Killers Killing Other Killers “We’re not normal people. We are monsters. But if we’re monsters, we’ll thrive in the dark. Together.” BUTCHER & BLACKBIRD, Brynne Weaver BUTCHER & BLACKBIRD, the first book in Brynne Weaver’s Ruinous Love Trilogy, was my introduction to romances featuring killers killing other killers. I am thrilled that this romance subgenre has exploded. Sloane and Rowan are killers – serial killers who kill very bad people. There is an instant chemistry, and they start as friends who appreciate each other’s murderous artistry and skill set. They meet every so often and compete for different baddies to kill. This book is sophisticated, charming, and scary. I love the shout homages to other fiction killers/films – like Norman Bates, Hannibal, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s like somebody said, “let’s take scenes from those films and weave a romance happening around them and have the couple interact with this psychos and do their own damage. Hooray! For me, the romance works because the author puts so much care into crafting the main characters. I definitely always keep an eye out for this author’s next book. After BUTCHER & BLACKBIRD, I stumbled across SINNERS RETREAT (what would end up being…

Travel Guide to the Tallest Trees in Northern California There are places in the world that make you feel small in the best possible way. For me, one of those places was Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park on California’s northern coast. After a long stretch of travel, winding through misty coastal roads and towering evergreens, I arrived at a forest that felt almost timeless. The air was cool and damp, the scent of earth and cedar drifting through the trees. Then I saw them. Redwoods. Not just tall trees – but giants. These ancient coast redwoods rise hundreds of feet into the sky, their trunks so wide it can take several people holding hands to circle one. Standing beneath them, I found myself instinctively looking up…and up…and up. A Rare and Protected Forest The towering trees at Jedediah Smith are part of one of the rarest ecosystems on Earth. Naturally growing coast redwoods exist only in a narrow strip along the Pacific coastline – from central California to southern Oregon. This park protects nearly 10,000 acres of old-growth forest, preserving some of the last primeval redwood groves remaining anywhere in the world. As I walked deeper along the trails, the…

Excerpt from SERVED HIM RIGHT by Lisa Unger: This is a mistake. One of many, if you want to know the truth. Still, I pull my car into the nearly empty parking lot and come to a stop, tires crunching on gravel. A blue neon sign that has seen better days flickers and buzzes over the roadside bar. Gina’s, the sign reads in aspirational cursive when all the letters light at the same time. A tilted martini glass glows green, until it goes dark and stays that way a while before stuttering to life again. The sun is sinking hot pink beyond the stand of pines that reach to the horizon line. Sunset is always beautiful, isn’t it? Even in the parking lot of a dump like this, the kind of place that’s always empty until it isn’t. Where truckers stop for the night, or maybe biker gangs gather for a rowdy afternoon. This evening, there’s only a smattering of other cars parked. And I wonder why he chose this place. Forty minutes from anywhere, anything. I should probably go, right? This is a bad idea. Instead, I kill the engine and look at his picture on my phone, then…

How would you describe your family or your childhood?My early childhood was almost idyllic. I grew up on Cane Ridge Plantation just south of Charleston, South Carolina. I had a horse, dogs, and the freedom to roam the old rice fields and swamps of the low-country. When I was ten, my mother passed away, so my dad and I moved to Charleston proper where he was a practicing attorney. What was your greatest talent?Even as a kid I loved solving mysteries. I grew up reading Nancy Drew and watching TV crime drama and was always trying to balance real clues versus red herrings so I could solve whatever baffling mystery came my way. What do you do for a living?A half dozen years ago, I quit my crazy 24/7 marketing job and opened the Indigo Tea Shop on Charleston’s famed Church Street. Along with Drayton Connelley, my tea sommelier, and Haley Parker, my baker, we serve tea, scones, and light lunches. Much to my delight we were instantly popular and have expanded to catering tea parties and hosting special event teas. Along the way Drayton has developed a line of proprietary tea blends and I’ve created a line of Church…

Hi! I’m Heather Cumiskey, author of THE SOONER I GO. I’m thrilled to be here and share my Fresh Fiction “Title Challenge” for a sneak peek inside my upcoming suspenseful new adult romance along with an excerpt from the book: Three accomplices out for revengeHidden pastEvil wins until it doesn’t Slow burn romanceOnly child syndromeOff-limits crushNever-ending secretsEnemies to loversRomantic suspense with a plot twist It ends with lies Good Samaritan complexOne night, three deaths THE SOONER I GO by Heather Cumiskey A Novel Perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Paige Toon, this suspenseful new adult romance follows an eighteen-year-old woman reeling from loss as she’s drawn into an unexpected attraction—one that might expose the secrets she’s tried to bury. Seven months after her boyfriend and parents die tragically on the same night, eighteen-year-old Brynn—once an aspiring singer, now desperate for any paying gig that will keep her from ending up on the streets—sets out to rebuild her shattered world. At her new ad agency job, she’s distracted by enigmatic twenty-year-old Micah. Their enemies-to-lovers attraction ignites as both struggle with secrets that could jeopardize far more than just their budding relationship. After things turn romantic with Brynn, Micah’s psychosis becomes harder to…

Hi all! My name is Lena Gregory, and I’m excited to share a little bit about A SCOOP OF DECEIT the eighth story in my Coffee & Cream Café Mystery series with you. A is for Again. Dani and her friends once again find themselves embroiled in a murder investigation. S is for Spring. Spring has finally sprung on the east end of Long Island and brought with it sunny skies, a hint of warmth, and murder. C is for Chin Wagging. The Watchogue rumor mill is working overtime after Sebastian Krane is found stabbed in the back. O is for Outrage! Dani and her friends are outraged when a man backs into Mrs. Delaney’s car and then files a lawsuit against her. O is for Other. Someone other than Dani’s mom had it out for Sebastian Krane, and Dani plans to prove it. P is for Pushing. Will Dani be in danger of pushing up daisies herself before she can find the killer? O is for Oh, my! And the surprise that comes at Sunday dinner, along with a startling revelation for Dani. F is for Fat Chance. Dani’s polite response to insistence that she back off her own…

PROLOGUE 4 March 2013 Ealing, London He can breathe today. Every exhale and inhale no longer felt as though barbed wire was being dragged across his lungs, but it’s still painful to open his swollen eyes. He tries to focus but all he can see is shadows. He can’t see her, but he can smell her. He gazes at the shadow which he knows is his wife, Deborah. Family and friends no longer pop in for a chat and a drink or to sit idly in the garden on the long summer nights but instead visit him as a patient. They talk in hushed, pained and pitiful whispers; unsure how to sit in a room that is no longer used for living but for end-of-life care. The leather creaks as Deborah rises from the armchair. ‘He looks like he’s turned a corner,’ Deborah whispers and gently places a hand on his leg. ‘The doctor came by this morning and was really pleased.’ ‘We often find patients make a vast improvement when they’re being cared for at home. Less stress, familiar smells.’ He feels gloved fingers rest on the dry and flaccid skin on his right arm and he smiles. He…

What is the title of your latest release?HOW TO SURVIVE IN THE WOODS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Basic Instinct. But with bears! How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I had two reasons for setting this book in the wilderness: first and foremost, and very pragmatically, it’s an elegant solution to the thriller writer’s biggest problem, which is “how do I prevent these characters from pulling out an iPhone and ruining everything.” The second is that the wilderness is a character unto itself, and a place that reveals the true character of the people who travel through it. There’s no better place to find out who you are – or to learn the truth of who someone else is – than in the woods. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?I would prefer not to. What are three words that describe your hero?Contents may explode. What’s something you learned while writing this book?A poem about how to survive a bear attack. It goes like this:If black, fight back.If brown, lie down.If white… goodnight. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I always start by reworking…

What is the title of your latest release?THE PIE & MASH DETECTIVE AGENCY What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A young couple sign up for a private detective class, thinking it’ll be a fun adventure – but soon find themselves tangled in a cold case that’s haunted the British countryside for decades. Who is Nellie Thorne – the young woman who’s been reported missing five times in fifty years? Mystery, secrets, and unexpected twists await as the newly-formed Pie & Mash Detective Agency uncover a past that refuses to stay buried. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?It’s set in Kent (The Garden of England) – where I grew up. Would you hang out with your heroines in real life?Definitely. I wish we could go to the pub together. What are three words that describe your heroes?Loveable, funny and inexperienced! What’s something you learned while writing this book?That writing is the easy bit. It feels like 80% of the work is editing! Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?Minimal editing while drafting! But equally, I wouldn’t leave something as is if I didn’t consider it readable. What’s your…

It’s the luck of the Irish month and I hope it brings you joy, along with some more sunshine and higher temperatures, at least here on the east coast. I’m freezing! But that’s also the perfect time to curl up with a blanket, a cup of something steamy, and a very good cozy mystery! Here are some recommendations if you’re on the hunt. First up we have DEATH OF AN IRISH DRUID (The Dublin Driver Mysteries Book 6) by Catie Murphy This whole series is a hoot and I highly recommend them all, but this one in particular gave me a case of the giggles and surprise and I couldn’t love that more. From the twists and turns to the main character’s humor and those cute dogs, I had a wonderful drive at the leisure of this wonderful limo driver and part time sleuth! Next up, I am always amused and pleased to read about book events and other writers, so I have to recommend DEATH BY THE BOOK: Totally addictive cozy mystery Irish fiction (A Mercy McCarthy Mystery Book 2 by Lucy Connelly This is a delightful series that covers all of my loves in one rollicking time. From…