Tag: First Time Author

10 questions with the authors of How Does She Know. Andrea Rubinowitz & Diane M. Sylvester

Having the ability to foretell events and connect with people in the afterlife is a unique gift. But can it also be a horrible curse!

Anna Mavrides has been burdened her whole life by the violent visions she had as a young girl. When she decides decades later to write a book about those visions and her family’s connection to the spirit world, it becomes an instant bestseller, but it ultimately triggers a chain of events that would have her charged with the brutal murder of her childhood friend.

As Anna wrestles with the fractured memories and tangled relationships of her youth from her prison cell, her determined supporters dig to expose the motives of the leader of a Spiritualist community featured in the book and the District Attorney who charged her with murder.

Their efforts could exonerate her and provide some answers about Anna’s distant past, but her reward will be a penultimate showdown at a seaside Maine amusement park, where the past and present fuse in a fiery conclusion.

All her life, people have asked Anna Mavrides, “How do you know?” Can she finally answer that question?

How Does She Know
How Does She Know

If you only had two sentences to tell someone what your book is about, what would you say to excite them about the story? 

Anna Mavries decides to tell the world her story about the extraordinary supernatural gifts and Greek legacy she possesses, but little did she know the ripple effect on the present day and the past it would conjure up. As she sits in jail, both friends, foes, and paranormal play tug of war with Anna’s life and as the rope unravels, Anna sees the truth.

How did you and DIane meet and decide to collaborate on a book?

We met at work and developed a deep friendship. Diane began to tell me about her gifts and the manuscript in which she detailed these events.  And of course with my insatiable hunger to know more about paranormal, I could not resist the opportunity to bring it to life.

Why a murder mystery?

The pivotal vision is Christine so it felt right to develop a more profound story around it

Where is the setting for How Does She Know and is there a specific reason for its selection?

Portland Maine is Diane’s home and she is considered a Mainer.  Since the majority is based on true events, it seemed fitting to keep it in her birth place plus it adds so much color to the story.

How have your own experiences influenced your characters in their personalities, characteristics, and little details? For example; do one of you have someone in your life that you put a little bit into Marjorie?

The story revolves around true events that Diane has and continues to experience as a medium- thus all those details built the main character Anna.

If you had to be one character in How Does She Know, who would you choose and why?

I really bond with Lori as I like her moxy and she has the traits of a Gemini which I am part of that club.

What will connect the reader to the story and make them want to keep reading the story?

I find that the layers of the past and present swirling around Anna’s paranormal experiences, the readers want to know how it all intersects at the end.

What was it like collaborating in creating How Does She Know?

Moving from Diane’s detail manuscript to a compelling story had its journey with stops, starts, tears and joy but in the end it is a passion project that came into reality at the right time!

Many first time authors have a problem with letting their work enter into the world for others to read. Did you have difficulty deciding your book was ready to publish?

I truly believe the universe decided when this passion project was ready and it came through with implacable timing.  I am a believer of signs and throughout 2023 I was seeing multiple numerals in a row repeating – my sign was the number 1 and it was loud and clear!

What are the daytime secret identities of the authors of How Does She Know that help pay for the electricity to power your computers?

Diane and I both work I work in hospital reimbursement again being a Gemini I have 2 sides for sure!

What is your next project?

A sequel is currently in the works for Anna to continue to bring forth the intrigue of her gifts as they expand and grow – again based on true events!

Find How Does She Know at Amazon.

Andrea Rubinowitz
Andrea Rubinowitz

Author Bio:

Andrea Rubinowitz was born and raised in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and from the age of 6 years old fascinated with the paranormal world.  From chasing ghosts before impending thunderstorms, racing home after school to watch Dark Shadows, seeing every horror movie with Vincent Price, and finally as an adult, the urge of knowing more never ceased in fact it grew.  Upon meeting Diane M. Sylvester, born into a generation of fortune tellers not by choice certainly cannot guarantee a life time of happiness.

Diane M Sylvester
Diane M Sylvester

Diane M. Sylvester was raised in Portland, Maine and continues to reside in this beautiful state known as Vacationland.  Born into a generation of fortune tellers not by choice; this pedigree cannot guarantee a life time of happiness. She longed to tell her story of her lineage, physic abilities and paranormal experiences that she cannot ignore. How Does She Know is Diane’s first book regarding her amazing gifts.

 

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3O0tBZc

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45729606.Andrea_Rubinowitz

© 2014-2024- Ronovan Hester Copyright reserved. The author asserts his moral and legal rights over this work.

2 PAPERBACK copies GIVEAWAY! Gary Gatlin-93 Year-Old First Time Author of Reluctant Hero, first in a WWII Trilogy.

THIS GIVEAWAY EXPIRED November 11, 2019 as noted in the body of this post, in red bold type.Reluctant Hero Book 1

Reluctant Hero: World War Trilogy Book 1

(Clicking the image or title will take you to the Amazon Page to pre-order the book to be released Nov. 5.)

Entries Through Veteran’s Day! (Nov. 11)

Author ROYALTIES from book sales WILL BE DONATED to the nonprofit organization ANGELS ON THE BORDER.

To enter the GIVEAWAY for one of two books, just fill out the form below. All email addresses will be deleted following the drawing of the two winners, with the exception of the two winners for contact purposes.

I do ask that you consider putting a review on Amazon and/or GoodReads.

Author ROYALTIES from book sales WILL BE DONATED to the nonprofit organization ANGELS ON THE BORDER.

His forthcoming novel, “Gary Gatlin: Reluctant Hero” (Dudley Court Press) is set in April of 1939. As 20-year-old Gary Gatlin travels from Los Angeles abroad, he cannot know that he will singularly influence the outcome of WWII. Gatlin, a friend of Japanese-immigrant farmers in California, finds himself in Formosa to learn about Japanese fruit cultivation. When he arrives on the lush island, war is in the air, and his presence begins to raise suspicion. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Gatlin finds himself called upon by the U.S. Navy in an unpredictable battle of allegiances.

WWII veteran Carl Haupt is a first time author at 93 years old, who spends his days helping Central Americans displaced by famine and poverty at the U.S.-Mexico border, despite his advanced age and physical handicaps.

Carl F Haupt Headshot

Carl F. Haupt

Author Biography

TUCSON, Arizona – Carl F. Haupt, a 93-year old retired military veteran on a government pension, has become a philanthropist who feeds the starving refugees at the U.S. border in Arizona. From a wheelchair, he works to make life tolerable for those in limbo. Just as he helped to liberate Europe during WWII and fought in the Asian Theater on the other side of the world, today, he and his wife continue, after more than 17 years, to personally help those fleeing poverty and internal strife within their home countries.

At age 15, along with a reported 1 million other boys across the country, Haupt left home during The Great Depression. He was homeless, hitching rides on freight trains, sleeping on the ground and going hungry for days at a time. Eventually, he landed in Los Angeles. In 1944, he joined the United States Navy and served his country for 22 years, including more than a decade in the United States Air Force. He retired in 1966 as a Master Sergeant.

In 1992, with his military life behind him, Carl began helping locals in Mexico with his wife, Sarah. They worked in Agua Prieta, a city across from Douglas, Arizona. Remembering his time as a homeless teen, Carl helped build over 100 homes and moved 25 donated mobile homes to families in Agua Prieta, delivering food and other necessities to struggling families.

Haupt is a first time author at 93 years old. His novel, “Gary Gatlin: Reluctant Hero” (Dudley Court Press, November 5, 2019), was inspired by a strange situation in 1987 when he woke up one morning compelled to write for 13 straight hours the story that had come to him through a dream. Now, decades later, Dudley Court Press has acquired his story for release in 2019. All author royalties from “Gary Gatlin” will be consigned to the non-profit organization Angels on the Border.