What is the title of your latest release?THE EYES OF RIVER What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?The convicting eyes of a child drove Lizzy Haney to mail her little brother through the U.S. mail to break him free of his chains and save him. What she didn’t expect was just how deep the chains were buried and how harshly they would cut. When Lizzy finds out children are being taken and sold, she’s determined to bring them home, even at the risk of learning her own identity. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains, and I love to set my stories within a 200-mile radius of home. Even if the town is imaginary, I base it on real cities and towns. In the case of The Eyes of River, the story is set just below Chattanooga on the Tennessee-Georgia border and finishes in Knoxville. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Most definitely. Lizzy has her issues, but she’s genuinely kind, and she longs for friendships she was never allowed to have. What are three words that describe your hero?The obvious would be…

What is the title of your latest release?SHAKEN TO THE CORE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?After her mother’s sudden death, Joy discovers her diary – one entry inspires an idea that changes the trajectory of her life. Then her husband receives devastating news, which threatens their future and forces her to find the courage to pivot. SHAKEN TO THE CORE is an uplifting novel about love, loss, resilience, and how motherhood transcends biology. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Vermont is my serene sanctuary in the mountains. Our family has visited for years, making memories and creating meaningful moments. The landscape, people, food, and energy there is the perfect setting for Joy’s journey. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes! What are three words that describe your hero?Creative, empathetic, and intuitive What’s something you learned while writing this book?I learned to trust where my heart leads me. If something did not work, I pivoted or deleted the scene. One of the main themes of SHAKEN TO THE CORE is “what do we do with the time we have left?” I lean into this in life – both on and…

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 Jennie Goutet! Writes: Refined historical romance set in 18th century Europe with witty dialogue, subtle humor, and a slow-burning passion characterized by dignity and restraint. About: Jennie is a fancy-pants cosmopolitan author who lives in a Parisian suburb ten minutes away from the Arc de Triomphe (and spills food on her shirt every day, doesn’t drink the wine, and has a gluten intolerance). She adores Rachmaninoff, the craggy cliffs of Brittany, a bracing wind, strong hot coffee and gluten-free vanilla cake, her French husband and three grown children, an aptly-turned phrase, and a God who made all of these things. She has written over twenty books, most set in the Regency period, and is having a blast writing 18th century romance stories set closer to what she now calls home. My ideal reader for A LOVE ONCE LOST must love: What to expect if we’re compatible: A LOVE ONCE LOST by Jennie Goutet Bridwells’ Grand Tour Book #1 A Georgian-Era European Grand Tour Historical Family Saga…

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 S.E. McPherson! Writes: S.E. McPherson writes adult dystopian and fantasy romance. The upcoming first in the Wanted Boys series, WANTED BOYS, is an adult dystopian love story where found family is the only thing that can save the boys who will change the world. Logan is afraid he’ll die alone, hiding from soldiers who believe he shouldn’t exist. Jace is afraid of nothing—he thinks he and Logan can live peacefully in love together. They’re both wrong. About: You ever look at someone and think, “That nerd’s definitely done some maladaptive daydreaming in their life”? That’s S.E. McPherson, who’s been writing fantasy and speculative fiction since they were eight years old, binding books with a hole punch and tied yarn, and has since seen their debut novel A King’s Trust named to Kirkus Reviews’ Top 100 Best Indie Books of 2025 and Best LGBTQ+ Indies of 2025. A collector of funky eyeglasses and hobbies they immediately drop, S.E. has a beautiful garden that thrives despite…

What is the title of your latest release? TO CATCH A SINNER What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? TO CATCH A SINNER is suspenseful friends to lovers romance between a relentless journalist and an enigmatic lawyer who fall in love before they realize their relationship has a fatal flaw.  Set in a fictionalized Washington DC, the story explores themes of identity, found family, and the pursuit of a new American Dream. How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew that the story would be set in the DMV because of a recently renewed love I have for the area. I knew that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American history and Culture would be an important setting for the story. My characters were both going to be first generation Ghanaians and the DC area has such a rich and diverse first gen population.  Significantly, the house that sparked the idea for this story in the first place is located in McLean Virginia. The Potomac river was my muse for a lot of the story and so my characters spend a lot of time in places that it touches.  Would you hang out…

What is the title of your latest release? CHASE ME IF YOU CAN What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When photographer Sloane Michaels is invited to enter a prestigious nature magazine’s storm cover contest, she knows her favorite frenemy “Wild” Wes Talbot is the man to beat. But when an accident leaves Wes without a car, the two team up for the season…and find that the feelings between them might be more electric than the storms they’re chasing. How did you decide where your book was going to take place? In this case, the setting came along with the plot! While tornadoes and supercells definitely occur in other parts of the world, the highest concentration is in the American Midwest / Tornado Alley.  Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely! Sloane and I have a lot in common and would get along great.  What are three words that describe your hero? Kind, competent, determined  What’s something you learned while writing this book? I think every book an author writes teaches them something about themselves (whether they want to learn it or not!) and this book is no different. Some of those lessons were really…

S is for Suitcase Sisters go to Scotland Cousins Nora and Allie are sent to Scotland at the insistence of their indomitable Grandmother. Many surprises await them. H is for Hansome man in a kilt The cousins settle in a picture-perfect cottage in the village where their Gran grew up and a man in a kilt asks Nora if she has “a touch of cianalas”. O is for Old secrets waiting to be uncovered What has their Gran kept hidden from them and why does she want them to bring back an old book from an even older library? R is for Research for new Spa Products Allie convinces Nora to become a spa spy with her so they can discover a new product in the Highlands to take back to Arizona before her family business tumbles. T is for Train ride through the Highlands As the train journeyed north more pasture lands spread out like thick carpets. Flocks of sheep clustered together as the clouds grew into darker, more menacing threats.  B is for Boat ride on Loch Lomond The water became a speckled looking glass, reflecting the primrose blue canopy above as well as the rounded green hills on both…

Museums are fascinating places to visit. Full of nooks and crannies, they offer a great setting for a mystery. Among the bones and relics of the past, a history museum guards secrets from eras long gone and buries stories that can impact the present. When writing a mystery, it always helps to create a setting within a setting. This technique gives the writer a built-in cast of suspects. For DREIDELS AND DEAD ENDS, the bigger world relates to my hairstylist sleuth, Marla Vail. She owns a hair salon in sultry Palm Haven, Florida. Her clients are sources of gossip who may also ask for her help in solving a murder. By now in this award-winning series, Marla is married with a toddler son. She’s pregnant with her second child and juggles caring for her family with gift shopping for both Christmas and Hanukkah. The last thing she needs is another whodunit to solve in the midst of holiday preparations. Then her friend Becky Forest, curator at the local history museum, begs Marla to give a last-minute speech during their new exhibit’s opening gala. Their contracted speaker has cancelled, and she needs a quick fill-in. Marla’s interest peaks when Becky mentions…

Book Title: THE KILLER WEDDINGCharacter Name: Henry Vaughn (best man, narrator, the only one paying attention) How would you describe your family or your childhood?Mercifully uneventful, which I have come to appreciate more as an adult than I did at the time. My parents are sensible people in Surrey who worry about hedges and the church roof fund. I have a younger sister who works in logistics and finds my friendship with James a source of endless, justified amusement. Nobody in my family has ever hired a private investigator to look into anyone’s fiancée, which, I have learned this year, is not something every family can say. What was your greatest talent?Noticing things. The handshake that’s a fraction too firm. The smile that never quite reaches the eyes. The brother who appears from nowhere three weeks after an engagement and orders the wine before anyone’s asked him to. It’s not a talent anyone pays you for directly, though I would argue it has, on at least four occasions this year, kept my best friend alive. Significant other?Not currently, no. I went on three dates with a woman from the floor below mine in March, and on the third I found…

What is the title of your latest release?CECE DOWNING’S START OVER SUMMER What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?After losing her stable job as an actuary and breaking up with her fiancé, a thirty-two-year-old woman flees to a coastal Connecticut town for a summer of reinvention, only to find herself caught between an unexpected romance, a local class war over an oyster farm, and a sudden family crisis. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I’ve always wanted to set something in New London, CT. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely. She’s a bit all over the place, but she seems like a fun hang! What are three words that describe your hero?conflicted, driven, messy. What’s something you learned while writing this book?Running an oyster farming business is tough! Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I usually edit chapter by chapter. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?Oysters, of course! Describe your writing space/office!A nice big office surrounded by my books. Who is an author you admire?Edith Wharton Is there a book that changed your life?STONER by John Williams Tell us about when you got “the call.”…