A pending divorce. An estranged child. Eden Miller, a 45-year old realtor, finds her life crumbling, her heart broken, and her ego bruised—

Until a chance glance at the Facebook page of her senior-year college crush has her sending him a friend request—

Which is answered.

And so it begins. A passionate communication with the sexiest man she’s ever known, who, it seems, is also soon to be single.

Is it too good to be true?

Best-selling author Samantha M. Bailey’s latest thriller, A FRIEND IN THE DARK, isn’t just a rollercoaster of passion and deception, but a deep dive into the psyche of a woman whose hope for a new start comes at a big price: one that may cost her everything.

Samantha and I discuss how she conceived such a vulnerable protagonist, how she ratchets up the tension for Eden, and how Samantha has honed the reputation for delivering thrillers about women whose trusting natures allow others to infiltrate their world with the intent to destroy their lives.

Check out Samantha M. Bailey's latest novel, the mystery A FRIEND IN THE DARK, in Amazon now.

Check out Josie's website at https://josiebrown.com

This has been a copyrighted episode of Author Provocateur with Josie Brown.

AI was not used in the creation of this podcast.

Meredith Schorr's SOMEONE JUST LIKE YOU is an extended love letter to rom-com readers. With heart, soul, and humor, Schorr plunges us into the lives of her at-odds main characters—Molly Blum and Jude Stark—at a critical point in their lives, both personally and professionally. Then, in the most hilarious ways, she ratchets up Jude and Molly’s almost-life-long animosity, which feeds the heat of their mutual attraction. By hitting all our hot buttons—family secrets, loyalty in friendships, and the lifelong regrets created by our worst impulsive acts—Schorr creates the perfect storm for a passion that can’t be ignored. The payoff: a redemption that must be earned before her readers can savor Molly and Jude’s happily-ever-after.

The Year is 1939. In the historical novel, GOODNIGHT FROM PARIS, best selling author Jane Healey’s has a real-life heroine: Hollywood actress Drue Leyton, who, married to Frenchman Jacques Tartière, lives as an expatriate in love. But when her husband is dispatched to Brittany to work as a liaison for the British military, Drue finds herself alone with her housekeeper, adrift and heartsick in her adopted city. With her career and fame forty-five hundred miles away, Drue accepts an opportunity that will change her life forever. She becomes then voice of an American in Paris before, and during the Nazi occupation.

In our interview, Jane explains why:

You’ll want to read this story of a woman who has everything, and yet is prepared to risk everything, no matter how dangerous it gets—for her, for everyone she loves, and for everything she’s fighting for.

Adventurers whose gold rush fantasies have been crushed. A prim whorehouse madam whose strict rules are readily adhered to by her girls and patrons. Two hookers with hearts of steel. 

In Pulitzer Prize-Winning author Jane Smiley’s historical mystery, A DANGEROUS BUSINESS, two ladies of the night—sweet but stoic Eliza Ripple and her feisty pants-wearing sidekick, Jean—must chase down a serial killer on the loose in the hills of 1850s Monterey, California. 

Jane and I discuss how the story came to her: How she researched this town that is near and dear to her heart; and how she’s sustained a writing career by making each of her novels different, but with the same result: compelling plots, realistic dialogue, and great characters — and in the case of A DANGEROUS BUSINESS, With the addition of a stomach-churning mystery that you’ll want as your next great read.

Jane Smiley’s latest novel, the mystery A DANGEROUS BUSINESS, is in bookstores now.

In the sixth book of Henrietta and Inspector Howard series by Michelle Cox, newlyweds Henrietta and Clive return to Europe in an attempt to resurrect their failed honeymoon. While in London, they are approached by their old friend, Inspector John Hartle, who convinces them to search for the missing panel of the Ghent Altarpiece, a famous Renaissance painting, of which Hitler’s top men are also in pursuit.

Clive and Henrietta’s search takes them to Chateau du Freudeneck in Strasbourg, France—the ancient seat of the Von Harmons and home to three eccentric distant relatives. What begins as a wild goose chase turns decidedly more deadly when several Nazi officers also arrive at the chateau in search of the valuable item. When Henrietta and Clive attempt to flee after Henrietta uncovers a shocking truth, they are forced to trust themselves to a suspicious French servant who seems all-too willing to help. 

Michelle and I discuss her research for the art coveted by Hitler, how and why three of the female characters in her series give such a great picture of women’s lives in the 1930s — and the story she’s itching to write next. 

Best-selling author Joy Jordan-Lake's historical mystery, A BEND OF LIGHT, drops readers into a quiet coastal village five years after post–World War II America, where the past and present secrets collide.

Amie Stilwell, a photo interpreter for an Allied unit in England, returns to her hometown in Maine. Jobless and discouraged but stubbornly resourceful, she moves in with Shibby Travis, the surrogate mother with whom Amie never lost touch. 

There, the unexpected also awaits for her. It begins with a silent, abandoned boy is found with a note from a stranger pleading that he be watched over. Amie and Shibby take him in, but the mysteries multiply when a Boston socialite is found dead in a nearby barn and an old friend, believed to be a casualty of war, suddenly reappears. Trained to see what others cannot, to scan for clues, and to expose enemies, Amie uses her skills to protect the child, solve a crime, and find the motive behind a veteran’s masquerade. Through the hazy filter of a town’s secrets, Amie must also confront her own painful past.

Josie and Joy discuss Joy’s historical research, her approach to creating a small town with all its insular nuances juxtaposed with how its residents will open their hearts toward strangers; and why redemption is such a big part of her novel.

In Rhys Bowen’s latest historical novel, WHERE THE SKY BEGINS, London during WWII is seen through the eyes of Josie Banks, and East Ender, a plain-spoken East Ender in a bad marriage, with no job, and one talent: making a decent cuppa. 

Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up on the estate of the aristocratic: Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. 

Awed as she is by the magnificent landscape, Josie convinces Miss Harcourt to let her open a humble tea shop on the estate, seeing it as a chance for evacuees and villagers to begin again and possibly thrive. 

When Josie meets Mike Johnson, a handsome Canadian pilot stationed at a neighboring bomber base, a growing intimacy brings her an inner peace she’s never felt before. 

Then Stan returns from the war.

Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again. Her newfound courage will be tested if she is to emerge, like a survivor, triumphant.

Rhys and I discuss how and when this story came to her, the research that took her into one of England’s most devastating wars, and why she loves to pivot in and out of writing mysteries—all great stuff from this prolific writer.

You'll find WHERE THE SKY BEGINS on Amazon, or you can get it from your local bookstore now.

In the Movieland — the fourth book in the  Eve Ronin thriller series — bestselling author Lee Goldberg’s plot, parallels  a true and recent ongoing investigation that concerns a shooter whose stalking ground is a national park in and around Malibu Canyon. As always, Lee peppers the plot with several possible suspects, dirty politics, investigative shenanigans, and plenty of great detective work by Sherrif Detective Eve Ronin and her soon-to-be retiring partner, Duncan Pavone.

And, as always, you’ll be at the edge of your seat until the very last plot twist.

Lee and I discuss the depth of his research, his always great dialogue; his spot-on pacing; and how the tension that exists between Eve and her family and her department is the driving force to making her the best investigator she can be.  He also brings great insights on ageism in Hollywood (it’s not just against actors); And, should your book get optioned for TV or Film, the best answers to give producers as to how much you’d like to be involved. What he says may surprise you.

Wouldn’t it be great if real life was just like television? 

In debut romcom novelist Meredith Schorr’s AS SEEN ON TV, her main character, Adina Geller, takes that concept to the online magazine editor she’s trying to impress. He tells her to run with it. 

She’s hell-bent to do just that in the hope that the fee from the article will not only allow her to pay the rent she shares with her loving single mother, Valerie but lead to a full-time job. 

But there’s only one way which town she’s chosen, Pleasant Hollow, is anything Hallmark TV episode: Adina has a meet-cute with the charming guy in town: Finn Adams. Wait—not so fast: since Finn leads the developer’s project that will change everything about Pleasant Hollow, he’s also the one person standing in the way of making her article a reality. But there’s more to Finn—and Pleasant Hollow—that meets the eye.

Meredith and I discuss her process in concepting this romantic comedy. Why romcom plots need some darkness in between the humor, and why persistence is the key to an aspiring writer—or for that matter, an author’s—longevity in creating books. What she says will resonate with those who write—and read—about happily ever afters.

From USA TODAY and #1 national bestselling author Samantha M. Bailey comes this tense psychological thriller about a mother who must keep watch at all times if she wants to keep her family safe.

Sarah Goldman, mother to six-year-old Jacob, is relieved to move across the country. She has a lot she wants to leave behind, especially Holly Monroe, the pretty twenty-two-year-old babysitter she and her husband, Daniel, hired to take care of their young son last summer. It started out as a perfect arrangement—Sarah had a child-minder her son adored, and Holly found the mother figure she’d always wanted. But Sarah’s never been one to trust very easily—and one day, she saw something so shocking that all she could do was flee.

This spine-tingling, page-turning novel is psychological suspense at its very best—a chilling look at trust, voyeurism, and obsession in the modern age, and how far we will go to watch out for those we love.

Samantha and I discuss her journey to getting publishing, how the plot came to her, and her process in keeping readers turning the pages.

WATCH OUT FOR HER is in bookstores now.