With necessity forcing Society to allow women into many new lines of work, breaking down barriers which could not later be fully reconstructed, World War I changed the landscape of the working world. In this month’s stories, we see that impact on the lives of both individuals and groups of women who, prepared to show how capably they could support the war effort, becomes heroines in the very shadow of the guns. We begin with BAND OF SISTERS by Lauren Willig, a novel based on a true story. When charismatic Smith graduate Betsy Rutherford calls on other Smith graduates to join a unit to help French civilians displaced and injured by the war, a disparate group of eighteen volunteers head for France as the Smith College Relief Unit. Though scholarship student Kate Moran never felt she fit in, she reluctantly yields to the pleas of her former best friend Emmeline Van Alden to join the unit. Arriving in the decimated French countryside, they find their headquarters a burned-out ruin and the villagers they seek to help living in cellars, their gardens destroyed, their wells poisoned. If frequent German shelling and harassment from male bureaucracies that don’t believe they belong in…

What is the title of your latest release?FALLING FOR YOU What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A one-night stand between two strangers. What could go wrong? Two pink lines.. And if that doesn’t make things complicated you come face to face with him four months later and you have to tell him your having his baby….. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I wrote the dreams series which takes place in Montgavin and in book five I introduced Theo, which became the hero of book one in the Falling Series. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes.. I think it would be so much fun and that is only beucase I think a little of myself is in each heroine! What are three words that describe your hero?Swoony, supportive, protective. What’s something you learned while writing this book?That chicken fried stead isn’t chicken. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I wait until it’s totally done and do a read through on my first round of edits. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?hmmm it would have to be Italian food. Describe your writing space/office!For years I had…

Excerpt from THE PADDOCK CLUB by Madge Maril: Chapter 1 En Passant NEW YORK CITY I’m not a good person. What I am, though, is a good woman. You know what I mean—the difference. There’s an art to being a woman in this world, those little winks, the pencil skirts, the mauve eyeshadow. Saying sorry when you’re not sorry, styling your hair within an inch of its life, choosing silence so you can be invisible, so you can do whatever you want. I think I was fourteen the first time I realized that this body would require work. My grandma was perched on her restaurant’s fake marble countertop, short legs swinging, the heels of her nonslip shoes banging softly against the purple cabinet doors. I was in front of her, my chin in her hand as she applied eyeliner to my water line. “This freaking hurts,” I whined. “I know,” she replied calmly. “If you hand me the makeup remover, I can take it off. Your choice.” Waterfield High School’s fall dance was that night, and I had a date with a soft-spoken writer in my class who all the guys called Nosferatu. “No. I’m okay,” I promised Grandma, and…

Take a tour of Bramleigh Green with Sasha Lee Gazing at the Spring cherry blossom and listening to the tweet of birdsong, I have to pinch myself to check I’m not dreaming. No, I really live in Bramleigh Green, running my own matcha café and matchmaking business. I’m Sasha Lee, and my café Matcha Moments sits at one end of the cobbled high street, facing The Green. Nestled among sheep-studded emerald hills you wouldn’t think the town of Bramleigh Green was only a two- hour train ride from Paddington station. In my days as a law student, I could spend the same time stuck on the London Underground, breathing in the commuter herd’s morning breath. Here, the air’s as fresh as nectar and life’s slower paced and sweeter too. Unlike the anonymous city, the locals are actually interested in getting to know you – perhaps a little too well…. I arrived in Bramleigh Green feeling burnt out, a failure in love and work. Trying to please my East Asian parents, I’d attempted a career in law. Let’s just say it gave up on me before I gave up on it. At the same time, I suffered a devastating heartbreak. After…

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 Grace Helena Walz! Writes:Heartfelt, sassy Southern fiction starring down-to-earth women determined to find their way through all of life’s trials. PRETTY AS A PEACH follow’s Delilah Thomas, a people-pleasing preschool teacher who decides to investigate a secretive MLM cosmetics company that’s come to town and infiltrated her group of lifelong friends. In order to bring to light the misdeed of the company, Delilah must team up with her retiree neighbor, find her voice, and finally stand up to her contemptible family. Along the way she uncovers far more than she ever bargained for—about her town, her family, and herself. About:Grace is a former social worker and mother of two who squeezes writing into the moments between school carpool and after-school activities. She writes Southern book club fiction, and PRETTY AS A PEACH is her third novel. When she has a moment of free time she loves to sew, read, go for uninterrupted walks, and eat sweet treats. Readers who will love PRETTY AS A…

Book Title: WHITE RABBITCharacter Name: Penelope Willows Interviewer: How would you describe your family or your childhood?I live with my mother who is named Louie. She has brown hair and brown eyes and works at Pete’s Place on Tuesday and Thursday and at Benjamin Franklin’s on the weekends. She likes to take pictures of the ocean and smokes cigarettes when she’s feeling sad. I find them in the toilet when she forgets to flush. I have an aunt named Sharon who lives in West Virginia. Everyone calls her Apple because her hair is very red. She took me to Minnesota once. I ate chicken nuggets from McDonalds for the first time. Interviewer: What about your dad? What’s he like?I do not want to talk about him. Interviewer: What is your greatest talent?I can spell all the words on the even pages of the Webster Dictionary. Not many people know how to do that. Interviewer: You’re eleven years old. Do you have a best friend?My best friend is the ghost of Sylvia Plath. She once lived in the same house I live in now. Interviewer: What do you like to do together?We like to sit on the rocks beside the ocean…

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.

I was always a bit of a weird kid.  I don’t say that in a disparaging way. I kind of love that I was weird. Maybe more now than back then, sure, but still. Most kids did not have my fascination with crime and solving mysteries, even if they did read some Nancy Drew. Mine was way beyond that, and I couldn’t get enough of reading, watching and trying to solve mysteries.  As I got older, I delighted in scaring my parents a little bit with my obsession. My dad couldn’t understand why I had a poster of Freddy Krueger had the prime real estate on my wall, right next to one of Johnny Depp from his 21 Jump Street days. My very first true crime book was about the serial killer Ted Bundy. And my first real research report was about Charles Stuart, the infamous Boston murderer from my own backyard. My fascination with a life of crime stemmed from my grandfather, who was a detective. He retired the year I was born, but he had stories for years to come. All G-rated, of course. But I LOVED them. My grandfather could really tell a story. I could listen…

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 as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Jackie McMahon! Writes:My debut novel, THE CLOAK AND DAGGER CLUB, is a Golden Age-style, fair play mystery, set in London, 1930. The idea came from a real-life group called the Detection Club, a crime writing club that still exists today. It’s the first in a new series, with a sequel coming next year. THE CLOAK AND DAGGER CLUB follows Lucy, a debut novelist who is invited to the titular, exclusive mystery writers’ group. She accepts the invitation, even though Frank – a rising literary star and her ex-fiancé – is also a member of the club. When the club’s tyrannical president is murdered, Frank becomes the police’s prime suspect, and Lucy believes he’s innocent. The two crime writing exes team up to find the real killer, while fighting their lingering attraction. About:Historical mystery author seeks historical mystery readers. I’ve been a voracious reader since childhood and posted about books on Instagram and YouTube long before I became an author myself. In…

What is the title of your latest release?THE MAN What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Judith Stanley, a 1960s New Jersey housewife and talented amateur photographer, begins taking self-portraits in shop windows. When she prints the film, she sees the shadowy figure of a man in the background of every picture and begins to believe a past assailant has come back to stalk her. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Like my main character, I live in the New Jersey suburbs. I love them for their beauty and convenient location but also for their quiet, dark nights, which partly inspired THE MAN. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes. She fascinates me, and I’d love to talk to her about her art, her life, her relationships, and her past. She’s very reserved, though, so I doubt she’d be fully honest with me. What are three words that describe your hero?Vulnerable, gifted, private/secretive What’s something you learned while writing this book?The laborious process of developing and printing photographs in a home darkroom. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I wait until I’m totally done. I write…