1–What is the title of your latest release? TAKE TWO, BIRDIE MAXWELL 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? America’s Sweetheart gets canceled and retreats to her childhood hometown and discovers an anonymous love letter sent from one of her exes, then decides to stage her own real life romcom to discover who wrote it and win back the adoration of the public! 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Once I knew that it was going to be a road trip book, California – my home state – made the most sense. It’s such a huge stretch of land that they could log a lot of miles without even crossing a state border! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I adore Birdie. I think if you’re writing a romcom heroine, the first rule has to be that you want to be their friend! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Plucky, ambitious, determined 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Probably that road-tripping in an RV is not for me. I did it once with my family in middle school, and this was a reminder that…

1–What is the title of your latest release? CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? We teamed up to collaborate on an exciting novel that uncovers the boundary-breaking, genuine friendship between Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen of Jazz, and iconic movie star Marilyn Monroe. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? We started to research the idea in 2019. On a Friday afternoon in 2019, we were together for one of our monthly write-ins, having some lunch and contemplating Hollywood, actors, musicians, and all the drama that has unfolded throughout history. Something sparked that day, and as we leapt down research rabbit hole in search of an idea, we stumbled on the friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, a story we felt compelled to write. From the moment we learned about these two women, the friendship they forged, and how much people didn’t know about it, there was no stopping us! And for about two years, we were reading and digging into their story while we worked on our solo projects. Then, in 2021, we decided it was time to buckle down. Over the next year, we worked on plots,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The lives of two women—a teenaged orphan with a rare sensory anomaly and an American expat working as a nanny to a disabled child in Nazi-occupied Vienna—converge at the height of the eugenics movement. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? One of the primary locations, idyllic wine country in northern California in the late 1930s, was a natural choice; not just because California is my home state but because a staggering number of state-authorized sterilizations—without a person’s knowledge or consent—took place at a certain institution in Sonoma County. California led the way, sadly, with more forced sterilizations during the eugenics movement than any other state in the US. The second location, Vienna, Austria, was also an apropos setting as once Austria had been annexed to Germany at the beginning of World War 2, everything that was happening in Germany was now happening in Austria, including the “euthanizing” of disabled children—one of the first acts of the Third Reich in its unimaginably cruel scheme to create a master race. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist…

Sea Glass Summer, Book 11, South Carolina Sunsets Series by Rachel Hanna SEAL’s Honor, Book 3, Alpha SEALs Coronado Series by Makenna Jameison The Avenged King, Book 4, The Dark Kings of NYC Series by Juliette N Banks The Dark Descendants: Complete Series by Krista Walsh Alien Mercenary’s Scientist, Book 6, Lathar Mercenaries: Warborne Series by Mina Carter Gigi and the Gym Rats, Book 2, The Candyverse Series by Mona Black Darcy and the Enchanted Library: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Monica Fairview Save the Last Dance for Me, Book 1, Maitland Maidens Series by Cora Lee Betting On Her by Alexa Riley Matilda’s Wish, Book 1, The Dun Roamin’ Romantic Mysteries by Beth Prentice Hunter, Book 5, Hell’s Bastards MC Series by Sam Crescent The Bride’s Pink Shoes, Book 1, Seabreeze Wedding Chapel Series by Jennifer Faye Bewitching the Beast, Book 6, Wright Bastards Series by Amy Sandas Sage, Book 9, Wild West Frontier Brides Series by Cindy Caldwell Murder Before Dawn, Book 1, Mystery, She Wrote Series by Delta James Billionaire Lumberjack’s Bride, Book 3, Lumberjacks in Love Series by Gwyn McNamee The Housemaid by Sarah A. Denzil Strike Zone, Book 1, Dauntless Cyborgs Series by Cynthia…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE DEVIL AND MRS. DAVENPORT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? THE DEVIL AND MRS. DAVENPORT is about a midcentury wife and mother who develops the ability to see and hear the dead following a viral illness. Her new psychic gifts set her at odds with her conservative, Bible college professor husband, leading her to seek out the advice of a notable parapsychologist, who encourages her to hone and nurture her gifts instead of suppressing them. Her gifts are a metaphor for a lot of things—but ultimately this book is about a woman finding her place and purpose at a time when women’s rights were limited. Loretta’s journey is one that will resonate with many readers, I think. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I decided to set the novel in a fictionalized version of my hometown in the Ozarks because it’s a place where I could picture someone like Loretta living in the 1950s. Since I grew up there, I knew I could capture the setting perfectly. People are very curious about the Ozarks, I’m finding. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist…

Book Title: THREE KINDS OF LUCKY Character Name: Petra Grady, Sweeper First-Class   How would you describe your family or your childhood? My childhood was about the same as everyone else’s, with the exception that I grew up knowing how to keep a secret, or at least, knowing who I could tell, and who I couldn’t.  Sometimes, I think it was easier growing up not being able to do magic. Being able to see bad luck (dross) and avoid it was a definite plus. Not that dross ever gave me bad luck.   What was your greatest talent? I suppose that being able to see dross could be considered a talent, but it never did anything for me but get me my job at St. Unoc University. You’d think that mages would be able to see it, since they make it, but no-o-o.   Significant other? That’s a good question. I have a small circle of very good friends, but as far as someone special? Maybe? I have known Benny since high school, and he shut down a stuck-up mage who was trying to belittle me last week. Too bad he’s a mage himself. I mean, there’s nothing stopping mages…

Nell Nicholson Ingram, how would you describe your family or your childhood? When I was very small, I thought it was wonderful. I had dozens of half sibs, true sibs, and cousins galore. We played together, fought, hollered, chased each other. Then I got older, more observant, and realized that a huge family with three mamas (mine and daddy’s other two wives) came with problems. Growing up in a polygamist religious compound created dangers I never considered. I stopped believing that women and girls were property, and I got away from the church as fast as I could. I educated myself in all sorts of ways. I can use a computer just fine, drive a car, work an old stick shift, keep a tractor going, can my food, and hunt for my dinner.   What was your greatest talent? I’m a Plant Woman. I can make things grow. It’s a gift from my own compounded and intertwined genetics. I can think at a plant, “Grow,” and it will. Sadly, that gift can have unexpected repercussions. When I lay dying, my blood and my will to live changed me into more plant than I wanted to be. My magic also changed…

Book Title: THE BERLIN LETTERS Character Name: Luisa Voekler   How would you describe your family or your childhood? Dull. Or maybe gray is a more appropriate description. I was raised by my grandparents, who brought me from West Berlin, and they were afraid in many ways and that translated into strict rules for me and, for what I imagined to be, little fun. But I can’t discount the love they showered on me – they even left West Berlin just to give me a better life. I also can’t forget the fun riddles and puzzles my Opa constantly created for me. I guess I shouldn’t be too critical about my childhood. It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?   What was your greatest talent? I suppose cracking all those riddles, codes, and puzzles my Opa made for me. I couldn’t find a birthday gift without solving a complicated maze of clues. It was fun, really, and I loved him for making all those efforts to spend time with me. Now – it’s my career. It’s odd, but true – my childhood game and the acumen I developed has turned into an amazing profession at the CIA. Most days on the…

Welcome to Mount Orange, Florida, home to a couple thousand living people that nobody’s ever heard of and two really famous dead girls. Downtown Mount Orange is a three-block strip of insurance offices, real estate offices, and four or five junk stores that call themselves “antique shops.” Other than the memorials to Bailey and Celeste scattered around town, and the old crime scene out at Hidden Glen Springs where they died, the only real things of interest are an old-fashioned ice cream parlor called The Cone Zone and a beauty salon called Kurl up and Dye. Every business sports a dark green awning out front, and big planters of ferns and pink hibiscus line the sidewalks. It would be picturesque, probably, if you didn’t live here. But I do. My name is Tru, but more and more often these days, I find myself being less than honest. For instance, I haven’t told my boyfriend that I’m not going to FSU with him in the fall. And I haven’t told anyone that I’m seeing long-dead Bailey and Celeste everywhere I look lately. I spend as much time as I can escaping from all of that by freediving out at Hidden Glen…

Book Title: WOMEN OF GOOD FORTUNE Character Name: Jane Tian   How would you describe your family or your childhood? Terrible. I don’t talk to my mother if I can help it.   What was your greatest talent? I know fashion. I was the one who told Lulu not to wear this horrendous sequined maxi skirt to her first date with Harv.   And now look! She’s getting married.   Significant other? Don’t even get me started on Zihao. He’s still ignoring me because I threw away his favorite shirt, even though it was basically see-through.   Biggest challenge in relationships? Agreeing on anything.   Where do you live? In the house my parents bought me in Shanghai. I had to get married to get the deed, but I guess that’s just the price you have to pay sometimes.   Do you have any enemies? So many.   How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place? I love being close to my best friends. I love how I haven’t run out of hotpot restaurants to try. But sometimes I get so tired…