This month, I’m talking with authors Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne, a talented, dynamic writing duo whose fabulous new women’s fiction novel, The Starlets, will be released on November 12th. This international romp featuring two fictional, 1950s era movie stars is one of my very favorite books of the year. I have been telling everyone about it, and the amazing pair of writers who brought these delightful characters so vividly to life. Read on to find out more about this wonderful story, and how the team of Kelly and Thorne manage to write such terrific books while living on separate continents! Marie: Your delightful new novel, The Starlets, set on a fictional Italian island in 1958, is the story of two ambitious, competitive, and utterly at-odds young movie starlets who have no choice but to join forces when the tension on the set takes a deadly turn. Tell us about the original inspiration for the book, and what attracted you to this particular place and time? Lee: For this second collaboration, Jenn and I knew we wanted to write a story centering around the film industry, Old Hollywood in particular: it was such a unique, fascinating time where the major…

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.

Book Title: TO THE NINES Character Name: Blake Wilder How would you describe your family or your childhood? When I was in kindergarten, I told my friend Rena she could come to my house that night when her daddy started hitting her mom, and both of our lives changed forever. My parents told me it scared people when I shared my visions, whether they were traumatic scenes from the past or warnings about the future. My mom did call our teacher, so I’m sure it’s no coincidence Rena’s family moved away soon thereafter, and I was forever branded as that weird Wilder girl. What is your greatest talent? I’m not sure if it’s a talent, but I’m smart. Combined with the dark lessons in humanity I’ve learned from enduring thousands of visions, I think I’m a pretty good judge of character. Significant other? When you see countless visions of betrayal, infidelity, and abuse, it’s hard to let down your guard long enough to let someone in, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting a boyfriend. Since starting college and discovering The Nine—a centuries-old paranormal society—there are now two guys who know I’m a voyant, but aren’t afraid of what I…

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…