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 Steena Holmes! Writes:Twisty psychological suspense with emotional bite—stories about secrets, obsession, relationships, and the devastating things people do to protect what they love. Latest book: SHE TOOK MY BABY—a heart-pounding thriller about betrayal, buried truths, and how far a woman will go to reclaim what was stolen from her. About:Hi. I’m Steena Holmes. I collect plane tickets to Europe’s best chocolate shops, cafés, and croissant counters. I love wandering Christmas markets with mulled wine in hand, getting lost in lights, decorations, and stories—often with readers right beside me. Fair warning: my enthusiasm for Christmas markets, chocolate, and coffee is highly contagious and you may join me for more than one Reader Tour. I write psychological suspense that starts quietly… and then refuses to let you breathe. I’m obsessed with hidden lives, fractured relationships, and the moment a woman realizes she’s been lied to—and decides she’s done playing nice. My stories are twisted, emotionally charged, and built around one main question: What would you do…

What is the title of your latest release?AN APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?When an ambitious judge and a plaintiff’s attorney collide in a high-stakes case, an earthquake, online attacks, and strict ethical lines force them to decide whether protecting their careers means sacrificing the love neither of them expected. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I practiced law for over a decade in downtown Los Angeles, and it is my adopted hometown. I wanted the book to capture the sights, sounds, and flavor of practicing there. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?This is a tough question. At the start of the book, Judge Mahalia Jackson is aloof and career-driven. I think I would be intimidated by her. By the end, she has changed. After career and personal setbacks, her faith has grown. She is still complex and brilliant, but much more approachable. What are three words that describe your hero?Chivalrous, driven, and compassionate. What’s something you learned while writing this book?Writing is a team effort. The various rounds of editing and polishing only make it better. Do you edit as you draft or wait until…

Each Monday the Smashwords store lists the top ten most highly anticipated indie fiction ebooks based on the previous week’s preorder accumulations. Each title on the list is scheduled to release within the next week. To help the talented authors on this list accumulate even more preorders, click the title of the book. The hyperlink will bring you to a Books2Read page where you can order from your preferred ebook retailer. If the preorder is part of a series, click the hyperlinked series title to learn about the other books in the series. Be sure to check back Friday for a list of the Top 25 Bestselling Indie Ebooks.

What is the title of your latest release?DANDELION IS DEAD What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A grieving woman catfishes a man through her dead sister’s dating app and finds something real inside her lies. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?It takes place in North East London which is the area I live. I knew I wanted it to be a summer book, which adds to the lust and the sense of melting minds. There are chapters in Devon by the sea, where I spent time as a child, and in the South of France, another place I love and a setting that carries its own sense of escape Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely. And my main man. I love them both dearly. What are three words that describe your hero?Kind. Silly. Trying. What’s something you learned while writing this book?The knock backs and the rejections are stepping stones that take you to the right place. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I edit as I draft which is an inefficient way to do it, I wish I was the other way…

Welcome to Jen’s Jewels, where each week I highlight a story I loved and the author behind the words. Today’s gem is DANDELION IS DEAD by Rosie Storey. Let’s kick things off with a quick Lightning Round before digging deeper into the story. LIGHTNING ROUND In three words, describe the vibe of your book. Hopeful. Raw. Lusty If your book had a theme song, what would it be? Wildest Moments by Jessie Ware THE DEEP DIVE Tell me about a scene you rewrote multiple times. What made it so tricky, and how did you finally crack it? Conversation scenes can be challenging, as I enjoy writing dialogue so much that my characters often end up chit chatting away for too long. It can become a bit much for the reader. For example, when Poppy and Jake are on their second date outside the Tate Gallery in London, I could happily have had them talking and getting to know each other for twenty pages. How did I crack it? Editing. Brutally killing my darlings for months on end. Your protagonist: Did they arrive fully formed, or did you have to excavate them layer by layer? What surprised you most about who…

What is the title of your latest release?THE GOSSIP COLUMNIST What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A young woman is given the job as gossip columnist at the biggest newspaper in Berlin shortly before the Nazis take over and threaten her when she refuses to write flattering accounts of them. With her lover, an editor at the newspaper, she has to flee for her life, hiding in a brothel from where they put out word-of-mouth gossip that infuriates the Nazi leaders. All of it true. It actually happened, How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Berlin was the only possible setting –as wild and sexually permissive as any place on earth, and then equally as terrifying and totalitarian. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?With pleasure. Bella would have interesting stories to tell. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Courageous. Determined. Scared. What’s something you learned while writing this book?History is a river. It depends on which part of it you find yourself. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?Both. I always revise yesterday’s work before beginning today’s writing. And then when the first draft…

Hello Cozy Mystery Friends, I’m Jamie Adams, and if you’ve been following along, you know I love a good mystery. There’s something irresistible about an intricate puzzle, a trail of clues, and that heart-pounding moment when everything falls into place. If there’s one thing we all agree on, it’s that life is better with a cup of something warm and a mystery that keeps you guessing without keeping you up all night. I’ve highlighted a couple newer and noteworthy cozy mysteries, the kind filled with small towns, clever sleuths, quirky side characters, and just the right touch of danger. New Cozy Mysteries Worth Discovering Here are a few recent releases cozy readers are buzzing about: • Death and Breakfast by Maisy MarpleA charming small-town mystery featuring a determined amateur sleuth, a close-knit community, and secrets hiding in plain sight. Perfect if you love cats. • Killer Secrets by Jackie LaytonSet in a picturesque town with an irresistible premise, this story delivers classic cozy vibes with a fresh twist—and a puzzle that will keep you guessing until the final chapter. Cozy Corner: Why We Keep Coming Back There’s a reason cozy mysteries feel like coming home. They offer: In a busy world,…

Book Title: MONSTER IN THE MOONLIGHTCharacter Name: Morgan Carter How would you describe your family or your childhood?My father inherited great wealth from his father and as a result my upbringing was extraordinary and privileged. It was also lonely much of the time. I know, I know. Poor little rich kid. I’ve heard it all before. Despite their wealth, my parents tried to live as understated a lifestyle as they could. Our home was modest, they let me attend the local high school, and they didn’t flash their money around. Still, my childhood was quite unusual in that I traveled the world with my parents while they hunted for cryptids. I was mostly home schooled until I reached high school age, which was probably just as well. Most kids looked at me cockeyed when I tried to explain that my parents hunted for cryptids. Do you know what a cryptid is? Never mind, I’ll just tell you. They’re creatures believed by many to exist despite no proof to support this, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. My parents met while they were both looking into reports of a chupacabra sighting in Mexico and they quickly became inseparable. Here’s a…

Hello! I’m Jennifer Chow, author of TELL-TALE TREATS, the third book in my Magical Fortune Cookie series. Soon after baker Felicity Jin goes to deliver her enchanted pastries, one of the residents is found drowned at the local inn. The sudden booking of Pixie InnExtended retreat for a group of high school alumnaeTLucky fortune cookies and other treats are requested at the innLove is in the air when boyfriend Kelvin is also hired to decorate the place with flowers The fatal nut allergy and drowning of the queen bee in the groupAlmond cookies from the Jin Bakery…Could they be the cause of death?Lies told by all the womenExtra sensitivity from Kelvin; is something magical going on with him? The past plays into the presentRabbit; magical Whiskers lends a helping pawEvading or enlisting the assistance of Detective Sun; which to do?Animals have key roles in the mysteryThe importance of a recent high school reunionStones from Yuhua and their mysterious presence TELL-TALE TREATS by Jennifer J. Chow A Magical Fortune Cookie Novel Is Felicity to blame when a hotel guest drowns after eating her enchanted cookies? Felicity Jin returns in the third installment of the Magical Fortune Cookie series.A group of high school alumnae…

Book Title: BLACK WIDOWCharacter Name: Hewitt Birch aka Hew How would you describe your family or your childhood?Not much of a childhood to speak of, honestly. I grew up in the system, shuffled around between fosters and group homes until I aged out and had to find my own way. For kids like me, that meant one of two things: slingin’ dope or joinin’ up. I walked into that Army recruiter’s office and didn’t walk back out of the military until I was offered the job at Black Knights Inc. And the rest, as they say, is history. What was your greatest talent?Can’t say for sure it’s a talent so much as a skill, but I can fly anything with rotors or wings. If she’s capable of soaring through the great blue yonder, I’m the guy who can get her up there and keep her up there. Significant other?I’ve never really thought of that phrase until you just used it. Not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. Significant is right. There’s nothin’ in my life that matters more. But other? Naw. That feels all wrong. She’s a part of me. There’s no me without her. And her…