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 Melody Carlson!   Writes: A new Christmas novella every year—for more than 20 years!   About:   Melody lives in a charming mountain town in beautiful Central Oregon. She enjoys gardening and camping and riding her new electric bike. She recently moved into a new house that she designed and helped to build. She also writes novels totally unrelated to Christmas! And some of her novels are becoming TV movies. Her newest one, The Happy Camper, will premiere on UP-TV in October.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: I seek out readers who care about good healthy wholesome relationships. Readers who enjoy getting to know flawed characters with realistic problems as well as plausible resolutions. I look for readers who understand that most people’s holidays are not always filled with goodness and joy, but still hope for a bit of sweetness and light. I seek out voracious readers who are seeking more out of life.   What to expect if we’re…

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 Deanna Raybourn!   Writes: What happens when a quartet of 60-year-old female assassins discovers the organization they work for would rather kill them than let them retire? That’s the question behind KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, a contemporary thriller that follows the adventures of Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie, four of the deadliest, funniest, and most engaging women you’ll ever meet. They’ve been friends for forty years and although they’ve gone their separate ways, now they have to band together to settle scores and save their skins.   About: Deanna is a 54-year-old mother of one who is married to her college sweetheart and lives in Virginia. A sixth-generation native Texan, she writes about female characters who are as audacious as they are intelligent. She loves Twitter, travel, and tea—the sipping kind and the latest scandal. Come sit by her!   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Appreciation for witty banter Love of badass women Need for escape Understanding that…

Hi! I’m Virginia Hartman, author of The Marsh Queen from Gallery Books. The story of The Marsh Queen follows Loni Murrow, a young Washington, DC, bird artist who faces the past she has long avoided when she returns to her hometown among the lush wetlands of northern Florida and is drawn into a mystery surrounding her father, who died in the swamp when Loni was a child.   T is for Tammy Murrow, Loni’s brother’s wife. Tammy has her own decisive way of doing everything, and it’s usually the opposite of the way Loni would do it. H is for Henrietta, a woman Loni is desperately trying to find because of a mysterious letter about Loni’s father, reading: “There are some things I have to tell you about Boyd’s death.” E is for Elbert Perkins, the real-estate agent in Loni’s hometown, who seems to know more than he’s letting on about some dodgy properties and people in Loni’s childhood neighborhood.   M is for Mariama, the hall manager for the dementia unit at St. Agnes Home, who looks out for Loni’s mom Ruth when she needs it the most. A is for Adlai, the guy who rents Loni a canoe…

Mason Pierce, the hero in HOWLING FOR ATTENTION, is a wolf shifter. In the age-old question for paranormal romance fans of who’s better – I usually prefer shifters. The exception is the hottie vamp Bones from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress books. What appeals to you about writing shifter characters? I love writing shifters because they’re such fun creatures. The men are wild, hot but loving and protective. They’re also loyal and let’s not forget they make their mates their priority. I think every woman wants a man like that.   There are Alpha heroes, and then there are Alphaholes. How would you describe Mason? I love shifter heroes who are strong and secure without being overbearing and roid rage-esque. I feel like Mason is definitely strong and secure. He’s just a man who’s looking for a quiet place to live. He’s not a jerk, but he’s not the life of the party either. He’s messed up in the past and wants to just be alone to deal with it. He’s done with danger, but when he meets Lila all that goes out the window. You see, a protector never stops being a protector. And once Mason realizes Lila is his…

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 B. A. Trimmer!   Writes: B A Trimmer writes fun romantic murder mysteries set in warm, beautiful places. Think swaying palms, blue oceans, golf resorts, colorful cocktails, and waterfalls. Our heroine will find herself thrown into a wild ride where nothing is what it seems, and danger lurks around every corner. Fortunately, she’s always surrounded by a group of close friends and at least one gorgeous guy. (Even though her friends have their weird quirks, they would never let her down.) And, of course, our heroine will always solve the murder, capture the bad guys, and win her lover’s heart (well, eventually). My latest book, HULA HOMICIDE, is set at the upscale Aloha Lagoon Resort on the gorgeous island of Kaui. Wedding planner Kristy Piper is thrilled with landing a job in paradise. That is, until a groomsman turns up dead, and her hot new photographer is the police’s prime suspect. Suddenly it’s up to Kristy to clear the heartthrob’s name and figure out…

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 Hallee Bridgeman!   Writes: Exciting military suspense with breathtaking romance.   About: Coffee chugging, homeschooling, military wife who loves baking her own bread and Kentucky sunsets.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Someone who doesn’t mind late-night reading because they couldn’t put the book down. A reader who expects the unexpected in the plot. Someone who wants realistic characters and isn’t afraid to shed a few tears and laugh a few laughs along with them.   What to expect if we’re compatible: You’re going to fall in love with my characters and want more of them. Good thing! There are a lot of books from which to choose. HONOR BOUND by Hallee Bridgeman Love and Honor #1 It may seem odd to seek peace by moving to a war-torn African country, but for medical missionary Dr. Cynthia Myers, it provided a way to escape a shallow life of unearned wealth, a philandering fiancé, and a father now square in the…

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 Lee Tobin McClain!   Writes: Heartwarming, emotional love stories, often featuring kids and dogs. The Forever Farmhouse is the first book in a trilogy set on an island in the Chesapeake Bay. It features a geeky scientist hero, a girl-next-door heroine, a precocious little boy, and a big secret.   About: Book lover looking forward to the next chapter… Hi, I’m Lee! I’m the proud mom of a wonderful college student, a goofy goldendoodle, and an aptly named cat, Trouble. Friends describe me as creative, a bit quirky, and quietly funny. I cry at emotional commercials and YouTube videos. I’m content to sit on the porch and read all day. Faith, family, and friends are all important in my life.   My ideal reader: Likes to settle in for an emotional story with characters who have overcome challenges Isn’t looking for explicit love scenes, but does appreciate the slow build to an amazing kiss Likes the fun and drama that kids—from toddlers to teens—can…

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 Annette Chavez Macias!   Writes: Women’s fiction novels about families, love, and following your dreams. Big Chicas Don’t Cry is a novel that follows four Mexican-American cousins over the course of one memorable year. Cousins Mari, Erica, Selena, and Gracie are inseparable. They aren’t just family but best friends—sharing secrets, traditions, and a fierce love for their abuelita. But their idyllic childhood ends when Mari’s parents divorce, forcing her to move away. With Mari gone, the girls’ tight-knit bond unravels. Fifteen years later, Mari’s got the big house and a handsome husband, but her life is in shambles. Erica’s boyfriend just dumped her, and her new boss hates her. Selena can’t seem to find her place in the world—not Mexican enough for her family, not white enough for her colleagues. And Gracie is a Catholic school teacher with an all-consuming crush, but she can’t trust herself when it comes to romance. As rocky as the cousins’ lives have become, nothing can prepare them for the…

Chapter One     If there’s one thing I’ve never been able to do, it’s blend in. Take my stint playing Christmas Tree #7 in my ­fourth-​­grade holiday pageant. Prior to this tragic bit of casting, I was positively elated at the very idea of a holiday pageant. I am one of those people who unabashedly loves the many festive markers of winter: gingerbread and cozy sweaters, mulled cider and mistletoe, jaunty snowpeople and jingle bells. Every time a movie starring multiple Christmassy Vanessa Hudgenses pops up in my Netflix queue, my heart sings just a little bit louder. My big sister Evie thinks this is because there’s so much spectacle associated with the holiday season, so much pomp and circumstance, so many of those famed silver bells jangling their way into people’s ears in the most ostentatious way imaginable. It is true that I never miss a chance to be as extra as ­possible . . . and I suppose the holiday pageant ended up being a prime example of that. I was pissed because Clara Montrose was cast as the ­lead—​­the Sugar Plum Fairy who dances in front of the shuffling line of boring Christmas trees, blessing them…

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 Reece Barden!   Writes: Reece Barden writes steamy paranormal romance series. She creates tight knit packs full of likeable shifters you’ll want to know more about. Her stories guarantee sexy protective cinnamon roll heroes, no bullying, no cheating, a happily ever after and a few laughs along the way! Reece is currently writing the Shifters of Grey Ridge series. In The Alpha’s Inferno, the new sheriff and resident grumpy grizzly bear, Marcus Lennox, falls hard for the local doctor, and daughter of the Grey Ridge pack Alpha. He knows getting together with the tempting wolf is a bad idea, but he can’t resist having just one taste, just one night. Even knowing it’ll hurt them both. When Marcus is injured in the line of duty; Leila is forced to face him again. Has the fire between them gone out for good?   About: Reece is an Irish author, and this is her first self-published series. When not coming up with creative ways to draw…