THE DUKE’S TREASON By Jeff Wheeler   PROLOGUE Lord High Constable TWELVE YEARS AGO   John Thursby crossed the bridge astride his turbulent horse, whom he’d nicknamed Truck, short for “truculent.” The soldier had ridden Truck all night to reach Kingfountain, and neither of them were in a cheerful mood. The smells coming from the food stalls along the bridge wafted pleasantly to his nose—the grease of fresh sausages, the fragrance of freshly baked muffins. He’d get food on his way out, though. He had a duty to perform for his master, Lord Devereaux. The roar of the waterfall against the flagstones jarred him. He passed the gates to Our Lady of Kingfountain, casting a wary glance at them. The worst thieves and villains lurked there, protected by the deconeus from the king’s justice by the rules of sanctuary. It was said many a soldier had taken refuge there after the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross. They’d feared the young king’s first acts of justice, but Eredur had been surprisingly lenient. John Thursby had no reason to object to that mercy since he’d benefited from it directly. His master had been elevated to lord high constable, a member of the king’s…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE WIDOW’S FATE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Two royal brothers fight over a wealthy heiress before she mysteriously disappears. Can the royal poisoner Ankarette find the missing woman before someone even more dangerous does? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The city of Kingfountain is a fabled place in this world where dynasties have clashed and Fountain magic holds sway. In this book, I wanted to have the readers explore places in the city they’ve never been before and meet new characters they’ll fall in love with. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely yes! A reader favorite is the enigmatic poisoner, Ankarette Tryneowy. She’s clever, she’s dangerous, but she tries to solve problems diplomatically before pulling a dagger. One day, I hope Kingfountain gets turned into a TV show or movie and I get a chance to meet whoever plays her. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Cunning, Caring, Loyal 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I visited England while writing this book and got to visit the torture chambers in the Tower…

What are you currently reading? What TV shows and movies are you watching? Any great podcasts to recommend? I’ve been reading Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg (a friend of mine and fellow board member of Deep Magic e-zine) which has been rocking the bestseller charts, and The Return by Nicholas Sparks. I’m a fan of Sparks’ book A Walk to Remember (and the movie) and wanted to give something else of his a try. My kids have me hooked on Avatar the Last Airbender, which we watch as a family, but I’m a huge Star Wars fan so The Mandalorian has been my go-to series. While we all wait for Season 3, I’m eager to continue season 2 of The Chosen. I’ve not been listening to podcasts this year—my writing schedule has been pretty intense. But Covid did introduce me to an amazing father-daughter musical duo Mat and Savanna Shaw who now have two albums they launched this year. Something really good has come out of quarantine, and that is the musical talents of these two, which started off as a duet of The Prayer and went viral. How are you spending your day in quarantine? Cooking, exercising, reading/writing? When Covid…

Before launching your career as a full-time author, you worked at Intel Corporation. What has your experience working from home been like in each of these fields? During the two decades I worked at Intel Corporation, I saw how working from home went from impossible to expected. Back when I first started at Intel in the early ‘90s, if I got sick I couldn’t work from home because my computer was strapped down at a desk in a cubicle. By the time I left in 2014, it was mostly expected that you’d work from home if you had the sniffles. As a full-time author, I’ve been working from home for almost six years and I know a thing or two about how to stay productive when there are so many distractions—like incoming texts, social media, and now with the fear and uncertainty of a global pandemic.  We’re certainly working under logistically and emotionally challenging circumstances right now. How do you maintain productivity and momentum while working from home at a time like this? A lesson that might be helpful when it comes to re-thinking where you’re at during this crisis comes from the business author Jim Collins, and it’s about…