LOVE AND OTHER ENCHANTMENTS is a time-crossed love story that bridges two worlds: the present day and the 13th-century Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, where a hidden spring becomes a passage between centuries. While writing it, I spent years immersed in medieval chronicles, illuminated manuscripts, historical research, and music both ancient and modern. The songs below shaped the novel in different ways – some appear in its pages, while others helped create its emotional landscape or inspired the journey that eventually led me to write it. The Outlander Theme – The Skye Boat Song About fifteen years ago, I wrote the opening paragraph of a novel for a special newspaper project. I already knew it would involve time travel, echoes between worlds, and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Then life happened. I was raising two children, working as a cultural journalist, book critic, translator, and editor. The novel drifted to the back of a drawer. Then, during a rare quiet week in the winter of 2016, I decided to try a television series I’d been hearing about: Outlander. I was instantly hooked. I devoured the first season and became mildly insufferable about it. I listened to the theme song several times…

What is the title of your latest release?THE ROOMMATE RULE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?A travel influencer’s plus-one drops out of a six-week trip to Wales at the last minute, so a friend of his sister’s takes their place. They set some ground rules and find that some they’re much better at following than others. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I knew I wanted to keep it in the UK, but somewhere completely different from London, which was where my first book was set. I toyed with a few ideas but in the end, I settled on the coast of Wales. I’ve been to Pembrokeshire before and it’s so beautiful, and Wales as a whole deserves more love in my opinion, so Pembrokeshire it was! Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes, and she’d probably enjoy some peace and quiet (much like I do!). What are three words that describe your hero?Reckless, flirtatious, self-assured. What’s something you learned while writing this book?That I can write heroines who are the complete opposite to me. It was something I was nervous about, and it took me a few drafts to…

STAR-CROSSED SUMMER is a second-chance romance set in a fictional coastal Carolina town, where two costars fall in love, break up, and are reunited ten years later, forced to confront old wounds and lingering secrets. Writing this book gave me the perfect excuse to dive into one of my pop culture obsessions: the real-life enemies-to-lovers romance of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. Back in 2004, they didn’t get along during the filming of The Notebook, then somehow started dating once filming wrapped. Those unanswered questions – What changed? How did they go from enemies to lovers? – have fascinated me for two decades. Neither Rachel nor Ryan has ever filled in those blanks, so my imagination did what writers’ imaginations do: it began to build a story of its own…and STAR-CROSSED SUMMER was born. STAR-CROSSED SUMMER was my opportunity to explore two genres I’ve been dying to tackle: second-chance romance and the classic beach read. It’s ridiculous how much fun I had – the angst! The pining! Turns out there’s nothing more delicious to write than two people who never quite got over each other. STAR-CROSSED SUMMER is set in the fictional town of Seafolly, which is inspired by the South Carolina Lowcountry,…

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 Angela Bell! Writes:One might categorize my books as historical romance, but I like to describe them as A Cuppa Victorian Whimsy because, as Anne Shirley would say, that sounds so much more poetical! Inspired by LITTLE WOMEN and Inspector Gadget, my latest bookish cuppa A LADY’S HANDBOOK TO GADGETS AND GUILE revolves around a found sisterhood known as the Daughters of Genius Society – an elite team of lady inspectors disguised as a club for bluestocking spinsters. Recruited for their astute intelligence and aristocratic lineage, the D.O.G.S. covertly investigate crimes committed by members of London’s high society in the late Victorian Era. About:Hello, dear reader! My name is Angela. I’m a twenty-first-century lady with nineteenth-century sensibilities, and I reside with my Lhasa Apso rescue pup, Mr. Bingley Crosby. (If you get both references in his name, we’re most assuredly kindred spirits!) My favorite pastimes include reading voraciously, drinking copious amounts of tea, thrifting for old-fashioned treasures, and penning letters on beautiful stationery. What I’m…

What is the title of your latest release?LOVE WELLS KEPT What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?After an accident erases years of his memory, a man returns to his family’s ranch in hopes of piecing back together the life and love he thought he had lost forever. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Growing up as a reader in small-town British Columbia, I rarely picked up a book that took place in Canada. When I started dreaming about the Wells Ranch series, a Canadian setting was a no-brainer, so I created a fictional place that features some of my favorite parts of rural BC. In a way, it feels like a love letter to the places that raised me. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Oh, absolutely! If only you knew the amount of hours spent daydreaming about spending a summer afternoon having drinks on her front porch. What are three words that describe your hero?Gentle, resilient, yearning What’s something you learned while writing this book?This one had me elbowing my husband in bed in the middle of the night to ask him whether he’d fall in love with me again…

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.

Most fiction authors are creative by nature. They have other outlets and mediums they escape to while not plinking away on their keyboard. To be creative in three different entertainment arenas, however, isn’t all that common. To juggle all three careers at once is even less common. That’s why today’s author is so special. Not only does Holly Stars have a fresh and creative mystery series, the Misty Divine Mysteries are thought provoking and funny. When I found Holly’s latest mystery, I had to interview her. Kym: Welcome to the Cozy Corner, Holly! As a comedian, author, and playwright what is your favorite medium to create within?Holly: It’s so hard to pick a favorite! What I love about all three is creating and telling the stories. With comedy I like the immediate audience reaction – hearing the laughs and seeing what connects in the moment. With books, it’s the space and luxury of having 80,000 words to get into the details. And the best thing about theatre for me is the collaboration – working with other artists and learning from their training and expertise to create something that feels alive. Three very different processes, different but overlapping audiences, each with…

They call it the “Paris of the East”, and for very good reason. The states of Eastern Europe often get a bad rep for their cold and stark, communist-era landscape, but the Hungarian capital of Budapest is truly a shining jewel among the granite. You only have to walk down its wide Parisian-style boulevards, with icing-on-the-cake décor on the pre-20th century buildings, to appreciate its draw, alongside the opulent (and very beneficial) thermal spas. And oh! The coffee shops – old-style kavehas that have entertained dignitaries, dissidents, royalty and tourists for centuries. Not to mention a good many spies. You’ll guess by now that I’m a firm fan of this city dating back to the Roman and Ottoman eras; my first visit to Budapest was as a tourist well over ten years ago, bowled over as I was then by the stunning spas and cafes, plus the blunt contrast of Soviet-influenced statues chipped into municipal buildings. In certain places, you can still see bullet holes from wartime and the peoples’ uprising of 1956, swiftly crushed by the ruling Russians. It’s a city of two halves, not least because it’s spliced by the beautiful river Danube, which is not actually blue,…

By scheduling vacation during the summer, we speed up the shortest season. Of course, the weather is nicer, and the kids are out of school, so it makes sense. But Memorial Day to the Fourth of July to Labor Day seems like three weeks. Taking a week to ourselves is a tight squeeze. Many years ago, a man my father worked with owned a cottage on a lake in Wisconsin. He loaned it to us and we eight would stay for a week. My mom would buy groceries and make all our meals, just like home. There weren’t enough bedrooms, so my brothers slept on the open-air porch. They woke up to many chilly mornings. The lake was cold too, so we rarely went in the water. Our dog loved it. I didn’t know she could swim. I dug up a lot of sand on the beach and built leaning castles.  I trekked quite a bit of sand back to the house too. Those were my main activities. I was a city kid. Without streetlights and traffic, those nights were so dark, making a perfect contrast between the dazzling moon and the stars. They glowed and fascinated me. Still a…

Welcome back to Jen’s Jewels, where I uncover the reads that will keep you turning pages long into the night. Today’s spotlight is on ENTER THE NIGHTMARE by Jayne Castle – a thrilling blend of paranormal suspense, danger, and sizzling chemistry. With a mysterious hotel, missing memories, deadly secrets, and a heroine fighting to reclaim her life, this Harmony novel pulls you into a dark and electrifying world where nightmares don’t just haunt you… they come alive. LIGHTNING ROUND What’s your favorite way to spend a slow July afternoon?Reading a Gothic novel with a glass of cold iced tea. If your main character could plan the perfect summer getaway, where would they go?Illusion Town on Harmony. Think, Las Vegas, only seriously weirder. What’s one thing that instantly helps you slip into a creative mindset?Boredom. If I’m bored, I start plotting. THE SUMMER SPARK What was the very first image, line, or idea that sparked this book?A dust bunny, a dead body and an antiquities thief at a classy reception. What could possibly go wrong? Tell us about a scene that changed significantly from your first draft to your final version. What made you rethink it?In the story, the hero and…