Book Title: FORBIDDEN SECRETS, Payback Mountain, Book 5Character Name: Gage Landry How would you describe your family or your childhood?My family was great… until it wasn’t. My dad was killed by a drunk driver when I was seven, and overnight I felt like it was my job to take care of my mom and little sister. Then Janie got sick – cancer – when she was twelve. High school for me was a blur of doctor’s appointments, working whatever jobs I could, and trying to keep my grades up. Looking back, I guess you could say I didn’t really have much of a childhood. What was your greatest talent?Recognizing bullshit. Part of that comes from training, the rest from experience. After years as a special agent with the FBI, you learn to see through people fast. Not much gets by me. Significant other?No. People close to me have a tendency to die, and I’ve had my fill of heartbreak. Better to live alone than risk losing someone else. Biggest challenge in relationships?I’ve been told I’m reserved – aloof, even – and that I keep myself safe by not letting anyone get too close. But my best friend and his crew…

A disabled writer’s unforgettable journey into Wyoming’s lost mountain town. High in Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountains lies Kirwin, one of the most haunted and untouched ghost towns in the American West. Tucked away at 9,200 feet, this abandoned mining town has endured avalanches, gold rush dreams, and even a visit from Amelia Earhart. Its silence hums with history. I had dreamed of seeing a real ghost town for years—one untouched by modern life. In 2021, that dream seemed within reach, as we went on our big go west trip, but our first searches ended in disappointment. Every “ghost town” Google led us to either had people living there or no trace of old structures left. On our last attempt, we ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, stranded on an empty stretch of road, rescued only by a miner in the one vehicle heading home and then by a kind sheriff’s deputy. That night, safe in our RV again, we decided no more ghost towns, for now. The experience taught me something: don’t rely on GPS or Google searches. Real research—old maps, local museums, and historical societies—is what leads you to the real thing. A Personal Mission By 2023,…

What is the title of your latest release?NEXT TIME WILL BE OUR TURN What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Nerdy Chinese-Indonesian girl moves to LA and falls in love, but make it ghey and with a LOT of yearning. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?This is a book that draws on a lot of my own experience, so I basically just drew from my own life. Magnolia attends Pasadena Community College, so did I. Magnolia goes to UC Berkeley, so did I. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes, without a doubt! What are three words that describe your hero?Resilient, Rule-breaker, Pioneer What’s something you learned while writing this book?That I can make myself cry through my own writing. That’s so weird! It’s like finding out that you can tickle yourself? Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I wait until I’m totally done. What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?Any type of noods. Describe your writing space/office!I write at my dining table because my dining room is the room that gets the most natural light in the house and I just love it so much. So…

Fight the Dragons – Norbert Leo Butz (Big Fish cast recording)This song has always made me very emotional, whenever I hear it come onto my playlist I just stop and listen to it; the relationship between a father and his son is so beautifully portrayed throughout. I think it fits so perfectly for Jonah and his dad and the memories that Jonah is trying so hard to keep hold of, I think Jonah would really find comfort in this song. What is this feeling? – WickedI don’t think there is a better song to sum up Jonah and Dexter’s relationship in the start of the book! The sniping, the comments, the loathing. I could see them singing this and meaning every single word. 30/90 – Tick, Tick, Boom!This song resonates so well with some of the themes in the book – turning 30 and not knowing if you have your life together is a real fear Jonah has. The line “Hey, can you be optimistic? You’re no longer the ingenue” is particularly poignant for Jonah I think; he has a fear of being forgotten, of the things he’s achieved vanishing before he can really grasp them. So, although this song…

Excerpted from LUCKY SEED by Justinian Huang: Houyi was unable to see his reflection in mirrors, let alone any flat 2D image, so he always just presumed he was a very short, very wealthy human. He certainly had lived like one. Born to albino purebreds atop a grassy cliff overlooking the craggiest beaches in Malibu, Houyi was the son that Roses Sun had been awaiting all her life. Her obsessive fussing over this pit bull dominated her direct family for more than a decade. He was treated like more than human actually, more like “the living god of some prosperous country,” as Cristiano often remarked, not without a bit of envy. Houyi certainly got to go through the same general motions as the humans, if not better—sitting at the dining table on his designated seat next to Roses, riding his personal doggy elevator from her bedroom to the kitchen, chilling in his custom massage chair under the sunniest window in the sitting room. Why would he assume he was any different from the rest of his family? The dog was wrong about his identity, but despite existing primarily in one percent settings, Houyi did somehow innately understand that he was…

What is the title of your latest release?CHRISTMAS CAPTIVE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Someone put billionaire Jordan Campbell in a coma. Decorah Security asks nurse Hannah Andrews to use her psychic powers to reach him. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I needed an isolated mansion on the coast. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?I never write about protagonists I wouldn’t want to party with. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Bullheaded, rich, in need of the right woman What’s something you learned while writing this book?Would you believe I learned that a writer can get her ideas from the weirdest places? I was at a conference and went up to my room. We were on the 19th floor. I looked at the room numbers, and everyone could have been a year in the 20th century. That gave me the idea of having the heroine psychically step into that hallway and start opening doors. Each one took her to a past Christmases in the hero’s life. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I am the queen of editing. I usually start…

What is the title of your latest release?ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A LORD What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A LORD is set in 1815 England and introduces Lady Petra Forsyth—four and twenty years of age, the daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, and having recently (and scandalously) announced that she will remain unmarried after the death of her fiancé. But when she discovers a presumed-dead friend may have been relegated to an asylum run by a dangerous, sham physician—and was sent there by her husband, no less—Lady Petra does the most unladylike and dangerous thing she can: she begins asking questions. After all, a true lady always follows her instincts, never the rules. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?London was a given with my setting of Regency-era England, but when it came to the country seat of Lady Petra’s father, I chose Newmarket, in Suffolk. First, because Petra’s father, the Earl of Holbrook, is also a racehorse trainer and Newmarket is the historic center of English horseracing. But second was because I read about Newmarket many times in Dick Francis novels, so my choosing…

When I’m writing, there’s a soundtrack playing in my head. BONES OF OUR STARS, BLOOD OF OUR WORLD has quite a few songs embedded in its DNA. Songs of horror. Songs of heartbreak and loss. Songs of loneliness. Songs about fighting back. I’m sharing a few tracks that echo the novel’s characters, events, and themes. There are secrets buried in these songs. Horrible secrets. Maybe, you’ll piece them together. Phantasmagoria (Bloody Hammers)Some who have read BONES OF OUR STARS, BLOOD OF OUR WORLD have pointed out that the book is my personal love letter to everything horror. Of course, it is! That’s why I wrote it! “Phantasmagoria” by Bloody Hammers is an anthem to the terrifying, the ghostly, and “the horror of it all.” So it works perfectly in the playlist for this novel. Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)It just makes sense, right? This song is an exploration of a frustrated, angry murderer. But it’s also about anxiety. It’s about feeling alienated from those around you. It’s about forces that are outside your control. This makes it the perfect theme for Mr. No-Face, the killer in the book, but it might apply to a few other characters, too. Swamp Thing (The…

Well, my friends, I have been writing my tailfeathers off this year, and the new series, The Texas Brand: Generations is about to get a third tale. DEPUTY BRAND GETS HER MAN releases on this most auspicious date, 11/11. It’s Willow’s story, and there’s a big series reveal at the end, so don’t skip the epilogue! I’m deep into the first draft of Book 4, HIRED HUSBAND, as we speak. There are eight planned in this series. Here’s a little taste of DEPUTY BRAND GETS HER MAN: Stu said, “You ain’t gettin’ in mah truck without a search warrant, lady deputy.” He made it an insult. Willow pressed her lips and nodded. “It’s illegally parked, I think,” and she got to her feet and started toward the truck. “It’s blockin’ the driveway. I oughtta move it. Prevent an accident.” Stu jumped up too. He put himself directly in front of her and bent so close to her face she could smell his beer breath. “I don’t think you want to do that.” “Oh, you’re readin’ me wrong, then, because I very much want to do that.” He drew back a fist to punch her. She never knew whether he’d have…

Welcome to November! I’m a usually a person who makes an effort to be thankful every day, but this is the month that I make a point to write little notes every day and put them in a jar. I then use that jar to carry me through the end of the year because there are so many things to do with all the holidays and events. I hope whichever holidays you celebrate are amazing and that you make time to find a comfy spot, wrap yourself in a blanket, get something wonderful in your mug, and read to your heart’s content. Here are some recommendations to get you through the month! Oh, and here’s a Reader Pass from me! If someone asks you to do something while you’re reading, this is my written permission for you to say no! So now that you have most of the things you need, let’s dive into the book recommendations!First, let’s look at TRAPPING, TURKEYS, & THANKSGIVING (A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery Series Book 28) by Tonya Kappes This is a couple years old but still funny today! I love the community we’re reading about and the main character is a hoot!…