Tacos. Enough said, am I right? Attraction. This story is unique in that the characters are falling for each other both on AND off screen! Cilantro. Love it or hate it? Jude can’t get enough cilantro (like a true hero) while Rory wishes she could remove it permanently from Planet Earth. Whichever side of this battle you’re on, you’ll appreciate the war. Online romance. Think You’ve Got Mail, with a modern dating app twist. ::heart eyes:: Subterfuge. Sometimes secrets are meant to protect. Other times, they’re meant to harm. This novel offers plenty of both, not only between the hero and heroine, but from both the hero and heroine’s families as well… *  Friendship. Grady is one of my favorite characters in this novel – he serves as a friend/big brother figure to Rory, and I adore his personality! Everyone needs a Grady in their life. Origami. This unique paper-folding art plays a significant role in the story. (I personally do good to fold my dinner napkin into a square, but I digress) Running. Rory and Jude both jog as a personal stress reliever, and end up having an impromptu race at one point in the story that turns into…

In this scene, Flavia, a senator’s daughter, has been enslaved in a Corinthian brothel. Her friend, Rex, a barbarian warrior who has joined the Roman army, has helped Flavia escape by pretending to take her into custody. A handcuff chain joins them at the wrist. Now the guards have discovered the ruse and are chasing the fugitives. Rex and Flavia flee through the streets of Upper Corinth upon a hilltop, looking for a way down to the safety of the surrounding countryside. *** United at the wrist, the two fugitives hurried through the streets, looking for a building in which to hide. But Upper Corinthus was still asleep, so its doors weren’t open yet. Footsteps and shouts in the distance told Rex that the guards had escaped the latrine. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the pursuers—and they spotted him too. “This way!” he urged Flavia. “We can still lose them!” After switching directions three or four times in the tight alleys, they rounded a corner and found themselves staring at the Temple of Aphro- dite on the citadel’s summit. Unlike the other buildings, its entrance was wide open. Religious awe, not wooden doors, kept intruders out of this particular…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A SEASON ON THE WIND 2–What is it about? A rare bird ends up on an Amish farm and creates all kinds of interest…and trouble. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  It’s set in Stoney Ridge, a fictitious town in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Rolling green hills, horses and sheep grazing in the pastures, bright blue sky with puffy white clouds, large white farmhouses. What’s not to love? 4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  Ben Zook left his Amish home to search the world for rare birds. He never expected or wanted to return to Stoney Ridge. But his nemesis bird, the one bird that kept eluding him, led him home again. 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  They’re so flawed! One example is Ben Zook’s cousin Natalie, who keeps making the same poor choice and wonders why the outcome never changes. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  I’m an enthusiastic but amateur birder. Getting information correct about rare birds, those actually found in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, took careful research. And then…writing about a bird in such a way that…

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…

“That wraps up the tour.” Richard Tucker opened the door that led from the school’s main corridor to the Ivy Hill administrative offices. “I’m sorry more staff members weren’t around for you to meet, but this place is a ghost town over Christmas break.” “Understandable.” Zeke Sloan followed the president into the office suite, giving it another discreet perusal. The place was functional, but the original artwork, mahogany furniture, and custom rugs on the polished hardwood floor spoke of a solid financial base. Not a luxury many private schools had these days. “I’ll introduce you to the rest of the faculty at our staff meeting next Friday and—” A door to the right opened, and Richard swung toward it. “Will! I thought you’d left for the day.” A uniformed, fiftyish balding man who could use a few extra trips to the gym paused. “I decided to make one more circuit.” Richard smiled. “I’ve been raving to our new Spanish teacher here about the dedication of our faculty and staff. Thank you for giving witness to that. Zeke, meet Will Fischer, Ivy Hill’s director of security. Will, this is Zeke Martinez, who’ll be filling in for Teresa while she recovers from…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Since You’ve Been Gone 2–What is it about? When Leah returns to Heritage with plans to reopen her grandparent’s store, she finds one big obstacle in her way—John Kensington. Not only did Jon make her high school years difficult, but he is now determined to thwart her professional efforts as well. When Jon returns to Heritage to take his place in the family company, he quickly discovers his uncle has other plans. How can he prove he has what it takes to run the multi-million-dollar business if his uncle won’t give him a chance? Jon and Leah will have to learn to work together if either of them is going to have a professional future in their hometown. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love small towns and I love Michigan, so I guess I love everything about the setting. I grew up in a small Michigan town and even though Heritage isn’t based on where I grew up, it does have the close community. the quirks, and the charm. One piece of the setting everyone has grown to love about Heritage is Otis, the moving hippo…

I’m Melody Carlson and I’ve been writing Christmas novellas for a couple decades now. This year’s story, A Christmas in the Alps, transports us to France for the holidays.  Here we go! A is for Alps – where our picturesque French village is located * C is for clockmaker – the career that our hero (Kyle) is pursuing H is for hotel – run by a friendly French family R is for relatives – our heroine seeks to discover some of her own I is for investigate – our heroine strives to resolve old family mysteries S is for Simone – our reluctant heroine and her namesake great-grandmama T is for treasure – a mysterious letter promising Simone a family treasure M is for merry – will Simone’s Christmas be? A is for Arve – the pretty little fictional town in the French Alps S is for secrets – what really happened to estrange Simone’s great-grandmama from her family? * I is for intrigue – the more we learn, the more the plot thickens N is for Noel – Kyle’s charming competition in the romance game * T is for truth – can Simone ever get to the bottom of…

The poet Maya Angelou once wrote that as a child “Music was my refuge. I climbed inside the space between the notes and curled my back to loneliness.” She was in tune with musician Natalie Curtis of The Healing of Natalie Curtis (Revell). Though not a child when she had a mental collapse before her New York Philharmonic debut in 1897, nevertheless she sought her healing in the discovery of the music of the Indigenous people of America’s Southwest. Her healing reflects what a century later psychologists at Baylor University discovered. They worked with children who had experienced trauma of various kinds: loss of home, death of a parent, abuse. What researchers found is that traditional counseling like I was trained to do as a Clinical Social Worker, was not as effective as movement (dance, woodworking), art (painting,  photography); story — reading and writing them;  and yes, music. These sensory experiences bypass the critical side and reach the amygdala oblongata, the part of the brain associated with emotion that does not shut down when the rest of a body might go into survival mode, which is where trauma sends us. I had my own experience with musical healing. When I…

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…