Whether you’re jet-setting to a faraway place or savoring the last days of summer lounging by the pool, THE CASTLE IN THE GLEN by Rhys Bowen deserves a spot in your bag. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Scotland’s Isle of Skye, this captivating novel follows a ghostwriter who uncovers long-buried family secrets, where mystery, romance, and danger intertwine in unforgettable ways.LIGHTNING ROUND What’s your favorite way to spend a slow August afternoon?Ideally at the beach. I have a favorite little beach on the San Francisco Bay only ten minutes from my house. Just listening to the lap of the waves is so soothing. What snack, drink, or sweet treat always finds its way to your desk when writing?When I’m working I don’t usually eat or drink. Maybe a cup of tea occasionally but I’m fully concentrating on my work. If your main character could plan the perfect late-summer getaway, where would they go?My main character in THE CASTLE IN THE GLEN is a young Australian girl. I think she dreams of going to Italy, although in the story she finds herself going to the Isle of Skye in Scotland. What’s one thing that instantly helps you slip into a…

T This inventive math teacher, JulieH Has a whirlwind 4-year-old, Patrick, who isE Eligible, most likely, for the label ADHD, but is it just B “Boys will be boys” that describes him?O Or is there something truly wrong?Y You can follow along W When he’s kicked out of preschoolI In the first month of class, andT Their fragile family suffers.H How are they to find childcare over a weekend? T The child’s father, Luke, is lost.H His ADHD blooms as he cries out,E “Even my genes are failures!” B But there is no choice. Luke mustU Understand that fatherhood is forever.T There are changes both parents must make, asT They are parts of anE Entwined system,R Relying on each other.F From teacher back to student, Julie must ask for help.L Luke must confront his family history to aid his son.Y Yes, it’s hard. But readers say: M Muster up the courage;I Invest in the long-term success of your child; andN Never, never, give up.D Do your very very best. THE BOY WITH THE BUTTERFLY MIND by Lorelei Brush A Novel For fans of Jodi Picoult and Bonnie Garmus, an illuminating novel about a mother struggling to raise a healthy neurodivergent child with…

What is the title of your latest release?BIG & LILY What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A sharply funny, deeply heartfelt novel about two very different sisters who discover the best way to find themselves (and each other) is by getting lost in the wilderness. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?The setting for this book, the Alaskan wilderness, is modeled on a very similar trip I took a few years ago, where like BIG & LILY, I was out of my depths and in over my head. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Bridget (Big) and I would be besties. We get each other, both being eldest daughters who are always trying to organize and contain the world around us and never quite succeed to our own standards. What are three words that describe your hero?Classic First Born What’s something you learned while writing this book?You don’t have to wear the labels you were given (or you assigned to yourself) forever. You can rip them off the back of your collar if they scratch at you. The narratives we live with can be rewritten. Do you edit as you draft…

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.

There is a particular ache in fantasy romance when a character has gone too long without gentleness. Not desire, necessarily. Not lust first. Gentleness. A hand offered without demand. A wound cleaned without ownership. A body treated as precious after years of being used as a weapon, a bargaining chip, a curse, or a thing to survive. That is why the touch-starved trope lands so hard. Fantasy and paranormal romance can make the craving literal through bonds, bites, magic, monsters, and bargains, but the emotional core is beautifully human. These stories are not only about wanting to be touched. They are about wanting to be safe enough to want it. The best versions understand that physical closeness has to be chosen. Forced proximity may bring the characters into the same room, the same bed, the same dangerous journey, but the romance only works when touch becomes a question, an answer, and eventually a language. PALADIN’S GRACE by T. Kingfisher PALADIN’S GRACE is a masterclass in quiet longing between two people who have both learned to mistrust themselves. Stephen is a paladin whose god has died, leaving him with a berserker’s violence and a grief he does not know where to…

What is the title of your latest release?DEVIL INSIDE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A boy… meets a demon. Bloody sparks ensue! Poor Jordan gets in a bit of bike accident and dies for a few minutes, only to end up in Hell. When he’s there, he bumps into some… thing. What if our soulmate has no soul? Will you let the devil in? How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I grew up in Richmond, Virginia. It is still home in my heart. They say Virginia is for lovers, and well… when it came time to write a love story, my heart when home. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Lilith, our demon, is such an enabler. She loves to tip the scales toward our own dark side. She’s trouble in the best of ways and would be an absolute blast to hang out with, giving us all the night of our lives, drinking us under the table, closing the bar down, dancing the night away, so… no. Absolutely not. Too rich for my blood. I’m in bed by nine. What are three words that describe your hero?Soulless. Damned. Dark….

What is the title of your latest release?THESE VILE HEARTS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Maddox, a type 1 diabetic woman at the end of her financial rope, makes a deal with a dryad queen to kill a rival king in exchange for a cure; meanwhile, Castor, a dryad prince, makes a bargain with his brother to get a mortal to fall in love to rid himself of a curse that kills anyone who falls for him. When Maddox mistakes Castor for the king, their two fatal pacts collide in a deliciously vile series of ill-fated events. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I visited the Redwoods in Southern Oregon on an RV trip with my grandparents back in 2012 and have wanted to set some sort of fae book there ever since. It was otherworldly. A breathtaking place to witness. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?I love hanging with a fellow type 1 diabetic. We have access to the same secret inner world non-diabetics know nothing about. Maddox is a Scorpio, and I’m a Gemini, so we have an inquisitive nature and love of intense conversations in common….

Imagine stepping into a town where the future arrived decades ahead of its time. You stroll beneath towering trees, passing brick buildings where students still hurry to class. Today they carry backpacks instead of leather satchels, coffee cups instead of slates, but Oberlin, Ohio, still feels like a place where ideas matter. At first glance, it seems like another charming college town. Look a little closer, though, and you’ll discover that from the 1830s through the 1880s, Oberlin was one of the most radical communities in nineteenth-century America, a place that dared to imagine a different future. Every town has stories, Oberlin’s are extraordinary. The more time I spent walking these streets while researching my novel, The Ladies Hall, the more I realized my story wasn’t simply about three remarkable women: Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, and Ida Gibbs Hunt. It was also about a town courageous enough to nurture them. Sometimes the most memorable journeys don’t take us across oceans. They take us into the past, where we meet the people and places that changed America’s future. So, let’s begin our walk. Welcome to the town that proudly claims it helped ignite the events leading to the American…

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 Siera London! Writes:I’ll introduce you to heroines you’ll recognize, heroes you’ll wish lived next door, and love stories you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve turned the last page. If you’re the reader who believes the best romances should leave you happier than they found you, then A HARD HABIT TO BREAK and I are excited for our first date. About:Retired Navy veteran turned professional matchmaker…for fictional people. I have a weakness for witty banter, undeniable chemistry, and heroes who discover that falling in love with a smart woman isn’t a challenge, it’s the best decision they’ll ever make. My stories are filled with intelligent heroines who occasionally make questionable choices, heroes who earn every ounce of trust, and enough laughter, longing, and heart to keep you reading long past your bedtime. Whether offworld, uptown, or small town, love is always worth the risk in a Siera London novel and gets the last word. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match:• You…

Excerpt from THE LIE by Jude Berman: In what is night to all beings, a wise one is awake; in what is day to those beings, the wise one sees a dark night. IN THE DARK: Jedd “Lie! Down!” The sharp, staccato bark of a disembodied male voice cuts the silent darkness. I’m seated on the ground, legs stretched out in front of me, but I instantly drop back onto my elbows, then lower myself to a fully supine position. Anticipate the kicks delivered by the steel toe caps that must belong to that voice. Feel its fingers closing around my neck. Hear the hiss of its spit landing on my face. But there is only silence. Only darkness. I slowly rotate my neck left to right and back to center as I strain to pick up any clues that might indicate where I am. Or whose voice that was. It was sharp but also raspy. Like a hoarse drill sergeant. Vaguely familiar. I think. Or maybe not. With the throbbing in my head, it’s hard to know. My eyes are wide open, but all I see is pitch black. If it weren’t for the slight tickle of oxygenated air…