What is the title of your latest release?IF ONLY YOU KNEW What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Childhood best friends attempt to matchmake each other to disastrous results, all while fighting the fact that they’ve been soul mates all along. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?IF ONLY YOU KNEW is the third book in the Oakwood Bay series, which is where the book takes place. It’s a coastal, fictional small town on the East Coast, and given that Summer (the female lead) is a competitive surfer, you get to visit various beaches and surf locations in the area! Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Summer is known for loving to host a social event, and for her skills in mixology. She’s also an avid romance reader herself, so the answer is a big yes! What are three words that describe your hero?Loyal, compassionate and hilariously self-deprecating. What’s something you learned while writing this book?I made it my business to learn the ins and outs of surfing to create as authentic an experience for the reader as possible. I’m talking hours of online competition footage and tutorials, and following surfers on…

What is the title of your latest release?AND THE CROWD WENT WILD What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?The cover copy I wrote pretty much says it all… An ex-Hollywood sex symbol with a broken heart, a super star NFL quarterback who’s lost his game, an old railcar tucked in the woods… We also have a meddling mother, an ex-husband, a dog, and a lot of heat. (It’s hard to be alone when all the world wants a piece of you.) How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I needed a lake not too far from Chicago, and I love setting as many books as I can in the Midwest. Thus, a beautiful lake in the heart of Wisconsin’s vacation land. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely. I’m in total awe of her. She’s so smart, so brave, so funny… This is the hard part of writing a book. When I’m done, I have to say good-bye to her. What are three words that describe your hero?Honorable. Smart. Disciplined. I assumed I don’t have to mention that he’s outrageously sexy. I love this guy! What’s something you learned while writing this…

Welcome to Where Everybody Knows Your… Alibi – where we get to know the fictional towns we’d happily move to… if they didn’t have such a suspicious body count (but does that really matter?) I’m thrilled to kick things off with a guest who wears not one, but two mystery hats: the lovely Janna Rollins, who also writes as Paula Charles. As Paula, she writes the charming Hometown Hardware Mysteries. And as Janna, she brings us the delightful Zen Goat Mysteries, set in the quaint New Hampshire town of Bobwhite Hollow. Home to Haybeck Farms, where livestock graze, neighbors gossip, and Callie Haybeck has launched her Zen Goat Yoga studio that’s equal parts serenity and sleuthing. Join us as we chat with Janna about Bobwhite Hollow and discover why this is exactly the kind of town where everybody knows your name… and keeps a close eye on your alibi. (Oh, and you might want to watch out for a goat named Bugsy… his tomfoolery is legendary.) What’s the one place everyone ends up hanging out?Bobwhite Hollow is a small town, so it doesn’t have a rocking nightlife. When the younger crowd wants to get together in the evenings, they usually…

What is the title of your latest release?MURDER WILL OUT What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?When the owner of a historic (and haunted) Maine mansion dies in a what appears to be a tragic accident, her shy goddaughter Willow returns to Little North Island, determined to figure out who is getting rid of the property’s heirs one by one – without becoming the next victim herself. The living aren’t much help. Fortunately, the mansion is full of ghosts. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?When my parents retired, my parents bought a little cabin on in Downeast Maine and soon lived there most of the year; my mother, a ceramic artist, works out of Islesford Pottery on Little Cranberry Island, and my father soon got involved with the local historical society. I love the place so much – even the air tastes different – this wonderful blend of salt and balsam and, at the right time of year, the wild blueberry bushes that grow everywhere. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Oh, absolutely. Willow and I are both socially anxious nerdy musicians, and people from our subcategory of humanity tend…

What is the title of your latest release?I’M NOT THE ONLY MURDERER IN MY RETIREMENT HOME What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Carol Quinn, a retired serial killer, is released from prison and decides to live her final years in a luxury retirement home. When a resident is murdered, everyone assumes she did it. Now she has to find the real killer and clear her name. What makes that all the trickier, is that every other resident seems to be a retired investigator of some sort. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I wanted to take a quintessentially cozy mystery location, chuck a serial killer into the mix, and see what happens. A luxury retirement home felt like a good fit. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?I think Carol Quinn would be great fun to hang out with. That said: I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of her. What are three words that describe your hero?Oddly likeable murderer What’s something you learned while writing this book?I’ve always loved to make people laugh, but with this book, I learned how rewarding it is to dig deeper into who…

What is the title of your latest release?DEADLY CURRENTS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Journalist Cressida Dane uncovers deadly secrets tied to a ghost ship, and Detective Braden Sanders must protect her as they race to survive the dangerous currents of Hidden Bay’s past. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I’ve always been drawn to the rugged beauty and mystery of the Pacific Northwest coastline, and knew I wanted to set a series there. I live about an hour from where I imagined the series and story is set. Hidden Bay is a fictional region on the Washington coast inspired by small coastal communities where travelers come to watch the storms gathering and the waves crashing. I think it makes a great suspenseful setting. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely! Cressida’s curiosity and determination would make for a fun day out. We’d probably spend hours in a cozy seaside café discussing mysteries, history, and the hidden stories behind old shipwrecks, which I would absolutely love it. Who knows—she might give me a few more story ideas. What are three words that describe your hero?Loyal. Steadfast. Protective. What’s something you…

Book Title:  HER DAUGHTER Character Name:   Alice Wilson Alice is meeting with her divorce lawyer to prepare for her looming legal battle with her vengeful, estranged husband, Dan, over custody of their four-year-old daughter, Esme. LAWYER: How would you describe your own childhood and your own family while you were growing up? ALICE: Well, my dad died when I was nine–It was a freak accident; he fell off the roof while he was cleaning the gutters. So that was hard, of course, but my mom never made me feel like our life was a tragedy. She doesn’t like to look at the depressing side of anything– And she’s a great cook. Esme loves to help her bake raisin-chocolate chip cookies. LAWYER: So do you see her as a role model for what you could be, as a single mother to your daughter? Loving, warm, baking cookies, providing a secure home? A portrait we can paint for the Family Court judge. ALICE: Actually, I don’t cook much. LAWYER: You don’t cook. Okay, what is your greatest talent? ALICE: Umm…I work hard for the things I care about. At my job, instance. My boss calls me the Environmental Guru, because I nag…

February is the month of love, which makes it the perfect time to feature my dear friend, Dana Hawkins, and her fabulous new release, I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU (MAYBE). In this week’s Jen’s Jewels feature, Dana shares her thoughts in a fun lightning round, a heartfelt deep dive, a personal touch, and a look at what’s coming next. Trust me—you’re going to be hooked. LIGHTNING ROUND THE DEEP DIVE THE PERSONAL TOUCH LOOKING AHEAD Thank you so much for sharing your insights and creativity! I can’t wait for readers to discover your new release. Happy writing! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU (MAYBE) by Dana Hawkins Meet Cute in Minnesota What’s worse than regretting a one-night stand? Being snowed in with her. Since losing her wife six years ago, Colby has perfected the hermit lifestyle: secluded Minnesota cabin, golden retriever, weekly cupcake run. Zero complications. Until a chaotic, pink-haired vet tech arrives for a house call and—in one reckless moment—Colby lets someone in. It was supposed to be one night. Then the blizzard hit. Josie is a serial hobbyist who’s perfected the art of avoiding rejection. Pilates, painting, pickleball—anything but feelings. So being trapped in a cabin with no distractions and a gorgeous woman who…

Excerpted from FIREFLIES IN WINTER by Eleanor Shearer: The Trial January 1798 Halifax County Court is a stage waiting for its players. The judge’s place is empty, as is the dock, enclosed on all sides but one. This is where the accused will stand. The room carries the weight of its past, all it has witnessed, leaving it hard and cold. Winter winds rattle loose windowpanes. Dark wood-paneled walls remember the methodical dissection of every kind of crime. Killers and crooks, robbers and the robbed, victims and perpetrators alike have all wet the uneven floor with their tears, lifted their gaze to the rafters and prayed. The public benches are almost deserted, but a young woman waits there. It is, of course, a waiting kind of place—for confessions, for verdicts, for justice. Her eyes dart between the clerk in the corner and the two white men who stand in hushed conversation at the front, a lawyer and his client. She cannot stay still, one moment leaning forward in her seat, the next sitting back and gripping the bench with both hands. She breathes with some difficulty, the sign of a chill settled on the lungs. The door to the courtroom opens. Everyone…

What is the title of your latest release?MARRIAGE AND OTHER MONUMENTS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Set in Richmond Virginia in the summer of 2020, MARRIAGE AND OTHER MONUMENTS, tells the story of two estranged sisters whose marriages implode against the backdrop of social justice protests and removal of the Confederate monuments. It’s a must-read multigenerational drama set against a tumultuous time of racial tension in the South. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?The city of Richmond, Virginia is a central character in the novel. The story couldn’t take place anywhere else. The history of the city and also what took place there in the summer of 2020 shape the characters, challenging them to become who they really want to be. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?MARRIAGE AND OTHER MONUMENTS has four main point of view characters: the two sisters, Cynthia and Melissa, and their husbands, Bobby and Marshall. I’d want to hang out with all of them! I would especially want to be with them in Richmond, where they live and where my story takes place. Their perspective on the city at that dramatic moment in the…