1–What is the title of your latest release? WHO CRIES FOR THE LOST. It’s #18 in my Sebastian St. Cyr series (and yes, I can’t believe I’m at #18!) 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? I’ve never been very good at these, but here it goes: When the mutilated body of an earl’s son with a treacherous past and ties to anatomist Paul Gibson’s mysterious French lover is pulled from the Thames, Sebastian St. Cyr must plunge into a sinister world of espionage and ancient folklore in order to save his best friend from being hanged for murder. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? In my former life as a history professor, my area of specialty was the French Revolution and Napoleonic Period. But when I thought about setting a mystery series in, say, Paris during the revolution, I quite frankly decided it would be too depressing. So I moved across the Channel to Regency England. Same general period, much more pleasant. This particular book takes place against the backdrop of the days leading up to Waterloo, as the population of London waits anxiously to hear the results of what everyone knows…

1–What is the title of your latest release? SISTERS OF THE LOST NATION 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A Native girl’s hunt for answers about the women and girls mysteriously disappearing from her tribe’s reservation leads her to delve into the myths and stories of her people, all while being haunted herself. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I used real-life experiences to influence the setting of this book, which is about a fictional Native American tribe. As a member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, I thought Louisiana would make a great backdrop for the mysterious things that happen in the story. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely. Anna Horn is a headstrong, smart, and intriguing individual. She’s forced to contend with several challenges throughout the book, so she’s constantly on edge, but I’d love to see what she’s like when she’s able to just relax and have fun. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Loyal, clever, and guarded. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned a lot about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) epidemic in…

Marked for Murder, Book 26, Merry Wrath Mysteries by Leslie Langtry That Dog Won’t Hunt, Book 3, Birdwell, Texas Mysteries by Aimee Gilchrist Gather Close by Megan Derr A Suitable Bodyguard by R. Cooper Spring of the Cursed Fae, Book 2, Land of the Fae series by L.P. Dover Pride High: Book 2 – Orange by Jay Bell Wanted in Texas by Sandy Appleyard Release Me: Ethan & Zoey #1 ,Book 3 Badger Creek Duet Series by Claire Raye Garden Gnome Graves by Eric Asher Ben by JP Sayle and Lisa Oliver     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…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE DUTCH ORPHAN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Set during WWII, this is a story about a Dutch woman who offers shelter to a Jewish baby, and her sister, who must choose between family loyalty and her own safety. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The Dutch Orphan is a companion novel to my debut, The Dutch Wife, which was about a Dutch resistance fighter, Marijke, who is forced into prostitution in a concentration camp. In the beginning of that novel, Marijke brings a Jewish baby to a Dutch couple who will try to protect the child by passing her off as their own. This scene creates the link to The Dutch Orphan, so it was only natural that I set the novel in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I’ve also lived in Amsterdam for the past ten years, so I drew a lot of inspiration from the sights and history I encounter here on a daily basis. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Johanna’s personality and strong moral code are loosely based on traits of one of my best friends,…

Echo, Book 6, The Alpha Elite series, by Sybil Bartel The Score, Book 3, Off-Campus series by Elle Kennedy Hunted, Book 2, ALIAS Private Witness Security Romance series by Lisa Hughey Binding 13, Book 1, Boys of Tommen series by Chloe Walsh Game Plan, Book 1, Vancouver Orcas series by Amy Aislin The Girl in the Woods by Kristen Ashley Guarding Georgia, Book 1, Small Town Saviors series by Anna Brooks An Act of Misfortune, Book 1, Acts Of Misfortune series, by Stephen John Deceptive Promises, Book 5, Cider Falls Shifters series by R.E. Butler Backed by Love by Gwyn McNamee, et al. Forgiveness, Book 2, The Faithless Duet by Skyler Mason Temptation, Book 1, One Scorching Summer series, by Lori Wilde One Wild Weekend With Dexter, Book 9, One Wild Weekend With series by Lexi Hart A Skeleton in Bone Creek, Book 1, A Nash Running Bear Mystery series by Baer Charlton Wizard in Exile by Michael G. Manning Break the Ice, Book 1, Lakeshore U series by L. A. Cotton Jonas, Book 2, The Minnesota Marshalls series by Susan May Warren Ford, Book 2, Shadow Ops Team series by Makenna Jameison Champagne, Sunrise & Dead Guys, Book 9,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? SIZZLE REEL 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When talent manager’s assistant Luna comes out as bi at 24, she tries to “make up for lost time” by trying to seduce an ambiguously gay A-list actress client. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew the story had to exist in Hollywood, so LA was really the only place to set it. Otherwise, I’m from LA and I felt like I could really capture a version of LA that wasn’t commonly seen in media – a bit less polished, a bit more artsy, really finding the romantic in the mundane and strange. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yeah, for sure! Luna’s knowledgeable, kind, and geeks out on stuff in a way that’s very similar to me. But I think we’d have to take turns having anxiety spirals. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Passionate, determined, confused 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Honestly, as this was my first rom-com I ever wrote, EVERYTHING. I learned about romance beats, how to make sexual tension really drive…

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 Juliette Fay!   Writes: Juliette writes bestselling, award-winning novels known for being book-club favorites. Her stories will make you laugh, cry, think, and want to discuss them with your best booklover pals. The author of seven novels and counting, she writes both contemporary and historical fiction and loves to Zoom-chat with clubs who choose her books.   About: Juliette is the mother of four children and countless plants in a yard that often gets the best of her. When not trying to keep track of her kids, she can often be found gardening while listening to audiobooks, dirt-smeared and happy (or crying if it’s that kind of book). She’s been happily married for over 30 years and credits her supportive and adorably quirky husband with her ability to write about abiding love and emotional intimacy.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves a deep dive into family, friendship, parenting, and partnership. Enjoys stories that always include romance but aren’t quite…

As a lifelong reader of fiction, the concept of writing a story about books and the magic that takes place inside a publishing house was more than a little intriguing. The multifaceted process of how a seedling of an idea goes from an author’s imagination to a drafted manuscript to a final product worthy of a mass print never ceases to amaze me—and I’ve been a published author for over a decade now! Truth is, I learned so much in the months I spent researching and revising my newest release, THE WORDS WE LOST.   When the initial spark behind The Words We Lost caught fire in my imagination, I knew I needed my protagonist, Ingrid Erikson, to be an experienced acquisitions editor as it was imperative for her to have both a professional and personal attachment to the editorial community. From there, I also knew I needed to create a fictional publishing house which I located in San Francisco, California, and named Fog Harbor Books. (The reason behind why my new three-book series is titled the Fog Harbor Romance series). Throughout the writing process, I was able to ask my editors at Bethany House Publishers for their input regarding…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE FIVE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES OF ANDY AFRICA 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The novel is about Andy Aziza, a smart and funny fifteen-year-old boy, coming of age in present-day Nigeria. He’s obsessed with blondes, whiteness, life abroad in the West, who his true father is, and these obsessions are intensified when his life is suddenly destabilized by communal violence. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The decision was made unconsciously, for I’d always wanted to write about Kontagora, where I grew up, and Northern Nigeria, because this region has received glaringly insufficient literary treatment. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes, definitely! It would be so fun! We’ve got so much shared interests – Afrofuturism, math, pop culture, religion, poetry. We’d laugh a lot. Most importantly, he’d help me understand myself even more. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Smart, funny, honest. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learnt that my writing was more multifaceted than I’d assumed, for example, that I’ve got a “raw”, satirical range that I should explore more. 7–Do you…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THROUGH THE VENEER OF TIME 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A haunted painter’s past life visions are not the creative inspiration they seemed. They’re a harbinger of her ancient revenge vow, and her FBI husband won’t find the serial killer until she fulfills it. But it may already be too late.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I hope this isn’t too weird. It was my first experience with Past Life Regression (PLR). I’ve always had this inexplicable (slightly weird) fascination with Ireland. As long as I remember, I’ve longed for Ireland, even before I knew what that misty emerald place in my dreams was called or why Celtic art and music touched something deep within my soul. Still, as an adult, I approached PLR with an entirely open mind and a sincere intent to meet and experience whatever it would bring. The outcome was startling—a vivid encounter with colors, sounds, smells, textures, even temperature, and my visceral knowledge and feelings that went beyond the immediate. It was a highly charged situation, happening to someone who didn’t look like me, yet was…