What was your inspiration for BECOMING MY SISTER? Either from true crimes or from modern celebrity culture? I live in Palm Springs and have been at events and people’s homes and estates in what is the setting for this novel, The Movie Colony. So first, I thought of it as a perfect V.C. Andrews location, meaning the setting plays a dramatic role in the story. In our culture now especially, celebrity is almost a religious thing. People apply to celebrities what they apply to icons of film and television. Being in their presence is truly an almost spiritual event, even just seeing someone in person. To take that concept and apply it to the mother of two adolescents was a natural V.C. thought for me.  The girls are not so much in rivalry with themselves as they are with the ghosts of old movie stars. How can they compete? What does their mother demand of them in relation to this? How have the learned to deal with it and how does it make them more independent. Their father is almost oblivious to it all.  Gish, our man character, named after Lillian Gish, looks to her sister Gloria for guidance because…

Another family dinner. This one on a random Thursday evening in mid-September. Same kitchen. Same table with the wobbly leg. Same people. One husband. One seven-year-old boy who hated anything that wasn’t a chicken nugget. One brother-in-law who might be a killer. Not a that was a horrible accident type of killer either. No. A person who killed over and over, targeting and wiping out the women closest to him. Elisa Wright looked across the table, over the pile of mashed potatoes and stack of homemade dinner rolls, at Josh. She couldn’t shake the now familiar anxious churning. With every forkful of food, every joke, every smile he gifted them, the word murderer flashed in her mind. She closed her eyes but the bright kitchen lights wouldn’t blink out. The truth gnawed and pricked at her. Exploded in her head and shot through her while she assessed and dissected every word he said, looking for clues. The big problem? She was the only one who questioned him. Everyone loved Josh. He was attractive, but not too much. Successful, but not too much. With brown eyes and brown hair that curled at the ends, he looked like an older version of…

I tell Eric I’m reorganizing the closet in the spare bedroom, which has the desired effect of getting rid of him. As soon as he’s gone to his “office,” the alcove downstairs where he keeps his computer, I start tearing through photo albums. I’m not looking for memories. I already have those. I recognize faces in the pictures, remember where and when most of them were taken. Prom, Senior Skip Day, the first years of college, before we stopped printing out snapshots. A few from our courthouse wedding. But those memories feel as though they belong to someone else. What I’m searching for is some emotional connection to the life I find myself living. But even with my entire history laid out in front of me, I’m unable to feel that it’s mine. I have the bed covered with memorabilia, photos and old birthday cards and handouts from college we kept for some reason, when Eric opens the door. I jump, my hands twitching with the compulsion to push everything into a single pile to hide what I’ve been doing. “I see you’ve made a lot of progress,” he says dryly. I laugh, the sound high-pitched and unnatural. “I got…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Lindsay Marcott! Writes:  Modern Gothic suspense books. My latest novel, Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost, has just hit the stands. About: My first success as a writer was my sixth grade Thanksgiving play about a plucky Pilgrim girl and her wise-cracking pet turkey. After graduating from Smith and stints as a cat sitter, rock star assistant, and waitress in a TriBeCa grunge club, I began writing for magazines, then took a detour to Hollywood to write a few screenplays. I finally found my passion in writing novels: with Mrs. Rochester’s Ghost, eleven so far, and a new one in the works. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: •  You love getting goosebumps when things get spooky. •  Your mouth waters at the promise of a juicy story with twists that leave you gasping. •  You can imagine having your head turned by a brilliant but mysterious man. •  You see beauty in a misted redwood forest and excitement in the crashing of surf….

She runs to the car. When she reaches Josh, she grabs his elbow, startling him. He takes a swing at her. The back of his hand connects with her cheekbone. She rears back, palm cupped over her cheek. “Ow.” She rubs the burn from her face. “What was that for?”  Josh points at the car. “Go.”  “I’m not leaving you.” He’s scared and confused, she won’t walk away from him.  “Go.” He reaches for the passenger door, and she realizes he’s telling her he wants them to leave.  “All right, we’ll go.” He opens the door again and drops into the passenger seat.  She starts to close his door and stops. “That man in the picture, you sure you’ve seen him before?” she asks with trepidation, hoping she’s wrong. That he’s wrong, and he’s mistaking Dwight for someone else. Josh nods. “He’s my dad, your grandfather.”  A tear rolls down his face. “I know.”  Olivia feels a sting in her eyes. It hurts to breathe, like she’s cracked a rib. “When did you meet him?”  “Before.” He touches the spot on his hat that covers his scar.  Before his head injury.  Olivia glances away. Oh. God. She takes a breath….

Inspiration is a funny thing. It is sometimes found in the oddest of places and often leads us down paths we never saw coming. Such was the case for my upcoming psychological suspense novel, Fractals. My ideas generally start small. This one born of my own fascination with an article about the microscopic topography of tears and the life events that might influence those tears. But it wasn’t until a conversation with a former student sparked life into my main character, Carly Dalton, and with her came the driving force of this novel: trauma. We all experience trauma to varying degrees, and I’ve not shied away from it in my Blood Secrets Series, but I knew from the start that this story was different. My heroine was a teenager and my hero her teacher, their relationship taboo from the start. And although Fractals is not a romance, it does straddle the line of moral code on more than one occasion, which was a risk from the start. But one thing I’ve learned is that when a character begs for her story to be told, as an author it’s my job to ignore the risks and set pen to paper. Unlike…

1–What is the title of your latest release? FORGIVE ME 2–What is it about? Restorative justice and the very great challenges of forgiveness. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I have a fictitious coastal town that I use for many books – I love being there as it feels like home. 4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  Through anger, courage, and an extraordinary level of forgiveness. 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  Anyone who’s ever felt fear, experienced crime, insecurity, or love will feel a bond with one or two or more of the characters. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  The medical research. 7–Do you look forward to or do you dread the revision process?  Always dread it – but the book invariably improves for it.  8–What’s your favorite snack to have on hand while writing?  No snacks, just coffee early in the day and tea in the afternoon.  In the evening, a glass of wine and some olives as I review the day’s work. 9–Where would you go for an ideal writer’s retreat?  Anywhere that doesn’t involve research or writing – I view a retreat…

Jen: What was your inspiration behind Girls of Brackenhill? Kate: When I was a kid, we didn’t take big fancy vacations. Our only trip to Disney World lasted two days: we drove down in a rented car and stayed an hour away with my great grandparents in July. Instead of hotels and airplane trips, we went camping. Up and down the East Coast, to whatever state park was drivable. When I was about fourteen, we camped in the Catskills and drove through a town called Roscoe NY. My dad parked the car and led us up a steep incline to Dundas Castle. At the time, it was marked as private property, but it was abandoned and not monitored in any way. The doors were all unlocked and we spent (to my memory) hours there, exploring every square inch of this abandoned castle. Memory is a fickle thing but I do remember the basement being a series of very small rooms. I remember this day with more clarity and fondness than either of the two days I spent at Disney World. When I had to plan my next book, I really wanted to write a ghost-like story. The memory of the…

The screaming started at three in the morning. Tabitha had never heard a human being howl in that way before. It was like the screeching of an animal caught in a trap and it was answered by shouts, distant, echoing. Tabitha couldn’t tell whether they were cries of comfort or anger or mockery. The screams subsided into sobs but even these were amplified by the metal, the doors, the stairs and floors. Tabitha felt they were echoing inside her head. She sensed a movement from the bunk above her. The other woman must be awake. “Someone’s in trouble.” There was silence. Tabitha wondered if the woman was ignoring her or really was asleep, but then a voice came out of the darkness. She was speaking slowly, as if she were talking to herself. Her voice was low and gravelly, a smoker’s morning voice. “Everyone’s in trouble,” she said. “That’s why they’re here. That’s why they’re crying, when they think about their children or what they did. Or what they did to their children. When there’s real trouble, you don’t hear any screams. You just hear the screws running along the corridors. When it’s really bad you hear a helicopter landing…

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 as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Victoria Ellis. ABOUT: Twenty-something author seeks readers who have a passion for all things mysterious, badass female main characters, and fighting to reveal the truth, always. The ideal reader match would be one who likes to get lost in a good mystery book every now and then; especially ones that include waking up in a cabin with no idea how you got there, or why your ex is serving you breakfast in bed. . . What I’m Looking for in My Ideal Reader Match: Their idea of a perfect date includes a weekend away in a secluded cabin! Prefers a strong female lead who takes control of the situation and handles it like a boss. Enjoys a fast-paced and emotional storyline Falls easily for the bearded old flame who resurfaces. Wants to get to the bottom of something a little bit. . . What to Expect if We’re Compatible: A wide selection of genres (I’m a multigenre author!) Frequent giveaways via my Newsletter, Facebook Page, & Instagram…