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.
Dear Reader, I ought to warn you before we begin: you are about to embark upon a tour of a town where most of the inhabitants thrive upon scandal—or, at the very least, the hope of discovering one. It is therefore of the utmost importance to put your best foot forward. If you cannot manage that, then put forward your best friend instead, or do your very best to keep your scandal secret. That, at least, is what I have attempted to do—though I cannot say with great success. Ah, introductions! My name is Emmeline Lockhart, though my friends (and those who hope to be) call me Emme. I reside in the small yet flourishing spa town of St. Groves. You may think of it as a miniature of Bath, if Bath were tucked amid the rolling emerald hills of Derbyshire and possessed rather more gossip than grandeur. One of the pleasures of arriving in St. Groves—if one is not already overcome by the jostling of the carriage or the chatter of one’s companions—is the beauty of its sandstone buildings, honey-gold in the sunlight and huddled snugly along the curves of the Wye River. The river divides at the base…
This week on Jen’s Jewels, I’m chatting with Sheila Roberts about her charming and witty new book, THE MAN NEXT DOOR. Zona is trying to start over after a tough divorce, juggling money woes, family, and a move back in with her hilarious, fun-loving mom, Louise. But things get even more interesting when a mysterious neighbor shows up, keeping readers guessing and laughing along the way. Sheila gives us a peek behind the scenes—sharing what inspired the story, her favorite characters, and even what’s on her TBR pile. If you love heart, humor, and a little suspense all rolled into one, this one’s for you! Jen: What sparked the idea for THE MAN NEXT DOOR?Sheila: Watching the classic Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window. I thought it was time for a Sheila rewrite of that tale! Jen: Zona is such a relatable character, juggling divorce, finances, and family while trying to start over. What inspired her journey?Sheila: Poor Zona! I did need to find a reason for her to move in with her mother and financial troubles seemed like the perfect solution. Well, for me, not her. Zona’s marriage was ruined by financial infidelity. Shockingly, this happens a lot. One partner…
What is the title of your latest release?I AM CLEOPATRA What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Cleopatra’s life and loves in her own words. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I wanted to recreate ancient Alexandria and meet young Cleopatra, the vulnerable, scheming Queen. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?She’d be totally charming, but she’s also utterly ruthless. So, I’d be a little scared. What are three words that describe your hero?Bad Ass Queen. What’s something you learned while writing this book?That Cleopatra was in Rome in the months leading up to Ceasar’s murder on the Ides of March, staying in one of Caesar’s villas. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?During. After. Endlessly. In my dreams. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?Olives. Olives. Olives. Describe your writing space/office!A glass studio in the garden with a view through the willows of the hill beyond. A golden retriever on my feet. Who is an author you admire?Jane Austen. Cesca Major. Is there a book that changed your life?Moontiger by Penelope Lively Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was…
Exclusive Excerpt for The Llano County Mermaid Club by Kathleen M. Rodgers: Mama said lazy people left pins on the line. I didn’t tell her I’d seen pins left on the line at Melody’s house, and there was nothing lazy about Grandma Dot. As I gazed again at Tansy and Ruthie, my mind flashed to a fountain on the other side of Sandhill. The one we drove past when we went to look at rich people’s houses at Christmastime. “Our fountain’s almost as nice as the one in front of the country club.” Melody picked at a scab on her knee. “Grandma Dot used to work there. One summer when I was five, she took me to work with her every day. While she waited tables, I sat in the dining room and colored and read books and stared out a window at rich kids swimming and eating snow cones all day.” A yucky feeling quivered inside me. “They didn’t let you go swimming, even though your grandma worked there?” I heard my voice tremble in my chest. “You had to be a member,” Melody sniffed, thumbing her nose. Mama stopped in front of us, plunking the empty basket at…
Excerpt from THE GILDED BUTTERFLY EFFECT by Heather Colley: Trip Swindle prided himself on a few different things: the fact that he was a pre-med student who actually knew what sort of doctor he wanted to be (dermatologist), the fact that he could down five Jager bombs in one hour and still function okay, and the fact that he was indelibly handsome. Most college girls were charmed at the beginning, because he had all the appearance of a content, Illinois-raised schoolboy, gentlemanly to a fault, and sheepish in conversation. But the days have their way with people; good looks make their way out, and other things crowd for space. It took due time, and a good amount of investigation, for some people to realize that Trip Swindle wasn’t handsome at all. At college he lived in a Church. It sat prettily on the corner of South U and Church Street, and nothing had changed of this Church since its creation except for everything inside of it. Gone were the pews, the candles, the illusion of spirituality. Gone was any presence of God, if ever there was one. If you could go into that Church, and feel His spirit anywhere at…
What is the title of your latest release?RESCUED HEART: THE STORY OF SARAH What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?The Bible only gives us snippets of Sarah’s life—her kidnapping by Pharaoh, her infertility, her sending Hagar to Abraham, and her kidnapping by Abimelech, and the birth of Isaac. But she lived 127 years! What happened in between those biblical episodes? How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Easy—the Bible told me where the story took place. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Absolutely. I think we have a lot in common. What are three words that describe your hero?Dutiful, respectful, cautious. What’s something you learned while writing this book?I learned many stories that “fall between” paragraphs in the Bible. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?Heavens! My first draft isn’t fit for anyone, so I do five or six drafts total—and that’s before my editor makes suggestions. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?Carrot Cake. Describe your writing space/office!I have a large office, but I tend to do most of my writing at the desk in my bedroom. It sits in a huge garden window, so I can…
Last December 25, a stranger reminded me why I’d wanted to write this book. “Merry Christmas!” he called to my wife and me, as we were taking our morning walk around the neighborhood. Instinctively, I replied, “Thanks, but it’s not our holiday.” He said, “Chanukah is over.” Startled that he knew the word or what I was referring to, I approached him, thinking to explain. “No, Chanukah starts tonight.” “It’s over,” he repeated, in a tone that said we were too. And he made an odd, aggressive-looking gesture, putting his palms together and rotating his arms vigorously, back and forth around his body. Only then did I notice he was wearing a desert-style military helmet, white pants with blue camouflage markings, and a military belt with pouches, as for ammunition. Belatedly, I wondered whether he was armed, and how we’d extricate ourselves from this confrontation. “I wish you peace,” he said, almost spitting the word. “May a hundred hallelujahs follow you.” My wife and I walked away, dazed and upset. After I’d calmed down, I thought of TO SAVE A LIFE, which my publisher was editing just then, and felt a little better. This bigot had shouted me down, but…
Music has always played a large role in my writing process, both for inspiration and to get me in the right mindset when writing. When working on my debut medieval fantasy novel, THE PRINCESS KNIGHT, I used countless playlists to help me and keep me focused (that I have available on spotify for anyone who wants to listen). These are just a few songs that I would listen to nonstop during the writing and editing process: “Hazel Eyes” by Sabrina JordanSometimes, songs just feel like a book, and that’s why I’m starting with “Hazel Eyes”. While taking place in an entirely separate world, THE PRINCESS KNIGHT is loosely inspired by Irish folklore and history, and this song is exactly how I want that world to feel. Also, it doesn’t hurt that one of the protagonists, Clía, does have hazel eyes. “I fell astray, but in you, I have foundThat I am ever bound to your hazel eyes” “Brutal” by Olivia Rodrigo“I feel like no one wants meAnd I hate the way I’m perceivedI only have two real friendsAnd lately, I’m a nervous wreck” In THE PRINCESS KNIGHT, Clía’s life is thrown upside down when a neighboring prince, Domhnall, backs out…
What is the title of your latest release?EXTREMITY What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?When a former detective is pulled out of forced retirement for one last case (oh yes, we love a classic trope!), she discovers an impossibility: there are two identical bodies of the victim, both murdered in different places. It just gets weirder from there: think True Detective if written by Philip K Dick. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?It’s a book about excess and billionaires and police, so it had to be a major city, but I also wanted to keep it very true to me and my culture, so there was really no other choice than to set it in London. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Dear god no. She’s an acerbic, depressed mess. She’d have absolutely no time for my nonsense. She’d actually probably be very intimidating to be around, I think. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Intelligent, single-minded, haunted. What’s something you learned while writing this book?I learnt a lot more about guns that I ever had. I sent it to an ex-army and generally gun knowledgeable friend of mine…