Just the other day someone asked me how I come up with all my stories. The answer is they pop out of my head all the time, and I can’t stop them! I have ideas for so many different series I’ll probably never get to writing all of them. Ironically, the idea for the FBI Strike Force romantic suspense series began stewing around in my head in the late 90s, long before I was a published author. Here’s how it all began… Decades ago, my then-boyfriend and I were sitting on the beach in North Carolina with our beach reads, and I couldn’t finish the book I was reading. It’s very unusual for me to DNF a book, but this one just didn’t hold my interest. My boyfriend, Ned (aka Ned-the-Fed), said to me: Tee, you’re a good writer, and you have great story ideas. Why don’t you write your own book? So later that day, back on the beach but with margaritas this time, we started brainstorming on my very first book, a romantic suspense about an FBI agent. I wrote it, submitted it to literary agents and publishers all across our great nation, who politely rejected it. Years…

Charity Trickett stumbles through Hollywood in 1997, trying to break into Hollywood and stay out of trouble. Each chapter title is a pop culture reference from the 90s that represents the chapter. Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses You’d be surprised how many links there are between Guns N’ Roses and Charity Trickett.The glam metal song, Welcome to the Jungle is the title of the fourth chapter in Charity Trickett is Not So Glamorous. The song is about how a city can eat you up and spit you out. When Charity arrives in LA, she drives along Sunset Blvd, passing the clubs that GNR played at, The Troubadour and The Viper Room. Billboards fill the sky, showing the world what to watch, wear, and buy. Charity feels that she has arrived at the epicenter of the world she wants desperately to be a part of, and her ambition fuels her with possibility. Little does Charity know that Hollywood will soon bring her to her “Sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-knees”. Impulsive – Wilson Phillips What kind of playlist is this? You can’t follow GNR with Wilson Phillps… In my defence there are five chapters of other pup culture references between testosterone amped metal…

1–What is the title of your latest release? LOVE, COFFEE, AND REVOLUTION 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Dee Blum was supposed to follow the plan: law school, divorce lawyer, success. Instead, she’s leading eco-tours in Costa Rica and falling for two very different men. One is a passionate activist, the other is the charming scion of a wealthy family. But when she uncovers corruption behind the “ethical” coffee farms she’s promoting, Dee must decide how far she’ll go—for love, for justice, and for the life she really wants. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I lived in Costa Rica for a year when I was 20, and it was the most formative experience of my life. Learning to navigate the world in a different language and culture changes you forever. It helps you see things from multiple perspectives. Also, Costa Rica is a gorgeous country with a rich history and welcoming, generous people. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely! Dee is fun, adventurous, supportive, and funny. She genuinely wants to do good, and be good. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Naive, passionate, and…

1–What is the title of your latest release? WELCOME TO MURDER WEEK 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? An American woman travels to the English countryside when she discovers tickets her estranged, late mother had purchased for a murder mystery simulation in a small British town. While there, she teams up with two other solo travelers to solve the fake mystery and also solve the real mystery of why her mother wanted to take her there. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The novel was inspired by a trip with my sister to the Peak District in England. By the time I came home, I knew I would set my next novel there. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, but preferably as she is at the end of the book when she’s fallen in love for the first time and has come to terms with her past and started to enjoy life more! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Cautious, unsentimental, wary (at first) 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned that Britain has 91,000 miles of footpaths, often crossing private land,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MAKING FRIENDS CAN BE MURDER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Sarah Jones moves from Vermont to Minneapolis for a fresh start and joins a group of women all with the same common name. They came together for a high school student’s project, but a couple of months in, another Sarah Jones is murdered in their city, and the group investigates. They’re aided by a handsome FBI recruit and a cloistered nun with a complex past. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I have only lived in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, so all my books have taken place here. This one is the first that takes place in the real city of Minneapolis instead of one of my imagined suburbs. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? 100%. The main Sarah – they go by their ages in the book, and this one is Thirty– is a great friend. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Earnest, thoughtful, lonely 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned a lot about the FBI! I hope…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE ENGLISH MASTERPIECE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When a high-profile art forgery rocks London’s art scene in the spring of 1973, the Tate Gallery’s Lily Summers finds herself embroiled in a world of glamour and secrets, tensions and lies. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? 1973 London provided a unique, and perfect, time and place. Life in 1973 held some of the same tensions we experience today in terms of global uncertainty, regional wars, and high inflation. That made it relatable, but it is also a period in time that we all look back to with fondness, famous for a very distinguishable fashion style and music scene. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I would like and respect her at the beginning of the story. She is a hard worker, talented and sincere. But we’d be better friends at the end— she learns a lot and is more relaxed and understands herself better. I suppose that kind of thing is true for all of us after we go through some form of crucible. 5–What are three words that…

It’s June and many people are heading out for vacations and road trips with kids out of school and summer coming soon! I have a new release this month about a woman who owns an inn on the banks of the Susquehanna River. She’s a bibliomancer (if you like paranormal lite then head on down to The Charmed Inn Mysteries starting with BY HOOK OR BY BOOK) and is hosting a writers’ weekend when she finds one of her guests dead on a ferry. Those writers are a little unstable so figuring out whodunnit is going to have her wading through lies and secrets and red herrings galore. So in that vein, we’re going to take a trip to some awesome B&B, hotel, and motel cozies that will make you laugh out loud. Grab them up to keep you company while you’re vacationing or just taking a break in the beautiful sun! First up, we have a super fun and awesome book that you should totally read! A VERY WOODSY MURDER by Ellen Byron kicks off her newest series, Golden Motel Mysteries. We get to meet sitcom writer Dee Stern when she moves to the village of Foundgold to run a…

Each Monday the Smashwords store lists the top ten most highly anticipated indie fiction ebooks based on the previous week’s preorder accumulations. Each title on the list is scheduled to release within the next week. To help the talented authors on this list accumulate even more preorders, click the title of the book. The hyperlink will bring you to a Books2Read page where you can order from your preferred ebook retailer. If the preorder is part of a series, click the hyperlinked series title to learn about the other books in the series. Be sure to check back Friday for a list of the Top 25 Bestselling Indie Ebooks.

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 Laura R. Samotin! Writes: Laura R. Samotin’s dark romantasy is Six of Crows all grown up meets Captive Prince. The Cursed Crown duology starts with THE SINS ON THEIR BONES, which is the story of two ex-husbands on opposite sides of a civil war fighting over the same throne, with a very daring (and very handsome) spymaster caught in the crossfire. About: Laura R. Samotin and her spouse live with two enormously large felines. When she’s not pursuing her day job as a professor and her academic research on military tactics, power politics, and leadership, she relishes her role as a full-time cat servant. My ideal reader for the Cursed Crown duology must love: What to expect if we’re compatible: If you become a fan, get ready for high stakes, high heat, high tension, and lots of catharsis at the end of it all. If we’re compatible, make sure to sign up for my newsletter or follow me on Instagram so you get updates…

1–What is the title of your latest release? TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON I chose the title whilst pondering over the expression ‘every dog has its day.’ Does everyone have their day? A time in their lives that is full of joy and fulfilment. The three women include Ivy Moon, a spinster who has always lived with her parents. She discovers a terrible betrayal that has resulted in negatively impacted on   the course of her life. Georgie Robinson, hairdressing salon owner, whose poor choice in men lead to loan shark heavies turning up on her doorstep. Georgie’s employee, Clara finds herself pregnant by Georgie’s feckless ex-partner. How will they change the course of their lives? 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The elevator pitch of my novel is ‘intrigue.’ The book is a thriller and focuses on the impact that change, deceit and betrayal have upon the three women in the novel.  We as people and readers love to delve into the multi layered psyche and lives of our fellow men/women. My novels tend to be set in the 1990s and journey to the present day. I remember very well the times before technology was available in…