January 2010 On Sale: January 1, 2010 Featuring: Dannie Treat 464 pages ISBN: 0373230796 EAN: 9780373230792 Paperback $14.95 Add to Wish List Romance Buy at Amazon.com A Widow In Paradise by Donna Birdsell There are few problems that can’t be fixed by a golf bag full of money. At least, that’s what overwhelmed mom of four Dannie Treat thinks when she stumbles on the cash stashed in her garage. But she soon discovers that the bills are about as fake as her missing husband’s supposed death. The paper trail leads her to Guy Loughran, whose wife also disappeared recently…along with the mob money Guy borrowed to open his own saloon. Now, less than twenty-four hours after meeting Guy, they are headed to the Caribbean in search of the truth. Maybe it’s the umbrella drinks or the dirty dancing, but Dannie is about to become a widow in paradise. Good times… Free bonus book in this volume! Suburban Secrets by Donna Birdsell—Truth or Dare: it’s not just for slumber parties anymore. Excerpt Dannie Treat braced herself for the news. As she suspected, it wasn’t good. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but she’s dying. I did what I could,…

Of all the things authors get blamed (and sometimes praised) for in their books, the covers are where we have the least control. I’ve had people tell me what I should have the publisher put on my books instead (yeah, I’ll get right on that). I’ve even run into people who assume I draw the covers myself. If authors are lucky, we get asked what ideas we have for the book covers. If we’re really, really lucky, the publishers consider the input we give them. I recently caught up with young adult fantasy authors Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan during their book tour, and they shared some fun stories about book cover development. Even as a bestselling author, Holly Black doesn’t get to dictate what goes on her covers, but she did get to attend the photo shoot for her most recent release, White Cat. The cover has a picture of a dangerous-looking man in black leather holding a white cat. Holly said she was surprised to learn that the cat used for the photo shoot wasn’t a “professional” model cat who was accustomed to being in that environment. The cat was the pet of someone who worked at…

Modern medicine is fascinating. We all know that the medical breakthroughs that scientists discover today will significantly change the world in which we live. With the help of technology, the wealth of resources available gives us hope that cures for arthritis and cancer are on the way. It’s hard to imagine how disease affected our world, even just fifty or sixty years ago, before today’s common vaccinations were discovered. This month’s Jen’s Jewels Lauren Belfer tackles that very question in her latest release, A FIERCE RADIANCE. Author of The New York Times Best-selling novel CITY OF LIGHT, she takes the reader on a fictional journey into the discovery of penicillin in her spell- binding new novel. Incorporating true medical advances of the 1940’s within the framework of her romantic suspense tale, she creates the perfect novel to kick- off the long, summer months. As part of this interview, 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 question at the end. And, thanks for making Jen’s Jewels a part of your summer reading. Jen: The path to publication can sometimes be as interesting as…

I really wanted to write about my mom and the fact that she came to see me, and we were able to discuss books and our joint love of them in person, but it is Father’s Day, so I thought I should try to see what books I might have read that have the word Father or Daddy in the title. I did a search of the word Father here at Fresh Fiction, and found ninety one (91) books in the data base with the word father in them. Unfortunately I don’t appear to have read any of them, but there were several by authors I have read and loved! So while the search didn’t help me to recommend a great book about fathers to you it did add to my own backlist search! A search of the word Daddy yielded forty nine (49) titles to investigate, and one I’ve actually read. I have read SUGAR DADDY by Lisa Kleypas. While many of my friends rave about this book I didn’t enjoy it as much as they did. It does have a sequel called BLUE EYED DEVIL, which I have to admit I was hesitant to read, but I had…