Book Title: MIDNIGHT PROMISES Character Name: Isabelle Varens How would you describe your family or childhood?  I am the illegitimate daughter of a Drury Lane actress.  I never had any idea who my father was.  Life with Mama was always uncertain.  My mother was as beautiful as she was feckless and impractical.  By the age of nine, I was already the responsible adult, shielding Mama from creditors, trying to manage our meagre supply of coin.  The best times when Mama secured a wealthy benefactor.  We lived lavishly and Mama loved to parade about as though she was a grand lady.  But I was sensitive of the sneers of the tradesmen and the way respectable women looked down upon us. Even as a child, I dreamed of somehow becoming a real lady and living a life far different from that of my mother. What was your greatest talent?  I inherited my mother’s beauty and acting ability, although I believe I have far surpassed her.  I am highly skilled in the arts of deceit, a talent that has served me well considering the perilous nature of my profession. What do you do for a living?  I am a spy.  I work for…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BEFORE DOROTHY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? BEFORE DOROTHY is the imagined life story of Aunt Em from The Wizard of Oz, set during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s. It was inspired by the following lines from the original L. Frank Baum book: ‘When Aunt Em came to live there, she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too.’ In BEFORE DOROTHY, I explore who Em was before Dorothy came into her life, and how life on the prairie – and Dorothy – change her. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Of course the book was always going to be set in Kansas, but my story also moves from Ireland and then to Chicago. The locations were inspired by linking the Emerald City with the Emerald Isle (where I live), and Chicago being where L. Frank Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. There is now a yellow brick road on the site of his home at Humboldt Avenue. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I feel that I’ve…

Book Title: TO LOVE A SPY Character Name: Valencia Where do you live? On a remote island of the southern coast of England. My fellow residents—most of them are smugglers or individuals who prefer not to cross paths with any type of official authority—mind their own affairs and don’t ask questions. And that suits me just fine. 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? It’s a place of wild, untamed beauty—which I suppose has a certain irony, as the same words are often used to describe me. However, in my heart I’ve never felt comfortable here because it reminds me of my greatest failure. I came here  as penance for letting down the people who trusted me to get a dangerous job done. However, I may soon be leaving. Out of the blue, Lady Luck has offered me a second chance to prove myself, and despite the fact that all the odds are stacked against me, I intend to seize it . . . Speaking of failure, what was your greatest failure? My personal answer is that my foot slipped at…

Book Title: THE CODEBREAKER’S DAUGHTER Character Name: Lillian Kendall How would you describe your family or your childhood? In my forties now, I try to think about my family and my childhood as little as possible. To most of my acquaintances and friends, my life began when I came to Riverbank at age seventeen during the Great War. What was your greatest talent? All of my talents are what my daughter Dinah would call “dull”—creating and solving crossword puzzles, handling finances, keeping the home clean and organized, predicting any number of possible disasters… Significant other? Roger. You likely know him; everyone in our hometown does. He can talk to anyone about anything and be genuinely interested, too. I don’t know what I would do without him, despite the rocky start to our relationship. Biggest challenge in relationships? Letting people in. I find it difficult to trust others. However, I would argue that’s not a fault, but a strength, given how few people are, in fact, trustworthy. Where do you live? At the moment, I am temporarily living in Washington D.C. Just until the Friedmans…well, just to help out some old friends of mine in an emergency. Then I’ll return home…

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 Katharine Schellman! Writes: Katharine Schellman writes mysteries with puzzling plots and determined sleuths. She likes to focus on the stories of women and queer folks in historical settings. And she can’t resist adding in things like swoony love triangles, found families, and clues hidden in plain sight that you’ll be determined to spot before the characters do. About: I’m Katharine Schellman, an award-winning author of historical crime fiction. My novels, which reviewers have called “worthy of Rex Stout or Agatha Christie,” have been named one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of the Year, a Library Journal Best Crime Fiction of the Year, and a New York Times editor’s pick. My work has been nominated for the Silver Falchion award and won the Zibby Media National Book Award for Best Book for the History Lover. Weird past jobs: Political consultant, professional actor, lingerie salesperson Not good at: Keeping houseplants alive, buying a reasonable number of books Loves: Libraries, beaches, champagne, naps. Currently lives: In the mountains of Virginia with…

1–What is the title of your latest release? EAT POST LIKE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? EAT POST LIKE is a story about Cassie Brooks, a lawyer who has spent her entire life myopically focused on her career. After her boyfriend dies, she realizes that he has been living a double life, one that she grows more and more curious about. She accepts an invitation to an all-expenses paid trip to Europe on his behalf and finds herself immersed in a world she was grossly unprepared for. While eating her way through Europe she must confront everything she thought she knew – about her lost love and about herself.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? EAT POST LIKE is inspired by just a handful of trips I took as a cocktail and spirits writer. I remember sitting in these incredible restaurants, eating once in a life-time meals, and thinking that they would be incredibly visceral scenes for a drama. Some of the restaurants I’ve visited, and some I still want to visit. Strangely, writing about the ones I haven’t been to yet, brought them to life for me anyway. I had…

Book Title: THE VERY BEST OF CARE Character Name: Dr. Mitch Wagner How would you describe your family or your childhood?   Dysfunctional and self-centered. I grew up in New York City, son of a renowned orthopedic surgeon and professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. For as long as I can remember, my father was grooming me to be a physician, just like himself. I was close to becoming his vision of a perfect physician son, until I decided I was not going to specialize in orthopedics. Instead, I chose obstetrics and gynecology – apparently a blasphemous choice coming from a long lineage of orthopedic surgeons. From the day I announced my decision, I lost any hope for acceptance from my father. According to him, I had chosen “sissy” medicine, which he occasionally called “pussy” medicine when he was deep into his bottle of Scotch. But I wasn’t going to give up on him or us – I would show him that I was worthy, every bit as smart as he, and someday I would be equally respected in my specialty. What was your greatest talent?  I’m brilliant. School was ridiculously easy for me. In 6th grade I’d…

1–What is the title of your latest release? I DID WARN HER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A luxurious yacht, a gorgeous crew with secrets and rivalries…and murder! To use Sara Ochs’ fantastic blurb, it is Below Deck with a body count. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? After my debut, I wanted to write another isolated setting, and the idea of something on the water was appealing. I am a massive fan of Below Deck and after watching it I knew a superyacht would be perfect for a thriller. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Maybe?! I DID WARN HER takes a multi-POV focus, with all the stewardesses having a voice, but for Sasha, the newbie who comes aboard with good intentions at the beginning of the book, I think she’d be the easiest to hang out with for sure. Whether she’d be someone I’d actively choose to hang out with might be telling! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Good-willed. Naive. Secretive. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Something that particularly shocked me was how well superyachts can evade legal action….

1–What is the title of your latest release? JUST BEACHY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Sydney Ryan has played a police detective on the hit show Murder 101 for so long that when she’s booted off the show everyone expects her to be able to solve crimes. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I grew up on St. Pete Beach and lived on Treasure Island before moving to Atlanta where we lived for almost thirty years. I moved back down about four years ago after my husband died. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely. I love Sydney Ryan and her grandmother. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Smart, “plucky” and determined. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? The different branches of law enforcement. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? It varies. I try to send in the best first draft possible, but once the book is turned in there will be revisions, copyedits, and a number of other opportunities to tweak things. It takes a while to be “totally done.” 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?…

1–What is the title of your latest release? IN DEFENSE OF GOOD WOMEN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A successful, small-town lawyer is court appointed to represent a seventeen-year-old minister’s daughter accused of hiding her pregnancy and drowning her newborn in the St. Clair River, the shipping channel between Ontario and Michigan. The girl denies being pregnant and giving birth and the lawyer must unravel the truth of the case. As she does, memories of her own life that she has suppressed are unearthed.    3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I lived on the banks of the St. Clair River for ten years and was always fascinated by Michigan’s proximity to Canada.  I always knew that if I wrote a novel, the river would be a character in it. It plays a major role in my novel. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I absolutely would.  I practiced law in the area where my book is set.  Although my style was different from Victoria’s, I always enjoyed spending time with female lawyers (who were few in number) who were brash, tough, and successful. 5–What are three words…