I went to Australia last September, and while I had a great time Down Under, I also found some really interesting mystery series. First up we have Michael Duffy’s Blue Mountain mystery series set in Katoomba. I was in the Blue Mountains to see the Three Sisters natural monument and bought this in a wonderful little bookshop (Megalong Books) in Leura. The paperbacks are only available in Australia, but you can find them anywhere else on Amazon kindle. The series is unique because the narrator is a retired journalist and Detective Paul Ruel is not your typical cop. But once I read THE PROBLEM WITH MURDER, I had to read the rest in the series. More in the Series – #2 The Strange Death of Paul Ruel, #3 The Man in Black Bella Greaves is semi-retired and edits Katoomba’s local newspaper in Australia’s Blue Mountains. She is content but just a little bored.When disgraced homicide detective Paul Ruel is exiled to the Mountains, his superiors expect him to resign from frustration. Then he uncovers a crime that has been covered up for years, and turns to Bella for help. She finds Paul just as intriguing as the investigation. In that…

Excerpt from BUG HOLLOW by Michelle Huneven Fresh Water in the Sea he was in Ojai checking out a boarding school for her younger son when a man near her said her name. “Yvette?” He had short, curly salt‑and‑pepper hair, a good tan, and kind brown eyes. Her body recognized him first: Phil Samuelson, fifteen years older. A person she’d never expected to see again. Age had had its way with her as well, although her hair remained dark brown with only a few stray wires of white, and somehow (well, mostly by eating nothing) she was still slim, though with a tendency—and here is where age showed itself— to look fragile or, as her husband complained, skeletal. “Is it really you?” she said, and, smiling, they embraced. “You’re not here for François,” he said. “Surely he’s, what . . .” “A freshman at UCLA. I saw him yesterday. No. I’m here for my younger boy, JP. Jean Pierre.” “You and Claude got your two!”  “Yes. And you? Did you and”—here, somehow, from a deep drawer of memory, she extracted a name—“Sibyl—” She was about to say, “have another,” but just then, the guide called the group to order and…

Step off the Yellow Brick Road and into the untold story of a woman we’ve long known, but never truly met—until now. In this week’s Jen’s Jewels, bestselling author Hazel Gaynor invites us to imagine the life of Aunt Em before the twister, before the farmhouse, and before Dorothy. With BEFORE DOROTHY, Hazel spins a powerful prequel filled with sisterhood, sacrifice, and resilience set against the stark contrasts of 1920s Chicago and Dust Bowl-era Kansas. Don’t miss this heartfelt conversation about reinvention, Easter eggs for Oz fans, and the power of rewriting forgotten women into the story. Jen: Hazel, BEFORE DOROTHY is such a captivating idea. What sparked the inspiration to imagine Aunt Em’s life before Oz?Hazel: BEFORE DOROTHY was inspired by a few lines from the opening chapter of L. Frank Baum’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: ‘When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too…She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now.’ I had so many questions! What had changed her so drastically? Where had she lived before Kansas, and why was Dorothy living with her aunt and uncle? Before Dorothy answers these questions…

Each Friday the Smashwords store reports the bestselling indie fiction titles based on the previous week’s sales. If an author has more than one title eligible for the list, only the highest performing title will be included. This ensures high-performing titles receive the accolades they deserve, while providing up-and-coming authors the visibility they have earned. Don’t miss Monday’s Top 10 Hot Preorders List, where Smashwords will provide a list of the most highly anticipated ebook preorders.

1–What is the title of your latest release? LEGENDS OF GOLD 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A search for lost treasure…a heroine with a long-lost family that threatens to upend her happy life after years of struggle and a hero home from sea to return to his family ranch who can’t decide if really loves her or just wants to protect her…but either way, he’s determined to marry her. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The Two Harts Ranch in north central California was inspired by a trip I took to Yosemite National Park. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Oh yes. Tilda has lived her life on the edge of survival and brings a toughness and vulnerability to life that is inspiring. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Lonely, determined, teacher 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I researched naval explorers from three hundred years before my book takes place…and left behind a treasure. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I do both. I edit as a write, then go back and edit again. 8–What’s…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE FIRE CONCERTO 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? THE FIRE CONCERTO is a story about a brilliant female musician lost to history and another woman’s quest to ensure she is not forgotten. It follows a woman named Clara Bishop, a former concert pianist who gave up music when her hand and arm were badly burned in a fire. Clara is working as a bartender in Austin, Texas, when her piano teacher dies, leaving her an unexpected inheritance: an antique metronome with a cryptic message hidden within its box. Clara soon comes to suspect that this is the long-lost metronome of a famous nineteenth-century composer, a priceless object missing since 1885, when the composer was murdered by one of his pupils, an exceptionally gifted woman alleged to have been insane. Clara doesn’t know how her teacher came to possess this metronome or why the teacher gave it to Clara. These questions spur her on a journey to Warsaw, where the composer lived and died, to uncover the truth about what really happened the night of his death. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE ATLAS OF UNTOLD STORIES 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A mom and her two adult daughters embark on road trip around America’s heartland to discover places associated with literature – and the untold stories they are keeping from each other. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Much of the book takes place on the road as the characters journey from one town to the next and learn the meaning behind some of America’s greatest works of literature. As a Midwestern booklover, I am taken with how many book-related places the middle of the country boasts. I wanted to celebrate both this rich history as well as the way books give us the words to say what we need to say, especially to those closest to us.   4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I would definitely hang out with Chloe, the youngest daughter. She is a party. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Sticking with Chloe, I would say she is resourceful, faithful, and tenacious. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? One thing that…

The Pretender by Foo Fighters Paulo and Laurel’s story in The Fated Mage is fraught with tension between the two of them. Paulo’s oracular abilities makes it easy for him to meddle with things, to manipulate situations to benefit him. And Laurel hates it. She knows he pretends to be a pompous peacock in order to fool people into underestimating him and by the end of this series. All she wants is for him to stop pretending, to stop playing puppet master, and to become the man she knows he is. Call of the Carnyx by Saor The battles that take place in The Fated Mage aren’t just battles of the mind or the heart. When I was researching this book, I came across the carnyx, a tall wind instrument the Celts used around the Iron Age. It was this fearsome looking horn that let out this haunting drone over battlefields. I knew when I heard it that Paulo would hear the low moans of this horn as the rebels attacked his home. This particular song really embodies that sense adrenaline spike and that intensity that comes with battle. Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler This song was…

Book Title: IF WISHES WERE RETAIL Character Name: The Djinn formerly of the Ring of Khorad How would you describe your family or your childhood? Upon my birth, many thousands of years ago, I was but a flicker of flame, a breath on the wind. So I remained until, at last, my mother coaxed me into a shape, and I was given form. I spent many happy years becoming this and that—a scorpion, a bird, a snake, a tree. I had many brothers and sisters, and our tribe was mighty and untroubled by the doings of humanity then, in the dim reaches of your prehistoric past. What was your greatest talent? My millennia bound within the Ring of Khorad and to the service of its bearer has made me adept at granting mortals their heartfelt desires. You call these things “wishes.” This is, for better or worse, what I am best suited to do. Significant other? This question is impertinent! Invasive! Rude! I should make of you a donkey so that your braying would be heard for miles, and yet your tongue be robbed of language. I am single. Biggest challenge in relationships? I have been told I have a…

Book Title: QUEEN MOTHER (The Angel Sworn book 1) Character Name: Azra, a prisoner in the dungeon at Montheron How would you describe your family or your childhood? You wish to know about my wretched childhood? Very well. I came from a brutal and evil kingdom. Under the boot of a warlord who despoiled everything he touched. Who knew no boundaries nor accepted any authority above his own. The depravity, if you knew it, would make you weep. I escaped. Barely. And I came here, to Montheron. It was such a contrast to the horrible realm I’d lived in. I was but a child then. No more than eight. But I saw the difference. What is your greatest talent? There is a good reason the Queen Mother made me her angel of death. Angel sworn are forbidden to marry but you did. Why? I was wounded and the only survivor of my cohort. I did what I did to stay alive. I’ll speak no more of it. You’ve not earned the right to hear my story. Why are you in this dungeon, Azra? I joined the angel sworn willingly. But that changed after I nearly died at Tirich Mir. I…