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 Amber Chen! Writes: Hi everyone! I am a YA author that has just released my debut silkpunk fantasy duology, with Book 1 OF JADE AND DRAGONS and Book 2 THE BLOOD PHOENIX. Silkpunk is a term that was coined by the author Ken Liu for his Dandelion Dynasty series, to represent a “specific technology and literary aesthetic” that draws from the history and culture of East Asia and the Pacific islands. It is similar to steampunk in that it also encompasses the key themes of rebellion, anti-authoritarianism and a struggle for freedom, but it’s unique because the inspiration behind the technology is slightly different.  This duology follows the journey of Ying, a young, talented female engineer who aspires to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the prestigious Engineers Guild one day. However, all this is upended when her father is murdered, sending her on a quest to search for her father’s murderer (in Book 1) and then to deal with the aftermath of…

In all these post-World War II stories, the main characters come to grips with changes that transform their lives, from the relative security of “normal everyday women” to those threatened by or trying to escape their past, to those caught in a life-threatening political turmoil. In changes small or profound, they must find their way to a better future. We start with “normal life” in Marie Bostwick’s THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN. Living in a lovely neighborhood in a fine home with a loving family, 1960s Concordia housewife Margaret Ryan has everything she’s supposed to want.  When intriguing new neighbor Charlotte Gustafson moves to the area, Margaret engineers a book club to become better acquainted.  Their first choice, Betty Friedan’s THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE, sparks Charlotte and friends Bitsy and Viv to examine more closely what they want out of life—challenging them to question the status quo and societal expectations, inspiring “the Bettys” to find their own voices.  Bostwick masterfully recreates the period when women more fully discovered the power of female bonds and began pushing the limits of their “expected” roles. We turn from the safety of suburbia to the dangers of post-World War II Germany in THE GERMAN…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A PROMISE TO ARLETTE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A historical fiction saga that takes you from the seemingly idyllic life of Ida and Sydney in 1950s American suburbia, to Ida’s glistening past in Paris, to the devastation of WWII. It’s a story about love and friendship, trust and betrayal, and how promises made, broken, and ultimately renewed, can determine our fate. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I was intrigued by the stark differences between the 1950s New England lifestyle versus 1930s Paris, so I knew my novel would take place in those two locations. The rest was decided for me as my protagonist became Peggy Guggenheim’s assistant, which meant following Peggy from England to Paris. Later, when my protagonist tracks down Man Ray, the book takes us to California since that’s where the artist was living. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I wouldn’t be so keen to hang out with Ida when the book opens. She’s a bit of a self-indulgent mess. In her youth, definitely. And by the end I’d have a drink with her. …

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 Mary Kennedy! Writes: Mary Kennedy is an award-winning, national bestselling novelist of cozy mysteries, with four million copies in print. She loves mysteries that sweep you along, giving just enough twists and turns to make the plot interesting along with characters you will never forget. As always, there’s plenty of zany characters and one-liners to keep you laughing while you watch Dr. Maggie solve the murder. About: Mary Kennedy uses her own life and career as a basis for her mysteries. She worked in radio in the south (just like Dr. Maggie) right out of college and she has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She briefly hosted a celebrity TV show on the local PBS station and that gave her plenty of funny situations for Dr. Maggie to explore. She’s a devoted animal lover and decided to set in the series in Florida because she’s a big fan of sunshine and the ocean. My ideal reader match for my latest book, DEATH OF A…

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 Elizabeth Rose! Writes: Hi everyone! I normally write romance but have just started a NEW medieval murder mystery series called Harlowe & Fitch Historical Mysteries. My latest release is MURDER ON ROTTEN ROW, Book 2. Lady Vivienne Harlowe is determined to find justice for those who have lost a loved one since her parents’ murders seven years ago have yet to be solved. Now, with her bloodhound, Grunt, she helps her friend since childhood, Sheriff Zachariah Fitch to solve murders and hunt down killers so those families of the deceased can find peace of mind. When Vivienne’s dog discovers a corpse behind the tavern in the bad part of town, the hunt is on to find the killer before he or she strikes again. But it’s not easy with a rat catcher called the Pied Piper terrorizing people and even frightening the children. While this is not a romance, you’ll still find sexual attraction between Vivienne and Zachariah, even though the focus of the…

Hardly an hour of any day goes by when I don’t think “Wouldn’t I rather be reading a romance?” HARDLY A GENTLEMAN, our most recent offering from Eloisa James, is a good example of why I feel this way. Clara is smart, feisty, and tired of the restrictions and expectations of life in London society in 1803, and she’s especially tired of the unwanted attentions of a certain prominent prince (yes, the prince). She escapes to Scotland, where naturally she meets a laird and ends up living in close proximity to the gorgeous Caelan, who (darn it!) is often forced to bathe outdoors in the loch as his dilapidated castle is under repair. Much of the plot is…fanciful, but as always, Ms. James’s characters are strong, resourceful, generous, and of course, sexy. I finished HARDLY A GENTLEMAN far too quickly, and as always, felt bereft at having to say goodbye to the characters—including, as always, a marvelous array of secondary figures and a few scene-stealing and loveable animals. I try hard to keep up with new offerings, but I also strive to catch titles I’ve missed, and I was fortunate this month to read two great ones. My daughter recommended…

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 Molly Morris! Writes: YA fiction that’s one part romance, two parts weird. The characters in my latest novel REWIND TO US include a 17-year-old whose secret magical ability is the power to rewind the past just once in her life, and her secret crush/best friend with whom she’s lost her chance at love (a fact made apparent when she sees him kissing…someone else). About: I’m a California native with a penchant for the bizarre. A lover of all things silly and strange, I write YA fiction that’s heavy on romance, friendship, family dynamics, and pop culture, all in worlds that contain secret little pockets of magic. My interests include Motown music, true crime documentaries, pretending my obsession with needlecraft makes me “fun” and not lame, and relentlessly quoting The Office. My ideal reader match for REWIND TO US will have: What to expect if we’re compatible: REWIND TO US by Molly Morris Again, But Better meets Maybe in Another Life in this love story with a magical twist! Dixie…

Book Title: MIDNIGHT PROMISES Character Name: Isabelle Varens How would you describe your family or childhood?  I am the illegitimate daughter of a Drury Lane actress.  I never had any idea who my father was.  Life with Mama was always uncertain.  My mother was as beautiful as she was feckless and impractical.  By the age of nine, I was already the responsible adult, shielding Mama from creditors, trying to manage our meagre supply of coin.  The best times when Mama secured a wealthy benefactor.  We lived lavishly and Mama loved to parade about as though she was a grand lady.  But I was sensitive of the sneers of the tradesmen and the way respectable women looked down upon us. Even as a child, I dreamed of somehow becoming a real lady and living a life far different from that of my mother. What was your greatest talent?  I inherited my mother’s beauty and acting ability, although I believe I have far surpassed her.  I am highly skilled in the arts of deceit, a talent that has served me well considering the perilous nature of my profession. What do you do for a living?  I am a spy.  I work for…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BEFORE DOROTHY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? BEFORE DOROTHY is the imagined life story of Aunt Em from The Wizard of Oz, set during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s. It was inspired by the following lines from the original L. Frank Baum book: ‘When Aunt Em came to live there, she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too.’ In BEFORE DOROTHY, I explore who Em was before Dorothy came into her life, and how life on the prairie – and Dorothy – change her. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Of course the book was always going to be set in Kansas, but my story also moves from Ireland and then to Chicago. The locations were inspired by linking the Emerald City with the Emerald Isle (where I live), and Chicago being where L. Frank Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. There is now a yellow brick road on the site of his home at Humboldt Avenue. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I feel that I’ve…

Book Title: TO LOVE A SPY Character Name: Valencia Where do you live? On a remote island of the southern coast of England. My fellow residents—most of them are smugglers or individuals who prefer not to cross paths with any type of official authority—mind their own affairs and don’t ask questions. And that suits me just fine. How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place? It’s a place of wild, untamed beauty—which I suppose has a certain irony, as the same words are often used to describe me. However, in my heart I’ve never felt comfortable here because it reminds me of my greatest failure. I came here  as penance for letting down the people who trusted me to get a dangerous job done. However, I may soon be leaving. Out of the blue, Lady Luck has offered me a second chance to prove myself, and despite the fact that all the odds are stacked against me, I intend to seize it . . . Speaking of failure, what was your greatest failure? My personal answer is that my foot slipped at…