What is the title of your latest release?WHEN WE WERE BRILLIANT What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?In a bid to be taken seriously, Marilyn Monroe and photographer Eve Arnold make a deal that will change their lives. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I write my novels around actual events in the lives of famous people, so in this case, where the lives of Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold intersected determined where the book was set. That place, mostly, was New York, with side trips to Marilyn’s movie locations and Eve’s photo shoots as a documentary photographer. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Oh, most definitely. I grew close to both Marilyn Monroe and Eve Arnold over the two and a half years that I wrote about them. My job was to understand why they did what they did, so it was important to understand the roots of their shortcomings. I might love them even more after knowing their flaws and what they had to overcome. What are three words that describe your hero?Marilyn Monroe: Tenacious, Brilliant, TranscendentEve Arnold: Tenacious, Brilliant, TranscendentAlthough my two heroes look and sound radically different,…

Each Friday the Smashwords store reports the bestselling indie fiction titles based on the previous week’s sales. If an author has more than one title eligible for the list, only the highest performing title will be included. This ensures high-performing titles receive the accolades they deserve, while providing up-and-coming authors the visibility they have earned. Don’t miss Monday’s Top 10 Hot Preorders List, where Smashwords will provide a list of the most highly anticipated ebook preorders.

The great William Shakespeare supposedly wrote, “better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” As I type these words, I literally finished J.D. Robb’s newest gift, STOLEN IN DEATH, five minutes ago. If you read these same words the day they appear online, release day for STOLEN IN DEATH will still be a week or two away. But heed the Bard’s advice: order it now! Knowing I may be stoned for my honesty, I have not read every volume in the series. But I have read many of them (all the early and recent offerings), and I somehow love each book more than the one before. STOLEN IN DEATH is, of course, about a murder, but the enduring love story between Eve and Roarke is front and center here, as a shadowy figure from Roarke’s past tries to demolish the happiness the two have found together.  Given the tumult of our own world, I am grateful to the author for presenting a future more akin to the world we knew a few years back. Law enforcement entities both domestic and international work together in pursuit of justice, people still shop in person, and AI remains a tool and…

The catastrophe of World War I caused huge societal changes all over the world.  In this month’s selection of stories, we witness the turmoil in Russia, two sisters’ journey from Australia to Gallipoli to the Western Front, and fictionalized stories of two real people, one a nurse who developed procedures for treating the sick that are still followed today, the other a flawed politician at the height of British power. We begin with two friends, one American, the other Russian, who meet in Paris in Martha Hall Kelly’s LOST ROSES.   Despite rumors of war in early 1914, Eliza Ferriday is delighted to visit her friend Sofya Streshnayya, a cousin of the Romanovs, in St. Petersburg.  But her tour is cut short when war is declared and the Russian rulers begin to lose control. Sofya flees with her family to their country estate, while Eliza escapes back to New York.  Thinking to avoid revolution, Sofya’s family unwittingly brings it into their home when they hire local peasant Varinka to care for Sofya’s young son Max, for Varinka’s mother’s apprentice is a Red party member who seeks the destruction of all the Russian nobility. When revolutionaries take over the Streshnayya estate, Varinka…

During our 109-day RV trip in 2021, my top ten wish list included a stay at a California winery. Thanks to the Harvest Hosts program, that wish led us to Sicilia Vineyards in Yuba City—which became one of the most memorable stops of our journey. Harvest Hosts is a membership program for RV travelers that offers overnight stays at wineries, breweries, farms, and other unique destinations across the United States. While the one-night stay is complimentary, guests support their hosts by making a purchase, usually around $20. Stays are dry camping, meaning RVs must be fully self-contained—a trade-off that rewards travelers with unforgettable settings. Sicilia Vineyards sits at the base of the Sutter Buttes and is owned and operated by David Smith and Sandie Adams. Modeled after traditional Italian vineyards, the property feels transported straight from the countryside of Italy. As we drove down the long, winding driveway, vineyards stretched out on both sides, gradually revealing the beauty of the estate, like curtains lifting on a stage. Near the house, the grapevines are netted for protection, adding to the authentic vineyard feel. Sandie greeted us on arrival and helped us position our motorhome beside the vines, a quiet, serene and…

One unforgettable wedding weekend where nothing goes according to plan. Unexpected sparks fly between people who were definitely not supposed to fall for each other. Raffi, the supposed playboy, is not living up to his reputation at all, and Ani the wedding planner is trying not to be intrigued. Every glance and grudge adds fuel to the sparks between Raffi and Ani. X-rated spicy scenes. Well, R-rated at least! Slow burn romance, with tension for pages and pages and pages. Wedding chaos with paparazzi getting a front-row seat. Exes, enemies, and almost-lovers falling head over heels for each other (sometimes literally). Dancing under glittering fairy lights with a guy who knows how to move. Disaster, thy name is fountain. In Raffi’s presence, Ani stops bracing for impact and starts reaching for possibility. Napa countryside drives in his vintage Jaguar. Guaranteed drama, heart, and a bouquet’s worth of happily-ever-after energy. OUR EX’S WEDDING by Taleen Voskuni Two people who can’t stand each other must come together to plan their mutual ex’s wedding in this new romantic comedy by Taleen Voskuni, author of Lavash at First Sight. Ani Avakian was supposed to be the Bay Area’s premier Armenian wedding planner by now. But after a…

What is the title of your latest release?SUCH A CLEVER GIRL What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Fifteen years ago, a family went missing. Now, the daughter is back and not talking. She has a plan that has everyone in town panicked, including the three women who know more about what happened that day years ago than they’ve ever admitted. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I wanted a beautiful town in upstate New York with a bit of a creepy vibe. Sleepy Hollow was an obvious choice. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Definitely. There’s something compelling and relatable about a flawed woman who doesn’t always make the best choices. My first question to her would be: what were you thinking??? What are three words that describe your hero?This is a thriller and, honestly, the men aren’t that heroic, so I’d say cunning, mysterious, and oddly interesting. What’s something you learned while writing this book?The book is filled with women who have made questionable choices that fit the moment but might not be best for them. And they don’t trust each other. It was fun to bring their lives together…

What is the title of your latest release?CRY HAVOC What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?When disgraced 16-year-old Ida Campbell arrives at a crumbling girls’ school on England’s remote coast, she hopes for a fresh start. Instead, she finds a dangerous roommate, a teacher with a secret, and a mysterious sickness spreading through the pupils. As Cold War paranoia closes in, Ida must uncover what’s really happening at St Anne’s—before she becomes its next victim. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?It needed to be somewhere remote, and I wanted to set it in the early 1980s so I could exploit the cold war backdrop; and the 80s also worked well for the school setting, as it was before much meaningful safeguarding or oversight was introduced, especially in private schools. Total chaos. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Definitely! Ida is quite self-contained, so I think Louise would be the most fun. But I would also be terrified of her. What are three words that describe your hero?There isn’t one! What’s something you learned while writing this book?I learned a huge amount about neurology. Do you edit as you draft or…

There’s something irresistible about a second chance at love. Maybe it’s because most of us have a “what if” tucked away somewhere, whether it was the guy who got away or a relationship that ended for the wrong reasons. In romance novels, the reunited lovers trope takes those regrets and gives the lovers a second chance to make things right. These two people have already walked through the fire, made mistakes, lived a little, and are brave enough to risk their hearts again. One of the reasons I love this trope so much is that the characters hit the ground running. They already share a history, so that launches the story with some emotional heft from the first page. There’s no need to build chemistry from scratch; it’s already there, simmering beneath every glance and every line of dialogue. What’s left is the hard work: facing the choices that tore them apart and deciding if they’ve grown enough to build something stronger. The tone of reunited-lovers stories can range from funny to heartbreaking. Think of the movie Sweet Home Alabama (2002, starring Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas), where high school sweethearts who married too young reunite years later when the…

Music plays a large part in SUCH SHELTERED LIVES—music the characters make, hear, and overhear; songs they love and hate.  So it was inevitable that some of my favorite music and musicians would be a major piece of inspiration for the story.  I rarely listen to music while I write—the musicians’ voices inevitably get stuck in my head, when I need to keep my characters’ voices in my head.  But I made an exception as I worked on some of the chapters in SUCH SHELTERED LIVES. Here’s a peek at a few of the songs that played in the background as I worked on SUCH SHELTERED LIVES. 90’s Era Classic Rock 90s-era hits loom large in the novel: one of the main characters, Amelia Blue Harris, is the daughter of a GenX rockstar, and another, Florence Bloom, still idealizes the music of the 1990s.  Florence and Amelia’s favorite songs include: Violet by Hole, Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos, Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana, I’m Only Happy When it Rains by Garbage, Criminal by Fiona Apple. Taylor Swift I’m a big Taylor Swift fan, so I can’t possibly make a playlist for SUCH SHELTERED LIVES without including some of her music. …