1–What is the title of your latest release? ONE DEATH AT A TIME 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I love Los Angeles, where I live, and have set all my books there. LA is a city of many subcultures, ranging from the obvious, like the movie business, to more obscure, like burlesque. I wanted to draw on all of them, and tried to do so. Plus, I didn’t have to go anywhere for research, which is always a plus for this lazy broad. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely, but I might not be cool enough to do so. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Julia Mann is misanthropic, sarcastic and underwhelmed. Natasha Mason is irascible, spontaneous and temperamental. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That plotting mysteries is really hard. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit as I go and then start…

1–What is the title of your latest release? WHO WILL REMEMBER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When a duke’s son is found hanging upside down in a pose copied from the Tarot’s Hanged Man, a former cavalry officer must uncover a diabolical killer stalking both the rich and the poor of Regency London. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My hero, Sebastian St. Cyr, has been solving murders in Regency England for twenty years now, so that was kinda a given. But next year, he may go someplace quite different . . . 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I would dearly love to hang out with Sebastian. Oh, the questions I could ask him! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Courageous, honorable, empathetic. I know honor and empathy have both been kinda out of fashion for a while, but maybe it’s time to bring them back? 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Sebastian has dealt with the Society for the Suppression of Vice before, but they really come into their own in this murder investigation. These self-anointed “saints” were determined to rid…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE MURDER SHOW 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A television showrunner looks for next season’s story by investigating the real death of a high school friend. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I set most of my books in the upper Midwest. It’s the place I know best, which means I can write with authenticity and do as little research as possible. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely. We have a few things in common. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Honest. Hard-working. Second-guessing. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Happy endings are two-sided. Solving the mystery may not be the best outcome. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I do edit as I draft in the beginning. It’s important for me to feel the those first several chapters are solid. Once I’m happy with them, I tend to write straight through to the end and then edit on the second pass. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Dark chocolate peanut butter cups 9–Describe your writing space/office! A…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE CURIOUS INHERITANCE OF BLAKELY HOUSE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A brilliant young clockmaker inherits an industrialist’s estate, but there’s something odd about the inheritance, and about the eclectic island home full of gadgetry that seems to have a mind of its own. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I fell in love with the eclectic, innovative mansion of industrialist William Armstrong. It was the first home to be powered by hydroelectricity at a time when electricity itself was new. Brimming with odd gadgetry and mechanical brilliance, it just glowed with steampunk vibes! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! Sydney is quirky in the best way, and incredibly brilliant. I loved watching her get excited or worked up about something, and even better when she so easily stood her ground and rebelled against a group of men. She’s got an unusual strength. Besides that, she’s head over heels for books, and we could talk stories all day. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? quirky, resourceful, curious 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Honestly?…

Spring has sprung in my part of the world, and I am all about sitting outside on my porch in a hoodie, reading in this beautiful weather with a cup of tea. So I thought why not give you a leaf or two to try out? I thought about owning a tearoom or coffee house years ago, but ultimately, I ended up going back to my roots as working in the medical field and writing after work. I still dream about being able to have a wall of tea leaves and mugs covered in all different kinds of sayings and paintings, chatting with people who are regulars and strangers who just dropped in for a shot of the best brew. So let’s dive in to some good reads that pair well with a hot drink. I’ll take mine with cream. First up is a great book by Lynn Cahoon. Lynn and I just did a cozy con event recently and as always it was a blast to get to hang out with her. Seeing her books on the table right near mine reminded me how much I love this her characters! VOWS OF MURDER (A Tourist Trap Mystery Book 17)…

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.

Excerpt from SIX DAYS IN BOMBAY by Alka Joshi They had brought Miss Novak to Wadia Hospital around eleven o’clock at night. She was feverish and agitated, cradling her stomach with her arms. The back of her skirt was soaked with blood. Her husband, a pale man with broad shoulders, said she’d been complaining of pain for a few days. The husband hadn’t stayed. He left shortly after bringing her in. When Dr. Holbrook, the house surgeon, finished tending to her—she’d needed a few stitches and quite a bit of morphine—Matron assigned me to nurse her. This was not unusual. Patients who were the least bit foreign were assigned either to me or to Rebecca, the other Anglo-Indian nurse on the night shift, because we spoke fluent English. In the daytime, Matron would assign another Eurasian nurse or take care of the patient herself. “She may be here awhile,” Matron whispered, with a meaningful glance at me. We’re a small hospital, and the patient had been given a private room. It did not escape my notice that she could have been taken to a larger hospital popular with the British but, apparently, there had been need for discretion. Even so,…

When my husband, Dan, found me camping on property I’d inherited from my grandparents, he took everything including the RV I’d been staying in since I’d left him. He dumped my few possessions in the dirt, then drove away and left me stranded in forty-four acres of wild Adirondack forest. Alone and biting back fear, I hauled my possessions through the forest to my family’s old boathouse by the lake—a gambrel roof shed with plank flooring, bare walls, and no insulation or electricity, but it was the only shelter I had. When I dropped the last bag on the plank floor two hours later, all I wanted was to eat a bag of chips, drink a cold beer, and sleep until tomorrow. But the feral cat I’d named Sinatra was waiting to be fed. And I needed a bath. I found Sinatra’s bowl, filled it with kibble, then set the bowl several feet from the boathouse where I knew he wouldn’t feel threatened. While he ate, I inspected the outhouse that sat near the wood line. The latrine door would provide privacy I probably didn’t need out here but definitely wanted. There was no toilet paper, but there were two…

This week on Jen’s Jewels, I’m thrilled to welcome bestselling author Wade Rouse, who writes under the beloved pen name Viola Shipman. Known for his heartfelt novels that celebrate family, tradition, and resilience, Wade’s latest book, THE PAGE TURNER, offers a witty and insightful look into the world of publishing, the power of storytelling, and the voices we too often silence. Inspired by his own journey and the unwavering influence of his grandmother, THE PAGE TURNER is a love letter to readers, writers, and the stories that shape our lives. Join me as we dive into the inspiration behind the novel, Wade’s personal connection to its themes, and what’s next for this talented storyteller. Jennifer Vido: THE PAGE TURNER gives readers a witty and insightful look into publishing. What drew you to this topic, and how did your real-life experiences influence the story? Wade Rouse: I recently signed a new, three-book contract, and it made me stop – as I turn sixty – to think deeply about what types of books I wanted to continue to write. That led me back to my grandma – my pen name, Viola Shipman – and to how a woman who never finished high…

Spring cleaning is necessary when living the RV lifestyle, especially if you’ve been parked in one spot for months. Recently we rolled everything up to drive our motorhome down the road to fill the gas tank. This rolling up and stowing away of everything is a necessary before going down the road, no matter what size or type of RV you have. Now our 150-gallon gas tank is filled with diesel, so we are set for the summer here in NC. Our 43-foot motorhome has a lot more space than a smaller RV, but there are still limits. A drawer or closet can only hold so much. I’ve learned the longer we are parked the more sprawl happens and the more things accumulate. Before we roll things up, sorting must happen. Donation bags get filled and dropped off.  I reorganize everything to make it fit. Sometimes it’s like doing a puzzle. One of thing I love in our home is the cedar lined closet my husband made for me. The bar was too low for my dresses, so l had looped them over hangers so they wouldn’t drag on the floor. I asked him to put a new bar as…