Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Interview with Alafair Burke
Jen's Jewels / April 7, 2010

The Internet can be a valuable resource. Whether researching a topic for school or keeping abreast of the latest political news, we always seem to be connected in one way or another. It’s hard to remember what our lives were like before its conception! Nowadays, we even have Face Book and Twitter. The advances in technology are truly amazing. Just as we have embraced this new movement comes the alarming reality of the dangers associated with these networking sites, especially for our youth. The number of predators lurking in cyberspace is disheartening. From prostitution rings to drug trafficking, the Internet has become a very nefarious place. This month’s Jen’s Jewels Alafair Burke tackles this very controversial topic in her latest release, 212. The third installment of her highly popular The Ellie Hatchet Series, Alafair takes us through the streets of New York in search of a cyber killer. Fast-paced and brutally honest, she exposes the secret lives of women caught up in the Internet sex industry. As part of this interview, Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, has generously donated five copies for you, my favorite readers, to try to win. So, don’t forget to look for the trivia…

Candace Havens | Exciting April Finds…
Candace Havens / April 7, 2010

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Rosemary Clement-Moore’s books, you should. Yes, they are young adult novels, but they are fun for all ages. Highway to Hell, the third book in her Maggie Quinn: Girl versus Evil series. “Maggie and Lisa are away from parental supervisions when they head for Spring Break on the Texas Coast,” says Clement Moore. “Oh, the college freshman days, when you think you know everything. They never make it to the beach. They wreck the Jeep when they hit a cow in the middle of the road, and get stranded in a one-horse town, where folks are convinced El Chupacabra is killing their livestock. After facing demons at the prom and sorcerous sorority sisters (say that three times fast!), Maggie and Lisa think they can take on this Mexican version of Bigfoot. But it’s bigger and badder than they realize. “ Clement Moore says this book is personal. “It takes place where I was raised,” she says. “I get to incorporate South Texas culture and legends, and I’ve thrown in a hot cowboy or two. Come on, and an El Chupacabra. What’s not to love?” Highway to Hell was named one of…

Fresh Thrills | Thrills and spine-tingling adventures in April
Fresh Thrills / April 7, 2010

Hi and welcome to Fresh Thrills, a column for new releases in romantic suspense. Nail biting suspense, new romance, hot sex, great stories— what thrills you? STRONG, SLEEK AND SINFUL By Lorie O’Clare St. Martin’s Paperbacks, $7.99 The third book in O’Clare FBI series features Kylie Donovan who is a pro at catching online predators. When someone starts targeting teenage girls on the internet, she goes undercover as a college student. When she befriends the niece of Lieutenant Perry Flynn she must not only try to keep her cover a secret but also her lust for the sexy Lieutenant. THE KILLING EDGE by Heather Graham Mira, $24.95 Chloe Marin was lucky. She was just a teenager when a party at a Florida beachside mansion turned into a savage killing spree, and she was one of the few to survive. Ten years later Chloe works as a psychologist specializing in art therapy to help traumatized victims, and on the side she finds release in her passion for the martial arts. Police who hire her as a consultant know she’s a literal kick-ass advocate for victims who can’t always speak for themselves. When a young swimsuit model disappears, Chloe suspects a killer…

Libby Malin |Tips on How to Write a Comedic Novel
Author Guest / April 7, 2010

The Deconstruction Of Humorous Fiction In A Reactionary Postmodern World, Or From Chaos To Conformity: How To Write The Comedic Novel When I was a graduate student at the University of Gussberry-on-Hornsplat reading for my doctorate in “Humor and Humorlessness in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Proto-European Monographs,” my professors often referred to a theory they loosely called “The Banana Peel Slide.”  This meme postulated that a humorous trope—such as the man-falling-on-banana-peel— loses its ability to trigger amusement after it becomes part of the greater eco-social-spiritual consciousness, leading to a revolt by sophisticated elites against populist humor grounded in laughing at another’s misfortune, and eventually coming round to popularity again throughout the entire societal continuum when the joke takes on a wry postmodern irony encapsulating the laughing-at-the-laughter-of-those-who-laugh at such simplistic slapstick (See I.M. Gully-Bull, “They’re Laughing With Me, Not At Me, an essay on the struggles of a stand-up comic in the world of spelunking,” Psychiatric Journal of the Criminal Mind, Jan. 09, 43-57). In other words, slipping on a banana peel was HIGH-LAIR-EE-YUS when first viewed by Cro-Magnon Man until his momma rapped him on the knuckles for laughing at another Cro-Mag hurting himself, and then became funny again when Momma…

Fresh Pick | LIFE AS I KNOW IT by Melanie Rose
Fresh Pick / April 7, 2010

February 2010 On Sale: February 2, 2010 Featuring: Jessica Taylor 368 pages ISBN: 038534399XEAN: 9780385343992Trade Size$15.00 Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Life As I Know It by Melanie Rose Jessica Taylor wakes up in a hospital room only to find that everyone around her thinks she is somebody else. Not only that, she seems to have a husband and four children she doesn’t remember anything about. What she does remember is her quiet single life with her dog Frankie, going to work at her comfortable job, and meeting the man of her dreams in the park just before she was hit by lightning. Soon she discovers that when she goes to sleep she alternates between her two lives, that of Jessica and that of Lauren Richardson. Jessica has no idea what’s happened to her or whether she can get back to life s she knows it. Meanwhile, she has her hands full being a mother to Laurens’ four heartbroken children and a wife to her demanding husband. But as she digs deeper int Lauren’s life, Jessica unearths some secrets, secrets which may tea the family apart. Previous Picks Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.