1–What is the title of your latest release? Love You a Latke 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Fake dating meets grumpy/sunshine during the holiday season! 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The book takes place in small-town Vermont and in NYC. I knew first that I wanted part of it to take place in NYC, where I live—the holiday season here is truly magical, and I wanted to showcase everything I love about it—and I needed somewhere within driving distance but that had a minuscule Jewish population, so I settled on Vermont. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Sure! We’d have fun going on a Hanukkah food tour and eating all the doughnuts. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Pragmatic, guarded, prickly. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? All the different ways to eat a latke! I did a deep dive into Hanukkah food, because the protagonists eat a ton of it and most of my latke experience has been limited to the standard sour cream or applesauce. The things people are doing to latkes these days are amazing and I want to…

Excerpt from The Slate, Matthew FitzSimmons Felix rapped lightly on the congressman’s office door, and the sound echoed in the hallway’s high, vaulted ceilings. Paxton’s chief of staff, Tina Lu, opened the door and shook his hand warmly. She didn’t like him much, which he attributed to his passing her on the career ladder despite being twelve years her junior. He took her antipathy as a compliment, and besides, the feeling was mutual. The thing about Tina Lu was that she was exceptionally good at her job. She stood a hair under five feet, but woe unto anyone foolish enough to take that as an invitation to underestimate her. She’d more than earned her reputation as one of the toughest backroom negotiators in Congress. What Tina Lu wanted, Tina Lu generally got. Coming up, Felix had been outmaneuvered by Tina time and again. Painful, hard-earned lessons. He would have been grateful to her if she hadn’t made it a priority to kick him when he was down. Well, those days were over now, and he looked forward to reminding her and Prince Paul of the new pecking order. Speaking of which, where was the congressman? Felix glanced around the empty…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Soul of the Stone 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Texas, a slayer who’s faster, stronger, and ready to take down evil bloodsuckers is facing her toughest battle yet in the thrilling sequel to Sign of the Slayer. As vampire treachery rises and the weight of responsibility grows, Texas is haunted by mysterious voices and betrayed by those she trusted most. Now, the greatest threat to humanity is alive, and the only person who can help her is the one she’s falling for – again – the same vampire who broke her heart. Saving the world might require following him into the underworld, but will her soul survive the journey? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? When I decided my vampires would do alchemy and I researched its origins I knew I had to visit Egypt so I can describe the setting just right. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? No, because she’s a vampire magnet. But personality wise, yes! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Strong, snarky, sensational 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? The…

1–What is the title of your latest release? The Burning of Rosemont Abbey 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Everyone in Wilbeth Green has something to hide, but she’s about to uncover their secrets. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The setting was pretty much settled from the start. I focused on British literature in college and graduate school, and I have a pretty longstanding fondness for British settings in general, whether I’m reading books or watching movies and shows. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Most definitely! Especially if Mrs. Watson is puttering around town with us, too. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Louisa is plucky, loyal, and—at times—endearingly awkward 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned how to plan the perfect fancy dinner party! The Constance Spry Cookery Book, which was published in 1956, was the perfect resource as I wrote the dinner party scenes. I started by listing out all the recipes that sounded particularly intriguing and then narrowed everything down into the various courses. Most, though not quite all, of the dishes from the menu I designed are…

From Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines. Copyright © 2024 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group. 2 We finished lunch and walked over to the Cadence Bank Arena, where the competitions and festivities would be centered. Tupelo’s downtown was blocked off to cars, and folks were milling about. Elvises—some the spitting image of the King, and some so far from the svelte Elvis of my dreams that it took a moment for their posture and pose to convey the essence of the singer—performed wherever they could drum up an audience. Some signed autographs as if they were really the King. It was all about believing in oneself and the power of the Elvis transformation. At the Arena Center, we went inside to view the incredible bejeweled belt that a local woman had allowed the festival to display. It was a perfect replica of Elvis’s Las Vegas belt and was worth a fortune. We gathered around the glass case and inspected the work of art. “Who owns this?” Cece asked as she walked around the display with her camera on. She was filming for a newspaper story. I knew how her brain worked. “Someone local,”…

D is for Deceased.  Which, unfortunately, both of our main character’s parents are. E is for Eliza, our main character A is for Alone, which is how Eliza feels in the predicament her mom’s letter leaves her in. R is for Relationships, which are at the center of Eliza’s story. E is for Education, which is the focus of the non-profit Eliza works for. L is for Love, which Eliza doesn’t entirely believe she deserves. I is for Intoxicated, which is the state Eliza is in when she blurts out something she doesn’t mean to at her father’s shiva. Z is for Zero, the number of cups of coffee that tea-loving Eliza drinks! A is for Abandonment, the fear of which is what keeps Eliza from getting too close to people. DEAR ELIZA by Andrea J. Stein Ten years after her mother’s death, Eliza Levinger never imagined she’d hear from her again. But then The Letter arrived.  Eliza’s world broke apart when she was sixteen and her mom died of cancer. Now, years later, she has rebuilt her life to include a director-of-development job at a nonprofit, a Manhattan apartment, and an easy-on-the-eyes bedroom buddy—just the kind of no-strings relationship she wants,…

It should be said that I love music. I am almost never without it playing, including when I write. In fact, I’ve written all my novels to the same Pandora station that I created way back in 2008, when I wrote the first one. Perhaps it’s superstition, perhaps it’s Pavlovian, but I write better when those same songs are filling my mind and fueling my words. Today I am sharing five songs that in some way tie into my latest novel, EVERY MOMENT SINCE. The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News In the book an 11-year-old boy named Davy goes missing in the fall of 1985 and is never seen again. At the time of his disappearance, he is wearing a jacket his mother made for him, meant to match the one Marty McFly wore in Davy’s favorite movie Back to the Future. It is that same jacket that is discovered at the beginning of the book, igniting the cold case investigation and affecting four people who have lasting ties to the night Davy disappeared. While writing, any time I heard this song I felt that little nudge to keep at it, to keep believing in this…

HARRISON HYDE And the RUNAWAY BRIDE MAGGIE SHAYNE Copright MS Lewis, 2024 All rights reserved CHAPTER 2 The place with the best tacos in Texas was a Cantina called Manuel’s. Harrison knew that because it was painted on a big wooden sign atop the brown adobe building. CANTINA MANUEL, it said in green lettering outlined in black. They entered through batwing doors. The place wasn’t busy in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, but it was open. The inside was painted with green, white, and red, the familiar colors of the Mexican flag. A lone man sat at a table with a nearly empty bottle and a half-full glass in front of him. He was white, his bushy beard was blond, and he wore a sombrero and a woven poncho. He sat so low in his chair, Harrison wondered if he was going to slide onto the floor. He looked as if he was melting in extreme slow motion. A middle-aged Mexican couple sat at another table eating quesadillas. Regulars, he’d bet. They were dressed down, comfortable, making themselves at home. The happiness between them was palpable in the way they smiled into each other’s eyes. Harrison watched them for…

Book Title: Not Yours to Keep Character Name: Anna Newman 1. How would you describe your family or your childhood? My childhood was pretty lonely and unhappy until eighth grade. That’s when this one boy started being nice to me. Then something happened. An unexpected turn, you might say. I’ve never talked about it to anyone, and I won’t tell you now either. You know what, though? I never thought I’d see that boy again, but I never stopped loving him. 2. What was your greatest talent? I didn’t really have any specific talent, but I had a special way with animals. They’re much kinder than humans. 3. Significant other? I couldn’t have the significant other I wanted. Without him, I’ve just floated between guys, never really caring about any of them, which works out fine because they don’t care either. 4. Biggest challenge in relationships? The biggest challenge in relationships is giving a crap. I don’t. Though I suppose it would be cool if someone treated me like I mattered. Only one guy ever did. It’s been decades since I’ve seen him, but now I know just where to find him. 5. Where do you live? How do you…

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