Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Sandi Shilhanek | Reading while Sick
Sundays with Sandi / November 30, 2008

I hope that everyone who is in the United States enjoyed their Thanksgiving, and had plenty leftovers so that there was plenty of time to curl up and read. My family always does Thanksgiving with Elizabeth, a long time friend. Since she’s the better cook all the cleaning and prepping is at her house, so I have plenty of time to read should I so desire or be able to. However, as I write this I am stuck with a home in need of some good cleaning, and a cold attacking me and not letting me out of its nasty grip. My email often brings a message of someone’s illness and that the good thing that came out of it was how much they read. I think if you’re sick and can read it’s fantastic. I however only want to hide under the nearest blanket and burrow into the best pillow and sleep until the illness has given up hope of something exciting happening, and moves on to its next victim. Are you like me…a sleeping sick person or are you like others who can gobble up one book after another while fighting the cold, flu or other nasty ailments…

Lindsay McKenna | Researching blog
Uncategorized / November 29, 2008

I love research. It gets me out in the field and I meet some of the most remarkable people in those professions. Research, to me, is more fun than writing the book! I get to travel, learn something new and look at what I’m being educated about and how it might fit into a brewing plot in my head. Every writer, in my opinion, should write what she or he knows. No matter how much your experience, you’re going to run out of books based upon your life knowledge. And then, moving to topics that make you salivate, is the next step. For example, using DANGEROUS PREY, my HQN that is coming out in December, 2008, will give you some helpful information. It is a book where the hero is a raptor rehabilitator. I can tell you that I’m not an expert on raptors or how to help them when they get injured. Sometimes kismet occurs and a writer gets lucky. I’m a member of the Flagstaff, Arizona Arboretum . I was up there about two years ago to do some photographing of their flowers. Imagine my shock and surprise when I saw this gorgeous blond haired woman with a…

Tara Taylor Quinn | Pie Day
Uncategorized / November 28, 2008

Today is pie day. For my entire adult life the holiday season has started with pie day. It’s the day before Thanksgiving. And I am the pie maker. Doesn’t matter where Thanksgiving is happening, I make the pies. Conveniently, it’s worked out that where ever Thanksgiving was happening, pies have been needed. I make four of them. Whether dinner is for five or fifteen. Four pies. Two pumpkin. A pecan. And an apple. I can still remember the first time I made an apple pie. I was a young adult. In an apartment. I don’t know why I had to make an apple pie. I’m fairly confident that I had a reason. Just not one worth remembering apparently. But I do remember the process. Clearly. I was an adult. A woman. I could follow directions. I could make a pie. That’s what women did. I had a great cookbook that I got from I have no idea where. I probably knew that back then, too. Today I can tell you that I still have that cookbook. So, whoever gave it to me (probably my mother) thank you. On that holiday more than twenty years ago, I opened the book to…

Sara Reyes | Stress Release…finding a new author
Uncategorized / November 27, 2008

In the US, today is Thanksgiving. A national holiday known for feasting on turkey (or not), being with family (or not), watching the Cowboys lose (or, sigh, sadly not). The official day before the start of Christmas shopping madness, otherwise known as Black Friday. So, of course it is also the time for stress. From family, from indulging too much in rich foods, from anxiety about the economy, to, well, just stress. So, what a better stress reliever besides a good long walk…why, a book of course! My recent reading kick involves the discovery of Max Alan Collins. I knew him as the author of the graphic novel the movie ROAD TO PERDITION was based but recently I’ve discovered his many forays into other works including the movie — “The Last Lullaby,” then the books and stories TLL was based on — the Quarry books. So I asked Pat to find as many books as she could by Collins and I was off. It’s a joy to discover the depth of MAC. He ranges from a garage rock band to comic strips to graphic novels to video games to a slew of novelizations to his own series of mysteries: Heller,…

Cynthia Eden | Let Your Inner Demon Out
Romance / November 26, 2008

“Let your inner demon out”—That’s what Cara Maloan, the heroine from my new Kensington Brava release, MIDNIGHT SINS, would really like to encourage all women to do. Cara thinks ladies should start living for themselves, doing what they want—and having one heck of a good time. Something you should probably know…Cara’s a succubus. Yep, she’s an immortal demon who gains power from sneaking into a man’s dreams and stealing his sensual energy. Hey—it’s a job, someone has to do it. 🙂 Cara is absolutely one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of writing. She was fun—definitely fun—but, the lady also had her hang-ups. You see, she’s a sex demon at heart, but Cara wants more than fleeting pleasure from a man. She wants love, and love isn’t something that a succubus usually gets to experience. Ah, such is the twisted fate of my characters. When I write about my characters, I love to think in terms of opposites for them. Vampires with blood phobias…sex demons who want love…a vampire hunter who finds her perfect lover in—ahem—a vampire. Opposites. But don’t worry too much about Cara…I gave her a good hero. She just has to get him…

Sara Bennett | Angst or Not
Romance / November 25, 2008

Thanks for inviting me to blog! My name is Sara Bennett and I write historical romance for Avon. I have to confess that I tend to write books that have a lot of angst in them. I try not to. I tell myself that I’ll lighten up, write one of those bubbly, sunny books. But no matter how I try the angst creeps in. Before I know it the hero has suffered some terrible trauma or the heroine is struggling with the memory of a miserable childhood. For some reason my creative voice tends to dwell on the darkside. My November book is called Her Secret Lover, and is the final in my series of Aphrodite books. Aphrodite is an infamous courtesan living in Victorian London, and she has lots of angst in her life. The first three books (Lessons in Seduction, Rules of Passion and Mistress of Scandal) told the stories of Aphrodite’s three daughters and some of the issues covered are, well, dark. The next book (A Seduction in Scarlet) deals with widowhood, the expectations of others, assassination attempts . . . yes, there are some angsty subjects in this one as well. Now I’m saying goodbye to…

Christie Ridgway | Conveniences, Contrivances, and Coincidences
Uncategorized / November 24, 2008

Hi! I’m Christie Ridgway, the author of Unravel Me, a sexy contemporary romance (find info and an excerpt at www.christieridgway.com) and tireless reader of romance novels. I was reading a delicious historical last week and in it the hero and heroine were forced by rain to seek a room at an inn. Guess just how many rooms were available? You know, right? It was one. Just the one room which forced these two who are battling their attraction into even closer proximity. Sure it was a convenient tool for the author. A contrivance. At best we could say it was a coincidence that the stars of the book just happened upon this particular inn that only had a single room to rent. But I didn’t care! As a lover of romance novels, I understand that every turn of fortune like this serves to make the tension tighter, the characters’ emotions more turbulent, the reader-enjoyment just that much deeper. One room at the inn, I read, and then I smiled to myself and wiggled into my comfy chair, prepared to be entertained by what all that means. It’s not so different from a football game, I’m realizing (I say this as…

Sandi Shilhanek | Trying a New Author
Sundays with Sandi / November 23, 2008

This last Wednesday our book dinner group got together. As always is there any better way to forget the horrors of the day job than by getting together with some of your closest friends to discuss not only the book or author of the night, but also what made the day so horrific. This time our author of the hour was Linda Howard. Of course who can resist Linda Howard and the chance to visit with her even if it’s over the phone, so we had new members to join our group for dinner. Overall the group tried really hard to be on their best behavior so that the newbies wouldn’t be scared off. I would say that for the most part we were very well behaved, though I can only behave for so long before I just have to blurt something! O.K. I digress Linda Howard was awesome. How could she not have been? I think it’s really hard to find an author who really appeals to a group as diverse as ours, and if I remember correctly everyone in the group had something they wanted to ask or just tell Linda. Every time I leave the book dinner…

Sara Reyes | Book Club Hang Over…
Guests / November 22, 2008

Linda Howard Book clubOriginally uploaded by freshfiction Pat saw a tee shirt on wireless.com — “Not so loud, I had book club last night.” A wine glass on its side was also featured. Some Thursday mornings I do feel that way, especially after a really exciting book club dinner. I’d call it a meeting as in book club meeting, but to be honest, it’s more a wild dinner party. This week we had new visitors and for a portion of the evening…say until the lasgna made it to the table…we were on our “good” behavior. Then it went down hill or wild after that! All I can say, is good thing our dogs are quiet. They do get petted on the way out the door so I guess that is their reward. Husband and son just hide out. It’s safer that way! Our food theme was “Italian” but we had to add a Southern twist in honor of our guest, Linda Howard. Not only was it a Southern twist but also a recipe plucked right from one of Linda’s books! Claire’s Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding! And let me tell you, it must have coffee! In fact we completely lost the…

Lori Handeland | Where do you get your ideas?
Uncategorized / November 21, 2008

By far the question I’m asked most often is “Where do you get your ideas?” Not only by interviewers but by readers and by friends and family. I get the impression that those who know me best can’t believe I come up with all the creepy, violent “weird” stuff without some help. Which I guess is a compliment. I get my ideas in several ways. For instance, from something I’ve read. The concept for Any Given Doomsday came to me several years ago when I was researching another book and came across the legend of the Grigori, and it fascinated me. How the Grigori, or fallen angels, came to earth to watch the humans, then mated with the daughters of men and produced a supernatural race known as the Nephilim. I bought a bunch of books on prophesy, Revelation, angels, demons and read them whenever I had the chance and an idea started to nag at me—one of those ideas that captures an author and won’t let go. In the world of The Phoenix Chronicles, the Nephilim have been here since the beginning of time, wearing human faces, but beneath they are the monsters of legend—vampires, shape shifters and more….