1–What is the title of your latest release? OUT OF HER DEPTH 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When Rachel lands a dream job in the Tuscan hills, she is drawn into a circle of privileged young Brits. But as the champagne flows and the party doesn’t stop, rivalries fester, and she begins to realize that ‘all that glitters…’ 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I lived in Florence as a student and have visited it every year since – I even got married there. I always knew that the duality of the city: beautiful piazzas fed by dark passageways; the home of both Renaissance art and the menacing Medicis: would make it the perfect setting for a thriller. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Goodness no – in fact, I think all the characters in the book are pretty awful! 5–What are three words that describe Rachel? Voyeuristic, unreliable, naive 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? What happens to a body after its spent weeks in the water (sorry!!) 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I actually did…

 What is the title of your latest release? THE ROMANCE RECIPE   What’s the elevator pitch for your new book? A restaurant owner hires a former TV reality star to save her struggling restaurant only to discover that the talented but sad woman seems determined to undermine her authority at every turn. When fire spreads from the kitchen to the bedroom they’re forced to confront their growing attraction before they lose everything.   How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The Romance Recipe takes place in the same universe as my debut, Hot Copy, so I was able to inherit the setting: a new restaurant in the city of Boston. I loved being able to return to that world.   Would you hang out with your heroines in real life? Definitely! Amy is tough but secretly soft and Sophie is an excellent cook (dinner dates!) and Canadian (just like me!)   What are three words to describe The Romance Recipe? Steamy. Foodies. Love.   What’s something you learned while writing this book? The Romance Recipe was my second book, and I was so scared that the first book was a fluke, but it wasn’t! It…

What inspired you to make this story with a “make a wish-life changed overnight” theme? I think the urgency created by a story that unfolds in twenty-four hours makes for a compelling, page-turning read as well as shows us how one day can change everything. As a reader, these are some of my favorite types of stories and from a creative perspective as a writer, I find it a really rewarding challenge to condense a full story into such a short time period. From the start, I knew Lucy would make a wish that would change her life, and I decided to set the story over the course of a single day when I started thinking about all the things women have to lie about in a twenty-four-hour period—from their appearance, to relationships, to life at the office. The fact that there was enough to fill a day from start to finish basically made the story write itself!   These kinds of stories can range from humorous to drama and angst oozing out of every pore. How would you describe NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH? I aimed to strike a balance between humorous and serious. I’ve jokingly referred to the book…

We’ve all heard that age-old wisdom—write what you know. Personally, I’ve always rebelled against this advice and opted for a different philosophy—write the book you want to read. This always ended up having little to do with the life I knew.   So it was really interesting when I found myself writing my ninth novel, “No Funny Business”, about what I know—stand-up comedy, cross country road trips, classic rock music, and dead relatives (but don’t worry, it’s a comedy).   Because of where I was in my life (trying to survive a global pandemic), I knew I had to reach into the depths of my life to bring this book alive. Sprinkling in my real-life experiences had to be part of the recipe.   Here are five story elements in “No Funny Business” that were inspired by my real life . . .   My Favorite Pastime   For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to laugh. My dad was a stand-up fan, and we’d listen to comedy specials on vinyl. I awaited weekly sketch comedy shows like “In Living Color”, then snorted laughter in my teens watching stand-ups like Chris Rock, Judy Gold, and John Leguizamo. It…

Excerpted from UPGRADE by Blake Crouch. Copyright © 2022 by Blake Crouch. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.   That night, after dinner, I beat Ava in three games of chess. None of them were even close, and the last one required only twelve moves to checkmate her. “What the actual hell is going on here?” she asked, tipping her king over when she saw the inevitable end. “Have you been going easy on me all this time, Dad?” “No.” I laughed. “How are you suddenly this good?” “What’s going on?” Beth asked from the couch. “Dad just shellacked me for…… ” Ava counted up the losses in her head. “….. the ninth game in a row.” “Impressive,” Beth said. “Impossible,” Ava said, staring at me suspiciously.   Memories were coming back to me, and not just of every book I’d ever read. Random moments of insignificance. Pivotal events that had shaped my life. From a month ago. From a decade ago. From my childhood. It was an eerie sensation. As if someone…

I love a good villain. Of course, every story needs a hero worth rooting for, someone you’ll want to follow for hundreds of pages. But the stronger, smarter, and savvier the hero, the more important it is to have a villain who can thwart them throughout the book. Because the best stories have that push and pull between the hero and villain, the sense that either one could come out on top and you need to keep reading to see who prevails (or at least to see how the hero could outwit such a worthy opponent). With every story I write, I spend as much time figuring out the villain as I do developing the hero/heroine. Because a worthy villain isn’t pure evil borne out of nothing. A worthy villain has their own backstory, their own motivations, their own belief systems. The villains have good qualities, too, even if the bad outweigh the good. And they all have as much of a desire to prevail as the hero. It’s why they continue to fight, even at points when the hero might seem to have an advantage. It’s why there are points in the story where it seems as though there’s…

Hello! Leslie Langtry here to tell you about my book MUNCHIES AND MURDER – book #23 in the Merry Wrath cozy comedy series! The books can be read in any order, but if you want to start at the beginning, there’s MERIT BADGE MURDER. Merry Wrath was a CIA agent undercover with a Chechen strongman when the Vice President ‘accidentally’ outted her on CNN to get back at her senator dad. After a close call escape that included an armed chicken, Merry retired to her hometown of Who’s There, Iowa, where her best friend convinces her to start a Girl Scout troop. In some ways, Merry often wonders if life was less dangerous in the CIA than with this very precocious group of little girls. Too bad bodies keep popping up at inconvenient times. Here’s a little bit about MUNCHIES AND MURDER:   M is for Merry Wrath – an ‘accidentally’ outted ex-CIA agent who moves back to Who’s There, Iowa, starts a Girl Scout Troop and stumbles upon more dead bodies than any random jogger on any tv mystery series.   U is for Unusual as this book is pretty weird. Seriously…this may be the weirdest book I’ve written,…

Although I’m normally a cozy mystery fan, I love the themes of isolation and dark secrets. Plus, the remote island thing is giving me definite Agatha Christie vibes, mixed with classic virus horror films. What are you most hoping to convey with your book THE DISINVITED GUEST? Agatha Christie was definitely an inspiration, specifically her And Then There Were None, of course.  I wanted to convey the heightened tension of finding yourself in an isolated setting that may seem idyllic but then becomes threatening when you can’t leave, and bad things start happening.  The idea of a group of people who have come together to shelter during a pandemic and then discover that the greater threat comes from within seemed to me the perfect creepy turn.  I also just want to say that I love cozies, too, and one of the things I like best about them is the way an entire world gets built to contain the characters.  My world just happens to trend toward the darker.   Because this story seems like a psychological suspense novel, can you say if there are answers and resolution at the end, or if things are left more open ended? I think…

April 2022 marked the thirty-year anniversary of the Rodney King Riots. The thirty-year-old grainy news footage doesn’t nearly do justice to the chaos of the time. It was a horrific time in law enforcement. In 1992 I had been a uniformed Long Beach police officer for five years. I was at the point where I had my feet under me as an officer in patrol. I was assigned to day patrol on the west side of downtown Long Beach. I was working by myself the day the King verdicts came down. The morning was quiet and uneventful, and I had no idea what was brewing. There was no indication that anything would happen. The first sign of trouble came when, just before school ended, fights broke out at a high school in North Long Beach. Then there were reports of groups of high school kids charging into stores and looting. Word came down that a large crowd of teenagers planned on looting the Long Beach mall. All downtown personnel were ordered to the mall to provide security until the mall could be locked down and the employees could get out safely. When I arrived, there were 10 or 12 of…

What inspired you to write this THE DEADLY SHALLOWS? Since it includes a mass shooting, was that in part inspired by real life events? I didn’t base The Deadly Shallows on a specific tragedy, but the mass shootings our country has endured over the last two decades certainly inspired the horrific event Noah and Brooke face. Watching the emotional aftermath of the tragedy ripple through their lives and the lives of those present was really difficult to write. Researching was heart breaking but seeing how Noah and Brooke not just survive but, in a way, overcome its effects on them was inspiring.   How would you describe CGIS Agent Noah Rowley to readers? Noah is the head special agent of CGIS Wilmington. He takes his leadership role gravely, knowing a mistake on his part can lead to tragedy for his team. Couple that intensity with his devotion for his family, friends, and the woman he falls hard for, and you see the heart of Noah Rowley.   How would you describe the dynamic between Noah and Coast Guard flight medic Brooke Kesler? Do you tell the story using alternating perspectives? I do write alternating perspectives. I find it helps me…