About the Author with Saul Marquez

The janitors cleaning your middle school are magical wizards. Sounds crazy, but that’s the premise behind Tyler Whiteside’s mega-popular children’s fantasy series Janitors. He got the idea while working a custodial job as a college student. Writing the book launched his career, allowing him to become a full-time author almost immediately after graduating. Now Tyler’s shifting gears and releasing an adult fantasy novel. In our final episode, he tells us how he developed the idea for janitors and how he’s adapting to a new genre. Watch 4 Guys Drum on Toilets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxxzeMrlC-s Follow Tyler @twhitesides (https://twitter.com/twhitesides) Follow Saul @SAULMARQ (https://twitter.com/saulmarq)

Liana Gardner has a passion for writing – she started when she was just nine-years-old! She also has a passion for good books. It was her frustration with the books her younger sister was reading that led her to write her award-winning novels Misfit McCabe and Nowhere Feels Like Home. And then in 2013, she received some life-changing news: she had leukemia. Yet while most would see that as a sign of the end, it became another source for Liana’s passion to write. In this episode of About the Author, Liana shares how she’s taken a challenging life obstacle and turned it into a message of passion and devotion. It’s an inspiring story that everyone’s going to want to hear. Read Liana's book, 7th Grade Revolution (http://lianagardner.com/middle-grade/7th-grade-revolution/) Follow Liana @lkgg (https://twitter.com/lkgg) Follow Saul @SAULMARQ (https://twitter.com/saulmarq)

Obert Skye has a rule: “If it’s funny, say it!” It’s that sort of humor that fills the pages of his books. Having written 30 books, Obert Skye is probably best known for his Leven Thumps series. In our second episode of About the Author, he sits down with us to discuss his approach to writing. (Hint: it’s all about the crazy, funny and weird!) Obert Skye is also a professional speaker. He’s spoken at over 6,000 schools, sharing a message of passion, imagination and hope with children across America. He’ll take us behind the scenes to tell us how he got his start and the impact he’s seen his work have on his readers. Visit Obert's website (http://obertskye.com) Follow Saul on Twitter @SAULMARQ (https://twitter.com/saulmarq)

Mark Jeffrey has always thought outside the box. He’s first and foremost an entrepreneur -- that’s his thing. So it wasn’t a surprise when he approached self-publishing differently than most. He gave his book away for free. But we’re not talking about Kindle-Daily-Special-free either (the Kindle hadn’t even been invented yet!). He read his novel in front of a microphone, turning it into an audiobook and then releasing it as a podcast. The result was an audience of over 2 million and an eventual deal with one of the biggest publishers in the world. For our pilot episode of About the Author, we’re speaking with Mark about how he wrote his book and then shared it with the world. Mark’s creative and entrepreneurial approach to self-publishing is an exciting story that’s sure to entertain creatives and inform soon-to-be writers. Follow Mark on Twitter @markjeffrey (https://twitter.com/markjeffrey) Follow Saul on Twitter @SAULMARQ (https://twitter.com/SAULMARQ)

Join Bookstacked writer Saul Marquez as he sits down with Children’s and Young Adult book authors to learn how they discovered writing, broke into publishing, and achieved everything else that happened in between and after. To learn more about the show, visit http://author.bookstacked.com.