I just returned from a spring retreat in the mountains of North Carolina. The air was fresh with pine, rain, and flowers and the silence from manmade machines soothed my soul. Horseback riding and hiking by day with no television, no computer, and very little phone reception was a true gift. It was magnificent in it’s simplicity and my reading material was all the entertainment I required. It also provided me with some great recommendations for mystery readers who want to get away as badly as I did. Even if you can’t escape the hustle and b...

Hiding to find a new life or defying expectations to find one, this month we look at four courageous nineteenth century women determined to forge a new path in the field of medicine. We begin with THE NURSE’S SECRET by Amanda Skenandore.  Bellevue Hospital in New York was the first in the US to establish a school of nursing based on principles developed by Florence Nightingale, who insisted that nursing should be a profession peopled by trained and skilled women of good character, not slovenly, unschooled drudges.  Into this regimented and ...

This month’s guest on the FF Women’s Fiction column is bestselling author, Katherine Reay. Katherine’s newest book, THE BERLIN LETTERS, set in the Cold War era, tells the story of a CIA codebreaker who discovers that the father she long assumed was dead is actually imprisoned in East Germany. Her daring attempt to free her father and get him out of Berlin alive is full of twists, turns, danger, and love in the last place she expected to find it.   Q: Katherine, I’m so happy you’re with us today. What inspired you to write The Ber...

As I type these words, spring is bursting out ferociously across much of North America. So ferociously, in fact, that many people have their heat turned up in the morning, but by late afternoon, it’s grown so hot that air conditioning is called for. And then there’s the pollen! All this exterior chaos is the perfect excuse for settling down in a comfy chair with a great book, and as always, I have some fabulous recommendations. For those in the know, the long wait is over for the new Susan Elizabeth Phillips book. And for those not in the k...

In honor of the Wearin’ of the Green, this month we’ll look at stories featuring characters who hail from the Emerald Isle.  Slainte! Moving chronologically, we begin with THE IRISHMAN’S DAUGHTER by V.S. Alexander.  Briana Walsh loves her home at Carrowteige, County Mayo, where her father Brian is the land agent at Lear House for the English owner, Sir Thomas Blakely.  Brian’s job requires him to collect rents from the tenant farmers, which they pay by selling rye and oats, while for their own food, they grow potatoes. Times are alwa...

In honor of Black History Month, I decided to highlight some supernaturally awesome reads by Black authors. Faye Princess series by Layla J. Omorose If you like epic romantasy, you’ll love this slightly dark, slow burn spicy series! DARKNIGHT: ANCIENT BLOODLINES by Layla J. Omorose Faye Princess #1 His worth will be measured by the strength of her love… A Runaway Princess… Tara Du’Faye, Second High Princess of the Faye, has had it with the King’s demands. Fleeing the palace, she is captured by a world of savagery and...

Once upon a time, I used to present a writing workshop on “Crafting Killers” to new writers.  Why did I focus my talk on killers? It’s because I think the villains in books are just as important as the protagonists.  A “good” villain can make or break a book. After all, a “good” villain will stay with you long after a story has ended. (Looking at you, Hannibal Lecter!) For today’s post, I thought I’d hit on a few key points when it comes to crafting a powerful villain. I have two main guidelines for villains: Good villains m...

Ellen Feldman is a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow, and the author of nine riveting and insightful works of historical fiction. Ellen has been on my radar ever since I read her debut novel, LUCY, back in 2003. I was impressed even her even then but she seems to have gone from strength to strength ever since.  Her latest book, THE TROUBLE WITH YOU, released on February 20th, is the work of writer at the top of her game. I’m grateful to Ellen for taking the time to answer some questions about the book, and her writing life.   Q: Please introduce u...

For the month of Valentine’s Day, we’ll look at the world of Hollywood and entertainment glamour through novels that feature three real-life scenarios and one entirely fictional one.  Though the time frames vary, the price of ambition and the cost of fame remain constant factors—and often bring heartache. We begin chronologically with FROM DUST TO STARDUST by Kathleen Rooney, based on the real life of silent film star Colleen Moore.  In 1916, fourteen-year-old Eileen Sullivan travels from Chicago to Hollywood with her beloved Irish gran...

February is a rollercoaster of a month. What will that capricious rodent in Pennsylvania say about spring? Who will win the Super Bowl? Will Valentine’s Day be swoon-worthy or another yawn? And when will this shortest of months that can seem so long ever end? Obviously, there’s only one solution. Lose yourself in a good book! Recent articles have suggested the vast majority of human beings on the planet read very few or no books at all each year, but between traditional publishers and courageous indies, several MILLION new volumes appear an...