Welcome to Where Everybody Knows Your… Alibi— where we get to know the fictional towns we’d happily move to… if they didn’t have such a suspicious body count (but does that really matter?). My guest this month, the absolutely lovely Kara Lacey, pens the Camera Club Mysteries, set in the oh-so-cozy Stonebridge, Vermont. Just the name evokes visions of colorful leaves, maple syrup, and comfy sweaters! You almost forget about the occasional body possibly stashed under those autumnal leaves. Kara’s love for photography shines through in her books as Bobbie Brooks and her Stonebridge camera crew do their best to capture the murderer. (Get it… capture? I know… I’m really reaching for that pun.) You can see Kara’s gorgeous photos she shares on Facebook, Instagram, and Substack, and she is also a founding member of Murder, They Write on Facebook. Let’s chat with the talented Kara Lacey about the charming village of Stonebridge, nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont. I’m in love with your little village! Where would I go if I wanted to spend the day doing my favorite things- reading a good book and eating?When the weather is good, there’s nothing quite like settling on a park…

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.

I always create a playlist while I’m writing. It comes in handy while I’m editing because it helps me narrow down the vibes and feels of the book.  For RETURNING TO ROMANCE, the songs really came together naturally and helped tell the story of Kalinda and Clarke. Music has a funny way of capturing emotions that are sometimes hard to put into words, and each of these songs reminds me of a character, a relationship, or even a scene at the Sunshine Sisters Resort. Here are a few favs from my RETURNING TO ROMANCE playlist: “Sunshine’s Coming” – by Tabitha Meeks, Ryan Corn This song is pure Kalinda. She’s the head and heart of her family’s beachside resort. The one always trying to stay optimistic even when renovations, finances, and life seem determined to test her. No matter what gets thrown her way, she makes things work. That hopeful spirit of hers is exactly what this song captures. “An Innocent Man” – Billy Joel If Clarke Cantor could choose one song to explain himself, this might be it. Years ago, he made a heartbreaking decision that hurt the woman he loved, believing he was doing the right thing. Returning to…

Excerpt from BORROWED CHILD by Marguerite Welch: Leader #1 gestured to Tío Juan to move out ahead with a lighter and flick three times if hesaw anything suspicious. It seems we were getting close to the border crossing, and it was better that Juan get caught than the leader himself. Sensing my distress, Tío Juan looked back and gave me a wobbly thumbs-up before slowly disappearing in a gray veil of moonlit haze. Then something that looked like a tree trunk moved. Leader #2 released my arm and melted into the darkness while Leader #1, who had been walking with Carmen the last couple of miles, evaporated just before the tree trunk pointed a flashlight at us and yelled in very bad Spanish, “Quick! Lie down. Don’t even think about moving or we’ll beat you up and leave you here like desert trash.” We all stared at our shoes. A little later, US Border Patrol guys pushed us into the back of a pickup truck and took us to a cement detention center surrounded by a high metal fence, where crowds of people were clustered in groups, waiting in long lines in front of white folding tables, or sprawled on…

Each Friday the Smashwords store reports the bestselling indie fiction titles based on the previous week’s sales. If an author has more than one title eligible for the list, only the highest performing title will be included. This ensures high-performing titles receive the accolades they deserve, while providing up-and-coming authors the visibility they have earned. Don’t miss Monday’s Top 10 Hot Preorders List, where Smashwords will provide a list of the most highly anticipated ebook preorders.

Let me start by admitting I’m not the type of person to listen to music while writing. I find it too distracting, especially when the lyrics don’t match the words I’m putting on the page. However, that isn’t to say I’m not above a bit of song searching procrastination. I love to create a good playlist that’ll keep me thinking about my plot and characters while I’m away from my laptop. That’s how I ended up with a 12-song playlist themed around the world and story of TO DROWN A WITCH. Below are five songs from that playlist that I listened to on repeat in the early stages of drafting. 1. DARKSIDE by Neoni – This song was added to my brainstorming playlist because I felt it brought out the heaviness of both Nes and Toran’s pasts while also explaining how that past has shaped their present. There’s no heroes or villains in this placeJust shadows that dance in my headspaceLeaving nothing but phantoms in their wake Neither Nes nor Toran is the hero or villain of the story. Because of their pasts, they both operate in a gray area. The losses they’ve experienced, especially Toran’s, haunt them and the…

How do authors decide what to charge for their books? Traditionally published scribes don’t have to think about it because their publishers make the pricing decision. And some of those choices raise my hackles. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t see shelling out three Lincolns (or more) for an ebook that I do not own but merely lease. And the stratospheric prices of paperbacks or hardbacks? Fuhgeddabout it! Book pricing, however, is under the control of an indie author. As one myself, here’s the way I slice and dice it. Everything costs way too much right now. Life’s basic necessities are beyond too many people’s reach. Even a small luxury like a book can be unaffordable at the prices most publishers set. I get it. These businesses have fixed costs they have to recoup before they pay a dime to their authors. So do I before I get paid a red nickel, too. Happily, however, I don’t answer to investors or boards of directors or even just bean counters. I answer only to me. And my gut tells me to keep the prices of the books in my series as low as possible. Why? Several reasons. First,…

What is the title of your latest release?OUR WICKED GIFTS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?The black sheep of the magically gifted Winter dynasty falls for the boy determined to bring her family to their knees and must decide if the Winters are worth saving. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I was inspired by my old hometown of Henley-on-Thames in the UK. Every year, it hosts a famous regatta, and I absolutely love the outfits and the atmosphere. So I figured I’d set a book in a fictional version of the town, with added drama. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Nope, not a chance. Cicely tries to be a good person but she’s kind of…not. What are three words that describe your hero?Determined, desperate, conflicted. What’s something you learned while writing this book?Basajo is a type of Italian blue cheese soaked in wine. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I edit as I draft, then rewrite the entire book when I’m done. It’s a chaotic process. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?Sushi. Describe your writing space/office!I recently moved house, so for now my…

I haven’t had as much time as usual this past month to read and listen to books, so I’m happy that the first book I want to share with you was so very magnificent. WHISTLER, by Ann Patchett, is as good as everyone, everywhere has been saying. While I don’t remember all the details, I’ve insisted for years that BEL CANTO was the best book I’ve ever read. Without a reread, I can’t bump it off that pedestal, but WHISTLER is certainly a competitor. It’s not a romance, not a mystery, and not a fantasy. It’s a quiet story of love, and reverent tears are filling my eyes once again even as I type these words. Daphne is the adult child of divorced parents, but it was her mother’s second (of three) husbands, Eddie, who gave her the brief, loving paternal relationship that stayed locked away in her heart even as she grew up and for the most part forgot about him. When Daphne and her husband run into Eddie, her long-ago stepfather, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, her surprise at meeting him is outdone only by her surprise at the instant rapport that springs to life…

Someone once asked me how I began plotting a story and what my starting point was. My answer was that it was different for every book. In the case of A LADY’S GUIDE TO MISCHIEF AND MURDER, it started with a country house party and how a murderer could really put a damper on all the fun activities. For A DAUGHTER’S GUIDE TO MOTHERS AND MURDER it started with a horrible murder that fascinated me, but was much too horrible for my books. But what if the horrible murder is what everyone thought happened, but everyone was wrong? Thus, Frances and George investigated their first cold case. But sometimes, it’s about finding the body. For A CHRISTMAS GUIDE TO FAMILY AND MURDER I planned to use an image I had I mind for some time of George and Frances finding a body buried in a snowbank. I imagined them out in the woods looking for mistletoe or a yule log and finding a body instead. But you know what they say about plans. I ran into a stumbling block immediately when I came up against reality in the form of the weather. December of 1900, the month in which the…