Hi, I’m Kim Harrison, author of the bestselling series, The Hollows. Rachel has weathered a lot of emotional ups and downs as she fought to find her place in Cincinnati, but nothing was as traumatic as her boyfriend being murdered right before her eyes. But dead doesn’t always mean gone in the Hollows, and when a spell goes awry, Rachel learns that the only thing worse than your boyfriend dying, might be getting a second chance to save him. D is for death, which can’t kill true love. E is for elves, always setting above. M is for mentor, the best kind are demons. O is for outrage, wrongly given, right reason. N is for naughty, hidden wishes unearthed. S is for strip club, and vampires shirked. B is for Bis, a gargoyle true. L is for lust. That will see a spell through. U is for ulcer, that Rachel gives Al. F is for fools, who never have bail. And one more F follows, to finish the list, for friends who give all, to help bring home Kist. DEMON’S BLUFF by Kim Harrison Hollows #18 Rachel Morgan must go on a deadly journey—into the past—in the next thrilling Hollows novel in…

1–What is the title of your latest release? The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Carrie Morgan returns to her small, witchy hometown of Woodsmoke nestled in the shadow of a vast mountain range and falls in love with a man her family warn her may not be real, who appears as the frost thaws and disappears in springtime 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Woodsmoke is entirely fictional, but it’s an amalgamation of places that are real; the crisscross of trails between the fields on the island where I live, the mountains of Colorado I visited on a writing retreat and the small town I grew up in with a central market square. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Carrie and Jess are the kind of people I would share dinner and a glass of wine with, whilst swapping gossip and stories and book recs 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Complicated, artistic, thoughtful 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? This book has a structure I hadn’t attempted before, it has flashbacks, epigraphs and it’s told from three…

Music can be so inspirational to an author, and songs referenced in a novel can draw readers into the story. Readers must rely on imagination to see the physical appearance of the characters, to consider how their voices might sound, etc., but a song is something real that can actually be heard. While writing, I visualize my novel as a movie, and I always create a soundtrack. I have a playlist for all of my books—for example, my first novel, Other Words for Love, is set in the 1980s, and many songs from that decade helped with crafting the setting and the story. My latest novel, Charmed, takes place in the present day—but its playlist is retro for various reasons. Each song has meaning, and these songs include: “Who Loves You” by The Four Seasons This song from 1975 is mentioned in the first chapter of Charmed, and it is also the title of that chapter. As the novel begins, its main character, Prisca Weld, attends a party to celebrate her father’s seventieth birthday, and the song is played during the party. The Four Seasons was a popular band when her father was in his twenties—as Prisca is now. The…

1–What is the title of your latest release? The Arizona Triangle 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A female private eye, Jo Bailen, is hired against her will (her agency’s boss forces her to take the job) to locate her long-estranged childhood best friend, Rose. Back in her old hometown an hour north of Tucson, Jo is pulled into an increasingly dark, dangerous web woven by an unknown psychopath. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew that before I knew anything else about the book. I spent most of my childhood in Arizona and have spent a lot of time there as an adult. I knew I wanted to set a detective series on Tucson—I love California noir, Sue Grafton and Donalk Westlake in particular, and I wanted to transplant that bright desert/dark crime contrast to southern Arizona. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely. She’d be great company. I’d love to get tacos with her and ask her all about her line of work. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Tough, vulnerable, curious. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned a…

Excerpt from SEARCH AND DETECT by Terri Reed A bomber with an agenda…and a K-9 team determined to catch him. Chase gathered her hands in his. His were warm and comforting against the flood of ice in her veins. She curled her fingers over his. Wanting, no needing, his strength and steady presence, even though relying on him wasn’t a smart move. “I’d been so gullible. I mean, I suspected at times that he might be…” She swallowed back the recriminations that laid shame and blame on her doorstep. She would not own his bad behavior. His betrayal. “He told me I was being paranoid.” “Are you okay?” Chase’s soft voice grabbed her focus. The concern and compassion on his face made her want to fling herself into his arms. She squeezed his fingers. “I will be. It’s a lot to process.” She needed time on her own to sort through the quagmire of her emotions. She couldn’t do that with Chase so close and the temptation to lean on him for comfort and support so strong. She tugged her hands from his and stood. She had to get out of there. She needed to go someplace where she could…

Katie Mettner writes award-winning romance and romantic suspense, including the Harlequin Intrigue Secure One Series. Her newest release in the series, THE SILENT SETUP, features Eric Newman, a disabled veteran who quickly realizes that sometimes being the boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be! Katie Mettner lives in a little house in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. She loves her husband, three kids, and a miniature dachshund named Lilibet. When she isn’t telling romantic, suspenseful stories from behind her keyboard, she enjoys sitting on the shore of Lake Superior, baking for the family, and curling up with a shiny new book she’s been waiting for. She loves to decorate her prosthetic leg with the latest fashion, drinks Dr. Pepper like it’s going out of style, and prefers to read on her Kindle app so she always has a book with her. Even while asleep, she’s in pursuit of her next big idea. My ideal reader match for my latest book, The Silent Setup, must love: What to expect if we’re compatible: If we’re compatible, you’ll find yourself heading to Harlequin.com to buy all the other books in the Secure One series so you can know everything there is to know about Mina and…

Fever Ray – “Keep the Streets Empty for Me” “We were hungry before we were born,” – this line from Fever Ray’s haunting and atmospheric song sums up the hand life dealt the DeLuna and Torres siblings. The children of each family were never given a chance to know anything other than the violent and dangerous narco life they were born into.   Marissa Nadler – “Interlocking” “Tried to live without you…saw our small lives interlocking…I’ve been tethered to this town,” – Andres was Sofia’s first love and first love can be all encompassing and all consuming. So when Andres left town Sofia felt abandoned, left alone to make peace with a life that didn’t have Andres in it. However when she’s called back home, and Andres happens to be home too, she feels as if no time has passed and she’s forced to confront the feelings that she thought she’d buried. Andres and Sofia come to find that their lives have always, and will always, be interlocking. CHVRCHES – “The Mother We Share” “Never took your side, never cursed your name,”- This song, for me, speaks to Diego and Sofia’s tumultuous sibling dynamic. The two share a memory of…

Most likely to be her own worst enemy? Restaurant owner Delilah O’Leary’s perfectionism and relentless work ethic make her a force in the kitchen, but a bit of a disaster when it comes to her personal life. Oddly enough, getting dragged into murder investigations has been a kind of therapy for her. Her need for control and her obsession with details—while tough on relationships—make her personality perfect for cracking tough cases. Most likely to be an agent of chaos? Butterball the cat! This chonky orange mischief-maker is a staple in every book. Whether he’s knocking over crucial evidence in SIX FEET DEEP DISH or unexpectedly leading the way to a clue in ASHES TO ASHES, CRUST TO CRUST, Butterball’s accidental heroism is legendary. Just don’t be fooled—his real priorities are snacks and snuggles, solving murders is just a side gig. Most likely to find the truth at any cost? Detective Calvin Capone, Delilah’s complicated love interest. In SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PIZZA, he convinces her to team up with him to uncover the killer, even when it may spell trouble to those nearest and dearest to her. Capone carries the baggage of being a direct descendant of a man whose name…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? It’s a soulful holiday romantic comedy with a bit of a satirical twist. Similar to the movie “The Holiday,” the premise is two desperate women (of completely different ethnicities and backgrounds in this book) swap homes over the Holiday and learn an important lesson about where they truly belong.  3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I picked two settings that had distinct character.  I’m from Michigan, so Chicago was familiar but also a city I wanted to learn more about in writing it. And I live in Los Angeles, so Malibu is close enough to know, but so insular that it’s also a completely unfamiliar world that I thought would be perfect for this book.  Both settings play an important role in the story, so each city needed to feel like you were actually there.  It was a lot of fun bringing to life the ocean breezes of Malibu and the intense winter cold of Chicago within the pages. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I absolutely would hang out…

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.