Book Title: A FATAL EXHIBITIONCharacter Name: Katie Bonner How would you describe your family or your childhood?I was orphaned at age six and brought up by my elderly Aunt Lizzie. She was childless, so it was an adjustment for both of us. A sedate old lady and a noisy little girl. She was strict, but I never doubted that she loved me and always put my welfare first. What was your greatest talent?Probably organization, and I have a master’s degree in marketing. It sure doesn’t hurt when promoting the various businesses I’m aligned with on Victoria Square. Significant other?Sort of. Or perhaps I should say “would like to have.” I had two serious (and seriously flawed) relationships before the one I’m currently embarking on, and let’s just say betrayal was a big part of why we broke up. That will never happen to me again. (I hope.) Biggest challenge in relationships?Currently, it’s my guy’s teenage children who are still grieving the loss of their mother. My guy has conflicting loyalty, but at this point in his kids’ lives, they must be his priority. My head understands. My heart…not so much. Where do you live?McKinlay Mill, New York (close to the…

Several years ago, I featured Caridad in a piece I wrote and recorded for NPR. It turned out to be the most downloaded piece on NPR and ran constantly. Listeners found Caridad and her books as fascinating as I do.  When I first featured you in an NPR piece, you were writing mysteries (thrillers?) set in South Beach.  I loved the setting, the plot, the action. What drew you to write books in Florida? And I see that you still do!  I love setting books all over the country, and after setting several in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted to give readers a taste of something different and you couldn’t get more different than Miami. It was fun showing readers a slice of that culture and also the nearby areas, like the Everglades. How much research do you do for your books? When I read COLD CASE K-9, I was impressed by the amount of detail and gritty realism that went into it.  I often spend several hours creating a bible that has information on all the characters and the locations for the book. If I can, I try to visit the real locations, but if not, I rely on using the…

What is the title of your latest release? THE NEIGHBORS ARE WATCHING What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A mom who’s about to be an empty-nester and a Gen-Z librarian team up to solve a murder in their wealthy suburb. How did you decide where your book was going to take place? That’s easy – the DC suburbs! All my books are set here, among perfectly manicured lawns and white picket fences that hide terrible secrets. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes, and I really do hang out with them, both my main characters! I know lots of Gen-X women, like Caren, whose kids are heading off to college and re-evaluating their lives. I also know quite a few young trans folks, like Finn, who are just starting out in the world. What are three words that describe your hero? Caren: maternal, overlooked, hardworking. Finn: loyal, dogged, gentle. What’s something you learned while writing this book? For Tori’s POV I did a bunch of research about the way LLMs adapt to give users the answers they want, and to hook users to keep them coming back. Tori becomes involved with a chatbot that…

What is the title of your latest release?THE GHOST CITY, but the paperback for BLOOD AND TREASURE publishes May 19th, 2026. What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?Holes. Strange holes the size of baseball stadiums, going down miles into the ice, are popping up all over the western Antarctic, accompanied by increasingly violent tremors. Nobody understands why. The ice sheet is on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, on the Mekong River in Vietnam, Ethan Cain is surveying the river bottom for a gas pipeline project when the entire river dries up and diverts in an instant from a sand trafficking disaster further upriver. The dry riverbed reveals an ancient boat from the 13th century. Inside are journals of Marco Polo himself. They lead Ethan on an adventure that spans as much of history and time as it does the globe. From ancient Mongolia to modern Antarctica, and everything in-between, Ethan will meet with the edge of memory, and he’ll find out just how steep of a drop it is. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I wanted to an adventurous location that wasn’t used very much in the genre or has been traditionally used…

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.

Each Friday the Smashwords store reports the bestselling indie fiction titles based on the previous week’s sales. If an author has more than one title eligible for the list, only the highest performing title will be included. This ensures high-performing titles receive the accolades they deserve, while providing up-and-coming authors the visibility they have earned. Don’t miss Monday’s Top 10 Hot Preorders List, where Smashwords will provide a list of the most highly anticipated ebook preorders.

Romance is often obsessed with beginnings: the first glance, the first touch, the first time two people realize the air has changed between them. But fantasy romance has always known that beginnings are not the only moments worth worshipping. Sometimes the most powerful love story starts after the wound. After the betrayal. After the funeral pyre. After the world has ended and someone still reaches across the ruins. Second chances hit differently in speculative romance because the genre can make emotional resurrection literal. A lover can return as a ghost. A heroine can bargain with Death. A god can be dragged back from the underworld. A marriage can survive memory loss, war, curses, monsters, or the sharp knowledge that love alone was not enough the first time. These stories ask harder questions than “Will they fall in love?” They ask whether love can survive what happened. Whether forgiveness is grace or folly. Whether the person who comes back from death, grief, or betrayal is still the person who left. THE SONGBIRD AND THE HEART OF STONE by Carissa Broadbent This is resurrection romance in its most mythic form: an underworld journey, a dead god, a heroine searching for redemption, and…

What is the title of your latest release?THE EYES OF RIVER What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?The convicting eyes of a child drove Lizzy Haney to mail her little brother through the U.S. mail to break him free of his chains and save him. What she didn’t expect was just how deep the chains were buried and how harshly they would cut. When Lizzy finds out children are being taken and sold, she’s determined to bring them home, even at the risk of learning her own identity. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?I was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains, and I love to set my stories within a 200-mile radius of home. Even if the town is imaginary, I base it on real cities and towns. In the case of The Eyes of River, the story is set just below Chattanooga on the Tennessee-Georgia border and finishes in Knoxville. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Most definitely. Lizzy has her issues, but she’s genuinely kind, and she longs for friendships she was never allowed to have. What are three words that describe your hero?The obvious would be…

What is the title of your latest release?SHAKEN TO THE CORE What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?After her mother’s sudden death, Joy discovers her diary – one entry inspires an idea that changes the trajectory of her life. Then her husband receives devastating news, which threatens their future and forces her to find the courage to pivot. SHAKEN TO THE CORE is an uplifting novel about love, loss, resilience, and how motherhood transcends biology. How did you decide where your book was going to take place?Vermont is my serene sanctuary in the mountains. Our family has visited for years, making memories and creating meaningful moments. The landscape, people, food, and energy there is the perfect setting for Joy’s journey. Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?Yes! What are three words that describe your hero?Creative, empathetic, and intuitive What’s something you learned while writing this book?I learned to trust where my heart leads me. If something did not work, I pivoted or deleted the scene. One of the main themes of SHAKEN TO THE CORE is “what do we do with the time we have left?” I lean into this in life – both on and…

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 Jennie Goutet! Writes: Refined historical romance set in 18th century Europe with witty dialogue, subtle humor, and a slow-burning passion characterized by dignity and restraint. About: Jennie is a fancy-pants cosmopolitan author who lives in a Parisian suburb ten minutes away from the Arc de Triomphe (and spills food on her shirt every day, doesn’t drink the wine, and has a gluten intolerance). She adores Rachmaninoff, the craggy cliffs of Brittany, a bracing wind, strong hot coffee and gluten-free vanilla cake, her French husband and three grown children, an aptly-turned phrase, and a God who made all of these things. She has written over twenty books, most set in the Regency period, and is having a blast writing 18th century romance stories set closer to what she now calls home. My ideal reader for A LOVE ONCE LOST must love: What to expect if we’re compatible: A LOVE ONCE LOST by Jennie Goutet Bridwells’ Grand Tour Book #1 A Georgian-Era European Grand Tour Historical Family Saga…