by CJ Holmes Where to start with fantasy and paranormal romance… I thought I’d start by delving into the difference between fantasy romance and paranormal romance. There’s a fine line between fantasy and paranormal romance, and fantasy romance books often have paranormal elements and characters in them. As a reader, I love both genres, but I want to know what I’m getting into before I sit down with a book, so my expectations are set and the book stands the best chance of doing what it’s supposed to do – captivating me, thrilling me, taking me into a world I don’t want to leave and introducing me to characters I’m sad to leave. On a technical (and dare I say it boring) level, fantasy romance arose from the fantasy genre, whereas paranormal romance was born from romance. I expect fantasy romance to have a lot more epic or high fantasy in it, so when I read a book that’s marketed as fantasy romance I’m prepared for complex world-building, intricate rules about magic, and hierarchy systems for any creatures or characters in them. The romance is important, but I’m expecting pages of detail that plunge me into this world and make me…

Book Title: TOTO Character Name: Toto How would you describe your family or your childhood? Listen, I came from humble beginnings. Eight brothers and sisters all whelped in the same potato crate gets crowded, I tell you! We were a surprise, too. Well, I mean, not to Ma–she knew we were coming, but I guess her human was pretty clueless. I can’t be too mad at him though, because if he hadn’t put a ‘free puppies’ sign on the highway, then I wouldn’t have found my Dorothy. I would have probably ended up with some goofy farm dog name like…Hank or Blue or Strawberry or something. I don’t like to brag, but life got pretty good after that. Dorothy also lives on a farm, but it’s the best one, obviously. There’s hogs and farmhands to bother, which counts as high entertainment in a place as boring as Kansas, let me tell you. But my favorite time had to be bedtime, when Dorothy and I would indulge in some good cuddles and watch the people on her little pocket glass. The little glass-people are great, and I’ve learned most of what I know about humans from them. Things like how important…

Book Title: HER KNIGHT AT THE MUSEUM Character Name: Sir Griffin de Beauford Interviewer: Griffin, I understand that you’re a knight who was born in England in 1428. Is that correct? Griffin: Aye, my lady. Interviewer: But you were turned into a stone statue…and you were stuck that way for centuries. How long has it been since the curse was broken and you came back to life? Griffin: It has been three days since I breathed the free air again, here in the vast city of Chicago. Interviewer: Amazing. Well, let’s learn a little bit more about you. How would you describe your childhood? Griffin: As the son of an earl, I trained from boyhood to be a warrior. My father could be a hard man, and he expected me to prevail over all challengers… But it was a good life, too. I rambled in the forest, fished, trapped eels, hunted…and got into every manner of mischief. (laughs) With my parents and my younger sister, I celebrated dozens of feast days every year, and went to fairs. Interviewer: Do you know how to read and write? Griffin: Aye, from my tutors, I learned to speak, read, and write in French…

What is the title of your latest release? ROLAND ROGERS ISN’T DEAD YET What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A ghostwriter ghostwrites for a ghost. How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Stay with me here: The ghost in question is a recently deceased movie star named Roland Rogers, but no one knows he’s dead yet. Roland is trapped in some sort of purgatory, only capable of communicating through electronic appliances. Before his body can be found, he wants to reveal a closely held lifelong secret, so he reaches out to a struggling memoirist named Adam Gallagher for help. All of which is to say this book had to take place where you’d expect an A-lister to live, which is why it’s set in a cliffside Malibu mansion with obscene square footage. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Adam is a lot like me, so no. What are three words that describe your protagonist? Smart, sad, and stubborn. What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned how much Calacatta marble countertops cost. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I used…

1–What is the title of your latest release? NAPOLEON’S MIRAGE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Epic and rich with well-researched detail, NAPOLEON’S MIRAGE is a novel of misguided ambition leading to brutal warfare, failures of cultural appropriation, and a military defeat that just may have changed the course of history. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Because I write historical fiction, my locations are largely determined by actual events and settings. As this is a sequel to BEYOND THE GHETTO GATES, part of the novel takes place in Ancona, Italy, so that the reader learns just how much Mirelle is in trouble with her Jewish community because of actions taken in the previous book. But most of it follows Napoleon’s military expedition, starting from Toulon where his massive fleet embarks, to Malta, Egypt, and then to Isarel. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? While I have four main characters, the bulk of the narrative is given over to Daniel, a young officer in Napoleon’s artillery. He is undergoing significant changes in his attitude toward war and to Napoleon in particular, moving from hero-worshipping the young general to…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BRIDE OF THE SHADOW KING is a re-release of an independent 2022 publication. Two years later, and it’s getting a whole new life as an Ace Books publication, complete with a gorgeous new cover. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A princess suffering from chronic illness is forced to disguise herself as her beautiful younger sister and take her place in a political marriage with a dangerous troll king. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Ever since reading The Princess and the Goblin as a child, I’ve wanted to explore a magical, subterranean realm. So I made my hero a troll king (but a hot one, don’t worry!) and indulged in all things caves and magical crystals, bringing the Under Realm to life. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? For sure! Princess Faraine is modeled after two of my best friends (both of whom deal with similar forms of chronic illness). She is definitely someone I would be friends with in real life! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Courageous, kind, compassionate 6–What’s something you learned while writing…

Book Title: DEVIL’S DEFENSE Character Name: Diane Myers How would you describe your family or your childhood? Normal, I guess.  Normal.  Mama and Daddy stayed together til death parted them. I have a sister, Denise, who’s three years older than me.  We get along okay, but we’re different.  She keeps a pretty big stick up her butt, always has.  What was your greatest talent? I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue. Significant other?  I married my true love, David, right out of high school, but he died in his thirties from pancreatic cancer.  Since then, I’ve just been enjoying myself. Biggest challenge in relationships?  Clingy men.  Where do you live?  I live in Ashton, GA, but not in the city limits.  Out north, towards Parksville. Do you have any enemies? (Laughs.)  Of course I do!  But they’re smart enough not to tell me. 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’ve lived in Ashton my whole life.  The thing about a small town?  The town itself is part of your family.  Sometimes it irritates the fool…

Step into a world where ballet slippers are traded for renovation boots, and an old European coin holds the key to unexpected romance. In this week’s Jen’s Jewels, author Lindsay Gibson introduces us to THE CHRISTMAS COIN, a heartwarming tale set in the enchanting town of White Bridge, Connecticut. Through her protagonist Amelia Collins, Gibson weaves together the magic of holiday traditions, the challenge of starting anew, and the serendipitous nature of finding love when you least expect it. From snow-tubing adventures to caroling beneath a historic covered bridge, Gibson draws from her own Connecticut roots to create an authentic New England Christmas experience that will have readers believing in second chances—and perhaps a touch of Irish luck. Jennifer Vido: Amelia Collins’s shift from ballet dancer to home renovator is quite a leap! What inspired her to take this new direction, and what drew her to settle in White Bridge, Connecticut? Lindsay Gibson: Amelia’s grandfather always inspired her with how he’d reconstruct historical homes. She’d spend time as a child listening to him tell her all about the old homes he had been working on and found it interesting the way he’d preserve their structures. When her grandparents passed away,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? PUCK AND PREJUDICE (A Regals Hockey Romance #1) 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When NHL goalie Tucker Taylor takes an accidental swan dive through time into the Regency era, he meets his match in Lizzy Wooddash, a woman whose life goals include: hanging with her cool friends like Jane Austen and avoiding marriage at all costs, or barring that…becoming a widow. A marriage of convenience with a time traveler seems like the perfect hat trick: she gets her future independent widowhood, he gets a place to crash while figuring out how to get home, and nobody catches feelings. But soon they’re catching feelings, and their perfectly practical plan begins looking about as solid as ice in August. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Since my Georgette Heyer fangirl phase I’ve loved Regencies, and setting the book in 1812 allowed me to place my characters right when Pride & Prejudice was being written. I love “How Did This Get Made” content, and I thought it would be fun to loosely play around with the concept of what might have inspired Austen as she was…

1–What is the title of your latest release?  PICKLEBALLERS  2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?  PICKLEBALLERS is a sporty, enemies to lovers rom-com. Think, The Hating Game, meets Dodgeball.  When Meg Bloomberg’s brief marriage implodes, her friend Annie drags her onto the pickleball courts to help boost her mood. Six months later, Meg is on the mend; loving her new pickleball community and even steaming up her car in a sexy encounter with a hot environmentalist. And all is well until…she finds out he is the same guy in charge of closing down her community’s pickleball courts to restore the wetlands. Hilarity ensues. And sexual tension, of course.  3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?  I set a lot of the action on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride away from Seattle, mainly because that is where pickleball originated in 1965! Also, the Seattle area has been my home for thirty years, and I love the Pacific Northwest; the magnificent mountains, the brooding Puget Sound, and even the rain. All play a part in the story.  4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?  No way. She’s kind of strait-laced and…