1–What is the title of your latest release? THE SEEING GARDEN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? It’s a coming-of-age story about a young woman in 1910, set on a big country estate on the San Francisco Peninsula. Think Downton Abbey in California! 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Actually, the setting came before anything else.  I was visiting the Filoli Estate in Woodside, California, which is a beautiful home set in glorious formal gardens, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about who would live in such a place. I later learned that the Peninsula had dozens of estates like that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, when wealthy San Franciscans built their country homes south of the city.  The idea just grew from there. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, absolutely. Catherine is caught between two worlds – the bohemian life she had as a child with her artistic parents and the more staid, upper-class lifestyle she’s had for the past eleven years. The contrast makes her a fascinating person, and it means that she’s trying to figure out who exactly she is and…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE TIFFANY GIRLS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Based on the real life, largely unknown women artists known as the Tiffany Girls. In 1899, three young women, the manager and main designer of the women’s division of the Tiffany glass company, a glass cutter who moonlights as a political cartoonist, and the daughter of a French art forger find a place to express their art while working on Tiffany’s most iconic glass pieces for the Paris World’s Fair of 1900, breaking the glass ceiling of their era and for working women to come. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Being a historical novel, the people and events were there to choose from. The year before the Paris World’s Fair was a particularly prolific and exciting time, perfect for portraying my characters’ lives; their hopes, dreams, and the obstacles they had to overcome. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? If I lived in 1900, definitely. And today? Absolutely. They have the same desires and drive as we all do. Plus, I think they’re really cool. 5–What are three words that…

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 Rhonda McKnight!   Writes: When people ask me what my favorite book is, my response is always, “Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine” by the late BeBe Moore Campbell. Campbell beautifully blended contemporary and historical fiction with a touch of romance. I was captivated by that story then and still am. Although I’ve written more than twenty contemporary romance novels and novellas and a few other contemporary women’s fiction projects, I never had the nerve to attempt my first love – a dual timeline novel until now. I blended my three loves in “The Thing About Home” – historical fiction, women’s fiction, and romance.   About: Rhonda McKnight is a New Jersey transplant, who has made South Carolina her home. She seeks readers who love women’s fiction with a strong romance. Likes books set among oak trees with knotted roots weighed down by Spanish moss. Doesn’t mind passing the ruins of abandoned rice plantations, blackwater rivers, and marsh to get to the Atlantic Ocean where…

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 Eileen Dreyer!   Writes: What do I write? Well…everything. I’ve written every kind of contemporary romance (sweet, hot, suspense, fantasy, humorous, topical), medical suspense, and now, what I like to call historical romantic adventure. Nefarious spies in Regency England, which I admit I’m enjoying immensely.  All Pip Knight wants to do is protect Beau, Viscount Drummond as he fights a cabal of traitors threatening Britain. What she doesn’t want is to be forced into marriage because of it. Pip has known Beau Drummond since childhood and loved him almost as long. But finding herself in a marriage with a man who doesn’t want her is not her idea of a happily ever after, especially when they’re both still in danger from the very angry traitors. It seems Pip really has her work cut out for her if she wants to change any of that.   About: Eileen is a veteran trauma nurse, excellent wife, legendary mom, Queen of Internet Travel Planning, master researcher, and…

1–What is the title of your latest release? EARL RUSH IN   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?  The Earl of Trevelyan has a reputation for being a beast in society’s circles, but nothing – nothing – will stop him from rescuing Charlotte from her disastrous engagement. He promised his best friend that he would look after her. Of course, the earl can only protect her from the blackguard who’s trying to marry her. Protecting her from himself is quite another matter…   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?  That’s easy! Most of my books are Regency Romances, so they take place in England. This one is set in London and in a little inn just outside of London.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?  Yes – I wish she’d teach me how to be friendlier and more of an extrovert!   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Gruff, grumpy, piratical.   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?  I learned about parlor games people in Regency England played in their homes at night. Some of them were pretty silly, lol…   7–Do you…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE COMEBACK SUMMER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Sisters Libby and Hannah are trying to save their late grandmother’s PR agency by wooing a potential big client – an eccentric self-help guru named Lou. In order to win Lou’s business, the sisters must take one of her “Crush Your Comfort Zone” challenges. Shy Hannah must go on 12 first dates with 12 strangers and Libby (who is allergic to exercise) must train for and compete in a public, athletic activity. The sisters help each other through their challenges – but things get complicated when Hannah’s first love tries to win her back, and Libby falls for one of the guys she’s supposed to be setting up for her sister. Can they save their company, and more importantly, their relationship? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Our last book took place in Destin, Florida, and readers really loved the beachy vibes. For The Comeback Summer, we wanted to find a city that had a beach, but also had a bigger professional market since our sisters run a PR agency. Chicago fit the bill—and it…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BELOW THE LINE: A Hollywood Crime Novel 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Former Detroit homicide detective turned film consultant, Edwin Blake, finds hard times and clinical depression in Los Angeles. He hopes to end both when he takes a job from a quirky movie producer to find a woman and her child on the promise of future writing gig. But hidden agendas are in play and Blake soon finds himself in a deadly contest to find the truth in the underbelly of a business that specializes in narcissism, illusions and well told lies. He’s aided by his girlfriend Carla, a former roller derby queen, who often tweaks his conscience and offers insights into the entertainment industry. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Write what you know. I’ve been working in film and TV in Los Angeles for twenty years. Plus, the superficiality and passive aggressiveness of the show business world provides great high contrast for a protagonist who comes from the no nonsense, two-fisted streets of the Motor City. Many of my first impressions and comic observations after moving from Detroit to LA’s…

Zombie Fallout 20: Shores of Despair by Mark Tufo Where Promises Remain by Heidi Chiavaroli Craving His Virgin Mate, Book 2, Poison Wolves series MC by Sam Crescent Vengeful Promise Book 2, Mafia Lords series by Winter Sloane A Love So Strong: A Jenkins Family Reunion by Sharon C. Cooper Dionysus by Eva Pohler Amaretto and Arson by Kelly Hashway An American in London by GA Hauser Let the Torrent Dance Thee Down by Sherwood Smith The Bittersweet Duet by Carla Krae   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 Ebooks.

1–What is the title of your latest release? FRIENDLY FIRE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Newshound reporter Nik Byron races to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of Geoffrey Tate, one of the world’s richest individuals and the CEO of Yukon, the country’s preeminent AI company, at the hands of his young trophy wife. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? When writing about intrigue, double-dealing, espionage, smarmy politicians and investigative reporting, the go-to setting is Washington, DC, where I once lived and worked. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely (and I feel like I do most days). 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Charming, flawed, determined. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Listen to your characters. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I constantly edit and revise. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Anything salty – Cape Cod potato chips, popcorn and salty caramel ice cream. 9–Describe your writing space/office! It’s a converted sleeping porch in a 100-year-old house with three walls of windows and limestone mined from a local quarry. The other wall is bookcases….

Therapists are taught that when a new client shares their “presenting problem,” it’s not the real reason they are there. It’s not that they are withholding the truth, but that “the conscious mind is the last to know.” We all think we know why we do the things we do, but do we really? Freud thought our personality was in place by the time we were five. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a lot of clear memories from back then and have little clue how they are related to my day-to-day activities. Now it is totally possible that the reason you ate that bag of potato chips had nothing to do with how you were raised. Maybe you were just hungry. But why did you eat more than you needed to be satisfied, why did you allow yourself to get so hungry, why those particular chips? There are the obvious surface answers and then there are those deeper hidden reasons that may reside outside your awareness. No one wants a therapist bothering them about their junk food habits unless they want to curtail them and need some help. But what if you wanted someone to help…