We had a blast with Authors Max & Monroe! Listen to hear about their most recent releases, popular books they've penned and a ton of author advice. They went from writing their own books as indie authors to writing collaboratively as traditionally published authors!

Check out their recent books: https://www.authormaxmonroe.com/books
What I Should Have Said
When I Should Have Stayed
**Leave Before I Love You

About Max Monroe:
Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Duo of over fifty contemporary romance titles. They have over 3 million books sold and have had their works published in several languages. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their social media newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far.

About When I Should Have Stayed:
In this heart-wrenching and swoon-worthy contemporary romance, New York Times Bestselling author duo Max Monroe delivers a story of second chances, small-town charm, and a love that refuses to be forgotten.

Josie Ellis thought they were done. Divorced. Finished. But Clay never filed the papers.

Every corner of their small town whispers their past—the stolen kisses at the diner, the laughter at festivals, the nights she watched him behind the bar, his smile forever etched in her memory. But she had to end it all...before it ended her. 

Clay Harris thought his marriage to Josie was forever. He thought they were unbreakable. But life tore them apart, and he’s spent every day since wondering how to exist without her.

Josie believes it’s over. Clay refuses to let it be. Now, with the past refusing to stay buried, Clay is determined to prove that their love story isn’t finished.

Max Monroe, the Red Bridge Series, a New Release & more!

It's murder she wrote... quite literally as author E.L. Reed talks about her Memories of Murder series based on the real life stories of infamous female serial killers. We had so much fun learning about her inspiration, the process and the themes behind each story. Listen for the historical fiction stay for the grimy details!

Book 1 - Hatchet
One determined detective. One thorough medical examiner. And the serial killer that brings them together.

Connecticut State Police Detective Wesley Dawson will stop at nothing until this maniac serial killer is locked up and put away for good. With bodies piling up and his older sister living on the streets, Wes refuses to let anything get in his way. The crimes are gruesome, and nobody is safe with a vicious killer on the loose.

Medical examiner Ali Jenson is the best in the business, but even these cases are too brutal for her. The deaths are beginning to get to her. Ali's strength and courage won't falter; she'll do everything she can to help Wes. But when the killer starts hitting a little too close to home, the stakes are higher than either of them ever imagined.

With time running out, can they take down the killer before it's too late?

Learn more about E.L. Reed - https://www.elreedauthor.com/

Bloody Brilliant! The Memories of Murder Series by EL Reed

Chris is officially our most interviewed author on our podcast! Snow Ordinary Love, set in Oregon, features Mona, an Orc, and her ex-boyfriend, Joel, in a fun, sexy, monster romance, where they're stuck in a cabin together and forced to share one bed!

To purchase visit www.chriswaltersauthor.com

Monster Romance Season - Snow Ordinary Love by Chris Walters

Are you ready for a heart-pumping, page-turning journey of love, loss, and suspense? Look no further than S.R. Fabrico’s latest masterpiece, filled with gripping twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Meet Lizzie Levine, the unstoppable female executive at a top New York City marketing firm. Driven by the tragic loss of her parents, Lizzie refuses to let anything stand in her way – until a handsome, enigmatic billionaire named Gray Stone enters the picture. But when Lizzie discovers she’s pregnant with Gray’s child, she learns there’s more to him than meets the eye.

Desperate for a fresh start, Lizzie escapes to the serene coastal town of Southport, North Carolina. There, she meets Josh, a charming local determined to help her heal and move on from her troubled past. But as Lizzie begins to rebuild her life, she soon realizes that her past is not so easily left behind. Someone with a sinister agenda lurks in the shadows, and Lizzie’s life is in grave danger.

View the book trailer: https://youtu.be/ciUDoHPku6k?si=iWAMiUsDsdVWpgIX
Learn more about the author & the full series: https://www.srfabrico.com/

Call Her Janie by S.R. Fabrico

Would you leave Earth to follow a signal in to deep space? Author Christopher Loric, a former US Navy Lieutenant, uses his 28 yrs in the military to craft an epic science fiction thriller, SESG Explorer, challenging our current concepts of Space Force and contact with extraterrestrial life.

About SESG Explorer: 
SESG Explorer is man’s first trip out of our solar system. The United States come across a message from deep space and build a seven-ship fleet to send to Kammorriga. It is a diplomatic mission to meet and develop a trade relationship with the Kammorrigans. The Space Expeditionary Strike Group (SESG) discover some planets and space stations enroute to the planet. When they reach Kammorriga, the Humans attempt to establish diplomatic ties but soon discover, the Kammorrigans are more interested in conquest and exploitation. It becomes a fight for survival for Admiral Brannigan and his fleet.

Purchase his books here: https://christopherloric.com/books

Time to escape with SESG Explorer by Christopher Loric

November's Books Club pick is out of this world! We're reading Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Join us all month long and let us know how many martinis was it worth!


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November Book Club - Atmosphere

Geek out with us as we dive into high fantasy world building with author John Mangold, as we discuss The Sorcerer's Inception and the Scrolls of Azbek!

About The Sorcerer's Inception:
When a demon assaults her hunting party, Master Dominic assigns Maluem her founding quest with his dying breath. The Sorcerer’s Inception, it is a mission every Acolyte dreams of. Yet for Maluem it brings only sorrow, along with an Acolyte to instruct. When her meditations grant her a glimpse of an ominous prize, Maluem realizes she has gained a vital clue. But, to decipher her vision’s true meaning, she must return to the childhood home that once banished her. Maluem’s return will not include a warm welcome. She will have to use all of her cunning, or her first journey may lead them both into an unmarked grave.

You can purchase it here: https://a.co/d/esCqQjo

The Sorcerer's Inception by John Mangold

We love a good murder mystery, and Elle Andrews Patt delivers in Ghost, a modern southern gothic meets sleuthing procedural novel. 

About Ghost: 
Yesterday, her BFF didn’t believe her. She’d give anything for it to be yesterday again.

When archivist Andrea Kelley scores a sweet rental in Charleston, WV, she discovers it’s already occupied. But the early rising, bacon-loving ghost of six-year-old Billie Mae makes for a tolerable roommate—until two missing kids are found dead at a nearby lake.

Detective William Taka is pretty sure his BFF is losing the plot, until Billie Mae throws a haunting hissy fit even the neighbors notice. Taka’s gut tells him the deaths are related—but Billie Mae’s mother confessed to her murder thirteen years ago. The case is closed. And she’s in prison for life.

Driven by Taka’s encouragement and Billie Mae’s phantom fury, Andrea digs into the strange circumstances surrounding the little girl’s death. Using her considerable research skills and workplace connections, she soon discovers a frustrating lack of evidence. Billie Mae’s mother might be innocent.

Which means the real killer is still at large…and way too close to home.

To learn more and purchase Elle's books: elleandrewspatt.com  

Ghost by Elle Andrews Patt

We had a great time interviewing author Brian Hester about the book he co-authored with Barbara Beam, She Talks to Fish! More than just a couple of martinis and a bourbon -- we covered everything from how his role as a teacher influenced this story to what it takes to be a writer.

About She Talks to Fish:
SHE TALKS TO FISH is a story about a young lady navigating her life’s path that
centers around fly fishing and its unforgiving fortunes. Along the voyage, the faith of
Maya’s childhood is galvanized by the spiritual and practical lessons gleaned from her
American Indian friends and her own experiences. Maya’s and Ed’s lives will forever be
tethered with a bond of mutual rescuers as Ed saves her, and she saves him, both
literally and figuratively. The life cycle thread between Ed and Maya is captured in none
other than what lies beneath the rivers’ surfaces and the beautiful creatures that occupy
those spaces. Fish are her counsel and through the extension of a fly rod, Maya finds
her place as She Talks to Fish.

If you are looking for an exciting book that encourages hope, then SHE TALKS TO
FISH is the book for you. When the human condition is no match for the human spirit,
resolute survival is the only option. Maya Jones is a survivor--- a survivor who talks to
fish.

To connect with Brian and Barbara: www.shetalkstofish.com  
Insta: @shetalkstofish

Also mentioned in this episode:  www.hookedflyco.com    
Insta: @bhester.hookedflycompany

She Talks to Fish by Brian Hester & Barbara Beam

Fredrik Backman's 'My Friends' is our December 2025 Book Club pick! There are so many great reviews about this book we had to end the year with this NY Times best seller!

About My Friends:
Four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

December Book Club Pick 'My Friends' by Backman is the 2025 Book of the Year?

We felt a new year called for new a chapter 📖 
YOU asked and we listened!! 
Our podcast 🎧 will now be exclusively dedicated to books!!!

You’re welcome ☺️ 

Our platform will now solely focus on lifting, empowering, and supporting authors, writers, and book lovers everywhere ✨
It will spotlight all writers: Indie authors, novelists, journalists, screenwriters, poets, and more. We will talk about their inspiration, experiences, process, and everything in between 🎧🎙️
Don’t worry though, we will still be discussing The Books & Martinis Book Club monthly book and our ever-evolving TBR 📚

We can’t wait to share everything we have coming up! 📣

New tracks tagged #mercy hernandez