It’s Halloween week! Bring on the thrills, the chills…and all of that delicious Halloween candy. I love the days leading up to Halloween. There seems to be magic that hangs in the air.  I catch myself looking over my shoulder. Checking the dark shadows extra hard. Because, you know, anything can happen at Halloween… Last month, I chatted here about spooky reads.  I mentioned fabulous books filled with shifters and vamps…and all those things that go bump in the night. Well, it’s not just the paranormal creatures that can be scary. For this post, I thought I’d talk about a different kind of monster. The human variety.  You know…the kind you find in romantic suspenses—the twisted villains. The bad guys who send our main characters on dangerous hunts. The evil ones who make our hearts race. Toni Anderson is great at crafting killers.  Her romantic suspense, A COLD DARK PLACE, takes readers straight into the path of a serial killer.  Danger from the past just won’t stay buried, and the tough female FBI heroine in A COLD DARK PLACE has to put her life on the line as she fights for justice. New York Times best-selling author Karen Rose always…

I’ve always been fascinated by mystery series that go on to fifteen or twenty books. (And sometimes even more!) What’s the secret? How does the author keep the characters fresh and interesting, the plot lines so compelling that readers are drawn back again and again? Lorraine Bartlett and Lois Winston draw back the curtain on the secrets of a long running series. I asked Lorraine Bartlett how she keeps Tricia Miles, the protagonist of her long-running BookTown Mysteries series so intriguing in book after book. “I ask myself, what unexpected event can my characters face. That usually gives me a lot of fodder to work with.” As a devoted fan of the series, I can attest that Tricia deals with challenges in every book and shows remarkable strength of character. I wondered if Tricia changed or evolved over the course of the series? “Definitely. I suppose each of my series books could be read as standalones, but so much has happened in the course of the series that they wouldn’t seem like the same characters. People come in and out of their lives. Circumstances change–like life-altering events. My goal is for my series characters to grow in some way with…

Book Title: POWER SHIFTCharacter Name: Evie Quinn How would you describe your family or your childhood?Complicated with a capital C. Supervillain mom + absent father = a funny but damaged daughter. What was your greatest talent?Anything with flowers! Significant other?Caelan seems to have wormed his way into my heart against my better judgment. Biggest challenge in relationships?Trusting someone with my secrets Where do you live?Joy Springs, TX Do you have any enemies?I seem to have quite the knack for making enemies and less of a talent for making friends. How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?Joy Springs is an amazing place. A magical town in Texas where it never gets too hot or too cold and has a hot Shifter Lord keeping the peace? Yes, please. Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?Neither. Poe and Fee aren’t pets. They’re friends. What do you do for a living?I run a flower shop and try not to die on a daily basis. Greatest disappointment?It changes daily. Ask me again tomorrow. Greatest source of joy?My friends. What do you do to entertain yourself…

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…