Fireside Author Chat With Cara Tanamachi and Mia P. Manansala

ABOUT THE BOOK Will she catch feelings … or catch a killer? True crime podcaster Ella Takeda is a sucker for a good mystery. She has an uncanny knack for pinpointing killers … until she gets it wrong. Turns out that identifying an innocent man as the Canceled Killer—a serial murderer who targets high-profile fraudsters—is cause for immediate backlash. Now she’s returned to her small Midwest town, but the Canceled Killer may not be done with her yet. Ella has a terrible suspicion she’s his next target … and worse, she might be dating him. Could it be Jude, the sexy, cheese-loving nerd her mom is convinced she’s going to marry? Or Aaron, the hot Chicago detective who’s the walking embodiment of every Swipe Right fantasy? And finally, there’s Mateo—a Hollywood stunt double who’s got allll the right moves. Trusting guys is hard enough, especially when one wants her dead. Will she be able to unmask the killer before she becomes the next victim? ABOUT THE AUTHORS Cara Tanamachi is the USA Today bestselling author of the Emma-Award Winning, The Takeover, and the Diverse Writers and Readers International [https://rsjconvention.com/author-awards-dwri-romance-book-awards-2024-winners-announced/] romance book literary award winner, The Second You’re Single. She also writes under the name Cara Lockwood, and has written 38 books and counting, including I Do (But I Don’t), which became an original Lifetime Movie. She wrote the novelization of The Dater’s Handbook, a Hallmark movie starring Meghan Markle. She lives near Chicago with her spouse and blended family. Her next book, a rom-com murder mystery called Kiss, Marry, Kill [https://amzn.to/49XR7BK] will be published by Hachette/Grand Central Publishing the summer 2026. Mia P. Manansala is a writer from Chicago who loves books, baking, and bad-ass women. She is the multi-award-winning author of the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series, the Dizon Detective Agency series (YA), and the forthcoming cozy fantasy, THE SPIRIT MEDIUM’S ENCHANTED APOTHECARY. She uses humor (and murder) to explore aspects of the Filipino diaspora, queerness, and her love for Millennial pop culture. A lover of all things geeky and cozy, Mia spends her days procrasti-baking, gaming, reading, eating, and staring adoringly at her dog, Gumiho. Her husband is pretty cool too.