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.

What is the title of your latest release?MARBLE HALL MURDERS What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?An editor, working on a new mystery novel, discovers that a clue to a real murder that took place twenty years ago is concealed inside the text. Can she unravel it before the killer strikes again? How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I saw palm trees, sunshine and white linen suits in my mind’s eye so I decided to set it – partly – in the South of France. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Absolutely. I love writing about Susan Ryeland, the editor – and she’s also played by Lesley Manville on TV who’s become a real-life friend. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Smart, feisty, humorous. What’s something you learned while writing this book?This is the third book in a series, and I learned that there were actually a lot of variations on the original idea. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I write in a cyclical way. After about 50% of the book, I go back to the start and edit. When I reach 75%,…

What is the title of your latest release?THE BURIAL PLACE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Retired detective Jake Jackson has to wrestle with troubling issues of belonging and history, and find a killer who is using the past to bring pain in the present. All that, plus some nude swimming. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?This is the third in a series, so I am committed to this wonderful, imaginary corner of the countryside, near Jake’s place Little Sky, with its lake and wood and rolling fields. Part of the point of the book is a little hymn to nature, so the setting is one of the main characters. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?I would. He’s a decent bloke, plus he loves reading crime fiction and wants to avoid technology, so we have a lot in common. Not a bad cook either. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Hairy, complicated, kind What’s something you learned while writing this book?I learned a lot about history – my dig site was built in the Iron Age and then lasted until the seventeenth century, so there are little moments…

It’s back to school time. I just helped my kid move back to college, and everywhere I look, I see “back to school” pics posted online. This is the time of the year when my writing schedule gets back on track. No more late-night writing sprees. Instead, at night, I can curl up with a book that I’ve been dying to read and slip into a new story. What am I in the mood to read right now? Well, let’s continue our 2025 adventure into the land of tropes. This time, I’m going to tackle a trope that is an everlasting favorite for me…the one bed trope.Yep, I went there. Some people love it. Some hate it. I fall soundly in the “love it” category. Give me a sparring couple, give me a couple that is fighting their attraction—and plop them down in a situation where there is only one bed. What will happen? The one bed trope is a sheer romance book classic.And here are a few stories that feature that everlasting trope: THE WORST WEDDING DATE by Pippa GrantPippa is hilarious! If you have not read her rom-coms, then you are missing out. Her books are the perfect…

This week on Jen’s Jewels, I had the pleasure of catching up with Michael Chessler, the talented author behind MESS – a witty, insightful, and deeply relatable novel that peels back the layers of what we carry, both in our closets and in our hearts. With sharp humor and heartfelt honesty, Michael explores the inner life of Jane Brown, a professional organizer for Hollywood’s elite whose tidy exterior masks a whirlwind of emotional clutter. From reflections on Marie Kondo to unexpected stories of silver rings and celebrity homes, our conversation dives into the inspiration behind MESS, the chaos of perfectionism, and what it really means to let go. Jen: What sparked the inspiration for Mess? Was it your own closet, your experience with Hollywood, or something else entirely?Michael: I’ve always been interested in the ways people cling to not only material possessions, but also to emotions, memories, beliefs. When I read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the animism of her organizational rubric—asking if an object brings joy, and if it doesn’t, sending it off with fondness and thanks—resonated with me. The way people approach physical clutter reveals so much about how they deal with mental and emotional…

What is the title of your latest release?THE SECOND CHANCE BUS STOP What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Edith is slowly losing her memory, but there is one person she needs her son Blade to find first. Searching for the one who got away, he finds himself in Sweden, sharing a campervan with Sophia, who might just be the one he can’t let get away. It’s a story of love in all its shapes and forms and of community and finding your people. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I’m Swedish and like being able to bring that part for me into my stories. Blade and Sophia end up on a road trip through Sweden, and I loved writing about all the beautiful summer spots – idyllic small towns, lakes and forests. It’s also set in London, a place I lived in for 12 years and that will always be home to me. The bus stop Edith spends so much time at is on the street I used to live by. And I took my baby son to story time at the library Edith researches her lost love in. Would you hang out with…

What is the title of your latest release?GELATO AT THE VILLA, Book #2 in the Suitcase Sisters collection What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Two long-time friends, Grace and Claire finally decide to stop reading about characters having adventures and plan their own, starting with a cooking class in Tuscany. In Northern Italy they discover the fairytale charm of Venice, the peace of the ancient countryside, and an abundance of art, beauty, gelato and pasta. While whispering what’s really on their hearts inside an unassuming chapel near Bellagio they soon see that God prepared a special gift for both of them. A gift they could only find by going to Italy. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?The first Suitcase Sisters novel is set in Kenya, TEA WITH ELEPHANTS, I chose to send the next two characters to another favorite corner of the world. I’ve been to Italy twice and as I wrote “Gelato at the Villa” I dreamed of going again. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Absolutely! Both Grace and Claire. I have lots in common with both of them. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Grace is…

My name is Ana Leigh Watkins, and if one more person in my hometown calls me a hero, I’ll lose my mind. I’m no hero. I’m just a kindergarten teacher trying to figure out how to move on with my life after…well…after a very traumatic year. Which is why I decided to spend my entire summer with a great-aunt I’ve only met once in Bitter End, Tennessee. It’s okay, you can laugh. My best friend Lexi has had a field day with the idea of me going off to a place called Bitter End to get a fresh start. I don’t care what that town is named as long as nobody there knows why I walk with a limp. I’ll admit I was a little surprised when I arrived. I thought there would be a little town square or a welcome sign. Something. But it turns out Bitter End is more of a winding country road that takes you up and down Old Buck Mountain. The view from the top is stunning. A sea of Appalachian mountaintops rolls all the way to the horizon line. I’m no expert, but while I was out on one of my walks, I might…

What is the title of your latest release?FAIRYDALE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?An orphaned schoolteacher moves to Fairydale to claim an inheritance but becomes entangled in a dangerous supernatural game as an ancient demon threatens to destroy the world and she might be the only one to stop him. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?The name Fairydale came to me first and I knew it was going to be the name of the town. The book relies on the character not having access to a lot of information, so I decided to set the action before the internet, cellphones and other easily accessible media. Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?Yes! Darcy would be super fun to hang out with. She’s very analytical so I think we’d have great conversations. What are three words that describe your protagonist?Analytical, Hopeful, Optimistic. What’s something you learned while writing this book?It was fun learning about daily life during Ancient Roman times. Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?I edit in my mind before I sit down to write so the plot is more or less…

For me, a nascent story idea is nothing but a dream and a vibe, snatches of color, a glimpse of a setting… and then I hear one song, and everything falls into place. I often joke that a book idea doesn’t become a capital P Project until there is a playlist, and THE POSSESSION OF ALBA DIAZ was no different. “First Light,” HozierI was on deadline for the first full draft of Alba Díaz when Hozier dropped Unreal Underneath and damn, it came at precisely the right moment (I must resist the temptation to make this entire list songs from this album). “First Light” is both gloomy and bursting with color and light; that juxtaposition was just what I was chasing as I crafted my book’s atmosphere. And the yearning! Chef’s kiss. “Amigos (con Maria Becerra)”, Pablo AlboránMy brain and body are hardwired to adore Latin pop; it’s what I grew up with and what I always turn to when crafting book playlists. For a book with a Spanish protagonist, I gravitated toward Spanish pop. “Amigos” is bittersweet and full of longing, and the chorus soars with forbidden love and a crooning, repeated “you cure me of this loneliness.” “Heaven,”…