1–What is the title of your latest release? WATCH IT BURN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? After the wife of a prominent man in the small town of Edenberg, Texas, drowns in only two inches of the Guadalupe River, three women refuse to believe it was a “slip and fall.” As they dig for clues, they discover that the dead woman—Beverly Hoffman—and her husband are the founders of a cultish organization slowly taking over their town. They must decide whether or not to infiltrate the institution to dismantle it from within. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’ve enjoyed visiting the Texas Hill Country, which is three hours from my home, since I was in high school. Edenberg, Texas is a fictional town based on a real-life tiny tourist town named Gruene, home of the oldest dance hall in Texas. I thought this would be the perfect place for one man to garner control and share his cult-astic ideas. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? My protagonist is unique in that she is dead. (Yes, the dead woman in the middle of the river is one of…

The Wickedness of a Highlander, Book 4, Midnight in Scotland Series by Elisa Braden Zombie Fallout 22: Bridging the Gap by Mark Tufo Dredge’s Enchanting Mate, Book 6, Saber Chronicles by R.E. Butler Finn’s Fury, Book 8, Riot MC Biloxi Series by Karen Renee The Last Duke She’d Marry, Book 3, Scoundrels of Mayfair Series by Anna Campbell Monster Bully by Sam Crescent Daddy’s Little Cowgirl, Book 33, Daddy Series by Lila Fox Cruises Can Be Murder, Book 22, Charlie Parker New Mexico Mystery Series by Connie Shelton Wild Magic, Book 4, Wild Magic Series by Odette C. Bell The Empty Throne by Megan Derr     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….

Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles give the inside scoop on their new Molly Murphy book, IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW.   RHYS: Last year I blogged with my daughter Clare to introduce you to her and to our co-written Molly Murphy books.  This year we are celebrating the publication of IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW, which is book 20. TWENTY books in a series is something of an achievement in the cut throat world of book publishing. To keep a series fresh and new and attract new readers all this time is an achievement. We are patting ourselves on the back! In 2001 the first Molly Murphy book was published. It was called MURPHY’S LAW and if you check on Amazon it is still selling remarkably well. It also came out with a bang, winning the Agatha award plus three others and being nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark award. Molly was an Irish immigrant who had to flee from Ireland in fear for her life, arrived on Ellis Island using another woman’s name only to find herself, under that name, accused of murder. So her arrival was not auspicious and through the first books in the series her life…

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…