EXCERPT: THE HOUSE OF STARLIGHT AND SHADOW (The Mirror Kingdom Chronicles #1) by Coreene Callahan   Somewhere in Philadelphia   Taking pictures of a couple through the window of a trashy motel wasn’t Truly Langford-Bardot’s idea of fun. Problem was, given recent income opportunities, it appeared to be her new job. How she’d gone from celebrated photographer to Mrs. Reeser’s only chance of landing a seven-figure divorce settlement wasn’t a mystery. She’d put herself here, slouched in the bucket seat of her ’71 Barracuda, telephoto lens pointed at the lily-white ass of a man who should know better. Or at least possessed enough grey matter to close the blinds. Stupid. Also… gross. Lifting the travel mug perched between her knees, she washed the bad taste out of her mouth, then framed another shot. Her camera shutter fired. The rapid clicking erupted through her open window to drift undisturbed down the sidewalk. Cracked concrete. Chilly autumn air. Just another late night in an about-to-slide-over-the-edge-into-poverty neighborhood. Shifting forward, she tilted her Canon for a better angle. She checked the images on the digital screen and… There it was — the money shot. Double, extra disgusting. She hated the cheater assignments. Freelancing for…

What is the title of your latest release? THE RAKE AND THE ROSE   What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A pamphlet writer determined to expose the world of rakes is shocked to find she’s falling in love with one!   How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Because of the subject matter, London was definitely the best choice! That’s where all the Clubs were!   Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. She’s whip smart, kind, and strong.   What are three words that describe your hero? Determined, sexy, empathetic.   What’s something you learned while writing this book? That most of the exclusive clubs for mistresses to meet rakes were in St. John’s Wood during the period this is set in.   Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I am totally done and then go back!   What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? It changes. But I love hot baths and amazing books.   Describe your writing space/office! Anywhere I can dictate or bring my laptop! Usually, parks, my car (no really!), and coffee shops.   Who is an author you…

Copyright © 2023 by James Spooner and Chris L. Terry, Excerpt from the story Glow by Camille A. Collins in the anthology BLACK PUNK NOW III. I was fourteen and in eighth grade, the very same age as George Stinney, when I learned he was the youngest person ever sentenced to death in America. He was so small the electric chair helmet slid around his head and they had to make adjustments before blasting the poor kid to kingdom come. The idea that a young Black boy would have brutally killed two white girls for no reason must have been just as preposterous to the people who wrongfully charged him as it was to anyone else with a single brain cell—but, as I wrote in my first history paper, “being Black means being expendable in America.” I got a D on the paper. My history teacher, Mrs. Sneed, asked to see me after class. “It’s a solid paper, Essie, but I just can’t get past the last sentence. It’s a very jarring remark and we talked so much about grounding things in fact. Please keep facts, dates, and statistics in mind next time. I think you’ll be much happier with…

Book Title: THE LETTER TREE Character Name: Laura Bradshaw   How would you describe your family or your childhood? My early childhood was wonderful. My mother was still alive, and my father was happy. We had friends and lived in the middle of a beautiful city. Everything about my early years was idyllic. If I could go back, I would savor them. I had no idea what was ahead.   What is your greatest talent? I’m a bit unconventional. The last few years of my life have been rather lonely. I spend a lot of time reading. I am particularly fond of books about animals. I live near the zoo and have always loved my time there. I try to learn what I can about each animal there.   Significant other? Someday, I hope. But after losing my childhood friend and my world falling apart, I haven’t had many opportunities to meet anyone. My father talks about me making a match with someone who would benefit his business. I would not mind a man that is business savvy, but I do hope to find a love match, if I can.   Where do you live? I live in a home…

1–What is the title of your latest release? ONE CHRISTMAS MORNING   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The story opens as Eva is preparing to open her shop in London, just before Christmas. She’s overwhelmed with work but desperate for the shop launch she’s been working so hard on to go well. She is expected at a house party on the wild moors of North Cornwall, and plans to launch the shop as soon as she returns. But when she arrives at Penhallow, the manor house where the party is being held, she realizes she needs to be back in London. She puts work before her husband and friends. She leaves at midnight, but on the road, she sees someone who should not be there, who died three years before. Her gran. Eva wakes up back at Penhallow on Christmas day but not as herself. She wakes in the body of her assistant, Diana. Eva will go through Christmas day, again and again, waking in the bodies of the different guests, seeing herself through their eyes. And she will see how far she has pushed her husband, James away and how much she desperately needs to change,…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Sabine Barclay.   Writes: Sabine Barclay writes super-steamy Mafia romances that will make your toes curl and your granny blush. Immerse yourself into the New York City underworld where the syndicates will stop at nothing to run the city. Sabine’s interconnected series create The Syndicate Wars. Each series will pit the Russian bratva, the Italian Cosa Nostra, the Colombian Cartel, and the Irish Mob against one another. Who you love and who you hate depends on the series you’re reading.   About: Sabine’s known for her intense descriptions, warmhearted family moments, ruthless heroes, and kickass heroines. Each book is a dark romance where the heroes’ background sets the scene, but each couple faces an “us against the world” challenge. They’re steamy with kinky elements, heroes who’ll burn the world to ashes to protect the love of their life, and heroines who are no one’s fool. Every story has a HEA with an epilogue that’ll leave you satisfied.   What I’m looking for in…

1–What is the title of your latest release? CRUISING INTO DANGER, A Sunny Meadows & Kalli Ballas Crossover 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Fortune teller Sunny Meadows and mind reader Kalli Ballas meet on a cruise ship to Bermuda with their hunky detectives, never imagining they will be cruising into the Devil’s Triangle …Will the couples be able to salvage their two tickets to paradise, or will they end up at destination disaster permanently? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My husband and I love cruising, but I wanted to do something different. Being from the northeast, I decided Bermuda with the infamous Bermuda Triangle would be so much fun to explore. The ship sails out of NYC which is close to where both of my series take place, so it was the perfect choice. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes. Sunny would keep me on my toes, and Kalli would keep me grounded, but both are fun in their own way. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Sunny is spontaneous, bubbly, and clever. Kalli is cautious, realistic, and smart. 6–What’s something you learned…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE LOTUS FLOWER CHAMPION   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? THE LOTUS FLOWER CHAMPION, by mother-daughter authors Pintip Dunn and Love Dunn, is pitched as Squid Game meets Peter Pan with folktales from Thailand. It’s a YA fantasy thriller about a girl with OCD who is marooned with 11 other people on a remote island that looks like paradise but feels like hell, due to the machinations of a scientist desperate to unlock their latent psychic abilities.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? A family vacation in beautiful Koh Samui, where the craggy islands and turquoise waters hurts the heart, and burns the skin, because we’re not meant to brush up against so much beauty.   4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? 100 percent!   5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Passionate, kind, resilient.   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Love writes way faster than Pintip. In their daily word sprints, she beats her mother, every time.   7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Wait until…

1–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? FREEDOM’S GHOST invites the reader into the revolution of the human spirit that took place during the years before the Revolutionary War.   2–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The Bone Rattler series tracks events that led to the war for independence from Britain, so that premise determines the settings. The year is 1770, and a catalyst for the plot is the Boston Massacre, which occurred at a very specific location and time. The overall action takes place in the most active venues of rebellious fever, the Massachusetts and New York colonies.   3–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? After seven books in the series, my protagonist Duncan McCallum is already a very compatible companion—he shares my love of nature, science and good Scotch whisky. Duncan sometimes visits my dreams.   4–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Resourceful, stealthy, defiant.   5–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I was astonished to discover that there was, and still is, a great mystery about the events that directly precipitated the Boston Massacre. The tension between troops and colonists was obvious,…

Too Good to Be True by Kristen Ashley The Schoolmarm’s Convenient Marriage, Book 4, Frontier Matches Series by Regina Scott Devil In Boots by Stacey Marie Brown Ouch! My Vampire Doms Built a Scary Dungeon, Book 3, My Vampire Doms Series by Calista Jayne Infiltration, Book 2, Dark Empire Series by Tracy St. John That Bastard the Vampire by Beckett Blaise Tell Me Your Truths by M.E. Clayton The Amazons of Zillikian by J.T. Edson An Alpha Alien’s Eighth Christmas by Crystal Dawn A Christmas Amish Courtship by Jennifer (J.E.B.) Spredemann   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 Indie…