1–What is the title of your latest release? My debut novel and Smartypants Romance title is called NEANDERTHAL SEEKS DUCHESS. It’s a historical romance re-imagining of Penny Reid’s Knitting in the City series, written in Smartypants Romance’s new Out of this World imprint. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Quirky wallflower tries to avoid scandal in London but meets a mysterious gentleman who shakes things up instead. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? London felt like the obvious choice, so I went with it. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Definitely. Jane is a loyal and dedicated friend whose quirks and unique personality make her someone I’d love to hang with. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Unconventional, brooding, swoony 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I really wanted to accurately display and translate the friendships between the Knitting in the City ladies (Penny’s series) to the London embroidery ladies (my series). And I think what hit home while I was writing NSD was that whether you’re in modern day Chicago or 19th century England, true and lasting friendships are rare and precious. 7–Do…

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 Tracy Sumner!   Writes: Steamy, character-driven, banter-filled historical romance! About: Dating profile-style bio of the author What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: A reader who likes: Slow, burn STEAM High heat, long love scenes Banter, e.g., The Thin Man, Sam & Diane/Cheers, Moonlighting, Lucy & Desi Heroes who fall first Heroines who are independent, feisty and often have their own “careers” in a way that is reasonable for the time period Heroes who aren’t always dukes. (Sometimes, however!) I love writing the rookery boys! A la Peaky Blinders! What to expect if we’re compatible: Comps I’ve heard (and this is from readers, not me!) LOTS of Derek Craven references (which flatters me to no end!) in my latest book,  THE WICKED WALLFLOWER. Xander Macauley is a rookery titan who has climbed from the slums to rule London! I get comps to writers who write edgy, sexy heroes. https://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Kleypas-Gambler-Cravens-Dreaming/dp/1536671312 https://www.amazon.com/Heartbreaker-Hells-Belles-Sarah-MacLean-ebook/dp/B09MD6ZMNX https://www.amazon.com/Crying-Wolfe-Goode-Girls-Romance-ebook/dp/B094RS5SDK THE WICKED WALLFLOWER by Tracy Sumner Duchess Society #3 In this…

1–What is the title of your latest release? AND BY FIRE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Tempered by fire and separated by centuries, two extraordinary female detectives track a pair of murderous geniuses who will burn the world for their art in this mystery that is perfect for fans of Sarah Penner and Dan Brown. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? London was a foregone conclusion because my historical timeline in And by Fire involves that city’s Great Fire of 1666. And I knew I was going to pair that storyline with a modern one opening with the discovery of a charred figure at the base of Sir Christopher Wren’s monument to the Great Fire. The location of Wren’s monument assured that my modern-day main character, Nigella Parker, would be a Detective Inspector with the London City Police, rather than the Met (aka Scotland Yard). The jurisdiction of the City police is approximately 1.12 square miles (a miniscule portion of the whopping 607 square miles comprising greater London), which makes my modern serial arson/murder investigation multi-jurisdictional—enter Nigella’s former lover and partner-in-crime-fighting DI Colm O’Leary from Scotland Yard. 4–Would you hang out…

1–What is the title of your latest release? STARRY-EYED LOVE   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?  Having just gotten out of a relationship, London turns down a date with an attractive man, only to have him crash a business meeting of hers three months later. Turns out he’s the CEO of the company and now she’s locked into working with him.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?  Back in 2018 I attended Book Bonanza in Colorado and fell in love with the mountains and the scenery and knew I wanted to set a series there. It’s such a beautiful location and became the perfect setting for Spark House, the event hotel run by the Spark sisters.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?  Definitely! She’s fun and crafty and endearing. I would totally hang out with her and make origami stars, or design centerpieces with her, which are some of the things she does for her own side business, and for Spark House.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Charismatic, intense, giving.   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?  I learned…

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 Zarqa Nawaz! Writes: Zarqa Nawaz has just written a hilarious black comedy about the price of success. When Jameela Green’s memoir doesn’t make it to The New York Times bestseller list, she decides to ask the local imam for help in convincing God to get her what she wants. He insists she’s a little too selfish and maybe if she helps a homeless person, things will turn around for her. And boy, do they ever! This book is a biting look at what happens when one woman’s ambition draws her into an epic adventure that defies description. About: Zarqa Nawaz loves making people laugh. She created the sitcom, Little Mosque On The Prairie, the first television show that depicts the lives of Muslims living in the west. It currently airs on Amazon, and she also wrote a memoir, Laughing All The Way to the Mosque, a heartwarming tale about a young Muslim woman growing up in Canada. Zarqa lives in Regina, Saskatchewan which is…

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 Stephanie Vance!   Writes: Among other things (e-mails, postcards, the occasional grocery list) I write romantic comedy featuring smart, feisty, often sarcastic heroines who absolutely devastate men who are used to having their own way. Across the Aisle features Dallas McGrath, a female lobbyist working to succeed in a career dominated by men. She’s up against fellow lobbyist Grant Pierce, a handsome charmer who’s sure he’s just one flirt away from defeating Dallas in the lobbying game. Spoiler alert: he’s wrong.   About: Wise (a.k.a. old), witty (a.k.a. snarky), and wine-loving (that speaks for itself) woman seeks partner who appreciates slow burn enemies-to-lovers romcoms featuring strong women who, to put it bluntly, won’t put up with anyone’s crap. Must share my love of travel, romcoms, and dogs, not in that order. I’m a scuba-diver, a business-owner, and a non-sanctimonious vegetarian; I have no problem watching you eat steak (my characters do it all the time), if you’re not pairing it with a Sauvignon Blanc instead of a…

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 Victoria Thompson! Writes: Victoria Thompson writes historical mystery, notably the Gaslight Mystery Series, which has been nominated for an Edgar Award and 6 times for an Agatha Award.  The 25th book in that series is MURDER ON MADISON SQUARE! If you enjoy complicated mysteries with a lot of human interest and a really slow-burn romance, this series is for you! About: Victoria spends long hours at her computer thinking of creative ways to murder people at the turn of the last century in New York City. In her spare time, she watches true crime shows on TV and matches wits with her scary-smart grandchildren. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: My ideal reader for MURDER ON MADISON SQUARE would: Love being misled Enjoy witty dialogue Revel in watching characters develop over the long haul Crave learning obscure historical facts Be determined to guess the killer but not mind if they are fooled! What to expect if we’re compatible: Falling in love…

1–What is the title of your latest release? MAGIC, LIES, AND DEADLY PIES 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? ML&DP is about a vigilante baker who kills bad men with good pies. In TV terms, it’s Pushing Daisies meets Dexter. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The book is set in a fictional Massachusetts college town because I wanted a cozy and politically progressive place to for my murder girl to set down roots. 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely! Why would I not when murder and pie is on the menu?? 5–What are three words that describe your sleuth? Whimsical, fashionable, and murdery 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That titles are incredibly hard to come up with!! ML&DP started life as PIES BEFORE GUYS but I had to come up with a bunch of alternative options when the publisher wanted to change it. (And I still mostly just call it ‘the murder pie book’!) 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Draft first, then edit. I’m an outliner, so the actual drafting can go pretty quick if…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE BANGALORE DETECTIVES CLUB 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? If you’re interested in historical mysteries with feisty women protagonists, this is the book for you! 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I grew up and live in Bangalore, India, which is my favorite city. I’ve lived in many parts of the world, but always chose to return here. My academic research (in my day job as an ecologist and university professor) is also focused on Bangalore, and I have fifteen years of research to draw on, plus my own family’s rich personal experience. With such a wealth of information, there was nowhere else I would have located the book! 4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Absolutely. Kaveri is such a mold-breaker. She lives in colonial India, in a time and place when ‘good’ women were expected to conform to societal norms and expectations that kept them in their place, i.e. mostly within the home. But she’s a budding mathematician who loves swimming and driving cars, gets involved in solving a murder, and blazes her own path. What’s not to…

Tell me about your choice of setting for this Kate Hamilton mystery series. (setting, history, characters) THE SHADOW OF MEMORY is set in the fictional village of Long Barston in Suffolk as well as the Suffolk coastline, site of a holiday camp where Kate’s friend Vivian Bunn spent her girlhood summers. Near the camp is Netherfield Sanatorium, a derelict Victorian mental hospital being converted into deluxe flats and townhouses. The developer and board of directors have asked Kate and her colleague Ivor Tweedy to appraise a fine collection of antiques that once filled the institution, including a painting attributed to the fifteenth-century Netherlandish painter Jan Van Eyck. But is the painting what it seems to be? And could there be a connection between the hospital and the mysterious deaths of a doctor and his wife? Why Suffolk? I fell in love with the British Isles when I was a student at St. Clare’s College, Oxford. Writing a book means spending a lot of time in the setting you’ve chosen, and Suffolk is one of England’s hidden gems—England the way you picture it in your mind. The “Suffolk Pink” cottages with their thatched roofs and the ancient villages with their cobbled…