1–What is the title of your latest release? GHOST ISLAND 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Jessica Niemi goes to an isolated island to take some time off but has to face a death woman and a legend of a ghost that keeps haunting the archipelago. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I always wanted to place a story on the Åland archipelago. It’s a marvelous place. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, definitely. It would be really interesting to meet her. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Complex, smart, multidimensional. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Some new facts about the World War II. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I usually write a first version completely and then start to edit. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Finnish salty licorice 9–Describe your writing space/office! It’s a cozy office room with a door I can keep closed while writing. 10–Who is an author you admire? Paul Auster 11–Is there a book that changed your life? Probably The Animal Farm by George Orwell 12–Tell us about when…

Once upon a time, I used to present a writing workshop on “Crafting Killers” to new writers.  Why did I focus my talk on killers? It’s because I think the villains in books are just as important as the protagonists.  A “good” villain can make or break a book. After all, a “good” villain will stay with you long after a story has ended. (Looking at you, Hannibal Lecter!) For today’s post, I thought I’d hit on a few key points when it comes to crafting a powerful villain. I have two main guidelines for villains: Good villains must command attention. A good villain will shock, surprise, and keep a reader on the edge of his/her seat. I believe that every character has a backstory. When a writer starts to create the villain, the villain’s origin has to be understood. Is the villain bad because of nature or nurture? Or a combination of both elements? I encourage authors to ask these questions about their villains: How did your villain come to be so wicked? What turned her/him into this being? Is your villain’s “wickedness” due to nature or nurture? What is the level of evil for this character? After all,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MEDEA 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Of the women who command the pages of Greek Mythology, the sorceress Medea is one of the most maligned and reviled.  Her story, notorious and startling and violent, is one that has historically been framed and biased by the patriarchal antiquity of the society from which it emerged. This retelling allows Medea the space she, as a protagonist, deserves– to be complex and resilient, ruthless, and vulnerable. The daughter of a sea nymph, and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox: she is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being born a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in the arts of witchcraft and sorcery, but soon finds it may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud. When the strapping hero, Jason appears on the scene, desperate to get his hands on the golden fleece, Medea is forced to reckon with the complexity of her being and decide between love, duty, family, and magic,…

Bombshell by Abbi Glines Darcy and the Enchanted Library: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Monica Fairview Kilo, Book 9, The Alpha Elite Series by Sybil Bartel A Winter’s Miracle, Book 9, A Nantucket Sunset Series by Katie Winters The Offer, (Books 1-3), Book 2, The Billionaire’s Love Story Series by Lily Zante The Wolf Trilogy Box Set by Isabel Jolie Unexpected Cowboy Dad, Book 7, The Men of Stone Ridge Series by Heatherly Bell The Ruthless King, Book 2, The Dark Kings of NYC Series by Juliette N Banks Spicetopia Collection (Books 1-4) by Phoebe Alexander No Man’s Bride, Book 1, Misadventures in Matrimony Series by Shana Galen The Guardians Series: A Romantic Thriller Anthology Books 1-3 by Hope Anika The Wild Lord, Book 1, London Scandals Series by Carrie Lomax The Highlander’s Reward, Book 1, The Stolen Bride Series by Eliza Knight Baking Bad – A Cozy Mystery (With Dragons), Book 1, A Beaufort Scales Mystery by Kim M. Watt The Housemaid by Sarah A. Denzil A Valentine to Remember by Alexa Riley Requiem, Book 3, Ray Wyatt Series by Rick Mofina Sleeper Agent by John Birmingham Never Bet a Duke: Dukes and Wallflowers, Book 7, Wayward Dukes’…

Hi! I’m Jennifer J. Chow, author of ILL-FATED FORTUNE. Thanks for letting me share about the first book in my Magical Fortune Cookie series! Felicity Jin and her mother run a magical bakery in the quaint town of Pixie, California. Their life is charmed – until a prediction from one of Felicity’s handmade fortune cookies comes true in an unlucky way.   I is for identity. The Jin family identity is tied to their magical baking superpower. L is for long. Felicity has spent years trying to discover her special Jin recipe. L is for luck. One evening, after a bad takeout meal, she lucks out and invents handmade fortune cookies.   F is for Felicity. “Felicity” means happiness, an appropriate name for her because Jin pastries produce joy in others. A is for additional power. With Felicity’s fortune cookies, her personalized predictions come true. T is for trouble. One rude customer receives a very unlucky message. E is for enforcement. Law enforcement comes calling when the customer is murdered. D is for death. His body winds up in the alley behind the bakery. F is for Fortune Cookie King. The dead man happens to be a fortune-cookie-making rival. O…

1–What is the title of your latest release? NIGHT FOR DAY. It’s my first fantasy and set in a different universe than my previous three books. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? You and your ex are stuck in separate magical escape rooms trapped with ghosts and gods, and the only way out is to work together. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Before the pandemic, I was lucky enough to visit London. We stayed in the Westminster area, and this is the setting of Night for Day. I wanted a different cosmopolitan city that my American characters are dropped into. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I would totally hang out with Camille and Ward! Granted, I’d prefer to hang out with them after they had figured out their relationship. I don’t think anyone wants to be around two bickering exes unless they’re sadistic. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? For Camille: determined, practical, and driven; while Ward is charming, optimistic, and empathetic. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I’ve learned to stretch beyond my comfort zone. The past three books were magical…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE ISLAND WITCH 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? In 1880s Ceylon, Amara, the daughter of the local demon priest is caught in the cross currents of her traditional beliefs and the new colonial ideas that have been brought into her coastal town, while being bullied and called a “witch” herself. When a series of attacks starts plaguing the men in her village, she must figure out who is behind them before her father is accused of these crimes. However, she’s been having dreams which eerily predict these attacks, and can’t shake the feeling that all this is tied into to when she woke up, dazed, and confused, to the sound of her mother’s cries that no one can find out what happened. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I always knew that this had to be a historical novel, given the nature of the story I was trying to tell. I was initially torn between setting the story in Kandy – Sri Lanka’s hilly central capital – or the coastal town of Matara. Matara eventually won because it has a lot of historic…

What is the title of your latest release? HOW NOT TO HATE A DUKE   What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? An engaging and playful romance about what happens when a high-minded heiress clashes with the dastardly duke next door.   How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The setting of the book is a house party in the English Countryside, and I decided to set it in the beautiful Peak District, where the partygoers could do some hunting, fishing, lawn games, and—something that doesn’t always happen at house parties—cave exploring!   Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes. She’s smart, funny, ahead of her time, and she admits to her mistakes.   What are three words that describe your hero? Handsome, Powerful, and Confident   What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned everything about the cave called The Devil’s Arse! I read books, watched videos, and even visited the cave and took a tour deep into it last summer.   Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit lightly as I draft, but I do the majority of…

Excerpt:   “You’re late,” she stated, folding her arms across her chest. “I know, I’m sorry.” He drew closer in awe of her unyielding stare. Men twice his age weren’t half as fierce. Even with the annoyance in her eyes, she looked more radiant than the previous day. She was wearing a lacy white dress with high heels and had done her hair straight with extra makeup to emphasize her beautiful eyes. “Can you forgive me?” he asked. She scrutinized him before asking suspiciously, “Depends. Why were you late?” “He just delivered a baby on the side of the road,” Eli said flatly. Charly blinked in surprise at him. “You delivered a baby?” Gunner encouraged her further, nudging her arm with his. “Don’t be too hard on him, Charly. He did good tonight.” Jaxon couldn’t break away from her gaze as her entire demeanor shifted from puzzlement to something else entirely. “How about we drop this topic and move on to that drink you promised me tonight?” he asked her. His only goal tonight was getting her to soften toward him and to show her what this bar meant to everyone in town. His dream, his bar, was burning to…

  The Haughty Earl of Epping has   Concealed the disappearance Of his wife, Mary.  His Unhappiness is Nobody else’s business! Then one snowy Evening She returns, claiming She is innocent of Everything he Suspects she’d done, but has, instead   Forgotten who she is after an Ordeal at the hands of Robbers at Gunpoint.  Lost and alone she was Obliged To Take to the stage to Earn her living. Now   Mary has to Act Resolutely to Restore his belief in her Innocence And Gain her happy Ending. (Phew!) THE COUNTESS’S FORGOTTEN MARRIAGE by Annie Burrows An emotional Regency reunion Her memory has returned And she’s the Countess of Epping! Mary has arrived home, after months away, following a traumatic encounter with a highwayman that wiped her memory. Back in her grand house, her aloof—but distractingly handsome—husband, Anthony, is wary, suspecting her of the worst! But how can she explain that she’d become brave and wily to survive? She’ll need those skills if she’s to win back her earl’s trust, and if they’re to resume as man and wife once more…   Romance Historical [Harlequin Historical Romance, On Sale: February 20, 2024, e-Book, ISBN: 9781335596000 / eISBN: 9780369739612] Buy THE COUNTESS’S FORGOTTEN MARRIAGE: Kindle | BN.com | Apple…