1–What is the title of your latest release? THE STRANGE CASE OF THE PHAROAH’S HEART   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Sherlock Holmes takes on the curse of Tutankhamun.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Luxor and London were pretty much de rigeur for a story about Sherlock Holmes and the pharaoh’s curse. Monte Carlo was just for fun, and the Reichenbach Falls seemed like a good place to kill off Holmes. Wait! Did I say that? Did I do that?   4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Well, I’d love to live in London, but I’m not crazy about coal fires or cholera.   5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? There are three protagonists, so I would have to say: mystical, skeptical, logical.   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? There was an immense amount of skullduggery going on with the exploration of Tutankhamun’s tomb.   7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? For me, it’s like a balloon. Once I have the balloon, I stretch it out, then blow it up. So I’m applying pressure at every…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE WIDOW SPY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Kate Warner is many things: the country’s first female detective, a Pinkerton agent, and a Union spy. It’s August 1861, and her latest assignment could finally end the bloody Civil War and bring the fractured United States together again. All she has to do is win the trust of her captive: Confederate spy and socialite Rose Greenhow. But with Rose well aware of Kate’s working-class background and belief in abolitionism, it seems an impossible task. Worse, Kate has secrets that make her vulnerable, such as her forbidden love affair with a colleague. With time running out, Kate faces not only the moral and political divides between herself and Rose, but also the ones she made in her own heart and life. She must decide which divides are worth crossing and how far she’s willing to go to defeat the Confederacy in this spellbinding and moving new novel from Megan Campisi. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? History decided for me! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? She’s a bit prickly, but…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE SADDEST GIRL ON THE BEACH 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Grieving after her father’s death, a young woman seeks solace in an Outer Banks beach town of North Carolina where her best friend’s family runs a small inn. The family welcomes Charlotte with chowder dinners and a cozy room, but her friend Evie has a looming life change of her own, and soon Charlotte seeks other attractions to navigate her grief. Will she, like in some television movie, find her way back through a romance, or are there larger forces at play on Hatteras Island? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’ve loved the Outer Banks of North Carolina since I was a little girl, where my family would camp every summer. As I started to write, I would set my stories in my favorite places as a way of writing myself into them. I began to realize the hefty metaphorical aspects of the setting the more I wrote. Where else can you write a coming-of-age story where you can actually see the physical landscape change! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A PROMISE OF PERIDOT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A Promise of Peridot is the sequel to my first novel, A Dawn of Onyx. It’s a swoony, thrilling, tension-filled, fast-paced fantasy romance, enemies-to-lovers epic. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew after exploring the kingdom of Peridot in the first book, that the tropical, pirate-laden, rainforest land would be a really fun place to send our slow-burn enemies on an adventure. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely. Arwen is my kind of girl: easy-going, warm-hearted, funny, and bright. I’d hang out with Kane too even though he’s terrifying if just to stare into those silver eyes all day long… 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? I’d say in this book specifically Arwen is resourceful, courageous, and kind. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? While writing this book I learned the importance of maintaining dramatic tension. It’s a very careful balancing act: too much and your readers will get bored of the slow burn. Too little and those big moments you’ve been working towards…

Book Title: WHEN HAPPILY EVER AFTER FAILS Character Name: Abigail Gardner   How would you describe your family or your childhood? Umm, it was quiet. As an only child with a lit professor for a dad, I spent a lot of time reading – and a lot of time in his dusty office at Brynn Mawr. Our house got a little “noisier” after my dad got sick. Once he was diagnosed with ALS, he kind of threw caution to the wind and really embraced life, you know? That’s when the fun actually started. Course, it didn’t last super long with that illness. Only a couple years until he lost many abilities and, eventually, his battle with that awful disease.   What was your greatest talent? I’d love to say my ability to inspire a child through art, but others seem to think it revolves around literature. Of course. It’s a subject I can’t escape no matter how hard I try. I cringe every time I hear this – or a version of this – but the general consensus seems to be I’m not bad at analyzing complex characters in a way that’s easy to understand. That makes me sound like…

Book Title: MURDER, SHE WROTE: MURDER BACKSTAGE Character Name: Jessica Fletcher   How would you describe your family or your childhood? I was blessed to be born into a loving family with many relatives, and an especially large pool of cousins on both sides of the Atlantic. As much as I love all my cousins, I have to confess that my favorite is Emma Macgill, who is now a famous international actor whose career began on the stage in her hometown of London.   What is your greatest talent? I am not sure that you would call it a talent since is a trait that more often than not gets me into difficulty, but I would have to admit that my curious nature, which is a huge help in my current profession as a mystery writer, often leads me down a convoluted path when an actual crime occurs that involves me or someone I know.   Significant other? I was joyfully married for many years to my beloved husband, Frank Fletcher, who passed away far too young. Our life together was loving and fulfilling. We also adopted Frank’s brother’s child, Grady Fletcher, when Grady’s parents were killed in an accident,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE VACANCY IN ROOM 10 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two women’s lives intersect at a seedy motel-turned apartment complex as one searches for clues about her husband’s death, and another has hit rock bottom in life with nowhere else to go. Both find a strange cast of characters at the apartments, and everyone seems to be hiding something. Digging too deeply into mystery of one dead man and another missing man leaves them both fighting for their lives. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Recently, I have been thinking a lot about atmosphere in my books and I like to set them in a place I’m interested in hanging out for a while. The Sycamore Apartments probably could have been set anywhere, but the sweltering heat of a New Mexico summer felt right. A desolate landscape is always a good place to hide a body too. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Both Anna and Cass are cool chicks I would hang out with, but I feel like I would especially vibe with Cass. She’s a badass who…

Hi! I’m Chanel Cleeton, author of THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY. Thanks for letting me share about my new book! T- Two Timelines H- Haunted House? E- Everyone Has Secrets   H- Hidden Passages O- Opulent Architecture U- Uncover the Truth S- Sisterly Rivalries E- Enigmatic Characters   O- One Scandalous Night N- New Arrivals to Miami   B- Bayfront Gothic Mansion I- Intertwined Storylines S- South Florida C- Chilling Murder A- Appearances Can Be Deceiving Y- You Won’t Believe What Happens Next N- Nefarious Motives E- Extravagant Parties   B- Beneath the Surface A- Atmospheric Setting Y- Yearning THE HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY by Chanel Cleeton As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s atmospheric new novel. With the Great War finally behind them, many Americans flock to South Florida with their sights set on making a fortune. When wealthy industrialist Robert Barnes and his wife, Anna, build Marbrisa, a glamorous estate on Biscayne Bay, they become the toast of the newly burgeoning society. Anna and Robert appear to have it all, but in a town like Miami, appearances can be deceiving, and one…

Death at the Spring Fling, Book 21, Aloha Lagoon Mysteries by Rosalie Spielman Sudden Mail-Order Bride by Regina Scott A Wedding in Wildflower Lane by Laura Briggs Blackmailing the Denton Girl, Book 7, The Denton Family Legacy Series by Sam Crescent Wild Magic Book Five by Odette C. Bell Rogue & Revenant by Kat Ross Morphotrophic by Greg Egan A Taste of Whiskey: Sasha Whiskey, Book 4, The Whiskeys: Dark Knights at Redemption Ranch by Melissa Foster Summer Camp Secret by Kait Nolan Aloha Lagoon Mysteries Boxed (Books 16-20) by Beth Prentice     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…

Game Day, Book 4, King of the Court Series by Piper Lawson Secrets of Ruin, Book 11, The Shadow Realms Series by Brenda K. Davies Slay by Abbi Glines Nick, Book 6, Shadow Ops Team Series by Makenna Jameison Mine to Covet, Book 9, Veteran K9 Team Series by Kameron Claire Arse Over Irish Teacup by Jude McLean The SEAL, Book 1, Black Hawke Security Series by Juliette N Banks Steel Guardian, Book 1, Rusted Wasteland Series by Cameron Coral The Forever Pact, Book 1, The Bachelors of Paradise Valley Series by Jaimie Casey Logan’s Acadian Wolves, Book 4, Immortals of New Orleans Series by Kym Grosso Purely Paranormal Romance Books Volume One, Purely Paranormal Romance Books Anthologies by C.D. Gorri Enchanted Immortals: Complete Series Box Set by C.J. Pinard Falling for Rome, Book 1, Star Studded Series by Gillian Archer Loved by the Alpha, Book 2, The Alpha King’s Breeder Series by Bella Moondragon Plain Jade by Sam Crescent Get In My Swamp: An Ogre Love Story, Book 1, Get In My Swamp Series by G.M. Fairy Teasing You, Book 2, The Donovans (Sweetbriar Ridge) Series by Samantha Chase Becoming Crone, Book 1, The Crone Wars Series by Lydia…