If you travel to north Louisiana and listen carefully, whispers on the cypress-laden air will tell you legendary tales of a young woman who repeatedly tried to make lemon bars. The trees shield their eyes from the tragic tale of utter failure, while the bayous draw their waters up tight in sympathy and shame. . . Well, okay, that might be exaggerated, but not by far. Confession: I don’t bake. If you say the word “lemon bar” around my mom, she turns ghostly pale from blocked memories of my attempts to make those pesky little yellow desserts all through high school. Never got it right. I’m convinced they’re my nemesis. Now, don’t get me wrong–I can make a mean batch of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies. You know, the kind where you cut open the package and place the already perfectly circular bits of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes? I’ve got that down! In fact, I make them a little on the “not quite done” side, and people rave. Everyone always wants me to bring those to parties, like I did something spectacular. (and when I remember the lemon bars, I’m convinced I did) My mother…

Confession time: I’m a big ol’ scaredy-cat. I’ve been to one haunted house in my life and never want to go again, and I’ve been known to sleep with the lights on after seeing a trailer for a scary movie.  But I love Halloween. Weird, right?  I have been known to dip my toe in what I’m calling “spooky” reads, though. They aren’t really scary per se, but they definitely have an atmosphere. My #romancelandia pal, BandHerBooks, and I like to say we’re “pastel goths,” which I think just means we like skulls and cozy sweaters and idolize Morticia Addams, but that’s a topic for another blog post.  I gravitate toward spooky reads around this year especially, but my supernatural-lite obsession lasts year-round–does my skull soap dispenser stay in the powder room even if it’s weeks past October 31st? Yep. Do I wear all black pretty much every day? You bet. Will this lovely typewriter with a “heartwarming” message have permanent residence in my office? MOST DEFINITELY!  Here are a few spooky reads for the rest of the pastel goths out there–enjoy them at Halloween or whenever you want to do your best Lydia Deetz impression. . . *** THE…

Mid-century American realist painter Edward Hopper is celebrated for Nighthawks, his 1947 work in which customers in an all-night diner are viewed through a plate glass window lit by a neon light, and his 1927 Automat, where a girl in a cloche and fur-trimmed coat gazes pensively into a coffee cup in a lonely cafeteria. Hopper returned to that enigmatic woman again and again. He painted her throughout his career. In AUTOMAT, Denver Art Museum Conservator of Paintings Lily Sparks pursues a killer who targets actresses who bring Hopper’s works to life. Lily’s perfect eye tells her the man in Hopper’s paintings also holds clues to the killer’s identity. And just as the famous artist kept painting the same iconic woman, the killer must keep killing her. Five top Hopper paintings convince Lily she’s on the right track. Hopper started out illustrating trade magazine covers. In 1906, on his first trip to Paris, he painted the watercolor Couple near Poplars. In the style of the day, a Gibson girl with upswept hair and a pinafore over her corseted waist stands with a beanstalk of a man with a pencil moustache and a beret. He’s trying to draw her closer, but…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Annabelle Greene! Writes: Annabelle writes hot, heartwarming m/m romances set in the Regency period. Her debut novel, The Vicar and the Rake, is the story of the romance between Gabriel Winters and Edward Stanhope, Duke of Caddonfell. Gabriel’s a repressed vicar, Edward practically invented the word ‘scandal’, and their adolescent friendship abruptly ended when Edward abandoned him. But now Edward’s back in his childhood home, hiding from someone who wants him dead, and Gabriel needs to face his hidden feelings for his oldest friend. There’s also a secret society, a kitten named Buttons and a blackmailer brother who steals every scene he’s in. About: Annabelle has had a book in her hand ever since she learned the alphabet, and retains a special love for the Mills and Boon romances she used to sneakily read while volunteering at the local library. She lives in Italy, where she’s in a perfect relationship with pasta and an adequate relationship with a human. One day…

Years ago, when my kids were younger, I took my family to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was billed as the “Greatest Show on Earth,” and it certainly lived up to its name. We had seats front and center, so the whole spectacle was laid out before our eyes. The children in the audience weren’t the only ones oohing and aahing at the grand performance. The adults were amazed, too. All the regular elements were part of the show. The ringmaster led the events with his booming voice. The clowns made us laugh with their silly antics. The dancers entertained us with their choreographed routines. But it was the skill of the acrobats that really made an impression on me. At one point, a group of them climbed poles whose tops swayed in the rafters far above the floor. The performers weren’t attached to safety lines, nor was a net stretched below them to break a fall. Apparently unbothered by this, the acrobats scampered up the pole to a tiny platform, where they did handstands on even hung by their feet. One slip and they would have been in big trouble. Yet they seemed perfectly at…

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 Nina Crespo! Writes: Nina writes romance stories that range from small town sexy to sizzling. THE LAST RULE OF MAKEUPS is the third book in her steamy Breakup Bash series. Cori has sworn off of relationships, but then she runs into her ex-ex-boyfriend, Grey Latham. What happens when Mr. Right has the worst timing? Read Cori and Grey’s story for all of the sizzling details. About: Author is looking for readers ready for a fun, sexy book vacation to happily ever after. A need for steamy, flirty romance, and a book boyfriend who knows how to deliver multiple orgasms is a must. Bring wine, cupcakes, and a sense of humor along for the ride, and we’re practically guaranteed to be a perfect match. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: -Open to a fling becoming a thing. -Believes in second chances. -Views girlfriends and wine chats as must-haves. -Loves music. -Loves a sexy hero in a towel or wearing nothing…

First, I didn’t get a contract. Now I’m stuck driving home in a monsoon. Peering through the water streaming down the wind­shield, Eden Voss kept an eye out for the turn going into her southwest Atlanta neighborhood. Typical of any Tuesday night, city traffic had been akin to driv­ing in a demolition derby, and the rain only exacerbated that. The farther she got away from the city proper, the more she relaxed. She’d just spent three hours sitting in a smoky hookah lounge in Midtown with a producer and his newest act, discussing whether her songwrit­ing might be a good fit for them. If the young artist had been as decisive as he’d been flirtatious, the meeting might have actually led to something concrete. She wondered what she would have been like if her dreams of singing stardom had come true. Those ambi­tions were long ago laid to rest. However, she knew that if she had made it, she wouldn’t have been so disrespect­ful as to ogle another industry professional, especially during what was supposed to be a business meeting. Eden pushed those thoughts away, concentrating in­stead on making it home intact. Even with the wipers going full blast, visibility…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Wildflower Road 2–What is it about?  A widow searching for peace and a fallen pastor seeking refuge must work together to save her family’s struggling resort on Montana’s Madison River, but it’s only a matter of time before their pasts catch up to them. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Resilient–Despite all Ryann has endured, she has remained steadfast and loyal to those around her. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  Shane has a humility that could only come from losing everything and everyone he’s loved, all thanks to his own actions. He doesn’t believe he deserves the second chance at life he’s been given in Montana. And he certainly doesn’t believe he deserves the affection of a girl as trusting as Ryann. He’s as vulnerable as he is dreamy. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  They both have a tendency to carry their own burdens to protect those around them. In one another, they find someone they can finally lean on. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  My parents introduced me to West Yellowstone, Montana, when I was younger. I’ve waded in…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? GOODNIGHT BEAUTIFUL 2–What is it about? A newlywed couple named Sam and Annie move from New York City to Sam’s sleepy home town. Sam, a therapist, opens a home office, unaware that his sessions with patients can be overheard from a room upstairs. Listening ensues, an alluring patient transpires, Sam disappears, and all hell breaks loose. (I would like to add that Sam’s disappearance is very much related to him participating in an eerily similar 20 Questions column for a local newspaper, so I’m suspicious of this already.) 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  Sam: sensitive hunk Annie: clever 4–What makes your story relatable?  The story is premised on a person discovering a chance to eavesdrop on therapy sessions, forcing you, as the reader to question if, in that position, you would choose to listen. (Which, of course you would.) But what I find more compelling is that underneath the plot is an exploration of the lasting impact of a father’s influence on his son–and in particular, when a father teaches his son a toxic idea of masculinity. I think toxic masculinity is something we all can relate to at this particular…

From The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere Chapter Two Lauren Mabrey stands on the sidewalk at the entrance to Glory’s Place, welcoming children as they arrive for the after-school program. She finished her shift in the floral department at Clauson’s Supermarket an hour ago. Clauson’s has given her the morning shift so she can be at Glory’s Place each day by three to help. In November the twenty-three-year-old will mark two years of volunteering here and less than a year as a married woman. Just five months ago, in December, she stood in the gazebo in the heart of Grandon, surrounded by the townspeople who had adopted her as one of their own, and became Mrs. Travis Mabrey. She stumbled upon Grandon just a year and a half ago by accident, a literal crash. She was a witness to a car crash while driving through Grandon one day, was called back to town to identify the man involved in the hit-and-run, and never left. After years in foster families and with no family of her own to return to, she became a volunteer at Glory’s Place, fell in love with the children at Glory’s Place, with Grandon itself, and then…