Author Tip from Ari Baran + News ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­
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NEWS


The New York Times Book Review included Cat Sebastian’s WE COULD BE SO GOOD in their “9 New Books We Recommend This Week” list.

STAR TREK ORIGINAL SERIES: HARM’S WAY by David Mack and WORLD OF WARCRAFT: SYLVANAS by Christie Golden are Scribe Award Nominees for Speculative Fiction.

THE CITY WE BECAME by N.K. Jemisin made the Philadelphia Inquirer’s list of “6 books to read this summer, according to Philly librarians.”

Het weeshuis in de azuurblauwe zee (THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA) by TJ Klune won first place in the Netherlands’ top 10 translated titles for Rainbow Book of the Year (best LGBTQ+ book of the year).

CODENAME CHARMING by Lucy Parker made Library Reads' Top Ten for August 2023 list.

SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING by Kelley Armstrong received a starred review from School Library Journal.

Manhattan Book Review gave THE ONLY PURPLE HOUSE IN TOWN by Ann Aguirre a great review.

Midtown and 5 West magazines included Reese Ryan in a profile of North Carolina authors.

AUTHOR TIP OF THE MONTH

Born just outside of Philadelphia, Ari Baren moved into the city for school and never looked back. In their day job, they are a lawyer.  GAME MISCONDUCT is the first book in the Penalty Box series.

Game-Misconduct-Penalty-Box-Book-1-0

The main tip I have to keep in mind when writing sports romance especially is balance.

Most importantly, the balance of sports content vs. romance content. Here, I try to structure the plot around the season, and string along the high and lows of the romance beats along with the season itself: the climax lines up really nicely with the season's end.

Another thing that's important to keep in mind is to write in a way that explains some of the more esoteric details to someone who's not familiar with the topic. Explaining too much sounds awkward and condescending, but explaining too little can leave people lost. I try to resolve this by dropping any sport-specific terms in context or in dialogue, where it's hopefully clear from what's going on in the rest of the scene what the term means.

As long as you've got some kind of a logical foundation for it, you can get away with any number of crazy plots (including a romance where the main characters are only ever in the same room four or five times during the year). Again—all about balance.

NEW RELEASES

Resonance Surge (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 7)

RESONANCE SURGE by Nalini Singh

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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.

A low-Gradient Psy, Theodora Marshall is considered worthless by everyone but her violently powerful twin, Pax. She is the sole person he trusts in their venomous family to investigate a hidden and terrible part of their family history—an unregistered rehabilitation Center established by their grandfather.

Wildwood Magic

WILDWOOD MAGIC by Willa Reece

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Here be witches and wayward girls…

In a town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, Rachel Smith has found a new life tending a lush apple orchard. She’s safe within its grove. If her dreams are haunted by memories of her violent husband, that pain is soothed by fresh mountain air and apples that taste as sweet as honey.

But Rachel wasn’t meant to live in the shadows. The orchard drew her to Morgan’s Gap to fulfill a purpose, and a tight-knit community of wisewomen who honor the old mountain traditions are ready to teach her. A world of magic awaits Rachel, one filled with new friendships and possibly new love.

La Vie, According to Rose: A Novel

LA VIE, ACCORDING TO ROSE by Lauren Parvizi

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A heartfelt novel about self-discovery, grief, and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to start over.

Rose Zadeh pleases everyone, except herself. Memories of her late Iranian-immigrant father, who valued hard work and family, keep Rose in a dead-end job as a Silicon Valley copywriter, and tethered to her guilt-trippy mom and needy sisters. As much as it would disappoint her father, Rose needs an escape. Voilà! A mandated vacation gives her the chance. Three weeks on a long-dreamed-of trip to the City of Light.

Instead of landing in a Parisian fairy tale, Rose falls under the spell of a charming and possibly dangerous expat and encounters an old family friend keeping a surprising secret. With the aid of a French self-help guru, Rose really believes she’s blossoming. Until an unwelcome reminder of home proves that finding herself will require more than a change of scenery.

The Only Purple House in Town

THE ONLY PURPLE HOUSE IN TOWN by Ann Aguirre

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Iris Collins is the messy one in her family. The "chaos bunny." Her sisters are all wildly successful, while she can't balance her budget for a single month. It's no wonder she's in debt to her roommates. When she unexpectedly inherits a house from her great aunt, her plan to turn it into a B&B fails—as most of her plans do. She winds up renting rooms like a Victorian spinster, collecting other lost souls...and not all of them are "human."

Eli Reese grew up as the nerdy outcast in school, but he got rich designing apps. Now he's successful by any standards. But he's never had the same luck in finding a real community or people who understand him. Over the years, he's never forgotten his first crush, so when he spots her at a café, he takes it as a sign. Except then he gets sucked into the Iris-verse and somehow ends up renting one of her B&B rooms. As the days pass, Eli grows enchanted by the misfit boarders staying in the house…and even more so by Iris. Could Eli have finally found a person and a place to call "home"?

Bellegarde

BELLEGARDE by Jamie Lilac

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Evie Clement has perfected the art of avoiding attention as she works at her family’s bakery and dreams of a life where she can trade dusting flour for designing dresses. Her focus is on honing her sewing skills—she doesn’t need to be fawned over by some teenage boy.

Least of all Beau Bellegarde—the playboy of Paris, the second son of the ultra-wealthy Bellegarde family, the most popular guy in their prestigious high school. Others may swoon over his rakish charm and winning smile, but not Evie.

K-9 Hunter

K-9 HUNTER by Cassie Miles

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When unspeakable danger strikes close to home, she’ll risk everything for justice.

Piper Comstock and her dog, Izzy, live a peaceful life in the Oregon forest. Until her best friend and his daughter are targeted by an assassin. US Marshal Gavin McQueen knows the truth—a witness in protection has been compromised. Now a gang kingpin wants revenge. Piper vows to help Gavin catch the culprit. But as the danger—and duo—grows closer, is the peril to Piper’s life…or to her heart?

Protecting His Cameron Baby (Cameron Glen Book 4)

PROTECTING HIS CAMERON BABY by Beth Cornelison

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"He's my soulmate," declares Isla Cameron, who has a sixth sense about charming Evan Murray. Seduced into a steamy affair with him, she becomes pregnant. What Isla doesn't sense—but soon discovers—is that Evan has an ulterior motive for romancing her. Still, she must trust him when he kidnaps her to protect her and their unborn child from danger. Hiding out together, will she forgive his betrayal?

WOLFSONG (Green Creek Book 1) by TJ Klune

WOLFSONG (Green Creek Book 1) by TJ Klune (hardcover)

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"He's my soulmate," declares Isla Cameron, who has a sixth sense about charming Evan Murray. Seduced into a steamy affair with him, she becomes pregnant. What Isla doesn't sense—but soon discovers—is that Evan has an ulterior motive for romancing her. Still, she must trust him when he kidnaps her to protect her and their unborn child from danger. Hiding out together, will she forgive his betrayal?

Bennett boy. Joe is charming and handsome, but haunted by scars he cannot heal.

Heat Wave (The Extraordinaries Book 3)

HEAT WAVE by TJ Klune (paperback)

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Heat Wave is the explosive finale to the thrilling and “uproariously funny” (Sophie Gonzales) Extraordinaries trilogy by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TJ Klune!

Nick, Seth, Gibby, and Jazz are back in action bringing justice, protection, and disaster energy to the people of Nova City.

An unexpected hero returns to Nova City and crash lands into Nick's home, upturning his life, his family, and his understanding of what it means to be a hero in the explosive finale of the thrilling and hilarious Extraordinaries trilogy by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune.

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