July 21 2026
Meet the Author: Lynda Allen is a storyteller, author, poet, artist, and listener. She began her career in video post-production and documentary filmmaking before focusing her knack for storytelling on writing. She has written four poetry collections and the Liv Wilde Mysteries, featuring Flashes of Insight (book 1) and Flashes of a Dying Hour (book 2).
Lynda is also the author of the Liv Wilde Mysteries, in which menopause is a superpower. “I had to put up with hot flashes every day, I figured I might as well make them useful!”
Lynda shares: “I proudly infuse my writing with my Jersey Girl sensibilities and aim to create stories imbued with heart and humor. I live in Fredericksburg, VA, where the Liv Wilde mysteries are set, with my husband, our cat, and the many incredible eagle friends who pay us frequent visits. When I’m not writing about hot flash-induced psychic visions, I also write poetry and create art.” Learn more: lyndaallenwrites.com
Author Lynda Allen brings us “Flashes of Fire and Fury
Flashes of Fire and Fury (
There’s a witch hunt underway, and Liv Wilde is one of its targets.
Liv knew it would be impossible to hide her menopausal superpower in a small town, but she never imagined the unwanted attention it would attract.
Now, her hot flash-induced psychic visions have put her in the sights of a religious fanatic, who sends Liv a series of letters quoting increasingly disturbing biblical punishments for witches.
More unwanted attention arrives in the form of Mando Jimenez, a superstitious local baseball player who’s convinced he’s being cursed and that only Liv can help him break it.
Amid the threats and curses, Liv is haunted by visions of a woman being attacked in the woods and left to die in a fire. When her visions become reality and the threats hit closer to home, Liv and her friends race to discover if the letter writer and the attacker are the same person, before other women with supernatural abilities are targeted.
With all the chaos in Liv’s life, the appearance of some welcome attention from a handsome man, only complicates matters.
To protect herself and her daughters, bring the witch hunt to an end, and break Mando’s curse, Liv must put faith in her visions and learn a new way to access her insights.
“Flashes of a Dying Hour,” by Lynda Allen
What if menopause gave you a superpower?
Menopause unlocked a previously unknown superpower for Liv Wilde – psychic visions during hot flashes. While her visions rarely have life and death consequences, for the first time, Liv sees a dead body in a premonition. When she comes face-to-face with the man while he’s still very much alive, Liv grapples with whether or not to warn him about his possible future.
The mysterious stranger turns out to be one of the many treasure hunters who have descended upon her once quiet town of Fredericksburg, Virginia, in search of a rare and coveted copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s first poetry collection, Tamerlane.
With help from her girlfriends, Liv joins the hunt, trying to tap into her insights to stay one step ahead of a dangerous treasure hunter known as The Falcon. Things become personal when a friend of Liv’s daughter is kidnapped by The Falcon.
Amid visions of kidnapping and murder, Liv learns a hard lesson: not everyone wants to be saved from their fate.
“Flashes of Insight,” by Lynda Allen
Mood swings and insomnia are one thing, hot flash-induced psychic visions are quite another. When Olivia Wilde realizes the visions she’s been experiencing in the midst of hot flashes are actually premonitions, she has to learn to understand and trust what she sees in order to help a friend, preserve a piece of history, and save a life.
When Liv’s friend Jane’s antique store in Fredericksburg, Virginia is robbed, Liv finds herself in the midst of a quest to find a secret cache of letters written by President James Monroe and his wife Elizabeth, which historians thought Monroe destroyed long ago.
With the encouragement of her “Monthly” dinner party girlfriends, Liv begins to learn how to harness her newfound abilities, along with her smarts, to help uncover who is behind the break-in. It’s a quest that nearly costs two lives, including Liv’s, and teaches her the often-hidden price of small-town life and generational family secrets.
Deftly weaving together elements of history, mystery, menopause, humor, some Jersey girl attitude, a bit of salty language, and a healthy dose of female friendship, Flashes of Insight marks the start of a new “Jersey Cozy”* series sure to deliver laughter, intelligence, and lots of heart.
*Cozy Mystery reader beware! The author and protagonist both hail from New Jersey, so there is some profanity not usually found in traditional cozy mysteries. You have been forewarned!
Click here to buy Lynda’s books.
About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, Jeff has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. Jeffrey has been interviewed by CNN, National Geographic, and The New York Times. Learn more: jeffreyjameshiggings.com
Find more of Elaine’s Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine’s Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and listen to all the podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com.
Elaine’s Literary Salon
About Elaine’s Restaurant: A menu filled with delicious modern Mediterranean cuisine selections is sure to please everyone in your party. The dishes are inspired by exquisite food from Alexandria, Egypt — a blend of Middle Eastern and French, Greek, and Italian influences. Elaine’s is named for the owner’s grandmother and is based on a promise she made at the age of 12, growing up in Cairo. “I promised my grandma I would someday own a restaurant and name it after her,” shares Cynthia, who is also an author. She and her husband, bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins, are proud to share my family’s recipes with new friends and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.” Located in an 1880s building, it was the previous home for 38 years of the beloved bistro Bilbo Baggins. The newly renovated restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town’s Historic District within sight of the Potomac River and Founders Park, just a few blocks from The Torpedo Factory Art Center, and Old Town Alexandria Waterfront. Make a reservation today: elaines-restaurant.com.
About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host 
And meet the PR Director for Elaine’s Literary Salon, InkandescentPR.com’s founder, Hope Katz Gibbs. With her team of award-winning journalists, illustrators and video producers, they help writers up their PR and marketing game with professionally produced podcasts on 
