Everyone has their favourite character once they settle into a book, the one they’re rooting for. As an author, you have to care about them all if you’re going to do them justice and bring them to life as real people, but you still end up caring about some more than others. If I were choosing my top five characters from the series, this list might look a little different. (For starters, it would contain some enemies of Moth’s who are now quite definitely dead, the usual fate of Moth’s enemies.) However, for The Last Road, which is book five of my epic silk road fantasy Gods of the Caravan Road, here’s a top five characters list. 1. Moth The Last Road is an interlaced story told in five novels and a short story, containing separate but interconnected adventures. Moth — the devil Ulfhild Vartu — is the thread that binds them all together. She’s the one who wanders in and out of other people’s stories, sometimes taking on a central role, sometimes only brushing by on the periphery. She’s a middle-aged (centuries-old, immortal, but middle-aged) warrior, wizard, storyteller, and devil, a being of two intertwined, conjoined souls, who have…

I watched a couple of construction workers come into the coffee shop. Followed by several other customers. I should be heading back to the office. The late-afternoon crowd is starting to come in. It wasn’t that I didn’t like swimming with the sharks in the corporate world, but I wasn’t used to a sedentary lifestyle cooped up in an office all day. I glanced at the grubby men in orange vests who were ordering their coffee, knowing I had more in common with them than I did with all the other suits I saw on a daily basis. But I wasn’t one of them anymore, the guys who busted their asses physically every single day to make a living. In some ways, I really missed the comradery I’d had in construction with all of my fellow builders. I’d been part of a team. Yeah, it had been tough, exhausting work sometimes, but I’d liked getting my hands dirty, and most of all, I’d loved being outdoors as much as possible. It was my restlessness in the office that had drawn me outdoors. The walk to the Coffee Shack had helped some. It usually did, which was why I was here…

With the success of binge-worthy content like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Dumplin’, Good Omens, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Anne with an E, streaming services are becoming the new go-to when you want to adapt a book. Now that Netflix has snatched up the rights to Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, I’ve started thinking about what I’d like to see them tackle next. Here are five of my favorite books that I think Netflix could do justice. The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones This is a melancholy urban fantasy about a girl who makes a pact with a demon for tuition money. (Honestly, if it were me… I’d consider it.) Agreeing to serve the demon for two years, Dee quickly finds herself in over her head, but at least she’s not alone – she’s also working among some other hapless teenagers who made similar deals. She finds herself falling in love with one of her fellow charges, but she’s determined to ignore it, especially considering there’s no guarantee she’ll survive the length of her contract. This book has become one of my all-time favorites, and I think a movie adaptation would give it some much-deserved spotlight. And who knows?…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-ReaderMatch” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present C.R. RICHARDS! Rabidly Reads and Writes: Heart pounding, spine chilling, emotion-stirring Dark Fantasy Novels About the Author: C.R. Richards loves dark fiction stories. She enjoys the sensation of sitting on the edge of her seat, intensely anxious to discover the next twist in a good book. Yes. She loves being scared, but not too scared. No slasher movies, please. In a secret confession, the author admitted she still watches reruns of Supernatural tucked under her covers. Richards makes her books all about the characters. She spends a great deal of time developing their personalities, desires and their failings. If the reader doesn’t care about the character, then what’s the point? What I’m Looking for In My Ideal Reader: Adventures with me won’t be comfortable or light-hearted. Expect journeys into the dark and creepy. My ideal reader will boldly embrace the unexpected, laugh in the face of danger and fortify their reading nook with the warm fuzziness of a loyal pet. I’m looking…

Before I start writing a book, I do quite a bit of pre-writing. I try to figure out who my characters are and then I create a playlist. Once I have a playlist, I listen to it all the time. I listen to it so much that my kids complain because they get tired of the music. It becomes background noise that I use to draft the novel. One song that isn’t on my playlist, only because it wasn’t out when I made the playlist and wrote the book, is “Friends Don’t” by Maddie & Tae. The lyrics are a perfect representation of Owen and Evelyn’s relationship. “Friends don’t call you in the middle of the night Couldn’t even tell you why They just felt like saying “hi” Friends don’t stand around, playing with their keys Finding reasons not to leave Trying to hide the chemistry Drive a little too slow, take the long way home Get a little too close We do, but friends don’t” The actual playlist I used is pretty good, though. When I choose songs, I look for things that represent each character, the mood of the book, and their relationship. I don’t think I’ve ever…

Footsteps on the porch reminded him that he was not alone. Ruby stepped to his side, her eyes searching his face. “What did the doctor say? Lovinia is going to recover, isn’t she?” Gideon shook his head, not trusting his voice. He swallowed. “He said her heart is weak.” Ruby pressed her fingers to her lips. “It can’t be. He could be wrong.” “I would like to believe that, but I know she is suffering–” His voice broke. She had been ill for years, and he hadn’t noticed. He had been too wrapped up in his own work, believing that her tiredness was a passing thing. “I don’t know how to tell the children.” “You should go to her, first.” Ruby said. “I’ll care for the children, but you need to be with her.” Ruby wiped away a tear that trickled down her cheek, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth. The corners of her mouth quivered, but she gave him a smile. “Lovinia needs you now. She needs you to be strong. Let her know that you and the children will be all right after she’s gone. She worries about you.” Gideon glanced toward the upstairs window. The…

Food and romance go hand in hand, like chips and dip or strawberries and cream. From a romantic dinner to a full-on food fight, sharing food is an intimacy that features in any budding relationship. Lila Ward and Blake Hanlon from OUT OF CONTROL are no different. When Blake has to prove to Lila that he’s serious about getting to know her, he takes her out for a meal at his favorite eatery, perhaps trying to show her a glimpse of his real self. Honest, down-to-earth and scrumptious, Blake’s food of choice is a well-cooked steak, thick-cut fries, and a damn good sauce. Later on in the story when Lila demands she becomes Blake’s breakfast, he gets creative with a little fruit and preserves, much to Lila’s bemusement. . . Excerpt from Blake. . . “I wiped a hand across my mouth. “I want a little extra with my breakfast,” I said, heading for the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter. There were fat, juicy plums, apples, and a pineapple. Not quite what I had in mind. But close. I opened the pantry and found what I was looking for. A jar of peaches. I gathered a few pieces of…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-ReaderMatch” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Amanda Usen!  Writes: Super sexy urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and erotic romance. Think X-men meets Fifty Shades of Grey with a dash of Chopped. My characters are adrenaline-inducing, hot flash-provoking, and guaranteed to make you hungry, which is why my website has recipes from my books. About: Writer. Chef. Romantic. Mother. Wife. Teacher. Obliger. ISFJ-T. Coffee addict. Chocolate believer. Love maker. I love projects! Next on deck is helping my oldest daughter choose a college while I work on the next book in the Talent series. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: My ideal reader will believe… There are no lost causes. Family is born and made. Sugar is excellent medicine. Smart is always sexy. That happy endings aren’t easy and are worth the wait…especially when there are super-powered sexy times involved… What to expect if we’re compatible: First and foremost, I like to show readers a good time. If you take one of my books to bed, to…

For historical fiction this month, we travel back into the mystic past to explore the land of Druids, Danes, and followers of the Norse gods of Valhalla. What better way to honor Halloween than to delve into an era rich in mythic and supernatural traditions? We begin in the Nordic lands of the ninth century with Johanne Hildebrandt’s two-book series that chronicles the fascinating, violent period when the Scandinavian lands were fought over by adherents of the old gods and those converted to the new religion of Christianity. In THE UNBROKEN LINE OF THE MOON (VALHALLA BOOK 1,) as war rages between Vikings and Christians, rich and beautiful Sigrid holds to the old Norse gods, particularly the goddess Freya, who comes to her in dreams and reveals to her the future. Though her father wants her to marry Erik, a local king, to secure peace between Goths and Swedes, she finds herself drawn to Sweyn, a warrior seeking to overthrow Danish ruler Harald Bluetooth. Will she become Erik’s Queen, or risk all to follow her heart? In ESTRID (VALHALLA BOOK 2), Sigrid’s story merges with those of her twin offspring, Olaf, heir to the kingdom of Svealand, and his sister…

A friend introduced me to the concept of glamping—glamorous camping. Think muslin curtains and rustic beams separating you from the great outdoors, a queen-sized bed with fluffy pillows, a cooler stocked with champagne and aged cheddar. Sounds relaxing, doesn’t it? That’s not what my heroine Meg Pero faced on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey in 1871 Arizona, in A Distance Too Grand. I have camped a good portion of my life, even dabbled with backpacking in high wilderness at one point. But the life of a survey team was something beyond that. Each team had staff that could log topography, determine flora and fauna, check minerals and geology, photograph the area, and determines weather patterns. Larger teams boasted cooks, a surgeon and one or more hospital stewards, and even a chaplain . Lieutenant George Wheeler, who led an ambitious survey to map lands west of the one-hundredth meridian from 1869 to 1879, also took with him 30 guides plus men to help him manage the camp. A cavalry detachment escorted each survey. On smaller expeditions, like the one my Meg serves on, everyone might have more than one role. Equipment like theodolites, telescopes, and hand-walked odometers had to…