Friday's Free Books for Kindle

Here's some free books for Kindle. I hope you enjoy. As always, drop us a comment if you do read any of the books on the list. Happy Reading.

Disclaimer: The books listed below were/are available on Kindle for free on the date I posted them. However, please check and make sure the offer is still available before downloading any material listed.

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"Love A La Carte" by Jeffrey Stepakoff

Product Details: A Romantic Short Story

In LOVE A LA CARTE, Dylan cooks a romantic dinner for Grace—stuck all evening at work.  By the end of the delicious evening, Grace realizes that she’s beginning to fall for the handsome and caring Dylan…

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"Elisha's Bones" by Don Hoesel

Product Details:  Religious Fiction

Every year, professor of antiquities Jack Hawthorne looks forward to the winter break as a time to hide away from his responsibilities. Even if just for a week or two. But this year, his plans are derailed when he's offered almost a blank check from a man chasing a rumor.

Billionaire Gordon Reese thinks he knows where the bones of the prophet Elisha are--bones that in the Old Testament brought the dead back to life. A born skeptic, Jack doesn't think much of the assignment but he could use the money, so he takes the first step on a chase for the legendary bones that will take him to the very ends of the earth. But he's not alone. Joined with a fiery colleague, Esperanza Habilla, they soon discover clues to a shadowy organization whose long-held secrets have been protected . . . at all costs. As their lives are threatened again and again, the real race is to uncover the truth before those chasing them hunt them down.

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"13 Little Blue Envelopes" by Maureen Johnson

Product Details: Contemporary Fiction

Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket.In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat. The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/ bloke–about–town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous–though utterly romantic–results. But will she ever see him again?

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of the 13 little blue envelopes.

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"A Fool Again"  by Eloisa James

Product Detail: A novella

A Fool Again is the story of Genevieve, who once made a dash to Gretna Greene to marry, but was caught by her father. Now, a few years later, she attends the funeral of her elderly husband (not the man she ran away to marry) and who does she see but The One Who Got Away! Can they make their love work this time around or will Genevieve be A Fool Again?

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"The Amersham Rubies" by Rhys Bowen

Product Details: Mystery/Thriller

Before Molly Murphy crossed the Atlantic or even had an inkling that she might someday become a much sought after private investigator in New York City, young Molly lived in Ireland in a small cottage with her father, brothers and little else.

While keeping herself and her home together, Molly receives a request from Lady Hartley—the lady of the country estate where Molly lives, and the family that employs Molly’s father and brothers. The Hartleys are hosting a ball at their manor house, and there will be so many fine gentlemen and ladies in attendance that Lady Hartley needs Molly to help some of her guests prepare for the ball.

Beautiful debutantes, dresses of the finest fabrics, and sparkling chandeliers are all on display, as are heirloom jewels like the Amersham rubies—a stunning and priceless ruby necklace that has been in the Amersham family for generations. When the rubies go inexplicably missing from Lady Amersham’s neck in the middle of the party, the high-spirited Molly must rely on her wits to solve her first case in Rhys Bowen’s charming prequel to her beloved Anthony and Agatha Award–winning historical mystery series.

Thirsty Thursdays: New Releases

"The Throne of Fire" by Rick Riordan

Release Date: May 2, 2011

Product Details:

In this exciting second installment of the three-book series, Carter and Sadie, offspring of the brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane, embark on a worldwide search for the Book of Ra, but the House of Life and the gods of chaos are determined to stop them.

Rick Riordan is best known for his bestselling YA series Percy Jackson and the Olympians and for a series of award-winning adult mysteries featuring San Antonio P.I. Tres Navarre.

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"On Black Sisters Street" A Novel by Chika Unigwe

Release Date: April 26, 2011

Product Detail: (Black Voices Review)

On Black Street Sisters' is the haunting novel by Chika Unigwe, a writer who was born in Nigeria and lives in Belgium. She weaves the tale of four African women from disparate worlds who made their way to Belgium seeking fame and fortune. Instead, they sell their bodies from the windows of Antwerp's red-light district. Unigwe came up with the idea after cruising the streets of Antwerp herself to research material for this stunning must-read novel.

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"Trying to Stay Saved" by E.N. Joy

Release Date: May 1, 2011

Product Details:

The New Day Divas is a church group for women led by Mother Doreen at New Day Temple of Faith, and Lorain, Bethany and Paige are all members. Still suffering memory loss thanks to a nasty blow to the head, Lorain is back from her sabbatical and starting to piece her life together. But how many lives will be damaged or restored when she figures it all out? Meanwhile, Bethany has just been exposed for the affair she’s been having with the former pastor of the church. And Paige’s husband, Blake, has been taking her for granted much less since her terrible car accident. Except now he’s becoming more physically aggressive in the arguments they do have. These sisters will need all the faith and support they can get to keep it together!

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"Dead Reckoning" (Sookie Stackhouse Series Book 11) by Charlaine Harris

Release Date: May 3, 2011

Product Details:

New in the #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series-the basis for HBO(r)'s True Blood!
With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...

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"You Are Free: Stories" by Danzy Senna

Release Date: May 3, 2011

Product Details:

Each of these eight remarkable stories by Danzy Senna tightrope-walks tantalizingly, sometimes frighteningly, between defined states: life with and without mates and children, the familiar if constraining reference points provided by race, class, and gender. Tensions arise between a biracial couple when their son is admitted to the private school where they'd applied on a lark. A new mother hosts an old friend, still single, and discovers how each of them pities-and envies- the other. A young woman responds to an adoptee in search of her birth mother, knowing it is not she.

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"10th Anniversary" (Women's Murder Club)  by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Release Date: May 2, 2011

Product Details:

For every secret Detective Lindsay Boxer's long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a badly injured teenage girl is left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminals—but that the victim may be keeping secrets as well.

For every lie
At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano is prosecuting the biggest case of her life—a woman who has been accused of murdering her husband in front of her two young children. Yuki's career rests on a guilty verdict, so when Lindsay finds evidence that could save the defendant, she is forced to choose. Should she trust her best friend or follow her instinct?
 
There's a different way to die
Lindsay's every move is watched by her new boss, Lieutenant Jackson Brady, and when the pressure to find the baby begins interfering with her new marriage to Joe, she wonders if she'll ever be able to start a family. With James Patterson's white-hot speed and unquenchable action, 10th Anniversary is the most deliciously chilling Women's Murder Club book ever.

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"Suspicions" by Sasha Campbell

Release Date: May 1, 2011

Product Details:

As the owner of Situations, the hottest beauty salon on the south side of Chicago, Noelle Gordon has a direct line to the private lives of her clients. But when an abandoned baby girl appears on her doorstep, Noelle finds herself at the center of a personal drama. Could the baby be her husband’s? Or maybe her grown son’s? Both men deny it—but Noelle is sure one of them is lying.... Meanwhile, Noelle’s employees are discovering that their own romantic relationships harbor a secret or two. The truth isn’t always pretty. But can they find the strength to deal with the secrets their men keep—to deal with all the ramifications and stand by the men they love? Says Brenda Hampton (the Naughty series): “This novel will heat your seat!”

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"The Hackman Blues" by Ken Bruen

Release Date: May 1, 2011

Product Details:

A gay, manic-depressive, thoroughly disreputable ex-con with a violent streak, Tony Brady is also vibrantly alive and capable of dropping insightful quotes from Genet, Baldwin or Maupin gleaned from his prison reading. At the beginning of this slang-filled noir caper from London, Tony has settled in to a sweet racket with a former cellmate from Wormwood Scrubs, Elias Rasheed MohammedReed for short. Together they conduct a useful little business finding lost items, even if they have to make the items disappear so that they can recover them for the grateful owners.

Tony is approached by a wealthy builder named Jack Dunphy and asked to find his runaway teenage daughter. With Reed and little effort he succeeds. The problem is that the Brixton tough the daughter is with isn't going to give her up easily. And when Reed and Tony decide to play both ends against the middle, violence is the inevitable result. Bruen combines jazz, drugs, sex and violence into a heady brew that goes down easy and leaves a long aftertaste

Stephenie Meyer on Oprah. Inspirational... Motivational.

You may not be a Twilight fan, but as a writer I am in awe of Stephenie Meyer's phenomenal success. She never wrote one single piece of work before she wrote "Twilight." So this is for all the writers that get discourage during their journey, don't give up. Success is not just for other people. We can never dream as big as God can.

Enjoy the video of the interview and I hope it keeps you motivated.

"God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow in them. "

Upcoming Book Fairs and Festivals

•   2011 Dayton Book Expo, Christian Writers Marketplace, April 30, 2011, Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio A great opportunity for authors of books on Christian topics. http://www.Daytonbookexpo.com  

• Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, April 30-May 5, 201. The festival attracts more than 150,000 readers. www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/

• South Carolina Book Festival, May 14-15, 2011, Colombia Metropolitan Convention Center, Columbia, SC, more than 6,000 book lovers attend www.scbookfestival.org/

• BookExpo America, May 23-26, 2011, Jacob Javits Center, NYC, the premier North American publishing event of the year http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/

• Printers Row Lit Fest, June 4-5, 2011 Chicago, Illinois at Dearborn and Polk street. A large book fair attended by more than 100,000 book lovers http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/printersrowlitfest/

• American Library Association Annual Conference June 23-28, 2011, New Orleans, LA, some 2,000 seminars and events plus a huge trade show. http://www.alaannual.org/

• International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) July 10-13, 2011, Atlanta, GA http://www.christianretailshow.com/

• Harlem Book Festival, July 23, 2011, West 135th Street, NYC http://www.qbr.com/

• The Atlanta Black Book Expo, August 6, 2011 at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, GA. http://www.abbexpo.com 

•  Decatur Book Festival, Sept. 2-5, 2011, Decatur, GA, largest independent book festival in the country. Since its launch, more than 600 authors and 190,000 attendees have attended this event in downtown Decatur. http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/Community/index.php

• Fall For the Book Festival, Sept. 18-23, 2011, George Mason University's Fairfax Campus, Fairfax, VA., sponsored by George Mason University, Fairfax County Public Library and Barnes & Noble. Attended by more than 150 authors. http://www.fallforthebook.org

• Baltimore Book Festival, Sept. 23-25, 2011, attracts more than 100 authors. http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/

• Sonoma County Book Festival, September 24, 2011, Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa, CA. attended by thousands of book lovers. http://www.socobookfest.org

• West Hollywood Book Fair, October 1, 2011, at West Hollywood Park, more than 180 exhibitors expected. http://www.westhollywoodbookfair.org

• Frankfurt Book Fair, October 12-16, 2011 in Frankfort, Germany. Considered the biggest book show in the world. http://www.book-fair.com/

• Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word October 14-16, 2011, War Memorial Plaza, Nashville, TN, attracts more than 200 authors from throughout the U.S. http://www.humanitiestennessee.org/festival/current.php

• Self-Publishing Book Expo, October 22, 2011 in NYC. Over 500 Participants. http://www.selfpubbookexpo.com/ 

• Texas Book Fair, October 22-23, 2011, State Capitol Building, Austin, TX, established in 1995 by First     Lady Laura Bush, a former librarian, more than 45,000 attend. www.texasbookfestival.org/ 

Kentucky Book Fair, Saturday, November 12, 2011, Frankfort Convention Center, attended by up to 5,000 people including 150 authors http://kybookfair.org/

• Miami Book Fair International, November 13-20, 2011 held in Miami. www.miamibookfair. Miami Book Fair International, November 13-20, 2011 held in Miami. http://www.miamibookfair.com/ 

• Vegas Valley Book Festival. Usually held in the fall in Las Vegas. http://vegasvalleybookfestival.org/

5 Things I Learned From The Smurfs

Do you remember watching the small blue cartoon creatures every Saturday morning? If you do, then you remember the Smurfs are a group of dynamic adventurous characters. They are all the same (except for Smurfette who technically isn't a Smurf); they are small, three crab apple's tall, bald, wearing pants, puffy hats and no shirts; they generally look alike. Yet, they are different; Lazy, Greedy, Vanity, Clumsy, Dreamy and Brainy; to name a few. It's the same for characters when writing. Readers must be able to identify with the sameness, yet intrigued and interested in the distinctive characteristics.

When you watch the Smurfs, you knew which character you were watching. Lazy was always falling asleep, his eyes half closed, yawning, dragging a pillow or knocked out somewhere, anywhere, catching some zzz's. You couldn't mistake Dreamy Smurf for Vanity Smurf, who was primping, looking in a mirror, spritzing on some fragrance, with that unmistakable flower in his hat. Or how about Papa Smurf, with his red hat, red pants and white beard? How did the writers let us know which Smurf was which out of ninety-nine Smurfs? It was a combination of things.

When reading a novel, readers should know who is speaking and who is in action. I know I personally hate to backtrack to see if I've missed something, because I don't recognize the character in the scene. When readers have to backtrack, it slows down the momentum of the story and the writer has just committed a writing sin. Never make them want to stop, and never, ever make a reader go backwards.

So here are a few writing lessons I've learned from the Smurfs.


1. Be authentic

Sleepy would never spend his day primping himself, he wouldn't have time to sleep. So when your character is doing something...anything, remember to keep them authentic to who they initially are. Don't change it up so drastically that the readers don't recognize the core of the character.


2. Be distinctive

Yeah, the Smurf village had 99 Smurfs which was favorable to a variation of storylines, but for the most part people generally only remember a handful of Smurfs. Why, because the few that most remember had distinctive traits that no other Smurf had. They each stood out.


3. Don't be ordinary

Do you remember ordinary people? I generally don't. Can't remember their names, faces or anything specific about them. Ordinary people can be boring. And most people read to escape the reality of ordinary life. I don't want to read about someone just like me. Maybe similar to me; for better or for worse, but not just like me. Not to say that every individual doesn't have something special or unique about them, but readers don't know that if you don't tell them.


4. Novels need secondary characters

I don't know how much fun it would've been to watch the Smurfs if Papa Smurf was the only character in the cartoon Saturday after Saturday. Papa Smurf was the leader of his village, but it's not so interesting watching a leader with no followers. Or take Smurfette, my favorite Smurf character. Oh how I loved her flirty ways, but it wouldn't be much fun to watch if she had know one to bat her lashes at.


5. Every story needs a villain

Stories are more interesting when they have at least one opposition. The Smurfs just wanted to live in their forest, happily eating all the smurfberries their hearts desired. But they couldn't be carefree because they had an opposition to their plan named Gargamel. He was not the brightest villain, but he had tenacity. I knew as a kid that every time Gargamel caught a Smurf, it would escape by the end of the show. But I also knew that next week, Gargamel was sure to make his best attempt at catching another one. Part of me disliked Gargamel, but a small part felt pity for him. He just couldn't catch a break; he had rotten teeth, his cottage was raggedy, he had to wear a tattered black dress every episode and he had a cat named Azrael who was just as clueless as he was at catching Smurfs. But the show was more interesting, memorable and distinctive because of him.

Did you learn anything from the Smurfs or another cartoon that helped you in your writing journey?

Free Books For Kindle

It's free time. I have a new list of free books for Kindle ready for you.

As always, please come back and let us know if you read any of the books on the list. Other readers love to hear reviews.

Disclaimer: The books listed were free at the time of posting. Please check and make sure the offer is still available before downloading. I have not read most if any of the books on the list.



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"Divine" by Karen Kingsbury
(Christian Fiction)




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"Hide in Plain Sight" by Marta Perry
(Religious Fiction)




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"The After Party" by Wynter Daniels
(Erotic Fiction)




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"Heart of the Sea: Other Bonus Stories" by Christine Warren
(Mainstream Fiction)




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"Ghostly Awakening" by Lacey Savage
(Erotic Fiction)

Thirsty Thursdays

This has been a quick week. Seems like I blinked and it was Thursday again. Means I must be busy and having fun. I am thrilled to see another Thursday because that means it's Thirsty Thursday! I came across a couple of good looking new releases. Check them out and let me know if you plan to read any of them.


Happy Thursday!

Release date and product details are given by the publisher or distributor.


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"Midnight and the Meaning of Love" by Sister Souljah

Release Date: April 11, 2011

Product Details:

Sister Souljah, the New York Times bestselling author of The Coldest Winter Ever and Midnight, delivers her most compelling and enlightening story yet. With Midnight and The Meaning of Love, Souljah brings to her millions of fans an adventure about young, deep love, the ways in which people across the world express their love, and the lengths that they will go to have it.

Powerful and sensual, Midnight is an intelligent, fierce fighter and Ninjutsu-trained ninja warrior. He attracts attention wherever he goes but remains unmoved by it and focuses on protecting his mother and sister and regaining his family’s fortunes. When Midnight, a devout Muslim, takes sixteen-year-old Akemi from Japan as his wife, they look forward to building a life together, but their tumultuous teenage marriage is interrupted when Akemi is kidnapped and taken back to Japan by her own father, even though the marriage was consummated and well underway.
 
“There’s not one drop of inferiority in my blood,” Midnight says as he first secures his mother, Umma, and sister, Naja, before setting off on a global journey to reclaim his wife. Midnight must travel across three countries and numerous cultures in his attempt to defeat his opponent. Along this magnificent journey he meets people who change him forever, even as he changes them. He encounters temptations he never would have imagined and takes risks that many a lesser man would say no to, all for the women he loves and is sworn to protect.


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"In Zanesville" by Jo Ann Beard

Release Date: April 25, 2011

Publisher Weekly Details:

Thirteen years after Beard's acclaimed essay collection, Boys of My Youth, she brings readers this smashing coming-of-age story. It's the 1970s and the novel's unnamed 14-year-old narrator is beginning high school after a summer spent in close company with her best friend, Felicia, as the two babysit an unruly set of six kids—the novel opens with one of the kids setting their house on fire. With freshman year comes realizations that many adolescent girls have faced, some overwhelming, some slight, but all spot-on: marching band is for dorks, boys are confusing, and even the tightest of friendships can fracture when popularity is at stake. Underlying this teenager's turmoil are problems in the grown-up world, such as her father's alcoholism, her mother's abiding unhappiness, and the death of a friend's mother—all things she tries to ignore, but which occasionally boil to the surface. Beard is a faultless chronicler of the young and hopeful; readers couldn't ask for a better guide for a trip through the wilds of adolescence.

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"Justify My Thug" by Wahida Clark

Release Date: April 26, 2011

Product Details:

Justify My Thug continues the scintillating drama of Wahida Clark’s bestselling Thug series. Following the action of Thug Lovin’, the story rejoins the saga’s favorite couple, Tasha and Trae, as they try to overcome their troubles and make their marriage work. Meanwhile, Jaz is facing drama of her own. In the torrid world of sex, drugs, and crime, Wahida Clark continues her definitive Hip-Hop soap opera that fans have come to love.

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"Summer and the City" by Candace Bushnell

Release Date: April 26, 2011

Product Details:

Summer is a magical time in New York City and Carrie is in love with all of it—the crazy characters in her neighborhood, the vintage-clothing boutiques, the wild parties, and the glamorous man who has swept her off her feet. Best of all, she's finally in a real writing class, taking her first steps toward fulfilling her dream.

 
This sequel to The Carrie Diaries brings surprising revelations as Carrie learns to navigate her way around the Big Apple, going from being a country "sparrow"—as Samantha Jones dubs her— to the person she always wanted to be. But as it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile her past with her future, Carrie realizes that making it in New York is much more complicated than she ever imagined.

With her signature wit and sparkling humor, Candace Bushnell reveals the irresistible story of how Carrie met Samantha and Miranda, and what turned a small-town girl into one of New York City's most unforgettable icons, Carrie Bradshaw.


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"22 Britannia Road" by Amanda Hodgkinson

Release Date: April 28, 2011

Product Details:

Housekeeper or housewife?" the soldier asks Silvana as she and eight- year-old Aurek board the ship that will take them from Poland to England at the end of World War II. There her husband, Janusz, is already waiting for them at the little house at 22 Britannia Road. But the war has changed them all so utterly that they'll barely recognize one another when they are reunited. "Survivor," she answers.

Silvana and Aurek spent the war hiding in the forests of Poland. Wild, almost feral Aurek doesn't know how to tie his own shoes or sleep in a bed. Janusz is an Englishman now-determined to forget Poland, forget his own ghosts from the way, and begin a new life as a proper English family. But for Silvana, who cannot escape the painful memory of a shattering wartime act, forgetting is not a possibility.

One of the most searing debuts to come along in years, 22 Britannia Road is the wrenching chronicle of how these damaged people try to become, once again, a true family. An unforgettable novel that cries out for discussion, it is a powerful story of primal maternal love, overcoming hardship, and, ultimately, acceptance-one that will pierce your heart.

J.K. Rowling Interview: Motivation, Determination

When I need a little inspiration or motivation on my literary journey, I listen to other writers and authors describe their journey to becoming successful. And when I think of success in the writing industry, J.K. Rowling always comes to mind. So here is a video of J.K. Rowling being interviewed by Meredith Veira on Dateline.

Hope it inspires you to keep reaching for your dreams.

Free Book Giveaway Winner is....

The lovely Lineofserenity. She made the most posts within our contest week. She will get to choose from one of the books on the following list. (click here)

Thank you for being an avid reader on this blog. I look forward to reading your comments and your presence is a great blessing. Thank you again. Please let me know which book you prefer.

Blessings

Where Are They Now?

I was perusing the bookshelf in my home and came across a few books that I enjoyed in the past and it dawned on me that I hadn't seen any new work from the authors in awhile. So it got me to thinking, "where are they now?"

Some of the authors I began to wonder about are listed below. If you have any information on when they'll be releasing any new material, please do share. In the meantime, I'll see what I can dig up.

Are there any authors that have you guessing as to when they'll publish something new?

Delores Phillips

Sheneska Jackson

                                       


Andrea Smith

                                       


Edward P. Jones

                                     


Alice McDermott

                                       



Lolita Files