In your latest book, A HALF-BAKED ALIBI, Sherry gets involved in a murder investigation because she wants to clear her friend from being thought of as a suspect. With cozies, there are all kinds of amateur sleuths who have all kinds of reasons for getting involved in an official investigation. I think this is one of the better ones – to help a friend or family member in trouble, as well as when they have to clear themselves from being a suspect. Do you ever find it difficult coming up for reasons for Sherry to be involved in a murder investigation? After six books, and the seventh on the way, thank goodness I haven’t had any trouble getting Sherry involved in murder investigations. Introducing more characters slowly as needed is one way to broaden her reasons for involvement. Another is the fact that she’s becoming known for her amateur sleuthing successes and people are beginning to seek out her skills. She has to want to become involved and that, too, is part of the story. What draws her in isn’t always cut and dry. To repeatedly make the reason be the suspicion of a relative or friend gets old to…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BATTEN DOWN THE BELFRY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When carpenter Whitney Whitaker finds a man dead in the belfry of the country church she’s remodeling into a playhouse, she determines to find out who rang the man’s bell and why. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I lived in Nashville a few years ago and loved it there. It’s a booming city and there’s lots of home rehabbing going on. It was the perfect authentic setting for a house flipper series. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Heck, yeah! She’s smart, brave, and creative. I’d love to talk to her about her design ideas. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Discerning. Determined. Dashing – both figuratively and literally. Detective Collin Flynn is handsome and he’s a runner. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I never knew that such a thing as a “fish bat” existed until I was looking for a small, hard weapon. The bats are used to hit fish over the head after they’re caught. Yikes! 7–Do you edit as you draft…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE BEST KEPT SECRET   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?  After she rescues her sister’s ex from a loopy response to pain meds, Nyla has to keep Leo’s biggest secret while trying not to fall for him.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?  Nearly all of my 40+ published rom-coms take place in the Pacific Northwest. I’m a fourth-generation Oregonian, so this region and its quirks will always have my heart. While The Best Kept Secret takes place in a tiny town in northern Washington, fans of the series will recognize some of the Oregon-based smokejumpers who make an appearance (but don’t worry if you haven’t read others—all the books are standalones!)   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?  Definitely! She’s one of the kindest, most caring and earnest people I know. Even though she can’t keep a secret to save her life, she’s the sort of person who’ll have your back no matter what.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Loving, hard-working, father. That last one is really at the core of who Leo…

1–What is the title of your latest release? LOOKING FOR LEROY   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two women head to Sonoma in a camp-trailer in search of a long-lost beau whose family owns a vineyard—but the only clue to finding him is that his first name is Leroy.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?   I drove through Sonoma wine country once on my way back to Oregon from San Francisco—and the landscape of rolling green vineyards was beautiful. We’ve wanted to return for a longer visit in our motorhome, but in the past few years they’ve been ravaged by fire—and then there was Covid. So I decided to create a family-owned vineyard that had suffered some fire damage and was trying to recover and visit vicariously.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?   Absolutely! I have great empathy for Brynna. She’s had some hard knocks in life but keeps bouncing back. As a teacher of younger children, she has a tender heart. But her tender heart sets her up for some heartbreak too.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Kind,…

CHAPTER 1 Dry Heat by Len Joy   Excerpted from Dry Heat: A Novel. Copyright © Len Joy. All rights reserved. Published by BQB Publishing. https://www.lenjoybooks.com   3 P.M. – SATURDAY – NOVEMBER 20, 1999 ROADRUNNER PARK – PHOENIX, AZ   The gangs were always stealing the nylon basketball nets, so the park director had replaced them with galvanized steel chain, which rattled obnoxiously on every bad shot. Joey frowned as his jump shot clanked off the front rim.   “Your shot sucks today, Joey Blade,” Mallory said as she bounced the ball back to him.   “Your boobs are distracting me. Maybe it’s time you started wearing a bra.” Blonde, with a pixie cut that framed her cute little-girl face, Mallory could have passed for a twelve-year-old if it hadn’t been for her huge breasts. She was fifteen, two years younger than Joey, and they had been playground buddies for ten years. She lived with her creepy father in a rundown brick house a block away and escaped to the park most afternoons.   “Come on, concentrate, Mr. All American.” She lifted up her sweatshirt, flashing him as he took his next shot. An airball.   “Aargh.” Joey chased…

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 Carrie Pulkinen!   Writes: Award-winning paranormal romance that’s snarky, sassy, and just a bit naughty. From shifters to psychics to ghosts, vampires, witches, and demons, you’re sure to find a supernatural being in your favorite flavor. Get lost in exciting worlds full of magic, mischief, and lots of laughs.   About: I’m a USA Today bestselling author who loves anything and everything paranormal. My sense of humor has been called dark and slightly twisted, and I love it when readers laugh out loud at my stories. I’m a wife and a mother to two teens and two dogs, a former high school teacher, a Mardi Gras dancer, and one helluva cook. I love coffee, chocolate, and wine, and yes, I do believe in ghosts.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Readers who love: Nice guys who will move heaven and earth for the women they love Sassy heroines who aren’t afraid to go after what they want Side-splitting laughter Puns…

First of all, let me just say that I love your book covers – especially the one for RECKLESS HEIR. Do you use the same designer/company for each of your books? I have a couple designers I use regularly. The covers for the Underworld Kings series are all by the same designer, and she’s incredible! Your new book, RECKLESS HEIR – the first in your Underworld Kings – is described as an “arranged marriage mafia romance”. I admit that, while I enjoy arranged marriage romances, I was slower to see the appeal of mafia-themed romances. Reading one or two by the author MINK changed my mind. What is it about these kinds of characters and stories that inspire you, and you find compelling as an author? I love the dangerous kind of love that mafia romances bring. With an arranged marriage you get the forbidden aspect. Can you fall in love? Will you be happy being forced to marry someone? Then you have the “bad guy”, who does questionably moral things, but he can still be soft and gentle for the right woman. Describe for me the dynamic between the hero and heroine in RECKLESS HEIR. I love how the…

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 Christine Feehan!   Writes: Christine Feehan writes bestselling paranormal romance. Known for extraordinary world-building, action/adventure, sensuality and a guaranteed happy-ever-after. With seven series that have all made the New York Times bestseller list she offers a variety of story themes.   About: Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, with over 80 published works in seven different series: Dark Series, GhostWalker Series, Leopard Series, Drake Sisters Series, Sea Haven Series, Shadow Series, and Torpedo Ink Series. All seven of her series have hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestseller list. JUDGMENT ROAD, the first book in her newest series, Torpedo Ink, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In addition, Christine is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who adores her family. Her gardens are her pride and joy. She loves animals and living on the California coast. She also freely admits to being technologically challenged as evidenced by pretty much every Facebook Live she’s ever done.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: My ideal reader…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE SPARK OF LOVE   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Fearing a spurned suitor, Alexandra Tarkington flees to Mesquite Springs, hoping for a happy reunion with her father. Little does she know that two men have followed her, each with his own agenda, and that the intriguing man she met on the stagecoach is an investigator determined to unmask a con man … her father.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? That was actually very simple. Since this is the third book in the Mesquite Springs trilogy, it takes place in the Mesquite Springs, the small town in the Texas Hill Country where danger lurks in the most unexpected places.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. Alexandra is strong, determined, and has the talent I’ve always wished I had: being able to draw and paint. Who knows? Maybe if we spent time together, some of that talent would wear off on me.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Principled, determined, handsome. (It’s a romance, so you knew I’d include the last one, didn’t…

CHAPTER ONE My mother woke me in the dead of night again. I felt her standing over my bed, the heat of a flashlight on my face. Why couldn’t she just turn on the lights like a normal person? After sundown, we lived in darkness. If the lamps were on, people could see inside, she said. “Maddie, wake up. We’re going for a drive. Just put your coat on over your nightgown.” I tried to wake up, but stay asleep too, fighting with myself in some in-between place. She paced back and forth, whispering under her breath like she was arguing with an imaginary someone. I wondered what it was this time. But whatever she had planned, nothing could be worse than what had happened last Sunday. On that terrible night, Momma pulled me from my bed at 4 a.m.   “Get up, and come with me,” she’d said, her green eyes wild. She rushed me onto my feet, the wood floor cool and in need of sweeping, gritty under my toes. “I need your help.” I still had a thumbprint bruise on my arm where she grabbed me in that moment, dragging me into the living room. I thought…