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 Celeste Barclay!   Writes: Celeste Barclay writes historical romance that brings the heat. Set mostly in the Scottish Highlands, Celeste’s books have swoon-worthy heroes and feisty heroines. It’s us against the world for these couples as they discover love while surrounded by intrigue and suspense. All of Celeste’s books have strong family ties, loyalty, honor, and duty at their heart. Get swept away to another time and place with these hot Highlanders and the women they love.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves Highlander and medieval hunks Loves lots of steam Loves a close family with plenty of banter Loves a heroine who’s resourceful and intelligent Loves a hero who’s a devil on the battlefield but an angel with his heroine   What to expect if we’re compatible: Fall in love with men who are strong and women who are fierce A need to go back and read the first generation in The Clan Sinclair Characters who put family…

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 presents Sara Goodman Confino! Writes: Sara Goodman Confino writes hilarious romantic comedies with a focus on family and friendship. You’ll laugh until you cry and cry until you laugh in both her debut, For the Love of Friends, and her new novel, She’s Up to No Good. About: Sara Goodman Confino lives in the DC suburbs with her husband, two sons, and two miniature schnauzers. When she’s not teaching or frantically parenting (which often means trying to keep her boys from peeing on literally everything), she enjoys reading, writing, and binge-watching shows from the treadmill. She’s a rabid Bruce Springsteen fan and got pulled up to dance on stage, Courtney Cox-style in 2012 and will never miss a chance to mention that/whip her phone out and show you pictures and videos of it. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: People who love to laugh Someone who appreciates quirky/eccentric families Dual-timeline aficionados Readers who appreciate family sagas Anyone looking for a good time…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE FORGOTTEN COTTAGE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? In the dusty corners of an abandoned English cottage, Audrey discovers there’s more to her beloved grandmother’s life than she ever imagined. Told with the alternating point-of-view of Audrey in 2014, and her great-grandmother, Emilie, during the First World War, this family saga celebrates the courage of underestimated women. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? North Yorkshire is my very favorite place in England. While much of the book moves beyond the county, and England itself, Audrey’s story remains in a small village that represents much of what I love about the area. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I think Audrey and I would get along well, but Emilie is much more intelligent and well-read than me. I have no doubt she’d be very bored with the conversation! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Emilie is inquisitive, foolhardy, and empathetic. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? What a ploughman’s lunch is. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I’d love…

1–What is the title of your latest release? CROSSFIRE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? FBI special agent Julianna James is a top-notch negotiator who has never lost a hostage. Former sniper and current school resource officer, Clay Snyder, is trying to move past tragedy and into the future. When a killer strikes, Clay, and Julianna work together to save the next person in the killer’s sights—Julianna’s sister, Dottie. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? This is the second book in the series, so the setting was kind of already determined by the first book. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. Julianna is an amazing woman who is fierce and determined and just plain a good person. She loves Jesus and her sister, and I would love to sit down with her and have a conversation with her. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Intense, Protective, Ethical 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That hostage negotiation is never the same from incident to incident. Yes, there’s a handbook, but the negotiators never know what they’re walking into. It’s intense. 7–Do you edit as you…

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 Liz Johnson!   Writes: Contemporary stories filled with sweet romance, relatable characters, and lots of heart.   About: Phoenix desert dweller seeks reader companion for trips to the Prince Edward Island shore. I enjoy taking long walks on PEI beaches, exploring the island’s music and theater communities, and eating good food—except lobster. I love visiting my local ice rink, and not just to check out the cute hockey players. And between working a day job in marketing and binging all the CSI episodes, I write books that make my heart happy.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves to be swept away to famous red shorelines Cheers for heroines who refuse to be rescued—they can take care of themselves Swoons over strong heroes with deep secrets and dark regrets Roots for family relationships to be restored Adores falling in love   What to expect if we’re compatible: Trips to Prince Edward Island, complete with sea breezes, local artistry, and small-town…

1–What is the title of your latest release? DECEPTION, Book Four in the Natchez Trace Park Rangers series 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? DECEPTION is a complex story of family secrets, mixed motives, and learning to trust. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Before I wrote this series, I had always wanted to write a book set on the Natchez Trace. In my mind I could see myself walking where thousands of American Indians, fur trappers, soldiers, and riverboat men making their way home from Natchez to Nashville had walked. And, since I had always wanted to visit Natchez, that seemed the perfect place to set the stories—at the beginning of the Natchez Trace. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Definitely. There are people in this world who, if they stopped by your house and asked if you wanted to go to the city dump with them, you would say yes—you like being around them that much. Madison Thorn is one of those people. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? God-fearing, strong, courageous 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned that if…

As a reader, often, I’ll go for cozy mysteries rather than thrillers. There is, however, the occasional psychological thriller that lures me in – like Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE. What is it about psychological thrillers that attract you as a writer? I think for me a really good thriller has it all: a satisfying mystery with clues, a few shocks and twists, and my taste is to have them cast with rich characters, too, often with a love story threaded in.   Your book, WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME involves a relationship between a mother and son. What made you choose that as a central relationship for your story? Does that kind of bond just naturally ratchet up the tension? I think so – I think as most parents will do anything for their children, it immediately ups the stakes, but I think also teenagers keep secrets from their parents in a way spouses mostly don’t or can’t, which widens the mystery, too.   I love suspense novels in which the main character finds that she doesn’t really know somebody who is close to her as well as she thinks she does. Is there a little bit of…

1–What is the title of your latest release? JUST ANOTHER LOVE SONG 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Sandy and Hank were high school sweethearts, but then he moved away for college, and she stayed in their hometown. Now it’s fifteen years later, he’s a successful country singer, and he’s back…with his young son in tow. When Sandy and Hank must work together to organize their town’s street fair, she starts to wonder if they might have a second chance or if their story is just a tired old love song of the past. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’ve always wanted to write a book set in a small town! I’m from a small town in Ohio, so that’s what I based Baileyville on (I didn’t want to set it in an EXACT replica of my own town because I wanted to be able to change things). I always set my books in Ohio because this is the only state I’ve ever lived in, and I feel like it’s the only place I know well enough to write! 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes! Sandy…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE LOST KINGS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Twenty years after the mysterious disappearance of her father and twin brother, a young woman hunts down her missing father through the help of a childhood friend. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I went both familiar and somewhat exotic with this novel. I set it in Washington State, which is where I grew up, so I knew the landscape pretty well. I also set part of the novel in Oxford, UK, where my older brother taught at the university for a while. I was able to visit him a few times and absolutely loved the city. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes! All my characters are buried somewhere inside me, so really, I hang out with her every day. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Stubborn. Humorous. Troubled. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That the system of education at Oxford University is way different than the universities I’m used to. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I…

 1   November 2007 TOP-OF-THE-AFTERNOON  BROADCAST   “Jordan, we’re live in sixty,” said Tracy Klein, my favorite field producer, nudging me to get into place. “Okay, hang on,” I said, distracted by a rush of butterflies and the sudden urge to pee, which happened every single time I was about to go on the air. I guess it was my body’s way of preparing me for the moment that never got old, but soon panic struck. My earpiece was in, but the anchors’ voices sounded like Charlie Brown’s parents. “Hey, you guys. I can’t hear. You’re not coming through very clearly. The echo is killing me,” I said. I looked up. Please, not today. In an instant, the sky darkened over historic Bronzeville on Chicago’s South Side, a sign of the dip in temperatures I re- called hearing on this morning’s weather forecast. Chicagoans and people all across this state have to deal with one inescapable fact, and that’s the cold. Sure, I’d heard people who claimed to love the change of seasons. But to a person from Austin, Texas, that sounded like a case of Stockholm syndrome. Or at least that’s what I told my friends from the Midwest…