1–What is the title of your latest release? THE SPARK OF LOVE   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Fearing a spurned suitor, Alexandra Tarkington flees to Mesquite Springs, hoping for a happy reunion with her father. Little does she know that two men have followed her, each with his own agenda, and that the intriguing man she met on the stagecoach is an investigator determined to unmask a con man … her father.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? That was actually very simple. Since this is the third book in the Mesquite Springs trilogy, it takes place in the Mesquite Springs, the small town in the Texas Hill Country where danger lurks in the most unexpected places.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. Alexandra is strong, determined, and has the talent I’ve always wished I had: being able to draw and paint. Who knows? Maybe if we spent time together, some of that talent would wear off on me.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Principled, determined, handsome. (It’s a romance, so you knew I’d include the last one, didn’t…

CHAPTER ONE My mother woke me in the dead of night again. I felt her standing over my bed, the heat of a flashlight on my face. Why couldn’t she just turn on the lights like a normal person? After sundown, we lived in darkness. If the lamps were on, people could see inside, she said. “Maddie, wake up. We’re going for a drive. Just put your coat on over your nightgown.” I tried to wake up, but stay asleep too, fighting with myself in some in-between place. She paced back and forth, whispering under her breath like she was arguing with an imaginary someone. I wondered what it was this time. But whatever she had planned, nothing could be worse than what had happened last Sunday. On that terrible night, Momma pulled me from my bed at 4 a.m.   “Get up, and come with me,” she’d said, her green eyes wild. She rushed me onto my feet, the wood floor cool and in need of sweeping, gritty under my toes. “I need your help.” I still had a thumbprint bruise on my arm where she grabbed me in that moment, dragging me into the living room. I thought…

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 you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Jane Ashford! Writes: Jane Ashford writes sparkling historical romances set in the Regency period. Her dream is to make readers laugh out loud. She prefers heroes who achieve their HEAs by showing kindness, and particularly by recognizing a heroine’s needs and fulfilling them. She also sees true love as a process. Wild physical attraction is obligatory, of course, but desire alone doesn’t make a lasting match. Her couples challenge each other and reveal their true selves through action before they find their happy endings. She creates believable, humane characters while stirring up a bit of fun. About: Born in Ohio, I’ve lived in New York, Boston, LA, and London. Reading has been my favorite thing ever since I could. I read more mysteries and science fiction than romance because I love them, and I don’t want to risk lifting ideas. I’m particularly fond of in-charge characters – Sherlock Holmes, Vanessa Michael Munroe, Jack Reacher, Murderbot. On the other hand, I always cry at some point during Call the…