1–What is the title of your latest release? EDGE OF CHAOS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two storm chasers must decide what they’re willing to risk—even if it’s themselves—in this emotional, highly charged adrenaline rush of a romance that fuses Twisters with It Ends with Us. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I was raised in the Midwest, right next to tornado alley, so I’ve always had a fascination with storms and extreme weather! Having experienced a tornado firsthand as well as the aftermath of such destruction, I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel if those stakes were interwoven into a relationship and how it would impact it. Pair that with some experiences from my past with toxic relationships, and the idea for Edge of Chaos was born. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I admire Blake so much for her strength and courage and her ability to forgive herself. She’d be so fun to hang with! And Dash Lexington? I think we’d be BFFs! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Courageous, compassionate, and empathetic. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? The most…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE VILLAGE LIBRARY DEMON-HUNTING SOCIETY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? It’s “Murder, She Wrote” meets “Buffy the Vampire Slayer!” 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew that I wanted to set it in an imaginary cozy little town in the Northeastern US – I thought about Vermont, but settled on the Capital District of Upstate NY, since I thought it would be easier and more fun to write a convincing little town based on my home turf. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I think Sherry would be a ton of fun to get drinks and giggle with. I’m also in the market for older female friends – I really enjoy talking to people from different generations, and in my experience the older people are the more interesting stories they have to tell! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Observant, loyal, inquisitive. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That priests who want to become exorcists have to attend a special seminar at the Vatican! I love imagining it as being like a normal…

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 Toni Shiloh!   Writes: I write Christian contemporary romance that gives you all the feels, has lighthearted banter, and is soulfully romantic.   About: I’m a hopeless romantic who looks for romance in every story. And when I’m not asking people how they met their significant others, I’m watching sports. I know it seems like a different spectrum but there’s love in rooting for your favorite team. Mine just happens to be the Dallas Cowboys and I can dress head to toe, yell/cheer at the TV at remarkable decimals, while reading a romance book during the commercials. If I’m not reading or watching sports, then I’m playing video games with my teens and/or husband. This is living life to the fullest!   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Do you anticipate the firsts like meet-cute, kiss, declaration of love? Then I’m your writer. Do you want a story that gives you a guaranteed Happily Ever After (HEA)? Then I’m your author….

1–What is the title of your latest release? PAYAL MEHTA’S ROMANCE REVENGE PLOT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot is an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy, but also a story about learning that you’re enough as you are, you don’t need to cut yourself up into pieces to be palatable. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I had to write what I know, and so looking to my own teen age years in South Florida seemed like an obvious choice. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Probably, though I’d want to knock some sense into her. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Funny, awkward, endearing 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That writing your own vulnerabilities into a character can be painful, it makes for a cathartic experience when you hit the end. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I wish I could say that I wait until I’m finished, but I will find myself going back and editing as I’m writing. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Oh no, I – there are so…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE LOVERS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The Lovers is a steamy sapphic rom-com for fans of Ashley Herring Blake, in which Twin Flames get a second chance at love while working a wedding in the California desert.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Setting plays a huge role in the story of The Lovers.  The main plot unfolds at a bohemian chic wedding at a resort in Joshua Tree National Park. Kit and Julia, the two main characters, are both working the wedding. Kit, as the tarot reader the bride has hired for entertainment, and Julia, as the wedding planner. I had the best time creating the desert resort of my dreams, drawing inspiration from locations I’d visited in Palm Springs and on the way to Joshua Tree during my research excursions. Joshua Tree is the perfect setting for a wedding like the one that takes place in The Lovers because there’s nowhere more magical and mystical than the desert—in my opinion. The color palette and the balmy heat is a perfect recipe for romance. 4–Would you hang out with your…

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 Melinda Curtis!   Writes: Melinda Curtis always includes humor in her books. Why? Because she loves to laugh. You can get your own dose of laughter in her romcoms, especially the Summer Kisses series featuring Grandma Dotty. Dotty Summer is a widow with a bucket list and a boatload of grown grandchildren who she enjoys visiting, and not just because it gives her an opportunity to pursue her bucket list (but often because it does).   About: Melinda Curtis writes sweet/clean romances with over 75 books published by Harlequin, 40 self-pubbed, and 5 by Forever Romance. One of her books, Dandelion Wishes, was made into an UPTV movie – Love in Harmony Valley, starring Amber Marshall. She’s married to her college sweetheart, loves her Peloton, renovating homes, and slow mornings with hot coffee.   If you enjoy Hallmark movies on the lighter side, like Three Wise Men and a Baby, you’ll enjoy Every Little Kiss, especially if you enjoy: Fake date/relationship with a royal…

Back in college, I changed my major I don’t know how many times, but every time I did, it was because I’d read a new romance and whatever job the heroine had, it sounded like something I’d like to do. Until I read the next book and… well, you get the idea. Needless to say I spent a lot of years in college, but ended having a major epiphany that propelled me to actually graduating (with a degree in English, which, let’s face it, is reading). That epiphany changed my life. I’d always loved reading, and it was reading romance that made me consider becoming a writer. So that light bulb moment? Become a romance author and I can work all those fabulous occupations for as long as it takes me to write that book! How did I not see that before? Well, when I finally accepted that bit of truth, it was only a matter of time before I got those stories out into the world. Okay, it took me maybe another fifteen years or so, but hey. Who’s counting?! You might wonder what this sliver of my author origin story has to do with my latest release, A…

I don’t listen to music while I’m writing, but I always have a few songs I listen to just before I start. This helps me get in the right mindset and immerse myself in the story. Here are a few of the songs I’ll always associate with ONE ON ONE.   My Tears Ricochet, Taylor Swift At the beginning of ONE ON ONE, the narrator, Annie, returns to Ardwyn University eight years after graduating to work for the school’s basketball team. It’s a place she used to love but swore she’d never return to, and it’s where she made her best and worst memories. My favorite lyric in this song is, “I can go anywhere I want / Anywhere I want, just not home.” It’s interesting because she’s saying she can’t go back to this place, but it’s still important enough to her that she considers it her home. This reminds me of Annie’s complicated feelings about Ardwyn and her love interest, Ben.   Maybe Don’t (feat. JP Saxe), Maisie Peters When Annie and Ben move from rivals to lovers, she tries to keep the relationship from getting too serious because she’s afraid. This song captures what it feels like…

Conqueror, Book 2, Kinkaid Shifters by Bianca D’Arc Orange Blossom Way, Book 3, Crown Island by Jan Moran Scarred Wife, Book 1, Villains by Sam Crescent Love In Montana by Mollie Mathews The Blind Eye (A World War 2 Naval Adventure), Book 27, E. Macdonnell’s Royal Australian Navy World War II Fiction by J.E. Macdonnell Dreaming of the Demon by Evangeline Anderson Truth Seer Book Four, Book 4, Truth Seer by Odette C. Bell The Partner Quandary, Book 3, The Partners by Jade Marshall Forbidden by West Greene Caught by Sandra Alex     Each Monday the Smashwords store lists the top ten most highly anticipated indie fiction ebooks based on the previous week’s preorder accumulations. Each title on the list is scheduled to release within the next week. To help the talented authors on this list accumulate even more preorders, click the title of the book. The hyperlink will bring you to a Books2Read page where you can order from your preferred ebook retailer. If the preorder is part of a series, click the hyperlinked series title to learn about the other books in the series. Be sure to check back Friday for a list of the Top 25…

Benvenuto – Welcome to Bomarzo! I am Ignazio, your host for the week ahead. While you must be hungry, and ready to explore the ancient palazzo that will be your home, I know that what you really want to see is the garden. For it is the garden that everyone really wants to see. I see you have brought the great Salvador Dalí with you! It makes sense that he has come, for this place is as surreal as his painted fever dreams. Come, let us walk, and I will tell you the story of Italy’s famous garden of monsters. The Sacro Bosco, or the Sacred Wood, is a Mannerist garden that defies the conventions of its age, where the surreal and the mystical collide. It is here, in this labyrinth of stone and shadows, that I fulfill my purpose to you as both guardian and guide, for this is no ordinary place—it is a realm where the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead blur. Pier Francesco Orsini, born in 1523, and known to most as Vicino, thought he was the one who had the idea for the garden. But what few understand…