1–What is the title of your latest release? TOM CLANCY SHADOW STATE   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Jack Ryan Jr. risks life and limb in the jungles of Vietnam to expose a Chinese industrial intelligence network that threatens a top-secret national defense program.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Because this is a Clancy novel, I wanted to focus on the geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Since I spent my career in tech, I chose to highlight American dependence on Chinese rare earth minerals. As with other areas of the tech supply chain, many companies are looking to Vietnam for a China “decoupling” strategy. Given the complex history of American policy in Vietnam, I thought it would be interesting to set the story there.   4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Oh, most definitely.  Jack Ryan Jr. is a cool dude.  He’s smart, courageous, and fun.  I’ve seen him suffer a trifle from youthful arrogance in the past, but he’s maturing nicely.   5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Clever, honorable, adventurous   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE BODY NEXT DOOR 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? THE BODY NEXT DOOR is a fast-paced thriller with an uncanny twist. It’s about Hannah, a young, affluent wife whose life is turned upside-down when a body is dug up in the lot next-door to her weekend house. When Hannah catches her husband Allan in a tiny lie, she embarks on a quest to find out what he’s hiding – and what she’s been hiding from herself about her own traumatic past. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? On a family vacation to Orcas Island, Washington, I was intrigued and inspired by the beautiful, mysterious landscape. I knew I had to set my next story there. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? It depends! Hannah changes significantly in the course of the story. Beginning-of-the-story Hannah has so many issues she needs to resolve, but I’d enjoy hanging out with end-of-story Hannah. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Vulnerable. Grieving. Brave. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I read a lot about PTSD so I could understand and…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BY EVENING’S LIGHT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The youngest of three sisters must decide if she will embrace her family’s legacy or break free to forge a life of her own. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? By Evening’s Light is a dual-time story and takes place, mainly, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 2019 and in Germany in 1948 and 1949. I decided on the two time periods because I wanted to contrast a young woman living in a contemporary Amish/Anabaptist community with a young woman living in the same community with ties to Germany in the late 1940s. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely! My protagonist turns twenty-one in the story – I used to teach at a local university and find college-aged people absolutely inspiring! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Kind, feisty, and determined. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned a whole lot about Germany during the Cold War! I have a bachelor’s degree in history, but realized I hadn’t really studied the Cold War. I ended up…

Welcome to Chance, Massachusetts! Hi! I’m Sofie Rinaldi, and my father owns and runs Fortune Diner. I grew up in this space, always smelling burgers, fries, duck confit hash, and seafood gumbo. Dad has a thing for experimenting with cuisine from various countries and regions, as well as giving the customers something they haven’t tasted before. We even live in the apartment upstairs. I may be biased, but everyone would in town loves his food, and he has the best coffee. Once called Sawdust Creek, we were in need to some improvement after the lumber and textile factories went under. The owner of the general store suggested Mayor Davenport put in for a bid for a casino. I knew our chances (no pun intended) were slim. No one had heard of our dusty corner of the world, but some of the residents were excited. This was five years ago. The bid was turned down, but that didn’t stop our mayor or the town. They took it upon themselves to turn every business into a place that would attract tourists. The brick and stucco buildings were painted white, the names were changed, like Fortune and Karma Cuts, the local beauty salon….

“Write what you know…” Mark Twain said it first, and well-meaning English teachers and critique partners have repeated it.  But, with my wild imagination, it’s not advice I’ve had to take very often until this book, The House by the Cemetery.  And no, I did not grow up in a funeral home situated next to a cemetery, but I spent some time hanging out in a cemetery when I was a teenager.  My friends and I would dare ourselves to meet there after dark, certain that we would see ghosts rising from their graves. As a Halloween baby, I was naturally obsessed with the macabre and probably had a morbid fascination with death. Or maybe I was just an average teenager in the eighties. I also knew a real live grave digger who used to dig the graves by hand before there was special equipment to do it. He was quite the character, too.  Tall and thin, he looked like a skeleton, and he had a glass eye and an ornery disposition. But he also had a soft spot for me for some reason. I met him when I worked weekends as a waitress in the local coffee shop, and…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THIS IS WHY WE LIED 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? It’s a locked room mystery set in a secluded resort called McAlpine Lodge where Will Trent and Sara Linton are on their honeymoon. Then – murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew I wanted to write a locked room mystery, and I thought that a place like the McAlpine lodge could feel really creepy because it is so far removed from the rest of civilization. And it’s the type of place where I could believably have a large dysfunctional family and plenty of suspicious guests. Also, it’s a place that Will has wanted to go since he was a kid, so it is kind of sentimental, too. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely. Will would not mind doing OCD things like mopping the garage floor. He would understand that is a totally normal thing that normal people do. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Perceptive. Strong. Complicated. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? The chef in the book is Puerto Rican, so…

R is for respect, something heartbroken Ivy Thorn doesn’t think Dasha Avramov is capable of giving her. I is for inventive… which Dasha and Ivy will have to be, in order to get to the bottom of the otherworldly threat to Thistle Grove. S is for spectacle, like the five unforgettably magical festivities the witch families will throw to celebrate the Cavalcade, a festival honoring the historic founding of the town. E is for eating, the unlikely way Dasha exorcises stubborn interlopers from the nether realms.   A is for amnesia, which afflicts Maya, the mysterious newcomer to Thistle Grove whom Dasha stumbles upon on the shores of Lady’s Lake. N is for nightmare, the kind of strange, portentous dreams Dasha has been having lately… could they be messages? D is demons, those infernal nemeses that Dasha, an Avramov devil-eater, is uniquely equipped to handle.   D is also for departure, because we may be saying goodbye to a very special someone in this story. I is for intimate, like the *very* steamy scenes between Dasha and Ivy on their path toward reconciliation. V is for the veil, the supernatural boundary separating this world from the one that lies on…

1–What is the title of your latest release? LOVE LESSONS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A loud music teacher and a boring math teacher are forced to share a classroom. Their lives are turned upside down after a one-night stand and a surprise pregnancy. Hamsters, fingerprinting, kazoos, and morning sickness can actually turn out to be the recipe for an HEA. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I wanted it to take place in my hometown of Miami. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? YES! She’s fun fun fun. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Lol fun fun fun. No actually it would be: ambitious, artistic, charismatic 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That I would never want to be a teacher 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Edit as I draft 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Pizza! 9–Describe your writing space/office! My bed. Comfortable for a minute but then my back hurts from writing while laying on my stomach. 10–Who is an author you admire? Kristin Hannah 11–Is there a book that changed your life?…

1–What is the title of your latest release? HUNTING COLTON’S WITNESS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Social wallflower Vivian Maylor’s life is turned upside down when her disastrous online date leaves her a witness to his attempted murder—and leaves her an eyewitness in Detective Nate Colton’s case. An eyewitness now targeted by the killers. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? One of the reasons I love writing Colton books for Harlequin is that all the information is given to me, including the location. This time it’s Owl Creek, Idaho. I’m a born and bred California girl and I tend to write stories in my home state, so this was actually a fun place to research. It’s now on my list of places to visit. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! Both of them. I’m not sure I can write characters I wouldn’t want to hang out with. But Nate Colton is just a good guy. He puts his family first, even when that causes serious complications, and he’s dedicated to his job. He’s someone who believes right is right and wrong is wrong. As for Vivian,…

Whenever I embark on a new historical novel, I begin with two specific tasks. First, I create a private Pinterest board with images of locations, fashions, and so on; and second, I create a playlist. The Pinterest board helps me zero in on the physical aspects of the book’s setting; and the playlist helps me find the emotional truths of the story. I had so much fun creating a playlist for my new release, THE FORGOTTEN ITALIAN RESTAURANT, a sweeping, multi-generational story of an Italian village destroyed by the Nazis during World War 2, and the heroic actions of a young girl who decides, despite her terror, to believe in the future. Below are a few of the songs that inspired me as I wrote.   Can’t Behave by Courtney Jaye. This upbeat song, which figures prominently in the movie Aquamarine, tells the story of a girl who knows her boyfriend is cheating on her and yet holds out hope that he will change. She says that she will leave him— “one day.” I feel so drawn to this poor girl, who knows she should walk away but just can’t. This also describes the present-day protagonist in The Forgotten Italian…