1–What is the title of your latest release? HUNTER AVENGED, book 6 of the Forgotten Brotherhood series 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?  An angelic librarian on the run and the immortal Viking assassin tracking her fight the growing attraction between them as they race against time to uncover the truth before they’re destroyed by forces more powerful than themselves. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?  This book is part of a series so much of the groundwork had been laid before I began, but given their abilities, the hero and heroine end up in various locations around the world. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?  Absolutely. The chance to talk with an angelic librarian who can read and write any language would be fascinating. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Intelligent, honorable, tenacious 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?  I learned about the city of Kathmandu, a place my characters visit, and that the powerlines hang low and are quite a hazard. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? To get back into my work each day,…

Hi! I’m Chitra Divakaruni, author of INDEPENDENCE. I’m very pleased to be sharing a little about this novel with you. The book is at once a historical novel and a love story. It depicts India’s epic struggle for freedom from the British yoke, and the turmoil that follows Partition, as experienced by three sisters. Set in 1946-48, it is the story of three sisters who want very different things in life but find that all their plans are turned upside-down in the wake of a huge tragedy. As the novel proceeds, the three women will fall in love with the wrong men, get caught up in events beyond their control, and be separated from each other even as the country is being torn apart by violent religion-based feuds between Hindus and Muslims. They must do their best to come back together, face the dangers that confront them, and try to save each other.   I is for India, the setting of my novel, a country that after a great struggle is now on the verge of freedom in 1946, when the book begins. N is for Nabakumar, who is the idealistic father of the three sisters, a doctor who was a…

1. What is the title of your latest release? THE PRINCESS AND THE BRUISER   2. What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Fleeing an arranged marriage to an infamously mysterious prince, a runaway princess with dangerous powers must convince the surly head of security aboard an interstellar pleasure cruise to hide her out on his ship until she can escape—preferably before she gets found out, gets too used to her freedom, or ends up falling for her great big grumpy bodyguard.   3. How did you decide where your book was going to take place? This is the third book that takes place aboard the interstellar pleasure cruise ship the Ignisar. I grew up with a mother who watched Star Trek, took me to see Star Wars when I was one, and was always reading a Dune book, so sci-fi is in my blood. I loved the idea of a Love Boat type situation among the stars. This book takes a deep dive into the Royal Houses of the twin planets of the Aquilines, Rax’s (our MMC) home planet. It takes place partially off-ship on the smaller planet of the Aquilines as well as on our beloved pleasure…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A CASTLE IN BROOKLYN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? After surviving a terrifying event during the Holocaust, Jacob comes to America to fulfill his dream of building a home.  With the help of his best friend, Zalman, along with his new wife, Esther, Jacob fulfills that dream.  However, after an unforeseeable tragedy occurs, Jacob’s friendship with Zalman and even his marriage, are threatened.  Through the years, the home continues to offer refuge to his family and others who live within its walls, as the novel ultimately comes full circle as Jacob’s dreams are truly realized. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and am familiar with the neighborhoods, so it was an easy choice. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Most definitely.  Although Jacob is not based on my father, he has many of his qualities.  I am drawn to people who are ambitious, with big dreams.  Jacob is sensitive, though quiet, and has an intriguing background.  Esther, another protagonist, would also make a good friend as she is compassionate and…

To set the scene: LOVE ON THE LINE is the first book in Anabelle Bryant‘s new Vauxhall Voices series where forbidden love is the central focus and members of London’s aristocracy fall in love with outliers of Regency society. Lola York, the heroine, is a woman with a complicated past, on the run and working as a tightrope walker in Vauxhall Gardens. Theodore Coventry, Earl of Essex, is a man on a mission, searching for the individual who murdered his best friend. Through unavoidable circumstances, their paths become overlapped and their emotions collide. In this scene written in Lola’s perspective, they both realize that their desire for each other may be an unstoppable force even if it breaks all the rules.   It was shameful to ask for a kiss. Scandalous to be draped across a gentleman’s lap. All the etiquette rules and deportment lessons from her youth wasted and forgotten in the span of a heartbeat. But Lola didn’t care. Something beyond coherent thought had control of her now. She wanted. Wanted with an ache inside that could only be satisfied with his kiss and more. She stroked her tongue across his lips, taking his mouth as she gripped…

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 Erin Bartels!   Writes: Immersive, contemporary and timeslip character-driven fiction in that offers hope without ignoring the hard things in life. Perfect for individual reading but often best experienced with a book club!   About: When I’m not busy writing award-winning books, I spend my time oil painting, sewing, gardening, playing guitar, taking photos, letting my neurotic chihuahua mix in and out of the house, and driving my son to and from his martial arts school. I adore all four seasons, am an untiring ambassador for the state of Michigan (where I set my books), and I’ve never met an indoor spider I didn’t carefully catch in a cup and relocate outdoors—except in winter, when we just give them free reign of the house. Unlike most people you know, I have been bitten by an owl.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: isn’t afraid to get real wants to get lost in a beautiful setting doesn’t expect their protagonists to…

1–What is the title of your latest release? DECENT PEOPLE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? In the small, segregated town of West Mills, NC in 1976, three enigmatic siblings, the Harmons, are found shot to death in their home. Their half-brother, Olympus “Lymp” Seymore is the community’s prime suspect, but the authorities don’t care who killed them. Lymp’s fiance seeks to prove his innocence. Her investigation unearths many secrets about the townspeople. Decent People is a novel about shame, race, class and healing. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? When I decided to bring back some characters from my first novel, In West Mills, I knew West Mills had to be the setting. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I enjoy learning from older people who’ve had a variety of life experiences. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Jo Wright is intelligent, determined, and caring. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? While doing a bit of research for Decent People, I learned that gun powder residue tests were widely used in the 70s. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE FRAUD SQUAD 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A working-class woman pretends to be a socialite in order to get her dream job at Singapore’s poshest magazine. But as she sinks further into her glamorous new life, her fears of being exposed also deepen—especially with a mysterious gossip columnist hunting for high society dirt. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I was living alone in California at the height of the pandemic, separated from all my family and friends in Singapore. Driven by homesickness, I decided to start writing a book set in my hometown. It was my way of staying connected with my loved ones back at home at a time when I didn’t know when I would get to see them again. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? 100%! Like me, my protagonist Samantha Song adores fashion and magazines, so we would have lots to talk about. Fun fact: I had my first byline in Harper’s Bazaar when I was 16, writing about wedding preparation while I was still a teenager! I then went on to write…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE BACKUP PLAN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? N/A 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’m currently writing in the Sunrise Cove series (all standalones, I swear!), set at Lake Tahoe. Which happens to be where I live. Gorgeous lake. Stunning mountain. Skiing, boating … it was a no brainer. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes! Alice is incredible. She’s fiercely loyal, tough as nails but with a soft, shy heart, AND she can build stuff and fix her own car. She’d be a great BFF. If you can get past her walls, that is. The woman does have a fortress around her heart… 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Smart, funny, sexy! 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That I can indeed eat a whole box of cookies while stressing over a first draft. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I race through a first draft, then add in the heart and soul, the sexy, the funny, all in subsequent drafts. Everyone has their own way…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A LOVE BY DESIGN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A second-chance romance between a no-nonsense woman engineer and the cinnamon-roll earl who broke her youthful heart. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The entire series, The Secret Scientists of London, is set in London in 1842-1843 – the early Victorian era. I wanted to set the series in a time of socio-economic and political flux, much like our own. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely! Margaret is much like the women engineers I know in real life – she is straightforward, task centered, and takes no guff. What’s not to like? 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Gorgeous, goofy, big-hearted 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? The most interesting part of my research was learning about how the original Thames tunnel was constructed and what happened to it afterward. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I always tell myself when I sit down to write that editing can come later, then spend the entire time self-editing. Sigh….