1–What is the title of your latest release? THE CAT WHO CAUGHT A KILLER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A cozy crime story featuring Conrad, a talking calico cat. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I have set it in and around Little Venice in London, where I live. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? OMG yes. Who wouldn’t want to hang out with a talking cat? 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Charming, Charismatic, Calico. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That lilies can be poisonous for cats. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit as I go. Very little rewriting is necessary when I get to the end. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? A great British fried breakfast – eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, black pudding, fried bread. 9–Describe your writing space/office! On a sofa, in front of a coffee table, facing a big screen TV, close to a window. 10–Who is an author you admire? Agatha Christie. So prolific, and such great mysteries. 11–Is there a book that changed your life?…

1–What is the title of your latest release? ALWAYS SOMETHING SINGS. The title is from the Ralph Waldo Emerson poem. And that poem, or a portion of it, provides an important clue to solving the mystery. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Nothing ever happens around here; Ada Reed was told when she agreed to step in as “acting” sheriff. But the murder of a young woman at a gold mine was hardly part of the bargain, nor was the troubled soldier who admits to the crime. Disrespected, unprepared, but undaunted, Ada must find and bring to justice the real killer. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Time is an important part of the setting: 1951. America in the post-war years was suddenly safe and prosperous but frozen with fear over atomic bombs and flying saucers. It was a time of innocence, but also of deep prejudices. Narrowly defined women’s roles, disproved by war-factory work, were still being pushed in movies and magazines. We were on the cusp of the modern age, but barely on the cusp. My own family’s campfire stories seemed to be set in those years, as well, and…

Sunshine Avenue, Book 2, Crown Island Series by Jan Moran Monster Mash Murder, Book 28, Merry Wrath Mysteries by Leslie Langtry Haunted Sweets, Book 17, Samantha Sweet Magical Cozy Mystery Series by Connie Shelton Trevor Takes Care by R. Cooper Bratva Bully by Sam Crescent Queen of Chaos, Book 5, Legacy of the Nine Realms Series by Amelia Hutchins The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson Mail-Order Escape, Book 3, Mail-Order Matchmakers Series by Mildred Colvin Shadows in Amber by Thomas K. Carpenter Hollow Stars, Book 3, The Hollows Series by Amanda Hocking   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 Bestselling…

Chapter 1. The Demonic Locomotive   1: The story of the death of Sir Martin Malprelate acquired, from its earliest telling, a phantasmagorical quality, shrouding the violence of the assault in an embellishment of diabolic spectres and uncanny mystery. Strip it down to the bare facts and what did we have? One old man, beaten to death, on a night of freezing fogs, in November. A tale deplorable in itself, and deplorably common in this age of ours  – concerning which, pressed between iron and stone, I do not need to elaborate. The story of this killing became tangled up with the story of the railway the man himself was building: or say rather, the railway he was forcing through the material tissue of London, into its very heart. Nor was Sir Martin possessed of friends to decry his posthumous fabulation. An unbenevolent man, grasping, assertive, an individual who put his enormous wealth into the service of only that wealth’s further augmentation. A miser, a skinflint, wealthy but sour, selfish and solitary. No-one could gainsay his energy, of course, even in his eighth decade alive. He was often to be seen, stalking along the London streets (for he rarely travelled…

Desperate Daughters: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends by Bluestocking Belles Dark Seduction, Book 8, Black Hoods MC Series by Avelyn Paige Hers To Bear, Book 2, Barvale Holiday Tales by C.D. Gorri Rime Fire MC: Hockey Old Ladies (The Complete Series) by Esther E. Schmidt Mafia Man’s Virgin Wife by Sam Crescent A Duke’s Introduction to Courtship, Book 6, The Gentlemen Authors Series by Sophie Barnes All Tucked Inn, Book 2, The Jubilee Series by Rachel Hanna Beneath the Ice, Book 3, Lakeshore U Series by L. A. Cotton The Alice Equation, Book 1, The Laws of Love Series by Davina Stone Unrestrained, Book 6, Holt Agency Series by KaLyn Cooper Tempting: The Macintyre Brothers Series Collection by S. E. Lund The Witch Collector, Book 1, Witch Walker Series by Charissa Weaks Princely Agreement by Alexa Riley Bake, Batter, and Roll, Book 13, Cookies & Chance Mysteries by Catherine Bruns Wonderful by S.C. Stephens Smokin’ Hot by Abbi Glines The Hero, Book 5, Ruthless Regency Dukes Series by Carole Mortimer The Housemaid by Sarah A. Denzil Musky Run, Book 4, John Cabrelli Northern Lakes Mysteries by Jeff Nania His Reward, Book 1, Banachi Family Series by Winter Travers  …

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE ROARING DAYS OF ZORA LILY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The discovery of a hidden label on a famous gown unearths the story of a talented young seamstress in this glittering novel of family, love, ambition, and self-discovery. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The name Zora Lily was actually the name of my great-great-grandmother. Because we have roots in Seattle from the time period the book is set in, there was no question in my mind where the story would take place. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely. I adore who Zora is. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Determined, loyal, and visionary. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Ooh… so many facts about Seattle. One of my favorites was about Elise Olmstead, the wife of a Seattle policeman, and one of the city’s most successful bootleggers. She did an evening radio show for children, telling bedtime stories. It was rumored she slipped in information for bootleggers, letting them know where police officers were so they wouldn’t get caught. 7–Do you edit…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MAYBE ONCE, MAYBE TWICE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? MAYBE ONCE, MAYBE TWICE is an edgy romantic drama about a singer-songwriter, Maggie Vine, who at two different points in her life, asks two separate men to show up and marry her when she turns 35. And they both show up. Filled with the romance and angst that defines the years you come to know yourself, and told over the span of two decades, Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a novel of second chances and finding your own way. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I wanted to accurately dive into the life of a struggling singer-songwriter, from her early-twenties to her mid-thirties, and the live music scene in New York was easily the perfect setting. New York is polarizing. It’s a place where all your dreams are just within reach, yet it’s the hardest place to make it as a musician. The intimate and iconic live music venues—where indie sleaze once thrived, and popstars were discovered—capture some of the highs and lows of Maggie’s career. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE DEVIL’S PROMISE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Erasmo Cruz is a paranormal investigator in San Antonio, TX. He takes on a client, Bradly Erickson, who is convinced that he made a deal with the devil. When Bradley’s child is stolen, Erasmo must uncover the secrets behind a cult and the blood demon they worship. But if he’s not careful, Erasmo might be tempted to make his own deal with the devil. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I was born and raised in San Antonio, and still live here now. I’ve always felt that San Antonio has been underrepresented in books and movies as a setting, so it was important to me that The Devil’s Promise takes place here. My first book, The Ghost Tracks, also takes place in San Antonio. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! Erasmo Cruz is an expert in the paranormal, so it would be fun to chat with him about ghosts and urban legends and the cases he’s worked on. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Lonely, earnest, and determined….

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE SPRING MAIDEN, Book One of The Cartographer’s War 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Instead of wiling away on Mount Olympus, our favorite Greek gods play residents of Faerie and powerful mages strutting about the higher echelons of proper society. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I really wanted to put these characters somewhere they haven’t had a chance to be in before. I’m mutually obsessed with fairies and Greek mythology, so why not put them together? 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Probably. A lot of Penny’s personality traits are different than mine and I’ve found the phrase “opposites attract” to not only be applicable to romance but friendship as well. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Determined, loyal, and adventurous. Penny is a girl that’s not afraid to kick butt and take names. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? How to write a book? Ha ha! This book is the second novel I’ve ever finished, and I learned that sometimes you have to take risks and force yourself to take leaps of faith…

Miranda Owen: The description for THE WITCHES OF BONE HILL says that it’s a “romantic novel”. Without giving too much away, could you explain that? Do you try to balance all your elements – like suspense, the paranormal, character building – or does one element dominate this story? Ava Morgyn: There is definitely a romantic interest for the main character of the novel, Cordelia Bone, which runs throughout the book. Romance doesn’t dominate the story—this novel is many things—but it plays an important role in Cordelia’s character arc and growth. I do try to balance elements in my work. This book, in particular, has a lot for readers to chew on. But I tend to lean into the supernatural and paranormal elements the hardest, I think.   How would you describe your setting? Rural, isolated even. Beautiful but eerie. I want my settings, and this one in particular, to be enchanting and almost fantastical but with a dark edge, so the characters and the readers never feel entirely at ease there. This gives the setting an unpredictability and animism that adds another layer to the story.   What appeals to you about writing about magic? Some authors write about magic…