I have always been afraid of heights. So when my husband and I traveled to California in 2021 and discovered Trees of Mystery, I surprised even myself by deciding to try the Redwood Canopy Trail. We had come west hoping to see the giant redwoods, and Trees of Mystery seemed like the perfect place to experience them. At the entrance, enormous statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox greeted us. After purchasing our tickets, we wandered through the museum, explored the trails, and stopped to admire some of the remarkable trees. The redwoods seemed almost impossible to comprehend. Some have survived for thousands of years, growing hundreds of feet into the sky. One of the most impressive was the Brotherhood Tree, a Coast Redwood more than 2,000 years old and nearly 300 feet tall. Looking up at these ancient giants made me feel very small—and very grateful to be standing among them. We also rode the Sky Trail gondola through the forest canopy. From above, the trees stretched in every direction, creating a view I will never forget. But the real adventure was still waiting for me. The Redwood Canopy Trail consists of aerial suspension bridges and platforms…

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 Melissa Payne! Writes:I write stories set in small mountain towns with characters searching for redemption, love, and second chances. There’s just something about a mountain landscape with its jagged horizons and unpredictable weather that provides the perfect backdrop for stories exploring the human condition. My newest novel, IN THIS LIFE OR ANOTHER, set in a rural Colorado town, also takes our main character, Rusty, into the unexplored places where our deepest fears and uncertainties hide: the internal landscape of our hearts and minds. In this tale, readers join Rusty as he navigates the unknown between life and death, ultimately facing his own truth against the harsh and beautiful backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. About:A mountain girl at heart, I love all activities that get me outside: hiking, running, skiing (when I’m not rehabbing an ACL injury), camping, and sitting on my deck in the warm-ish summer months with a cup of coffee and a good book. I love to cook and…

Book Title: THE ENIGMATIC MADAM INGRAMCharacter Name: Letty Ingram How would you describe your family or your childhood?I… don’t remember a lot. I’m sorry. My memory is always full of fog, somehow. I remember images. When I was a little girl, Mama and Papa used to have these parties in London. They were so hot and crowded. Mama was very famous, you see. She is from Malaya, and so beautiful – so beautiful, and magical. There were rumors that she could… do certain things, make certain kinds of medicines, especially for women. But I don’t know much about that. Later we moved to Scotland, and we lived in the highlands, in an old manor house. Mama stayed in the house and tended to her hothouse, which was full of mango trees and hibiscus shrubs and all sorts of amazing things. But she never came into town with Papa and I. There were rumors, you know…that she could… wait, I have already told you. I think I had a sister. I think I had a… a dog. Why can’t I remember? What was your greatest talent?A talent? I don’t know – I think I could dance. Or was that someone else?…

Excerpt from ADAM, MINE by K. Ancrum: LUSCIOUS There was a month left before graduation. That besides, Victor needed to start human testing before his anxiety about it got the best of him.  He was strong and fast enough now from his nightly hunts that he felt confident carrying a body. But it needed to be a small one or someone very slight. The thought of a child’s body made him feel ill, but he could do a short woman or a very slender man. He also needed someone sick, who would benefit from treatment, he couldn’t just snatch someone random. Victor watched the hospitals closely. On a windy Thursday, he got lucky. There was a drunk slumped against the wall of the tavern. Flesh burned away from choosing drink over bread. Victor crouched beside him and put a finger to his pulse. It was rapid and his skin was hot. He likely wouldn’t make it through the night without intervention. Victor stretched, then lifted the man from the ground. They stumbled together down the street, into the backdoor of his landlady’s house, and down the stairs into his lab. The man was mumbling, insensate and his clothes were wet…

What is the title of your latest release?BLUE JEAN SUMMER What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A down-on-her-luck pageant queen strikes a deal with a reluctant cowboy where he’ll pay her debts as long as she marries him to save the land his parents are buried on. Now, they must convince the town – and his brother – that they’re in love for real. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?BLUE JEAN SUMMER takes place on the Wilder Estate in the fictional town of Honey Hollow, Virginia – a small town nestled in the Shenandoah Valley. It is loosely based on my late great-grandmother’s farm in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, where I spent many summers running through the pastures, exploring her expansive flower gardens, and watching movies projected on the side of the barn. Winters were spent making hot chocolate on the wood stove and sledding the “big hill” while trying to avoid the cows that wandered over to see what we were doing. When I sat down to plot the world that would hold all the stories of the Wilder Estate, I could not think of a more picturesque setting that would give…

Excerpt from LUCKY 22 by Ashley Eckstein and Samantha Chase: “I can’t believe you finally broke up with Jim. Yay, you!” she says, raising her glass of water to me. I raise mine right back. “Thanks. It was time. We could have kept going, but…” I shrug. “It just wasn’t there. We went to a baseball game, and when he took me home, I knew it was time.” “Wait, you went to a baseball game? I thought sports weren’t really your thing.” I shrug. “I mean, I enjoy going to games. I just don’t follow sports. Jim had some complimentary tickets from work for the Magic game, and a bunch of us went.” I take a sip of my water, thinking about that night. I glance at Whitney, and before I can stop myself, I blurt out the whole eye-contact thing with Christian Lucas. “I know it’s crazy, but it felt really intense,” I tell her. “Like it was an important moment. And his number is twenty-two! Don’t you think that’s crazy? What are the odds that he’s the one I made eye contact with?” “Were you trying to make eye contact with him?” she says with a suspicious laugh….

What is the title of your latest release?THE REFUGE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?It seems like any normal day on The Amarant, a luxury hotel in Montana where the rich pay to commune with nature. But when an abandoned child is discovered on the grounds, the staff quickly learn how far some locals will go to keep the truth about the girl’s past buried… How did you decide where your book was going to take place?THE REFUGE is set in paradise. That was where I started, before toying around with where exactly to place that paradise. And ultimately, for me, paradise looked like Montana, just north of Yellowstone. I wanted it to feel lush and green and pulsing with animal life. I wanted the people to love the land and feel like keepers of it, rather than owners. I think that in America, that idea of stewardship grows more and more the closer you get to the National Parks, where people see themselves as protectors, guardians, or lucky beneficiaries of this world. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes! It feels like I have already spent years “hanging out” with her while writing her…

What is the title of your latest release?THE DATING GAME What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Unlucky in life and love board games designer Tilda decides to structure her own life according to a set of rules. With everything turned into a game, and a rulebook she can understand, perhaps she can finally win at life. The only problem? The other players don’t know that they’re playing… How did you decide where your book was going to take place?THE DATING GAME is set in Monaco, which is where I currently live. It’s such a famous place but one that few people know beyond the glamour. I wanted to bring life to the ordinary in this extraordinary place. Also, the idea of placing a crime novel in one of the safest countries in the world, where violent crime is virtually zero, excited me. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?I’m not going to lie, I’d be scared to! However, Tilda is very loyal to her friends… What are three words that describe your hero?Fair, driven and unhinged. What’s something you learned while writing this book?I loved learning all there is about board games! There are online forums…

There’s an elementary school at the end of my block. School had started, but all the buses were still lined up in front. That can only mean thing: field trip. Zoo? Nature trail? Museum? Play? Time to collect everybody’s lunches and hit the road. Do they still sing, Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall? Probably not, but hopefully something fun has replaced it. As I drove to work, I thought adults need field trips too. During the summer, my employer has a barbeque and our annual meeting. Not the same as traveling together to learn about native plants or exotic animals. My family never went to the zoo or museums. All those sights and smells, I’m looking at you monkey house, come from my school sponsored trips. Being in clubs or extracurricular activities brings even more travel and fun. Then you become an adult, and you go to work. Maybe take a vacation or two, super book yourself for activities, and come home exhausted. A field trip is planned by someone else, and you go along to all the events. Pay a flat fee and everything has been thought of and covered. I know the over sixty-five crowd has…

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.