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The Story Behind Baby for the Beast by Penelope Bloom

By Penelope Bloom

Baby for the Beast was not an easy book to write and I broke my biggest rule when writing it.

I have a general rule for myself when I'm writing to avoid looking back and re-reading until I'm done with the book. It prevents me from endlessly re-writing scenes over and over again because I didn't think they turned out perfectly, and it's probably one of the reasons I'm able to get a book written every month. I've found that ninety percent of the time, when I do my re-reads, the parts I thought were terrible actually read really well and don't need major tweaks.

But I broke my own rule. I re-read the book when I was 60 pages in and everything was going fine until about page 30. I don't want to spoil anything, but if you read the blurb you'll know the book is about Enzo, who is part of the mafia and gets ordered to kidnap Neela. My original plan for the book was to have the relationship dynamic be sexually charged, but for the characters to have a very love-hate kind of relationship. And that's where the problem came in.

I don't always get to decide how my characters will interact, as strange as that sounds. I might plan to have them not get along or to get along, and sometimes it really does feel like they gain weight as the book goes on--like they become something I can no longer bully and push into a specific direction. It's a good problem to have, because it means that my characters have an identity and they live and breathe like real people, to me, at least.

And my stupid living and breathing characters decided to have off-the-charts chemistry in this book. So when I tried to force them into a kind of "I hate you for now" scenario where Enzo was trying to stay true to his mafia family loyalties and go through with the kidnapping, it rang really false as I did my re-read.

So even though I was running out of time to get the book finished by my deadline and definitely didn't have time to write an extra 30 pages, I kind of impulsively deleted those 30 pages. I started it over and let the characters lead the book instead of forcing it down the path I wanted. In the end, I think the result was worth the extra hours and weekend nights I had to work to get it finished.

I hope you'll decide to give it a read. I promise you won't be disappointed!! Also, if you've enjoyed some of my feature posts for newinbooks, I have been writing similar posts on my website for a few weeks now and will continue to add more. You can find them at www.penelope-bloom.com. Thanks!

Penelope

Penelope Bloom is the author of the new book Baby for the Beast.

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Interview with J. Z. N. McCauley, author of The Oathing Stone

What can you tell us about your new release, The Oathing Stone?

The Oathing Stone is the second release in The Rituals Trilogy. Set in modern-day Ireland, an Irish-American woman blessed with fire magic bestowed by a sacred oak tree, marries the love of her life who just happens to be from the time of the ancient Druids. When her magic becomes faulty, and a strange string of events come into play, her world unravels, and she must once again fight for the ones she loves to escape the clutches of a civil war. A battle that spilled out from deep within the Faerie realm.

What's the last book you read?

Wizard of The Grove (Omnibus: Child of the Grove / The Last Wizard) by Tanya Huff. Highly recommend to every high fantasy reader.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

My lifetime love of stories and art, from my earliest memories, have always driven me to embrace books. I've always wanted to create my own stories since my imagination has consistently been my most active ability. Along the way, every story or artwork I've enjoyed added to my inspiration to continue to create in various ways but mainly as an author.

What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?

I would have to say Narnia is that magical world in literature for me. Specifically, the peaceful time just after the White Witch was defeated, and I would love to dine with the ruling children at Cair Paravel. (Hopefully, meet Aslan!)

What's your favorite thing about writing?

I LOVE creating worlds and telling all that my imagination holds. In my mind's eye, I see the stories unfold almost like a film, and they are so exciting to me that I absolutely must write them down.

What is a typical day like for you?

On top of writing and art, I'm also a mother of toddlers and wife of a husband who works and goes to school. So my typical day is always jam-packed. Family life during the day, then writing and art at night fueled by tea and coffee to keep me going.

What scene in The Oathing Stone was your favorite to write?

There is a faerie battle scene that was so much fun to describe because it consisted of Irish mythological creatures every which way on the battlefield and I could really let loose my main character to use her magic without holding back.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I have several of those that I repeatedly use off and on, but there is one that is pretty consistent because it helps me remember to believe in myself. "She believed she could, so she did." So simple, yet so impactful.

J. Z. N. McCauley is the author of the new book The Oathing Stone.

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Books To Read If You Like Melinda Leigh

Melinda Leigh is an Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of popular thriller and suspense novels including the buzzy Morgan Dane and The Midnight Series. Her first novel, She Can Run, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She has also been a RITA award finalist and earned three Daphne du Maurier Award nominations, Two Silver Falchion Awards, and two Golden Leaf Awards. Search for clues and solve the case with these exciting new books to read if you like Melinda Leigh!

Books To Read If You Like Melinda Leigh

Sick Girl

Rachel Hargrove

Release Date: March 15, 2018

Aubrey is fed up with her boyfriend Tom, a married man with two kids. He's constantly shoving their affair on the back burner and canceling their dates, so Aubrey concocts a desperate plan to have Tom forever... kill his wife and take her place. Befriending his wife comes easily to Aubrey. But as they get closer, the more doubts she starts to have. Then a shocking discovery changes everything.

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The General Theory of a Haunting

Richard Easter

Release Date: December 24, 2017

Every haunting has a design... In the winter of 1809, Lord Francis Merryman's wife is dying. In the madness of his grief, he is desperate eep Patience's memory alive. As the plans to build a memorial progress, Marryman Hall starts to come alive with more than just memories. This brilliant mathematician and scholar has built more into the walls than just bricks and mortar.

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Trespassing

Brandi Reeds

Release Date: April 1, 2018

Veronica Cavanaugh is losing her grasp on the world. When the latest round of fertility treatments fail, she is left on the edge and unbalanced. To make things worse her three-year-old daughter Elizabella has a new devilish imaginary friend and her husband has failed to return home from a business trip. What was left of her stability is now starting to crumble.

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The Broken Girls

Simone St. James

Release Date: March 20, 2018

Idlewild Hall is a place for the girls whom no one wants. They are the troublemakers, the illegitimate and the ones who are too smart for their own good. In the small town where it is located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four of the roommates bond over their fears and friendships blossom... until one of them disappears.

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Silent Victim

Caroline Mitchell

Release Date: March 1, 2018

Emma is a devoted wife and loving mother. She is also a killer... She has been hiding the dead body of a teacher who seduced her as a teen. Her secret might have stayed buried if her husband hadn't got a promotion. Now they need to move to a bigger home and Emma must destroy the evidence. Except when she goes to the shallow grave in the garden the body is gone.

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Duel to the Death

J.A. Jance

Release Date: March 1, 2018

When Stuart Ramey takes down the man responsible for his best friend's death, he thinks the case is finally resolved. But Stu soon finds himself with a multimillion-dollar fortune in Bitcoin thanks to a desperate bid by Frigg, a rogue A.I. program created by the killer. To sort the situation out, Stu enlists the help of Ali Reynolds and the cybersecurity crew at High Noon Enterprises.

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Interview with Rachel Hargrove, author of Sick Girl

What can you tell us about your new release, Sick Girl?

Sick Girl is a psychological thriller told in dual point of views. The first explores a young woman's desperate attempt to win the man she loves by killing his wife, Melissa. The second point of view follows Melissa, who has no idea of her husband’s affair or the plot to kill her. There are many twists, turns, and surprises.

What’s the last book you read?

The Perfect Roommate by Minka Kent. Another great psychological thriller.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I’ve always written fiction as a hobby. For so many years, traditional publishing houses were the gatekeepers to a career in writing books. Getting a deal, let alone an agent, seemed like a fantasy until Amazon’s kindle-publishing platform. I dove in headfirst, quit my job, and never looked back.

What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?

Harry Potter!

What's a typical day like for you?

I roll out of bed between 9-10am, make myself breakfast, and chat with my author friends before starting work. I like bouncing from café to café to write my books. At lunch, I take a break to exercise. I end the day pretty late, around 8pm. I’m a workaholic.

BAM. You're a superhero. What's your superpower?

I could do with Jessica Jones’ superhuman strength!

What scene in Sick Girl was your favorite to write?

I can’t describe it, because it’ll spoil too much. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s near the end. 🙂

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Be as you wish to seem.

Rachel Hargrove is the author of the new book Sick Girl.

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Author Website
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Interview with Tia Louise, author of Hit Girl

What can you tell us about your new release, Hit Girl?

Hit Girl is a thrilling, stand-alone romance. (You don't have to read any other books before reading it.) It's a revenge story, but it's also a love story. The main character is on a mission to avenge her past. She's made a list of the men who hurt her, and she's hunting them down one by one... so that's exciting! At the same time, she's in love with a guy who knows nothing about what she does... so that introduces some complications when he finds out.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I've always written, and I started out working in journalism. I guess Stephenie Meyer inspired me to put my fears aside and attempt to be a novelist. (I think she inspired a lot of us!)

What's on your top 5 list for best books you've ever read?

ooo... this is HARD! I'll stick to the indie romance genre to narrow it down. Some of my FAVEs are The Book of Moses (Amy Harmon), Archer's Voice (Mia Sheridan), The Pawn (Skye Warren), Truth (Aleatha Romig), and My Heart for Yours (Steph Campbell & Jolene Perry)

Who is your favorite couple from literature?

Hmm... Romeo & Juliet. I know, but seriously, they started it all.

What's a typical day like for you?

I start checking emails, then I move to FB messages, then I check on the business and marketing side of things, I check in with my reader group (Tia's Books, Babes & Mermaids), then once I've taken care of all the "business," I write... and around all of that I take care of my two daughters and my husband. It's wild... lol!

BAM. You're a superhero. What's your superpower?

FLYING... I've always wanted to fly.

What scene in Hit Girl was your favorite to write?

I love Chapter 8. It explains how she became who she is... but I also love a scene at the end of Chapter 20. It's an homage to one of my all-time favorite movies... #nospoilers

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

"Just keep swimming." The entertainment business goes up and down, and you just have to keep your head down, stay out of the drama, and keep putting out your best work possible.

Tia Louise is the author of the new book Hit Girl.

Connect with Tia:
Author Website
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Books To Read If You Like Corinne Michaels

Corinne Michaels is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of contemporary romance novels. Some of her recent popular releases include One Last Time, We Own Tonight and The Salvation Series. If you are a fan of sexy contemporary romance novels that deliver on both the heat and the feels, we think you'll love these books to read if you like Corinne Michaels!

Books To Read If You Like Corinne Michaels

Baby for the Beast

Penelope Bloom

Release Date: March 15, 2018

It was meant to be just one blind date. I did it to get my sister and friend off my back. They say I need a man in my life and I'm letting my best years slip by. But I'm perfectly happy with my life and being on my own... Then that blind date turned my life upside down. I only gave him one night, a few hours of recklessness. The scary part is I am starting to like the person I am with him.

Buy on Amazon

Hit Girl

Tia Louise

Release Date: March 19, 2018

My finest trick was convincing you I had forgotten. Names on a list. Faces in a crowd... one little girl. He told me I should let it go and get over it. But I can't do that. I want them to pay. Every last one of them.

Buy on Amazon

Fake Out

Eden Finley

Release Date: March 15, 2018

When the pressure to marry my childhood sweetheart became too much, I lied and told her I was gay and fled to New York. Five years have now passed and after one drunken encounter, I found myself invited to her wedding. Now I have to bring my boyfriend... the one who doesn't exist because I'm straight. So I bribe a guy to be my pretend boyfriend for the weekend, but when I meet Damon I start to question everything about myself.

Buy on Amazon

Hidden Seams

Alessandra Torre

Release Date: January 16, 2018

I have sold my soul and my reputation. I worked for a decade lying and smiling for the cameras for this fortune. Then she pops up. The mysterious heir with a rap sheet and combat boots. It doesn't matter though. I've played this game for a long time. I can continue the charade and keep my hands to myself and her body out of my mind. I can keep a secret until everything is mine. Or maybe not.

Buy on Amazon

Escort

Skye Warren

Release Date: March 18, 2018

As an escort, this date is purely a mutually enjoyable transaction. For someone as jaded as me, there usually aren't any surprises. But then I walked into the penthouse suite of L'Etoile and everything changed. Bea is heart-stoppingly gorgeous... and a virgin. This shouldn't be a problem. I can spend a few hours tutoring her and at the end of the night a small fortune is deposited in my bank account. But then I realized one night with her wasn't enough.

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Craft

Adriana Locke

Release Date: March 12, 2018

Lance Gibson drives Maria Malarkey absolutely crazy. He uses her office like a phone booth and takes the cupcakes from her desk like she baked them just for him... it was purely a coincidence that she knew the history teacher loved peanut butter icing. But Mariah has a way of getting under his skin too. She calls him out on his crap and seeing the librarian in a skirt drives him wild. These two don't hate each other but they also don't really like each other. But this friends-to-lovers story needs to start somewhere.

Buy on Amazon

Interview with John I. Rigoli & Diane Cummings, authors of The Mystery of Julia Episcopa

What can you tell us about your new release, The Mystery of Julia Episcopa?

Diane: The vision for this story belongs to John.

John: As a youngster growing up in the Church, even at a young age, I felt that there was something missing amidst the pomp and ceremony I was accustomed to every Sunday. When I got older, Church rules began to weigh on me, and I began a lifelong study of the earliest Christians in order to seek out, as many of us do, the truth about Jesus’s teachings. The largest Church mistruth, to me, is its stance on women, denying women, half of its membership, a decisive voice. I decided I wanted to tackle that subject.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

Diane: Actually, John inspired me. I had been working as a freelance editor and ghostwriter for a number of years with not a thought of writing my own manuscript. When he asked me to partner with him in creating this story, it didn’t take much to convince me to do it. The project interested me and, besides, sounded like a lot of fun. It has been.

John: As a student of historical and biblical archaeology, I wanted to create stories that would challenge the status quo of our thinking about the ancient world and the modern church – I am fascinated how what happened in ancient world resonates through to the modern age.

What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?

Diane: Louise Penny’s Three Pines.

John: The ancient Roman world of The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas.

You're hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

Diane: Shakespeare, Susan Howatch, and Sue Grafton

John: Lloyd C. Douglas, James Michener, and Jane Austen

What's your favorite thing about writing?

Diane: Editing. When I’m editing, I get to decide what I want to flesh out and what I want to scrap, what characters and scenes I want to give more or less attention to. For me, it’s in the editing that the picture is formed and the details emerge.

John: My imagination gets to run wild, and I don’t have to leave home.

What's a typical day like for you?

Diane: It starts with an orange, a bit of yoga if I’m in the mood, and a latte. Then after tidying up, I’m into my office where I review my work from the previous day and make corrections, additions, and deletions. After settling that, I’m on to writing new material and go at it for about five to six hours. If I find myself in a plot hole, John and I talk it through by phone, imagining different scenarios. Before long, the right one always shows up.

John: I like to put on easy listening instrumentals and start in the morning. Whether researching or sketching out scenes, I work in three to four hour stretches.

What scene in The Mystery of Julia Episcopa was your favorite to write?

Diane: John created our Giuseppe character. I liked conceiving the dialogue between him and Anna-Marie. Also, though, I got a kick out of writing the last chapter because I didn’t know how this book would end until I got there.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Diane: To live this moment fully. And to be kind, always.

John: To bring a smile to others and give more than I receive.

John I. Rigoli and Diane Cummings are the authors of the new book The Mystery of Julia Episcopa.

Connect with John and Diane:
John's Author Page
Diane's Author Page

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Interview with Eden Finley, author of Fake Out

What can you tell us about your new release, Fake Out?

It’s a very light-hearted story about a guy who lies to his girlfriend in high school to break up with her. He tells her he’s gay and then moves to New York for college. Five years later, he’s roped into taking his “boyfriend” to her wedding. He enlists the help of his best friend’s brother to cover up the fact he’s straight. After a weekend back home with his fake boyfriend, he realizes he might not be as straight as he thinks.

What's on your top 5 list for the best books you've ever read?

All of these are books I’ve read over and over again:
Him by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen
Good Boy by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen
Hotter Than Ever by Elle Kennedy (total girl crush on Elle going on)
Royally Screwed by Emma Chase
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (going back to my Young Adult roots for that one)

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

Elle Kennedy – my favorite romance author
Suzanne Collins – without her, I wouldn’t have a writing career
Kimberly Readnour – my writing bestie from Illinois who I’m yet to meet in person.

What's your favorite thing about writing?

The actual writing part where I get lost in my own little world. On days where the words flow and I’m in the zone, it feels like I actually accomplish something. Editing and revising is a long process and doesn’t feel productive even though it is.

What is a typical day like for you?

I live an extremely adventurous life full of school drop offs, juice boxes, and homework. But once the kidlet is at school, I write from the moment I get home to the moment I pick him up. Okay, and sometimes … or all the time, I fall into the land of Facebook and get distracted from writing. But most of the time, I’m writing or working on something.

If you had to pick one place to vacation for the rest of your life, where would you choose?

Cabin in the woods. And by cabin, I mean luxury bungalow with full amenities and internet access.

What scene in Fake Out was your favorite to write?

There’s so many scenes I love, but my favorites were probably the hardest to write. The scene that was easiest was where Maddox and Damon are on the couch watching TV and Damon tries to steal the remote. And any scene with banter flows easy for me. I have to think hard when writing emotional stuff, but the quick wit falls out of me—even when I’m trying to have a serious moment. It’s a real problem.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

I’ve always lived by a C.S. Lewis quote: You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. This is probably why I’ve been a waitress, a childcare worker, a zoologist (although this was very similar to working with kids), a courier driver, and now an author.

Eden Finley is the author of the new book Fake Out.

Connect with Eden:
Author Website
Twitter

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New Mystery and Thriller Books to Read | March 20

Hold on to the edge of your seat as we hunt for clues and solve the case with these exciting new mystery and thriller books for the week. Rachel Hargrove has a gripping new psychological thriller called Sick Girl you won't want to miss. There's also exhilarating new novels from Elizabeth George, J.A. Jance, Steve Berry, and many more! Enjoy your new mystery and thriller books and happy reading!

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New Romance Books to Read | March 20

Have you finished all your latest love stories on your reading list? We have some good news for you thanks to all the new romance books releasing this week! There are so many sexy new release novels from bestselling authors like Adriana Locke, Penelope Bloom, Alessandra Torre, Tia Louise, Eden Finley, and more! We hope you adore these new romance books. Happy reading!

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