And the final guest of the 2019 Debutante Ball class is… Shelby Mahurin, author of the gorgeous, swoony, and all-around amazing YA fantasy novel Serpent & Dove! Shelby Mahurin grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wands and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn’t fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby…

Welcome to this week’s guest, fellow 2019 debut author Maureen Joyce Connolly! Maureen Joyce Connolly is a former owner of a consulting firm that helped develop medications for ultra-rare diseases. While she misses her old career, she loves being a full-time writer. Maureen received her bachelor’s degree in physiology from Michigan State University and her master’s degree in liberal studies from Wesleyan University. Her background and love for science and the…

The best part of being a writer is getting to be friends with people you also fangirl over, and I am the BIGGEST fangirl of Erin A. Craig and her upcoming debut novel House of Salt and Sorrows! I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this book, and it’s the spooky Gothic fantasy of my dreams. Erin A. Craig has always loved telling stories. After getting her B.F.A….

This week I’m excited to welcome my other Unlikeable Female Characters podcast co-host Kristen Lepionka to the Ball! (We hosted Wendy Heard way back in December.) Kristen Lepionka is the author of the Roxane Weary mystery series. Her debut, The Last Place You Look, won the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. novel and was also nominated for Anthony and Macavity Awards. She grew up mostly in a public library and…