Monthly Archives: October 2025

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#WOTR26 #authorinterviews – Nicole Craig

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Nicole Craig

#WOTR26 Author Interviews

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Nicole Craig. I’m a retired teacher after 25 years teaching English and theatre in high school. I’m married and have three furry children: Toulouse, Spirit (aka The Flerken), and Missandei. We adopt geriatric and special needs cats. I’m also a competitive bowler, and I volunteer at a local community theatre doing onstage and backstage work.

 

How did you hear about this event?  How many years have you attended?

I first heard about WOTR in 2023 from Anna Blakely and her husband, Christian, on their weekly Talk Tuesday video chats. I couldn’t go that year, but I went as a reader in 2024 and had the best time. It became a goal to be invited in the future, but I never expected it to be the first year I applied.

 

What genres do you write?

Romantic Suspense, particularly Protector Romance, but I just started branching out into police procedurals with my books in Susan Stoker’s Police & Fire world. In 2025, I plan to have at least one science fiction (alien LGBTQ+ series) romance and at least one sports romance (baseball series) out.

 

What is a book of yours you wish more people read?

Never Enough is all about conflict precious gem mining in Africa. There was a lot of research that went into that book, so I would love more people to be aware that we’re still in an era of conflict product.

 

What is one fun fact about you?  It can be anything like food allergy, fear of something, weird way you broke a bone…….

Last year I shared my rhinoceros story, so this time I’ll share that I was bitten by a monkey in Roatan. About 50% of my first novel takes place there, so I had one of my side characters get bitten by a snake there as a sort of Easter egg. I hide a lot of personal things in my novels.

 

What are your social links?

Facebook profile – https://www.facebook.com/nicole.craig.352527
Facebook author page – https://www.facebook.com/nicolecraigauthor/
Facebook reader group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/3624387751170522
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/nicolecraigauthor/
Amazon author page – https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nicole-Craig/author/B0CJLL23M5
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/46899544.Nicole_Craig
Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nicole-craig

 

What are your buy links?

 

Amazon author page – 

 https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nicole-Craig/author/B0CJLL23M5

Horror, Kindle Unlimited, short story

#Review #ShortStory – Hell Hath No Fury : Short Horror Stories For Adults: Vengeful Spirits Unleashed: A Haunting Tale of Secrets, Survival, and Ghostly Revenge in a Victorian Home by J.K. Russell

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Dive into “Hell Hath No Fury,” a chilling ghost story set in a decrepit Victorian house that promises a fresh start for a father and his daughter but quickly turns into a nightmare. As they settle into their new home, eerie occurrences and violent hauntings escalate, revealing the vengeful spirit of a woman wronged. Bound by blood and desperation, they must uncover the dark secrets of the house and confront the spectral fury. Will they find peace or will the ghost’s wrath consume them? Unearth the mysteries within these pages and experience a spine-tingling journey you won’t forget.

Dare to turn the page—your next favorite ghost story awaits!

This is another short story by J.K. Russell and while it was similar to the first in this collection of stories, it was able to hold it’s own as well.

Mia and her dad move into a old house in a new city and after a few nights of peace, things start going sideways.

This little story is about a parent who refuses to stop at nothing to save their daughter. Even if a vengeful spirit is involved.

Can be read in KU – https://amzn.to/46OLH8V

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#WOTR26 #authorinterview – Red Phoenix

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Red Phoenix

#WOTR26 Author Interviews

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Red Phoenix – I’m a submissive in real life who is best known for my romantic BDSM series, Brie’s Submission. I started as an Indie Author in Dec of 2011 and several months after publishing my first book, I wrote a novelette called Brie’s First Day of Submissive Training. That little story went on to become 26 full-length novels, with 9 additional books in the Brie world. I adore my fans – they are the best part of being an author!

 

How did you hear about this event?  How many years have you attended?

Angie! Although this is my first time attending, I have sent auctions items for years because I am passionate about supporting the charity Thistle Farms. Fighting against human trafficking is also an important theme in the Brie Series.

 

What genres do you write?

BDSM Romance, RomCon, Spiritual Romance

 

What is a book of yours you wish more people read?

Safe Haven – the unlikely couple and the powerful message behind their love story is beautiful and inspiring. I get happy tears just thinking about it.

 

What is one fun fact about you?  It can be anything like food allergy, fear of something, weird way you broke a bone…….

I’m seriously afraid of spiders, but I save them anyway – even black widows!

 

What are your social links?

Website: https://redphoenixauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRedPhoenix/
Newsletter: https://redphoenixauthor.com/newsletter-signup/
Friends of Red Phoenix: https://www.facebook.com/groups/539875076052037
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redphoenixauthor/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTXLzl-OjFBXHLvkLwL_vug
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authorredphoenix?lang=en
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/red-phoenix

 

What are your buy links?

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Red-Phoenix/author/B006UHCM1C

https://www.audible.com/author/Red-Phoenix/B006UHCM1C

https://redphoenixshop.com/

Horror, Kindle Unlimited, short story

#Review #ShortStory – Damn Your Eyes : Short Horror Stories For Adults: Victorian Haunting: A Lawyer’s Battle with a Vengeful Ghost and His Own Darkness by J.K. Russell

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Chilling Descent into Madness and Hauntings in “Damn Your Eyes”

When a young lawyer moves into a picturesque but aging Victorian house, he is drawn into a terrifying world of the supernatural. What begins as slight disturbances escalates into full-blown hauntings as the house’s sinister past comes to light. Haunted by Jeremiah Holt, a vengeful spirit from the late 1800s, the lawyer finds himself fighting not just for his sanity, but for his life. This gripping tale of psychological horror and spectral threats will keep you on the edge of your seat as the boundaries between the past and present blur. Can he make peace with the ghost, or will he be consumed by the fires of vengeance?

Discover if he survives the haunting in “Damn Your Eyes”. A must-read for fans of chilling, ghostly horror!

This was a fun little read! It’s a single short story about someone who lives in a haunted house. He tries getting rid of the vengeful spirit only to make things worse. The spirit becomes even angrier and violent, so the home owner does the only thing he thinks will work. But of course, things don’t happen the way he hoped.

I’m trying to get my Goodreads books up for the yearly challenge, so if you’re doing the same, definitely grab this one. It’s short and fun!

Can be read in KU – https://amzn.to/3KpGtZQ

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#WOTR26 #authorspotlight – Julie Navickas

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#WOTR26 Author Interviews

Julie Navickas

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

I’m Julie Navickas, a contemporary romance author represented by Chip Rice of WordLink, Inc. I write what I like to think of as heart wrenching, second chance love stories—full of humility, humor, and heroism. My Trading Heartbeats and Clumsy Little Hearts trilogies have earned a Literary Global Book Award, five first place BookFest honors, as well as finalist nods from the American Writing Awards and the Clarion Award.

When I’m not immersed in fictional worlds, I teach writing courses in the School of Communication at Illinois State University and work in corporate communications at COUNTRY Financial. I hold master’s degrees in organizational communication and English studies, plus a bachelor’s in public relations.

 

How did you hear about this event?  How many years have you attended?

2026 will be my third year at Writers on the River!

 

What genres do you write?

Contemporary Romance

 

What is a book of yours you wish more people read?

I’d have to say Finding Love. It’s relatable, relevant, and raw in a way that feels very true to life. The story doesn’t shy away from vulnerability—it digs into the complexities of love, trust, and second chances in a way that I think so many readers could see themselves reflected in. It may not be my flashiest title, but it’s one that carries an emotional honesty I’m really proud of, and I’d love for more people to experience that connection.

 

What is one fun fact about you?  It can be anything like food allergy, fear of something, weird way you broke a bone…….

I’m ambidextrous! I’m predominantly right-handed, but I shoot pool, play shuffleboard, and mini-golf left-handed. I can even bat left-handed. It’s a quirky little trait that tends to surprise people—and occasionally gives me an advantage in a friendly game.

 

What are your social links?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJulieNavickas
X: https://twitter.com/JulieNavickas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julienavickas/
Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/julienavickas.bsky.social
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@julienavickas
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julienavickas/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@julienavickas

 

What are your buy links?

 

 

Part of a Series, short story, sibling best friend, Standalone, Teen & Young Adult Contemporary, Writers on the River Attending Author, YA

#wotr26 #partofaseries #YA Dear Autumn (Love Notes Season2 book 5) by Danielle Keil

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Everyone at Ryder High knows what it means to have a teal envelope taped to their locker on the first day of the month.

Autumn Avery-Romero is all sorts of confused.

First, her brother asks her to go on a pretend date with his best friend. Autumn owes her brother a favor, so she reluctantly agrees.

The next day, she finds out via the coveted teal envelope that she has a Secret Admirer.

There’s one big problem—she can’t be seen pretending to date someone and have a secret admirer. So she doesn’t tell anyone about the secret admirer. Soon, he’s sending her puzzle boxes to solve to get the clue inside.

But pretending to date someone isn’t as easy as she thought. Autumn’s feelings for her brother’s friend soon get as puzzling as the boxes she’s been solving.

She can only pick one—will she quit the game for her pretend boyfriend, or continue on to the last box from her admirer?

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241036866-dear-autumn

Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Autumn-Love-Notes-Season-ebook/dp/B0FPBW7LFG/ref=sr_1_2?crid=RIT3L1ZZO32S&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qZ9z_FYxskayXk7LEK5kQ2__A-8D4gunOnxj5Lnd8N6ofSh7aIYnUfSjS7oz4pWPHiaNnkbEW9-ScWE312w0YYJt0-Swgp61cbmHlGsBuDGS2EmwMssf7mNBna4-p2Tei69fJP51GJbBUxDKSf-CNF8N8fEzbw1iNyvqaed1wlKqwf8vuGyBOGXj8fBRidHdWSlBEYP-2YZLnlRVEZUORbiI8Mx71DW8Sv2SgJnyUGs.st-dTYYCnnWZ-2khGU5zkv7-IcQO9XI_cRafO8Ii76M&dib_tag=se&keywords=danielle+keil&qid=1758986871&sprefix=danielle+keil%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-2

i bought this book and here is my honest review

Summer is over, school is back in session, and a new secret admirer has been chosen, but with a twist only the girl, her bestie, the people in charge and the guy know that it’s still happening. when Autumn found the famous teal envelope in her locker, after she told her brother she would do him a favor and go on a few dates with his best friend so that his ex-girlfriend gets the hint that he was in fact over the relationship. So, the secret admirer agreed to the terms and that makes it extra secret for the month, discreate clues, and the guy knowing what he is seeing isn’t actually real. How will everyone react when the cat is out of the bag that the month wasn’t skipped and it was still going on without anyone knowing, and at the end of the month will Autumn have to make a choice between her brothers’ friend if she starts catching feelings or her admirer? this is an interesting month at Ryder High and I’m all for it. I love being back at Ryder High it’s like being home.
Danielle Keil grew up and spent the majority of her life in the Chicagoland area. A recent transplant, she is enjoying the Mississippi life, especially the pool in her backyard.
Danielle is happily married for over 10 years, and has two young children, a daughter and a son, who are exact replicas of her and her husband.

Danielle’s love language is gifts, her Ennegram is a 9w1, and she loves everything purple.
The way to her heart is through coffee, chocolate and tacos (extra guac).

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#WOTR26 #authorspotlight – A.J. Moran

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A.J. Moran

#WOTR26 Author Interviews

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

A.J. Moran; I’m married to my high school sweetheart and have four grown kids. I’ve enjoyed crafting stories as far back as playing barbies with my friends. I’d write a script out for us to play, fraught with lots of drama and romance.

 

How did you hear about this event?  How many years have you attended?

I’ve had some author friends attend and I’ve seen videos of the event. This will be my first year.

 

What genres do you write?

Reverse harem/Why choose under A.J. Moran and MM Romance under Kit Jade

 

What is a book of yours you wish more people read?

My Orion’s Daughter series. It was a passion project and I’m still in love with it.

 

What is one fun fact about you?  It can be anything like food allergy, fear of something, weird way you broke a bone…….

I’ve broken an arm and a leg. My leg was broken when I was six months old and my 11 year old brother put me in a bouncer on the table and went to answer the door. I bounced right off the table. The arm was broken when I was eight and waiting for my best friend to get home on her porch. I sat on the railing and fell backwards into the bushes. I was left handed until then.

 

What are your social links?

Www.linktr.ee/ajmoran

 

What are your buy links?

Https://www.amazon.com/stores/A.J.-Moran/author/B096BJHM9Z & Https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kit-Jade/author/B0FKFCM44L

 

 

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#Audio #EndOfTheWorld #ForcedProximity – Wildflowers by Kylie Scott

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Don’t miss this heart pounding apocalyptic romance from New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott!

There’s only one person Dean Wallace wants to save from the end of the world: sunshine girl from across the street. She’s always smiling. Who knows, maybe she can teach him a thing or two about how to live? But saving her against her will is harder than he expected.

Astrid Hardy doesn’t know what to think when she wakes up in her hot neighbor’s basement. He says he wants to protect her from the deadly virus threatening to collapse society. But that sounds like paranoid conspiracy theory nonsense, and losing her sh*t seems like the correct response.

As they watch the downfall of the world play out online, hear approaching gunshots, and smell smoke from nearby burning buildings, it all starts to seem horribly realistic. With almost everyone they know dead, and law and order gone…how will they navigate this new world together?

I was given this book by the author for an honest review.
I absolutely loved her zombie books so I JUMPED to read this one. Now there aren’t any zombies so if that isn’t your thing you should be good.
Dean and Astrid are quite a pair. LOL Dean kinda…well….yeah he wants to keep the pretty but clueless neighbor safe as the world is coming to an end. SO he does what all rational men do, he kidnaps her. LOL If you read Kylie books you know the banter is amazing and hilarious between them.
As the world is falling apart and Astrid realized Dean isn’t as crazy as she thinks, they begin to travel to find a safe place to hunker down. Dean wants to keep her all to himself, and Astrid is like HELLLLS NO. They find a crew of like-minded people to form a town with while also finding another town of not so great men who feel they own all the women and items around.
I loved seeing Astrid realize her attraction to Dean and him opening to the fact she actually might have a few good ideas. Their adopted kid they find in the town is such a fun character because she is NOT ok with the friends to lovers change between the two.
I cannot wait to get this in audio because I just know it will be 100x better!!

 

UPDATE : I was given this audio book from the author for an honest review.  Oh man was it even better listening to the story with Andi telling it.  I laughed and got cringed with Astrid at times but boy did i SWOON again over Dean.  This book is one I will  relisten to time and time again.

Amazon

Audible

 

Kylie is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling, Audie Award winning author. She has sold over 2,000,000 books and was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year four times by the Australian Romance Reader’s Association. Her books have been translated into sixteen different languages. She is based in Queensland, Australia; living and working on land traditionally owned by the Jagera people.

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#WOTR26 #AuthorSpotlight – Gia Cobie

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Gia Cobie

Tell us your name and then a bit about yourself.

Gia Cobie. I’m a librarian turned full-time author living in upstate NY with my husband and pets. I love reality romance TV, red wine, charcuterie, exploring the Adirondacks, and adding to my massive collection of books. 🙂

How did you hear about this event?  How many years have you attended?

Facebook. This will be my 2nd year.

 

What genres do you write?

Romantic suspense, romantic thriller, military and protective romance, contemporary

 

What is a book of yours you wish more people read?

Saved from Revenge. It starts off the world that most of my books exist in. 🙂

 

What is one fun fact about you?  It can be anything like food allergy, fear of something, weird way you broke a bone…….

I broke my foot on a teeter-totter when I was thirteen. Technically, my friend jumped off while I was at the top and squish! went my foot.

 

What are your social links?

https://www.facebook.com/GiaCobie, @giacobie (TT/IG)

 

What are your buy links?

 

https://www.amazon.com/author/giacobie

 

Review, Standalone, Suspense, Thriller

#review #thriller #mystery Black Widows by Cate Quinn

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Blake is dead. They say his wife killed him. If so… which one?

Polygamist Blake Nelson built a homestead on a hidden stretch of land—a raw paradise in the wilds of Utah—where he lived with his three wives:

Rachel, the first wife, obedient and doting to a fault, with a past she’d prefer to keep quiet. Tina, the rebel wife, everything Rachel isn’t, straight from rehab and the Vegas strip. And Emily, the young wife, naïve and scared, estranged from her Catholic family.

The only thing that they had in common was Blake. Until all three are accused of his murder.

When Blake is found dead under the desert sun, all three wives become suspect—not only to the police, but to each other. As the investigation draws them closer, each wife must decide who can be trusted. With stories surfacing of a notorious cult tucked away in the hills, whispers flying about a fourth wife, and evidence that can’t quite explain what had been keeping Blake busy, the three widows face a reckoning that might shatter all they know to be true.

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52658299-black-widows

Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/Black-Widows-Novel-Cate-Quinn/dp/1728220467/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2VZ5N6BIC39NN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EWHoSShRCSXJmkozSa4q6jgv7_61Z_5ysn9J_ziq9a1wIN8xs60kRu0pZnK-1DuGH-mdORADjFyUHNMJnuRd4GfvmgCaYivV3BSNFUG61J3ga3nY2PpY9E-xF8KKNF4cusWhtx4cSloyehdL9-FyZgjlGK8b_7kv3JxesKVvCNyBobYF8EG6sr7PsyboB8Ot9EALPfVYbRl9-Sv7ZNiRGn1jyyt8Iy7E3Y5gn3uzT1c.bYqSTKGtSVO9TM6ARCDQtJJRPW6ATw1macPf5MANANM&dib_tag=se&keywords=cate+quinn&qid=1758550346&sprefix=cate+quinn%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-3

i bought this book and here is my honest review

Miles from town lives the Nelson’s Blake and his three wives Rachel, Emily and Tina. this lifestyle is frowned upon by many. so, when the police show up on their front porch, Rachel couldn’t figure out why, but when they tell her Blake was found dead, she couldn’t believe it. one by one each wife gets interviewed by the detectives to try and figure out what happened these three are hard to crack and they are good liars. will the ops catch the killer who could be right under their noses or will they walk away. the killer will shock everyone when the pieces are put together, well if they are caught.

Cate Quinn is a travel and lifestyle journalist for The Times, the Guardian and the Mirror, alongside many magazines. Prior to this, Quinn’s background in historic research won prestigious postgraduate funding from the British Art Council. Quinn pooled these resources, combining historical research with first-hand experiences in far-flung places to create critically acclaimed and bestselling historical fiction.