It’s beginning to look a lot like…Christmas romance season. I know, I know—as you read this, it’s actually just a few days before Halloween. And I LOVE Halloween. Love it. But when I scan through my Facebook and Instagram posts, what am I seeing? Christmas romance season. The Christmas creep phenomenon is in full effect as the holiday romances slip out into the world. I’m not going to lie—I love holiday romances. I watch way too many Hallmark movies each November and December, and I read as many Christmas-themed romance books as I can get my greedy hands on during this festive time of the year. So, what titles have I seen so far? Well – Meghan Quinn has a new romance that looks hilarious, sweet, and ever-so romantic.  HOW MY NEIGHBOR STOLE CHRISTMAS is definitely on my holiday reading list. Author Carly Phillips has a steamy romance tale with a holiday twist…JUST ONE MORE MISTLETOE recently released, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the story! And my writing buddy Katie Reus has a fun Christmas romance, too.  A VERY MERRY HITMAN promises danger and delight this holiday.  Oh, the holiday joy.  May you days be filled…

1–What is the title of your latest release? The Telegram 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? How one terrible experience can influence the rest of your life 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? That’s easy – the story is effectively a true story about my husband’s family, so I set it where they lived at the time – Clarendon Road in Holland Park, London. The flat where the central characters live in the novel is exactly as I remember it when I first met my husband. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Well, effectively I did hang out with one of the main three protagonists – my mother-in-law – who inspired the character of Violet. She was a splendid woman – a linguist, a brilliant musician and mathematician.  Sadly, I never met my father-in-law, because he died when my husband was only sixteen.  But he always says that his father and I would have got on. He was a very gregarious man, a great raconteur, and a novelist in his own right. I like to think, that by telling his story, I have honoured his memory and tried…

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 Kit Tosello! Writes: Lyrical contemporary small-town women’s fiction with humor, hope, and a romance thread. In my new release, THE COLOR OF HOME, a Bay Area interior designer to the rich and pretentious, risks her career to help her great-aunt and uncle spruce up their house for sale and a move to assisted living. When a dark-eyed young girl in need of a friend, a deteriorating inn connected to her dad’s tragic death, and a do-gooding emergency medical pilot wedge their way into her heart, Audrey is torn. Will the folksy community she never wanted to return to persuade her to exchange her carefully drawn life for something more meaningful? About: If I’m not writing stories that I want to read, I’m probably outside taking yet another photo of the Cascade Mountains in just the right light, listening to audiobooks, or making bubble tea for my grandkids. Hubby and I operate a loose-tea shop in pine-forested Central Oregon that has a wide front porch…

Travelog in the voice of Earl Tangs, ex-superintendent of Woody Knot trailer park, current operator of The Queen’s Tour. This city. Man. Can’t even quite call it that, can you? We’re what, 220,000 souls? Not quite big enough to be a city, too big to count as a town. So what? Not a real city. Nah, I’ve been to real cities, and this ain’t it.             My name is Earl Tangs. I’m sixty-two, but who’s counting? I used to run the trailer park on down Thorold Stone Road. Woody Knot. Nice place or it was before all that bad stuff went down. The stuff that made the papers. And I mean all the papers. People in Shanghai waking up, flipping on the news, seeing all that shit blowing up in my own sleepy burg. They probably shit a brick! Lord knows I did.             Where did this particular shitstorm happen? You already know, but I’ll tell you again. Right here in St. Catharines, Ontario. There are worse places on earth, I guess. The scenery’s nice, I’ll grant that much. Once you get out of the prefab suburbs, anyway. You’ve got Lake Ontario to the north, running a glassy-blue to the…

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.

Get ready to be whisked away to the charming town of Star Creek in Lindsay Detwiler’s heartwarming new holiday romance, THE HOLIDAY BAKE-OFF. In the latest Jen’s Jewels interview, Detwiler serves up a delightful behind-the-scenes look at her novel, where the aroma of freshly baked cookies mingles with the sweet scent of second chances. From the small-town bakery setting inspired by her own experiences to the emotional journey of protagonist Lucy Carter, Detwiler shares how she kneaded together the perfect recipe of holiday magic and authentic human experiences. Join us as we explore the ingredients that make this story rise above the rest, proving that sometimes the best gifts come dusted with a little flour and wrapped in the warmth of coming home. Jen: What inspired you to choose a bakery as the central setting for this holiday romance? Did you draw from personal experiences or memories of small-town bakeries? Lindsay: Honestly, I have such a sweet tooth, and visiting small-town bakeries is one of my favorite things.  I have a favorite in the town over from where I live, and it’s my go-to for a pick-me-up. I feel like a lot of readers associate such happy memories and moments…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BECAUSE FAT GIRL, a queer contemporary romcom that’s for anyone who’s ever felt too big, too weird, too loud, or just plain too much. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? I once had a dream that The Rock wanted to date me – and I turned him down. I couldn’t be the fat queer girl dating The Rock; even if we were in love, the press would be too much. I woke up from that dream and thought “hmm, that would make a great story.” And turns out, it does. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Hollywood as a concept is this big giant nebulous thing that feels otherworldly and impossible to reach, even when you’re in Los Angeles. I gave up on my dream of making movies precisely because it felt like this place I could never get into. Then I worked adjacent to Hollywood, meeting some of the biggest stars in the world, and as cliché as it sounds, they’re just like us. It made me feel like maybe I should take everyone off a pedestal and onto equal footing. So, that’s…

This month, I’m talking with authors Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne, a talented, dynamic writing duo whose fabulous new women’s fiction novel, The Starlets, will be released on November 12th. This international romp featuring two fictional, 1950s era movie stars is one of my very favorite books of the year. I have been telling everyone about it, and the amazing pair of writers who brought these delightful characters so vividly to life. Read on to find out more about this wonderful story, and how the team of Kelly and Thorne manage to write such terrific books while living on separate continents! Marie: Your delightful new novel, The Starlets, set on a fictional Italian island in 1958, is the story of two ambitious, competitive, and utterly at-odds young movie starlets who have no choice but to join forces when the tension on the set takes a deadly turn. Tell us about the original inspiration for the book, and what attracted you to this particular place and time? Lee: For this second collaboration, Jenn and I knew we wanted to write a story centering around the film industry, Old Hollywood in particular: it was such a unique, fascinating time where the major…

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.

Book Title: TO THE NINES Character Name: Blake Wilder How would you describe your family or your childhood? When I was in kindergarten, I told my friend Rena she could come to my house that night when her daddy started hitting her mom, and both of our lives changed forever. My parents told me it scared people when I shared my visions, whether they were traumatic scenes from the past or warnings about the future. My mom did call our teacher, so I’m sure it’s no coincidence Rena’s family moved away soon thereafter, and I was forever branded as that weird Wilder girl. What is your greatest talent? I’m not sure if it’s a talent, but I’m smart. Combined with the dark lessons in humanity I’ve learned from enduring thousands of visions, I think I’m a pretty good judge of character. Significant other? When you see countless visions of betrayal, infidelity, and abuse, it’s hard to let down your guard long enough to let someone in, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting a boyfriend. Since starting college and discovering The Nine—a centuries-old paranormal society—there are now two guys who know I’m a voyant, but aren’t afraid of what I…