Welcome back, book lovers! This week’s Jen’s Jewels features the delightful Bonnie Kistler, whose latest thriller SHELL GAMES had me turning pages long past my bedtime. When a glamorous Florida real estate mogul’s surprise engagement leads to shocking accusations on her wedding night, her daughter Julie must navigate a maze of family secrets and mounting suspicions. As Bonnie and I chatted about mother-daughter relationships, climate change, and the art of keeping readers guessing, I discovered just how many fascinating layers she wove into this sun-soaked psychological thriller. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and join us as we dig into the story behind SHELL GAMES – I promise you won’t want to miss this conversation! Jennifer Vido: SHELL GAMES is a captivating psychological thriller with complex family dynamics. What inspired you to write a story about a mother-daughter relationship twisted by deception and doubt? Bonnie Kistler: It was a circuitous route. I first had the idea of a woman on her wedding night who claims that her husband has just confessed to a notorious unsolved crime––the Tylenol Murders. He denies that he either did it or confessed to it, and the authorities quickly absolve him, which makes the woman believe…

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.

1–What is the title of your latest release? MODERN FAIRYTALE! It comes from a line Selena Gomez sings in her song “The Heart Wants What It Wants” that I thought was cool. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Beneath the city of Toronto lies a secret, magical kingdom called Fairhaven—one Princess Esme finds dreadfully dull. She spends her days pulling pranks and ruining parties, much to her father, King Tedros’s dismay. When she sabotages the anniversary ball, he finally takes the advice of the other families and kicks her out of Fairhaven to teach her a lesson. Esme can return one day, but only if she follows a strict list her father has written. She must change her spoiled ways and help people, live on her own, and overcome her selfishness – among other goals. When she meets Noah Crawford, a humanitarian who works for a local philanthropy company, she thinks she’s hit the jackpot. She plans to use him and work for his organization to convince her father she’s changed…but things don’t always go according to plan. Soon, she discovers one of the Senators from Fairhaven wants to bring magic to Earth to rule over it, her…

Book Title: HEIR OF STARDUST AND SECRETS, Mythic Spark Book #1 Character Name: Nyleeria How would you describe your family or your childhood? Ummm…can we move onto the next question please? What’s your greatest talent? Throwing daggers, hands down. And maybe my wit. Significant other? That’s complicated, to say the least. Biggest challenge in relationships? Well, one got betrothed to someone else, and the other is a King—so like I said, it’s complicated. Where are you from? A planet named Lumnara in a tiny village called Leighmullen. Do you have any enemies? If you’d asked me a couple of months ago, I would’ve said no. But now, there are more than I can count. The truth is, I’m not sure who I can trust anymore. Greatest surprise in your life? I’d say finding out an ancient Spark of unimaginable power has laid dormant within me since I was born. Or maybe learning that stories of fae and magic aren’t myths at all. Or possibly the fact that a spell cast centuries ago veiled those truths, including the fact that there was a great war between the humans and fae that’s about to repeat itself. I’m sure there are more, but…

Book Title: BEWITCHING ROSEMARY Character Name: Rosemary Bay How would you describe your family? I love my sisters more than anything! I’m the second of five girls and while we’ve had some serious rough patches, we always make it through the hard times together. What was your greatest talent? Hmmm. I would have to say either arranging a perfect bridal bouquet or my ability to look at two people and know they should be together. Significant other? I’m still waiting for the one…he’s on his way, though. I can tell. Biggest challenge in relationships? I tend to jump headfirst into things. There’s no such thing as taking things slow in my book. Where do you live? I live on Star Island off the coast of Massachusetts. It’s absolutely beautiful. Do you have any enemies? As hard as I might try, there are people who just don’t like me. Some carrying grudges from hundreds of years ago. But I swear, none of it is my fault. 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? I try not to get too attached to physical…

1–What is the title of your latest release?SUITOR ARMOR, vol 1 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A fairy in hiding amongst the humans during a time of war, meets and falls in love with an enchanted suit of armor brought to life by magic. Together they explore the world around them and learn more about themselves and each other. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I knew that I wanted it to take place during an unspecified “medieval time” that most fairy tales tend to sit in. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Of course! I think Lucia, Modeus and I would have a wonderful time talking. And Iwould want the chance to give them hugs too. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?Compassionate. Clever. Self-critical. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?That it is better to write the kind of story you want to tell and let others come to it naturally than to try and write a story you think people will flock to. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?Both! I edit as a go along but also make…

1–What is the title of your latest release? AN HONORABLE DECEPTION 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When Lord Yates Fairfax, an earl and also the head of a mysterious P.I. firm called The Imposters, is hired to find a compelling young lady’s missing childhood nanny, he soon stumbles into dangerous secrets that prove the nobility can be far from noble. Together with his new client and the woman he does not love anymore—who dubbed herself an interim Imposter—they must unravel these twisted secrets…and sort out how to right the wrongs being perpetrated by their peers. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Most of the book is set along the beautiful, rugged coast of Northumberland, England’s northernmost region. I love exploring England’s diverse, beautiful landscapes in my stories, and there’s something about the raging North Sea that always captures my heart! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Oh, absolutely! And you can bet I’d stick around long enough to watch my earl and his sister perform on the trapeze, meet the retired circus animals who call their estate home, and be entertained by their wit and humor! 5–What…

As a woman with more than a few strands of gray in my hair, I fit in well with the other poll workers on election day. But as I walked home late that night, I escaped the tension and stress of the election season in a thriller that was demanding my full attention. Aren’t we lucky to have books? I’m partial to audiobooks which allow me to both immerse myself in a great story AND walk in the dark without falling on my face. The story that held my attention that night was Dean Koontz’s FEAR NOTHING. Not a new book, and definitely not a romance (though there is a nice love story), it’s the tale of a newly orphaned young man who lives with the disease xeroderma pigmentosum, making exposure to light dangerous and potentially fatal. All is not right in his quiet California town, however, and Chris becomes aware of nefarious ongoings when he sees his father’s body being mysteriously snatched and spirited away en route from the hospital to the funeral home. Somehow, it’s always invigorating to escape real world worries by sinking into scary literary scenarios! He’s a bit of an old-fashioned taste, but Dean Koontz…

1–What is the title of your latest release? GUILT AND GINATAAN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When the body of a local politician’s wife is found inside a corn maze and signs point to her best friend as the main suspect in the murder, a small-town cafe owner turned amateur sleuth must utilize her skills to prove her best friend’s innocence. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I thought, “What’s more Midwestern than corn? And what’s more seemingly wholesome than a corn festival?” So of course, that naturally led to me dropping a dead body in a corn maze during the Shady Palms Corn Festival. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely. She’d keep me well-fed with all her tasty dessert experiments. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Loyal, nosy, work-in-progress 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That a person’s eyes have to be open to use the facial recognition option to unlock a phone 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I write and then edit the first act until I feel like I have a…

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 Sara Ackerman! Writes: I write books with aloha––and yes, that means they are all set in Hawai’i! My previous six novels are historical, but my upcoming novel, THE MAUI EFFECT is a contemporary about a conservation biologist on Maui who breaks her number one dating rule when she falls for a big wave surfer from the Mainland. I like to think of it as an Endless Summer for modern times. All of my books are a blend of adventure, intrigue, love, and friendship, and shine a light on little known stories and pieces of history. (Meanings of aloha – love, affection, compassion, kindness, grace, a greeting) About: Crazy about the wilderness and our beautiful ocean, I love nothing more than to kick off my shoes and spend the morning underwater, following fish around the reef and looking for pufferfish or spotted eagle rays. In the evenings, I rarely miss a sunset, and you can loosen me up by pouring me an ice-cold craft beer…