Covington November 2009On Sale: November 10, 2009336 pages ISBN: 1416597352EAN: 9781416597353Hardcover$19.99 Women’s Fiction Buy at Amazon.com A Blue And Gray Christmas by Joan Medlicott In this stunning holiday story, a cache of Civil War-era letters and diaries sweeps the ladies of Covington up into a dramatic and heartwarming historical saga that inspires them to plan an unforgettable Christmas for two families forever changed by war. When a rusty old tin box is unearthed at the Covington Homestead, longtime housemates Grace, Amelia, and Hannah discover that it contains letters and diaries written by two Civil War soldiers, one Union and one Confederate. The friends are captivated by the drama revealed. The soldiers were found dying on a nearby battlefi eld by an old woman. She nursed them back to health, hiding them from bounty hunters seeking deserters. At the end of the war the men chose to stay in Covington, caring for their rescuer as she grew frail. But while their lives were rich, they still felt homesick and guilty for never contacting the families they’d left behind. Christmas is coming, and the letters inspire Amelia with a generous impulse. What if she and her friends were to fi nd the…

Hi guys! Thanks to the folks at Fresh Fiction for inviting me! I’m CJ Lyons, a former pediatric ER doctor turned thriller writer and I love talking about the really important things in life: namely, the best ways to kill someone and get away with it. So, given the winter holiday season, I thought I’d throw out a few ideas on Homicidal Holiday Hazards. 1. O Tantebaum—not only do they make for excellent firestarters (arson, anyone?) but think of the possibilities of actually obtaining one. Imagine: deserted tree farm, you and your victim far out of sight of anyone else, it’s getting dark, and there you are with hatchet and saw in hand….or better yet, cutting down and hauling a live tree is a great time to induce a heart attack and given the holiday rush, it probably would go undetected as the medical examiner would be too busy to do more than a cursory examination. To read more of HOMICIDAL HOLIDAYS please click here. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations Smoking hot romance and fierce Spartan warriors are the main ingredients in these two tales of red-hot passion by Deidre Knight. Discover fresh characters and vibrant, emotional storylines. Knight’s RED FIRE and RED KISS are tremendously smart and fun books to read. They kindle the imagination and are ideal for snuggling up with on a cold winter’s night. These books are ideal for fans of paranormal romance that like their stories engaging and smart heroes and perceptive heroines. Deidre has graciously offered to give away these two outstanding novels to someone you nominate. Give the gift of passion this holiday season. Learn more about the Gods of Midnight: RED FIRE A thrilling new series featuring seven immortal Spartan warriors protecting mankind— and confronting passion along the way… Eternity has become a prison for Ajax Petrakos. Centuries after he and his Spartan brothers made their bargain for immortality, Ajax struggles to maintain his warrior’s discipline. His only source of strength is his hope that he will soon meet the woman once foretold to him–the other half of his soul, Shay Angel. Ajax searches for his destined mate on the haunted streets of…

The holiday season triggers memories for all of us–some good, some not-so-good. If we’re lucky, the good memories far outnumber the bad. When asked to name my best holiday memory, I have a very quick response–December 24th, 1981 at 11:20 AM. That’s the day and time I gave birth to my birth daughter, Barbi. I had been in the hospital since the day after Thanksgiving, because I had a very “high risk” pregnancy. This was my third pregnancy, and my doctor called it “prime,” since the longest I had carried before was when I delivered twin girls at 26 weeks. Emily and Erin were born alive, but died within minutes. They were beautiful and perfect, but in 1980, too tiny and immature to live outside my womb. My second pregnancy ended in miscarriage at ten weeks. I had already spent two of those weeks in the hospital with clots in my legs and lungs. So this pregnancy in 1981 was, indeed, prime. Stay in the hospital from Thanksgiving until I delivered? Sure, no problem. So it was Christmastime. My husband, Dave, and I only wanted one gift, and she was growing bigger and stronger every day in my womb. Back…

October 2009On Sale: September 29, 2009Featuring: Cassie Beaumont288 pages ISBN: 0778326829EAN: 9780778326823Hardcover$16.95 Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber What would make your Christmas perfect? For Cassie Beaumont, it’s meeting her perfect match. Cassie, at thirty-three, wants a husband and kids, and so far, nothing’s worked. Not blind dates, not the Internet and certainly not leaving love to chance. What’s left? A professional matchmaker. He’s Simon Dodson, and he’s very choosy about the clients he takes on. Cassie finds Simon a difficult, acerbic know-it-all, and she’s astonished when he accepts her as a client. Claiming he has her perfect mate in mind, Simon assigns her three tasks to complete before she meets him. Three tasks that are all about Christmas: being a charity bell ringer, dressing up as Santa’s elf at a children’s party and preparing a traditional turkey dinner for her neighbors (whom she happens to dislike). Despite a number of comical mishaps, Cassie does it all—and she’s finally ready to meet her match. But just like the perfect Christmas gift, he turns out to be a wonderful surprise! What would the holidays be without a Christmas story from Debbie Macomber? Simon says: “The perfect…

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations Last week, the The Daily Dose gave away Rosemary Clement-Moore‘s THE SPLENDOR FALLS, this week we’re offering the trilogy that earned Rosemary a RITA during the recent Romance Writers of America national convention. Her trilogy of books focusing on Maggie Quinn, a high schooler with a gift, a grandmother, stable parents and a hot young grad student who’s interested in her. The young adult series begins with PROM DATES FROM HELL where Maggie struggles with her awakening gifts and senior year (and not necessarily in that order). HELL WEEK follows Maggie through her first semester at college and the infamous hell week associated with pledging a Greek house. The third and final installment in her Girl vs. Evil trilogy is HIGHWAY TO HELL and a Spring Break gone awry. These books are laugh out loud funny, deliciously written and terrifically engaging. All three are autographed by the author and available as a gift to the person you nominate. Learn more about these terrific books: PROM DATES FROM HELL From School Library Journal: Under normal circumstances, Maggie Quinn would want nothing to do with the vicious, elite clique at her high school….

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too. Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you . . . Lovely weather? It’s freezing! Sleigh rides. Bah humbug! Okay, maybe not. I do love the holidays, but for a writer it’s probably one of the hardest times of the year because of all the distractions. Especially when you need to be in a dark frame of mind and all around you people are being cheery. To read more of HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR TIME please click here. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Coffeehouse Mystery #8November 2009On Sale: November 3, 2009Featuring: Clare Cosi384 pages ISBN: 0425230058EAN: 9780425230053Hardcover$23.95 Mystery Woman Sleuth Buy at Amazon.com Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle Welcome to the Village Blend, where coffee and crime are always brewing… There’s nothing cozier than a winter evening in Greenwich Village. Streetlights shimmer through icy flakes. Cafés glow with welcoming warmth. Boots crunch along cobblestones, and a layer of snow dusts historic townhouses like powdered sugar on Christmas confections. Murder has no place in such a pretty picture, until now… Coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi has grown very fond of Alfred Glockner, the part-time comic and genuinely jolly charity Santa who’s been using her Village Blend as a place to warm his mittens. When she finds him brutally gunned down in a nearby alley, a few subtle clues convince her that Alfred’s death was something more than the tragic result of a random mugging—the conclusion of the police. With Clare’s boyfriend, NYPD Detective Mike Quinn, distracted by a cold case of his own, and ex-husband Matt investigating this year’s holiday lingerie catalogs (an annual event), Clare charges ahead solo and discovers Santa had a list that he was checking twice—and the folks on it were…

The Daily DoseSmattering of Romance, Paranormal, and General Observations Thomas E. Sniegoski is one of my favorite authors. I had the pleasure of interviewing him in September. The multi-published author has titles that range from young adult to urban fantasy to comic books and graphic novels. He’s even turned his pen to an Angel novel or two. In honor of the holidays, he’s giving away autographed copies of his Remy Chandler novels and his Owlboy novels for the kids. The series follows Billy Hooten who dreams of being a superhero. It’s a fantastic set of books for parents and kids alike. Sniegoski is one of those rare authors that creates rich, vibrant characters that you imagine could walk off the page and have a conversation with you – when they aren’t smiting the bad guys. A Kiss Before Apocalypse Boston P.I. Remy Chandler has many talents. He can will himself invisible, he can speak and understand any foreign language (including the language of animals), and if he listens carefully, he can hear thoughts. Unusual, to say the least – for an ordinary man. But Remy is no ordinary man – he’s an angel. Generations ago, he chose to renounce heaven…

This weekend my friend Yvonne has arrived from England. Whenever she comes it means a bunch of shopping for various items to go home with her, but it also means at least 2 trips to the bookstore. I love going to the bookstore with Yvonne, because while we have very similar taste, we also have very different tastes, and I never know what new treasure we’re going to discover for one of us. To read more of BOOKING IT THROUGH TOWN please click here. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.