Your new book THE FORGOTTEN DEAD has two things I love – psychic abilities and a seemingly haunted house. What attracts you as a writer to these themes? I’ve loved spooky stories since I was a kid, even though I was deeply terrified for ghosts for most of my childhood. I still love creepy stories, whether they be something like M.R. James’s “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” or a contemporary action-driven series like J.L. Bryan’s “Ellie Jordan, Ghost-Trapper” books. I think the thing that draws me to ghostly stories is the concept that they tend to center some past injustice, a psychic wound that reaches through time, crying out for resolution. It’s hard to go wrong with a set-up like that!   Can you describe the dynamic between Nigel and Oscar? Do you alternate between perspectives throughout the book? Oscar is a big guy with a big heart. He’s a former college football player turned accountant, who leads a ghost-hunting team on the side. He’s the one who’s always trying to look out for other people, make sure they have what they need, that they’re comfortable. He’s also been seeing ghosts since childhood but is in…

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 Lian Dolan Writes: Books about contemporary women inspired by historical women. Fun, fast-paced stories in lush locations that combine humor, heart and heroines who make it happen for themselves. LOST AND FOUND IN PARIS is an art history treasure hunt that sets museum curator Joan Bright Blakely on a breakneck journey to recover a lost sketchbook and find herself in the process. A Parisian romp with a deeper side. About: Easy, Breezy Southern California Author. All true except the easy breezy bit. I’m pretty serious about my coffee in the morning, my tuna fish sandwich at lunch and coasters under cocktails. Interests include finding the perfect V-neck tee shirt, dancing, swimming and not straining anything, being worthy of my dog, and all the Chrises (Pine, Hemsworth, Evans and Kringle). Booklovers a must. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match Wants books with a lot of sass and a touch of history Enjoys travel even in an armchair Needs a sexy vacation in…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BATTLE OF THE HEXES 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Once upon a time JJ Jones turned her ex into a frog. Now he’s back and she’s got some explaining to do. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? It’s part of my series, Season of the Witch. I wanted the location for the series to be somewhere fun, cozy, charming, magical, and coastal. So I created a fictional town (based on a few different real towns) on the Oregon Coast, which is one of my favorite places. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely. If for nothing else than the cocktails! 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Midlife, Magical, Determined 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? The magical and health properties of cardamom, the meaning of various houseplants, and how to make homemade arancello. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I wait until I’m done. My first draft is usually a hot mess. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Afternoon tea at the Clockwork Rose Tea Emporium 9–Describe your writing…

Your book DARK SUN involves the faery world. What is it about the fae that you find compelling as an author? I grew up on folklore, so I draw on that old lore of the faeries. The faeries have a removed world, but they visit ours, and they can be invisible to the eye at their will and whim. Iron is toxic. They offer bargains that seem like a good idea, but they’re always clever in ways we aren’t. Beautiful, dangerous, tempting, and ancient. Yes, please. And, as every tale goes, mortals arrogantly think we can successfully outwit them—in part because the faeries cannot lie. What’s not to love there? So many possibilities!   What would you say is the central conflict in DARK SUN? Would you say there is an equal mix of action and romance? The question of the book is coming to terms with who you are and what you seek in this life. In Katherine and Urian’s case, love changes everything for both of them. Romance? Definitely. Action? Yes. It’s also a story that draws us back toward the original characters. We see where our first WL protagonists are about five years after that series ended….

1–What is the title of your latest release? FORGETTING THE EARL. It is the first book in a 3-book series of novellas about three very arrogant earls and the women who tame them. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Honora Drevenport is a young, awkward, young lady who falls in love with the dashing Earl of Southwell and is humiliated in the process. Years later as a beautiful, sought-after widow, Honora vows to make Southwell fall in love with her and extract her revenge. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I write early Victorian (1837-1845) and love lords and ladies, so England was the obvious choice 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. Honora has a great sense of humor, loves history, and wants to set off and explore the world. And she’s a hopeful romantic, which I can appreciate. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Intelligent. Ruggedly handsome. Daring. He’s Indiana Jones if Indiana Jones was an earl who liked to make maps and travel the Amazon. What I like most is that Southwell liked Honora when she was chubby and awkward. He values her…

LADY ARMSTRONG’S SCANDALOUS AWAKENING is set in the Victorian era. What appeals to you about that time period as a setting? Is that your favorite period to set a story in? The Victorian period was a time of huge change in every way. The Industrial Revolution was really taking hold, railways and telegrams transformed communication and travel, and there was a move away from the countryside to city living. What fascinates me are the contrasts that all this change emphasized – between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots, and in particular, in the position of women, who were being forced by a society which was in many ways liberating men, into a much more domestic and constrained role. Ideals of femininity were disseminated through photography, and image took on a new importance. Women who did not conform had to be real rebels, incredibly strong and radical thinkers, and it’s coming up with this type of woman as a heroine that really appeals to me. As to whether this is my favorite period to write about – I’d say yes, at the moment, because it’s the period I’ve been immersed in for the last couple of years,…

Fresh Fiction: If you could only recommend one of your books to romance readers who are unfamiliar with your work, which would you recommend? And why? Mary Jo Putney: Hmm, tough question!  Maybe LOVING A LOST LORD. It’s the first book in my Lost Lords series, and it sets up the framework for the rest of the series. The heroes of all seven books attended the Westerfield Academy for boys of “good birth and bad behavior.”  The founder, Lady Agnes Westerfield, helps boys who are having trouble fitting into the niches they were born to.  She teaches them how to be themselves without losing their souls. The hero of this first book, Adam Lawford, the Duke of Ashton, is half Hindu and has to deal with resentment and prejudice.  Then a steamboat explosion leaves him half drowned and amnesiac in northern England, where he is found by a desperate young woman who needs a pretend husband for protection…. FF: Scotland is the setting for your regency romance ONCE A LAIRD. What do you like about this setting? And what is so captivating about a hot Scottish hero? MJP: This story was inspired by a wonderful visit to Orkney, one of the island groups north of mainland Scotland.  Both…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THOROUGHLY CAPTIVATED 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two damaged people, one purpose. A man and a woman with scars from their past find love and a future together… 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Aldbey Park (the estate home and stables of our heroine in the first book, Lady Amelia Darley) is actually a true place. It is where the first Darley Arabian came to England and was bred with the heavier coach-horse type breeds to create the “thoroughly bred horse” now known as the Thoroughbred. (Hence the titles of this series.) This book is Miss Lula Darley’s story and is inspired by my life on a horse farm as a single mom, caring for horses, teaching, and training them. In my research, I found that though women could not be actual doctors or veterinarians, they could study and take the exams. However, they could not be officially recognized as such. During the many wars that England was involved in during the Regency, women were left quite often to their own devices. Medical practitioners, including veterinary practitioners, were needed on the battlefields, leaving…

1–What is the title of your latest release? FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? What if a rock star moved in next door? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I binged several seasons of “Virgin River” and fell in love with the fell of its Northern California small town. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes. She has a good heart and a solid sense of humor. I value those in people. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Grumpy, hot, and talented. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That you can get garlic fries in Northern California. I really want some. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit as I go. I don’t feel like I can build onto a story if I don’t have a strong foundation. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? I have a thing for onion rings at the moment. As you can tell from the book! 9–Describe your writing space/office! I have an office at home. It’s a mess right now. But it has furniture made from…

In HEART OF A TIGER, a child is in danger. What made you use this element in your story? Was that meant to increase the tension and engage the reader even more? The child in the story is because of the Earl of Soothcoor. He has been a “cast member” in three previous stories. I’ve become quite fond of him. He’s 40ish, never married, plain looking, and secretly heavy into philanthropy. I decided he was in a rut and needed something to push him out of his comfort zone. The child is his heir through his brother and his Indian wife.   I like a mystery series with a couple who solves mysteries together. Was it always the plan to have a mystery series with a married couple? Or did things change as you began writing the first book? Things changed after I wrote the first book, THE WAYLAID HEART. Readers requested I have them in a series. So, I did! I adore them. They are a loving couple, opposites that complement each other.   I love historical romances and historical mysteries, but I always wonder one thing. How much research went into a book like this? Are you a…