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Recommended for fans of: Janet Evanovich
In my own words: "This book is funny, or at least it's supposed to be. I lived in Arkansas for three years, and this book is a big part of me learning to love that state. Brett's pretty down on Arkansas, but if you read between the lines (or just make it through to the end), you'll see that the book is really about feeling out of place yet somehow adapting and learning to love what you have."
Brett Sargent isn't adapting to life in Arkansas very well. A native New Yorker, she's been transported to the urban metropolis of Little Falls via the Witness Protection Program after testifying against her former high school lab partner, now a Mafia up-and-comer. Despite her new name, new house, and new career as a bookstore owner, she can’t find a decent Thai restaurant—or anyone who wants to buy books. Her only companion is a happy-go-lucky guard dog named Dude.
While moonlighting as a detective to pay the rent, Brett stumbles upon a case that’s too close for comfort. Elaine Scrubbs and her smokin’ hot redneck brother, Jake, hire her to find Elaine’s missing husband. But when Hank Scrubbs turns up dead with a Mafia calling card stabbed to his chest, Brett knows she's next on their hit list.
As Brett digs deeper into Hank’s past, she learns that Elaine and Jake aren’t who they claim to be. They forge family photos, can’t agree on the way their parents died, and are on a first-name basis with the Mafia’s best hit man. To stay alive and outwit the killer, Brett and her faithful guard dog, Dude, tangle with a liar, a truck driver, a flesh-eating Mafia lawyer, a one-eyed repairman, a shotgun-wielding racist, a vindictive Kroger clerk, a Bible thumper, and a shoplifter named Rick James who just might be the best friend Brett’s been waiting for.
If Brett stays alive, she just might find there's something worth living for after all.
A Vampire in Versailles
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Recommended for fans of: Anne Rice, Susan Carroll, Diana Gabaldon
In my own words: "The first book I ever wrote! It's near and dear to my heart for that reason. This book doesn't play well with others. It's part romance novel, part historical epic, part horror, part paranormal fantasy. If you like lighthearted books, read the first half and skip the second. If you like dashing heroes and brave heroines and endings that upset you even when they're totally right for the story, this is the book for you."
Jean-Gabriel de Bourbon is a vampire, the product of a curse laid on him by his brother, Hugh Capet. As long as a Capetian descendant sits on the throne of France, Jean-Gabriel remains alive. For eight hundred years, he has lived beyond human law and beyond human love. Now, in 1788, the rumblings of revolution darken his glittering world and a red-haired heiress makes him think twice about his vow never to love a mortal woman.
Marguerite de Clermont-Prince is an orphan, raised as a ward of the crown. She dreams of a carefree life on the stage, where she is free to be herself rather than the object of pursuit for every fortune hunter at court. But from the moment Jean-Gabriel’s lips touch her skin, she knows he could tempt her to give up her fortune and her independence. . .if only she could sidestep her besotted suitor, Etienne d'Orléans, for long enough to learn the truth about Jean-Gabriel's deadly past.
When an accident gives Jean-Gabriel a taste of Marguerite's blood, it links the two of them in a deadly passion. Her blood speaks to Jean-Gabriel the way no mortal's has ever done, carrying her thoughts and emotions to him even when they are apart. As the pair surrenders to the siren song of forbidden love, a jealous Orléans manipulates Louis XVI into keeping the lovers apart by any means necessary.
Caught in the treachery of a corrupt court, Jean-Gabriel and Marguerite must fight mortal foes and the unstoppable forces of a furious revolution that threaten to sweep away everything they know. Is love—even immortal love—strong enough to shape the world's destiny?
The Romanov Legacy
Recommended for fans of: Dan Brown, Olen Steinhauer, Eric Van Lustbader
In my own words: "This book is about family. I know that seems strange when it's also a jet-setting spy thriller with a schizophrenic heroine, but it's true. The real love story here is the one between the two sisters, Natalie and Beth. These two will do anything to beat the odds, from replacing drug therapy with behavioral therapy to treat Natalie's schizophrenia to taking on the entire Russian army single-handed. They kick ass because they have to. Failure is not an option when each other is all they have. Writing this particular part of the book was easy. I have a sister. All I did was imagine how far I'd go to help her if she was in trouble."
A family murdered in the dead of night. A treasure lost in the throes of revolution. A ninety-year quest that Lenin, Stalin, and the entire Soviet war chest couldn't solve. One woman holds the key to it all: the missing fortune of Nicholas II, last tsar of Russia.
Natalie Brandon believes the stories--that the murdered tsar left behind a secret account intended to provide for his family in exile. Diagnosed with schizophrenia as a child, Natalie can't make anyone believe her, not even her sister, a renowned history professor. Natalie knows the account exists. She knows it can be found. But no one will listen to her until a blond, blue-eyed Russian spy kidnaps her, claiming she's the only one who can help him find it.
Constantine Dashkov never intended to kidnap a woman, let alone the wrong one. Sent to coerce Professor Beth Brandon into helping locate the tsar's account, Constantine breaks into her apartment--and finds a lethal Russian spetsnaz unit, Vympel, waiting for him. He escaped with his life...and the wrong hostage.
Just as brilliant as her famous sister, Natalie is tormented by a recurring auditory hallucination, a voice she claims belongs to an angel named Belial. Belial, she says, told her exactly how to find the tsar's missing treasure. Their first step is to recover two coded letters written by the tsar's daughters in captivity. Those letters contain the password to their father's secret account. Natalie's ramblings make Constantine uneasy, but he knows he can't abandon her to the trained killers on their trail. Natalie convinces him that the surest way to survive is to get those letters before Vympel does.
But Russian Prime Minister Maxim Starinov also wants the letters and will do anything to get them. Natalie and Constantine must outrun Starinov's spetsnaz unit as they chase the letters from San Francisco to Moscow to London. The hunt draws in Natalie's sister, Constantine's partner, and a loyal Russian family whose only mission is to preserve the tsar's legacy. With nothing more than Belial's strange whisperings to guide them, Natalie and Constantine fight for their lives and each other in a race to protect the tsar's legacy from a greedy despot.
The Cherbourg Jewels
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Recommended for fans of: Catherine Coulter, Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz
In my own words: "This was the first straight-up romance novel I've ever done. My sister wrote one for NaNoWriMo in 2010, and that winter while on break from grad school, I decided to write one, too, just for the heck of it. Then I entered it in the Romance Writers of America Kiss of Death Chapter's Daphne du Maurier Awards in the Romantic Suspense category for unpublished books...and I won!! Insane, isn't it? I made my heroine a gem historian, remembering how much I used to love looking at books like The Queen's Jewels when I was little. I tried to make sure both the hero and heroine had something to prove, but were also brave and independent in their own right."
Ella Wilcox wants one thing and one thing only—to find the men who murdered her father, antique jewelry restorer Frederick Wilcox. As eight-year-old Ella cradled her dying father’s body, she vowed to take her revenge. With only a handful of photographs documenting her father’s stolen gem collection, Ella uses her skills as a gem historian to access the vaults of the rich and powerful. If only she could peek inside the most spectacular vault of all—the one belonging to the impossibly wealthy Cherbourg family.
Sébastien Cherbourg IV wants one thing and one thing only—to regain his place at the head of his family’s empire. After a public split with a gold-digging fiancée, Sébastien’s family has lost confidence in his decisions. To earn their respect once more, he’s arranged a magnificent exhibition of his family’s legendary jewel collection. Unfortunately for him, Ella is the only woman who can sign off on the insurance paperwork.
Ella knows the Cherbourg jewels contain the answers she’s looking for. Sébastien knows he’ll stop at nothing to keep his exhibition on schedule. But when someone steals the gems right out from under them, Ella and Sébastien are thrown together in a desperate race to catch a thief. But this thief has secrets—secrets he’ll kill to protect.
As danger ignites their uncontrollable passion, Ella and Sébastien discover that nothing is quite what it seems. A family’s deadly heritage is revealed. A trusted friend becomes a traitor. And a dangerous secret threatens to shatter any chance they have for happiness together...if they live long enough to try.
Croatoa: A Short Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke
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In my own words: "I wrote the first version of this story in grad school. I have a thing for mixing genres, and I couldn't resist adding a hint of the supernatural to the story of Roanoke's lost colony. In 2011, I submitted the story to a small-press anthology, and it got in! The original version was published by Misanthrope Press in 2012. This was a great moment, but when I saw that a couple years later that the anthology had gone out of print, I decided to rescue the story from obscurity and give it new life. I revised it and added a few extras for this new release. Now, it's got all the elements of a story I love: history, an unsolved mystery, a tragic heroine, a doomed love, and a supernatural opponent. I hope you like it, too!"
A short story that blends historical fiction, romance, and the paranormal to explore the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
In 1587, a group of English settlers sailed for Roanoke Colony. Among them was expectant mother Eleanor Dare, who gave birth to a daughter--the first English baby born in the New World. But the fledgling colony could not survive for long without help. The English garrison they'd expected to meet had vanished; the settlers found only a single skeleton.
Eleanor's father sailed for England to gather men and supplies. But when he returned in 1590, the entire colony had vanished. On a fence post nearby, a single word was carved: CROATOAN. Were the settlers murdered by the Croatoan tribe? Did they abandon the colony to seek shelter away from Roanoke Island? Or did something more sinister happen?
In this imaginative re-telling of the colony's final days, Jenni Wiltz blends historical fiction, romance, and a touch of the paranormal.
Includes a timeline of the Roanoke Colony and a historical note about Manteo, the Croatan tribesman who lived with the colonists.
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Recommended for fans of: Jodi Picoult, Curtis Sittenfeld
In my own words: "This is the book I never thought I'd write. No spies, no treasure, no war or revolution. In fact, this book is about my own family...with a few teensy additions, like guns and gang violence. My dad always suggested I write a book about Salinas, my hometown. For years, I refused. I didn't know what I wanted to say, or if I wanted to say anything at all. But now that I'm a little older, I can see that there is a story to tell. This is the story of a family searching for answers to questions so much bigger than they are. What happens when the American Dream starts to crumble? What happens when fear and doubt seem bigger than love and hope? Can you get those things back without destroying something else in the process? I don't have all the answers, and neither does Em, my heroine. But you can see what happens when a 16-year-old girl tries to find them on her own."
When her unemployed dad lands a job as a census taker, things start looking up. But he's sent deep into East Malo Verde, where gang members rule the streets and fear anyone with a badge who knocks on doors. One night, a gang member mistakes him for a cop and beats him savagely, leaving him for dead.
The Red Road is about a girl in turmoil, coming of age as she discovers the depths - and the limits - of friendship, first love, and the bond between parents and their children.
In 1587, a group of English settlers sailed for Roanoke Colony. Among them was expectant mother Eleanor Dare, who gave birth to a daughter--the first English baby born in the New World. But the fledgling colony could not survive for long without help. The English garrison they'd expected to meet had vanished; the settlers found only a single skeleton.
Eleanor's father sailed for England to gather men and supplies. But when he returned in 1590, the entire colony had vanished. On a fence post nearby, a single word was carved: CROATOAN. Were the settlers murdered by the Croatoan tribe? Did they abandon the colony to seek shelter away from Roanoke Island? Or did something more sinister happen?
In this imaginative re-telling of the colony's final days, Jenni Wiltz blends historical fiction, romance, and a touch of the paranormal.
Includes a timeline of the Roanoke Colony and a historical note about Manteo, the Croatan tribesman who lived with the colonists.
The Red Road
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But the eBook via Smashwords
Recommended for fans of: Jodi Picoult, Curtis Sittenfeld
In my own words: "This is the book I never thought I'd write. No spies, no treasure, no war or revolution. In fact, this book is about my own family...with a few teensy additions, like guns and gang violence. My dad always suggested I write a book about Salinas, my hometown. For years, I refused. I didn't know what I wanted to say, or if I wanted to say anything at all. But now that I'm a little older, I can see that there is a story to tell. This is the story of a family searching for answers to questions so much bigger than they are. What happens when the American Dream starts to crumble? What happens when fear and doubt seem bigger than love and hope? Can you get those things back without destroying something else in the process? I don't have all the answers, and neither does Em, my heroine. But you can see what happens when a 16-year-old girl tries to find them on her own."
A father's love. A family's tragedy. A daughter's revenge.
Honor student Emma knows more about galvanic cell diagrams than guns. College is the only way out of her gang-ridden hometown, but her parents can't afford it.
When her unemployed dad lands a job as a census taker, things start looking up. But he's sent deep into East Malo Verde, where gang members rule the streets and fear anyone with a badge who knocks on doors. One night, a gang member mistakes him for a cop and beats him savagely, leaving him for dead.
Her best friends, her chem lab partner, her mom, and the detective assigned to the case all try to convince her to focus on school. But school won't prepare her for a world that ignores a crime against a good man. Emma must decide what's more important: doing what's expected, or doing what she feels is right . . . even if it leads her down a dark and dangerous path of revenge.
The Red Road is about a girl in turmoil, coming of age as she discovers the depths - and the limits - of friendship, first love, and the bond between parents and their children.
