Author Spotlight Interview: Whitney Dineen
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 25, 2019
We’re continuing our series of Author Interviews this week by chatting to Whitney Dineen, the talented and multifaceted author of The Wilhelmina Adventures, The Mimi Chronicles and many more awesome books! With her first thriller due to hit the digital bookshelves July 1st (available now as a pre-order for 99 cents), it was great to catch up with Whitney and learn about her inspirations and ideas. HG: So, who IS Whitney Dineen? In her own words! WD: I’m a bit of conundrum really! If you asked ten different people who I am, you’d probably get ten different answers. That’s because I like to explore all sides of life. In my personal life, I’m a wife, a mom, a gardener, a baker, and kick-ass Scrabble player. As a writer, I’ve always been drawn to romantic comedy, but the voices suddenly started branching out into new directions. I’ve let them take the… Read More >
We Have ‘Hidden Gems’ from Every Genre!
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 18, 2019
When you become a subscriber to Hidden Gems, you can select any of over 15 different genres to receive FREE books from. All the most popular genres in publishing are represented, of course – like romance, thrillers, mystery and science fiction. However, we also have less dominant genres including self-help, faith and spirituality and even cookbooks! Below are some recent ‘Hidden Gems’ that our subscribers ranked highly – these ones selected from genres that people don’t automatically think of. We’re really proud to be able to partner with and showcase authors of almost any type of book – bring as much variety as possible to our readers! Faith & Spirituality Books on faith and spirituality – from Christian to new-age spirituality – might not own a huge market share of the publishing industry, but they remain one of the most solid performers. While The Association of American Publishers (AAP) doesn’t… Read More >
Five Terrific LGBT Books to Celebrate Pride Month
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 11, 2019
To commemorate the famous “Stonewall Riots”, which triggered the push for equality in June 1969, the month of June is celebrated as LGBT Pride Month. To mark this celebration, we’ve put together a list of some fantastic LGBT books that put gay, lesbian or non-hetero-normative relationships front and center. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee With the Montague Siblings series, author Mackenzi Lee introduced us all to what Teen Vogue called “the queer teen historical you didn’t know was missing from your life.” The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is the first book in the series, and follows young nobleman Henry “Monty” Montague as he embarks on the traditional 18th century “grand tour” of Europe; as eager to explore his burgeoning bisexuality as the cathedrals and museums of Paris and Rome. In her 5-star review, Azia writes: “This book is undoubtedly one of the most humorous… Read More >
6 Book-ish Summer/Holiday Activities for Kids
By: Kate Stead | Posted on June 4, 2019
Aaah… school holidays and summer vacation. Sometimes fabulous, sometimes horrible. Like many parents, Chris and Kate Stead, founders of the children’s publishing company Old Mate Media, have a love/hate relationship with school breaks. Like most of us, they struggle with the never-ending challenge of finding inexpensive and fun activities to do with the kids. The good news is, they’ve discovered some fabulous book related options to share with us. Here are six bookish activities that Kate has put together for you to do with the young ones during school holidays or when they’re home in the summer. 1: Visit the Library I can hear you all groaning. This seems so obvious that it’s barely worth including. But when did you actually last visit the library with your kids? Our children love going to the library and often they will run school holiday specific activities for kids. If they don’t have… Read More >
Hollywood Could Learn from Romance Novels About Strong Female Characters
By: Simone Scarlet | Posted on May 31, 2019
Hollywood is desperate for ‘strong female characters’ – but romance/adventure author Simone Scarlet believes they’re looking in the wrong place for them. Here is her argument to Hollywood that they would be better served by mining romance novels for examples of strong female characters than continuing to write ‘shared cinematic universes’ using the same tired tropes that haven’t worked for years. She even ends the post with a few book recommendations of where they can start looking! Warning, this post contains some a spoiler or two about Captain Marvel. The other week, I went to the cinema to watch Avengers: Endgame, which came off the back of Captain Marvel. I’ll have to admit – I loved them both, especially the inaugural outing for Marvel’s newest superhero. With Captain Marvel, it was great to see the 1990s brought to life again, to watch Samuel L. Jackson as I remembered him from… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: CB Samet
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on May 28, 2019
Today, we continue our series of author interviews by chatting with CB Samet, author of a multitude of romance and suspense novels that combine fiery female protagonists with high adventure and intense thrills. We hope you enjoy this peek into her life, inspirations and motivations. Whether it’s a firecracker smart Dr. Lillian Whyte, the heroic Avant Champion Abigail Cross, or matriarch super-spy Maxine Rider, you’re always guaranteed to have a tough, capable and achingly human heroine in the lead of CB Samet’s eclectic catalog of suspenseful and romantic novels. According to her author biography, CB Samet is a “writer, mother of two and wife to a caring and supportive husband” – but we wanted to find out more! HG: So, we’ve read your bio – but who are you really? CS: I’m a writer, mother, tennis player, and dog lover. I live in the Southeast US and my daytime… Read More >
Some of the Top Fantasy Books of Spring 2019
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on May 21, 2019
Every day, subscribers to Hidden Gems get to pick and choose FREE books from over 15 different genres, including the ever-popular Fantasy category. We’ve checked back on some of the top Fantasy books we’ve shared with subscribers this spring, and here are some of the ‘Hidden Gems’ that our readers loved. The City of Veils by S. Usher Evans S. Usher Evans’ fantasy series Princess Vigilante has been described as “YA Fantasy meets Batman” and that’s a pretty apt description. Instead of a playboy millionaire, we have a dashing princess who ran away from her royal duties to roam the streets of her capital instead – as masked vigilante The Veil. But where does crime-fighting fit in, when Princess Brynna is suddenly expected to take the throne? Top 50 Reviewer H. Bala describes the book as “Batgirl in fantasyland” and writes: “I relished the scenes of a disguised Brynna patrolling the… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Kim Petersen
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on May 14, 2019
In our continuing series of author interviews, we’ve tracked down the intrepid Australian Kim Peterson, USA Today bestselling author of paranormal romances like Millie’s Angel and the post-apocalyptic thrillers of the Stone the Crows series. We bravely figured out the time difference and asked Kim about her inspiration, writing and plans for the future. HG: Kim! Tell me about yourself! Who are you? Where do you live? How do you describe yourself? KP: Who am I? Good question – I’m still trying to figure that out! I can be many things and possess the qualities I need in order to navigate through life and situations, but at the end of the day none of those attributes really define who I am. I guess I’m just a woman trying to work it all out and become the best version of herself – whatever that means! Oh yeah, and I screw up regularly! I live… Read More >
The Hidden Gems Best Children’s Books of Spring 2019
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on May 7, 2019
Today, we’re looking at the top Children’s Books shared with subscribers this springtime. Kids love hearing stories, but parents don’t always want to read the same books every night. Hidden Gems gives a wide variety of new children’s books, free, to our subscribers to read and review every month. Soon Kitty by Grant Uchida One of the wonders of self-publishing and independent publication is the diversity and sophistication that has opened up. One perfect example is this wonderful children’s book by Grant Uchida, and illustrated by James Ishizaki and Tiffany Smead. It tells the very simple story of a very complicated issue – one not covered by any traditionally-published children’s book when I was growing up, but a topical and timely subject matter for many kids: Procrastination. Reviewer Katie Tomlinson shared the value of this book’s message: “This was a very cute story with a very poignant message about procrastination…. Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: D Pichardo-Johansson
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on April 30, 2019
In our continuing series of author interviews, we got to chat to the incredible D Pichardo-Johansson – who balances a career as a board certified physician and a successful career as the romance novelist behind popular titles like Faith is Fearless and Just For Joy. We were thrilled to learn more about her incredible story, and share it with you here. HG: Perhaps the best way to begin this interview is with D Pichardo-Johansson’s own words – from the email in which we first asked her to be interviewed. Here’s how she described herself: DPJ: I’m a physician. I started writing mystery (how to murder someone and leave them with a negative autopsy) but soon realized that my favorite part of writing a story was not the mystery, but crafting a connection between unique characters. I now focus more on romance. I truly believe in romance and happily-ever-afters, because I found… Read More >
