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 Erin Bartels!   Writes: Immersive, contemporary and timeslip character-driven fiction in that offers hope without ignoring the hard things in life. Perfect for individual reading but often best experienced with a book club!   About: When I’m not busy writing award-winning books, I spend my time oil painting, sewing, gardening, playing guitar, taking photos, letting my neurotic chihuahua mix in and out of the house, and driving my son to and from his martial arts school. I adore all four seasons, am an untiring ambassador for the state of Michigan (where I set my books), and I’ve never met an indoor spider I didn’t carefully catch in a cup and relocate outdoors—except in winter, when we just give them free reign of the house. Unlike most people you know, I have been bitten by an owl.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: isn’t afraid to get real wants to get lost in a beautiful setting doesn’t expect their protagonists to…

How had she let herself bet everything on him? She didn’t know him. Not really. Never mind that something about him coiled her insides into knots, drawing her to his steady presence with a pull she couldn’t define. Betting her entire life on a feeling had been reckless. Stupid. The morning air hung heavy with moisture and the smells she’d loved her entire life. Fresh grass, dew-laden air, horses. The reins grew slick in her hand and she had to squeeze her eyes shut a moment. Amos’s promises were a rusty bucket. Not holding anything for long. Yet somehow he’d weighted everything in his favor, and the scales tipped all the way to his side. Arrow could save the farm, she felt that deep in her marrow. She really could bet her future on him. Silas, on the other hand . . . Nora huffed. What had she been thinking? The dull ache residing in her chest intensified, bringing barbs that cut into her heart. She’d been thinking he cared for her. Perhaps loved her, as she did him. Nora thrust her foot back into the stirrup and swung her leg over the saddle. Maybe Mother had been right all along. Emotions…

1–What is the title of your latest release? UNTIL LEAVES FALL IN PARIS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When the Nazis march into Paris, an American woman uses her bookstore to aid the resistance, while a businessman chooses to sell his products to Germany—and send vital information home to the US. Can they work together for the higher good, or will it cost them everything they love? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Paris is so romantic, World War II novels set in Paris are very popular, and I’d never set a World II novel in Paris, so it was time! I wanted a fresh spin, so when I learned of the thousands of Americans who remained in Paris after the Germans invaded—even though the US was neutral and they were free to go home—I wondered why they stayed. The hero and the heroine in UNTIL LEAVES FALL IN PARIS represent some of the reasons Americans remained in the blacked-out City of Lights. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely! Lucie Girard is delightful—creative, enthusiastic, and warm. She’s interested in everything artistic and literary, but in the…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE NATURE OF SMALL BIRDS 2–What is it about? In 1975, 3,000 children were airlifted out of Vietnam to be adopted into families in Australia, Canada, and the United States in what was known as Operation Babylift. This is a story of a family who adopted one of these little girls.  3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  This story is set in a fictional town in Northern Michigan. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to do my home state justice, but I really love living here. That’s why I love writing stories about people who are fellow Michiganders.  4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  This is the kind of book that needed more than one main character. That certainly surprised me while I was writing it! Bruce has the 2013 timeline, Sonny narrates 1988, and Linda is the main character in 1975. But, really, all of their stories point to Minh, the daughter who was adopted from Vietnam.  5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  You know, in a lot of ways this is a story about letting go. Letting go of long-held wishes in…

Years ago, when my kids were younger, I took my family to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was billed as the “Greatest Show on Earth,” and it certainly lived up to its name. We had seats front and center, so the whole spectacle was laid out before our eyes. The children in the audience weren’t the only ones oohing and aahing at the grand performance. The adults were amazed, too. All the regular elements were part of the show. The ringmaster led the events with his booming voice. The clowns made us laugh with their silly antics. The dancers entertained us with their choreographed routines. But it was the skill of the acrobats that really made an impression on me. At one point, a group of them climbed poles whose tops swayed in the rafters far above the floor. The performers weren’t attached to safety lines, nor was a net stretched below them to break a fall. Apparently unbothered by this, the acrobats scampered up the pole to a tiny platform, where they did handstands on even hung by their feet. One slip and they would have been in big trouble. Yet they seemed perfectly at…