Summer of Indie Discovers "The Dirty Secret" With Brent Wolfingbarger

Today Summer of Indie welcomed our latest guest, Brent Wolfingbarger. Brent is the author of legal/political thriller The Dirty Secret, which has been described as a combination of John Grisham and Nicolas Sparks, with a slight comedic undertone, and has written this book after over two decades of experience in the legal field.

We asked author Brent Wolfingbarger to give us a closer look at his book:

The Dirty Secret

The difference between victory and defeat in the Electoral College comes down to 259 votes in West Virginia.

A state senator desperately fights back against a lawsuit that is pushing his family’s company toward bankruptcy.

A vice presidential candidate’s adulterous affair threatens to explode in his face and burst into the world’s headlines with devastating consequences.

A ruthless billionaire will stop at nothing to avoid facing justice for his crimes.

A small town prosecutor stumbles upon a plot to win the election by any means necessary: High-tech manipulation of electronic voting machines, creative interpretation of arcane election laws, bribery, blackmail and even murder.

And Rikki Gudivada and Dave Anderson – two star-crossed former lovers from opposite sides of the political fence – are drawn back together as the battle rages for West Virginia’s 5 electoral votes, racing to solve a crime that imperils the very heart of America’s constitutional system while each struggles over the same question:

Is anything more important than winning the White House?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dirty-Secret-Brent-Wolfingbarger/dp/0985220503

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dirty-secret-brent-wolfingbarger/1108955101?ean=9780985220501

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Dirty-Secret/Brent-Wolfingbarger/9780985220501?id=5389530275722

http://www.wvbookco.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=wvbookco&Product_Code=dirtysecret&Category_Code=24

Brent Wolfingbarger has been practicing law for almost two decades, representing both Democrats and Republicans in closely contested, high profile election law battles. He spent five years as a prosecutor in West Virginia, handling the full spectrum of cases including murder, sexual assault and computer-related crimes, and actively focusing on cutting-edge issues related to the acquisition, analysis and use of digital evidence in criminal cases.

Wolfingbarger lives in Washington, DC where he continues to work as a prosecutor, handling white collar financial crimes and violent crimes committed against elderly and disabled victims. Visit his website at www.wolfingbarger.com

You can find author Brent Wolfingbarger online at

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/wolfingbarger
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brent.wolfingbarger
Author Blog: http://www.wolfingbarger.com/blog/
Author Website: http://www.wolfingbarger.com/

Summer of Indie Meets With Leigh M. Lane

Our next author in the Summer of Indie lineup is Leigh M. Lane, who enjoys writing "dark speculative fiction that often contains strong social and political commentary."

We interviewed author Leigh M. Lane, author of novels Myths of Gods and World-Mart and a short collection Of Mind and Matter, to find out more about her and the inspirations for her writing.

The first book she shared with us was her dystopian novel, World-Mart.

George Irwin remembers a time before the Big Climate Change, back when the airlines were still in business and people still drove their own cars. The world has changed much over his lifetime, but he still believes in the American Dream. When an alleged terrorist act lands his wife in the hospital, however, George stumbles upon a Corporate secret that could mean the end of all civilization.

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/World-Mart-Leigh-M-Lane/dp/0615555748/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/World-Mart-ebook/dp/B005VTN1OC/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Author Leigh M. Lane also spoke about her inspiration for writing World-Mart:

"I began writing World-Mart when, as a manager at a large-chain corporation, I became disillusioned by the disparity I saw between the high-end corporate overseers and the low-end workers. I remember the sense of epiphany that hit me when one day at a manager’s meeting, we learned the company had decided to spend ten million dollars on nationwide logo changes, while capping lower management pay at a mere ten dollars an hour. It just didn’t make sense to me. Moreover, I found the bureaucracy and ever-changing policies to be mind-blowing and hypocritical, and I knew there was a dystopia to be written somewhere amidst it all."

Next, we asked about her novel Myths of Gods, a dark fantasy satire that offers a critical look at religion.

"I wrote Myths of Gods as a personal exploration of existential angst, coupled with long-standing issues of being an estranged minister’s daughter. Religion can be a touchy subject to write about, but it was something I needed to do. The question of what God might think collectively about religion ate away at me for many years, so I finally broke down and wrote a book to explore that question. The result was haphazard at first, and it took several years for me to transform the book into a cohesive work that suited my original expectations."

http://www.amazon.com/Myths-Gods-Leigh-M-Lane/dp/0615491898

The last novel that Leigh M. Lane shared with us was entitled Finding Poe. She described it as very different from her previous novels, but noted that "It too came as a pang of inspiration that gnawed at me until I finally wrote the novel. I believe it is my best work to date—and definitely the scariest."

Follow the final days before Poe's death, journeying through his musings, both brilliant and mad, in search of the truth behind his unfinished work, "The Lighthouse," while unraveling the mystery behind the elusive woman desperately seeking the author for answers behind her husband's haunted death.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007M7JWTY

After finding out about her work, we asked Leigh M. Lane more about her as an author:

Q: When did you start writing?

A: I began writing when I was seven or eight. I was a voracious reader, but felt unsatisfied with simply reading—I wanted to be like my favorite authors at the time, creating stories for others to enjoy. I found myself taken by writing even more than reading, and it became my primary hobby. I started writing short stories, but by the time I was a teenager, I had graduated to screenplays and novels. When I discovered speculative fiction through authors such as Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, and Kurt Vonnegut, I knew I had found my calling.

Q: What motivated you to publish now?

A: I took a serious look at the current state of the world and the trends, and I knew the timing was finally right. When, not even a year after publishing World-Mart, Occupy Wall Street occurred, I knew I had made the right decision.

Q: Where can people get your book?

A: All of my full-length novels are available in both Kindle and paperback and are listed on my Amazon Author Page.

Q: In your book, who is your favorite character?

A: In World-Mart, my favorite character is Kurt. Even though he is a fearful and whiny seven-year-old boy, he stands for something very important (which I’m not going to spoon-feed readers). I would love feedback from those who think they’ve figured it out.

Q: What's your favorite indie book that you've read recently?

A: I've been doing a lot of Indy reading these days, and I have to say the overall quality I’ve encountered is very high. I don’t think I can narrow down my favorite to just one book, but instead would like to recommend a few great Indy authors I’ve recently discovered: Robert S. Wilson, Bryan Hall, Armand Rosamilia, Trent Zelazny, and Jeffery Anderson.

Q: What's your favorite book of all time?

A: This is another tough one, but if I had to choose just one book, I think it would be Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s Cat’s Cradle. No other book has haunted me the way that one has. There are so many other books I’d love to mention (all by the authors listed below), but I’ll refrain for the sake of time and space. 

Q: Who are some of your favorite authors?

A: I’ll try to keep this short: Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., George Orwell, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Olaf Stapledon, Joseph Conrad, Clive Barker, and Anne Rice.

Q: Do you have any advice for new writers?

A: I think the greatest piece of advice I can offer (hoping I don’t sound too cliché here) is write, write, write. You’ll think the first draft of your first novel is the greatest work of literature to grace mankind, but chances are it’s crap. Do yourself a favor and refrain from shopping it (you’ll thank me later). Put it aside for a year or two. If you haven’t already, get an English degree. Learn, through critical analysis, what makes great books great. Learn proper grammar and punctuation. Write another book, then another one, and then go back to the piece of crap you first wrote and make it better. Write another book, then another one, and then go back to the redraft of book number one and make it great.

Q: What's next for you (in your writing)?

A: I’m between projects right now, but I am entertaining some vague ideas I hope to develop into something more concrete. The muses work in strange ways, and sometimes it takes a while to make sense of what they want of me.

Q: Name 3 things readers probably couldn't guess about you (but you'd like them to know)?

A:

1. I’m an avid comic book fan, with a collection of several hundred works under a number of imprints.

2. I’m a singer and musician, and have not only sang for three bands (one blues, one alternative, and one rock and roll), but have also sang the "Star Spangled Banner" for the opening of a Dodgers game.

3. I write erotic horror and science fiction romance under a different name.

You can find novels by Leigh M. Lane at her Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Leigh-M.-Lane/e/B0055DSE6Y/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

You can also find her online on Facebook and her website, where she also hosts a blog.

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeighMLane

http://www.cerebralwriter.com/