Book Title: STILL WATERSCharacter Name: Beth Peachy How would you describe your family or your childhood?I always thought my childhood was perfect. I grew up in a close-knit Amish community. My parents loved each other and were very close. I visited my grandmother, who we call Mammi, in Shepherd’s Hill, Pennsylvania every summer. It was ideal. But there was something missing, and I only noticed after my father passed away. But my family had a very strange void in the center of it. What was your greatest talent?I’m a swimmer, and while we Amish don’t compete, I’ve been told that I’m very good. My father taught me how to swim, and I have been pushing myself to get stronger and have more endurance ever since I started to paddle. I often wonder if I might have been good enough to race if I’d grown up Englisch. Significant other?At the moment, I’m single. I’m visiting my grandmother one last time while I help her get the house ready to sell. And there’s this guy I was friends with as a girl who lives along the same lake—Danny Lapp—and I have to say… there’s a spark! And we’re both old enough to…

What is the title of your latest release?LAST CALL AT THE SAVOY What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?When party girl Cinnamon Scott jets off to London to help her very pregnant sister, she expects tea and maybe escaping for a few late-night cocktails; not a mystery hidden within the glittering halls of The Savoy Hotel. But when she uncovers the legacy of Ada Coleman, the hotel’s first, and once legendary, female bartender, whose story history tried to erase, Cinnamon becomes determined to set the record straight. As she delves into the past, she sparks an unexpected romance, reconnects with her sister, and begins rewriting more than just history. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I stumbled upon the idea for my book in the very place it’s set, the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel. Much like my character, Cinnamon, when I learned the story of the Savoy’s first female mixologist I wanted to know more. And also like Cinnamon, I was frustrated to find there was very little written about this incredible woman. I knew right then I want to do something about it! Would you hang out with your protagonist in…

Lucky by Britney SpearsThis song is about a young actress experiencing the dark side of fame, but it’s got this bubbly chorus and Britney’s signature sultry-sweet vocals, so the real heart of its story– the despair of a depressed and lonely starlet—can sometimes get buried. Add the spoken word interlude (“And the winner is….Lucky!”) and you have an iconic Y2k earworm that seems sparkly even while it’s totally depressing. It’s the perfect song for Maggie McKee, who bedazzles everything about her life as a popstar on Reality TV, from her marriage to her friendships to her diet. She might be lucky, but she is also clearly stuck. You’ll Ask For Me by Tyler HiltonI played this song on repeat while thinking about Cassidy and Gabe. How much of someone’s reputation matters when they are standing right in front of you being vulnerable? It’s also an ode to patience and waiting until the time is right, which has everything to do with Cassidy and Gabe’s romance. Hits Different by Taylor SwiftIt’s hard to choose a favorite Taylor song, but this one might be it for me. I think the line “the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings”…

This week on Jen’s Jewels, I’m thrilled to welcome back New York Times bestselling author Karen White. Beloved for her richly layered Southern settings and unforgettable heroines, Karen once again invites readers into a world of charm, mystery, and heartfelt emotion in New Orleans with her latest release, THE LADY ON ESPLANADE. Blending wit, wisdom, and a touch of the unexpected, her new novel explores the strength of family, the pull of the past, and the healing that comes when we finally uncover the truth. Grab a cozy seat and join me as Karen and I chat about the inspiration behind her story, the characters who leapt off the page, and the magic that keeps readers coming back for more. Jen: What inspired you to return to Nola Trenholm’s story in THE LADY ON ESPLANADE?Karen: A contract! OK, that’s not the whole story, but I am contracted for four books in the series right now. But Nola’s story is far from being over and the characters are all so young so there are many more books I could write in which I continue to torture them, I mean, watch them learn and grow. Jen: For readers new to the Royal…

As was the case when Fresh Fiction was amazing enough to feature the Songs/Book match for my last novel, Beneath the Poet’s House, I offer up this playlist with the caveat that I’ve never been someone who can listen to music while writing, so the following songs are less of an author-curated track list than they are a collection of tunes that go along with the events and personalities of the characters in HOW TO FAKE A HAUNTING. Enjoy, and be warned, the vibe is creepy, sneaky, and overwhelmingly angry… what else would you expect from a woman hellbent on scaring her husband out of their house for good and her wild and crazy “brains-of-the-operation” best friend, Adelaide?  “Do You Want to Know a Secret?” The BeatlesThe song that inspired the song that Adelaide and Lainey use to first scare Callum, “Do You Want to Know a Secret?” actually played out of nowhere on MY Amazon Echo while I was working on this book, at the exact point when I was trying to come up with something that had vibes similar to when Liv Tyler’s character in The Strangers is unknowingly sharing the house with a masked intruder and “Sprout…

What is the title of your latest release?FREEBOURNE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A thinking-reader’s thriller set in an idyllic English town of the near future, with a twist that’s never been done before in fiction. After learning of his wife’s affair with his best friend and business partner, divorced and unemployed MindTech entrepreneur Dr Harry Coulson arrives in the idyllic English town of Freebourne, looking to start a new life. But any hopes of quietly picking up the pieces of his broken world are shattered when he steps off the train to discover the body of a young woman lying in the snow. It’s almost as if she’d been left there for him to find. Harry does everything he can to help. But as a stranger arriving on the night Freebourne witnesses its first murder in over a century, he not only becomes a suspect in the woman’s killing but finds himself caught in a deadly game between science, faith, and free will – in a secret far darker and more terrifying than anything he could have imagined. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?A lot of thrillers are set in big,…

What is the title of your latest release?EXCAVATING FATE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?While on a dig in Tunisia, a 19-year-old archeology intern uncovers a relic that thrusts her back to an alternate version of ancient Carthage, where a vengeful god’s plan to destroy Rome could fracture history itself. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I’ve always been a bit of a history nerd, the kind who gets way too excited over dusty ruins and obscure documentaries. The idea for EXCAVATING FATE really took root after I took a DNA test and discovered that I had a smidge of North African ancestry. Suddenly, Hannibal Barca and the lost city of Carthage weren’t just historical footnotes, they felt personal. Of course, when I tried to share my excitement with my teenage son by queueing up a History Channel documentary, he sat there like he was serving a prison sentence. That’s when it hit me: if I wanted the next generation to care about this fascinating slice of history, I had to make it fun. While I usually gravitate toward adult fantasy, this time I decided to write something that could both inform and…

What is the title of your latest release?THE LADY ON ESPLANADE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?In this third book in the New Orleans-set Royal Street series (note: each book is written so that they could be read out of order but why would you want to?), Nola Trenholm (a recent transplant from Charleston, SC) is settling into her new life in the Big Easy, and starting a new venture of flipping murder houses with business partner/nemesis and psychic, Beau Ryan. Between the ominous presence in the house they are renovating and the haunting mystery of Beau’s parents’ disappearance in Hurricane Katrina, Nola and Beau must untangle the tragedy that occurred in the house they’re working on and decipher the message Beau’s mother is trying to convey before it’s too late and the truth catches up to them with dangerous consequences. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?All my books are set in the South, but for this series, I needed Southern AND spooky. Since I went to college in New Orleans (Tulane), I was already familiar and head over heels in love with the city, so it was an easy choice. Would…

As a fantasy author, I’ve often been told that I write in a ‘cinematic’ style. That’s a compliment for me, because I love to immerse my readers in the worlds I’ve created. Sometimes I find inspiration in cinema itself – in movies and TV shows that solidify ideas of what I’m trying to create or experiences I’m trying to capture. I’d love to share some of these and see if you agree! Master and Commander: The Far Side of the WorldStarring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, this movie is one of my top three favorites of all time. Not only is it well written and clever, but it also accurately portrays life on a war frigate during the age of sail. The claustrophobia below decks and the bite of ocean winds above, the terror of a stormy sea and the peace of blue skies and calm waters. And most of all, the utter discipline needed during the chaos of a naval battle, when a spray of wooden splinters was as lethal as a volley of cannonballs. I drew a lot of inspiration from this movie, and in my mind, the Touchstone is very similar to the HMS Surprise, a ship…

What is the title of your latest release?THE GREAT FORGOTTEN What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A little historical, a little love, a little suspense. A little Titanic on a train. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?The setting was dictated by the real-life event that inspired The Great Forgotten so most of the book takes place in Nashville. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?I love my heroine(s) and think both reflect women I would hang out with. They are flawed but good people. What are three words that describe your hero?Inspiring, strong, loyal. (Note: there really isn’t one hero, but this works for the person I’m thinking of.) What’s something you learned while writing this book?All of it—everything you read about the events, the clothes, the rituals, the train station. Because this book is inspired by true events, there was a lot of historical research. I think I did learn more about the time period and what life might have been like during the WWI era than I needed to include, but it helped to be immersed in 1918 Nashville. Do you edit as you draft or wait until…