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 LADY OF GALWAY MANOR 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When a descendant of the creator of the famed Irish Claddagh ring is tasked with apprenticing the daughter of the new British landlord, worlds collide. He doesn’t believe in love, she’s weary of the hate. They both long to escape, but can they do so with their hearts—and lives—intact? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew I wanted a book to surround the legend of the Claddagh ring, which made the decision for me! The ring was created by a resident of the area of Galway City called The Claddagh, so I knew it had to take place in that area. I also lived in County Galway for 4 years,  so it has gotten under my skin, and I just had to tell the world about it. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Oh, I totally would! She loves dresses and tea and a good dessert, but also isn’t afraid of a good pair of trousers or to speak her mind. I’d say we’d pair well together because…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A HEART ADRIFT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A Virginia chocolatier and a privateering sea captain collide once more after a failed love affair a decade before. Will a war and a cache of regrets keep them apart? Or will a new shared vision reunite them? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Since my ancestry is based in Virginia (via Scotland), I’m always drawn there. My favorite U.S. historic site is Colonial Williamsburg and my newfound love is historic Yorktown so it was wonderful to set this story in both places. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely! I would be happy to hobnob with this heroine for a day, including visiting her sister in Colonial Williamsburg and tempting visitors at Shaw’s Chocolate along Yorktown’s waterfront. Esmee Shaw is a foodie like me, my first plus-sized heroine, Don’t be fooled by that beautiful cover which shows her in her younger, svelte, pre-chocolate shop days 😉 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Capable, faithful, and worldly in a way that has made him wise. 6–What’s something you learned…

A VIEW MOST GLORIOUS, the third book in my American Wonders Collection, is set on my beloved Mt. Rainier, which I can see from my backyard on good days. The historical romance features a feisty heroine with a noble cause and a hero as solid as the mountain. A – Ability to climb, something Coraline Baxter, my heroine, doesn’t have. * V – Votes for women. That’s the reason she’s willing to try to reach the top of a mountain. I – Impossible. That’s her mother’s opinion of the plan. E – Everything. Because that’s what is at stake, not just votes but Cora’s future. W – Wedding to a wealthy man. Because that’s what her mother has planned if Cora fails. * M – Mt. Rainier, her goal O – Over hill and dale, her route S – Summit, her aspiration T – Trust, hard to come by, necessary to climb * G – Guide. The man she needs at her side to see her safely to the top, my hero, Nathan Hardee. L – Love. Something they didn’t expect to find along the way. O – Overachiever. Nathan sees that in Cora. R – Respect. What they gain…

Keeping his gaze on me, he unhooked a wooden bar hanging on long ropes and tossed it over. “Now, let’s start, shall we?” His look was challenging. I gripped the bar and tugged. “You don’t truly expect me to swing through the air on this contraption, do you? How will that help me dance?” “What you’ve done isn’t working, is it? I aim to give you new experiences, push you off a few of your precious safety ledges. Now hold on.” “But I’m afraid of—” “I said, hold on.” . . . heights. A gentle shove against my back and I was hurtling through open space, high over the straw-covered floors. I clutched that awful bar for dear life, digging my fingernails into the wood. I squeezed my eyes shut as I sailed through the air, then I forced one eyelid open. Another platform rose up to meet me, and I scrambled to get my feet onto it, but as my shoes touched wood, my weight pulled me back down. I trembled on the swing back, until I felt solid hands around my waist. Jack hauled me onto the loft and steadied me. “Now you know what it feels like to fly.” “I…

March 1967 Glory Ann scooped her daughter from the back seat, relishing the sweet pudge still lingering on the fifteen-month-old’s lengthening legs. The curly-haired tot pushed back from her mother’s embrace and bore her blue-eyed gaze into Glory Ann’s. “Down! Me do it.” Glory Ann swiped a thumb across the child’s sticky cheek. “Okay, but stay close and no running. It’s Gramma Hawthorne’s birthday.” Her chest tightened. “And we must be on our very, very best behavior.” Glory Ann put her daughter down and straightened the crumpled flounces of the tiny pink dress. She then smoothed the front of her own orange shift. “Now, hold my hand.” It had been months since she’d been home to see her parents, and though her mother promised she’d come to Brighton, she had never made the one-hour drive. Not in the many months her little one grew in her middle. Not when she’d labored in the sterile hospital, longing for her mother’s hand to hold. Nor any other time during the fifteen months of her daughter’s life. She took a shaking breath and found an anchor in her child’s tight grip on her thumb. It had seemed a fun idea to surprise Mother…

Hello, there! (Or maybe I should say “hey, y’all,” as we do here in the Deep South.) I’m Valerie Fraser Luesse, and my latest novel is called UNDER THE BAYOU MOON. It’s set in Southwest Louisiana, which captured my imagination when I explored it as a writer for Southern Living magazine. I’m as excited about sharing the mystery and beauty of this place as I am about introducing you to my main characters: Raphe Broussard, a lonely Cajun fisherman who has endured a family tragedy and is raising his young nephew, Remy, on his own; Ellie Fields, a young schoolteacher from Alabama, seeking her true purpose when she accepts a position in Raphe’s hometown of tiny Bernadette, Louisiana; Heywood Thornberry, their gregarious yet secretive friend who loves capturing the magic of the bayou with his camera; Doc and Florence, two stalwarts in the community who take Ellie underwing . . . and a legendary white alligator. This new story is part romance, part mystery, and part cautionary tale against selfish greed and a disregard for truth.  I drew from a deep well of travel writing experience and several unforgettable trips to Acadian Louisiana to bring the bayou to life. I…

Seemed everybody was talking about Aunt Perdie today. Truth was, plenty of Aunt Perdie stories floated around the mountains. She hadn’t ever married. Said nobody ever came calling to ask her, but if they had, she might just have said no. Leastways once she got past normal marrying age. By then she couldn’t see the purpose in sharing a cabin that wasn’t all that big with some man who’d want her to do things his way. Not when she was happy doing things her way. Would that be how Tansy ended up? An old lady in a lonesome cabin after spurning whatever marriage prospects might have come knocking on her door? Youngsters then might be sharing Aunt Tansy stories. Could be they already were talking about that crazy book woman, even if they were glad to see her coming. The thought made her laugh out loud. At Aunt Perdie’s, Tansy tied Shadrach to a handy tree, then climbed up the steps to bang on the cabin door. Aunt Perdie didn’t have a porch, just a little slab of roof over the top step. She was ready to knock again when the door creaked open. “Well, if it ain’t the book woman….

Hi There! I’m Rachel Fordham, author of A LADY IN ATTENDANCE, a story that has been in my heart a long time and will be in readers’ hands June 1st. It’s rich with historical details and a romance that made me sigh while writing it. I’m excited to give you story teasers using the title! Here goes: A-  A is for Attending. The first dental assistants were referred to as either attending women or ladies in attendance. Hazel accepts a job working for the local dentist. * L- L is for Love After spending five years in a New York State reformatory, Hazel has a blemish on her name. Can someone with a past like hers ever find love? A- A is for Authentic Hazel grew up in high society, spent five years behind iron gates, and is now working as a dental assistant (using a fictitious name). Discovering who she really is, is a journey. D- D is for Daring The past is forever haunting Hazel, keeping her from believing in the future. It takes courage and friendship for her to dare face the things she tried to leave behind. Y-Y is for Youth If Hazel could change anything,…

She was being as silly as Laura. Dorothy frowned as she placed the hat on her head for what felt like the hundredth time, tilting it ever so slightly to the left. It wasn’t as if she were about to meet the president. All she was doing was going for a walk. There was no reason to fuss so much over her appearance. Today was the fourth day since Brandon Holloway had come to Mesquite Springs, and it seemed that both he and Laura had fallen into a routine. Each day Brandon came to Polly’s Place for his midday meal. Each day Laura kept peeking out the kitchen door, almost as if she didn’t trust Dorothy to tell her when he arrived. And when he did, she insisted on taking Brandon’s meal to him, returning to the kitchen with the same report: there was no question about it; he was the man she was meant to marry. Finally satisfied with the angle of the hat, Dorothy secured it with two of her prettiest hatpins, then descended the stairs. Once a quick look confirmed that nothing in the kitchen needed her attention, she opened the back door and stepped out into…