June 13, 7 PM EST
Meet star authors Tori Eldridge, Kate White, Faye Snowden, and Kate Khavari for a night to remember!
It’s all free, and you’ll get an early peek at the opening pages of the writers’ novels. Your TBR pile will thank you. Your emcee is our very own Tosca Lee, so come and have some fun!
Plus, you could be the lucky winner of one of the authors’ brand-new books:
Dance Among the Flames by Tori Eldridge
The Second Husband by Kate White
A Killing Rain by Faye Snowden
A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
As always, our guest authors’ (or their characters’) favorite snacks will be posted to the Rogue website. If you’re feeling culinary and adventurous, dining and drinking will commence at the start of the show.
Sign up soon! If you’re one of the first 100 in the Zoom room, you can personally debrief these accomplished storytellers. You can also catch them on Facebook Live, and interrogate them via comments. Join us for a night to remember!
TORI ELDRIDGE is the national bestselling author of the Lily Wong mystery thriller series: The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, and The Ninja Betrayed, Crimson Scribe Award winner for Best Book of 2021. Her shorter works appear in Weird Tales and other horror, dystopian, and literary anthologies, including the 2022 MWA anthology, Crime Hits Home. Her horror screenplay “The Gift,” which inspired Dance Among the Flames, earned a semi-finalist spot for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Born and raised in Honolulu, Tori’s deep interest in world culture and religions has prompted her to visit nine countries, including Brazil.
Dance Among the Flames, May 24, 2022
Across forty years, three continents, and a past incident in 1560 France, desperate mother Serafina Olegario tests the boundaries of love, power, and corruption as she fights to escape her life of poverty and abuse.
Serafina’s quest begins in Brazil when she’s possessed by the warrior goddess Yansã, who emboldens her to fight yet threatens to consume her spirit. Fueled by power and enticed by Exú, an immortal trickster and intermediary to the gods, Serafina turns to the seductive magic of Quimbanda. It’s dangerous to dance in the fire. But when you come from nothing, you have nothing to lose.
Tori’s main character, Serafina Olegario, likes to snack on Pipoca de Arroz (popcorn rice) and avocado smoothies. We just happened to find an awesome-looking recipe for one here.
The Second Husband, June 18, 2022
After losing her husband, Derrick, in what appears to have been a random street crime, thirty-something Emma has built a new life with widower Tom, who is kind, handsome, driven, and successful. Emma is finally able to feel safe again, both in her relationship with Tom and in the home they’ve made together on the Connecticut shore.
Then one day a homicide detective shows up at Emma and Tom’s door asking questions. Though Emma had been cleared of her husband’s murder, it appears that law enforcement is taking another look at her and the case.
What do they know? Are they on the right track this time? And will the renewed investigation ruin Emma’s chances of a happy life?
Kate’s main character loves blueberry smoothies (hey, we’re sensing a theme here!)
To create your own, add to a blender, roughly (the recipe doesn’t have to be precise):
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup blueberries
a little honey, maybe a tsp, if you like things a bit sweet
A Killing Rain, June 21, 2022
After former homicide Raven Burns returns to Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana to begin a new life, she soon finds herself trapped by the old one when her nephew is kidnapped by a ruthless serial killer, and her foster brother becomes the main suspect. To make matters worse, she is being pursued by two men— one who wants to redeem her soul for the murder Raven felt she had no choice but to commit, and another who wants to lock her away forever.
Faye enjoys a good Sazerac, and says: “I cheat. I like mine over ice! In our house, we call this the mood changer.”
Her recipe:
• 2 oz of Rye Whiskey
• 1/4 Agave Nectar
• 3 shakes of Peychauds bitters
• 1 shake of Angostura bitters
• Absinthe
• Orange Peel
– Coat a glass with Absinthe.
– Add ice to a separate glass, and add first 4 ingredients. Stir.
– Strain into glass coated with absinthe
– Rub orange peel around the rim, and add to the glass
– I like mine colder, so will drop an ice cube or craft ice into the glass.
Kate Khavari has her parents to thank for her fascination for historical mysteries, as she spent the majority of her childhood memorizing Sherlock Holmes’s and Poirot’s greatest quips. A former teacher, Kate has a deep appreciation for research and creativity, not to mention the multitasking ability she now relies on as an author and stay at home mother to her toddler son as she writes fiction ranging from historical mysteries to high fantasy epics. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas with her husband, son, and a lovely garden that contains absolutely no poisonous plants.
A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons, June 7, 2022
Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh is determined to blaze a new trail at the University College London, but with her colleagues’ beliefs about women’s academic inabilities and not so subtle hints that her deceased father’s reputation paved her way into the botany department, she feels stymied at every turn.
When she attends a dinner party for the school, she expects conversations about the university’s expedition to the Amazon, but not that one of the professor’s wives will drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Saffron’s mentor Dr. Maxwell is the main suspect and evidence quickly mounts.
Joined by fellow researcher Alexander Ashton, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons to clear Maxwell’s name. Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the murderer’s list?
Kate’s main character, Saffron Everleigh, is a botanist in London, England, in 1923. Naturally, Kate says, “Classic English tea is her beverage of choice. I don’t have a recipe for it myself (I frequently commit the cardinal sin of microwaving my water for tea, don’t tell anyone!) so I will suggest this essay by English novelist George Orwell (yes, that one!) which clearly delineates the correct method and ingredients.”
Our MC:
TOSCA LEE is a New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and optioned for TV and film. She is the recipient of two International Book Awards, Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion, ECPA Fiction Book of the Year, and the Nebraska Book Award. Tosca earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Smith College. A former first runner-up to Mrs. United States, she lives in Nebraska with her husband and two of four children still at home.
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