As the hot breath of August inspires us to escape the heat with cold drinks, swimming pools, and air-conditioned spaces (alone or properly socially-distanced, of course) we’ll look at escapes into fascinating views of nineteenth-century life. Two of these visions focus on the California coast.  In CALICO PALACE by Gwen Bristow, two women from vastly different backgrounds arrive in California on the eve of the 1849 Gold Rush.  Kendra’s army colonel stepfather brings the family to San Francisco as commander of the city’s defenses during the Mexican War.  Marny travels from Honolulu to set up a gaming establishment.  Both end up following the gold craze into the mining camp of Shiny Gulch, where they set up the Calico Palace, a tent that evolves over time to become the most elegant gambling house in California. Rich in detail about the rapid rise of a sleepy town into a major economic powerhouse, Bristow’s tale illuminates the stories of miners and settlers, gamblers, and drifters, those dreaming of fortunes built on gold dust, and those ready to profit from those dreams. In BELLE CORA by Phillip Margulis, small-town New York girl Arabella Godwin grows up to become a woman so infamous, relatives back…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT, coming out August 18! 2–What is it about? LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT is an #OwnVoices workplace rom-com set in the video game industry. In this novel, Korean-American producer named Melody Joo is tasked with launching a controversial video game while being antagonized by everyone around her, especially Nolan MacKenzie, the company’s new MBA intern. 3–What word best describes your heroine? Fierce. 4–What makes your hero irresistible? He’s a charming, smart, quirky, plaid-shirt-and-tortoise-shell-glasses-wearing kind of guy. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? Her best friends Candace and Jane, as well as her mentor/friend at work, Kat. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? The backdrop is Seattle, where I lived for a long time. I love the sense of place it invokes, especially with the weather and the food and cafe scene. The work setting is also something I loved including in this book: I hearkened back to my days in tech where we had cubicles/workspaces and hard-to-book conference rooms and it was a lot of fun to describe. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantser (write…

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 Hanna C. Howard! Writes: Young Adult Fantasy: My debut novel, IGNITE THE SUN, is on sale everywhere on August 18! About: Thirty-something YA author seeks readers for her fairy-tale-esque fantasy novel which includes: a heroine morphing from insecure and afraid to bold and self-assured; an ensemble cast featuring a mage, an elf, a naiad, and a banshee; a cross-map journey; lots of elemental magic; a literal spin on the light and dark theme; a splash of romance; a witchy, heart-devouring bad gal. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves traditional fantasy (think Tolkien, Rowling, and C.S. Lewis) Is fond of curling up with a cup of tea and a book on dark, atmospheric days Falls for best friend/boy next-door type of heroes Wants to see personal growth in their heroine Likes a powerful, strong leading lady Has dealt with anxiety, depression, or SAD Likes being outdoors Goes for fast-paced action Enjoys a complex fantasy world with a unique magic…

Daniel sighed, the sound lost to the thud of their skate blades on the rubber mats lining the tunnel. He hadn’t anticipated the chilly reception when he arrived in the Thunder’s dressing room that first day of train­ing camp–and now he finally knew why his breath had practically been fogging whenever he was in the presence of his new teammates. Apparently there was some resent­ment about his win. Probably some assumptions about his reasons for being there or how he would behave. Never mind that Daniel had worked his ass off for more than a decade before he could add Stanley Cup champ to his resume. He’d fought his way there–tooth, nail, broken bones, and bloody lips. It hadn’t come easy, and he didn’t take it for granted. Nor did he think he was hot shit now that he had a championship win under his belt. He was just trying to play hockey, same as he’d done all his life. Daniel poured onto the ice with the rest of his team­mates and sucked in a breath, the cold, crisp scent as familiar and comforting as the sound of his blades cut­ting into the ice and the roar of the crowd….

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 Adriana Herrera! Writes: I write contemporary romance centering Afro-Latinx characters and have recently been dipping my toes into historical romance. I like to say I write books about people who look and sound like my people getting unapologetic happy endings–that’s the best way to describe my stories. Here to Stay is a contemporary romance set in Dallas, Texas, and centers around Julia del Mar Ortiz and Rocco Quinn two New Yorkers who have recently arrived in the Lone Star State and are at odds in their workplace. Here to Stay is about found family, starting over and there is a lot of fashion, family shenanigans, and cute stray cat rescue. About: New York City (by way of Dominican Republic) 40ish bi trauma therapist/author looking for readers who love: stories centering Afro-Latinx culture, banter, foodie moments in their romance,  a little social justice in their romance,  found family, big HEAs, and protagonists who reach for love as they reach for their dreams….

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Killer Kung Pao. 2–What is it about?  Our beloved restaurant manager, Lana Lee, who just wants peace, quiet, and to get her hair re-dyed, is present during the suspicious death of sue-happy, Mahjong player, Mildred Mao. Unfortunately, there’s a possibility that one of the twins from Yi’s Tea and Bakery, June Yi, may be involved. Lana has no real desire to help clear June’s name and struggles with the decision to implicate herself. But knowing it’s the right thing to do in the end, she begins to dig into the particulars to find out who exactly killed the problematic Mahjong player and what secrets the potentially guilty parties are hiding from one another.  3–What word best describes your main character(s)?   Sassy 4–What makes your story relatable?  I think it’s the fact that Lana and the community of Asia Village are all just regular, everyday people. They’re daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, kooky aunts and uncles, best friends and boyfriends. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Her best friend and roommate, Megan Riley. And, of course, her boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau. (Though she usually leaves him…

By the next morning, the snow has stopped, but many of the back streets are still sporting a sheen of black ice. Tommy’s picked up a cold somewhere, and so I wrap my head in a scarf to protect myself from the wind whipping between the buildings, and head out to Claire’s Patisserie for croissants. After taking a single step into the street, I dash back inside to grab my camera. The grey overcast hemming us in for weeks has blown away overnight, and the sun is rising through low fog like a ripe red dragon’s egg, way down the end of our street. I’ve been taking pictures as long as I can remember. My dad was a photographer before I was born, and there were always cameras around the house when I was small. He shot for AP overseas–Falkland Islands during the conflict, and Ireland too–but after I came along, he mostly freelanced. And when I made it into NYU, I majored in photography. I’ve always planned to take it further, but–well, you know. Life gets in the way. With this news about the bookshop, the chance of returning to film school is looking increasingly unlikely. These days I…

Jen: What inspired you to write Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing? Allison: Well, I wanted to write something that reflected how it feels to be a woman in this particular moment in history and time. I tried a different approach with a different manuscript – I rewrote about 100 pages of that book several times, and it just wasn’t working. I knew what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t quite sure how to get there. Then, as good ideas often do, the version of Cleo, the Senator, struck me one night, and from there, I looked for an interesting way to examine her life. Not as a politician, but as a human, and I settled on exploring her regrets, which wasn’t an approach I’d ever read. And thus, Cleo McDougal, unapologetic Senator, was born. What role does the word “power” play in relation to the story? Oh great question! For me, this book is not about politics at all. I worked hard to ensure that. Rather, it is about power in all of its iterations, which is something that I think so many women are considering now too. Who has it, who abuses it, who gives it generously, who takes…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  A Little Bit of Grace 2–What is it about? After the implosion of her marriage and the loss of her mom leaves Grace Adams entirely alone in the world, a letter from a relative she never knew she had sends her on a trip to a tropical paradise, where she starts to uncover answers about the eccentric woman her family never mentioned: an octogenarian who writes a viral relationship-advice blog, a compulsive (and highly successful) matchmaker. . . and the keeper of an unimaginable family secret held for more than fifty years. It’s a story about the choices families make and how they color what we believe, finding forgiveness for the unforgivable, and starting over when the happy ending ends. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  For Grace, it’s underestimated; for her Great-aunt Millie, it would have to be something like expansive, extravagant, magnificent, fantastical. 4–What makes your story relatable?  Grace holds family so dear and is so deeply loyal that in caring for everyone else she has lost touch with what she wants for her own life. I think that’s incredibly common for so many of us these days, particularly women, who often seem to feel…

We asked one of our reviewers, Jessica Nathan and HUGE J.R.Ward fan, to give us an in-depth, extended review of Ward’s latest release, THE JACKAL, a new book set in the beloved Black Dagger Brotherhood world. Have you read this one yet? Let us know what you think!  *** OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! J.R. Ward has done it again with THE JACKAL! Fans and devoted readers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, do not be confused by the premise of Rhage having a half-brother. We were first introduced to blood slaves with Zsadist, and had whispers of the ongoing atrocities in The Beast, and hidden sects of vampire cruelty involving blood and sex slaves and forced labor camps abounded in The Savior and Prisoner of Night. Like the Black Dagger Legacy books,THE JACKAL is the start of something new, yet familiar in Caldwell. Set within the Black Dagger world, the Black Dagger Brotherhood: Prison Camp series introduces readers to the Jackal, a vampire from Rhage’s past, with stunning Bahama blue eyes. The Jackal has lived 100 years in the underground prison when he encounters Nyx, a heroine after my own heart. Nyx is no damsel in distress; she…