Author Spotlight: Welcome, Best-Selling Author Anna J. Stewart

Welcome to one of my favorite authors, the prolific and gifted Anna J. Stewart! I couldn’t be more pleased that she’s joined the Tule Publishing family of authors!

Anna J. Stewart is a National and USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty emotionally layered romances, ranging from sweet to suspenseful.

A Maggie and Holt Medallion winner, Anna’s work has also been recognized as a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards and one of her novels, Recipe for Redemption, was optioned for a TV movie.

At the heart of every story Anna tells is family—the kind you’re born into, and the kind you fight for. Her characters wrestle with real struggles, deep wounds, and the kind of love that changes everything.

When she’s not writing or working with editing and book coaching clients, Anna can be found in her kitchen chasing comfort through baking, or deep in a TV binge that often includes The Great British Bake-Off, Supernatural, and anything Starfleet-approved. She shares her space—and negotiates for desk rights—with two cats, Rosie and Sherlock, who are equal parts muse and menace.

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A Book Triple Play!

Last year, I had the unfortunate luck to be orphaned by my publisher. Right in the middle of my romantic suspense series. Gah! While it didn’t come as a complete surprise, it was still devastating. Yes, they gave me the rights back (so grateful!), but this business still hurts sometimes. As a result, I was left, well, floundering. I know myself well enough to understand that self-publishing is not in my wheelhouse (yet! I’m working on it, LOL). So on the advice of a good author friend, I reached out to the fabulous team at Tule Publishing. Happily, my Circle of the Red Lily romantic suspense series wasn’t without a home for long.

As most of us in the publishing world know, change is the one certainty. Making a publisher change, mid series, isn’t an easy task to take on. Not for the author, and certainly not for the publisher. But I have such faith in the Tule team and they made it almost fun! New titles (for 2 of the first three books at least), and new covers that really hit the right mark for the dark edge of this series along with a new way of doing things. It’s been a learning curve all the way, but what a wild, rewarding ride it’s been.

The first three books (of the planned 5-book series), FRAMED, VANISHED, and UNEARTHED, re-released last week. Already I’m seeing new readers discover the series, which honestly, was my primary goal. These books are the ones that have helped me find my voice; the kinds of books I feel as if I’m meant to write. So what kind of books are they, exactly?

I call them kitchen sink books. There’s a little something in them for everyone: intrigue, mystery, suspense, adventure, danger, and of course romance. All of my books will always be romances in case you were wondering. But for this series, I also got to dive into some of my life-long interests including classing Hollywood history and lore along with my fascination with secret societies.

With the Red Lily books, I’ve created Temple House, an historic apartment building in the heart of Los Angeles that goes back to that fabulous golden age of movie making. The owners are Riley Temple, a paparazzo when FRAMED begins, and her great Aunt Moxie, a former child star turned ingénue who earned her movie star back in the 40s. Moxie is now in her eighties and still looking for her comeback role. Temple House, most importantly, is home to Riley’s best friends, Mabel, a victims’ rights advocate and single mother, Cassia, a forensics expert and genius with a devastating past, Sutton, a private home chef and nutritionist, and Laurel, a superstar defense attorney who knows far too many Hollywood secrets. The five women could not be more different, but they’re also closer than sisters. This is my favorite kind of story to write: family found. Together, the friends join forces to solve the mystery of a notorious and now proven wrong murder conviction along with the disappearances of dozens of women. With connections to the rich and powerful as well as the dark side of Hollywood, I’ve called this my homage to the amazing work of author James Ellroy, noir writer extraordinaire.

Throughout the series, the mystery continues with each heroine getting her own happily-ever-after even in the midst of fear, trauma, and falling in love (at the worst possible time!). How will the series end? I have absolutely no idea. Shhhhh. I don’t plot my books. Crazy, right? But I’m a firm believer in that if I know what the answers are before I write the story, I’m not going to surprise my readers! If I’m not surprised, how will they be? It’s my job to keep you all guessing.

But that’s another story. And possible blog post.

I hope you’ll take a chance on these books. I’ve had so much fun writing them (even when they gave me fits). Book four has just been turned in and I’m very happy with it. But the true test will come when I sit down and tackle book five.

I can’t wait to see what happens!

Happy reading, everyone!
~Anna J Stewart

Giveaway! Anna has a $10 Amazon gift card for one lucky commenter. Just tell her below if you are a baker and if so, what is your favorite thing to bake?

Books 1 through 3 of Anna’s Circle of the Red Lily released on March 23. Start the series with Framed and keep going!

Framed

A fast-paced romantic suspense about betrayal, justice, and the redemptive power of love amid dark Hollywood secrets. 

When photographer Riley Temple develops a roll of film and uncovers an image of a murdered woman, she becomes the target of a deadly Hollywood conspiracy. The deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that someone powerful wants her silenced.

Her only ally is LAPD Detective Quinn Burton, a man whose loyalty to his family and the force is as unshakable as his attraction to Riley. Their partnership sparks an undeniable chemistry, but their investigation threatens to expose his father—the city’s police commissioner—as part of a secret society thriller that rules Los Angeles’s elite.

As Riley and Quinn race to uncover the truth, danger closes in. Caught between duty and desire, they’ll have to trust each other to survive. But in this world of love, lies, and corruption, trust could be the most dangerous choice of all.

A Hollywood conspiracy. A forbidden attraction. A truth worth dying for.