Excerpt from HAUNTED HULA-WEEN by Sally J. Smith: A motion sensor mounted high on the side of the building blazed light over a twenty-foot radius, and half a second later, an alarm—not subtle, not polite, a full-throated mechanical shriek—split the fog wide open and sent something in the cane startling away in a burst of sound and movement. Somewhere on the other side of the building, Grady Roosevelt yelled, “What the—” I didn’t hang around to hear the rest. I was already running. And there it was, open ground. Beautiful, flat, open ground, and the road beyond it, and Brute’s familiar shape dark against the roadside. Something like pure joy surged in me, and tears streamed down my face. I ran as fast as my exhausted legs would carry me, the alarm still shrieking behind me, the motion light flooding out across the field, and for a moment—just a moment—I thought I’d done it. But I hadn’t. He’d come around the other side of the mill. He was a killer with longer legs and more lung capacity. The alarm hadn’t stopped him, and now he was on level, open ground, too, and gaining, and Brute was still a hundred yards…

Remember the summer of 1981? That hot season everyone was wondering who shot J.R. in the hit TV series, Dallas. The family with two adult sons who still lived in their parents’ home (Southfork) and behave liked toddlers. That was also the summer I signed on as a foot soldier in the great Dallas newspaper war, the last crosstown brawl of its kind before newsprint gave way to pixels. As a business reporter for the long defunct Dallas Times Herald, I covered advertising, marketing, media, and retailing. The rival and hometown owned rag, the Dallas Morning News, paid four separate reporters to cover each of those beats. More often than not, I scooped them. Those were heady days. But what I most wanted in my heart of hearts was to write a novel. After decades of research and thought, I tried to start it in 1982 and in 1985. No dice. That same year, my mom phoned me. She and my dad lived in California, where my siblings and I were born and where my parents spent all but six years of their married life. Mom wanted me to take over her business, Capitola Realty. After my parents became empty…

What is the title of your latest release?WHAT A NIGHTMARE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?When a young woman with the power to dream nightmares that can affect reality accidentally kills her boss, she returns to her Texas hometown in the hopes she will learn the truth about this deadly power. But as she unearths her past, she comes face to face with new violence and begins dreaming nightmares for everyone who wronged her. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Though I have lived in Los Angeles for almost a decade, I grew up in Texas and always wanted to set a novel there at some point. WHAT A NIGHTMARE was the perfect story since it involves a homecoming and a lot of festering secrets that fit well in a small conservative town where the church dominates the culture. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?I would! For how dangerous Haven is to those who hurt her, she is also a darkly funny and deeply empathetic person who I greatly admire for her strength. What are three words that describe your hero?Angry, vengeful, hopeful What’s something you learned while writing…

What is the title of your latest release?HOMETOWN HALLOWEEN HOMICIDE, book 7 in the Hometown Mysteries. What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Retired Army Officer Tessa Treslow and her Aunt Edna just want to enjoy handing out treats at New Oslo’s Trunk or Treat when Tessa and her boyfriend come across a murdered clown. Or rather, a murdered man dressed as a clown. This happens on the heels of finding a note in a deceased woman’s hair, asking Tessa to solve her murder – and then the body goes missing. Add to that a second apparently ambulatory dead body, a boxer dog dressed as a hotdog complete with condiments, and a bunch of Grim Reapers wandering around. (Can you see them, or is it just me?) How did you decide where your book was going to take place?New Oslo is the fictionalized version of the small Idaho town I was born in. It’s the perfect setting for a cozy mystery – just don’t tell the residents that, they might move! Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely! I mean… we already do. A lot. What are three words that describe your hero?Tough, smart, good with a…

Excerpt from MOTHER MAY I by Harry Hunsicker: THE PRESENT DAY At the company where I worked, they called me “Mad Meg” behind my back. It was hard to say how much of that nickname came from my temperament and how much was because I had very few limits—in what I could do, given my abilities, and more importantly, what I would do. I’m what’s known as an operator. Think of me as a soldier or a spy for hire. I’ve been well trained for both, courtesy of the US taxpayer. Uncle Sam was also the source of most of my assignments—situations that required plausible deniability or the smaller footprint of a civilian outfit. Occasionally, Hobs originated in the private sector, though sometimes the line between government and industry was hard to see. On this particular day, Mad Meg was in trouble. Again. I sat alone at a long table in a windowless conference room, staring at the wood-paneled walls, gray carpet, and cheap furniture. I used the time to mentally prepare for the debrief. An op had gone sideways, and I’d shot someone I definitely shouldn’t have. In my defense, the guy didn’t look like a tech entrepreneur worth $120…

Book Title: MINE AGAINCharacter Name: Ranger Beckham How would you describe your family or your childhood?My family is the best. My Pop is a retired Hall of Fame baseball player, but my mom—everyone calls her Peach—she’s the real rock of our family and the person who runs the show at Deep Roots Farm. I also have an incredible daughter Lucy, who’s 13 going on 25. I’m trying to give her the same kind of childhood I had—grounded but with enough Montana adventure to keep life interesting. She’s caught the biggest fish of the summer so far! What was your greatest talent?I knew from a pretty young age I wasn’t going to be following in Pop’s footsteps and playing baseball, so I started playing guitar in an attempt to be good at something. I’m grateful every day that it turned into a career for me. Significant other?I’m recently divorced and causally seeing someone at the moment. Biggest challenge in relationships?I think I’m discovering that I fall too fast. Where do you live?I live in Sunflower, Montana, about 45 minutes west of Bozeman. I have a plot of land that abuts our family farm. The homestead cabin I live in originally belonged…

Hello, This book is a love triangle, so I opted to answer it from all three main characters. Hope this helps. Book Title: CAMERA STAYS ONCharacter Name: Sawyer How would you describe your family or your childhood?I had a great childhood. I was on the football team, I got great grades. I had a girlfriend. My parents were supportive as hell. I couldn’t have asked for a better life growing up. What was your greatest talent?I’m a filmmaker. I went to school and everything. I know just how to craft the perfect story and direct my cast in such a way that will leave you stunned that someone with a budget of zero dollars can create such art. Significant other?I am working things through with my girl, Purdy. We were childhood sweethearts, and we’ve had a rough few years. Nothing we can’t fix though. I’ll send you an invite to the wedding. Cough The second one. Biggest challenge in relationships?Listening. Not me. I just think Purdy could stand to open her ears a little more, you know? Where do you live?Small mid-west town. You’ve never heard of it, and I’d prefer it stay that way. Do you have any enemies?Hardly….

Excerpt from UNAPOLOGETIC LOVE STORY by Elle McNicoll: CHAPTER ONE The receptionist had been expecting a neurotypical. Agnes Merchant was an all-girls establishment, with a strict uniform code and fees that could get up to six figures, once you factored in donations to the new alumni hall. This day was World Autism Day, and in a show of real inclusivity, the faculty had invited two speakers for a special assembly. The first, a representative from a charity, had already arrived. She was sitting in the green room—a slightly severe woman in her fifties who’d only met a handful of autistic people in her life, despite making them the sole focus of her career. She cast suspicious looks at the students as they passed by. The second guest stood before the receptionist. “Can I help you?” The guest smiled. The date of birth she’d given when signing in set her age at twenty-eight but she looked younger. Her hair was long and blond with streaks of pink, a soft cerise that happened to match the fluffy cowgirl boots she was wearing. “I’m Raina Lewis. The podcaster. You’re expecting me.” The receptionist was stunned. That couldn’t possibly be true. She aggressively flipped…

Bury a Friend – Billie EilishIt’s a very macabre song with dark themes and elements, but since I listen to music as a progression with the story, this song truly became an overall theme song for Evania James and the cast of characters. THE RESSURECTION OF EVANIA JAMES was written to be layered with varying elements of deadly and dark secrets that families hide. They try to bury them, bury each other, and bury the past, but it also rises from the grave to haunt us. It’s just a matter of time . . . No Time to Die – Billie EilishThis is truly a song that resonated with me as I considered the story from the viewpoint of Evania as she considers her father, the protective love that should have been there for his daughter, and the betrayal of a father whose ambitions and passions have created Evania into a commodity and eventually a problem that needs to be removed. It’s also a song that travels into the present time and Luke is now carrying the weight of the James family threads of death to love, to family, and to peace. Is there a way out of the grave?…

What is the title of your latest release?Thank you so much for the invitation to spend some time with Fresh Fiction. HAUNTED HOMICIDE is the title of the upcoming release. It’s the eighth full-length installment in the Jamie Winters Mysteries series. What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?When a ghost hunter winds up dead after a hunt at the deserted Glendale Hotel, legal secretary turned reluctant sleuth, Jamie Winters and her teen genius sidekick, Maizy Emerson, set out to find the killer before one of them becomes the next Ghost of Glendale. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?New Jersey has always been fertile ground for humor. It’s got an inherent uniqueness that serves eccentric characters well. And since I grew up in the area, I’m pretty familiar with Jersey girls. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely! Jamie has such a dour, self-deprecating attitude, and Maizy is the complete opposite, blithely optimistic and exhaustingly smart and opinionated, but at heart they are both kind people. What are three words that describe your hero?Tolerant, protective, and hot. What’s something you learned while writing this book?That persistence pays, and I believe that…