Mary Karlik is here to tell us about Had Me At Howdy, a Hillside* Spring Creek Novel, romantic comedy, contemporary romance, young adult.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Had Me At Howdy
Mary Karlik
(A Hillside * Spring Creek Novel)
Publication date: November 22nd 2025
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Platinum credit card? Deactivated. New car? Sold. Best life ever? Canceled.
Thanks to my dad losing his job, we’ve ditched Chicago for Fumbuck, Texas—population: redneck. Now I’m living on a rundown farm, scrubbing dishes, and driving a rusty pickup. Worst of all? I’m stuck working alongside a cowboy.
But this Cinderella isn’t giving up. I’ll claw my way back to the luxe life I left behind—and no one, not even infuriatingly chill, stupidly handsome Austin McCoy is going to stop me. Even if he does make feeding the chickens weirdly… enjoyable.
She thinks she’s just passing through. I’m hoping she stays.
I kind of feel for the Quinn sisters. City girls don’t belong in Spring Creek—but Kelsey? There’s more to her than designer labels and eye rolls. When she forgets to be angry, I see it—like the way her eyes light up when she feeds the chickens.
Now all I have to do is convince her the guy she really wants is me, not some rich dude taking her to a ball in Chicago.
Content Warning: This work contains a subplot involving death, grief, and an off-page instance of date rape. While these events are not depicted directly, they are referenced and may be distressing to some readers.
The universe had completely crapped on Kelsey Quinn’s life.
She dabbed at her eyes, blew her nose, and wadded up the tissue before dropping it to the pile on the seat next to her. Pressing her forehead against the car window, she watched the scenery fly by at seventy miles per hour. They passed Bob’s Stay and Go combination gas station—fast food restaurant—hotel, followed by some weird concrete starship-shaped pizza parlor. Next, three-foot fluorescent letters screamed about redemption across a junkyard fence surrounding rusted pieces of mangled metal. The few words of scripture painted there weren’t going change her fate. Her dad was in the driver’s seat and they were heading straight for the armpit of Texas.
With a sigh she slumped against the seat and tried not to think about the boyfriend who’d been ripped from her life, or the best friend she’d been forced to leave behind. But it wasn’t just her forced exile from Drew and Zoe. She’d lost her identity. At St. Monica’s, she knew who she was and where she fit in. It was her senior year, the year she’d looked forward to for as long as she was in school. They had taken it away with less thought than the car they’d sold one afternoon while she and Zoe were shopping. None of it was her fault. She was a victim of her dad’s incompetence on one hand and her sister’s immorality on the other.
Her dad exited onto a two-lane highway where they were greeted by a faded, Welcome to Hillside Texas, Population 5000, sign. They slowed to a crawl as they entered the town. At a four-way stop her mom screeched, “Oh my God Tom, look at the cute little diner. We’re all starving, let’s stop before we go to the house.”
“Sounds good to me. Jack’s not expecting us for another couple of hours anyway.” Dad angled the Infinity between two pickup trucks and turned off the engine.
The diner was nestled in the center of a row of dilapidated two story buildings. Early Bird Café was painted in bright blue letters across the glass. Kelsey pulled her compact mirror from her purse and studied her reflection. She’d been crying for two days, no amount of makeup magic would fix her swollen red eyes. It didn’t matter. She didn’t care about this place or these people. She sure as heck didn’t care what they thought about her. She shoved the mirror back into her purse.
Her younger sister, Ryan, looked all wide-eyed and curious. And worse, she actually looked excited to investigate this hick little town. Why not? It was her fault they were in this mess in the first place. Her parents would have been justified to ship Ryan off to some kind of school for troubled kids. But no—Quinns don’t give up on their own. Everybody had to suffer because Ryan couldn’t say no to drugs or boys.
Mackenzie, Kelsey’s youngest sister, flipped her compact gymnast’s body from the third seat to the back seat nailing Ryan in the shoulder with her foot.
“Watch it!” Ryan drew her fist back, but before she could get the hit off Mackenzie flashed a cherub smile and released a powder sugar apology. Yeah. That wasn’t an accident. Kelsey almost smiled when she saw foot impact with shoulder. Mackenzie had been fairly silent about the ruin Ryan’s exploits had done to her life. Apparently, she had her limits too.
Mary Karlik (also writing as Mary J. Wilson) combines her Texas roots with her Scottish heritage to write happily-ever-afters from Texas to Scotland.
Mary has five indie-published contemporary young adult romance novels and two fantasy novels.
Mary earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and is currently studying Scottish Gaelic at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye, Scotland. She is also a certified, professional ski instructor and a Registered Nurse.
Mary is an active member of Contemporary Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Dallas Area Romance Authors. Married to a Scott, Mary lives in both and Scotland and Texas.
Megan Slayer is here to tell us about Taken by the Lady of the Lake, paranormal romance, capture fantasy.
Read on for details...
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Paranormal Romance, Capture Fantasy
Date Published: January 23, 2026
She’s an urban legend. He’s adrift. With a little magic, they’ll discover their fates are entwined.
Amanda Fortune never expected to be left in the lake, but after her murder and subsequent dumping, that’s exactly where she is. She’s become an urban legend, her ghost seen only by a very few. She longs to have a second chance at life, but that’s not possible when you’re dead. Is it?
With the right circumstances, anything is possible.
Sawyer Gibson doesn’t know what he’s meant to do in life. He has abilities to read the Fates, but his talents aren’t needed in the town of Eerie. Everyone here has magic. He’s nothing special. But Aunt Chloe is dying, and she knows more than Sawyer ever thought possible. Amanda is -- was -- her best friend. So Aunt Chloe sends Sawyer on a chase to find Amanda’s killer.
But Amanda’s a myth. A ghost. And ghosts can’t be seen, right?
The moment Sawyer lays eyes on Amanda, he’s smitten. There’s the tiny problem of her being a ghost… but that detail won’t stop Sawyer, even if someone else thinks it will.
EXCERPT
Amanda wandered the woods along the north end of the lake. She didn’t have much else to do. Campers were around, scattered about the grassy area, and even a few picnickers, but none of them could see her. She hated this existence. She had no one to talk to, no one to spend time with. She missed the simple interaction of being with other people.
But those were the things Claude had taken from her. He’d ruined her life, but he’d also robbed her of her future. She should hate him. Should be burning with the hottest, nuclear anger toward him.
She could be, but why? Would it bring her life back?
No.
She might as well focus on anything else but the past.
Something rustled in the woods and for a moment, she ignored the sound. Everything in the woods made noise. Animals, the wind, water… it all created disturbance. But this one was different. A shiver ran the length of her spine. She hadn’t felt this way since that night.
She ducked behind a tree, knowing she’d never be seen, but wanting a private vantage point to locate the noise.
A hooded figure strode through the trees to the edge of the water.
The shiver increased when the figure leaned over and touched the rippled surface of the lake. She knew that hand and recognized the shark tattoo. Didn’t have to see the rest of the person to know who stood there -- Claude.
She froze, not wanting him to know she could see him. Could he see her? He hadn’t for the last fifty years, but that didn’t matter. He churned her stomach. She clutched the tree bark. The sooner he left, the better.
“She’s dying,” Claude said. “The last one to know what happened is dying. I can’t steal her magic, too, but I can rejoice in her going. My secret went with you to the grave, but she figured some of it out. No one else did. I’d silence her, but I can’t do that. Can’t kill anyone.”
He couldn’t kill this person, but he’d murdered her! What a jerk. Amanda trembled, despite her best efforts to stay still.
“Won’t be long now. She’ll be gone and any last chance of anyone knowing will be gone. The cops didn’t catch me. No one believed I could do it,” Claude said. “They wouldn’t have understood. I needed your magic. I needed to own you. You’d never have used that magic properly, but I could. We were expected to be together because you had to give yourself to me. It always had to end with your magic being mine.”
She wanted to scream. He’d never loved her. Couldn’t. Not when he wanted to destroy her.
“But now it’ll be our secret. You gave me what I needed and you’re where you were always meant to be.” He patted the water. “Always.”
He stood, then adjusted the sweatshirt, keeping his face hidden. He turned away from her vantage point and shuffled back through the woods.
Every cell in her existence screamed to keep away from him, but she followed. What else could he do to her? Kill her a second time? Was that even possible?
She navigated through the trees to the edge of the woods. She hadn’t gone this far in so long. There hadn’t been much reason. Now there was. She had to see where he was going and what in the name of Hera he was doing now that he’d come to haunt her.
Claude stopped at the larger picnic area in the park. A man sat alone at one of the tables and flipped through a book while holding a tablet. The guy seemed completely lost in thought.
Claude, now well over seventy years old but still the bully, shoved the book off the table and laughed. “Stop looking for the Lady of the Lake. She doesn’t exist,” he snapped and barely broke stride.
Amanda stopped short. The Lady of the Lake? There was someone else here? A kindred spirit? She had to find this lady and meet her. Maybe this other woman would know how to get away from the damn water.
“Thanks, ass,” the man said and picked up his book. “Dick.”
She wanted to find the Lady but was also intrigued by this man. She inched closer.
A child, running with a plastic disc turned just as she passed Amanda and her eyes widened. “Momma!”
Amanda paused. She wondered what had spooked the child. She ducked behind a tree and listened for the little girl and parent.
“Momma, I saw the Lady,” the girl said. “Right there.”
She peeked out from her hiding spot long enough to look for the Lady. She didn’t see anyone.
“You’re imagining things,” the mother said. “The Lady of the Lake is a story made up to scare kids.”
Amanda bit back a groan. That was a downer. A fib for kids…
The man looked up from his book. “It’s not a story,” he replied. He closed the book and picked up the tablet. “Actually, it’s considered an urban legend, but there’s fact behind the legend.”
The mother rolled her eyes. “Don’t butt in and scare my kid. She’ll have nightmares because of you.”
“But Mom, I saw her,” the little girl said. “She had dark hair, blue skin and was pretty.”
Amanda ducked back behind the tree. She really had to find this woman. Any company would be better than none.
The woman and her child left the picnic area and when Amanda emerged from her spot, she stepped right into the man’s path. If she’d had breath, it would’ve stopped or clogged in her throat.
He was a beautiful man. Young -- compared to her -- and handsome. With dark hair, dark eyes and a studious look to him. The long-sleeved shirt accentuated his thin frame and the glasses gave him an air of sophistication. He didn’t walk with a swagger, but instead a quiet confidence.
“Oh, my,” she gasped. “Wow.”
“Excuse me?” He met her gaze. “What did you say?”
She froze. He’d heard her? “I’m sorry?”
He cocked his head. “Where are you?”
So he couldn’t see her? Good. She faded into the woods, rushing to the north end, to her safe haven. No one had seen her there in years -- if ever -- and no one would see her now.
“I know I heard you.” The man drifted through the woods. “Please, don’t hide from me.”
She had no choice. No one else had believed she was there and this guy might be looking for the Lady of the Lake. She wasn’t that Lady. She was nobody.
She glanced back and noticed the man. He’d bent over and rested his hands on his knees. He puffed as if he were trying to keep up with her. His bag slid forward and dangled along his side.
“I’ve done the research. I know the story. You’re here. I can feel you.” He stood upright but kept puffing. “She wouldn’t lie to me. She led me here. Told me where I should find you. Told me to find you. I need to do this for her.”
She balled her hands. “Who?” She snapped her mouth shut. She’d wanted to stay hidden, but her curiosity would get her into trouble again.
He sank onto one of the rocks at the edge of the water. “I hear you. Where are you?”
“I can’t show you.”
“Please?”
“No.” If she could have this conversation with him, then something was different about him.
“Why?”
“I don’t know you. Can’t trust you.” It was the truth. Others claimed to be looking for her, but they hadn’t found her. Not the detectives, the amateur sleuths, or anyone else.
“You can,” he said. He scrubbed the back of his hand across his forehead, then sighed. “When I was a little boy, my aunt told me about her friend, Amanda. She said her friend was a lovely person and so sweet, but she disappeared. For the rest of her life, my Aunt Chloe wanted to know what happened to her friend.”
“Chloe?” She didn’t venture closer, but the mere mention of the name pricked her curiosity again.
“My mother’s sister. Do you know Chloe? Or Marie, my mother?” he asked. “My mother died five years ago, but Chloe held on. Her magic is fading.”
“No,” she whispered. Chloe had the strongest magic. She should be just fine.
“She told me you liked being here. She said this was your favorite place and you’d spend hours among the trees and around the water, existing in nature. She said you might have even been part woodland nymph because you were here so much. She loved the nights you’d go dancing together, and the days spent talking and mixing spells,” he said. “She said she was never the same after you disappeared.”
“No?” She couldn’t be excited. Not yet. She needed some detail only the true Chloe would know. Something only she could tell this man. “I can’t trust you.”
“I know you can’t.” He sighed again. “Why would you?”
The last man she’d thought she could trust had murdered her.
“She knew about the abuse and that you wanted to get away. She was trying to figure out a plan to get you out of that house without him knowing. To this day, she deals with the guilt of not working fast enough. You deserved better.”
She emerged from behind the tree. “What did he steal from me?” If he knew this, then he’d spoken to Chloe. Only her best friend would remember she never let go of her locket.
“Besides your magic? He stole your necklace,” the man said. “It was your favorite piece of jewelry.”
“Why?” She held onto the tree for stability, even if her legs weren’t holding her up.
“Because it came from your mother and was one of the few things you had to remember her by.”
If she’d been standing on her feet, she would’ve collapsed. “Who are you?”
“Sawyer Gibson.” He stood and held out his hand. “I don’t know where you are, but I hear you and I want to see you. I want to help you.”
About the Author
Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and white hot themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been nominated at the LRC for Best Author, Best Contemporary, Best Ménage, Best BDSM and Best Anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on various e-tailer sites.
When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice. She’s an active member of the Friends of the Keystone-LaGrange Public library.
S.Z. Estavillo is here to tell us about The Serpent Series, thrillers and romantic suspense.
There's also a great giveaway.
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Every crime tells a story…
But not every killer is the villain.
The Serpent’s Order
The Serpent Series Book 4
by S.Z. Estavillo
Genre: Thriller, Romantic Suspense
An assassin bound by
obedience. A detective marked for death. A cartel war with no survivors.
Von Schlange thought she’d escaped her past. Now Black Nova owns her—an elite,
off-the-books task force where obedience is survival and failure means death.
As their newest assassin, she’s unleashed on targets tied to Jaxon Ryker, a
drug lord buried deep in the Alaskan wilds.
Her partner, Xander Holt, a former Navy SEAL with ice in his veins, lives by
the same brutal code: no attachments, no lines crossed. But as missions turn
bloody, the fragile boundary between partner and lover begins to blur—and desire
becomes its own kind of danger.
Across the country, Detective Anaya Nazario faces a nightmare of her own. A
synthetic “zombie drug,” deadlier than fentanyl and immune to Narcan, is
ripping through Los Angeles. Her investigation exposes a network of dirty cops
shielding Ryker’s empire—and puts a target squarely on her back.
Two women on opposite fronts. One war against corruption and cartel power. And
a single truth—every betrayal leaves a body behind.
Explosive, unrelenting, and razor-sharp, The Serpent’s Order propels the
Serpent Series into its most dangerous chapter yet—where justice is a myth, and
survival comes at a price paid in blood.
Some predators hide
in plain sight. Others hunt from the shadows.
Merrick Winslow is a decorated Army officer, a man of discipline and honor—or
so he claims. When he reports that his ex-wife, Cheonsa Soo-Min, has been
stalking him, no one questions his story. He paints her as unstable, vengeful,
and dangerous, a woman consumed by obsession. But when two officers are gunned
down with her own weapon, the truth becomes harder to see. With the law closing
in, Cheonsa vanishes, fleeing to Rio de Janeiro, where she is taken in by Von
Schlange, the vigilante thought to have disappeared for good.
Von has retired her vengeful ways, leaving behind a life of bloodshed to run a
quiet veterinary clinic. But when Cheonsa’s past collides with Winslow’s lies,
the two women begin to unravel a deadly deception—one that turns predator into
prey. By the time Von uncovers the truth, an innocent life has already been
taken.
Now, there’s only one thing left to do: find the real monster and make him pay.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Detective Anaya Nazario and Supervising Special
Agent Blake Huxley are adjusting to life as new parents. But after only four
months of maternity leave, Nazario is pulled back into the field to investigate
the murder of two officers. What should be a straightforward case quickly
spirals into something far more sinister—secrets buried beneath the badge, a
killer hiding behind a uniform, and a web of corruption stretching further than
anyone expected.
As Nazario and Huxley chase down leads, their investigation intersects with a
vigilante they once thought was dead. And this time, Von Schlange isn’t just
seeking justice—she’s delivering retribution.
For fans of Karin Slaughter, Gillian Flynn, and Taylor Adams, Twilight of
the Serpent delivers a high-stakes vigilante thriller packed with morally gray
justice, relentless suspense, and a tangled web of deception. Perfect for
readers who love strong female leads, intense cat-and-mouse chases, and dark
psychological twists.
A serial killer is on the loose. With her insidious tattoo and venomous killer
strike, they’re calling her the serpent woman.
Two of the best in their field, LAPD Detective Anaya Nazario and FBI
Supervising Special Agent Blake Huxley are forced to work together yet again,
despite their strained romantic history and a baby on the way. Together on a
nationwide hunt, they must find this serpent woman before she strikes again.
But, as the cat-and-mouse chase evolves, Nazario and Huxley begin to realize
that their killer is on a mission of vigilante justice and they must struggle
with the question of who really deserves their justice: The killer, or her
victims?
This dark thriller delves into the sensitive topics of sex trafficking,
child abuse, animal death, sexual assault, graphic violence, and dead bodies.
Reader discretion is advised.
Compelling
dialogue, rich, gritty prose, and characters you won’t forget — if you loved
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson, or Ink and Bone by Lisa
Unger, you’ll love The Serpent’s Bridge.
Recovering alcoholic Detective Anaya Nazario remains haunted by her father's
murder. Lucas Nazario was the highest-ranking Puerto Rican LAPD detective, and
his case has gone unsolved for twenty-four years since his murder. When Mexican
immigrants are targeted by a serial killer, Nazario senses a connection and
fights to keep the leadless case open. The homicide investigation centers on
Sanctuary Baptist, a church composed of immigrants led by Pastor Stan and his
wife. Nazario's personal and professional worlds collide when she is compelled
to collaborate with her former lover, Special Agent Blake Huxley. As their
lives merge once more, the FBI and Detective Nazario stop at nothing to find a
killer.
Is this the same monster who killed her father and left him for dead under a
bridge?
Can she put a stop to the murders before more families lose loved ones?
As a BIPOC thriller author, she previously parted amicably
with her agent and, three months later, secured an eight-book deal with
Oliver-Heber Books—now boasting 24,000 downloads in its first year and a
BookRaid bestseller ranking in the thriller category. The Serpent Woman (Book
2) reached #1 on Amazon and topped all three of its categories. Her background
spans literary agencies and TV studios, where she contributed to greenlit
screenplays that became Lifetime movies. She holds a Master’s in Television,
Radio, and Film, has taught author branding workshops (L.A. Writer’s
Conference, North Texas RWA), and maintains a 100K+ social media following.
R. K. Harrington is here to tell us about Kindred Schemes, Schemes book 1, historical regency romance.
There's also a great giveaway.
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One bookish
debutante.
Two dashing suitors.
And a season full of scandal.
Kindred Schemes
Schemes Book 1
by R. K. Harrington
Genre: Historical Regency Romance
One bookish
debutante. Two dashing suitors. And a season full of scandal.
Lady Alaina Sinclair never expected London society to be so treacherous—or so
tempting. She has always preferred books to ballrooms, but with a disastrous
start to her first season, she’s determined to rewrite her fate. With her heart
set on the respectable—and very eligible—Duke of Ashford, Alaina is ready to
embrace society’s expectations… even if it means silencing her true desires.
Alaina’s world is set awry by Christopher Kendall, the Marquess of
Rochester—sharp-tongued, maddeningly handsome, and inconveniently, the duke’s
closest friend. Their first encounter is a disaster. Their next, a temptation.
And every moment together after that, increasingly impossible to ignore. But with
a web of secrets, jealous relatives, and mysterious threats unraveling around
her, it soon becomes clear: this is no ordinary season.
Kindred Schemes is a modern take on a regency romance with glamour,
a steamy love triangle, and enough mystery to keep readers turning the page.
What readers
are saying:
"The story’s central love triangle will delight
romance fans...Harrington excels in crafting multidimensional characters...[A]
satisfying blend of romance, intrigue, and character-driven
storytelling." — Booklife
An entertaining period love story, nicely balancing
breathless lust with social satire and high-mindedness.” — Kirkus Reviews
"The characters are colorful and sharply etched…the
prose has a droll, Austen-esque verve to it, using pompously polite palaver to
reveal the crassness of high society...In keeping with the style is the spirit
of the book’s message—that true love triumphs over mercenary calculation.
Readers will root for the feisty Alaina to overcome the stuffed shirts and find
her heart’s desire.” — Kirkus Reviews
Oh no, here he comes, the lascivious Lord Finch and his merry band of
drunken fools. Alaina looked out at the crowded ballroom, her
eyes connecting with the group of men making their way toward its center.
Alaina had only been at the ball for a quarter hour before this particular
disaster struck, the leers of the men making the hairs at the nape of her neck
prickle. It did not escape Alaina’s attention that Lady Barbara, Lord Finch’s
sister, accompanied the group, and wore a sly smile. Hopefully, this latest
encounter would be short. Surely, Lord Finch would not want to be rejected twice,
let alone in front of a large crowd.
Alaina
looked to her right to find her parents close at hand, thankfully, and she
stood a little straighter knowing she would not face this alone.
The
group of men seemed to move in unison before coming to a halt a few paces
before Alaina and her family. A group of onlookers formed a circle around them
as if ready to enjoy the ensuing spectacle, Lady Barbara taking her place in
the throng. Alaina struggled to focus on the faces of the onlookers as she held
her head high, ready to meet Lord Finch and his friends with as much dignity as
she could muster. She hoped to project a more serene exterior than she
currently felt, her heartbeat accelerating to such a degree that she could feel
the blood rushing in her ears.
Lord
Finch stepped to the fore of the now halted group, and gallantly bowed to
Alaina before speaking, his voice so loud that Alaina was sure people arriving
in carriages outside could hear.
“My
dearest beautiful Alaina,” he started, clearing his throat before
continuing, “You have set upon me quite a conundrum. I fear I have fallen madly
in love with the idea of having you as my wife, and I feel you should be happy
with such an arrangement. I am quite the catch, you know, especially for
someone from the country, and one who likes to read.”
From
behind him, Lady Barbara piped up with an added insult, “Amazing, really, that
Alaina found her way out of the library to be here.” Laughter rippled through
the crowd.
Alaina
cringed at his easy use of her given name, devoid of any honorific, and seethed
at the mockery of her character. Lord Finch and his sister sounded ridiculous,
pompous, and conceited.
Alaina
was frozen in place, her lips trembling in rage, and when no comment ushered
forth from her lips, Lord Finch rejoined, unfazed by the one-sided nature of
their conversation. “I find myself at an impasse. Shall I continue to press my
suit with decorum, or should I make my feelings known to the whole world, so
that you may not so easily dismiss them as you have in the past?”
A
warmth crept up Alaina’s neck and touched her cheeks, giving her pale skin a
glow, although one not easily perceptible in the dim light of the ballroom. She
turned once again to where her parents stood, only to find that her father had
disappeared, and her mother’s pale face was drawn in embarrassment as she
watched her eldest child with dismay. Oh, how Alaina wished her father would
have stayed; his tall frame was intimidating to a crowd, and his familiar umber
eyes were always reassuring to her.
Resolved
to put a stop to this farce, Alaina turned back to Lord Finch and remarked, her
voice distant and strange sounding in her ears, “Lord Finch, it seems my
earlier rejection of your suit did not deter you in the least, but I ask you to
have a care for your surroundings.”
As
the words left her mouth, Alaina watched Lord Finch’s face change, his
outwardly serene expression making way for something more sinister. His smile
twisted into an outright leer, and his pale green eyes seemed to burn of their
own accord, the candlelight no longer just a reflection in them. He lowered to
one knee and reached out his hands in supplication as he sneered, “Please, will
you marry me, my lady?” The emphasis on the last word ensured that
Alaina felt the insult.
Lord
Finch was quickly joined by his friends, their idiocy knowing no bounds, all of
them dropping to their knees in a chorus of marriage proposals, each more
mocking and infuriating than the last. Soon laughter rang loudly in Alaina’s
ears as the men and then the onlookers seemed to find amusement in her
predicament. Her world blurred through a sheen of tears, the faces of the
laughing men—now resembling something like demons—the only clear points in her
vision.
Alaina
glanced about to find her mother and threw herself into her open arms,
shielding her from the worst of the crowd. The two women made their way to the
outer edge of the ballroom and quickly to the front entrance, only stopping a
moment to gather their cloaks before heading out into the cool night. Her
father, having had the forethought to make his way to the exit, met them in the
front drive, where he had already called for their carriage to be brought
around, and not a moment too soon.
The
Sinclair family hastened into the carriage, a pall falling on them as the
conveyance made its way onto the main thoroughfare and toward their London
townhome. Alaina squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on the clip clop of the
well-matched team of four, grateful for the silence of her parents, as she let
tears make their way unchecked down her cheeks.
R. K. Harrington is a debut historical romance author,
combining swoon-worthy romance with a bit of mystery. Her first novel, Kindred
Schemes, is scheduled to be released February 2026.
In 2021, R. K. Harrington found that her daydreams were
yearning to spill over to the written page, and, ever since, has been writing
historical romance with a dash of mystery in hopes of publishing her work one
day. After much editing, and long hours designing, she is gearing up to release
her first novel, with many more to come!
R. K. Harrington grew up reading romance novels at a (maybe
too) young age, and the stories entranced her. Give her a Happily Ever After
(HEA) and there is no better book in the world. While romance books (namely
historical romances) are her first love, R. K. Harrington is an avid reader of
all genres. She has gone through many phases: medical mysteries, crime dramas,
science fiction, romantasy, and is currently in a fantasy phase (she does do
the occasional non-fiction book as well, namely history). Through every season
of reading, romance books of all kinds are sprinkled liberally.
When R. K. Harrington is not writing or reading (or working
her day job as an engineer), she is having fun with her husband, their kids,
and her very cute dog, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Maximus. They all live in
the DMV area, where the summers are hot, the winters are cold, and the two days
of Spring and Fall are beautiful enough to open the windows!
Audrey Steidl is here to tell us about To Die For, a Young Adult book.
Read on for details...
______________________
Young Adult
Date Published: April 10th 2026
Publisher: Acorn
Publishing
To Die For is a harrowing look into the life of a
narcissist who refuses to take accountability for the damage she
inflicts.
High school senior Dei Fields appears completely
harmless, but she has a keen instinct for manipulation. When she first sets
eyes on hot star athlete Mika St. John, she’s determined to have him
… and Dei always gets what she wants. There are only three obstacles:
Mika’s friends, his family, and his girlfriend. But Dei isn’t
afraid to destroy relationships to satisfy her fantasies.
In a
matter of weeks, she love-bombs Mika into thinking he has found his soulmate,
but when Dei’s plans go awry, everything changes—including her
identity. Will Dei get what she wants this time? Or will she finally get what
she deserves?
Excerpt
“Why are you always spoiling things? Why couldn’t you have just
believed me?”
Then the girl
charged toward her, rage in her eyes. Marion had seen this before – it
was the bully on the playground, the mean girl at the gym – why are you
making me do this??
And suddenly Marion knew
that she was fighting for her life. Swinging the flashlight she connected it
with Dei’s upper arm, unbalancing her, if only for a moment. As Dei
staggered back, Marion glanced at the front door and knew that she would never
make it in time. Instead, she headed for the balcony and tugged the glass door
open with all her might. At once, the rain whipped against her face, stinging
like shards of glass, but she knew that Dei could feel it too.
And then she began to scream. After all, they were only
one floor up from the boardwalk. Surely someone would see them struggling!
But there was no one there. It was as if Naples had
become a ghost town. There was nothing but abandoned cars and boarded up
windows – and rising water.
A tiny,
claw-like hand grabbed at her arm and twisted, but she wrenched free. With
Marion’s clothing soaked, it was harder for Dei to hold onto her, but
she stepped all the way out onto the concrete patio, now slick with rain.
“You bitch!”
Marion heard Dei scream behind her and turned to face her abuser but before
she could raise the heavy flashlight again, it slipped from her wet grip and
clattered to the floor.
Seeing it fall, Dei
kicked the flashlight under one of the chairs and then lunged at Marion.
Grabbing her by the hair she was surprised to feel the old woman fighting
back. They were both soaked, their bodies slick with rain and debris carried
in by the fierce wind.
Suddenly one of the chairs slammed into Dei,
hitting her back legs, and she lost her hold on Marion. As Dei staggered back,
Marion moved toward the door, intending to lock her out, but Dei caught her by
the wrist.
“No, you don’t!”
she said fiercely, propelling Marion towards the rail of the balcony.
For one terrifying moment, Marion feared that she would lose her balance and
pitch forward over the ledge to the street below. Instead, her core held --
and years of yoga and gardening paid off in that moment, saving her life.
Pushing herself away from the railing, Marion saw Dei
rushing toward her like a linebacker. She had youth and energy and agility,
but Marion had one thing Dei didn’t have in that moment – her
wits.
As Dei charged towards the railing,
Marion waited until the last millisecond and then stepped aside - the impact
to Dei enough to knock the wind out of her. Falling to her knees, she was now
doubled over beside Marion, if only for a moment.
But that moment was all that it took for Marion to see the iPhone
sticking out of the pocket of Dei’s jeans. Adrenaline surged through
Marion as her right hand connected with the phone, and in one sweeping
movement, she took it and flung it over the balcony to the flooded street
below.
About the Author
Audrey Steidl is the award-winning author
of the romantic thriller The Fallen. Her passion for storytelling began at an
early age when she wrote scripts and performed them with her neighborhood
friends in full costume and makeup. This love blossomed into a career as an
actress and as a producer for cable television.Now, when she’s not
writing page-turners, Audrey is a hotel travel executive, a pilates fiend, and
a lover of travel and art. A long-time San Diego resident, she shares her home
with her husband Jamie and their mischievous Pomeranian Loki. Her latest
novel, To Die For, is inspired by those who have the courage to walk away from
narcissists and emotionally abusive relationships.
