Hello! My name is Whitney Overland, and I’d love to show you around my hometown of Covington, Wisconsin. As you can see, our quaint town is nestled on the shore of Lake Covington among the tall pines and white birch trees of the Northwoods. Tourists from all over the place visit our little hamlet for the many year-round outdoor activities and our eclectic shops and eateries. All around the lake, there are family-owned resorts with cabins and cottages. In fact, my lifelong best friend, Emmy Cooper, and her family own and operate Cooper’s Cove Resort. It’s the prettiest spot on the lake. Plus, they’re the nicest people you’ll ever meet! My family owns the Northwoods Diner on Main Street here in town. It’s not your typical diner. Sure, we have amazing pancakes and the best burgers and fries in the county, but I love offering specials featuring foods straight from the local farmers. Our diner is cozy and looks more like a hunting lodge than the chrome and vinyl versions most people are used to seeing. It’s definitely a hub for community gatherings and gossip over a hot cup of coffee and a slice of warm apple crumb pie. Picketts…
Pirates are having a pop culture moment, 300 years after the Golden Age of Pirates. My debut historical novel, IF THE TIDE TURNS—a true forbidden love story between real-life pirate Sam Bellamy and a suspected witch named Maria—inspired a surprising fusion with another pop culture sensation: Taylor Swift. May I present, If the Tide Turns (Taylor’s Version) Song 1: “ . . . Ready For It” by Taylor Swift The prologue of If the Tide Turns opens with the haunting voice of Maria: I know every spine of this shore, and the woman whose voice cries and curses whenever storms hammer the bone-white sand where lie the remains of the Whydah and her treasure, her crew. I know something of ghosts, including some who had the audacity to survive. Or, as Taylor might put it: But if he’s a ghost, then I can be a phantom Holdin’ him for ransom After this introduction, the reader jumps into the story. Song 2: “Seven” by Taylor Swift In Chapter 1, we immediately meet Maria, the restless daughter of a wealthy Cape Cod farmer who desires to marry Maria off to an undesirable widower. In the…
Maire Hennessy squinted against the bright October sun as she drove down the quiet Iowa county road. The fields were filled with the stubbled remains of the fall harvest and stripped bare by heavy-billed grackles and beady-eyed blackbirds eating their fill before the cold weather set in. It made her a little sad. Winter would be coming soon, unrelenting and unforgiving. That morning, she had packed up her girls and Kryngle, their four-year-old Shetland sheepdog, to drop them off at her former mother-in-law’s home. Maire, who hadn’t traveled more than a hundred miles away from Calico since she’d abruptly dropped out of college over twenty years earlier, was embarking on an adventure that could change the course of their lives forever. Ten-year-old Dani kicked the back of Maire’s seat in time to the throbbing beat coming from her older sister Keely’s earbuds. Keely, a twelve-year-old carbon copy of Maire, had the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up over her head, her red curls springing out around her sullen face, as she silently pretended to read her book. Maire tapped her fingers nervously against the steering wheel. “You’re going to be just fine,” she said, turning onto the highway that would…
Book Title: THE EARL’S CINDERELLA COUNTESS Character Name: Eleanor (Ella) St. Aubin How would you describe your family or your childhood? Hello! I am so pleased to be invited there today. My childhood was lovely—until my darling mother died. My father was the vicar of a small village, next to the Earl of Fleetwood’s grand estate, and my mother was the heart of everything. She ran our home and made it beautiful, was beloved by all the parishioners, and was a wonderful mother to my sister Mary and myself. When she was died, I had to leave school and look after the vicarage and Mary, as well as our father (he was a dear man, but very distracted!) My dearest friend was Frederick, the younger son of the earl, until he left for the Army. What was your greatest talent? Organization! A lady just had to be in such circumstances! There was constantly something going awry in the house or the parish, and my dear sister Mary was very energetic. But I could never be as serene about it as Mama. Organization has served me well now, though, in running the Confidential Agency (we make marital matches!) …
1–What is the title of your latest release? HUNTED HOTSHOT HERO 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Hotshot firefighter Rory VanDam is in danger and not just from the saboteur targeting his hotshot team but also from an ambitious reporter determined to uncover the truth about him. Brittney Townsend finds more than a story with Rory; she finds danger and passion. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’ve been setting this series in Michigan because it’s where I live and my fictional town of Northern Lakes is very much like the area where my husband grew up and where he worked summers with the U.S. Forest Service. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, I would hang out with both of them. Rory VanDam is a very honorable man, and Brittney is ambitious but loyal. She loves her family very much. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Rory is: tough, resilient, smart 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned about Rory’s backstory. While he’s been in the series for a while, I didn’t know exactly what had happened to him and how he’d…
Cedar River, Texas is a boring little town on the outskirts of Austin where nothing ever happens. Well, there was that big bank robbery back in the fifties, but that was before my time. It’s just far enough away from civilization to be surrounded by bucolic ranches and, of course, the Garza’s dairy farm (they have the best ice cream in the county) but is close enough that any day now it might be gobbled up by the “Big City,” as folks from around here call the Texas capital. My name is Juniper Jessup, but most everyone calls me Juni. I’m admittedly biased toward Cedar River because I grew up here, along with my two older sisters, Tansy and Maggie. I moved away after college but recently returned to open Sip & Spin Records, a vinyl records shop/coffee café with my sisters. Now that I’m back home, I remember why I adore this place so much. There’s nothing better than spending the day browsing the quaint Cedar Spines Bookstore or taking a two-step class at Boot Scootin’ Dance Studio. United Steaks of America is a great place to get a fancy dinner with a special someone, and if there’s room…
1–What is the title of your latest release? Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe Murder Mystery Book 7 – A DEADLY DECEPTION 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two people in a most unusual relationship. Parliament, the heart of British law and authority. A deadly plot. Hundreds of people will die unless it can be stopped. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? A DEADLY DECEPTION is the next book in the series set in Victorian Britain. I traveled there and have always been fascinated with England and especially Scotland. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely; there are people who know me and insist that we’re exactly alike. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Strong, resilient, and stubborn 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? The fact that plastic surgery has been performed by other cultures for over 5,000 years! 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit as I draft with a good outline of plot points and clues. It is a mystery to be solved after all. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Bread pudding with caramel…
1–What is the title of your latest release? MAYA’S LAWS OF LOVE! 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A young woman who has always been unlucky in love may have finally met the love of her life… while on the way to her own wedding. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I visited Pakistan in 2020 for the first time after 15 years, and while being there it fed my diaspora soul in ways I didn’t expect, so I knew I wanted to set a book there. When I sat down to outline MAYA, I decided to set it in Pakistan. But a chunk of the book also takes place in Switzerland, and that actually arose out of the fact that I needed Maya and Sarfaraz—the main character and her love interest—to spend more time together before they reach their final destinations in Pakistan. So while thinking about what to do, I remembered that while flying to Pakistan we passed over Switzerland, so I thought “if we fly OVER Switzerland, we could feasibly make an emergency stop there.” And that’s where the setting came from! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist…
1–What is the title of your latest release? SINCERELY, THE DUKE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The Duke of Stonerick’s mother never misses an opportunity to nip at his heels that he needs an heir. Until recently, that never bothered him. During a bout of a recurring fever, Rick’s mother gives him a list of the young ladies making their debut. Without thinking, he closes his eyes, runs his finger down the names and by chance stops on Miss Edwina Fine. How can he go wrong with this lady? He loves the taste of fine brandy, the feel of fine wool, and the speed of a fine thoroughbred. He quickly writes a letter asking her to marry him and hands it to his mother to mail; not believing for a second, she will do just that. Edwina fine assumes she will do reasonably well at the upcoming Season’s marriage mart, even with red hair and green eyes. The wrinkle is that she doesn’t need a husband, she needs three. Born the youngest, even if only by minutes, Edwina is the most sensible of Sir Dudley’s Fine’s triplets. Edwina promises to fulfill her father’s dying wish of…
Book Title: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AUNTIES Character Name: Meddy Chan How would you describe your family or your childhood? Bizarre. I basically had four mom figures, each one vying for power and attention. What was your greatest talent? Navigating a path to peace among my constantly bickering mother and aunts. Significant other? Nathan Chan, my luscious, long-suffering husband. Biggest challenge in relationships? Probably the meddling from my mother and aunts. Where do you live? Los Angeles. Do you have any enemies? Myself. Also the family of the guy I accidentally killed. 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 feel happy and also annoyed at the same time because I live so close to my mom and aunts. Do you have children, pets, both, or neither? Neither. What do you do for a living? Photographer. Greatest disappointment? Losing Nathan in college. Greatest source of joy? Finding Nathan again in my mid-twenties. What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun? Good question. I am driven…