Excerpt from THE LOST PERFUMES OF PARIS, by Christine Wells: Clutching her precious bottle of perfume tightly as she hurried down the corridors of Limeaux, Élodie murmured, “Pardon,” and “Excusez-­moi,” as she bumped elbows with frowning chemists and dodged startled lab technicians. “What’s the rush?” one of them growled as she whizzed past. Élodie didn’t answer. She was too anxious to show off her new creation, the perfume it had taken her more than three years to perfect. Finally, she arrived at the heavy door to her father’s office reception. Placing her palm to its green baize cladding, she tried to steady herself and slow her breathing. Her father had been a perfumer many years ago when he began employment with the company. He was an exacting man—­even more so when it came to her—­so she needed to collect herself a little before making her pitch. Without warning, the door swung inward and Élodie stumbled into the carpeted anteroom, nearly colliding with her father’s secretary. “Sorry!” she gasped out. But on the next panting breath, she added, “I’ve done it!” and held up the brown glass bottle of perfume like a trophy. Mademoiselle Frise only stared at Élodie, her face…

What is the title of your latest release?MEET CUTE MAGIC What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Halloweentown meets Practical Magic in a Gilmore Girls setting, but make it spicy! How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I love to write all of my books in New Jersey as a born and bred Jersey girl, so it was an easy choice. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Oh, absolutely. Rosie is so fun and silly, and I just know she would have the best book recs. Bonus – she’d bring treats from Violet’s bakery. What are three words that describe your hero?Grumpy, quiet, down-bad. Can down-bad be one word? What’s something you learned while writing this book?I always loved writing grumpy sunshine, but a grump who was really just an anxious introvert was such a new experience and I LOVED the dynamic! Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?For the most part, until I’m done. If I’m stuck, I’ll go to the beginning and start combing through and cleaning up, but editing as I go hasn’t worked for me. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?Underbaked chocolate chip cookies,…

Paranormal romance is often associated with danger: vampires at the window, witches with secrets, demons making bargains in the dark. But paranormal rom-coms know the other truth of the genre, which is that the supernatural is also ridiculous. Eternal life does not save you from awkward flirting. Magic does not make family expectations any less exhausting. A vampire can still be terrible at modern dating, a witch can absolutely summon the wrong thing at the wrong time, and a cursed ex can remain, inconveniently, very hot. That is the joy of paranormal rom-coms. They let the monster in, then ask him to share the flat, help save the town festival, fake-date his way through supernatural bureaucracy, or go on a quest when everyone would rather stay home. The stakes can still matter, but the pleasure is in the collision: ordinary romance problems made gloriously weird by fangs, spells, curses, covens, and creatures who should know better. These five books bring the magic, the mess, and the happily-ever-after with a grin. MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE by Jenna Levine MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE understands one of the great truths of urban living: if an apartment seems too good to be…

THE MYSTIC AND THE MISSING GIRL stars tarot reader and reluctant psychic Drew Benson, who returns to her small, lakeside hometown to run her late aunt’s esoteric shop. If that wasn’t challenging enough, her high school nemesis, now a reporter, turns up asking for help in solving the cold case of a missing teen – the same case that tanked the reputation of Drew’s late aunt – a TV psychic known as Hannah Mystic. THE MYSTIC AND THE MISSING GIRL is a cozy mystery with a touch of the supernatural and steeped in nineties nostalgia. Here are a few of the songs, all beloved Millennial staples, that play a role in the book or helped shape the characters. All I Really Want (Alanis Morrisette)Gigi (aka Gloria Gong) is Drew’s longtime partner-in-crime and the ultimate cool best friend. A defining moment for Gigi is being kicked out of class for wearing a tee that is deemed “too provocative for the school environment.” The tee in question says INTELLECTUAL INTERCOURSE, which is a reference to the Alanis Morissette classic All I Really Want from the era-defining Jagged Little Pill. This anecdote is based on an actual incident in which my grade seven…

Ironic by Alanis MorissetteAll my books are written with a heavy dose of 90s witch nostalgia (Hocus Pocus, Charmed, Sabrina The Teenage Witch…), so the playlists that I pull together for each story always include some 90s classics. Ironic was a no-brainer for main character Sage Hemlock’s personal soundtrack, as she is perpetually grumpy, extremely sarcastic and somewhat skeptical of the world and its so-called magic. The fact that she is secretly a witch who has turned her back on her powers – but still runs the Witchy Walking Tour at her local small-town museum, complete with hat and cape – is the ultimate ironic cherry on top. “Life has a funny way of sneakin’ up on you when you think everything’s okay, and everything’s going right…” I Could Write A Book by Harry Connick JrSage works alongside her best friend, academic peer and lifelong annoyance Casimir Everald at the small-town museum, where they both specialize in magical study and supernatural history. They’ve been inseparable since the university days where they started out as rivals before realizing that they were destined to be a strange sort of soulmates. This song is such a lovely, charming summation of their friends-to-maybe-lovers journey,…

What is the title of your latest release?WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART is a sapphic romance about a witch hired to ethically haunt a small-town bed-and-breakfast…only to find herself falling for her non-magical client. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I love the flexibility of being able to make up a town from scratch, and I generally set those towns in a vaguely “upstate” or Central New York to ground the location in the geography and weather I’m used to. With this book in particular, I wanted to capture autumn in CNY, which is really gorgeous. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Absolutely! I think Pippa and I would get along great! We both understand the struggles of being a small business owner in an ever-changing landscape, we’re both into witchy things (though she has very cool magic that doesn’t exist in real life), and we both have a special place in our hearts for red heads. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Pippa is stubborn, creative, and tender. What’s something you learned while writing this book?My books don’t…

I have always been afraid of heights. So when my husband and I traveled to California in 2021 and discovered Trees of Mystery, I surprised even myself by deciding to try the Redwood Canopy Trail. We had come west hoping to see the giant redwoods, and Trees of Mystery seemed like the perfect place to experience them. At the entrance, enormous statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox greeted us. After purchasing our tickets, we wandered through the museum, explored the trails, and stopped to admire some of the remarkable trees. The redwoods seemed almost impossible to comprehend. Some have survived for thousands of years, growing hundreds of feet into the sky. One of the most impressive was the Brotherhood Tree, a Coast Redwood more than 2,000 years old and nearly 300 feet tall. Looking up at these ancient giants made me feel very small—and very grateful to be standing among them. We also rode the Sky Trail gondola through the forest canopy. From above, the trees stretched in every direction, creating a view I will never forget. But the real adventure was still waiting for me. The Redwood Canopy Trail consists of aerial suspension bridges and platforms…

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 Melissa Payne! Writes:I write stories set in small mountain towns with characters searching for redemption, love, and second chances. There’s just something about a mountain landscape with its jagged horizons and unpredictable weather that provides the perfect backdrop for stories exploring the human condition. My newest novel, IN THIS LIFE OR ANOTHER, set in a rural Colorado town, also takes our main character, Rusty, into the unexplored places where our deepest fears and uncertainties hide: the internal landscape of our hearts and minds. In this tale, readers join Rusty as he navigates the unknown between life and death, ultimately facing his own truth against the harsh and beautiful backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. About:A mountain girl at heart, I love all activities that get me outside: hiking, running, skiing (when I’m not rehabbing an ACL injury), camping, and sitting on my deck in the warm-ish summer months with a cup of coffee and a good book. I love to cook and…

Book Title: THE ENIGMATIC MADAM INGRAMCharacter Name: Letty Ingram How would you describe your family or your childhood?I… don’t remember a lot. I’m sorry. My memory is always full of fog, somehow. I remember images. When I was a little girl, Mama and Papa used to have these parties in London. They were so hot and crowded. Mama was very famous, you see. She is from Malaya, and so beautiful – so beautiful, and magical. There were rumors that she could… do certain things, make certain kinds of medicines, especially for women. But I don’t know much about that. Later we moved to Scotland, and we lived in the highlands, in an old manor house. Mama stayed in the house and tended to her hothouse, which was full of mango trees and hibiscus shrubs and all sorts of amazing things. But she never came into town with Papa and I. There were rumors, you know…that she could… wait, I have already told you. I think I had a sister. I think I had a… a dog. Why can’t I remember? What was your greatest talent?A talent? I don’t know – I think I could dance. Or was that someone else?…

Excerpt from ADAM, MINE by K. Ancrum: LUSCIOUS There was a month left before graduation. That besides, Victor needed to start human testing before his anxiety about it got the best of him.  He was strong and fast enough now from his nightly hunts that he felt confident carrying a body. But it needed to be a small one or someone very slight. The thought of a child’s body made him feel ill, but he could do a short woman or a very slender man. He also needed someone sick, who would benefit from treatment, he couldn’t just snatch someone random. Victor watched the hospitals closely. On a windy Thursday, he got lucky. There was a drunk slumped against the wall of the tavern. Flesh burned away from choosing drink over bread. Victor crouched beside him and put a finger to his pulse. It was rapid and his skin was hot. He likely wouldn’t make it through the night without intervention. Victor stretched, then lifted the man from the ground. They stumbled together down the street, into the backdoor of his landlady’s house, and down the stairs into his lab. The man was mumbling, insensate and his clothes were wet…