Author News
May News
I wanted to mention that I'm part of the Authorspace Mastermind May Round Table on Wed May 20 at 4pm ET.
I've Written A Book - Now What?! with Stacy Finz, Leslie Hachtel, Corrina Lawson and Lauren Smith on Wed May 20 at 4pm ET.
Join five authors with diverse author journeys for a Round Table on what to do once you've finished your manuscript. We'll focus on next steps, whether you're aiming for traditional publishing or indie. We'll also briefly discuss the editing process in today's industry, developing professional relationships, and the ways you can strengthen your writing and sharpen your skills in other aspects of your writing career, as well as other aspects of the experience they think you should know.
Learn more about how you can join us for this lively, fascinating conversation here.
I've been in a rereading slump, but this month's Spicy Mafia Romance Spotlight author has catapulted me out of it. If your favorite kind of romance comes with a little danger, a lot of dominance, and heroes who don't just fall...they claim, then you're going to love her stories too.
Check out my post about Measha Stone and her book, DEVIOUS SECRETS, on my Substack.
And keep up with all of my news and information at lucymonroe.com.
Just over a month until the release of BLAZE OF GLORY!
Coming June 16 in hardcover!
John Everett is the last of his father's sons to live at home on the Everett ranch, working with their prize bulls and trying to forget the heartbreak he's been living with when the woman of his dreams chose his brother over him. He doesn't expect to ever find love. That is, until he finds the feisty Josie Blake sneaking around his award-winning cattle. Josie is brash, bold and not interested in John---or so she says. But they soon realize their connection is deeper than either of them expected as Josie infiltrates the ranch and John's heart.
Before long, John realizes there's more to Josie than meets the eye, and her interest in the ranch and in the town of Branntville might be more than just honest curiosity. When danger finds her, can John rely on his Everett family connections to help save Josie before she's in over her head? And will the two of them overcome the secrets swirling around them and find their way back to each other?
A FAMILY FOR TUCKER is a Barnes & Noble Top Indie Read!
I can hardly believe I'm typing this, but A Family for Tucker --- Book 5 in the Cobbler Cove series --- has been chosen as one of Barnes & Noble's Top Indie Reads for April AND May! A huge thank-you to everyone at B&N, and an even bigger thank-you to all of you ---this only happened because you keep showing up for these books, leaving reviews, and telling your friends.
If you haven't met Tucker yet, now is the perfect time. And if you have --- would you do me the enormous favor of passing the word along to a reader friend who loves a sweet, small-town romance?
Find book buy links here.
Sweet wholesome romance - cynthiadees.com
Romantic suspense - cindydees.com
Beginning May 1, THE ENCORE BRIDE audiobook will be on sale at Chirp Books for $1.99!
The e-book should be on sale everywhere else, for $2.99. You can find all the links here. (It's currently confusing Amazon, but hopefully everything will be sorted out by the time this goes out!)
Jenny doesn't believe in happy endings...
The tragic death of her husband has convinced her that dreams don't last and she never wants to risk her happiness or her heart again. She's totally unprepared to fall in love a second time, but when she meets Luke McCarran, his ability to understand her pain suggests he isn't like other men. Can she bury the past and learn to love again?
Luke believes true love doesn't get an encore...
Luke has his hands full with his business and a difficult teenage son. At thirty-eight, he's too young to be widowed but doesn't believe he'll ever fall in love again because he's lost his soul mate. Then he meets Jenny and learns that although falling in love this time may be different, it is just as real. Will he convince Jenny they were meant to be together?
A sweet romantic story about second chances.
Happy Spring, 2026 -- and happy new book to me!
I'm so tickled to announce that my latest novel and FIFTIETH published work, WAKE-UP CALLS, goes on sale May 1, and the preorders have earned it a bestseller banner already! It's an AMAZON FIRST READS for April, so you can choose WAKE-UP CALLS as your April pick through April 30. Hurry if you haven't already made a selection for the month!
A woman's surprising inheritance opens the door to her family's secrets in a moving novel about family, forgiveness, second chances and a love that burns bright through the ages by New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart.
Kit Porterfield is coping with the upheaval of her personal life when another shock blindsides her. An aunt she never knew existed has bequeathed her a rustic campground in Maine with a puzzling history. The lakeside camp is in desperate need of restoration, but it's Kit's own history that compels her to stay. She's not returning home until she uncovers the long-buried secrets that tore two sisters apart so many years ago.
They could be the path to understanding the mystery that defined her mother's life---and her own.
Buy here.
I had such a great time at Booklover's Con in Las Vegas, and I was simply overwhelmed by - and so grateful for - the readers' amazing response to my Dragon romantasy FIRE WIZARD!
I'm finishing up Book 2 of The Dragon Curse series, so there's plenty of time to pick up FIRE WIZARD before it releases into the world like a dragon taking flight.
Here's a lovely review from Judy:
"A tremor of excitement shimmered over her like satin against bare skin."
Pam Binder's FIRE WIZARD deftly blends crime-solving in today's Pacific Northwest, overlaid with a bloody political coup in the magical realm of Celtic wizards, trolls, harpies, shapeshifters, shadow people, and more, culminating an epic battle. It's also a powerful love story which threatens to break the rules of both worlds. The author's subtle humor drew me in and never let up. A delightful read from start to finish, and Book One of a series. Don't you love it when that happens?
Buy links and more information for FIRE WIZARD here - and it's also available in audio!
My new series Olivia Cruz, launches on the 12th!
Crime writer Olivia Cruz is drawn into the dark secrets of a missing friend in a terrifying novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.
On the three-year anniversary of true crime writer Olivia Cruz's horrific kidnapping, she's scheduled to walk her podcaster friend Zoe March through the crime scene, but Zoe fails to show. Olivia knows Zoe would never stand her up---not today.
Zoe's husband, who claims she never came home the night before, has reported her missing. But marital conflicts make the police suspect she has left him. Olivia thinks otherwise. The police aren't looking for Zoe, so Olivia begins her own investigation. Retracing her friend's last steps, she finds Zoe's phone and a text with one chilling word: Run.
It soon becomes apparent that Zoe has been keeping secrets, and with her true crime podcast, there's no telling what she has unearthed. To find her, Olivia must dig into her friend's past. Did Zoe vanish to escape a killer, and is Olivia walking into a deadly trap?
Audio of Book 2 in the Mists of Ireland series, HAUNTING WARRIOR, released in April and book 3, HAUNTING DESIRE, comes out May 12!
A woman lost in a nightmare
Shealy O'Leary thought the ancient Book of Fennore a myth until she and her father are sucked into the past---and into the cursed no-man's land called Fennore. There Shealy learns that she has a rare power that their enemy seeks. Aided by the dangerous and compelling warrior, Tiarnan, Shealy must learn how to wield her gift to save those she loves or die in this waking nightmare...
A man desperate to regain his honor
After failing both his land and people, Tiarnan was damned to spend eternity in the black heart of Fennore. His only hope comes in the shape of a beautiful, frightened woman from the future. For she possesses a gift she is unaware of. A gift with the power to save...or destroy them all.
A desire that drives their destiny
The intensity of their bond electrifies the couple, their love powering Shealy's gift and Tiarnan's strength. But their newfound connection threatens to ruin them both---and bring to life a long ago prophecy of devastation and betrayal...
Ready to binge a complete series?
Start Pacific Vista Ranch with book 1, NOBODY ELSE BUT YOU - it's only 99c this month!
A smoking hot stuntman. A fiery horse breeder. And a 220-acre ranch too small for both of them.
When an arrogant Hollywood stuntman struts into Samantha McNeill's breeding barn, sparks fly. She doesn't care how mouthwateringly gorgeous he is, not when he assumes Pacific Vista Ranch's resident horse breeding manager must be a man. Not to mention his job threatens to pull her family back into the paparazzi filled world they escaped from over a decade ago.
Now it's at her door...wearing faded jeans and a wicked grin.
Holt Ericsson can tell the beautiful redhead hates him on sight and the feeling is becoming mutual. But he will call in a favor and convince Sam's legendary director father that Pacific Vista Ranch is the only suitable place left in California to film an epic Western. Holt's invested all his savings in the movie and his entire career is riding on it. No way will he allow one irritating, sexy woman to stand in his way.
The sizzling attraction between them is either going to burn up the sheets or burn down the ranch...
Coming April 28 - SUMMER WITH MY COWBOY !
Tough and tender, once a cowboy wins your heart, no one else will do---as two special women discover over the course of one sweet and sultry summer in this duo of romantic novellas from bestselling authors Linda Lael Miller and Maisey Yates...
My part:
COWBOY WANTED
A painful divorce has brought Kendra Spencer home from Seattle to sunny Copper Ridge, Arizona. Despite a comfortable settlement, Kendra needs to keep busy---and keep herself from stalking her ex on social media. So she starts waitressing at the local diner, finding comfort in the regulars and her thankfully ordinary days. . . . Until far from ordinary newcomer Gage Elder walks in. Not only is he a champion bronc rider, turns out he's a widower---and maybe the one man understanding enough, kind enough---not to mention charming enough---to inspire Kendra to put the past behind her, and open her heart once more . . .
Sign up for my newsletter to help keep up with all things Linda Lael Miller and I'm much more active on my Facebook page these days.
I'm also giving away books over on my contest (enter here).
PRIVATE BODYGUARD, the 4th Fresh Pond Security title, releases 8/25 and is up for pre-order!
She always considered him the enemy.
Now it's her job to protect him.
Security operative Meaghan Knight holds a grudge against tech billionaire Quinn Martinsson---she blames her brother's breakdown on Quinn's abandonment of him during their college years. When she's assigned to be Quinn's bodyguard, her hostility compels him to fire her.
But when she foils an attack on his life, he realizes his mistake and insists on rehiring her, trying to ignore the fact that he's never gotten over his college crush on Meaghan. And now, despite her animosity, Meaghan can't deny her attraction to the tech titan. Can the two overcome their history to save Quinn from disaster?
Plenty of time to catch up on the first three titles:
Book 1 - PROTECTOR IN DISGUISE
Book 2 - THE TWIN'S BODYGUARD
Book 3 THE HEIRESS'S BODYGUARD
Learn more about Veronica and all of her books here.
Win a copy of PROTECTOR IN DISGUISE in the April contest here. (Contest open all month.)
HOW TO LOSE A LAIRD, the second title in the Cairncross Castle series, releases on May 26!
Three unusually gifted sisters in Georgian Scotland must protect their family fortress from those who would steal it's rumored treasures---and their hearts---in this sweeping, adventure-filled, historical romance series.
Freya MacLeod is no more a witch than her extraordinary siblings. Quiet and observant, she can't control the weather---although her magnificently skilled drawings often predict it. But now a very different sort of storm has besieged their home of Castle Cairncross.
A reluctant laird, Callum is glad to escape his clan's intrigues. But helping to protect Castle Cairncross as a favor to a friend is far more difficult than he thought. Especially when the seemingly timid Freya eludes him, his battle-honed instincts---and enrages the village into putting a bounty on both their heads . . .
As they flee, Freya is stunned to see how caring---and vulnerable---Callum can be. . . .
As their peril increases, they may find that battling side-by-side will uncover something more precious than gold . . .
Learn more about Anna and her books: www.annabradley.net
Jayne Ann Krentz invites you to travel to Harmony in her upcoming release ENTER THE NIGHTMARE, written as Jayne Castle.
Everything goes wrong when Alice Radstone checks in to the Hotel of Dreams. But that's nothing new at this particular hotel. It specializes in nightmares. She's not sure if she can trust the enigmatic and dangerous Owen March who claims he has arrived to rescue her but she doesn't have much choice.
ENTER THE NIGHTMARE will be out on June 30th, but there are plenty of Harmony books to read while you wait!
BURN OF SUMMER (Knife's Edge Alaska) is out this week!
Welcome to Knife's Edge, Alaska, where the four Osprey brothers return from military service with shadows in their eyes and secrets in their hearts. As danger looms, new romances ignite, and these rugged men must fight for love...and survival.
Ace Osprey was born to fly---but a crash stole his wings and left him with scars he refuses to show. Grounded and restless, the former Navy pilot masks his broken pieces with charm and swagger. He swore he'd never get tied down again, but when Dr. May Smirnov walks into Knife's Edge with secrets in her eyes and fire in her heart, Ace finds himself pulled into a storm he can't outmaneuver.
May came to Knife's Edge to hide, not to burn. The small-town doctor keeps her past locked away, but Ace Osprey is a temptation she can't ignore---infuriating, magnetic, and far too good at peeling away her walls. Their chemistry is combustible, but in a town where women are turning up dead under the endless summer sun, desire might be as dangerous as the killer stalking the shadows....
Coming up:
Grimm Bargains - ONE SHATTERED CROWN (July)
Dark Protectors - BOUND BY FIRE (August)
Follow all things Rebecca Zanetti at rebeccazanetti.com.
Jodie Cain Smith had a blast at the 2026 Mobile Arts Council Arty Awards Banquet.
She was so honored to be included in such an accomplished group of Mobile area artists, and thrilled her son was able to attend and see his mother's hard work acknowledged.
She's also so close to turning in book three of her Brackish Waters Series that she can taste the sweet relief of a completed manuscript!
Plenty of time to check out Books 1 and 2, SPLINTERED REEDS and BLACK CLOUDS.
Welcome to the Fireline Hearts Series---where danger burns hot...and love burns hotter.
Book One, IGNITE MY HEART, throws you straight into the flames with a grumpy firefighter and a fearless reporter who were never meant to collide.
Liam Carter runs toward fire---but avoids anything that might tether him.
Maya Alvarez chases the truth---and refuses to be protected.
Until a string of suspicious fires forces them into close quarters...and something far more dangerous ignites between them.
Expect forced proximity, relentless tension, emotional scars, and a slow-burn romance that refuses to stay contained. Add in a hero who will walk through fire for her---and a threat that's always watching---and you've got a story that doesn't just simmer...it consumes.
Because sometimes the greatest risk isn't the fire.
It's falling for the one person who makes you want to stay.
P.S. If you love protective heroes and slow-burn tension, you can preorder IGNITE MY HEART now and fall into the flames early.
Buy the book here.
A little over a month before Season 5 of the Netflix series Sweet Magnolias starts on June 11!
Catch up on all things Sweet Magnolias (Netflix version) here.
And of course you can always find all the books on my site here.
Anyone planning any margarita watch parties?
I'm at sherrylwoods.com and at Facebook, here.
Tracy Brogan's latest novella, WINNER TAKES ALL, released on March 31st!
Originally part of the anthology titled WHAT HAPPENS IN BRIGHTON, this gilded age novella is now a stand-alone.
Her next release, A DAISY IN BLOOM, is the third book in her Trillium Bay series and will be available this summer.
Plenty of time to check up on the first two titles, ART OF THE CHASE and MAGIC OF MOONLIGHT, before it gets here!
DANGEROUS SPRING is now up for pre-order on Amazon!
When ex-rodeo cowboy Connor Rafferty walks into Keeley's shop, she's his last hope. His battered pickup broke down outside of town, and he's down to his last fifty bucks.
He needs to reach Detroit before his ex-wife and her abusive boyfriend go on the run again with his son. He's praying that he can make enough money to fix the truck and find them before it's too late.
But one business after another turns him away.
Keeley is desperate, too. Her only employee walked out this afternoon, leaving her alone to face the hectic first week of the vacation season. She needs a kindly middle-aged woman with retail experience---not a hard-edged drifter with a past written in scars and shadows.
Keeley knows better than to trust a stranger. Especially one who sets every instinct on edge. Yet with customers lining up, shelves half-stocked, and no one else to turn to, she makes a decision she might regret.
If Connor is telling the truth, time is running out for a little boy somewhere far from here.
And if he's lying... she may have just invited trouble straight through her front door.
Find the book here.
Latest from our Blog
Enchanted April!
Hi everyone! I’ve mentioned before that I’m going to try to blog/review more and this is the moment! Happy spring, happy April! Anyone who’s followed me knows I love a good magic book, and I thought I’d mention a few great ones I’ve read (or mostly listened to) lately. I’ll start off with MAGIC AND… Read More
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