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 J.L. Lora! Writes: She writes contemporary and romantic suspense stories about people who are not all bad or all good but 100% real. Her stories explore the dark side of good characters, people living in the gray areas of life while playing the cards life has dealt them. Her characters fall in love hard and fight through many obstacles–including themselves–on their way to their HEA. About: J.L. is a Dominican-American author and loves strong heroines and their equally powerful Men. You can find her pursuing her dream of writing compelling, sexy, can’t-put-down stories about empowered, badass alpha heroines and take-your-breath-away alpha heroes   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: My ideal reader match for my latest book, SOME DAYS, must love… A strong, independent heroine. A hot hero with a save-the-world complex. Intricate subplots that deal with heavy subjects. Sass and sarcasm. Insane chemistry between protagonists. Push and pull in the relationship.   What to expect if we’re compatible: You’ll want…

I’m curious about the world these Dangerous Damsels stories take place in. Is it a real time and place in history, but with a magical twist? Or is it set in some alternate, yet similar to our own, world? It’s real Victorian England, with the twist that a magical incantation was discovered many years before and a small group of people have access to it. Despite the fantasy element, the general setting is firmly established in historical reality – and yet, I also had to consider what that reality might look like under the circumstances of pirates in flying houses!   How does the Wisteria Society crime sorority of the first book in this series compare to The League of Gentlewomen Witches? The Wisteria Society and the Wicken League are remarkably similar to each other, although they would not agree with this. Both groups make claims in a decidedly resolute manner (ie, using guns, sharpened hat pins, and snubbing each other at parties) as to their superiority, but the fact is, even these powerful and dangerous magic-wielding women still find themselves conforming to the essential norms of Victorian culture. I’m interested in showing how women in a prevailingly patriarchal environment…

1–What is the title of your latest release? My new book is called SADIE ON A PLATE.   2–What is it about? Sadie’s at her lowest point both professionally and personally after being fired from her job as a chef by her ex-boyfriend/boss (yep, bad decision). So when she gets the chance to compete on popular reality cooking show Chef Supreme, she hopes it’ll be just the boost she and her career need. Her optimism spikes when she has a great, romantic meet-cute with this guy Luke on the plane that turns into a whirlwind date… except when she turns up to set the next day, she learns with horror that he’s the new judge on the show. If they can’t keep their feelings for each other secret, she’ll get kicked off the show. But how long can they tamp down the heat between them before the pot boils over?   3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I’m obsessed with reality cooking shows, especially Top Chef, so creating the set for a fictional Top Chef-esque reality show was so much fun! I loved imagining the fancy kitchen gadgets, stocked pantry, and the one singular ice cream…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE QUEEN’S MAN is out March 15. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? After years of longing, a change in power may allow Queen Giabella of Athawick to finally act on her feelings for her longtime secretary, Dashiell Talbot. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The series, Regency Royals, is about a fictional royal family who come to London to match the eldest daughter for political purposes. So the first two books take place in London, the final three in the island country of Athawick. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Giabella is smart and kind and progressive, she’d be awesome to hang out with! 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Serious, responsible, smoking hot 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I’m not sure I really learned anything. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I’m pretty solid in my writing and with my settings. I did love writing an older couple though (both over 50). 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit after I draft….

1–What is the title of your latest release? COLD CLAY: A Shady Hollow Mystery. It’s book 2 in the series. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? We call it “Animal Crossing + Knives Out”. Imagine a charming murder mystery, but all the characters just happen to be animals. And before you ask, no, they’re not for kids. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? We made up the town of Shady Hollow because we thought it would be a fun place for us to explore. It’s sort of the perfect, old-fashioned small town. Plus, there’s no computers or internet in our world! 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? We would definitely meet Vera for coffee at Joe’s Mug and hang out in Nevermore Books. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Orville Braun, our police bear, is brave, hard-working, and honest. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? We learned that our detective thinks best when she’s drinking coffee or eating delicious food, which is why a lot of it appears in our books. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?…

Is Ella Shane based on any historical figure? Having the story set in 1900, did you do any research on the time period? Are you a history buff? I like to describe Ella as part Beverly Sills, part Anne of Green Gables and part Errol Flynn. She’s brilliantly talented yet approachable like Sills, an orphan made good like Anne, and a swashbuckler like Flynn. Probably the closest real-life figure to Ella is Lillian Russell, a singer and actress who owned her own theatre company in the late 19th century. BUT — she didn’t play trouser roles, and Miss Russell’s personal life (four marriages and a very public affair with Diamond Jim Brady!) was the exact opposite of respectable Ella’s. I’ve been a history buff since I learned to read, and the Victorian Era is one of my favorite periods. When I started working on the series, it was tremendously fun to research the details – and the outfits! In A FATAL OVERTURE, Ella Shane’s love interest is described as “long-distance love, Gil Saint Aubyn”. Does Ella have support from friends, family, or friendly investigators to be part of her “Scooby gang” as she plays the role of amateur sleuth? Absolutely!…

I admit that I couldn’t see the appeal of mafia-themed romance. Then I read one or two by the author MINK and I got into it a bit. How would you describe your “Dark Mafia” romances to romance fans new to your books or new to the mafia-themed romance sub-genre in general? What makes them so fab? Well, everyone loves a bad boy. There is just something sexy about a man who is willing to do anything, and I do mean anything, to keep the woman he loves by his side. My men are OTT arrogant, possessive, domineering and dangerous. The dangerous part is what sets both dark romance and the dark mafia sub-genre apart from more standard romance. In my books, the villain gets the girl. There are no moral code restraints on his actions which makes the books unpredictable and exciting.   I’m always interested in the heroines in these types of romances. How would you describe the heroine in SWEET BRUTALITY? Can she hold her own with the hero? Absolutely. Carinna is bold, sassy, and independent. She is determined to make her own way in the world and does not need or want a man’s help. This,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A BRUSH WITH LOVE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two dental students trade fillings for feelings as they navigate first love, being “just friends,” meddling found family, and finding what they really want out of life while also working through the hard parts of mental illness and grief. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I wrote ABWL during my first year of dental school. While in the program, your world becomes really small (and tooth-shaped) to the point that you’re thinking about school or exams or hanging with other dental students talking about school or exams… it’s as tedious as it sounds. Harper and Dan, my main characters who are in dental school, popped into my head one day and wouldn’t shut up! It was fun to watch their friendship and romance unfold in a setting I’d never seen in a romance novel before. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Oh heck yes. I love Harper Hannah Horowitz with my whole heart. She’s funny and determined and would do anything for the people she loves. She’d also probably push…

1–What is the title of your latest release? INKED CRAVING 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? “She expected a proposal but ended up dumped and pregnant. Now she’s alone…and trying not to fall for her best friend. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My series is set in Colorado since I used to live there, and I love it so much! 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Totally. Paige is one of my favorites. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Broken. Grumpy. Dependable. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I had to learn all about the timeline of pregnancies LOL. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Answer: I wait until I’m done so I don’t get confused. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Cheese. All the cheese. 9–Describe your writing space/office! I have an office in my house, so I don’t end up working in the rest of my house and never sleep. 10–Who is an author you admire? I am enthralled with Nalini Singh’s worldbuilding and just how wonderful she is! 11–Is there a book that changed…

Jen: What inspired your new release, THE TOBACCO WIVES? Adele: As a young girl growing up in North Carolina, I was fascinated by my grandmother’s stories about the women she called the tobacco wives. She was a hairdresser for the wives of the wealthiest, most powerful tobacco magnates in Winston-Salem, NC in the 1940s, and tales of these wealthy, glamorous women captured my imagination.   Jen: What’s the most fascinating thing you learned while researching the book? Adele: Insights into what life was like for tobacco workers was fascinating, and pretty disturbing. One example is that the field workers suffered from a condition called “the green monster.” When they tended to and picked wet tobacco leaves, nicotine seeped into their skin, giving them tobacco poisoning. I had no idea about this condition. Factory conditions and practices were also a shocker to me.    Jen: What brings Maddie Sykes to Bright Leaf, North Carolina? Adele: When Maddie’s father is killed in WWII, her mother has a breakdown. She doesn’t know how she’ll support herself and her daughter and decides to take Maddie to her Aunt Etta’s house in the tobacco capital of the South. Aunt Etta is a professional seamstress in the…