Book: A TWIST IN THE RIVERCharacter: Jake Jackson How would you describe your family or your childhood?I was the only child of loving parents, who died just as I was reaching adulthood (car accident, no survivors). My main influence growing up was my Uncle Arthur, a wily old bachelor – which is code for serial romancer – who used to send me crime novels on a regular basis. It is thanks to him that reading became one of my formative loves, and that I decided to become a detective. When he died, he bequeathed to me a place called Little Sky, a huge scrap of land complete with farmhouse, wood and lake. What was your greatest talent?I have always been good at seeing the pattern of things, making a story out of what looks like a shapeless mess. My final job before my early retirement was in the cold case division of the Metropolitan Police: putting together cases that others had given up on. Significant other?The first person I met when I came to Little Sky one hot summer was the local vet: a beautiful, brilliant woman called Livia. We had a torrid – at least I thought it was…

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.

What is the title of your latest release?SUMMER AT THE FRENCH BAKERY What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Set in Brittany in France. This book is about a crossroads in Juliet’s life, celebrating a fresh start after recovering from illness and following her dreams to turn an old water mill on the banks of a lake into a salon du thé, a tea rooms. But before she can do that, she must agree to help the Mayor out and reopen the old boulangerie in the town. But she’s going to need all the help she can get. And not everyone is pleased to see her. As a turf war begins to grow between the rival bakeries, alliances and partnerships are formed, communities reunited, lost loved ones remembered and new loves begin to blossom. But will it be enough to save the heart and soul of the little ville….and will love survive where others have lost? How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I wanted to write about France and French baguettes. I love the ritual of visiting the bakery early each morning. There is a wonderful sense of routine to it. The smell of the…

Welcome back to Jen’s Jewels, your weekly guide to the best in new fiction. This week, I am thrilled to host New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne to talk about her latest novel, THE RAINY DAY BOOKSHOP – a warm, feel-good read that I think you are going to love. LIGHTNING ROUND What’s your favorite way to spend a slow summer afternoon?I love reading out in our covered pavilion in the backyard. It’s always cool with a lovely breeze and the sound of birdsong. Perfect! If your main character could plan the perfect summer getaway, where would they go?Rosie, the main heroine of THE RAINY DAY BOOKSHOP, would probably choose to stay home and work in her yard. She has a gorgeous view of the Pacific from her home in a small Oregon coastal town and it is definitely her happy place. What’s one thing that instantly helps you slip into a creative mindset?I love Lofi music. Listening to it always helps me find the writing groove. THE SUMMER SPARK June often feels like the beginning of adventure and possibility. In what ways did this story represent a new direction or challenge for you as a writer?Well, I have…

What is the title of your latest release?THE LOWE JOB What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?THE LOWE JOB follows a family of four sisters and their matriarchal mother, Lydia. When the eldest sister, Lili, gets caught in a sex scandal with a married politician, Lydia, a former talent manager, decides that the only way to protect Lili’s reputation, is to step into the spotlight and take control of the narrative. With brand deals and a reality TV show coming off the back of the scandal, quickly, the whole family is propelled into fame. The four sisters have varying reactions to their new-found celebrity, and things take a turn when someone from Lili’s past decides that they would rather she stay quiet. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?London felt like the natural location for the story. It is home to a multitude of burgeoning (and fully-fledged) celebrities, with enough nooks and crannies to hide an illicit affair. Plus, London loves a scandal! Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely! She would get me into lots of trouble, but would also get me out of it – a recipe for an…

What is the title of your latest release?VOYAGERS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Two six-year-olds, Alex and Ana, mysteriously vanish for two days in the late 1990s. The incident is interpreted as an alien abduction and makes the two kids a) famous and b) inseparable, until their divergent beliefs about the truth of their experience tear them apart as teenagers. Now adults, they reunite when the world seems to be on the verge of actual, global first contact with aliens. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?The setting really came first – one of the earliest images I had in mind was of a woman running barefoot through the desert around Joshua Tree. The other locations of New York and Los Angeles and Las Vegas all trickled in slowly. But the desert was what inspired the entire project. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?If I’ve done my job right, who wouldn’t!? Ana is magnetic. I was interested in writing a character who was instantly charming, but we also see the ways in which that charm can be a burden or a barrier to intimacy, both for herself and the…

People invariably judge a book by its cover. And although I loved the original covers for the books in my Stoneslayer series, others did not. Book marketing experts told me that the previous covers did not adequately convey the books’ dark high fantasy genre. And some reviewers agreed. Several times, I have looked through Amazon at the covers for books in the same genre as Stoneslayer. Very in your face. They scream at you graphically and grab you by the throat. Look here! Not there, here! That puts me off. I must have been a cat in some lifetime because if someone orders me to do something, I balk. Not out of spite (necessarily), but because I’m just not that into obedience, blind or otherwise. Kinda like Helen Andros, the first-generation heroine of my series. (She really was a lousy soldier thanks to that tendency to ignore orders.) Stoneslayer’s first book covers invited instead of commanded readers’ attention. They hinted at what’s in the pages rather than blast it out at full volume. They did not screech. They whispered. This is not, however, an era of nuance or subtlety. Even book lovers apparently expect to a book cover to stage…

What is the title of your latest release?DHAMPIRA What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A seemingly powerless halfling is thrust into a cruel and dangerous vampire court where she meets two wildly different men who claim they can help her even as they’re both interested in her…and each other. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I based the world on the kinds of big, splashy (and mildly terrifying) worlds in the fantasy movies I watched as a kid. Movies like Labyrinth and The Neverending Story. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Definitely. I guarantee I’d trip over a sword and faceplant if someone handed me one, and I think Corinthe would likely have the same experience. What are three words that describe your hero?There are two male love interests in Dhampira, so I’ll answer for both! Vander is charming, strong, and gentle. Lorcan is brooding, mysterious, and exasperating. What’s something you learned while writing this book?My copyeditor corrected me on the scent of cooking human flesh, which is funny and also gross. (Pork, not chicken, for anyone wondering.) Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I…

The period between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th was a time of vast changes and great events.  The stories we’ll look at this month celebrate this diversity of character and place. We begin at the very beginning of the 1900s with ÉMILIENNE by Pamela Binnings Ewen, an historical novel featuring one of the brightest lights of the Belle Époque, Émilienne D’Alencon.  Born in poverty in Montmartre, then a village outside Paris, Émilienne worked her way up to become one of the celebrated dancers at the Folies Bergère.  Acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in Europe, acquainted with every gentleman in Society, she was mistress to kings, princes and millionaires, feted and admired at a time when elegant courtesans set the standard for beauty and fashion.  We read about these luminaries in her story, including a young Coco Chanel, who chooses a different path out of poverty.  But as Émilienne learns to her sorrow, youth and fame are fleeting.  The expensive jewels and reckless gambling she becomes accustomed to during at the height of her popularity doom her to almost inescapable debt once lucrative roles and rich lovers move on. Ewen gives us…

We turn to books for so many reasons, and sometimes that includes the desire to forget, if only for a while, about reality. That’s been my experience this past month (as I know it’s been for others), and I found mixed success in my title choices. Darn those talented writers who keep us reading/listening through their skillful wordcraft and then break our hearts with their actual stories. I’ll save those jaw-gritting titles for the end of this piece and start with the uplifting titles. Three fabulous, best-selling authors have had new releases this spring, and all have been celebrated by fans who love them. Abby Jimenez was first off the block with THE NIGHT WE MET, a real-to-life story about a young woman struggling with issues familiar to many contemporary readers: working part-time gigs in hopes of earning enough to at least pay rent and occasionally eat, thorny relationships with family, and a life-threatening nut allergy that makes every otherwise normal interaction just a bit risky. Good thing she’s got a handsome and charming boyfriend, whom she met the same night she met one of his friends. Too bad the boyfriend sometimes binge-drinks and usually forgets about Larissa’s allergies, but…