SUMMERTIME PUNCHLINE is my love-hate letter to a lot of things: standup comedy, hometowns, adolescence, people from our past to name a few – but I think it may just be a love-love letter to music. Music is ultimately what bonds Eddie and Del as teens, and just the same it’s what bonded me to this manuscript. My playlist (lovingly named “4ever & evergreen”) was so, so precious to me during the drafting and editing phases. The entire playlist is quite long and has gone through a few iterations, so choosing just five to talk about was so hard. But I think if you were to boil Summertime Punchline down into its purest musical essence, this is what you’d end up with. Enjoy!   This Town (feat. Shaky Graves)  by Trixie Mattel Pretty early into writing SUMMERTIME PUNCHLINE, I realized that Del would turn to music as a kinder, more-grounded way of telling jokes. I just then had to figure out––what the hell does Del sound like? What kind of music does she write? I’ve been a huge fan of Trixie Mattel and became a huge fan of her music after watching Moving Parts, a documentary about thee skinny legend…

Music and writing go hand in hand. A well-crafted sentence or line of dialogue in a book has a certain rhythm, like a good song you want to hear on repeat. I tend to write characters who love music just as much as I do. Not only are these five songs inspiration for this story but they’re also mentioned in the book. And there’s no better time to have a great playlist than during a cross-country road trip, which is the setting for my novel, THE BUMP.   Rolling in the Deep by Adele Have you ever driven to this song? It’s so much fun. Get in your car, turn this on, pump up the volume and safely merge onto the nearest highway of your choice as you roll past a glorious sunset. I’ll wait. Are you back? I bet that was fun. The percussion that introduces this tune and continues throughout is such a banger. It kicks off Wyatt and Biz’s journey when they need a good song, not only to begin their road trip but to find some common ground since the two of them start off this story struggling to connect. When they put this song on,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? My debut novel is THE GOLDILOCKS GENOME. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The Goldilocks Genome is a medical thriller introducing the reader to the Goldilocks effect in prescription medicine and the importance of personalized medicine. Everyone needs to know if their medicine is “just right”, “too little” or “too much” for them based on their DNA. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Simple! I chose the places I where I live and which I know best…the San Francisco Bay Area. I was able to incorporate neighborhoods and restaurants that I know into the book to give the reader a tour of some of the area’s treats. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely because she’s a lot like me. My friends who have read the book say they can hear me talking. My husband says that as well—so my protagonist, Carrie Hediger, whose name combines the first and last names of my friends from graduate school, is definitely someone I hang out with! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Smart, tenacious, reckless 6–What’s something you learned while…

Book Title: IN OUR STARS Character Name:  Lieutenant Selene Genji   How would you describe your family or your childhood?     My childhood was hell.  My only real family was my mother, before she was murdered when I was seventeen because she was my mother.  Everyone else treated me as an alien on my own world.  Because in some ways I am.   What was your greatest talent?  Maybe survival.  I should have died a long time ago.  But I keep fighting.  Is that a talent?  Or is it that my mother’s guidance (and that of Marcus Aurelius) has helped me maintain my humanity despite everything?  And despite all of those who claim I’m not human at all?   Significant other?  I…don’t know.  Maybe?  There was never anyone before.  Not for an alloy like me.  But he says it’s real.  Kayl says he won’t leave.  Impossible.  But…maybe?   Biggest challenge in relationships?  I’m an alloy.  Mostly human, but with some alien DNA inserted through genetic engineering before I was born.  I can’t hide that.  Everyone knows I’m different.  Those who don’t fear me because of it are usually still…wary.   Where do you live?  Nowhere, really.  After my mother was murdered,…

Samurai Squadron III: Spinward Fringe Broadcast 20 by Randolph Lalonde Duchess of a Distant Realm, Book 5, Brotherhood of Blood – Wildwood Series by Bianca D’Arc A Reaper’s Secret by Sam Crescent Guided by the Giant by Evangeline Anderson My Enemy’s Boyfriend Book 2 The Seven by Linda Kage Road Trips, Blue Skies & Dead Guys, Book 10, Gianna Mancini Mysteries by Jennifer Fischetto Stormsworn by Eric Asher Interference by L. A. Witt Storms and Crones, Book 5, Dragon Thief Series by Mac Flynn Against the Run of Play by Kiru Taye   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 Bestselling…

The fictional town of Lost Beach is the backdrop for four of the books in the bestselling Texas Murder Files series, including LIAR’S POINT. Lost Beach is inspired by South Padre Island, a barrier island at the southernmost tip of Texas. I spent many summers on the Texas coast—beachcombing, crabbing, and playing in the waves with my sisters. It’s such a unique place, and I love incorporating the sights, tastes, and sounds of this setting in my stories.   Here are some of my favorite places in the Texas Murder Files novels, along with the real-life locations that inspired them. Lighthouse Point LIAR’S POINT opens with a chilling scene as a jogger discovers a body on the windy tip of the island, known as Lighthouse Point. This dramatic location features prominently in multiple Texas Murder Files books, including FLIGHT (when Miranda is trapped in the burning lighthouse) and MIDNIGHT DUNES (when Macey confronts the murderer). This fictional location is inspired by the Port Isabel Lighthouse, built in 1852, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tourists who climb the 75 steps to the top will get a beautiful view of Laguna Madre and South Padre Island.   The…

Charlie Parker Mysteries Boxed Set (Books 1-4) by Connie Shelton The Taming of a Highlander, Book 2, Midnight in Scotland Series by Elisa Braden Gone Guest, Book 6, The Murder Mystery Book Club Series by C.A. Larmer The Spectre Series Box Set (Books 1-4) by C.W. Lemoine The Mistake, Book 3, Volkov Bratva Series by Sam Crescent Dagger, Book 1, Vegas MMA Series by S.L. Sterling He’s All In by Alexa Riley All for You, Book 5, Rocktown Ink Series by Sherilee Gray The Sunshine Court, Book 4, All for the Game Series by Nora Sakavic Jett, Book 1, Shadow Ops Team Series by Makenna Jameison Trident Security Series, Book 3, Trident Security Series: A Special Collection by Samantha Cole Enticing the Devil, Book 2, Wright Bastards Series by Amy Sandas Nora Black Midlife Psychic Cozy Mysteries Books 1-3, Nora Black Midlife Psychic Mysteries Collections by Renee George Desk Job, Book 2, London Menage Series by Lily Harlem ELITE Damnit, Guardian Elite Series by KaLyn Cooper The Moment They Can’t Forget, Book 2, The Duke Brothers Series by Lani Blake Alien Inventor’s Mate, Book 3, Latharian Mate Program Series by Mina Carter My Fair Bluestocking, Book 3, Inconvenient Brides Series…

1–What is the title of your latest release? LAVASH AT FIRST SIGHT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two women fall for each other at a food packaging conference only to realize that their parents are mortal enemies, owning rival Armenian food businesses. The two women, along with their nosy, scrutinous parents, are pitted against each other in a competition at the conference to win an ad in the Superbowl. Their attraction to each other and the stakes of the competition keep ratcheting up and up until it’s absolutely boiling. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I lived in Chicago for a year and fell so deeply in love with it. I knew I wanted to set a book in the Second City, and this idea for the big conference came to me. I went to ALA in Chicago at McCormick Place one year for work, so the idea of a food packagers conference being set there came to mind. The book is infused with tons of Chicago adoration from this West Coast lifer. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? By the end of the book, yes definitely!…

1–What is the title of your latest release? TIRED LADIES TAKE A STAND 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? During one unforgettable year in their twenties, best friends Emma, Fern, Carolina, and Andi make a pact to embrace whatever life throws at them, inspiring Fern to write a memoir detailing their escapades and the magical power of saying Yes. But fast forward twenty years, and they have reached their bandwidth of responsibilities, and must finally commit themselves to learning to say no. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Much of the book was inspired by the real-life “year of yes” my friends and I undertook in our twenties. It was the late nineties, and we were living in San Francisco, starting our careers, dating and breaking up, and simply trying to make our way through the world as young women. One night, probably over cocktails, we decided we’d had enough of waiting for good things to come our way and made a pact to say yes to adventure, regardless of the form. At bars, we bought the cute guys drinks. We took new risks at work. We traveled. We danced. We lived one…

Book Title: THE SONG OF SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN by Ann H. Gabhart Character Name: Ada June Barton   Why hello, we weren’t expecting someone so young to come tell us about the story of Sourwood Mountain, but welcome. Tell us your name and how old are you? I’m Ada June Barton. I’m ten going on eleven. Miss Mira asked me to come talk to you. I told her you asked for her and that you might be a little sore when I showed up instead. But she’s pretty busy right now getting things ready for school to open. I wanted to help her out even though I don’t know if anybody anywhere would be all that interested in me, but I guess I can tell you about the folks in Sourwood if’n that’s what you are wanting to know. Everybody knows everybody in Sourwood and most everything about them. I reckon there are some things I don’t know about, but could be you won’t ask about them things.   Now you have us curious, but if you want, we can stick with easy questions. What about your family? Can you talk about that? That’s some complicated and is part of those…