Author Tip from Cara Tanamachi + News ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­
twitter

instagram

img

NEWS


VIGILANTE JUSTICE by Jacquelin Thomas made Woman’s World’s Book Club January 8th–January 13th: 7 Reads You Won’t Be Able to Put Down list.

THE GETAWAY LIST by Emma Lord was listed on Amazon’s Best Young Adult Books of the Month.

Mae Marvel’s EVERYONE I KISSED SINCE YOU GOT FAMOUS, Emma Lord’s THE BREAK-UP PACT, and Cara Tanamachi’s THE TAKEOVER made Goodreads’ most anticipated romance for 2024 list.

LUCKY LEAP DAY by Ann Marie Walker appeared on Book Riot’s “6 Books to Get You Started on the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge” list.

DUNGEONS AND DRAMA by Kristy Boyce made the Indie Bestsellers List.

A COWBOY KIND OF THING by Reese Ryan, HEATED RIVALRY and TIME TO SHINE by Rachel Reid, and DIAMOND RING by KD Casey were included on Harlequin’s biggest romance books of 2024 list.

TENDER BEASTS by Liselle Sambury and THE GETAWAY LIST by Emma Lord made The Nerd Daily’s Most Anticipated 2024 Book Releases list.

Amazon’s Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense - New and continuing series for January list included DEADLY TO THE CORE by Joyce Tremel.

Mae Marvel’s EVERYONE I KISSED SINCE YOU GOT FAMOUS and Kelley Armstrong’s FINDING MR. WRITE made Library Journal’s prepub alert list. EVERYONE I KISSED SINCE YOU GOT FAMOUS was also selected as a top ten spring title in romance by Publishers Weekly.

The 2024 Witchcraft and Occult Media Awards finalists included EVERYDAY WITCH'S COVEN by Deborah Blake in the Outstanding Author of the Year category.

AUTHOR TIP OF THE MONTH

Cara Tanamachi lives near Chicago with her husband and five children. Raised near Dallas, Texas by her Japanese-American dad and her English-Scottish-American mom, she was the oldest of two children. She's published many novels under the name Cara Lockwood, and her latest novel is THE TAKEOVER..

The-Takeover-A-Novel-0

When Falling in Love is the Worst

I’ve written thirty-five plus romance novels, and while they all deal with different characters and different tropes, there’s one thread that runs through them all. For the main characters, love comes into their lives at the worst possible time.

Love is wonderful and love is grand, but in a romance novel, it’s literally the worst thing that can happen to your characters. Why? Perhaps they’re enemies at work, and falling in love would mean losing a promotion—or a job. Or, maybe he’s the best friend of her overprotective older brother and falling in love means risking his wrath. Or maybe they’re just two old friends who don’t want to risk love because it could ruin their perfectly good friendship. Or they hate each other and they’re just faking being in a relationship anyway to make their exes jealous and there’s no room for real love because they agreed ahead of time it would 100% be fake.  

Love is NOT something the characters really even want, and more than that, love can mean making sacrifices or having conflict. Love is not met with open arms and enthusiasm, but it comes on in any way and makes itself at home, because love is the most powerful force in the universe, and it does what it wants. THAT is the key to any good romance novel that whatever your characters’ situation, falling love is the worst thing for them. And then it happens. And there’s your love story!

RECENT DEALS

- Terri Lynne-Defino's DIDN'T YOU USED TO BE QUEENIE B, in which a down-on-his luck young chef lands a job in a soup kitchen, unknowingly alongside a once-famous culinary icon who's been hiding in New Haven for the last decade, to Rachel Kahan at William Morrow in an exclusive submission for publication in spring 2025, by Elaine Spencer

- Chloe Neill's EMBER ETERNAL, the first book in a new romantasy series, following a thief whose dramatic encounter with an assassin and a crown bodyguard (who just happens to be a royal in disguise) launches her into a world of swirling palace intrigue, to Jessica Wade at Ace, in a two-book deal for publication in spring 2025, by Lucienne Diver

- Author HEMLOCK ISLAND Kelley Armstrong's PAYNES HOLLOW, about a woman forced to stay a week at the lakefront property where she saw her father bury the child he was accused of murdering, never expecting that the demons she had come to face might be real, to Michael Homler at St. Martin's in a good two-book deal, by Lucienne Diver

- Stephanie Hope's RELATIVELY SPEAKING, a humorous and heartfelt sapphic romance debut pitched as having telenovela vibes, about an immigrant daughter struggling to keep her family's business afloat, the wedding of the season that might change everything for the better, and the childhood rival-turned-ally who could become so much more, to Errin Toma at Carina Adores, for publication in 2025, by Kristy Hunter

- Ann Aguirre's TALL, DARK AND ALIEN, where a lover of all things alien meets up with her online friends at Space Con, never expecting that one of them would be an actual alien in disguise or that an out-of-this-world affair is in the cards, to Christa Desir at Sourcebooks Casablanca in a two-book deal, by Lucienne Diver

- R. Lee Fryar's fairy-tale rom-com duology, pitched as Shrek for the romance reader, in which warring good and wicked witches try to one-up each other in magic and snark, only for their misfiring charms to place all of happily-ever-after in grave danger, to Mary Altman at Sourcebooks Casablanca in a two-book deal, by Lucienne Diver

- Keith R.A. DeCandido's book one in the Supernatural Crimes Unit series, about a division of the NYPD that investigates crimes involving magic and monsters, to John Harlacher at Weird Tales Presents in a nice deal, by Lucienne Diver


NEW RELEASES

The Getaway List: A Novel

THE GETAWAY LIST by Emma Lord

AMAZON - B&N - BOOKSHOP

The day of her high school graduation, Riley realizes two things: One, that she has spent the last four years trying so hard to be a Good Kid for her mom that she has no idea who she really is anymore, and two, she has no idea what she wants because of it. The solution? Pack her bags and move to New York for the summer, where her childhood best friend Tom and co-creator of The Getaway List — a list of all the adventures they’ve wanted to do together since he moved away — will hopefully help her get in touch with her old adventurous self, and pave the road to a new future.

The Takeover: A Novel

THE TAKEOVER by Cara Tanamachi

AMAZON - B&N - BOOKSHOP

Sometimes, when you ask the universe for your soulmate, you wind up with your hate mate instead.

On Nami's 30th birthday, she’s reminded at every turn that her life isn’t what she planned. She’s always excelled at everything – until now. Her fiancé blew up their engagement. Her pride and joy, the tech company she helped to found, is about to lose funding. And her sister, Sora, is getting married to the man of her dreams, Jack, and instead of being happy for her, as she knows she ought to be, she’s fighting off jealousy.

Deadly to the Core (Cider House Mysteries)

DEADLY TO THE CORE by Joyce Tremel

AMAZON - B&N - BOOKSHOP

Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Julie Anne Lindsey, when Kate Mulligan inherits her great uncle’s fruit orchard, she quickly realizes that apples aren’t the only thing that can have rotten cores.

After losing her husband in a terrible car crash, thirty-five-year-old Kate is left to pick up the pieces of her life alone. Although she has physically recovered, she worries her spirit never will. But when she learns that she has inherited a fruit orchard in a small town just outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from her great uncle Stan, she takes this as an opportunity ripe for the picking. Kate knew immediately what to do with it: open a cider house. Her hopeful plans fall far from the tree when she finds the body of the orchard manager, Carl Randolph, leaving her to figure out who is at the core of this murder.

Lucky Bounce

LUCKY BOUNCE by Cait Nary

AMAZON - B&N

A single dad pro hockey player falls for his biggest fan—who just happens to be his five-year-old daughter’s teacher—in this fun, flirty romantic comedy from Cait Nary

Ezekiel Boehm is no stranger to teaching kids with famous parents. But when the pro hockey player he’s been thirsting after walks into the Rittenhouse Friends School gym hand in hand with a tiny kindergartener, he figures he must be hallucinating. Spencer McLeod is a lot of things—Zeke’s favorite winger on the Philadelphia Liberty; a menace on the ice; a mumbling, reluctant but somehow captivating-as-hell postgame interview—but he’s not a dad. Except he is. Apparently.

A Valentine's Day Return: An Uplifting Inspirational Romance (Sunset Ridge Book 2)

A VALENTINE'S DAY RETURN by Brenda Minton

AMAZON - B&N - BOOKSHOP

They thought love was in their past…

But could it be their future?

After completing rehab, Mark Rivers returns to his hometown to make amends with his ex-wife, Kylie, and their daughter. But he doesn’t expect to stick around beyond seeking her forgiveness. So when helping Kylie run her coffee shop after a health crisis draws them closer together, Mark is forced to decide—a career in Nashville or a second chance with the family he thought he’d lost forever…

Resonance Surge (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 7)

RESONANCE SURGE by Nalini Singh
(paperback)

AMAZON - B&N - BOOKSHOP

StoneWater bears Pavel and Yakov Stepyrev have been a unit since birth, but now Pavel’s life is veering in a new direction, his heart held in the hands of Arwen Mercant, a Psy empath—and the only man who has ever brought Pavel to his knees.

This is it. A point of irrevocable change. For Pavel . . . for Arwen . . . for Yakov . . . and for another pair of twins whose bond has a far darker history.

Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story: A Novel

VARINA PALLADINO’S JERSEY ITALIAN LOVE STORY by Terri-Lynne DeFino
(paperback)

AMAZON - B&N 

An utterly delightful and surprising family drama—think Moonstruck and My Big Fat Greek Wedding set in New Jersey—about a boisterous, complicated Italian family determined to help their widowed mother find a new boyfriend. 

Lively widow Varina Paladino has lived in the same house in Wyldale, New Jersey, her entire life. The town might be slightly stuck in the 1960s, when small businesses thrived and most residents were Italian, but its population is getting younger and the Paladinos are embracing the change. What Varina’s not embracing, much to her ninety-two-year-old mother’s dismay, is dating. Running Paladino’s Italian Specialties grocery, caring for her mother, and keeping her large, loud Jersey Italian family from killing one another takes up all of Varina’s energy anyway.

Dungeons and Drama

DUNGEONS AND DRAMA by Kristy Boyce

AMAZON - B&N - BOOKSHOP

UNSUBSCRIBE