unless it absolutely turns her on

#3 Become a #1 New York Times Bestselling author

11) The popular and timeless phrase "Carpe Diem" pops up several times as a sort of motto for some of the characters in the story. Besides "Carpe Diem", what would you say is the motto/phrase you try to model your life after?

I will be greater than yesterday!

12) How often would you get writer's block when writing Francine's Miracle? How did you deal with it?

That’s the problem. I never did. It was like the universe just flowed through me and told me exactly what to write the whole time. And anything that I wasn’t sure on, came resources for me to research at the right place and right time. All I can say is that when you’re in the zone, you’re in the zone! And you should treat every situation as all taken care of. Whenever you get writers block is absolutely when one needs to take a break, a nap, or do something enjoyable from which a source of inspiration will come to him. Since thinking is the hardest thing one could ever do, the brain may just need some rest on its own before being recharged again, and when that time comes, the author will know it. That’s best answer I can come with. But as for me, that just never happened.

13) Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Yes. Write, write, and write. Any idea you have in your head is something which someone needs. So it is your duty to put it on paper as a benefit to them. However, don’t get caught up on the “how” or end result because that will discourage you. Just do whatever you can right now and the rest will take care of itself. The universe will see to it that it does because to not do so, contradicts the laws of nature. You get what you put out. However you must believe and just get it done. Procrastination is not an option. I would encourage reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill as guide of all the traits you must develop or have in getting your idea on paper for the world to read. I read the book every 6 months as a reminder of what I am or not doing.

14) Do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

Yes. Absolutely! Here goes:

Title                                       Author

Jackie’s Miracle                    Emeka Iwenofu

The Magic of Thinking Big     David J. Schwartz

Think and Grow Rich             Napoleon Hill

The Magic of Believing           Claude M. Bristol

How to Win Friends and Influence People    Dale Carnegie

As a Man Thinketh                  James Allen

The Science of Getting Rich   Wallace Wattles

The Science of Being Great    Wallace D. Wattles

The Greatest Salesman in the World      Og Mandino

15) What are you working on now and what can we expect from you in the future?

Mandi’s Miracle will be released in March 2014 to complete the Miracle Trilogy. After that, I know something will come up. I just don’t know what yet. But I don’t think I have to worry about it. It’ll come when it does. It shall and it will.

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Interview with Emeka Iwenofu (Part 1)

1) How did you get the idea for "Francine's Miracle"?

Francine’s Miracle actually came to mind after I developed my first book, Jackie’s Miracle, which is the third part of the Miracle Trilogy series from which Jackie’s parole officer and mentor, Mandi, explains how the whole story began. I decided to develop the word ‘miracle’ after each main character so as to create sort of a brand image that will place in the readers’ mind the books’ connection with each other. But keep mind you, I had no initial intention of even writing “Francine” after I wrote “Jackie” since I had no strong aim to write the book even though ideas kept flowing in my head to write it which I had no control over. It wasn’t until I read a book by Og Mandino called The Greatest Secret in the World that said plainly on the last page of the book: “do not delay”, which at that moment compelled me to start writing that same evening from which I finished three weeks later. God had to have spoke to me the entire process because everything flowed just naturally which didn’t seem like work throughout the entire time and I enjoyed it. But if you were to ask me to explain how, I can’t!

2) What main theme or message do you want readers to take away from Francine's story?

I want readers to understand and KNOW that they have no excuse whatsoever not to become great or achieve their goals and dreams. They should remove the victim mentality and discover that their thinking and attitude are the only forces holding them back from greatness and if they could just reverse to the positive light, then more and more favorable and positive circumstances will happen in their life since the universe is matching those events with what is already making them feel GOOD!

3) Have you always known you've wanted to be an author? If not, how did you come to choose the occupation?

I first believed that writing was my calling when I was in 7 writing assignment by my teacher at the time that I absolutely enjoyed every moment of it and didn’t want to stop. I will say what gave me this feeling was during the summer time when my dad forced me to stay in a library throughout the time he was at work from 9AM – 4PM so as to make myself useful rather than watching TV throughout the summer time. I was only 9 at the time. So while restless and surrounded by all these books, I couldn’t think of anything else to do but read a book. Then from that book, came a number of books that I kept bringing home to read, that I just loved reading, from which I slowly began developing stories of my own until slowly, a WRITER was born! I was just so addicted to the pen; almost like crack. But I’m sure in my dad’s mind, that wasn’t part of the “plan”.

4) Since Francine's Miracle takes place in the 1920s, how much research did you do before and during the writing of this novel?

Well I must say that I always loved The Godfather and got some of my inspiration from there already. Also the true life story of Bonanao, in Bonano: A Godfather’s Story, was really how I knew of the prominent figures of that time and how business really flowed that really sparked my imagination to develop the story. Also, I had been to Nigeria, my native land, over a dozen times and actually spent a year in tenth grade there from which I incorporated the lifestyle and domestic duties of the people with that time as being very likely of how the people may have lived back then. However, I did have to know the wages of the people which was through a calculator online that gave me a figure of the value of money back then compared to now. You just enter a figure at what time period and it makes the calculation. And since I was a fan of Napoleon Hill and Andrew Carnegie, I became eager to learn more about them and incorporate it to the story.

5) It is my understanding that you are the president of Hope Point Press (the publisher of your Miracle Trilogy). Can you tell us more about your road to becoming the president of your own publishing company and the road to becoming a published author?

Like most authors, I was initially interested in getting a publisher that would sign me. So I checked a few publishers who were giving the costs of everything involved while telling me how much I would earn per book or ebook, which wasn’t at all appealing. Plus when I discovered all their terms and how inconsistent it was with my direction, I got frustrated. Then I went to Tate Publishing which only accept 4% of all the manuscripts it receives as sort of a gage to see how the audience “might” respond if marketed correctly. Within three weeks, I received an overnight contract from them to sign with them. YET, when I explained to a close friend of mine of all the terms that was involved, she responded, saying “You haven’t told me anything they can do for you that you can’t do yourself.” It was then it hit me. I should do this myself and keep all the rights myself especially since that was the route most authors went through before getting picked up by major publishers and advance contracts. Besides, free enterprise had been always something I supported throughout after having been fired from 8 jobs in 2 years.

And since I learned early on that publishers rarely promote you, I’d figure I’d do that myself and keep all revenue. So I later formed my corporation with the State and got a logo design, which was an adventure in itself, before getting with well meaning friends that helped me along the way while working with me since I had limited funds. I then got with a company named BookMasters which helped in the professional layout of my book and ebooks while helping me utilize all their services to look professional. I then had a web designer and tried marketing my book with a passion. I later however left Bookmasters, figuring I could get a better return through CreateSpace and have been with them ever since. I’ve appeared on over a dozen radio shows, done book signing, passed out bookmarks, carrying my books everywhere, promoting it and I must tell you, the return has been well worth the price which I must say wasn’t easy, since most people attach experience or credibility with age.

6) What do you think is the most rewarding part of being a writer? What do you think is the most challenging part?

The most rewarding part of being a writer is the joyous reaction I get from fans and people who love my books and all the people they’ve encouraged to read it. There’s a big level of respect since it is something that most people want to do but never do, since they don’t know how to go about it. I was once told that most writers die with their books still in their mind, which makes me smile that I was able to accomplish it, especially without knowing everything at first. Also the requests I get from people to help them get their books publish or to hear how I inspired others to write is a wonderful feeling, because it goes to show that I’ve impacted lived. And with Jackie’s Miracle currently being translated in Japan (Francine will be next), tells me that this is just the beginning and there is just a flood of things yet to come for me. I currently have a movie producer in Norway reading Francine’s Miracle right now who will get back with me by the end of August. And locally in Cleveland, it’s like I’m a celebrity.

The challenging part though is dealing with the time it is taking to being on the main stage and making the type of income I want to make as a writer. Sometimes the patience factor is quite a challenge even though I know it WILL become a New York Times Bestseller. So in other words, I’m just dealing with the journey factor. That’s all.

7) The protagonist of the story, Francine, finds a mentor in the character of Mary Jo who teaches her important lessons and acts as a source of inspiration in her life. Who is one person in your life who you felt taught you a lot and who has acted as a source of inspiration to you throughout your life? What did this person teach you?

I would say first foremost, Kevin Trudeau who wrote the book Natural Cures They Don’t Want You to Know About, from which I had been an avid fan of his philosophies and mission. Out of that was a powerful CD set I bought called Your Wish is Your Command which was the first and foremost instrument that exposed me to the science of the law of attraction from which I was able to read the books suggested in the audio like Napoleon Hill and others that changed my whole perception on life, thereby changing my thinking and attitude. Without it, I know for a fact that there would have been no book or books EVER!

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7 Fun Facts About Emeka Iwenofu

1) Emeka is an only child who prefers his name to be pronounced "Mecca" in memory of the clothing line or the city. 

2) Emeka has been to Nigeria 13 times due to the constant travel his parents took him to during Christmas holidays so that he could become  acquainted with the culture and language, Igbo, which he speaks fluently.

3) Emeka began college at the age of 16 after having completed the US high school curriculum upon returning from a Nigerian boarding school where he spent one year there in tenth grade, taking 14 subjects, such as Accounting, Physics, Further Mathematics, Economics, Agriculture, etc.

4) Emeka took on accounting as a major in an effort to avoid his parents' constant pressure of him to get a "real" major rather than writing since it didn't pay the bills.

5) Emeka was fired from a federal job upon college graduation and had since had trouble keeping his remaining 8 jobs for more than 2 months, before giving up and deciding to become an entrepreneur, and never putting his livelihood in the hands of any employer again. 

6) Personal experiences while Emeka was unemployed, while reading success books propelled Emeka to write and self publish (through his company, Hope Point Press) a trilogy series as a pattern for success for all readers to improve their own personal lives. 

7) Francine's Miracle is in the current process of being optioned for a movie as it has touched the lives of many people and is being acclaimed everywhere.

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Featured Author of the Month: Emeka Iwenofu

Emeka Iwenofu is an aspiring young writer who lived mostly in Cleveland where he attended Cuyahoga Community College before transferring to Cleveland State University where he earned his degree in accounting. Afterwards, he later became engrossed with free enterprise and engaged in a number of solo business ventures before finding his true calling, which was writing.

He eventually read several books on success development, mental attitude, and the law of attraction which inspired him to write the three book series, called: The Miracle Trilogy. Francine's Miracle is the first part to the series. He feels that this entire series is one of the first books of its kind to touch on the law of attraction in such a comprehensive and scientific format among characters as a basis of why and how this phenomenon works.

Virtually all the material contained within his books among the characters presented, are items which he endorses and continues to model in his daily life as the fundamental principles needed for anyone to achieve success in life in whatever area. He sincerely hopes that anyone reading his books will apply the methods discussed and become permanently changed for the better, enriching both their lives and others around them.

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Book trailer for Francine's Miracle by Emeka Iwenofu 

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Interview with L.S. Murphy (Part 2)

9) What do you think the most rewarding part of being an author is? What do you think is the biggest challenge?

There are some many rewarding things about being an author: the feeling of accomplishment when you write the last word, the thrill of a “yes”, the reactions of readers, etc. The biggest challenge is staying positive. It’s really hard to do when the rejections roll in, but when you get that first “yes,” it’s totally worth it.

10) I'm always intrigued when authors choose to be published with their initials rather than their full name. If you are willing to share, was there any particular reason you decided to be published as "L.S."?

I hate my first name. As a kid, it meant I was in trouble. BIG TROUBLE. I actually prefer to be referred to by my last name.

11) What for you is the most exciting part of the book process? Starting the book, finishing the book, the editing, getting the cover, the release day, etc.? Why?

All of it really. Maybe the excitement will dim down with each new book, but I don’t think so.

12) How often did you get writer's block when writing "Reaper"? How did you deal with it?

I don’t really believe in writer’s block anymore. If a story isn’t working, then I will work on something else for a bit before coming back to it. I don’t think I ever had that problem with Reaper. I did have moments when I put the manuscript away for a long period of time, but only after I had a completed draft.

13) Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

If this is what you want to do, then do it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. Don’t let rejection stop you. We all get rejected.

14)Do you have any book recommendations for our readers?

Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas J; After Dark by Emi Gayle; Crux by Julie Reece

15)What are you working on now and what can we expect from you in the future?

In June, I signed with literary agent Julia Weber for a YA contemp currently titled “Extra Innings” about a seventeen-year-old girl who joins a summer baseball league without her famous father’s knowledge. I’m in the midst of revising another YA contemp about a city girl who moves to a small town in Iowa and meets a country boy with a deep, dark secret.