Author Stories - Author Interviews, Writing Advice, Book Reviews

TERRY BROOKS was born in Illinois in 1944. He spent a great deal of his childhood  and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park,  the very same setting for Running with the Demon. He received  his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in  English Literature, and went on to earn his graduate degree from the  School of Law at Washington & Lee University. A writer since high school and heavily influenced by William Faulkner, it took him seven years to finish writing The Sword of Shannara, which published in 1977. It became the first work of fiction to ever appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months. He published The Elfstones of Shannara in 1982 and The Wishsong of Shannara in 1985, both bestsellers. Since that time, he has written numerous novels in the Shannara,  Landover, Word/Void, and Viridian Deep series, including being hand-selected by George  Lucas to write the novelization of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Terry Brooks lives with his wife Judine in the Pacific Northwest and on the road meeting his fans. SOMETIMES THE MAGIC WORKS To read an autobiography of Terry Brooks, please discover his memoir and writing guide, Sometimes the Magic Works.

This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.    This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I'm going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I'll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you'll be writing. Finally, I'll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.    Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I'll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we'll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I'll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it's a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer's block. Don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds.

This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.    This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I'm going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I'll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you'll be writing. Finally, I'll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.    Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I'll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we'll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I'll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it's a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer's block. Don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds.

This book is a hands-on manual for crafting your story, and we hope you enjoy working through it.    This book has been split into two distinct parts to help you in your writing journey. Part One is all about the things you should be doing before you even get started on a draft or an outline. In this first part, I'm going to be covering the foundational knowledge of a book: what a book is, figuring out your genre and subgenre, and more. I'll also be talking about the mindset of a writer, what you need to write your book, and where you'll be writing. Finally, I'll wrap up Part One with the basics of plotting and planning. Just the idea of planning might make some of you groan, so chill out for a second, because I have ways of outlining and structuring for those who love to plan and those who absolutely hate it.    Part Two is where we get to the good stuff: writing your first draft. I'll go over the key elements of a kickass book, as well as the more technical stuff like point of view, active and passive voice, and more. Together we'll do a deep dive into what it takes to make the perfect plot, compelling characters, and tantalizing themes. And I'll even help you out with ways to actually get your book written (again, it's a long, sometimes difficult journey) and what to do when you encounter setbacks like the dreaded writer's block. Don't worry, it's not as scary as it sounds.  

 The Golden Spoon: A Novel “This delicious combination of Clue and The Great British Bakeoff kept me turning the pages all night!” —Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author Only Murders in the Building meets The Maid in this darkly beguiling locked-room mystery where someone turns up dead on the set of TV's hottest baking competition—perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman, and Anthony Horowitz. Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show's famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin. The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as “America's Grandmother,” Betsy Martin isn't as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it's merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect. A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Peggy Townsend is longtime newspaper reporter who has won multiple state and national awards for her work. She has chased a serial killer through a graveyard at midnight, panhandled with street kids, and sat on a mountaintop with woman who counted her riches in each morning's sunrise. She has rafted rivers, come face-to-face with a grizzly bear and, twice, lived in her van for seven weeks while traveling across the country. She divides her time between the Central Coast of California and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Robyn Carr was a young mother of two in the mid-1970s when she started writing fiction, an Air Force wife, educated as a nurse, whose husband's frequent assignment changes made it difficult for her to work in her profession. Originally from Minnesota, they lived in all four corners of Texas, Alabama, Florida, California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Little did the aspiring novelist know then, as she wrote with babies on her lap, that she would become one of the world's most popular authors of romance and women's fiction, that 11 of her novels would earn the #1 berth on the New York Times bestselling books list. Robyn's A Virgin River Christmas scored her first New York Times success in 2008 and since then, the Las Vegas author's novels have spent nearly 250 weeks on that prestigious list. Amazingly, sales of her books in digital and print have risen with each successive novel. Her 20-book Virgin River series alone has netted more than 13 million copies. That series' sixteenth title, Bring Me Home for Christmas, scored the #1 slot not only on the New York Times list but on two others as well—Publishers Weekly and Barnes and Noble. Proof of Robyn's international popularity is also in the numbers. Robyn Carr titles have collectively sold over 27 million copies and have been translated into 19 languages in 30 countries. As a sign of the significant contributions Robyn has made to the genre, the Romance Writers of America, the trade association representing 10,200 members who write romance and live in 35 countries, awarded Robyn the 2016 Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. “I discovered romance novels when doctors instructed me to stay down and keep my feet up during a complicated pregnancy,” Robyn said. “A neighbor brought me ten paperbacks a week to read. And I was hooked. I started to write them, but it wasn't an easy ride. After critiquing my third manuscript at a writers' conference, one novelist suggested I find something to do for which I had talent. Fortunately, I ignored her and persevered. I was first published in 1978, with an historical titled Chelynne, but it took me 30 years to score that first New York Times placement.” In April 2016, What We Find debuted in hardcover for MIRA Books and launched Robyn's new bestselling Sullivan's Crossing series. Set in the heart of the beautiful Rocky Mountains, What We Find explores the healing powers of rural Colorado in a story of fresh starts, budding relationships and one woman's journey to finding the happiness she's long been missing. Any Day Now, Sullivan's Crossing book #2, was a New York Times bestseller and reached #1 on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list. The Family Gathering, book #3, was a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Robyn's women's fiction novels also rank on bestseller lists. The New York Times and USA Today bestseller, The Life She Wants, October 2016, finds a woman humbly cleaning up after herself, paying her dues and rediscovering herself after poor decisions she made earlier in life. The Publisher's Weekly bestseller, The Summer That Made Us, is a beautifully woven story about the complexities of family dynamics and the value of strong female relationships. All of Robyn's books are about strong women Next up for Robyn: Robyn is now living her dream of writing one stand-alone women's fiction and one contemporary romance per year. The fourth Sullivan's Crossing novel, The Best of Us debuted on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists in Jan. 2019. The View from Alameda Island, Robyn's 2019 women's fiction novel is about a woman, on her twenty-fourth wedding anniversary, who decides to leave her perfect-on-the-outside-life. Robyn has fallen in love with the beautiful Nevada desert and unrivaled spectacle of Las Vegas where she resides. Her children are grown—her son is an orthopedic surgeon; her daughter, a police captain. Robyn says that, in addition to reading her novels and making snide remarks about how she's used family scenarios to her advantage, they have made her a happy grandmother.

A.N. Sage is a bestselling, award-winning author of mystery and fantasy novels. She has spent most of her life waiting to meet a witch, vampire, or at least get haunted by a ghost. In between failed seances and many questionable outfit choices, she has developed a keen eye for the extra-ordinary.  A.N. spends her free time reading and binge-watching television shows in her pajamas. Currently, she resides in Toronto, Canada with her husband who is not a creature of the night and their daughter who just might be.  A.N. Sage is a Scorpio and a massive advocate of leggings for pants. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you. Join us on our YouTube channel!  

In this video we explore how writers can use Claude.AI to explore the prewriting process. We go from simple idea to fully fleshed out outline. By the time we're finished, we will be ready to start drafting a mystery novel, with the confidence of a writer with a plan. Here's the document with our prompts and responses. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PD_Kt6X4yTgaHGwCRlnaKSWNkM2cSZ7i/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115873910777981292642&rtpof=true&sd=true

The Christmas Guest: A Novella PETER SWANSON is the New York Times bestselling author of nine previous novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year; and Eight Perfect Murders, a New York Times bestseller and Kirkus Reviews book of the year. His books have been translated into thirty languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian (UK), The Strand Magazine, and Yankee magazine. He lives outside of Boston, where he is at work on his next novel. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

If you've been hiding from the robot apocalypse and haven't yet heard of ChatGPT, or Claude, or any of the other AI tools that have appeared on the market lately, then I have some bad news for you. The robots are here. But the good news is that this robot (for the time being) isn't currently taking over the world and is actually quite helpful for writing fiction. In this first video we're going to look at ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a powerful language model developed by OpenAI that can generate human-like text when provided with a prompt. It can be used for just about anything writing-related. Some artists, including writers, are worried about AI replacing human storytelling and creativity. Luckily, we aren't there yet.  But today, we will talk about how fiction writers can harness this power for the good of storytelling. Join us on our Dabble YouTube channel for more content to help you craft your best story.

Sweeten the Deal Katie Shepard is, in no particular order, a fangirl, a gamer, a bankruptcy lawyer, and a romance author. Born and raised in Texas, she frequently escapes to Montana to commune with the trees and woodland creatures, resembling a Disney princess in all ways except age, appearance, and musical ability. When not writing or making white-collar criminals cry at their depositions, she enjoys playing video games in her soft pants and watching sci-fi shows with her husband, two children, and very devoted cat. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Christmas at Corgi Cove: A Novel Annie England Noblin lives with her son, husband, and three dogs in the Missouri Ozarks. She graduated with an M.A. in creative writing from Missouri State University and currently teaches English and communications for Arkansas State University in Mountain Home, Arkansas. She spends her free time playing make-believe, feeding stray cats, and working with animal shelters across the country to save homeless dogs. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you. Join us at YouTube for our Preptober series of videos. 

Aqueous From debut young adult novelist Jade Shyback comes the first in the Aqueous series. On the eve of Earth's collapse, young Marisol Blaise is taken to live on an underwater mersation known as Aqueous with parents not her own. There, she must compete in the trials, grueling tests designed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each trainee, hoping to be assigned to the all-male elite diving team known as the Cuviers. Desperate to prove to herself, the residents, and all of her parents, dead and alive, that she is worthy of this prestigious placement, she works tirelessly to shatter misogynistic beliefs, only to discover that it was not only the men who constrained her. A much uglier untruth exists.   When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones)  Kate Golden lives in Los Angeles where she works full time in the film industry developing stories with screenwriters and filmmakers. A Dawn of Onyx is her debut novel, and the first in the Sacred Stones trilogy. In her free time she is an avid book reader, movie fanatic, and functioning puzzle addict. An embarrassing LA cliché, she likes to hike, brunch, and go to the flea market with her fiancé and her puppy. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

The Takedown Carlie Walker attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she first majored in Peace, War and Defense, a feeder program for intelligence services—before realizing that she is way too anxious to be a spy. Having gone on to study at Oxford University and at City, University of London, she worked briefly in publishing before becoming the bestselling author of seven books for children and young adults. She has a registered 250-pound dead lift, volunteers in a cat shelter, and used to spend her Saturdays practicing Krav Maga. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and their American dingo. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

The September House Carissa Orlando has a doctorate in clinical-community psychology and specializes in work with children and adolescents. In her “day job,” Carissa works to improve the quality of and access to mental health care for children and their families. Prior to her career in psychology, Carissa studied creative writing in college and has written creatively in some form since she was a child. It was only a matter of time before Carissa, an avid horror fan for much of her life, merged her understanding of the human psyche and deep love for storytelling into a piece of fiction. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

With over 10 years of experience as a co-founder and CEO of Juxtabook, Zach helps current and aspiring authors learn the habits to successfully write, launch, and market their books and author brands. He has a passion for creating and sharing impactful stories that can influence and change our culture. As a Columbia-certified Professional Executive Coach and a Master's degree holder in Social-Organizational Psychology, Zach has worked with thought leaders and authors from FranklinCovey and other organizations, producing and launching industry-leading books in various fields. He has also guided individuals through career transitions and facilitated coaching skills groups, using my expertise in organizational effectiveness, qualitative analysis, and workshop facilitation. Beyond the Book Podcast webpage: https://www.juxtabook.com/beyondthebook Book proposal template: https://www.juxtabook.com/book-proposal 

Redemption (Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran Book 1)  DEBORAH J LEDFORD is the award-winning author of the upcoming Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran thriller REDEMPTION from Thomas & Mercer Amazon Publishing, set in Northern New Mexico. Her first series, the Smoky Mountain Intrigue Native American police procedural series, includes the titles, CAUSING CHAOS, CRESCENDO, STACCATO, and The Hillerman Sky Award Finalist SNARE. CAUSING CHAOS and CRESCENDO, are Anthony Award Finalists for Best Audiobook. The recordings are produced by the media production company IOF Productions Ltd, available from Audible. Edgar Award winner, and three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, she is a former adjunct professor for Arizona State University's Piper Writer Center for Creative Writing, and past-president of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths (AZ chapter). Part Eastern Band Cherokee, Deborah spent her summers growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains region of North Carolina, where her Smoky Mountain Inquest novels are set. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and an awesome Ausky. DeborahJLedford.com When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Enchanted to Meet You: A Witches of West Harbor Novel The Princess Diaries Meg Cabot is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for both adults and tweens/teens. Born in the year of the Fire Horse (a notoriously unlucky astrological sign) and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Meg also lived in Grenoble, France and Carmel, California (the setting for her bestselling Mediator series) before moving to New York City after graduating with a bachelor's degree in fine arts from Indiana University. After working for ten years as an assistant residence hall director at New York University (an experience from which she occasionally draws inspiration for her best-selling Heather Wells mystery series), Meg wrote the Princess Diaries series, which was made into two hit movies by Disney. While over 25 million copies of Meg's nearly 80 published books have been sold in 38 countries, Meg's most proud of the letters she's received from fans thanking her for helping them to overcome their “dislike of reading.” Some of Meg's fan favorites include the 1-800-Where-R-You? series (which has been reprinted under the title Vanished and was made into the Lifetime series called Missing), as well as All-American Girl and Avalon High (on which an original Disney Channel movie was based), and several books told entirely in emails and text messages (Boy Next Door/Boy Meets Girl/Every Boy's Got One). A fourth book told in this format, The Boy is Back, was published by HarperCollins in 2017. Meg's first ever adult book in the Princess Diaries series, Royal Wedding, was published in 2015, along with a new Princess Diaries series for younger readers, From the Notebook of a Middle School Princess, which Meg also illustrated. The 4th book in the Middle School Princess Series, Royal Crown, was published in August of 2018, as well as paperback editions of the 2nd and 3rd editions series. Remembrance, the 7th and first adult book in the Mediator series, became available in 2016, along with a novella titled Proposal. In 2020, Meg signed a franchise deal with Netflix for screen rights to The Mediator series, along with writer/director Sarah Spillane and media powerhouse Debra Martin Chase. In 2019, Meg authored a Black Canary graphic novel for DC Zoom for middle-grade readers with illustrator Cara McGee, and also launched a new adult contemporary series set on the fictional Little Bridge Island in the Florida Keys. While each book in the series focuses on a different couple and their sometimes humorous, sometimes serious struggles, all guarantee a Happily Ever After (with plenty of sunshine and margaritas). The latest, No Words, debuted in September 2021. And finally, Meg has written Quarantine Princess Diaries, a new novel for adults in The Princess Diaries series, was released in March of 2023! 10% of Meg's proceeds from the sale of this book will go to real life royal Princess Mabel van Oranje of the Netherlands' charity to end child marriage www.vowforgirls.org.  Meg Cabot (her last name rhymes with habit, as in “her books can be habit forming”) currently lives in Key West, Florida with her husband and various cats. If you see her husband, please do not tell him that he married a fire horse, as he has not figured it out yet. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Salthouse Place: A Novel  Jamie Lee Sogn is a Filipina American author of adult thriller novels. She grew up in Olympia, Washington, studied Anthropology and Psychology at the University of Washington and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law.  She is a "recovering attorney" who writes contracts by day and (much more exciting) fiction by night. While she has lived in Los Angeles, New York City, and even Eugene, Oregon, she now lives in Seattle with her husband, son, and Boston Terrier.  Learn more about her debut novel, Salthouse Place, on her website at www.jamieleesogn.com. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Joe Bunting is a bestselling writer, novelist, and dad. He has written nine books, is the host of the podcast Character Test, and his organization, The Write Practice, has helped over 10 million people become better writers. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife Talia and their three children. You can follow Joe on Instagram (@jhbunting), Facebook, or on his website, joebunting.com. https://thewritepractice.com/ https://thewritepractice.com/join https://thewritepractice.com/the-write-structure/ https://thewritepractice.com/book-coach-certification/   When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.  

Mother-Daughter Murder Night: A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick Nina Simon has worn many hats: NASA engineer, slam poet, game designer, museum director, and nonprofit CEO. Her work on community participation in museums, libraries, parks, and theaters has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, NPR, and the TEDx stage. Mother-Daughter Murder Night is Nina's first novel. She wrote it as a love letter to her mother, as a way to entertain, comfort, and connect with her during a major health crisis. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nina now lives off-the-grid in the Santa Cruz Mountains. More information can be found on her website, ninaksimon.com. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

One Blood: A Novel New York Times best-selling author DENENE MILLNER is a highly respected and sought after award-winning journalist whose captivating books, columns and essays have secured her foothold in the entertainment, parenting, book publishing and social media industries. The veteran author has written and collaborated on 31 critically acclaimed and bestselling books, penning tomes with Taraji P. Henson, Will Smith, Charlie Wilson and Jessye Norman, among other celebrities, and co-authoring “The Vow,” the novel on which the hit Lifetime movie, “With This Ring” was based. She also has been a frequent contributing entertainment, parenting and relationships writer for some of the nation's most well-read and respected magazines, penning high-profile cover stories on everyone from hit filmmaker Tyler Perry and Scandal's Kerry Washington to super star George Clooney and The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan, for Essence, Women's Health, Ebony and other top publications. Denene also is vice president and publisher of Denene Millner Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint that publishes books featuring African American children. In its debut year, "Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut," won Newbery and Caldecott honors and the Kirkus Prize for Children's Literature. She has since gone on to publish a plethora of critically-acclaimed picture books and young adult novels, all with a singular focus: to celebrate the everyday humanity of Black children. As the sole African American woman with her own children's book imprint at a Big 5 publishing house, Denene acquires, conceives and edits books for the imprint, oversees their artistic development, and helps conceptualize and execute all aspects of the publishing process, including marketing, publicity and sales, with a focus on creating opportunities for marginalized writers, artists and their stories. In addition to running her imprint and penning books and magazine cover stories, Millner spent a decade working as a columnist, contributing editor, and blogger for Parenting, a national magazine for which she provided witty, engaging, mom-to-mom advice on everything from childrearing and marriage to work and friendship. Denene is also the founder and editor of MyBrownBaby.com, an oft celebrated, award-winning website that examines parenting and motherhood through a distinctive multicultural lens. Her work as a parenting and relationships expert has been covered extensively on national television, earning Millner regular appearances on the Today show, The Meredith Vieira Show and HLN, and guest appearances on CBS's The Early Show, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, VH-1, The Nate Berkus Show and The Rachel Ray Show. In 2018, she became a founding co-host on Georgia Public Broadcasting's "A Seat at the Table," a talk show about black women, which led to her founding of the critically-acclaimed NPR podcast "Speakeasy with Denene," a celebration of the beauty of the African American experience. Denene's upcoming novel, "One Blood," an epic triptych on Black motherhood, publishes on September 5, 2023 from Forge Books. Denene lives is a graduate of Hofstra University and lives in Atlanta with her two daughters and their adorable Goldendoodle, Franklin. www.denenemillner.com Instagram Facebook When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.  

An Improper Courtship: A Regency Romance (Lords & Ladies of Mayfair Book 3) Laura Beers is an award-winning author. She attended Brigham Young University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management. She can't sing, doesn't dance and loves naps. Laura lives in Utah with her husband, three kids, and her dysfunctional dog. When not writing regency romance, she loves waterskiing, hiking, and drinking Dr Pepper. You can connect with Laura on Facebook, Instagram, or on her site at www.authorlaurabeers.com. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

The Longmire Defense: A Longmire Mystery Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction and the Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association's Reading the West Book Award for fiction. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 26. Walt Longmire faces one of his most challenging crime scenes as he tries to reckon with the revelations of his last case where he confronted the ghosts of his past and questioned the very nature of justice and mercy in the hard country of the West. Deep in the heart of the Wyoming countryside, Sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire, is called to a crime scene like few others that he has seen.  This crime brings up issues that go back to Walt's grandfather's time in Wyoming, as the revelations he learns about his grandfather come back to offer clues and motives for Walt's investigation.  Filled with back-country action, and with the great cast of characters that readers have come to love with the Longmire series, this new book will be sure to satisfy both long-time readers and those new to the series. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Code Red: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Kyle Mills Kyle Mills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three political thrillers, including Code Red, Total Power, Lethal Agent, and Red War for Vince Flynn and The Patriot Attack for Robert Ludlum. He initially found inspiration from his father, the former director of Interpol, and still draws on his contacts in the intelligence community to give his books such realism. Avid outdoor athletes, he and his wife split their time between Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Granada, Spain. Visit his website at KyleMills.com or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @KyleMillsAuthor. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Forgotten War (A Matt Drake Novel Book 4) Don Bentley is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Matt Drake thriller series including Hostile Intent, The Outside Man, and Without Sanction as well as one forthcoming title. Don also writes in the Tom Clancy Jack Ryan, Jr. universe with Zero Hour, Target Acquired, and one forthcoming title. Don spent a decade as an Army Apache helicopter pilot during which time he was stationed in South Korea, Germany, and Texas. While deployed to Afghanistan as a Troop Commander in support of Operation Enduring Freedom VI, Don was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal with “V” device for valor. Following his time in the military Don worked as an FBI Special Agent and was a member of the Dallas Office Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. After leaving the FBI, Don worked for companies that developed technology for the U.S. Special Operations Community. He holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Ohio State University, and an M.F.A in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires Book 2) Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in the mountains outside Denver, Colorado. Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990's when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist. All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.

The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel) Mark Helprin belongs to no literary school, movement, tendency, or trend. As many have observed, and as Time Magazine has phrased it, “He lights his own way.” His three collections of short stories (A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Ellis Island and Other Stories, and The Pacific and Other Stories), seven novels (Refiner's Fire, Winter's Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Memoir From Antproof Case, Freddy and Fredericka, In Sunlight and In Shadow, and Paris in the Present Tense), and three children's books (Swan Lake, A City in Winter, and The Veil of Snows, all illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg), speak eloquently for themselves and are remarkable throughout, for the sustained beauty and power of their language. Helprin's academic training, military service, decades of journalism, and involvement in politics and statesmanship as an obligation of citizenship, although secondary at best, have gained some attention nonetheless. Translated into a score of languages, his books include A Dove of the East & Other Stories, Refiner's Fire, Ellis Island & Other Stories, Winter's Tale, Swan Lake (with illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg), A Soldier of the Great War, Memoir from Antproof Case, A City in Winter, and The Veil of Snows (both with illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg), The Pacific & Other Stories, Freddy and Fredericka, Digital Barbarism, In Sunlight and in Shadow, A Kingdom Far and Clear, and Paris in the Present Tense. When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Lolth's Warrior: A Novel (The Way of the Drow Book 3) Thirty-four years ago, R. A. Salvatore created the character of Drizzt Do'Urden, the dark elf who has withstood the test of time to stand today as an icon in the fantasy genre. With his work in the Forgotten Realms, the Crimson Shadow, the DemonWars Saga, and other series, Salvatore has sold more than thirty million books worldwide and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list more than two dozen times. He considers writing to be his personal journey, but still, he's quite pleased that so many are walking the road beside him! R.A. lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Diane, and their two dogs, Dexter and Pikel. He still plays softball for his team, Clan Battlehammer, and enjoys his weekly DemonWars: Reformation RPG and Dungeons & Dragons 5e games. Salvatore can be found at RASalvaStore.com When you click a link on our site, it might just be a magical portal (aka an affiliate link). We're passionate about only sharing the treasures we truly believe in. Every purchase made from our links not only supports Dabble but also the marvelous authors and creators we showcase, at no additional cost to you.  

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Ben Purkert is the author of the poetry collection For the Love of Endings. His work appears in The New Yorker, the Nation, and the Kenyon Review, among others. He is the founder of Back Draft, a Guernica interview series focused on revision and the creative process. He holds degrees from Harvard and New York University, and he currently teaches at Rutgers.

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Gillian McAllister is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the following novels:  Everything But The Truth (2017) Anything You Do Say (2018) called The Choice in America   No Further Questions (2018) called The Good Sister in America  The Evidence Against You (2019)  How To Disappear (2020)  That Night (2021)  Wrong Place Wrong Time (2022)  All are standalone and can be read in any order.  Her latest release is Wrong Place Wrong Time, available now and selected for the Radio 2 book club and was the Reese's Book Club August '22 pick. It debuted at number 4 on the Sunday Times Bestseller List and number 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List. She has been selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club, the Radio 2 Book Club and is published in over 25 languages. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @gillianmauthor and at http://www.gillianmcallister.com.

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He's been married for fifty years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves. Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O'Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last eleven novels were all New York Times bestsellers. Ordinary Grace, his stand-alone novel published in 2013, received the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition for the best novel published in that year. The companion novel, This Tender Land, was published in September 2019 and spent nearly six months on the New York Times bestseller list.

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Mariana Zapatalives in a small town in Colorado with her husbandand two oversized children—her beloved Great Danes, Dorian andKaiser. When she's not writing, she's reading, spendingtime outside,forcing kisses on her boys, or pretending to write.

https://youtube.com/live/ET522mLtHQQ BRAD THOR is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two thrillers, including RISING TIGER, BLACK ICE (ThrillerFix Best Thriller of the Year), NEAR DARK (one of Suspense Magazine's Best Books of the Year), BACKLASH (nominated for the Barry Award for Best Thriller of the Year), SPYMASTER (“One of the all-time best thriller novels” —The Washington Times), THE LAST PATRIOT (nominated Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association), and BLOWBACK (one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” —NPR). MEDIA CONTRIBUTOR Brad has appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, FOX News Channel, FOX Business Channel, CNN, CNN Headline News, and MSNBC (among others) to discuss terrorism, as well as how closely his novels of international intrigue parallel the real threats facing the world today. BACKGROUND Brad has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security's Analytic Red Cell Unit. He has also lectured to law enforcement organizations on over-the-horizon/future threats, and has been a keynote speaker for the National Tactical Officers Association annual conference. In 2008, Brad shadowed a Black Ops team in Afghanistan to research his thriller, The Apostle. Brad graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California where he studied creative writing, film, and television production. Prior to becoming a novelist, Brad was the award-winning creator, producer, writer and host of the critically acclaimed national public television series, Traveling Lite.

A desperate young publicist tries to save her career by turning the charismatic leader of a grungy retreat center into the hot new self-care brand in this “wildly funny, laser-eyed” (Michael Cunningham) debut novel. Jane Dorner has two modes: PR Jane, twenty-five, chummy, and eager to sell you a feminist vibrator or a self-care/bereavement subscription box; and Actual Jane, twenty-nine, drifting through mediocre workdays and lackluster dates while paralyzed by her crushing mountain of overdue medical bills. When her job performance is called into question, Jane's last-ditch effort to preserve her livelihood and pay off her debt is to land a white whale of a client. Enter the impossibly gorgeous Cass—whom Jane discovers scrolling through Instagram—and her unassuming husband, Tom—proprietors of a “wellness retreat” based out of a ramshackle country house that may or may not be giving off cult vibes. Suddenly Jane realizes she might have found the one ladder she can climb—if she can convince them that transforming Cass herself into a high-end wellness brand is the key to all three of their futures. Magnetic yet mysterious, Cass is primed to be an influencer: She speaks in a mix of inspirational quotes and Zen koans, eats only zucchini (the most spiritually nourishing vegetable), and has baby-perfect skin. Despite Tom's reticence about selling out, Jane sets out to mold Cass into the kind of guru who can offer inner peace and make your skin glow—all at a hefty price, of course. As Jane reckons with her own long-dormant ambitions, she wonders: Can a person really “do good” for others while profiting off them? And what parts of our selves do we lose when we trade power, influence, and beauty? Sparklingly plotted, deliciously deadpan, and irresistibly entertaining, THE GLOW is a razor-sharp sendup of an industry built on the peculiar intersection of money and wellness, where health is a commodity and self-care a luxury.   ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jessie Gaynor's work has appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The New Yorker, WSJ Magazine, and elsewhere. She is a senior editor at Literary Hub and she has an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Rona Jaffe fellow. Jessie Gaynor lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family.

Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube The inspiring autobiography of video game designer and DOOM cocreator John Romero Doom Guy: Life in First Person is the long-awaited autobiography of gaming's original rock star and the cocreator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein—some of the most recognizable and important titles in video game history. Credited with the invention of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he is gaming royalty. Told in remarkable detail, a byproduct of his hyperthymesia, Romero recounts his storied career—from his early days submitting Apple II code to computer magazines and sneaking computers out of the back door of his day job to do programming projects at night in his garage to a high-profile falling out with his id Software cofounder John Carmack, as well as his continued role in the gaming industry today as the managing director of Romero Games Ltd. His story is truly one of a self-made man, founding multiple companies after a childhood filled with violence and abuse drove him to video game design where he could create new worlds and places to escape to. An alcoholic father, a racist grandfather who did not approve of Romero's parents' mixed-race coupling, and a grandmother who once ran a brothel in Mexico combine for an illuminating story of his youth—a story that has never before been revealed. After years in the gaming spotlight, Romero is now telling his story—the whole story—in his own words.

Josh Winning is a nostalgia nut, book/film lover and author of The Shadow Glass, The Times's Book of the Month, which is perfect for fans of Henson Company puppet classics Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, and The NeverEnding Story. He is senior film writer at Radio Times, has written for Total Film magazine for over a decade, and is the co-host of movie podcast Torn Stubs. He has been on set with Kermit the Frog (and Miss Piggy), devoured breakfast with zombies on The Walking Dead, and sat on the Iron Throne on the Dublin set of Game of Thrones.

Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Dwyer Murphy is the author of An Honest Living, a New York Times Editors' Choice selection, and the editor-in-chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub's crime fiction vertical and the world's most popular destination for thriller readers. He practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York City, where he was a litigator, and served as editor of the Columbia Law Review. He was previously an Emerging Writer Fellow at the Center for Fiction. https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Coast-Novel-Dwyer-Murphy-ebook/dp/B0BJNXCJT7?ref_=ast_author_mpb  

Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Elle Cosimano is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, an International Thriller Award winner, a Bram Stoker Award finalist, and an Edgar® Award nominee. Her acclaimed young adult novels include Nearly Gone, Holding Smoke, The Suffering Tree, and Seasons of the Storm. Elle's debut novel for adults, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, kicked off a witty, fast-paced contemporary mystery series, which was a PEOPLE Magazine Pick and was named one of New York Public Library's Best Books of 2021. In addition to writing novels for teens and adults, her essays have appeared in The Huffington Post and Time. Elle lives with her husband and two sons in Virginia. https://www.ellecosimano.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ellecosimano/ https://www.instagram.com/ellecosimano/ https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00E6M2074/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=af52645a-8f97-4777-a5d9-526f9b3f82b5    

Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube David Bell burst onto the scene in 2011 with his first (now beloved) novel Cemetery Girl, which won the Prix Polar International de Cognac, a prestigious award for crime writing and has continued to publish some of the most well-received thrillers in the genre. His 2021 novel Kill Your Darlings was nominated for the illustrious Edgar Award. Praised by fellow thriller authors such as May Cobb, Liv Constantine, and Samantha Downing, David Bell is the go-to thriller writer for gripping domestic suspense.

Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube A young woman trapped in a deeply dysfunctional family in the seedy wilds of 1990s South Florida has to make a choice—save her family, or save herself—in this larger-than-life debut novel from the acclaimed author of Lay the Favorite (a memoir about Raymer's years in Las Vegas and her work in the sports betting industry, which was made into a feature film directed by Stephen Frears and starring Rebecca Hall and Bruce Willis). In Beth Raymer's FIREWORKS EVERY NIGHT (Random House, on-sale 6/27) we meet twelve-year-old CC (named after her father's beloved Canadian Club whiskey), an unforgettable protagonist who narrates her life story with dark comedy and compassion for her family, even as her parents “opt out of parenthood” as well as society. CC's father is a born grifter, a used-car salesman who burns down his dealership in southern Ohio for enough insurance money to set up a life for himself, his wife, and his two young daughters in a place he picks largely at random, because the living seems easy. CC's mother is thirty-five going on seventeen, a housewife who just wants to drive a Mustang and hang out at the mall. CC's big sister Lorraine goes from loving Debbie Gibson and jelly shoes to having a full-on drug addiction and listening only to heavy metal, after enduring forms of abuse within her family. In the midst of this dysfunction, CC is trying to stay afloat and make it out—to achieve some semblance of a stable life while coming up against the structural and cultural challenges of growing up in poverty. While a work of fiction, Raymer's novel is very much drawn from real life. Hers is a unique voice telling a story with a lot of darkness, but also with incredibly comedy, compassion, and heart.  For even as CC is a young woman failed by most of those around her, she still is a character determined to succeed, and one who refuses to disavow the place and people she came from.  And while her story is harrowing, I think you will also find it surprisingly poignant.

CLÉMENCE MICHALLON was born and raised near Paris. She studied journalism at City University of London, received a master's in Journalism from Columbia University, and has written for The Independent since 2018. Her essays and features have covered true-crime, celebrity culture, and literature. She moved to New York City in 2014 and recently became a US citizen. She now divides her time between New York City and Rhinebeck, NY. Join us LIVE on our YouTube channel and join in the conversation at https://www.youtube.com/@dabble2799/featured Brought to you by DABBLE Fiction writing, for real people. Write anywhere, anytime Online and offline Always autosaved Easily organized Focus mode and goal tracking Like Scrivener. Minus the Learning Curve. https://www.dabblewriter.com/

Holly Smale is the Number One bestselling, multi-award winning author of the GEEK GIRL series. She fell in love with writing at five years old, when she realised that books didn't grow on trees like apples. A passion for travel, adventure and wearing no shoes has since led her all over the world: she has visited 27 countries, spent two years working as an English teacher in Japan, volunteered in Nepal, been bartered for in Jamaica and had a number of ear-plugs stolen in Australia, Indonesia and India. Holly has a BA in English Literature, an MA in Shakespeare, and currently lives in London or at @holsmale. The GEEK GIRL series has been an internationally bestselling no1. smash-hit. It won the Waterstones Teen Prize of the Year and the Leeds book award, was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Branford Boase award, and was long-listed for the Carnegie.

Alex Marwood is the pseudonym of a former journalist who has worked extensively in the British press. She is the author of the word-of-mouth sensation The Wicked Girls, which won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original; The Killer Next Door, which won a Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel; The Darkest Secret; and The Poison Garden. Her novels have been shortlisted for numerous crime writing awards and been optioned for the screen. She lives in south London.

Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—which was made into an Oscar-winning film—and eight other novels, including We Are the Light, a #1 Indie Next Pick and a Book of the Month selection. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, a Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (German Youth Literature Prize) nominee, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer's Best Books for NPR. The Hollywood Reporter has named him one of Hollywood's 25 Most Powerful Authors. Matthew lives with his wife, the novelist Alicia Bessette, on North Carolina's Outer Banks. https://matthewquickwriter.com/ https://matthewquick.substack.com/ https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-Light-Matthew-Quick-ebook/dp/B09RX3X5KN/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1W14PEWVHYKKW&keywords=matthew+quick&qid=1687266416&s=digital-text&sprefix=matthew+quick%2Cdigital-text%2C126&sr=1-2

T.A. Willberg grew up on a small-holding in South Africa. At 27, she moved to Malta and wrote her debut novel, MARION LANE AND THE MIDNIGHT MURDER which was named one of Amazon's "100 Best Books of 2021" as well as a Strand "Book of the Month", a LibraryReads pick and many more. It has also been translated into multiple languages. The sequel, MARION LANE AND THE DEADLY ROSE, was published around the world in February, 2022 and was featured in The New York Times Book Review. T.A. now lives between Europe and South Africa, chasing summers and adventures.

MY MAGNOLIA SUMMER is full of humor, fun, romance, and recipes guaranteed to make your mouth water. Most importantly, it's a story about the bond of family and the strength of women. Everyone knows that when the three generations of South Carolina women join forces—the family pillar Gran, troubled Lily, impulsive Violet, and redoubtable Maggie—anything is possible.  Victoria Benton Frank makes her home just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. A graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute, married to a chef, and mother of two little hurricanes, her book is alive with lived experience and love for the land of her ancestors.

Deepa Varadarajan lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She is a legal academic and a graduate of Yale Law School. She grew up in Texas and received her BA from the University of Texas at Austin. Her short fiction has appeared in The Georgia Review and Colorado Review, and her legal scholarship has appeared in The Yale Law Journal and many other publications. Late Bloomers is her first novel. In our second segment we welcome Christina Dodd Readers become writers, and Christina Dodd has always been a reader. She reads everything, but because she loves humor, she likes romance best. A woman wants things like world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants things like a Craftsman router with attachments, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will miraculously make his bald spot disappear. So when Christina's first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to quit work and write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be? Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before her first novel, CANDLE IN THE WINDOW, was published. In the thirty-two years since, her novels have been translated into 25 languages, won Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart and RITA Awards and been called the year's best by Library Journal and Booklist. Christina Dodd herself has been a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle (11/18/05, # 13 Down: Romance Novelist named Christina.) Her mother was thrilled! With more than 15 million of her books in print, Booklist praises her, “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd.”