Back in college, I changed my major I don’t know how many times, but every time I did, it was because I’d read a new romance and whatever job the heroine had, it sounded like something I’d like to do. Until I read the next book and… well, you get the idea. Needless to say I spent a lot of years in college, but ended having a major epiphany that propelled me to actually graduating (with a degree in English, which, let’s face it, is reading). That epiphany changed my life. I’d always loved reading, and it was reading romance that made me consider becoming a writer. So that light bulb moment? Become a romance author and I can work all those fabulous occupations for as long as it takes me to write that book! How did I not see that before? Well, when I finally accepted that bit of truth, it was only a matter of time before I got those stories out into the world. Okay, it took me maybe another fifteen years or so, but hey. Who’s counting?! You might wonder what this sliver of my author origin story has to do with my latest release, A…
I don’t listen to music while I’m writing, but I always have a few songs I listen to just before I start. This helps me get in the right mindset and immerse myself in the story. Here are a few of the songs I’ll always associate with ONE ON ONE. My Tears Ricochet, Taylor Swift At the beginning of ONE ON ONE, the narrator, Annie, returns to Ardwyn University eight years after graduating to work for the school’s basketball team. It’s a place she used to love but swore she’d never return to, and it’s where she made her best and worst memories. My favorite lyric in this song is, “I can go anywhere I want / Anywhere I want, just not home.” It’s interesting because she’s saying she can’t go back to this place, but it’s still important enough to her that she considers it her home. This reminds me of Annie’s complicated feelings about Ardwyn and her love interest, Ben. Maybe Don’t (feat. JP Saxe), Maisie Peters When Annie and Ben move from rivals to lovers, she tries to keep the relationship from getting too serious because she’s afraid. This song captures what it feels like…
Conqueror, Book 2, Kinkaid Shifters by Bianca D’Arc Orange Blossom Way, Book 3, Crown Island by Jan Moran Scarred Wife, Book 1, Villains by Sam Crescent Love In Montana by Mollie Mathews The Blind Eye (A World War 2 Naval Adventure), Book 27, E. Macdonnell’s Royal Australian Navy World War II Fiction by J.E. Macdonnell Dreaming of the Demon by Evangeline Anderson Truth Seer Book Four, Book 4, Truth Seer by Odette C. Bell The Partner Quandary, Book 3, The Partners by Jade Marshall Forbidden by West Greene Caught by Sandra Alex 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…
Benvenuto – Welcome to Bomarzo! I am Ignazio, your host for the week ahead. While you must be hungry, and ready to explore the ancient palazzo that will be your home, I know that what you really want to see is the garden. For it is the garden that everyone really wants to see. I see you have brought the great Salvador Dalí with you! It makes sense that he has come, for this place is as surreal as his painted fever dreams. Come, let us walk, and I will tell you the story of Italy’s famous garden of monsters. The Sacro Bosco, or the Sacred Wood, is a Mannerist garden that defies the conventions of its age, where the surreal and the mystical collide. It is here, in this labyrinth of stone and shadows, that I fulfill my purpose to you as both guardian and guide, for this is no ordinary place—it is a realm where the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead blur. Pier Francesco Orsini, born in 1523, and known to most as Vicino, thought he was the one who had the idea for the garden. But what few understand…
You are hereby formally invited to a reunion of the Midnight Brunch Club. October 27th through 31st, 2014, 12 Railroad Street in Dunstan, Vermont. Come to celebrate the life of Jennifer (Jennet) Sherilyn Stark (1967–89) and revisit our shared past through the elixir of the pines. There are still secrets to be discovered; the past is not even past (Faulkner); we are boats against the current (Fitzgerald). Leave all doubts and inhibitions at home. RSVP to Auraleigh Lydgate. The first time Sonia ever received an invitation from Auraleigh Lydgate was in the Dove-Cat room freshman year, on the first warm spring day in Vermont, forsythia bursting forth on the quad. Sonia was bent over a Mac Classic when Auraleigh swept in, wearing a leather jacket and drop-waist minidress, and noisily slid out a chair. “Oh my God, I’m dealing with a roommate nightmare! Marina got this brilliant idea to backpack in Europe, so now Paul and I are short a person for the townhouse.” “Paul Bretton?” Sonia couldn’t hide her surprise. He was the newly elected editor of their lit magazine—quiet, earnest, and formidably intellectual. Auraleigh was rich and from LA and had a husky laugh that made boys’ eyes…
SEAL’s Claiming, The Coronado Team 2 Series by Makenna Jameison The Men of New York Series Boxset, Men of New York Series by Samantha Syke One Night Series by Eve London The Bodyguard, Book 2, Black Hawke Security by Juliette N Banks The Black Arrowhead Boxed Set (Books 1-3), Black Arrowhead Series by Dannika Dark A Drop In The Ocean: A Novel by Jenni Ogden Witch Way Collection, Silver Sisters Series by Jennifer L. Hart Letters from the Heart, Book 3, Willow Valley Series by S.L. Sterling No Man’s Bride, Book 1, Misadventures in Matrimony by Shana Galen Little Lost Secrets, Book 2, Georgiana Germaine Series by Cheryl Bradshaw The Housemaid by Sarah A. Denzil Draax Series Books 1 – 3, The Draax Series by Elizabeth Kelly Wicked Heat, Book 4, Wicked Nights by J. Kenner Submission and Surrender, Book 2, The Billionaire’s Temptation Series by Cali MacKay Timeborne, The Blade of Shadows Series by Sara Samuels A Ghostly Affair, Book 7, Diamonds of London by Sandra Sookoo The Witch Collector, Book 1, Witch Walker Series by Charissa Weaks Alpha’s Rejected Mate, Book 22, The Alpha Shifter Collection by Sam Crescent Wolf Girl, Book 1, The Wolf Girl Series by…
1–What is the title of your latest release? BECOMING CARLY KLEIN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? What if 15-year-old Carly Klein could become a different person? What if instead of being a rebellious and unhappy student failing out of her uptight, private girls’ school in Manhattan, she could pose as a Barnard College sophomore and become the girlfriend of her psychiatrist mother’s blind patient, Daniel, a sexy senior at Columbia? Because Daniel cannot see her, Carly finds an ingenious way of making this happen. Neglected by her self-absorbed parents, who wind up divorcing, Carly is sustained by her best friendship with unconventional and artistic Lauren, with whose warm and caring French mom, Tibou, she would like to swap mothers. When Lauren and her family move away, Carly ramps up her passionate pursuit of Daniel and takes us on a rollercoaster romp through the exhilaration as well as disappointment of first love and the unintended consequences of disguise, deception, and discovery. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Writing Becoming Carly Klein has been inspired in many ways by my life in New York City, where I grew up and spent much of…
Prepare to be captivated by the intricate tapestry of truth, perspective, and human connection in Ava Dellaira’s latest novel, EXPOSURE. In this week’s Jen’s Jewels, we dive deep into the creative mind behind this compelling story that interweaves the lives of four characters across time and place. Dellaira shares her six-year journey crafting this multifaceted narrative, exploring themes of race, grief, and the elusive nature of truth in our polarized world. From the sun-soaked streets of Los Angeles to the bustling energy of Chicago, discover how Dellaira breathes life into her settings and characters, offering readers a poignant reflection on the complexities of human experience. Don’t miss this insightful conversation that peels back the layers of Exposure and offers a glimpse into the passionate process of a rising literary star. Jenifer Vido: In EXPOSURE, the perspectives of four characters provide a multifaceted view of a single night. How did you balance the different voices to ensure each character’s truth resonated equally? Ava Dellaira: I wrote this book over the course of six years, so I had a lot of time to spend with each of them! During the writing process, I would move freely between the different storylines and…
Book Title: SPELLS TO FORGET US Character Name: Luna Brandt-Gold How would you describe your family or your childhood? Witches in Boston are all about magical power, so my family arranged for my parents to get married so they could pass down their magic and have a super powerful kid. But the bad news is they don’t really like kids. Or each other. So I spent most of my childhood off by myself and got into a lot of trouble using my magic for pretty self-destructive stuff. What was your greatest talent? Unfortunately, my greatest talent is definitely my magic. I’m the most powerful witch in Boston. (Actually, I’m supposedly the strongest witch in all the Northeast according to my grandma, but it’s not like I’m leaving town all the time to test that out, so I’ll have to take her word for it.) I have sacrifice magic, which means I can make almost anything I imagine happen with my powers. The downside is that, for every bit of magic that I work, an equal cost has to be paid. That cost is impossible to anticipate, but my magic almost always makes some kind of twisted torture out…
Book Title: MY VAMPIRE PLUS-ONE Character Name: Reginald Cleaves How would you describe your family or your childhood? My family all died violently and a very long time ago. I think I had a happy childhood? But it’s been centuries so I can’t remember. What was your greatest talent? Bullshitting others Significant other? Do fake significant others count?? Biggest challenge in relationships? Immortality Where do you live? No response. (This is classified information.) Do you have any enemies? Why? What have you heard???? How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place? It’s pretty fun here! I have no complaints. Do you have children, pets, both, or neither? None of the above. What do you do for a living? General layabout. One major benefit of having lived centuries is that compounding interest has had an extensive amount of time to compound. I haven’t had to work since the American Revolution. Greatest disappointment? Frederick Greatest source of joy? My Edward Cullen poster. It sparkles! Frederick loves it too, though he won’t admit it….