Monica stops by to talk about her fascinating and fast-paced Historical Fiction - The Jewel of the Blues while sipping the most sophisticated cocktail there is - The French 75. Deliciousness all the way around. The Jewel of the Blues rich with impeccable and fascinating research about the 1920's Vaudeville Circuit. We discuss her fantastic touch with dialogue and the interesting choices she made on where and how she started the story. Mom - you would like this one! Fix yourself a French 75 and settle in!

Set in the sparkling 1920s jazz era, The Jewel of the Blues pulls back the curtain on all the romance, danger and drama in the bustling backstage life of a young performer.

Billed as the Little Girl with the Big Voice, blues singer Lucille Arnetta Love always dreamed of life under the lights. From traveling family gospel band to lead singer in a riotous vaudeville troupe, Lucille is on the rise. But a devastating family secret, one that’s poised to shatter every dream she’s ever had, casts an inescapable shadow over Lucille’s career.

Decades ago, a botched robbery ended in a suspicious death—and all signs point to Lucille’s own father as the culprit. It’s a secret that Lucille’s family is determined to keep buried—even from Lucille herself. For a time, a fresh start feels possible, especially when Marcus Williams, Lucille’s manager—and sometimes paramour—sets her up with a band to tour the country: Miss Lucille’s Black Troubadours. Lucille’s dream of seeing her name in the bright lights of Broadway may happen yet, if she and the Troubadours can endure the highly competitive, rocky road to fame.

Beneath the dazzling glamour of the vaudeville scene lies a wicked underbelly, as drinking, gambling, salacious love affairs and racial tensions compete to dim Lucille’s shining star. And when shady figures from her father’s past emerge, their thirst for revenge threatens to silence Lucille’s career—and the sultry singer herself—for good.

Find Monica here:
https://www.instagram.com/monicackilgore/
Find her book here:
https://monicachenaultkilgore.com/

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Oh!!! Such a treat this week. Mimi Matthews bestselling author of The Siren of Sussex sits down to talk about the last book in her Belles of London series - The Muse of Maiden Lane. We talk about the joys and challenges of finishing a beloved series and we have a very forthright conversation about the inspiration for Teddy, her artist hero who uses a wheelchair. And while neither of us drink a Grey Ghost (she was on deadline and I struggle with St. Germaine... here is Mimi's recipie for this striking cocktail.

Grey Ghost Cocktail (in honor of my heroine's gray hair).
It's made of ½ oz Crème de Violette,
1 oz St Germain Elderflower Liqueur,
and 5 oz Brut Champagne

serve cold in in a champagne flute!

A 2024 BookBub Best Historical Romance!
One of Parade's Best New Books of November 2024!
One of Amazon's and Apple's Best Romance Books of November 2024!

A silver-haired equestrienne and a charismatic artist turn a scandalous bargain into a vibrant portrait of love.

Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist—and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother’s pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic…like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who’s ever really seen her.

Aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist’s model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He’ll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience.

After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella’s luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture….

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This is the last witch, I promise! Charlotte Stein is top-tier romance. Years ago I asked her how she kept the romantic and sexual tension in her books at such an excruciating point. She gives her insightful answer in the podcast... if you love romance and haven't read Charlotte - do yourself a favor and pick up How To Help A Hungry Werewolf. It has her delightfully absurd world-building and delicious, delicious tension.

Find Charlotte:
https://www.instagram.com/charlotte.stein
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCharlotteStein
https://x.com/charlotte_stein
https://www.tiktok.com/@chazstein

Buy How To Help A Hungry Werewolf HERE

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