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.

LIGHTNING ROUND In three words, describe the vibe of your book.Faith, Hope and Love What’s your ideal writing fuel: coffee, tea, wine, or chaos?Ice Water Plotter, pantser, or organized mess?Detailed Plotter If your book had a theme song, what would it be?How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You. What small habit or ritual makes you feel most “lucky” when you sit down to write?I pray before I work and that blesses me and sets the day right. THE DEEP DIVE Every book has an origin story. What was the “lightning strike” moment that made you say, “I have to write this”?I saw a picture of the heroine and a story idea just came to mind. Here’s the photo. Tell me about a scene you rewrote multiple times. What made it so tricky, and how did you finally crack it?The first time the hero and heroine meet, I wanted it to be a special moment. Not necessarily a love at first sight, but definitely something unforgettable. I had the heroine faint from the heat and the hero, a doctor, catches her. Your protagonist: Did they arrive fully formed, or did you uncover them layer by layer? What surprised you…

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.

Book Title: THE WOMAN AND HER STARSCharacter Name: Caroline Herschel How would you describe your family or your childhood?Alas, my childhood is not a time I reflect upon with joy. I was born in Hanover (Germany) in 1750 and, before I reached the age of ten, I contracted smallpox and then typhus. To avoid exposing her, my father, sister and eight brothers to the diseases, my mother closeted me in a small, dark room for several weeks. The fever, pain and itching were intense, and I prayed for release but, above all, I was traumatized by the notion of dying alone. Although I was permanently scarred by the pox and my growth ceased, remarkably, I recovered. However, my misery wasn’t over. Rather than celebrating my survival, my mother inflicted further suffering by declaring me not worthy of being educated. I was granted none of the lessons, music training, and instruction my siblings received. No man, argued my mother, would want a woman with a blemished face and legs too short to climb aboard a wagon without a mounting block. I was unsuitable for marriage and my destiny, she decreed, was to be the family servant. I was put to work…

Hello, my name is Celia Applebaum and my sisters and I inherited our father’s Arcadia Rare Bookshop here on Book Row. Book Row is really several blocks between Union Square and Astor Place in Manhattan. You wouldn’t recognize it today, but here in 1915, it’s famous throughout the world and attracts every kind of book lover from international dealers to street urchins with sticky fingers. Right now I’m just coming out of Cooper Union, which is at the south end of the Row. It’s the first free college in the states and I’ve just finished listening to a talk by Margaret Sanger. I’m running late – I seem to always be running late – so I have to hurry, but I want to show you all the wonderful things and people of Book Row. Across the street from Astor Place is Bible House, a large building which prints huge amounts of bibles as well as other liturgical books. Half way across the Avenue is an island that is an entrance to the subway. It’s still there for you to see today. But you won’t have seen Wanamaker’s Department store. Oh, it is grand. And so big it takes up two…

What is the title of your latest release?A GHASTLY CATASTROPHE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Veronica and Stoker, a pair of intrepid Victorian natural scientists, return for their tenth adventure as they investigate a villain who may or may not be undead. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Most of the Veronica Speedwell books take place in London and it was a natural choice for this adventure, but I did get them out of the city for a few little diversions. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Only if she were tipsy. A sober Veronica would be A LOT. What are three words that describe your hero?Loyal, resourceful, irresistible. What’s something you learned while writing this book?That in some parts of the world, people are still very much afraid of vampires. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?Generally, I wait until the draft is finished. I only rework a section in progress if it’s going to have a significant impact on the scenes to come. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?A full English breakfast. Describe your writing space/office!I work on the top floor of the…

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 Emma Hamm! Writes:Princess Jessamine and her powerful lover Elric, God of Death, join forces to save her plague-stricken kingdom. Murdered at her own wedding, Princess Jessamine never expected a mysterious god to ressurect her, a favor she would soon repay. Back in the flesh, the pair leads a coven of witches to challenge the usurper who stole her throne. Fraught with evil and traitors around every corner, Jessamine’s world is in turmoil. Jessamine and Elric must prepare their coven to meet the kingdom’s forces in battle – before her bloodthirsty ex-fiance learns to harness the power of the gods. The only thing is, Jessamine may have to accept that fighting for her kingdom might mean fighting against it… Toggling between the point-of-view of the strong-willed princess and her dark-hearted lover, Jessamine’s quest for revenge must go on… and her love is about to be tested. The twisted pair are joined by a found family of magical characters all bent on worshipping their god and…

While I was writing my novel, STONE ANGELS, it became painfully clear that I had no idea how to write a love story. Sure, it was an homage to PERSUASION by Jane Austen. And yes, I’d been addicted to those Harlequin romances sold at Woolworth’s for 99 cents when I was a teenager, not to mention Regency romances by Barbara Cartland with titles like “The Ruthless Rake” and “The Elusive Earl.” But my novel was not that. I like to describe STONE ANGELS as “a sort of PACHINKO meets PERSUASION.” It has elements of both – generations of Koreans in the diaspora living under the shadow cast by Japanese colonialism combined with a love story about second chances. I knew how to write about migration and identity, and I’d extensively researched a little-known corner of WWII history about teenage girls forced into sexual slavery. But I had no idea how to write a love story. In somewhat overly dramatic despair, I turned to PERSUASION. Austen scholars believe she wrote it when she was forty, not the seventeen-year-old who probably wrote the first draft of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, not a young woman in the bloom of youth. Yet PERSUASION is the…

Book Title: KISSING THE SKYCharacter Name: Suzannah How would you describe your family or your childhood?Weird. My dad is a strict army colonel, very tough on my brother and me. Despite the fact that I’m a rising sophomore in college, he treats me like I’m a child. He scrutinizes every article of clothing I put on my body and insists I change if he dislikes my outfit. My poor mother can’t make the bed without him criticizing her. If the corners aren’t perfect, she gets yet another “tutorial.” When I was little, he wasn’t quite as bad, but ever since he made my brother, Ron, enlist in Vietnam, he’s become a tyrant. What is your greatest talent?I’d say my singing voice, though my dad restricts me from using it anywhere other than church. I’d rather sing Beatles songs all day – every day – but ever since John told the world The Beatles were more popular than Jesus, I’ve been banned from their music. How embarrassing is that? Everyone I know listens – and dances – to the Beatles. I’m a pretty good dancer, too, but my church calls dancing a sin. I think I’d say music is the most…

What is the title of your latest release?MEET ME UNDER THE LIGHTS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Former friends turned enemies fall for each other the summer their feuding families compete for ownership of their town’s famed baseball stadium. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I knew it needed to be a small town where everyone is in everyone’s business, and I loved the idea of an entire town rallying around one sport (similar to Varsity Blues but with baseball, of course). It was also important to me that it featured a family of farmers because I wanted an additional conflict / focus to be that of class differences as well. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?100% I would hang out with both of them. Eliza is a theater nerd like me who loves baseball, and like Reed, I love the land and the atmosphere and tension of being in a baseball stadium. What are three words that describe your hero?Eliza Crowley is stubborn, smart, and drivenReed Fulton is loyal, competitive, and steadfast What’s something you learned while writing this book?I learned that while subplots can be interesting, they…