My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Ken Webb, author of the book Trapped in Deception. Ken Webb is a retired U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel with thirty three years of total service and eighteen years of active duty through mobilizations and deployments. He also spent twenty two years with American Airlines before making a major life transition that led him to relocate to Lima, Peru. There, he focused on personal reinvention, studying Spanish, improving his health, and pursuing the creative work he had long envisioned. His debut crime thriller, Trapped in Deception, launches a developing series shaped by the leadership pressures, complex human dynamics, and lived experiences that defined his career. Ken’s writing explores themes of identity, transformation, and moral conflict, bringing authenticity and depth to crime and intelligence fiction. From his home in Peru, he continues to expand the series while advocating for reinvention at midlife and the healing power of storytelling.

In my book review, I stated Trapped in Deception is a crime thriller by Ken Webb. This is a fast-moving novel that captured my attention quickly. The main character, Shawn Larson, is the kind of guy we've all met: good-looking, charismatic, and a complete con-man. We learn right away that he works the scam and is willing to be deceptive for years in order to get the payout. More than that, Shawn is ruthless.

But what happens when he cons the wrong person, and this person, Eddy, realizes he has the chance to get even? That's the story that Ken weaves, and this story takes us from Dallas to Miami to Peru, as Shawn begins his next con.

I especially love how the 'good guys' though good, aren't pristine. They each have a past, and this past isn't always pretty. Ken did a great job pulling me into the story - and leaving just enough room for a sequel! You're going to love this book!

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You can follow Author Ken Webb

Website: https://www.kenwebb69.com

FB: @Trapped in Deception

IG: @webbinator2000

Purchase Trapped in Deception on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4d1Agzq

Ebook: https://amzn.to/4rYKbdM

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#kenwebb #trappedindeception #thriller #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Laura Van Wormer, and we are going to talk about her project of serializing a soap opera about her high school class.

Laura Van Wormer is the creative force behind "The Class of ’74," a serialized fictional podcast that blends nostalgia, drama, and meticulous historical detail. Set in 1971–1974 in a well-heeled Connecticut suburb of New York City, the show has been praised for its authenticity and period-accurate setting, detail and events, and draws on Laura’s decades of experience as a novelist, editor and researcher, with a specialty in the ways the past informs the present.

Her storytelling style is rooted in a good sense of humor, character psychology, the rhythms of small-town life, and creates a world listeners fall in love with. She herself was a member of the Class of '74 in Darien, Connecticut and was infamous for stopping high school parties to read stories she had written.

Laura started her career at Doubleday as a secretary (in the era Jackie Onassis worked there) and worked her way up to editor. She left to pursue her own writing and while learning how to write a novel, supported herself by creating books with the creators of the hit night-time TV serials, "Dynasty," "Dallas" and "Knots Landing."

Laura's first novel, RIVERSIDE DRIVE, was a bestseller when it was published in 1988. She published 13 more novels with major houses but in 2015 she was on her way to the airport to visit Betty White in Los Angeles when a drunk driver going the wrong way on the Merritt Parkway in CT hit her head-on. She woke up a month later in Yale New Haven hospital with a crushed collar bone, 16 broken ribs, torn diaphragm, broken knee, and a severed foot that required four surgeries to save.

Ten years later she attended her 50th high school reunion and was sad because no one could hear her. When she went home her other half suggested why didn’t she write a story as a podcast so her classmates could hear her – and THE CLASS OF ’74 was born, a weekly narrative soap opera about teenagers starting high school in 1971. While the story is fiction, it faithfully recreates the fascinating time before cell phones existed and is guaranteed to take the listeners' minds off their problems – at least for half an hour each week.

Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1

You can follow Author Laura Van Wormer

Website: https://classof74podcast.com/

FB: @Laura Van Wormer

LinkedIn: @Laura Van Wormer

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#lauravanwormer #serializedbooks #theclassof74podcast #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Michael Kell Mahoney, author of the book The Land of Broken Toys. Michael Kell Mahoney is a retired New York City detective who somehow found his way from Manhattan to the Balkans. After his time with the NYPD, Michael spent two decades working internationally for the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, and the U.S. Department of Justice as a police and security consultant.

Land of Broken Toys: Kosovo is a fictional account, based on real events, from Mr. Mahoney's one year police mission in Kosovo. Michael’s writing blends reportage, reflection, and storytelling, inviting readers—and now listeners—into a landscape where the past is never far away and every story carries weight.

The Land of Broken Toys: Kosovo is a crime thriller by Michael Kell Mahoney. But it is so much more than that. Readers will get a history lesson to help explain the issues in Kosovo, as well as a young cop's journey figuring out what he really wants out of life.

We meet an NYPD cop named JB who wants to be a detective. However, a series of mishaps leaves him shaken and certain that he will never make detective. With that knowledge, he decides to open a chocolate store. But he'll need money, so he signs on for a year-long UN policing mission in Kosovo. What he believes will be a simple 12-months training local police recruits turns into so much more than he bargains for.

We meet a host of characters who have chosen to go on the same mission for a variety of reasons - and with a variety of belief systems in place. We also meet the antagonist, Gashi, an Albanian who hates the Serbs - and anyone who disagrees with him, even Albanians. Gashi's men wreak havoc across the area, and JB is right in the middle of the action.

This story moves quickly, has fun, quirky characters, and keeps you guessing. This is a fun read.

Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1

You can follow Author Michael Kell Mahoney

Website: https://jbbyrnenypd.com/

Purchase a copy of The Land of Broken Toys:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4v2vWq9​

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4s54zJj

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#michaelkellmahoney #landofbrokentoys #crimethriller #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Adele Royce, author of the book Slipper Girl. Adele Royce holds a BA in English from Arizona State University, where she graduated magna cum laude. Her published novels include Camera Ready, Princess Smile, and For Position Only, which was a BookLife by Publishers Weekly Editor’s Pick, and Summer’s Blood, which received the coveted Kirkus starred review. An advertising and PR executive, Adele spent most of her career on the Las Vegas Strip, an experience that gave color to her latest novel, Slipper Girl. She is currently working on the sequel to Slipper Girl as well as Deadly Sins, a collection of short stories.

Adele owns a marketing consulting firm in San Diego, California, where she resides with her husband and two cats.

In my book review, I stated Slipper Girl is a contemporary fiction by ​Adele Royce​. Although this is the second in the series, one doesn't have to read the first book to know what is going on in the second. We meet Skylar, a Vice President of Marketing, but soon learn she has a past she'd rather keep hidden. And she's able to do just that until her estranged mother shows up in Las Vegas and threatens to topple everything Skylar has built.

I loved Skylar, the self-made woman who feels she must be perfect to atone for her past. And then, when her past came blasting in, I instinctively understood that she felt she had nowhere to turn. When blackmail and deception come rushing in, she doesn't know who to trust, so she simply trusts herself - even when I was begging her to call her father!

If you love a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, has redemption and resilience, and shows you that family bonds are not to be messed with, then you'll love this story!

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You can follow Author Adele Royce

Website: https://adeleroyce.com/

FB: @AdeleRoyceAuthor

X: @Adele_Royce

IG: @adele_royce_author

Purchase Slipper Girl on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3PaX5Xv

Ebook: https://amzn.to/4d9qT0w

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#adeleroyce #slippergirl # #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Lee Livingston, author of the book In the Rearview Mirror. Lee Livingston was born in Los Angeles, California, and spent his early childhood in New York City and most of his school years in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Claremont Men’s College in 1965 with a BA in Literature and finally completed his MFA in Theatre Arts from UCLA in 2005. During the '70s he was a Vice President/Creative Director at Grey Advertising in Los Angeles. From 1980 until 2024, he ran his own commercial film production company. In 2021, he left Los Angeles to escape the homeless and high taxes of California. He now lives in Atlanta with his wife and close to his kids.

In my book review, I stated In the Rearview Mirror is a memoir by Lee Livingston. Lee and his friend Dango spend the summer between high school and college first working in California and then hitchhiking back home to Cleveland, Ohio.

It is fun to see the world as it was in the early 60s from the eyes of two young men on the brink of adulthood. From thumbing rides to hopping on trains to pretending to be old enough to drink and play cards in Las Vegas, we get to experience life on the road as they make their way toward college.

But Lee doesn't just show the fun and games of late adolescence. He also focuses on mental health, family issues, male friendships, and figuring out who you are and who you are meant to become. If you like a solid memoir, then this is a book you won't want to miss.

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You can follow Author Lee Livingston

Website: https://openroads1961.com/

FB: @reflectionsintherearviewmirror/

IG: @lwlivingston

Purchase In the Rearview Mirror on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4r0txcf

Ebook: https://amzn.to/474KhrK

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#leelivingston #intherearviewmirror #memoir #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Pamela Kyel, author of the book On a Break in Charm City. Award-winning author Pamela Kyel was born and raised in Edgewood, Maryland—north of Charm City. It’s kind of a running joke that when you live near a large, well-known city, you tell people that’s where you’re from. So, unofficially, she’s from Baltimore!

She followed the drum of the Air Force for 25 years. She joined her husband on six assignments—OCONUS (Outside Continental United States), aka overseas, and CONUS (Continental United States). Along the way, they added two children and numerous pets, not counting the half-a-dozen cats that came with their house in Italy. She has traveled extensively across the states and Europe, with her favorite overseas locations being Paris and Slovenia, among stateside favorites such as Rocky Mountain National Park and Door County, Wisconsin.

Family is important to her, and nowhere is that more evident than in her Charm City Mystery Series. When you’ve lived across the world from mothers and brothers, you adapt and overcome. You create family—and they stay with you long after the career ends. Her military family resides in Virginia, Texas, and North and South Carolina—with many still on active duty worldwide.

Writing came out of their duty station in Illinois. She picked up her computer while sitting with her elementary-age child through covid classes and thought, I can write a book. And the rest is history. While her original novel will never see the light of day, she grew and expanded her confidence in what she was doing. She was good at this, and she would have something to show for it one day. In a little over three years, she’d trod the agent querying circuit and amended her goal. Now, she just needed to hold her book in her hand. It was necessary. With that in mind, she sent out three queries to small publishers, and for her, the third time was the charm. The Wild Rose Press picked up her book and offered a contract. Less than a year later, she now held all those years of hard work in her hand.

In my book review, I stated On a Break in Charm City is a cozy mystery by ​Pamela Kyel.​ This is the third in her Charm City Mystery series, and once again, Pamela does not disappoint! I love this cast of characters including Laci Duval, an investigator with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. However, she is forced to take a vacation. But if you know Laci, you know she doesn't do relaxation. Instead, she finds looking for a missing person who just happens to be NSA.

Laci is funny, clutzy, a bit socially awkward, and thinks of everyone as a type of iced tea. In this installment, we continue her journey with potential love interest, Antonio, and keep up with her best friends Sammie and Cassy, as well as Rev and, new to this series, his brother Lum.

If you like a good mystery, with twists and turns, break-ins, fires, kidnapping, computer programming, surveillance cameras, trackers, and even Russians, then this is the cozy for you!

Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1

You can follow Author Pamela Kyel

Website: https://pamelakyel.com/

FB: @Pamela Kyle Author

IG: @pamelakyel

TikTok: @pamelakyel

LinkedIn: @Pamela Kyel

Purchase On a Break in Charm City on Amazon:

Paperback:

Ebook: https://amzn.to/4cNRwbp​

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#pamelakyel #onabreakincharmcity #cozymystery #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Janis Robinson Daly, author of the book Under Two Flags. Splitting her time between Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and snowbird destinations, a tablet becomes Janis Robinson Daly’s library and desk, packed for reading and writing, wherever she might land. Inspired by the discovery that an ancestor founded the Woman’s Medical College of PA in 1850, Daly wrote her first novel, The Unlocked Path, which celebrates pioneering women doctors at the turn of the 20th Century. Its sequel, The Path Beneath Her Feet, honors the work of the American Women’s Hospitals in rural America during the 1930s. Her third book with Black Rose is scheduled for a March 2026 release. Another historical fiction, Under Two Flags is a re-write and retelling of a memoir of a young Boston woman who travels to Berlin in 1916 to study opera. The original memoir, published in 1918, was ghostwritten by Daly's grandfather, Eliot H. Robinson, Sr.

Daly graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College, at the time, a women’s college. At Wheaton, she developed a fond appreciation of the supportive relationships established between students and a heightened awareness of female-centric issues. A presentation of how her genealogy research inspired her to begin writing has made Daly a sought-after speaker for book clubs, women’s groups, libraries, and writers’ groups.

Her annual literary citizenship program, #31titleswomeninhistory, has gained recognition from historical fiction authors and avid readers as an innovative way to celebrate Women's History Month in March.

In my book review, I stated Under Two Flags is a historical fiction by Janis Robinson Daly. And Josephine? She is a character you will want to meet! She is the daughter of US immigrants who embraced all things American. Her mother gave up a promising career as an opera singer and her father built a business from nothing. Josephine, having her mother's singing gift, believed she, too, might be an opera singer until her father's death changed everything. Now, as WWI erupts in Europe, Josephine is given a chance of a lifetime - to study opera in Germany at the same school her mother had been forced to leave.

As with most adventures, Josephine arrives wearing rose colored glasses, assuming the war would be a mere inconvenience. However, she quickly learns the war permeates every aspect of German life. And as an American, she was suspect - a privileged oddity at best and a potential spy at worst.

What happens when the US enters the war? When a German solider takes a fancy to Josephine? When one of Josephine's friends is accused of being a spy? When the cold and hunger leave her weak with anemia? When her teachers find her too American? When being Jewish clashes with food rations? When homesickness makes her rethink all of her choices? When going home is no longer a choice?

Under Two Flags is a fictionalized version of a real woman during WWI - and it's a story you won't want to miss.

Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1

Join the Novels N Latte Book Club community to discuss this and other books with like-minded readers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3576519880426290

You can follow Author Janis Robinson Daly

Website: https://janisrdaly.com/

FB: @JanisRobinsonDalyAuthor

IG: @janisrdaly_writer

Purchase Under Two Flags on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4qvihEK

Ebook: https://amzn.to/3MbjEu9

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#janisrobinsondaly #undertwoflags #historicalfiction #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is B Marcus Walker, author of the book Spirit of the Plain. Originally from Chicago’s south side, Brian Walker has worked twenty years in numerous industries as a web and eLearning developer, facilitator, and project manager. His true passion has been as a writer of fiction, both genre and literary. You can find his writing on Medium in publications including Thought Thinkers, ILLUMINATION, and Morning Musings, as well as short fiction in the Minetta Review. His first novel, Spirit of the Plain, is available in print and eBook.

In my book review, I stated Spirit of the Plan by B Marcus Walker is Book 1 of a fantasy series. If you are a fantasy lover, this one has all the essential elements - mages, witchcraft, wolfmen, worlds and cultures colliding, love, and intrigue! Even as someone who usually doesn't read fantasy, I enjoyed the book and read far later into the night than I should have.

Several characters stood out to me, including Collier Truitt - a man forced to flee his country at the threat of death to a tribe that was once his father's. He struggles with seeking retribution or peace. There is also Ashlyn, an acolyte mage, who is tasked to rid the Plains of its controlling spirit. She is young but more powerful than she understands. And finally, I loved Arnak, a wolfman known as a Lyken. His grumpy style made me laugh, but his insights were often spot-on.

The author did a good job pulling me into the story, even as a non-fantasy reader. Definitely a novel to consider for your TBR!

Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1

You can follow Author B Marcus Walker

Website: www.nairbful.com

IG: @reklaw31

Purchase Spirit of the Plain on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4bnfmrU

Ebook: https://amzn.to/4b5QkyQ

Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com

FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor

IG: @terimbrown_author

X: @terimbrown1

Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors

#bmarcuswalker #spiritoftheplain #fantasy #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.