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.
Welcome back to Jen’s Jewels, your go-to destination for the hottest new releases in fiction. Today’s book pick is A TIME OF WITCHES by Madeline Martin, a haunting gothic historical mystery filled with family secrets, witchcraft, and a story that spans centuries. From Savannah to England, Madeline weaves together two timelines, a centuries-old mystery, and a touch of magic into a spellbinding tale that will have you turning pages late into the night. LIGHTNING ROUND What’s your favorite way to spend a crisp September afternoon?I love to brew a fresh cup of tea or coffee and settle into my favorite reading chair with a good book and one of my cats snuggled up at my side. What’s your go-to fall drink, snack, or sweet treat while writing?If it’s daytime, definitely coffee, but if it’s the evening, I love a good herbal tea. What simple ritual helps you settle into a productive writing day?I light a candle and pop on my headphones with gothic library playlists in the background. THE FALL INSPIRATION September often feels like a fresh start. Did writing this book mark a new beginning or challenge for you as an author?This was absolutely a challenge as I have…
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.
Excerpt from THE CHINESE LADY by Bo Wang: The year Margaret went to Canton, William allowed it only because of Julia. He and the Carnes brothers had decided to bring a Chinese lady back this time to take center stage in a grand exhibition of oriental goods. Apparently, the sight of an authentic Chinese lady taking tea amidst a display of the Carneses’ imported porcelain, ivory, and silks would drive the ladies of New York into a frenzy of covetousness. But there was the matter of keeping everything respectable. “I suggested to the Carneses that you come along as chaperone,” William said over breakfast. “When we get back to New York, I said, the Chinese lady can stay with us, instead of at a boardinghouse. Nobody will be able to criticize, I said, with my Meg involved.” “A Chinese lady!” Margaret said. “What am I supposed to do with her?” “She’ll be company for you,” William said. “I don’t know how she can be,” Margaret said. “I don’t speak Chinese.” “She may speak a little pidgin. And you can teach her English. Isn’t that what you did before I saved you? Poor little Miss Haskell! The overworked governess.” “I was a…
Excerpt from THE LOST PERFUMES OF PARIS, by Christine Wells: Clutching her precious bottle of perfume tightly as she hurried down the corridors of Limeaux, Élodie murmured, “Pardon,” and “Excusez-moi,” as she bumped elbows with frowning chemists and dodged startled lab technicians. “What’s the rush?” one of them growled as she whizzed past. Élodie didn’t answer. She was too anxious to show off her new creation, the perfume it had taken her more than three years to perfect. Finally, she arrived at the heavy door to her father’s office reception. Placing her palm to its green baize cladding, she tried to steady herself and slow her breathing. Her father had been a perfumer many years ago when he began employment with the company. He was an exacting man—even more so when it came to her—so she needed to collect herself a little before making her pitch. Without warning, the door swung inward and Élodie stumbled into the carpeted anteroom, nearly colliding with her father’s secretary. “Sorry!” she gasped out. But on the next panting breath, she added, “I’ve done it!” and held up the brown glass bottle of perfume like a trophy. Mademoiselle Frise only stared at Élodie, her face…
What is the title of your latest release?MEET CUTE MAGIC What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Halloweentown meets Practical Magic in a Gilmore Girls setting, but make it spicy! How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I love to write all of my books in New Jersey as a born and bred Jersey girl, so it was an easy choice. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Oh, absolutely. Rosie is so fun and silly, and I just know she would have the best book recs. Bonus – she’d bring treats from Violet’s bakery. What are three words that describe your hero?Grumpy, quiet, down-bad. Can down-bad be one word? What’s something you learned while writing this book?I always loved writing grumpy sunshine, but a grump who was really just an anxious introvert was such a new experience and I LOVED the dynamic! Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?For the most part, until I’m done. If I’m stuck, I’ll go to the beginning and start combing through and cleaning up, but editing as I go hasn’t worked for me. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?Underbaked chocolate chip cookies,…
Paranormal romance is often associated with danger: vampires at the window, witches with secrets, demons making bargains in the dark. But paranormal rom-coms know the other truth of the genre, which is that the supernatural is also ridiculous. Eternal life does not save you from awkward flirting. Magic does not make family expectations any less exhausting. A vampire can still be terrible at modern dating, a witch can absolutely summon the wrong thing at the wrong time, and a cursed ex can remain, inconveniently, very hot. That is the joy of paranormal rom-coms. They let the monster in, then ask him to share the flat, help save the town festival, fake-date his way through supernatural bureaucracy, or go on a quest when everyone would rather stay home. The stakes can still matter, but the pleasure is in the collision: ordinary romance problems made gloriously weird by fangs, spells, curses, covens, and creatures who should know better. These five books bring the magic, the mess, and the happily-ever-after with a grin. MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE by Jenna Levine MY ROOMMATE IS A VAMPIRE understands one of the great truths of urban living: if an apartment seems too good to be…
THE MYSTIC AND THE MISSING GIRL stars tarot reader and reluctant psychic Drew Benson, who returns to her small, lakeside hometown to run her late aunt’s esoteric shop. If that wasn’t challenging enough, her high school nemesis, now a reporter, turns up asking for help in solving the cold case of a missing teen – the same case that tanked the reputation of Drew’s late aunt – a TV psychic known as Hannah Mystic. THE MYSTIC AND THE MISSING GIRL is a cozy mystery with a touch of the supernatural and steeped in nineties nostalgia. Here are a few of the songs, all beloved Millennial staples, that play a role in the book or helped shape the characters. All I Really Want (Alanis Morrisette)Gigi (aka Gloria Gong) is Drew’s longtime partner-in-crime and the ultimate cool best friend. A defining moment for Gigi is being kicked out of class for wearing a tee that is deemed “too provocative for the school environment.” The tee in question says INTELLECTUAL INTERCOURSE, which is a reference to the Alanis Morissette classic All I Really Want from the era-defining Jagged Little Pill. This anecdote is based on an actual incident in which my grade seven…
Ironic by Alanis MorissetteAll my books are written with a heavy dose of 90s witch nostalgia (Hocus Pocus, Charmed, Sabrina The Teenage Witch…), so the playlists that I pull together for each story always include some 90s classics. Ironic was a no-brainer for main character Sage Hemlock’s personal soundtrack, as she is perpetually grumpy, extremely sarcastic and somewhat skeptical of the world and its so-called magic. The fact that she is secretly a witch who has turned her back on her powers – but still runs the Witchy Walking Tour at her local small-town museum, complete with hat and cape – is the ultimate ironic cherry on top. “Life has a funny way of sneakin’ up on you when you think everything’s okay, and everything’s going right…” I Could Write A Book by Harry Connick JrSage works alongside her best friend, academic peer and lifelong annoyance Casimir Everald at the small-town museum, where they both specialize in magical study and supernatural history. They’ve been inseparable since the university days where they started out as rivals before realizing that they were destined to be a strange sort of soulmates. This song is such a lovely, charming summation of their friends-to-maybe-lovers journey,…
What is the title of your latest release?WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?WITH ALL MY HAUNTED HEART is a sapphic romance about a witch hired to ethically haunt a small-town bed-and-breakfast…only to find herself falling for her non-magical client. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I love the flexibility of being able to make up a town from scratch, and I generally set those towns in a vaguely “upstate” or Central New York to ground the location in the geography and weather I’m used to. With this book in particular, I wanted to capture autumn in CNY, which is really gorgeous. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Absolutely! I think Pippa and I would get along great! We both understand the struggles of being a small business owner in an ever-changing landscape, we’re both into witchy things (though she has very cool magic that doesn’t exist in real life), and we both have a special place in our hearts for red heads. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Pippa is stubborn, creative, and tender. What’s something you learned while writing this book?My books don’t…