Book Title: YOU WERE ALWAYS MINE Character Name: Cinnamon Haynes   How would you describe your family or your childhood? In a word, tough.   What was your greatest talent? I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, anywhere, anytime.  Or at least I used to be able to, before Bluebell came into my life and everything changed– including my sleep.   Significant other? Jayson, my husband, who could sell holy water to the devil with the right sweet talk.   Biggest challenge in relationships? Trust   Where do you live? A pretty coastal town in the South   Do you have any enemies? None – that I know of at least.   Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place? The silver lining of my upbringing is that I can figure out how to be content enough just about anywhere.   Do you have children, pets, both, or neither? Before Bluebell, I’d never taken care of a living thing in my life, not even a plant.   What do you do for a living? I’m a career counselor at the local community college, helping kids reach for a better life,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? GONE LIKE YESTERDAY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Is it a long elevator ride? Zahra is a listless college prep coach, and Sammie is a budding teenage activist. The two women share an unexpected commonality –beautiful, mysterious moths that have been singing to Zahra for years have more recently begun giving Sammie the eerie feeling of being watched. When Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing, Zahra and Sammie embark on a road trip from New York to Atlanta, Zahra’s hometown, in search of him. In order to find Derrick and uncover the truth, they must discover what the moths want with them, and what that answer means for their individual and collective futures. It’s a novel that asks what we owe to our families, what we owe to our ancestors, and what we owe to ourselves. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? They were places I had serious questions for and strong feelings about. Also, I knew they would be interesting in juxtaposition to one another–New York and Atlanta! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely! She’s a little hard-headed,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE SWEET SPOT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Three women—who have every possible reason to despise each other—band together when a baby belonging to exactly none of them lands on their metaphorical doorstep. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’ve lived in Greenwich Village for almost fifteen years. It’s a special place with loads of personality! I wanted to write a book where the characters move into in a brownstone close to Washington Square Park. In my opinion, this neighborhood is the sweet spot of New York City. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! I would love to be invited to Lauren and Leo’s brownstone to hang out with the whole family. I hope Olivia, Melinda, Phillip, and Evelyn will also be around! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Of my three protagonists, Melinda is my favorite. She’s a middle-aged woman I would describe as bitter, smart, and funny. In spite of the initial impression she makes, she has a very big heart. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Lauren, one of the main…

O is for Older, on-the-ball, and definitely on-to-the-next-big-adventure! Who says you have to be young to have fun? U is for Uptight, says Zara. U is for Uninhibited, says Lilly! R is definitely for Relatives. As in, are you sure we’re related? And Who the h—is this person claiming to be our relative?   L is for Lilly, of course! Zara’s older sister—by 11 ½ months—taller, buxom, hair still black thanks to an abundance of product, free with her love and her advice! Y is for Yes. As opposed to No. As in, shouldn’t Lilly have said Yes to the Grand Jury, when asked if she had any of the stolen artifacts? I is for Insurance Fraud. Don’t do it, and if you do, don’t get caught! N is for New. A new apartment. A new purported sister. A new problem. And a bunch of New Lies. G is for Generational Trauma. Inherited grief from the suffering of those who went before. And for Grant Deed. Whom did Dad leave this apartment to? Why her? Good Golly!   K is for Kindred Spirits. Zara and Lilly may have been apart for a few years, but nothing can keep them separated…

1–What is the title of your latest release? YOU SHOULD SMILE MORE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? What happens when your resting bitch face is wide awake…at work? 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I was vague with the location of this story. I tried to make it nondescript so people could imagine it unfolding wherever they live because I think it’s a universal experience. Women face experiences unique to their gender in the workplace regardless of location. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely! Vanessa is a blast, and her co-workers Jane and Trisha are too. Her too-helpful mom, maybe not so much lol. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? She’s sarcastic, loyal, and honest. She also has a need to make things right. She’s a strong woman who stands up for herself, and the book is about strong women in general and the ride-or-die friendships we all wish we had. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned that everyone has a ridiculous workplace story. So many people have told me they can relate to the awkward weirdness that Vanessa suffers…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE KEY TO CIRCUS-MOM HIGHWAY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? In an attempt to secure an unexpected inheritance—and hopefully find a few answers—two estranged sisters and their newly discovered brother embark on a comically surreal trip through the Deep South to retrace the life of the mother who abandoned them as infants. Like a Jonathan Tropper family moving into a Carl Hiaasen neighborhood. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I knew I wanted the protagonists to be traveling through a landscape where they felt like they had landed on another planet, total fish-out-of-water. For 2 Chicago sisters who had never been there, the Deep South was the perfect location. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Abso-friggin-lutely! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Funny, Sarcastic, Wounded 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That I love writing books! Also… how to dispose of a dead body using alligators… the structure of a military convoy… how to write in a Cajun dialect… plants used by southern traitures (healers)… honestly, too many things to list them all. 7–Do you…

MUST READ WELL started nine or ten years ago with a stray thought I scribbled on a scrap of lined paper and tacked to a bulletin board in the room where I do my writing. I have six bulletin boards in here, all of them always in leaf with dozens of fluttery little notes of this kind. Some of them are memos of ideas for a novel or personal essay I might write one day. (Or, much more likely, will never write.) Here’s one I recorded on lined paper so long ago that the sun has faded the lines on the paper to near invisibility: The Sarahs Two women who have worked together in public for decades call it quits. The weariness and repulsion one feels looking at the other after years yoked together.   Tacked on top of that one, on an index card, is a slightly more recent afterthought: The Susans Singing duo Radio hosts Sisters! One still lives in (ancient) mother’s apartment. Possible new tour.   Another story idea I’ve had tacked up for many years: A man from Montana who is terrified of flying is unexpectedly elected to Congress. Something like this actually happened to a…

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 Kristan Higgins!   Writes: Funny, heartfelt, women’s fiction and romance with the occasional cathartic ugly-cry. Always ends books with the happiest, most fulfilled feeling you can imagine. OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY: The night before her son graduates from high school, Lillie Silva finds out her husband has been cheating and plans to leave her for a much younger, much wealthier, and irritatingly gorgeous widow. Heartbroken? Well, sure. Furious? Absolutely. As she wreaks a little havoc on Brad’s new life, Lillie starts learning that she’s more than a mother, wife and nurse…she’s also an impressive badass with more allies than she realized. Life isn’t done surprising her with new forks in the road, from redefining her relationship with her glamorous older sister, to taking a new look at an old acquaintance. Can it be love? It sure can. About: Hi, I’m Kristan, and I love to laugh, play with dogs and babies, and eat dessert. I’m an avid reader, a fan of yoga…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired you to write SUMMER AT THE CAPE? RaeAnne Thayne: I have been fascinated for a long time by the unique relationship between twins. I was interested in exploring what happens to one twin when their “womb-mate” dies. Factor in another older sister who was not part of that twin relationship and I wondered how the dynamics of a family would change with the death of one of the twins. A big subplot of this book involves glamping, something that definitely appeals to me. I love the outdoors and camping, escaping the hectic pace of life in the outdoors, but I must admit I’m of a certain age where I also enjoy my creature comforts. LOL. Glamping seems like a way to have the best of both worlds.   Jen: The novel is set in the fictional town of Cape Sanctuary. From where did you draw inspiration to create this welcoming place? RaeAnne: I live in the mountains of Northern Utah, far from the ocean, but when my family vacations, we tend to head to the coast. Two of our favorite places are Cannon Beach, OR and the Monterey/Carmel-by-the-Sea areas of Central California. When I was trying…

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 Zarqa Nawaz! Writes: Zarqa Nawaz has just written a hilarious black comedy about the price of success. When Jameela Green’s memoir doesn’t make it to The New York Times bestseller list, she decides to ask the local imam for help in convincing God to get her what she wants. He insists she’s a little too selfish and maybe if she helps a homeless person, things will turn around for her. And boy, do they ever! This book is a biting look at what happens when one woman’s ambition draws her into an epic adventure that defies description. About: Zarqa Nawaz loves making people laugh. She created the sitcom, Little Mosque On The Prairie, the first television show that depicts the lives of Muslims living in the west. It currently airs on Amazon, and she also wrote a memoir, Laughing All The Way to the Mosque, a heartwarming tale about a young Muslim woman growing up in Canada. Zarqa lives in Regina, Saskatchewan which is…