CHAPTER ONE – SNEAK PEEK

Copyright © 2025 by Jessica Topper. All rights reserved.

“And whose daddy are you?”

Jonah shifted his knees in the general direction of the voice. Hard to be suave when he’d had to practically fold himself in half just to fit behind a school desk, last in the back row of the classroom. The high tech venture CEO, in her power pantsuit and out of her C suite, was giving him a hungry once-over. She’d gone up right before the firefighter in full turnout gear, who had then given up the floor to the zookeeper and her bearded dragon. That little dude had received just as much applause as the freakin’ NBA point guard who had started out Career Day in Ms. Klein’s fourth grade class. 

What the hell had their teacher been thinking, asking him to present last? Accounting wasn’t exactly headlining material. Then again, this same teacher had once swapped Double Stuff Oreo filling with toothpaste and had given it to Jonah as an afterschool snack, so…

“Nobody’s daddy…just doing my big sister a favor.” 

His pantleg brushed against something bumpy and sharp under the desk that he sincerely hoped was a piece of fossilized chewing gum and not some kid’s booger, circa 1995. 

Julie had told him to dress “profession appropriate.” Now, he wished he was wearing the hazmat suit of the guy reaching for high fives down the aisle after finishing a speech about being a forensic CSI like the ones on TV. The charcoal-gray suit Jonah had pulled out of his closet before making the thirty-minute trek up to Riverdale was Brooks Brothers…but probably wasn’t made for whatever toxic science project was growing under that desk. CSI guy bumped his fist against the hard meat of Jonah’s broad shoulder. 

“You’re up, man.” 

Jonah heaved to his feet, making sure to duck so his head wouldn’t get tangled in the papier-mâché solar system hanging from the drop ceiling. 

Time to half-ass it. 

Literally. His left butt cheek had fallen asleep crammed onto the tiny chair, and he half-hopped, half-limped to shake the pins-and-needles feeling. Can I fake a war injury? Shark bite? 

Anything but the “boringest” job in the world. Which was what his niece Avery had groaned during dinner last night when Julie proposed he fill in last minute for Libby, who was supposed to talk about her path to pastry arts before a sweet job came up in Palm Beach that she couldn’t refuse. 

“Not a real word,” Julie had informed her daughter. “And not really Uncle Jonah’s fault. You should thank your lucky stars I would never force practical, stable jobs on you like GiGi and Bap did to us growing up.”

Now, his big sister was giving him an encouraging “don’t fuck this up” smile from the front of her classroom, where she commanded thirty ten-year-old maniacs on the daily. Her job was hard as hell in addition to practical and stable, but no one would ever call it boring. 

“Hey, guys. I’m Jonah Klein, and – ”

A hand in the front shot up. “Why do you have the same last name as our teacher?” 

Another hand. “Are you two married?” Kissing noises ensued. 

Gross, dude. I’m her brother. 

Jonah cracked his knuckles. He wasn’t beyond grade school double-dog dares, and these kids had probably never experienced the exquisite humiliation of an atomic wedgie.

“Jonah’s my baby brother,” Julie interjected before he could get a word in edgewise. The kids giggled. At six-foot-four, he towered over their teacher. He even had a few inches on the NBA dad.  “And his job is related to all the other careers you heard about today, believe it or not.”

Everyone simmered down, probably contemplating what the hell the guy standing in front of them had to do with New York’s Bravest, Finest, the Brooklyn Nets, Bronx Zoo and a Fortune 500 company. 

Jonah prided himself on being the funniest, fastest thinker on his feet in Thursday night improv class, but there was no joke in the world with “accountant” as a punchline that was going to get any laughs today.

“So, yeah – everyone here, once they get a job, has to, uh…pay taxes.”

Another hand waved frantically. “My dad called taxes the F-word once.”

More laughter ricocheted off the classroom walls. “Vincent…” Julie used her best teacher warning voice. 

Jonah raised his brow in a sheepish grin, nodding. “Your dad is right, Vincent. Ffffinance is ffffancy. Like…Bianca Bonet’s gold-plated hot tub, fancy.” 

Dropping the trending hip-hop artist’s name wrangled them back in with hushed gasps. 

“You wouldn’t believe how much she spent on that thing. I know, because…taxes. You see, I’m an accountant, but…” He leaned down toward the front row of desks, like he was telling them a juicy secret. “I’m an accountant to the stars.”

Now, even the grown-up high-achievers in the back row were invested. 

Jonah knew in the grand scheme of things, his wasn’t a lifesaving job, or nearly as interesting as the rest of his Year Course friend crew. Or as lucrative, since he did some of their taxes, too. 

Libby and her works of art made from cake. Nora, handling half of Broadway’s contracts and logistics. Sylvie had iconic photographs landing on the covers of TIME and Rolling Stone. Talia? She was the face and the force behind the Jewish Grandma food revolution, for fuck’s sake. And he couldn’t even mention the name Jay Katz without someone falling at his feet to beg for tickets to one of the hottest events around town. 

Never mind dropping Avi or Eli into conversation. People usually didn’t even believe him. 

“Do you know how much Taylor Swift makes?”

“Does Merlin the Pig have to pay TikTok taxes?”

“What’s the most expensivest thing you’ve seen?”

“Can you help do my mom’s taxes?”

The kids weren’t even bothering to raise their hands now. Julie got them to settle down long enough for Jonah to answer some of their burning questions, but not all. 

“Accountants have to take a vow of silence on some things,” he explained. “Like a monk. It’s called ‘client confidentiality.’”

“Client confidentiality,” they repeated dutifully. 

Julie shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling a genuine smile, at least. “Can you give us an everyday example of how an accountant helps a client save money, Mr. Klein?”

“Sure!” Jonah ran a hand through his short russet curls. “My friend Avi is a great example, because every night, he wears leather pants on stage for his concerts.” 

“Avi Wolfson?” This time it was the zookeeper in back, gasping. “As in Painted Doors concerts?” 

Even her bearded dragon looked impressed back in its cage, tongue flicking excitedly. 

“The man has dry cleaning bills like you can’t imagine,” Jonah continued. “Not very rock n’ roll, amiright?” He began to pace, like during one of his stand-up routines. He wished he had a microphone. “But you can’t just toss those bad boys into a washing machine after a sweaty concert.”

“Do they smell?” the kids chorused.

He nodded emphatically, waving a hand in front of his nose. “Just imagine, some poor drycleaner, dealing with ripe rock and roll pants, wondering how this became their life.”

His sister had zero control over her class now, as they howled and chattered excitedly. Like a superhero, Jonah planted his hands on his hips and took a wide-legged stance. 

“That’s where I come in,” he boomed. “someone has to keep those leather pants on budget. Rock stars break guitars, but not the bank. Not on my watch.” He turned to Julie. “Where’s your chalk?”

“Chalk? This isn’t Little House on the Prairie. Keep talking, Willie Oleson. I’ll work the Smartboard.” 

“So, say Avi plays two hundred shows a year…” These days, it was far less, since the band was taking a well-deserved break after last year’s snafu when the tour bus left Avi behind and he was the one questioning his life choices. But to illustrate his point, Jonah stuck to the basic math. “And how much do you think it costs to dry clean a pair of leather pants?”

A few kids threw out their best guesses.

“Let’s say it’s fifty dollars. Not bad, but…if poor Avi has to send them out for cleaning after every show?”

Julie took over the lesson, using whatever Smartboard woo-woo combined with good old-fashioned math magic. The kids quickly multiplied fifty times two hundred with her help. “Ten thousand dollars, guys…just to keep his pants clean. That’s a lot of money.” 

“Imagine some regular Joe Schmoe trying to explain that on his taxes? But guess what? Thanks to me, Avi can write off not only the cleaning but even the cost of the pants themselves as a business expense because I can prove they are – repeat after me – ordinary and necessary!”

“Ordinary and necessary.”

“So you can get paid for cleaning your pants?” A boy up front asked, incredulous.

“Only if your job involves sweating on stage in front of twenty thousand people,” Jonah explained. “Otherwise, sorry – no pants deductions for you.”

Julie was facepalming, but maybe it was to cover up her smile. Or her blush at the thought of the rocker and his leather pants. 

Avi had been a regular fixture at the Klein family dinner table for over a decade now. He’d detoured to Paris after their gap year in Israel, learning just enough French to impress half the women in the tri-state area. That included all the women in Somerset County, where Jonah and his sisters grew up. 

Of course, Jonah had threatened his best friend with bodily harm if he hit on any of his mishpacha. But none of the Klein women were exactly immune to his charms. Their mom still sent that lucky bastard Hamentashen every Purim, no matter where he was on the road. And stocked his favorite Kosher snacks in case he dropped in for a visit. 

Jonah felt that at least entitled him to use the guy as a case study, to hell with client confidentiality. This had been a tough crowd to crack, so by any means necessary. And the payoff was sweet – fist bumps and high fives from the kids and a chorus of “Thanks, Mister Jonah!” could be heard as they lined up for gym class. 

“That was…” Julie ventured, after she had thanked and sent the other career guests off. 

“Totally awesome and you’re in awe of my awesomeness…and in my debt for eternity?”

The She-EO had even slipped Jonah her business card, ruffling her blonde bob and echoing her son’s question of helping do her taxes. Although her tone had implied doing far more…familiar things. 

And the zookeeper had invited him out for coffee, after offering to let him pet her bearded dragon – which he hoped wasn’t code for something. In exchange for more dirt on Avi, no doubt. He’d politely declined. 

Jonah had no trouble getting dates, but sometimes wondered how many were because he had a famous wingman. 

“I’ll buy you a coffee later, and we can call it even, how’s that?” 

“Sorry, Jules. Gotta pick up Avi and Leah at the airport.” Speaking of that particular handsome devil. “Raincheck?” 

“Of course. I forgot it was Baller week.” 

His sister clutched her stomach at the thought of rolling around the New York waterway after consuming decadent Jewish cuisine – and top shelf booze – for the better part of eight hours. But for Jonah, the Matzo Baller Hanukkah harbor cruise was a homecoming he looked forward to every December. 

“Say hi for me. I can’t believe Avi has been locked down. And Jay too? You’re the last eligible bachelor.” Julie brushed imaginary dust from his jacket lapels, fussing over him. 

“You’re forgetting Eli.” 

It was anyone’s guess about Eli Gold’s whereabouts and his love life most days. All Jonah knew was that their larger-than-life friend had sent his regrets early this year, missing their found-family reunion on the boat yet again. “But yeah, I’m pretty much the last mensch standing.”

The girls in his gang were well on their way to happily hooking up, too. Jonah wouldn’t be surprised if Nora and Beck, or Talia and Asher for that matter, began filing jointly by next tax season. 

“Well, JoJo. Maybe this will be your year, aboard…the love boat!” Julie warbled. GiGi and Bap, as they called their parents around Avery, had not only forced stable careers on them, but also their love of nostalgia TV. 

“Don’t hold your breath…or quit your day job, sis.” Jonah plugged his ears to spare himself from any additional off-key crooning. Until he felt a persistent tug at his elbow. 

“Sophie!” His sister admonished. “Why aren’t you in gym class with the other students?”

The little girl who had pulled at Jonah’s suit jacket shrunk back, eyes wide. “I’m sorry, Ms. Klein. I just had a question, but…” She looked over at the rows of desks and dropped her voice. “It’s stupid. I didn’t want the others to tease me if I asked it during class.”

Jonah crouched to her eye level, so he’d be less intimidating. “My mom’s a librarian and she always says there’s no such thing as a stupid question. So this is a no-tease zone, I promise.” 

Julie nodded, backing him up. 

“Do you know…Rosie, from Room to Bloom?”

Wow, talk about nostalgia. The throwback sitcom brought up instant memories of staying home sick from school and eating Cup O’ Noodles, wrapped in the blanket his grandma (the original GiGi) had made him for Hanukkah that she called her “afghan’t” (as in “I can’t crochet a decent afghan to save my life.”) 

Jonah had loved Room to Bloom because it was the first TV show where he’d ever seen Jewish rep so proudly on display, and could relate to growing up the youngest in a house full of siblings of the opposite gender…like he had, being the only boy with so many older sisters. And since he was the same age as the main character Rosie, he’d felt like they had grown up together. Her on-screen Bat Mitzvah had even coincided with his own call to Torah. 

He had totally crushed on Bat Mitzvah-era Rosie Bloom. 

“See? I told you it was stupid.” The girl pulled her sleeves over her hands, frowning. 

“No, no,” Jonah was quick to assure. “I just…I haven’t thought about that show in a long time.” 

Or Rosie Bloom, who had given him such a hard-on under that blanket as the years went by and the on-screen personality bloomed before his adolescent eyes. 

“My mom…we don’t have cable,” Sophie mumbled. “But we have old DVDs.” 

“It was one of our favorite shows, too.” Julie smiled down at her student. 

True, after they had had their fill of suffering on the Prairie, or the high seas cheesiness of what was pretty much 70s Tinder on a cruise ship, the Klein kids would tune into something from their own era. Room to Bloom was something they could all agree on. 

“I don’t know her,” Jonah admitted. “But I did meet her once.” 

The night came to him in flashes, like it always did. 

Last year. 

On the Matzo Baller.

His roaming improv gig on the boat for charity. 

Too many shots, going down too easy. And inevitably, going down for the count – faceplanting on the back deck of the ship. No cartoon birds circling his head like in the old Looney Tunes clips. Just blackness, pain, faraway voices. 

Then, gentle hands. 

Velvet and glitter. Kindness. 

And the throaty laugh of Kara Koff. 

The actress whom he had seen on the Baller from afar, year after year, but had never gotten up the nerve to approach.  She was big now – all grown up, yes, but much bigger than her character Rosie Bloom and that old sitcom. She was superhero-cinematic-universe-big now.

In his drunken stupor that night, he had called her an angel. To her beautiful, glittery face. A Jewish angel, coming to his rescue. 

“JoJo! You met Kara Koff? You never told me that!” 

“See what you miss by refusing to try Dramamine?” 

Somehow, he was the only one out of four siblings who’d grown sea legs. As kids, Julie, Jess and Jillian couldn’t even walk past The Flying Wave at Six Flags Great Adventure without turning green and threatening to barf. 

Jonah ignored his sister’s thirst for the tea. No way was he going to spill that to Jules. Or to any of his sisters. They would tease him mercilessly. 

He turned to Sophie with a smile. “Rosie Bloom is a great hero to have.” 

The grin the girl gave him back told him he’d said just the right thing.

Latke’d and Loaded is Book #5 in the Matzo Ballers Hanukkah Romance series: a mistaken-identity, twin-switch, accidental-bodyguard rom-com filled with hijinks, heart, and holiday heat. Available worldwide on your favorite e-reader platform!

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If Louder Than Love was the book of my heart, then Get What You Need may just be the book of my head. In fact, when I was looking back through my rough notes on this story that explores the characters from my debut ten years into the future, I realized I had started jotting them down before Berkley had even picked up and published Louder Than Love. So, obviously I had wanted to stay with these folks in their world for a little bit longer. And I hope you will too!

A big thank you to Amanda Usen for making my day with this graphic!

Many readers tell me they do a re-read of Louder Than Love every year, or whenever they feel the need. Fair warning, diving into GWYN right after may be a shock to the system. After all, the adorable five-year-old Abbey is now fifteen and some of her thoughts, words and actions aren’t so cute anymore. I now see there may be a little of me in her teenage rebellion.

At fifteen, my family picked up and moved to a new city, and I had had to leave all my friends behind. Kids who had known me forever, that I had never had to prove myself to. And I had never really had to keep myself company before…being “the new kid” really forces some introspection on you. My upheaval was before the days of the internet, texting and social media. It was in the days of ink-stained fingers from letter-writing, and racking up long distance phone bills. At least my young character finds ways to try and keep herself looped into her old world, even though the concequences aren’t exactly what she wants.

While Abbey was the catalyst for this story (at one point I was calling this book “Abbey’s Road” in my head) and Louder Than Love’s beloved couple Adrian and Kat are a constant, to me the real star is Natalie. We never meet her on the page in Louder Than Love, but she’s Adrian’s estranged daughter and she had certainly shaped him – Natalie appears in his stories to Kat, his triumphs and his regrets, in his views of fatherhood and trying to be a better man the second time around.

I was so happy to bring Nat across the pond and give her a bit of the old “Love, Loss & Rock and Roll” treatment that this brand of books has become known for.

I may be too close to this story at this juncture. Could it be read as a standalone? Maybe. It is, at its heart, a tale of sisterhood. Of small town solace, where the grounding presence of the lake and its community welcome you. Of fresh starts and re-invention. Of getting what you need…when sometimes getting what you want is the easy part.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, whether you’ve followed the entire journey through the Love & Steel novels and have reached this point. Or whether you are about to reach for your first Jessica Topper novel to see what’s been going on in her head, and her heart.

Paperback releases Tuesday, January 14, 2025 

E-book ON SALE NOW through:

Amazon |BN.com | Kobo | Apple Books | Google Play | Other e-book platforms worldwide

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The original “Stuff your E-Reader Day” is back! I’m excited to join forces with over 2,000 romance authors to present a curated offering of free-for-a-limited-time romance ebooks! You can download these free romance books at your preferred ebook retailer, no strings attached. This is just a helpful collection, presented by not only category, but – for the first time – by vibe! Think Cozy, Heartwarming, Magical, Intense, Angsty, Sweet, Steamy, etc. While there are all different types of books included in this event, many of the books are holiday reads…to keep that festive feel going straight into 2025!

And what better day to share this with readers than December 26th? Some countries celebrate Boxing Day and in that spirit, this offering nourishes the soul as much as lightens the wallet after holiday spending. Curling up with an e-reader stuffed to the brim with new books is the perfect way to unwind after the festive rush.

Or perhaps your holiday is just beginning: this year, Hanukkah begins at sunset on December 25th! Come spend it with The OG Matzo Ballers: eight friends who became found family after meeting during their gap year abroad, who are now living and loving their best lives on a yarly Hanukkah harbor cruise around Manhattan. In honor of the holiday (and the release of books three and four), Amanda Usen and I have included the first two books in our Matzo Ballers Hanukkah Romance series in this curated collection of free books – so you can Stuff Your Kindle, Nook, iPad, iPhone, Kobo reader, or Android with a bit more holiday cheer!

On December 26th, visit https://www.romancebookworms.com and search for THE HANUKKAH HOOK-UP and THE DREIDEL DO-OVER by name but also by keywords. In fact, any keyword or trope will help you navigate this massive list. There truly is something for everyone!

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I’m excited to announce that I will be taking part in the 6th annual Bookstore Romance Day, with a signing on Saturday, August 17th from 1-3pm at Author’s Note bookstore in Medina, NY!

August 17th will always hold a special day in my heart, as it was the day my mother was born. She instilled in me a love of books – memories of sitting on her lap while she read me my favorite stories (like Mary Ann’s Mud Day by Janice May Udry) are still so vivid, I can almost hear the turning of the pages and her voice as she’d point at each picture and trace over the words. She would sit for me for hours and we’d draw our own stories  (her stick figures were legendary) and from her, I learned how to keep space in life for creativity and play.  

My mom grew up in Batavia, NY – a small town/city not far from Medina. In her words, she’d joke that an exciting Friday night was “walking down to Main Street and watching the trucks drive by.” If that was the action in Batavia, I can only imagine the pace of life in the village of Medina back then! I think she’d be delighted to see its cool little Main Street, thriving business district, and how it’s become a charming destination. It’s now one of my favorite day-trip towns, anchored by its amazing little bookstore owned by Julie Berry, an author herself. Be still my heart!

I’m thrilled Author’s Note asked me to represent romance on Bookstore Romance Day, a day designed to give independent bookstores an opportunity to celebrate Romance fiction—its books, readers, and writers. And I am doubly-thrilled it lands on my Mother’s special day, when I can celebrate her, too. I wish she were here to walk down Main Street and see something more exciting than the trucks going by – to see her daughter following her dreams, one book-signing at a time.

 

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I’m prepping for an appearance at a local event, billed as a “school book fair for grown-ups.” And can I tell you, the excitement is bringing back all sorts of nostalgia for those magical times in grade school when the teachers would send you home with the Scholastic Book Fair flyer. How many times a year did we have those? Not nearly enough, in my ten-year-old mind. For a kid who LOVED books, it was as if a magic portal opened in the otherwise boring school lobby (or cafeteria) for a day.

I remember taking home the flyer and circling all the books I wanted. (Showing my age here.) It was akin to circling toys in the department store catalog (REALLY showing my age here) before the holidays. The wishlist. Then the day would come when we could actually peruse the books. And not just books – there were the fuzzy-topped pencils. The scented erasers. The tasseled bookmarks. The shiny stickers.

Last year I spoke to a teacher-friend’s first grade class in a nearby town. The kids were writing their autobiographies and my friend told them proudly that she knew a real published author who could come and chat with them. I walked into the lobby, only to find they were holding their book fair.

Cue joy. I wanted to stop and smell the books! I refrained.

This Sunday, I get to live out my dream to live inside a book fair (for a couple hours.) And people-watch all the book lovers as they descend. (Come smell my books. Pick up my stickers. Take a bookmark!) I’m sharing a table with a couple other author friends, which is always fun as well. It’s all for a good cause, as we will be donating 25% of our proceeds from sales that day to the American Cancer Society of Western New York.

While there may not be fuzzy-topped pencils, there will be tons of bookish vendors there, with their creative wares – book-themed jewelry, candles etc – and local booksellers…each one their own traveling curated book fair. I am just as excited to peruse as I am to be signing my own books.

But I’m pretty damn excited about that too.

Because ten-year-old me at the school book fair may have dreamt about her own name on the cover of one of those books she saw at the fair. She may have just been high on those scented eraser fumes, but she’d hoped that the day would come.

If you’re in the Buffalo area, Sunday May 5th – take a stroll down the book fair lane! We’ll be taking over the first floor hallways of the Walden Galleria Mall from 11-4, starting by Sephora and winding around to Best Buy. Big thanks to The Saucy Book Club for orchestrating this book lovers’ dream come true!

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I thank my lucky stars for her. Every. Damn. Day. And not just because she is also a writer, and understands exactly the revolving cast of characters taking up residence in my head. And not because she is a chef and has nourished me through the ups and downs of this past decade. (Although I will never turn down the chance to be a taste-tester for her carrot muffins!)

Maybe it’s a little bit because we’ve become the type of friends who can float anything past the other and they’ll say “Sounds like a terrible idea – what time?” Like, let’s go take a heavy metal yoga class in the middle of downtown Atlanta during a writer conference. Or, let’s do the Dirty Girl Mud Run and plot books as we belly-crawl through the obstacle course in the rain.

But sometimes it’s a great idea – like, let’s write a Hanukkah romance series together. We joked about it enough until we convinced ourselves that someday – we would. 

Anyway, back to lucky stars – somehow the stars aligned, we found free windows of time earlier this fall and began building out a world of eight friends who became “found family.” They make sure to gather every Hanukkah to celebrate their ups and downs, loves and losses, their culture and their heritage.

Meanwhile, an unimaginable scenario was unfolding in our real world.

Sometimes it’s easy to put your head down and stay in your writing cave. But other times…it’s impossible. 

We struggled with the decision to even release these stories this year – but ultimately decided, yes – the world could use more light and love right now. 

Coincidently – it is currently Jewish Book Month, upholding the vital importance of highlighting and sharing stories of Jewish life, joy, and everything in between. 

These books are fun and light…even if our heads and our hearts are anything but at this time. And if they can offer anyone a tiny bit of escapism in any form, our work as writers is done. 

And circling back to the stars…Amanda designed our covers and I smile at all those stars she placed in the sky. Thank you, friend. 

You can pre-order both titles now and they will appear on your e-reader like magic on December 5th.

THE HANUKKAH HOOK-UP: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, KOBO, Apple Books, and Google Books

THE DREIDEL DO-OVER: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Books.

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This is my first time participating in Romancebookworms‘ Stuff Your E-Reader Day, but as a former librarian, I feel compelled to share a few tips to help bibliophiles of all things romance navigate.

We are more than halfway through this 3-day extravaganza where romance writers of all genres offer up free copies of novels in 17 different categories. Only one book per author/pen name, and would you believe, 2400 authors participated? Leave it to romance writers to pull off such a feat and “share the love,” so to speak.

As I continue celebrating my debut novel Louder Than Love’s 10th anniversary, Stuff Your E-Reader felt like a great place to keep the party going!

I know 2400 books in 17 categories can seem pretty daunting, and you may also be wondering: what’s the catch? But there are literally no strings attached – you just visit the romancebookworms.com site, choose your preferred e-reader platform (it’s not just Stuff Your Kindle, it’s also Stuff Your Nook, Stuff Your Apple Device, Stuff Your Kobo and Stuff Your Android) and start downloading.

Here are 3 librarian-approved tips:

1. “FIND” is your friend: You can use Control F (on a PC) or Command F (on a Mac) or old-school menu it with Edit –> Find on your browser to search for keywords.

• Like books with hockey players? Search the word “hockey” using the Find commands
• Is your favorite trope a second chance at love? You can search “second chance” and any books that mention it in the title, summary, or keyword description will come up. Same with “secret baby,” “age gap” etc.

Here’s what an entry looks like, with keywords provided:

2. Confirm “FREE” is really free: While every author has committed to making their book free to you for these three days, technical glitches can occur and prices can sneakily revert to their original by no fault of the author or the host of romancebookworms. Just double-check before clicking to download that the book is in fact free at this time. 

3. Enjoy! You may not recognize a name, but why not try out a new-to-you author? Discover a new series. A genre you’ve never read before. 

Happy (stuffing and) reading!
xo
Jess

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Happy 10th birthday, you rockstar!

September 17th is a date on the calendar that has a built-in familiarity to it, just as ingrained as my own birthday and those of my loved ones. While it is the day my debut novel Louder Than Love released into the world, I’ve been thinking a lot lately: when is a book truly born?

From the first glimmer of an idea – the kind that feels like a delicious secret, sparking excitement every time you return to it?

Or is it from the moment you place pen to paper, or your fingertips on the keyboard?

Is a book born when you finally type “THE END” and sit back, basking in the accomplishment?

I could go on to say maybe it’s the day you get “the call” or the contract in the mail, or the minute you push the “Publish” button in all the places this modern age lets you share your creative efforts.

Maybe it’s that first review – like a love letter in a bottle from a total stranger, washing ashore…just when you thought no one else was out there.

The birth day of a book, no matter where you place it in your timeline, is bracketed by a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs: triumphs, setbacks, frustrations and elations. Just like a book can elicit a whirlwind of emotions in a reader, consider the firestorm brewing inside a writer from the spark of conception to completion. Whew!

While today marks a decade of Adrian “Digger” Graves and the other characters in Louder Than Love, those folks have lived in my head for much longer than that. And, while a lot of authors tend to write a book and move on to the next one, I continue to be thoroughly entertained, challenged, sometimes tormented, and downright obsessed with the world borne out of this particular book.

And so it only seems fitting to announce, on this 10th anniversary…

GET WHAT YOU NEED

An entirely new Love & Steel story

Releasing in paperback and ebook in 2024

Ten years later, a return to Lauder Lake…

Do you use Bookbub, the free site that notifies you when books go on sale? I have an author page there, and if you “Follow” me, Bookbub will send you a personal note when I have a book sale through them. It’s easy – just click here and then on “Follow”, or click on the graphic below for visual reference.

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Join Adrian, Kat and Abbey as they prepare for the holidays…and so much more! Perfect for fans of LOUDER THAN LOVE!

The post More Than Merry – A free short story! appeared first on Jessica Topper, Author.

I think every writer daydreams beyond their books, and wonders what it would be like to have them translated to screen. I am hoping this is one step closer to the reality of it actually happening!

Will keep you updated on any further developments!

The post Much Ado about Much I Do! appeared first on Jessica Topper, Author.