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It’s a Wonderful Wife
Anna Valleria
(Lords Fall First, #3)
Publication date: October 27th 2026
Genres: Adult, Historical, Holiday, Romance
He wished he had never met her… until he saw the world without her.
James Reed, Lord St. George, the Baron of a struggling estate, has spent years in London avoiding the responsibilities of his title and the wife he married for her dowry. Mariah Reed, the daughter of an Irish linen mogul, has spent those same years saving the family estate, supporting the nearby mill town, and secretly nursing dreams of becoming a playwright.
When James returns to Bailey Hall with a secret plan to save his childhood home by pressuring Mariah’s father to lower worker wages, he finds a woman far more passionate and capable than the shy bride he left behind. After a drunken confrontation leads to the destruction of Mariah’s community project and her dreams, James is met by a mysterious figure who shows him what a charmed life he had.
Through a harrowing vision of a world where Mariah never entered his life, James witnesses the ruin of his brother and the total desolation of his town. Faced with the reality of his own selfishness, James must embark on a path of redemption to prove to Mariah, and himself, that he is worthy of the life she built for them.
Return to the Victorian world of the Lords Fall First series in this emotional, second-chance holiday romance!
—
EXCERPT:
He spent five years ignoring their arranged marriage until a brush with death made him realize she’s the only thing that matters. Too bad she isn’t interested in his apologies.
“Mariah,” he began purposefully, “something happened, I—” How could he explain what had happened without sounding like a madman? She would likely have him sent to Bedlam if he attempted to explain his revelations. “I don’t know how to say this to a person such as you.”
“A person such as m-me?” While her tone had previously leaned toward emotionlessness, he recognized his error as her body became rigid.
Double damn, he had only meant he did not know how to apologize to a woman, but he had well and truly put his foot in it.
“I’m sorry.” Was all he found he could say. “For the assembly hall, for Barrymore. Bloody hell, for everything. For spending your father’s hard-earned money on anything besides saving the estate. I’ve been…beyond selfish since we wed, it’s only taken me losing almost everything to see it.”
She stayed in the same position before him, her uneven breath the only indication she was at all affected by his words. For a moment, something softened in her eyes before that chilling emptiness returned.
“Very w-well. I accept your apology.”
“Mariah, you can’t—” he began before her words registered. “You do?” A previously unknown joy shot off within his chest. “Mariah, I don’t deserve you, thank heavens. I was thinking, perhaps… Perhaps we could start again, you and I—”
“James,” she said sharply. “I said that I f-forgive you, but I would still like for you to go to London.”
“My lord,” she continued, “I b-believe that we should carry on as we had before. Live s-separate lives.”
“But why should we when we have this?” He let out a low growl, closing the distance between them before ensnaring her waist in his firm embrace, hoisting her closer to his heat. His gaze descended to her pillowy lips, lingering for a heartbeat to offer her the chance to utter a denial.
When no denial came, he claimed her mouth with his own. She tasted of tea and fresh mint, a scent uniquely hers that he had relished upon many occasions, yet never before had their coupling kindled such a profound sense of exhilaration within him. Embracing her now sparked a previously unknown ecstasy as he finally acknowledged the truth of his own heart.
“How can we live apart when we have this?” he rasped, reluctantly pulling his lips from hers.
Her dilated eyes refocused, and she shoved his hands off of her and turned, wrapping her dressing gown around herself more tightly. “Just because I forgive you does not mean I trust you. Or wish to have a real marriage with you.”
“Mariah… I think I could love you. I’m…I’m falling in love with you.”
Mariah stared at him as something pulsed in those midnight blue eyes. Then, as if a curtain had been drawn, they went blank.
“You d-don’t know me, James. Not really.”
Author Bio:
Anna Valleria is an award-winning historical romance author who believes that everyone deserves to see themselves on the page. Her mission is to write steamy Regency and Victorian stories featuring socially active heroines and devoted heroes that reflect windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for all readers, including characters of different sizes, backgrounds, abilities, and neurodiversities. Her novel The Baron Takes a Wife was the 2025 winner of the Hearts Through History Romance Through the Ages Contest in the published Georgian/Victorian category.
Currently residing in a beautiful, historic city in the southeastern U.S. with her family and a rescue pup. If she's not writing, she's likely in a coffee shop, walking with her son or dog, or trivia with her team, Stone Cold Jane Austen.
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—
The Shadowless
R.J. Garcia
(At the Corner of Eden and Darkness, #1)
Publication date: November 26th 2025
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Modern Faerie Tale Meets Murder
Mae Dawson returns to her family’s cabin in a mysterious forest to search for her missing sister. One night, she goes to sleep in her bed only to awaken in the depths of the woods surrounded by eerie and indiscernible voices that lead her to her sister’s grave.
A year has passed. Mae has pieced her life back together. She has a supportive boyfriend and is completing her first semester in college. However, everything begins to unravel when strange late-night calls come from the beyond, and a malevolent force begins to invade her friends.
Adding to her unease is the presence of a mysterious stranger, Brandon Sills, who seems to lurk in the shadows, watching her every move. Despite the warning bells ringing in her mind, Mae feels an inexplicable attraction to him.
As mortal and magical forces conspire against them, Mae must trust Brandon to uncover the secrets of the fae. Secrets that will change her life forever, if she even survives.
The Spellbound
R.J. Garcia
(At the Corner of Eden and Darkness, #2)
Publication date: December 2nd 2026
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Magic Meets Mayhem
Back in Willows End, Mae and Brandon find themselves in the thick of things after kidnapping her ex. As they attempt to banish a changeling, Mae begins to question her sanity, and the threat of a serial killer draws ever closer.
Even sleep offers no reprieve. Mae can no longer find Emmie in the Garden—her dreams of wonder have become nightmares. Before long, she discovers her sister is lost in Limbo.
One night, Mae is alone in the cabin when she hears someone breaking in. Her only hope is her possessed ex—chained in the spare room. Mae is forced to choose the lesser of two evils. Once Mae makes her choice, the changeling assumes human form, an ancient prophecy stirs, and nothing is as it seems.
Haunted by fear and doubt, Mae clings to her love for Brandon, the last sure thing in her life, and her greatest hope of saving her sister. But are things really as certain as they seem?
—
SNEAK PEEK QUOTES:
The Shadowless:
“I pulled myself out of a dream and glared with a pirate eye at my buzzing phone. Then I caught sight of Emmie’s name flashing on the screen. There would be nothing unusual about it except, of course, it’s the middle of the night and my sister’s dead.”
The Spellbound:
“It was more than the way his blue eyes twinkled, and how his mouth moved like honey. It was more than him being handsome, kind, and magical. It was the feeling I had, a connection I can’t quite explain.”
—
Author Bio:
R.J. Garcia is a wife, and proud mom of two smart kids. She earned her MSW and worked with foster children and as a school social worker. Writing has been her other great love. She has been writing short stories for as long as she can remember. To her amazement, those short stories became novels!
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—
When a beautiful day suddenly turns deadly Murphy finds himself in the middle of a perilous mystery and up against the dangerous criminal, the Black-Eyed Man and his gang.
Compelled to discover the truth and expose the criminals, Murphy leads his cousin Katrina on a risky adventure through the rain slicked streets of Juneau and Douglas and into the labyrinth of tunnels and shafts inside the abandoned and sealed Alaska Juneau gold mine.
What starts as curiosity soon becomes a dangerous struggle for survival and freedom as Murphy and Katrina face a new menace at every turn. Will Katrina’s special skills and a squad of unlikely allies be enough to tip the scale in their favor, or can nothing save them this time.
Find the answers in the pages of Murphy and the Mystery of the Outlaw Gold Mine the second book in the Alaska Williwaw Mystery series.
Book Details:
Genre: YA/Middle-Grade Mystery
Published by: Fathom Publishing
Publication Date: September 20, 2026
Number of Pages: 270
ISBN: 978-1-954896949
Series: Alaska Williwaw Mystery Series, Book 2
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads
Murphy recoiled in horror as the creature landed on his neck. He screamed when it flopped onto his face and omitted a high-pitched squeal next to his ear.
Frantically swatting the darkness in his panic, he twisted and lurched to get away, but his body was wedged in place. He dropped his phone and covered his face with one hand, flailing in the darkness with the other. To his relief, he was able to knock the beast off his head. He breathed heavily. He could hear his assailant flopping and scuffling nearby and he feared another attack. His body shivered involuntarily.
It’s just a bat . . . calm down, breathe.
Inhaling deeply, he counted to three as he drew air into his lungs, then he slowly exhaled to the count of three and repeated it. It was a technique Coach Troutman taught him in Junior wrestling class. It helped calm his panic when he was caught in a tight hold.
He wasn’t afraid of bats per se, but alone in the dark in a tight space was a whole other thing.
What if it’s a vampire bat? They don’t live in Alaska. But what if?
Tentatively running his hands over the ground in search of his phone, he still was not completely convinced the bat didn’t want to suck his blood.
Where’s my phone? Did the light go off? I hope I didn’t drop it down the . . .
At that moment the bat flapped its wings. Murphy shrunk away as a leathery appendage brushed his cheek. He listened as it gained flight. The sound grew fainter and he realized the bat had flown straight down into the chasm.
He gazed after it and noticed a faint glow of light. Pushing closer to the edge he peered over the rim. What he saw gave him hope. His cell phone was sitting upside down on a small ledge about an arm’s length away.
He dug the toes of his boots into the hard-packed earth and inched closer. Juniper branches dug into his back as protruding rocks pushed into his ribs. He stretched toward his phone. His fingers clutched at the air a few inches from it. With his free hand, he blindly searched for something to hold onto. His finger found a thick branch of the Juniper bush and he grasped it tightly.
He shoved with his feet and pulled with one hand, holding tightly to the juniper with his other. His body gained a few inches of progress so he tried for his phone again. His fingers touched it, but he couldn’t grasp it. He pushed and strained with all his might, only needing another inch.
Suddenly his brain registered a loud cracking sound, like you hear when a limb is torn from a tree. Murphy’s body suddenly jolted forward.
“No!”
The juniper branch tore loose in his hand. His body lurched again, his shoulders hung over the chasm. He was slowly slipping over the edge and there didn’t seem to be anything he could do to stop it.
His hands desperately sought purchase on the smooth rock at the top of the opening. His fingers worked feverishly at every small bump and crack, but they couldn’t find a safe purchase.
Gravity steadily pulled his body into the black void while he tried desperately to dig his toes into the hard earth.
Abruptly, he fell headfirst into the abyss. For a brief moment his boots hooked the rim but immediately slipped off. He plummeted into the unknown.
“Nooooooooooooo . . . ”
* * *
An hour earlier, Murphy and Katrina had stepped from the Mount Roberts tram at its terminus nearly two thousand feet above the historic streets of Juneau, Alaska’s capital city. With the sun high in a cloudless sky it was a rare and perfect day to launch the season.
It was fast becoming a tradition for the locals to take advantage of the first week of tram operation before the multitude of cruise ship visitors overwhelmed the tiny city and the tram itself. Many came to hike the trails, some came to photograph the spectacular scenery and wildlife, others came only to admire the astounding panorama and to enjoy a picnic lunch.
Hogan pulled hard at his leash. Murphy leaned back to slow him down but was forced into a slow jog to keep up.
“Slow down, Hoge, we just got here. We have all day.”
Hogan wanted to sniff everywhere at once. His pushed-up black nose worked feverishly as his bulging eyes darted in every direction and his white feet pranced impatiently.
Murphy pulled on the leash and raised his voice. “Hogan, calm down.”
At the mention of his name, Hogan wagged his stubby tail and circled back to lick Murphy’s hand.
“Do you smell the flowers?” Katrina called as she began skipping to keep up.
“Yeah, it’s awesome up here in the spring and the tram is always cool anytime. A bit scary, but worth it.”
“It is a pretty good adrenalin rush for six minutes. I always imagine the floor dropping away.” She adjusted her round-lensed, red-tinted sunglasses and smiled.
Murphy gulped. “Great, thanks for that thought, we still have to go down.” He had managed to slow Hogan down to a walk. They walked side by side for a moment, neither talking until he said, “I like it.”
“Like what?”
“Your hair.”
“Oh, okay, um, thanks.”
“What do you call it?”
“What?”
“The color.”
“Indigo.” Katrina’s hair was tied high in a single ponytail that seemed to erupt from the top of her head. The sun glinted off the luxurious deep blue color.
Modern Pebbles chic.
Murphy smirked.
“Can I ask you something?”
She was silent for an uncomfortable pause. “I guess.”
He smiled before asking, “Where did you find neon green hiking boots to match your neon green leggings, or was it the other way around?” He snickered and stepped away quickly.
“At least I don’t order my clothes from Outdoor Nerds are Us.”
“Mean.” He couldn’t help looking down at his tan cargo shorts, plain brown hiking boots, and navy T-shirt.
She smiled and batted her eye lashes.
He grimaced.
I should have known better.
Changing the subject, Katrina said, “Sorry your mom has the flu and couldn’t come. It was nice of her to send us anyway, but I am feeling a bit guilty. Maybe we should have stayed home and helped her out.”
Murphy was surprised it made him happy that she had referred to his home as her home. She stayed with them so often people thought they were siblings. The two of them found it easier to say they were cousins. It was basically true as their fathers were lifelong friends and the families were extremely close.
“My dad’s coming in this afternoon,” he told her. “He said he will nurse her back to health.”
“Your dad sure travels a lot.”
“What about your dad? He’s out crabbing all season.”
“Not the same, but I guess.” She stopped skipping.
Murphy glanced at her and noticed a distant look in her eyes.
They made their way to an observation deck close to the tram’s terminal. From there Murphy could see his home across Gastineau Channel in Douglas, Alaska. He could see most of Douglas Island and the snowy tops of the Chilkat Mountains in the distance to the west. They enjoyed the vast and beautiful scenery in silent reverie. Even Hogan seemed taken with the amazing vista. He sat quietly beside Murphy. The pink tip of his tongue protruded from his mouth and wiggled slightly as he breathed.
They eventually tore themselves away from the spectacular view and began walking. They passed a gaggle of first graders coming down the path. They were all holding onto a rope and were led by a harried Mrs. Harper. Murphy knew she was new to the Grade School, and this may have been her first field trip. Mr. Able, Murphy’s friend Mikey’s dad, was at the tail end of the rope. Daisey, Mikey’s little sister, was second from the end. As they passed Murphy waved at Daisey and smiled at Mr. Able who rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders. Mr. Able was a building inspector during the day and he coached a men’s boxing club after work. From his gestures, it was apparent he’d met his match with a half dozen six-year-olds.
They passed the gift shop, the theater, and the bar and grill. The tram had delivered them approximately halfway up the nearly four-thousand-foot-high mountain.
They stopped to read the large sign mapping the hiking trail routes. Mount Roberts has a number of trails from easy to difficult. They chose a moderate three-mile trek that would take them through spruce forests, boulder-strewn alpine pastures, moss-covered rock glaciers and ending at a small glacier-fed lake in a picturesque mountain valley. They would wind their way back by a different route, one that followed the bubbly brook that drained from the lake.
After choosing their route, they set out. Strolling leisurely they following the wide gravel pathway through an alpine meadow. Small streams and waterfalls dotted the landscape. Murphy had a permanent smile plastered on his face.
Hogan stopped suddenly, woofed and stood erect. “What is it, boy?” Murphy reached down and scratched his ears.
A blur of red fur exploded across the trail a few feet in front of them. Hogan bolted, jerking Murphy from his feet and ripping the leash from his grasp. Murphy landed on his shoulder and his face at the side of the path but immediately sprang to his feet and brushed himself off. His cheeks exploded with a red bloom in his anger and embarrassment. He glanced about frantically and was just in time to see Hogan’s bouncing rear end and stubby tail disappear around a tall rock outcropping in the middle of a nearby meadow.
“Hogan, come.” Murphy called but Hogan didn’t come. Murphy repeated his command again and again but there was no Hogan.
“Wow.” Katrina appeared to be in awe and somewhat amused by the madcap spectacle she had just witnessed. She repeated herself. “Wow!”
As Murphy inspected a small cut on his knee, she plucked a chunk of fuzzy green moss from his hair.
He glanced at her and said, “Don’t start.”
“I know not of what you speak, oh graceful one.” She smiled demurely and took a step back.
“Very funny,” he sneered. “Just help me find the jerk.”
“I thought he always did what he was told,” she questioned. “Like, come when he’s called.”
“He usually does, but maybe he can’t hear me. Wait here. I’ll go get him.”
He didn’t look back and began jogging toward the stone obelisk where he had last seen Hogan’s white rear end disappear from sight.
He ran across a grassy meadow strewn with boulders and crumbling spires of decaying rock. At first, he tried not to step on the wildflowers, but there were too many and he cringed as he trampled through a patch of mountain crocus. The meadows were covered in a vibrant blanket that represented a kaleidoscope of color.
Murphy rounded the outcropping where Hogan had disappeared and was immediately confused. Stretched before him was a small sloping valley covered in nothing but moss-covered rocks and a vibrant carpet of flowers. There was absolutely nothing for a dog of Hogan’s size to hide behind.
“Hogan! Come, boy! Come now.” He called repeatedly but still there was no response. Murphy wandered the tiny valley calling Hogan’s name. Eventually he retraced his steps and arrived back at the last place he had seen his dog.
Murphy examined the craggy monolith. It was three times the size of his dad’s big SUV and twice as high as the monkey bars at school. The surface was cracked and porous, but he didn’t see any caves or fissures big enough for a full-grown Boxer to enter. As he circled it, he ran his hands along its surface as though searching for a hidden door. Low Mountain Juniper bushes grew along the base of the north side. He lay down on his stomach and peered under the lowest branches. There he saw an overhang and a space big enough for a fox or a dog. Far back under the shelf, he saw a black hole in the ground.
Could this be the fox’s den? Did Hogan follow it down there?
He peeled off his backpack, set it against the rock and squeezed his head and shoulders under the pungent branches. He inched toward the dark opening. It was a tight fit and he inched forward, struggling as the low branches dug into his back and tugged at his T-shirt. Grabbing the base of the bush he pulled while pushing with the toes of his boots. Slowly he neared the hole in the ground.
Repeatedly calling for Hogan he eventually got close to the darkened void. It was a struggle to retrieve his phone from his back pocket and turn on the light, but when he did, he was faced with a steep-sided deep opening about the size of a bicycle tire.
No way a fox went down there. How would it get out?
There was another recess on the other side of the hole. It was a wide crack in the rock that immediately turned a corner that he couldn’t see around, but he spotted a small tuft of reddish fur caught in a tiny crevasse where the opening disappeared around the corner. Both openings were small, but he realized Hogan could have fit in either.
Did he follow the fox? Did he fall?
“Hogan!”
He yelled into the breach. Then he yelled into the cavity across from him. He held his breath and listened. Nothing.
***
Excerpt from Murphy and the Mystery of the Outlaw Gold Mine by Bradford D. Smith. Copyright 2026 by Bradford D. Smith. Reproduced with permission from Bradford D. Smith. All rights reserved.
Bradford D. Smith grew up as an only child amongst a household of Huskies and Malamutes. At times, he thought they were his siblings. From the age of two, he lived in Atlin, British Columbia, a historic gold mining town nestled deep in the wilderness just south of the Yukon Border and connected to Alaska by the Juneau ice field. Brad grew up without radio or television in a time before video machines and home computers were common. Books and reading were important entertainment and in the dark, subzero winter months, they became paramount to the sound mental survival of many. Brad's mom read to him before he was born and throughout his childhood. This instilled an intense curiosity deep within him and an insatiable appetite to satisfy it. Brad read everything he could find and at a young age, he was reading books his mother enjoyed about arctic explorers, prospectors, trappers and first nations people. His latest book, a young adult mystery, Murphy and the Mystery of the Black Skull, was shaped by his own fascination with the mystery genre as a young adult. Updated to fit today's times, he leans heavily on the style of writing he himself enjoyed as a young teen. This book is sprinkled with real world places and the author's love of history is quickly exposed in this fast-paced adventure. Brad has lived and worked in many places across Alaska over the years including Juneau. He still works in Arctic Alaska seasonally and lives with his wife in central BC, Canada with their pack of dogs.
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1879
When Eloise James's sister, Evania, goes missing after being admitted to an asylum, Eloise is determined to find her sibling but instead discovers evidence of dying patients and missing remains. Wannabe journalist Silas Dobbs has his own suspicions that something more nefarious is at work, and that black market sales may originate at the asylum. Together, they are intent on learning whether Evania is alive, or if her body has also been stolen. But unraveling a web of underground resurrectionists proves daunting, and the dead cannot share their secrets.
Present Day
Tilly Thompson is horrified to find historical human remains entombed in a wall of the Gothic mansion her grandfather just purchased, launching her into an investigation of the original owners' questionable past. The James family legacy harbors a darkness tightly woven through decades of secrets, but the past refuses to remain ensnared by silence. Will revealing the truth resurrect dangers best kept buried forever?
Jaime Jo Wright masterfully weaves a dual-timeline gothic suspense novel that brings together a haunting historical tale and a shadowy modern-day mystery. For fans of atmospheric thrillers, spooky reads, the Victorian era, creepy mansions, and dark family secrets.
Book Details:
Genre: Gothic Fiction; Christian Mystery & Suspense
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: October 27, 2026
Number of Pages: 336 Pbk
ISBN: 9780764246258 (ISBN10: 0764246259)
Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Baker Book House
Jaime Jo Wright is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than eighteen novels and three novellas, including Christy Award-winner and ECPA bestseller The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill, Christy Award-winner Night Falls on Predicament Avenue, and Carol Award-winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and fabulous felines.
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Alene Baron is already juggling frustrated employees, closed schools, and a beggar who harasses customers outside her café. Then two dead bodies are discovered in the charred remains of buildings owned by the husband of her pastry chef, Ruthie Rosin. The mystery deepens when both victims are found wearing jackets stamped with the name, “Rosin,” and crumbled in the pockets are the Whipped & Sipped café’s distinctive wrappers. As if that weren’t enough, Alene's uncle, a convicted felon who vanished 22 years ago, suddenly appears in Chicago. With suspicion and chaos mounting, it’s all too much for the owner of the Whipped & Sipped Café.
"Peopled with tons of quirky characters and loaded with family drama, Charred is so much more than the average cozy culinary mystery."
~ Donna Thompson
"The Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series is a delectable treat."
~ Julie Ditton
"Gottlieb packs a lot into this third book Charred... murder, arson, identity theft, gambling, kidnapping, destruction of property, tax evasion, uncovering a hidden basement under the cafe with tins with treasures in them, family drama, secrets, the pandemic, trying to stay healthy, learning how to live a new life in semi-quarantine...."
~ Missi Martin (Stockwell)
Charred "had just enough flavor to make it delicious, and just enough mystery to keep me guessing the whole way through!"
~ Bettybee306
"This series is right up my alley, and if you love cozy mysteries with a little romance and baked goods, it will be right up your alley, too! ... This is a five-star book in a very neat little package!"
~ Suzie Mumba
Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Published by: Anamcara Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2026
Number of Pages: 260 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9781960462824 (ISBN10: 1960462822)
Series: A Whipped & Sipped Mystery, Book 3
Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Anamcara Press
 BatteredAmazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Anamcara Press |
 SmotheredAmazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Anamcara Press |
It was warming up inside the car. Alene searched for Kacey and Kofi through the car window and the construction fence, but there was a jungle of trees and bushes lining the sidewalk. The post-fire building site was probably soggy and disgusting. If only she’d thought of bringing an old blanket to protect the back seat from burnt wood.
Kacey startled Alene by opening the passenger door and jumping back in. “He doesn’t need my help,” Kacey said as she used her shirt to clean her glasses. “We were looking for a way to get into the site and my glasses got too smudged for me to see. I’ll stay in here with you.”
Kofi had probably circled the tall fence surrounding piles of wet, muddy, and burned wood, trying to get inside. Moments later, they heard an owl hoot, and Kacey whispered it was Kofi letting them know that he’d gotten past the fence. What if tromping through the remains of the fire exposed Kofi to toxic materials? He wore gloves and a mask, but it wasn’t an N95 with protection against particulates. If paper masks didn’t protect against airborne particulates, how could they protect against a cunning virus?
The sun had risen, but a scrim of humidity diffused the light. Alene thought she saw Kofi alternating between moving and crouching. She figured he was trying to be invisible. He was lanky, his legs bulging with muscles from years of riding his bicycle for miles through and around the city. They both lost sight of him for about ten minutes, but suddenly he rushed back to the car and jumped into the back seat. He hadn’t taken a single piece of wood. “How was it?” Kacey asked.
Alene heard Kofi’s jagged breathing and turned around to watch him pull off his gloves and hat. “It was, um, weird and chilly,” he said, haltingly. “And there wasn’t anything I could use.” His focus was sideways, out the window, and he seemed tense. Alene turned away, imagining one of Frank’s police friends driving by and stopping to ask what she was doing. They drove home in silence and trudged to the elevators. Kofi, usually cheerful after an expedition to find materials, was unreadable and oddly stone-faced as he thanked Alene for the ride. Kacey mouthed her thanks as she unlocked her door, and Alene held her hand to her ear in a sign for Kacey to call later.
Alene unlocked her own door, wondering why Kofi hadn’t found even one usable piece of wood. Before she could take off her jacket, her phone rang.
“Kofi wants you to promise not to tell Frank about this morning,” Kacey said in a whisper. It seemed unnecessary; it wasn’t as if Kofi had started the fire, and Frank was a homicide detective, not a cop on the lookout for arsonists.
“I can’t promise that. We tell each other everything,” said Alene, “But there’s nothing to tell, because Kofi came up empty.”
“He’s worried that someone saw us there and the police will get him for trespassing,” said Kacey. Alene could hear her sniffling.
Alene had already frittered away forty-five minutes driving them over there and waiting for Kofi to hunt for wood. “Come on, Kacey,” she said. “We didn’t see anyone, and no one saw us.”
“But are you going to tell Frank that we were there?” Kacey asked.
“Kacey, Frank would never do anything to hurt me or the people I love.” Being with Kacey had always required patience. “And I’m driving the getaway car, so if we were committing a crime, I’d be just as guilty.”
Kacey said, “I hope you’re right.” She sounded more than a little paranoid.
***
Excerpt from Charred by GP Gottlieb. Copyright 2026 by GP Gottlieb. Reproduced with permission from GP Gottlieb. All rights reserved.
G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped & Sipped Mysteries (Battered, Smothered, and Charred, Anamcara Press). She is on the board of Sisters in Crime Chicagoland and a member of SinC Colorado, MWA, and Blackbird Writers. As host of New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, she has interviewed over 280 authors.
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Beneath the Burning Sky
Ruby Valladares
(The Ashfall Trilogy, #1)
Publication date: October 6th 2026
Genres: Adult, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance
He never wanted a wife. But marrying her is the only way to keep his little sister alive.
Five years after the world ended, David has one job: keep Grace alive.
Food is rationed. The water is contaminated. Marauders roam beyond the fences. And the Drange is turning ordinary people into violent, purple-veined monsters.
When a deadly infection breaches their refugee camp, the rumored Sanctuary may be her only chance of survival.
There’s just one problem: Passage is reserved for families.
So David makes an impossible choice: he marries his nemesis.
She doesn’t trust him. He doesn’t trust her. Their marriage is supposed to be nothing more than a means of survival.
But once they leave the fences of Camp Orange, surviving each other becomes the least of their problems.
Because the wasteland is hungry.
Beneath the Burning Sky is a post-apocalyptic dystopian novel blending survival horror, a deadly outbreak, infected humans, forced marriage, reluctant allies, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance.
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EXCERPT:
So this is what the end of the world looks like.
The thought ran through David’s mind as he trudged along next to his father and sister, bumping shoulders with hundreds of other desperate survivors who had escaped the wrath of Yellowstone.
Just fourteen days ago.
His dad had driven them hundreds of miles before the gas stations ran out of fuel.
It hadn’t been far enough.
They’d been walking ever since.
They’d crossed into Kentucky two days ago, but it didn’t look any different than Wyoming. Any different than Missouri four days before that.
The fingers of devastation reached here as well. The volcanic eruption had come out of nowhere, shattering the land and blanketing everything in gray.
Ash rained down from the sky, a silent, relentless shroud that smothered everything in its suffocating grip. The smell of sulfur and smoke lingered in the air, a constant reminder of the chaos and destruction that had been unleashed upon the world.
David opened his bag and pulled out a granola bar. Three days ago the group had run into a military unit handing out bags of food, urging them to keep going.
“We’re setting up camps in the south,” they’d said. “We’ll have shelter, food, everything you need until we can get back on our feet.”
David counted the bars he had left. Five. That was it.
He dropped the bar back into his bag.
His feet dragged through the ash like freshly fallen snow, leaving deep imprints behind. The horizon was filled with ruins of buildings and broken trees, the sky a gloomy mix of gray and red as the sun attempted to peek through.
East. Go east. And then south. Get to Georgia, Alabama, Florida.
That’s what everyone around him said. Like somewhere magical and untouched by the eruption existed if they just went far enough.
His home, his entire life, had been taken from him in an instant.
His mom.
Don’t think about what you’ve lost.
Fabric stained with soot and sweat covered his mouth. He trudged on, his mind numb and his body achingly tired.
Thirteen days of walking.
Author Bio:
Ruby Valladares writes adult speculative fiction filled with catastrophic disasters, impossible choices, complicated relationships, and ordinary people discovering just how far they’ll go to survive.
Her worlds are dark. Her characters are messier. And hope—when it comes—has to be fought for.
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Bottled Up Chemistry
Christi Snow & Sarah Nego
(Naked Brews, #1)
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
A reformed conman and a sarcastic beauty both want the same mountain brewery.
He’s holding lies and she’s barely holding it together.
What could possibly go wrong?Lake always had a plan. Finish college, move back to Colorado, and run Naked Brews with her dad. Her plan went down the drain when her dad died and left the brewery she called home to her absent maternal figure. Now Lake will have to convince her impossible-to-please mother to sell her the brewery, sweet talk the bank into a loan she can’t afford, and turn her dad’s small town dream into a thriving business.
Walsh thought the plan was simple. Pretend to be his millionaire best friend, buy a failing brewery, and honor their fallen military brother. But simple went down the drain the minute he met the sassy and beautiful brewery manager who clocked him as enemy #1. Now he’s stuck between his growing attraction to the loud-mouth sarcasm factory and knowing he’ll break her heart when he takes her brewery.
Bottled Up Chemistry is a small town romance with found family and moderate spice.
This book was previously published as Deliciously Smooth by KB Jacobs (a pseudonym used by Sarah Nego and Christi Snow).
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EXCERPT:
Lake
“There you are.” Melissa ran up to me as I wrenched the door open. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Well, I’ve been everywhere. The bar was a mess, Hops on Top is almost out, and Barb is late.”
Melissa fluttered her hands in front of her in the most Melissa-like movement possible. “I have something I need to talk to you about. It’s really important.”
“Can you talk and walk?” I hefted the kegs on to the dolly and tilted it onto the wheels to head back to the bar.
Melissa trotted after me, wringing her hands like she was trying to kill a chicken. “This is really important. Did I say that?” She stayed hot on my heels as I wheeled back through the brewery and toward the bar. “We should go to the office. Actually, maybe pour a beer first and then come to the office.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I eased the dolly down and pulled out my phone. Five minutes until the open sign flashed on unless I wanted a mob of local guys beating down my door.
“This had better be Barb.” I pulled up my text messages, and sure enough, Barb had sent a quick note saying she was running late. “No shit, Sherlock.”
I shoved the phone back into my pocket and angled the dolly back up again.
“Really, Lake. We need to talk.”
“Really, Melissa. This is not the time.” I pushed through into the beer cooler. “Barb is late, so now I’ve got to run the bar and the food until she gets here. I’ve got a keg about to blow, and I still haven’t hooked up the new on-tap offering. “
“I know, I know.” Melissa stood to the side while I offloaded the back-up kegs. “It’s just, this really can’t wait.”
“Is the bar on fire?” I sniffed, inhaling nothing but the scent of burnt french fries and hops. “Nope, didn’t think so.”
Outside, the first rumbling diesel engine pulled into the parking lot. There wasn’t enough time to take the dolly back, which meant I’d have Harlan bitching at me in an hour. I hauled ass back through the kitchen. The fryers were hot and ready, but I had no idea if any of the food I’d need today was prepped or even here. I mentally added kitchen inventory to my to-do list.
Melissa tailed me as I marched into the front of the pub. The lights needed to come on, and I’d just have to pray that Barb would be there soon.
“Lake, I just need a few minutes. This really can’t wait.”
I flipped the light switch that powered the neon tube sign in the window, alerting all of Aspenridge the best beer in Colorado was now available, served cold and fresh. “Dammit, Melissa. I love you, but can’t you see I’m trying and failing to do the job of three people right now? What is so frickin’ important that it just can’t wait one more second?”
Melissa squared her shoulders and looked me dead in the eye. “You don’t own the brewery.”
Author Bio:
As an avid reader her entire life, Christi Snow always dreamed of writing books that brought to others the kind of joy she felt when she read. But...she never did anything about it besides jot down a few ideas and sparse scenes.
When her husband retired from the Air Force, Christi decided it was time to chase her dream and she started writing. She hasn’t stopped since. With twenty-two published books in various romance genres, she’s found her passion. Now she spends her days with her laptop writing about sexy, alpha heroes and the loves of their lives.
Writing, Christi has fulfilled her dream... filling the world with more romance and suspense.
Her tagline is... Passion and adventure on the road to Happily Ever After. She loves this adventure and has truly found her tribe!
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