Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Elizabeth Chadwick | Pros and Cons of Writing About Real People
Author Guest / September 22, 2010

I write historical novels that tell the life stories of people who have actually lived, and whose bones are still physically on this earth. My career involves fleshing out those bones and bringing past lives and times back to life for readers of today. Who were these people? What were they like in life? What were their dreams, their aspirations, their stories? I am always aware that in such telling that my path involves extensive use of the imagination. From the first piece of dialogue, I am putting words in the mouths of my characters. I am writing scenes for them that sometimes never happened, sitting them down to dine on meals they never ate, and giving them thoughts that I think they may have had, but I don’t know for sure. Nevertheless, I am a storyteller trying to bring modern readers close to what happened back then and it is my duty to weave my tale with integrity and a care for the known historical facts and the people involved. I strongly believe that any author who is going to write about a person who actually lived, should do their level best to find out everything they can about…

Fresh Pick | MY LORD SCANDAL by Emma Wildes
Fresh Pick / September 21, 2010

Notorious Bachelors #1 September 2010 On Sale: September 7, 2010 Featuring: Alexander St. James; Lady Amelia 336 pages ISBN: 0451231066 EAN: 9780451231062 Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com My Lord Scandal by Emma Wildes Alexander St. James may be a thief of hearts, but he is no burglar. Nevertheless, he must recover and item belonging to his family to avoid a scandal, and so he has stolen into the home of Lord Hathaway, only to come upon the beguiling and chaste Lady Amelia in her bedroom, wearing little but a look of surprise. Alexander leaves Amelia breathless-but is it from fear or excitement? Captivated by her beauty and charmed by her intellect, he ignores the scandalous whispers as he sets out to seduce the woman of his dreams… This first book in the new Notorious Bachelors series is refreshing and alluring. Excerpt Chapter One The alley below was filthy and smelled rank, and if he fell off the ledge, Lord Alexander St. James was fairly certain he would land on a good-sized rat. Since squashing scurrying rodents was not on his list of favorite pastimes, he tightened his grip and gauged the distance to the…

Nicole North | Why Scotland?
Author Guest / September 21, 2010

It isn’t only about men in kilts, although those are sexy. I’m sure a lot of people wonder why I set most of my stories in Scotland, or why I go gaga over getting to visit Scotland (which I will be doing in a couple of weeks!) Most people will tell you it’s a cold, windy and rainy place. That the skies are cloudy most of the time. That you will need your winter clothing, even in June. True, true. But Scotland doesn’t hold the same kind of appeal that a tropical island does. Scotland holds a unique and spellbinding appeal all its own. For me, Scotland is a magical place, a place that seems almost surreal. A place out of fantasies and fairy tales where you might stumble upon a medieval castle at any moment, or glance out the bedroom window at the inn and see an ancient castle ruin in the distance. That doesn’t happen too often here in the US. Scotland has a distinctive and sometimes harsh environment, especially the beautiful, remote and wild Highlands of the north. The people who lived there centuries ago had to be incredibly tough and resilient to survive, as do the…

Fresh Pick | BARELY A LADY by Eileen Dreyer
Fresh Pick / September 20, 2010

Drake’s Rakes #1 July 2010 On Sale: July 1, 2010 Featuring: Jack Wyndham; Olivia Grace 432 pages ISBN: 0446542083 EAN: 9780446542081 Mass Market Paperback $6.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com Barely A Lady by Eileen Dreyer She never stopped wanting him… Olivia Grace has secrets that could destroy her. One of the greatest of these is the Earl of Gracechurch, who married and divorced her five years earlier. Abandoned and disgraced, Grace has survived those years at the edge of respectability. Then she stumbles over Jack on the battlefield of Waterloo, and he becomes an even more dangerous secret. For not only is he unconscious, he is clad in an enemy uniform. But worse, when Jack finally wakes in Olivia’s care, he can’t remember how he came to be on a battlefield in Belgium. In fact, he can remember nothing of the last five years. He thinks he and Olivia are still blissfully together. To keep him from being hanged for a traitor, Olivia must pretend she and Jack are still married. To unearth the real traitors, Olivia and Jack must unravel the truth hidden within his faulty memory. To save themselves and the friends who…

Mingmei Yip | Changing Topics
Author Guest , Guests / September 20, 2010

A few readers, after having read my two novels, asked me a similar question, “Is it difficult to write about a prostitute then a nun?” My answer was no. Because prostitute or nun, they are women and human beings. I love to write about women, especially heroines who are on the verge of drastic transformation — their courage, struggles, and triumphs. In my debut novel Peach Blossom Pavilion, story of the last Chinese courtesan, or geisha, Precious Orchid is tricked into a prostitution house after her father is executed for a crime he had not committed and her mother banished to a Buddhist nunnery, Precious Orchid finds herself abandoned in Peach Blossom Pavilion, an elite house of prostitution. At first, life at Peach Blossom Pavilion feels like a dream to the thirteen year-old. Precious Orchid enjoys her poetry, music and calligraphy lessons and feels herself thriving. But all too soon she discovers that this is merely a prelude to her role of pleasing customers, including China’s most powerful men. The novel relates her survival and ultimate triumph: how she escaped from the prostitution house, reunited with her long lost mother, avenged her father, finally finding true love and starting a…

Fresh Pick | RAVISHING IN RED by Madeline Hunter
Fresh Pick / September 19, 2010

The Rarest Blooms #1 February 2010 On Sale: January 26, 2010 Featuring: Sebastian Sommerhays; Audrianna Kelmsleigh 368 pages ISBN: 0515147540 EAN: 9780515147544 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com Ravishing In Red by Madeline Hunter Armed with her cousin’s pistol, Audrianna travels to a coaching inn, to meet with a man who may have information that will clear her dead father’s name. She does not realize that the handsome man of commanding sensuality who shows up is not the person she expected, but instead Lord Sebastian Summerhays, one of her father’s persecutors, lured to the inn by the same advertisement that brought her there. When the pistol accidentally fires, the situation becomes mortifyingly public, and thoroughly misunderstood. Audrianna is prepared to live with the scandal. Lord Sebastian has other ideas. . . Her father’s scandal and death may lead this young woman to the love of her life. Excerpt Oh, goodness. Oh, heavens. This day was definitely not unfolding the way she had pictured. She had not expected the Domino to be a gentleman. She had certainly not expected a tall, handsome, young gentleman with such a winning smile. She was not sure what she had…

Fresh Pick | WWW: WAKE by Robert J. Sawyer
Fresh Pick / September 19, 2010

WWW #1 April 2010 On Sale: March 30, 2010 Featuring: Caitlin Decter 352 pages ISBN: 044101853X EAN: 9780441018536 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Science Fiction Buy at Amazon.com The author, Robert J. Sawyer, will be at FenCon, A Fan-Operated Science Fiction and Fantasy Literary and Filk Convention in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, on Sunday, September 18th. Www: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer A Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author joins Ace with a stunning new science fiction epic. Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math — and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind. When a Japanese researcher develops a new signal-processing implant that might give her sight, she jumps at the chance, flying to Tokyo for the operation. But Caitlin’s brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. Once the implant is activated, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes. While exploring this amazing realm, she discovers something — some other — lurking in the background. And it’s…

Kira Morgan | Not A Noble Calling
Author Guest , Guests / September 19, 2010

If you enjoy historical romances where a spun-sugar princess has servants at her beck and call to dress her in a sumptuous gown for a lazy afternoon of flower-gathering, you may be disappointed in my books. I like hard-working, goal-driven, salt-of-the-earth heroes and heroines, people who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. In CAPTURED BY DESIRE, heroine Florie Gilder is a goldsmith’s apprentice who’s had to learn to fend for herself, and Rane MacAllister is a huntsman who provides food for starving villagers. Why this preference for commoners? Basically, there are three reasons: I get bored with do-nothing characters. (In fact, I tend to make them the villains!) Characters that spend all day fretting over their attire for the ball or learning how to flirt with a fan or going on leisurely flower-gathering expeditions are dull, dull, dull. I’d much rather write about hard-working people with dreams and motivations. Renaissance jobs are cool. Sure, Lady Winifred and Lord Rupert can indulge in certain proper occupations—sewing, dancing, hawking, hunting, attending feasts, going a-Maying. But can they be waxchandlers (candle-makers)? Chapmen (traveling salesmen)? Thimbleriggers (scam artists)? Broom-dashers, beekeepers, or beerbrewers? Who wouldn’t want to write about a hero who’s a vaginarius?…

Donna Grant | Legends and Myths
Author Guest / September 18, 2010

I grew up watching movies like Clash of the Titans, BeastMaster, and Highlander (one of my favorites!) so it was no wonder when I began writing that myths and legends worked their way into my stories. Every culture has hundreds of legends and millions of myths. The great thing about writing fiction is that I can add any of these myths and legends into a story. And some I just make up. ? In FORBIDDEN HIGHLANDER, the second book in my Dark Sword series, the series uses its own myth and legend. When I had the first kernel of an idea for the series, I knew I would need something substantial for a legend. Since the series takes place in medieval Scotland, it opened up many possibilities. After all, Britain itself is steeped in magic and lore. With primeval gods trapped inside my Highlanders who happen to fall in love with Druids, I realized I could take this back hundreds of years. Rome, as we know, invaded and conquered much of Britain. But not Scotland. Why is that? Is it because of the Celts? Do we believe anything written in that history since it was written by Rome? So, that…

Fresh Pick | AN ARTIFICIAL NIGHT by Seanan McGuire
Fresh Pick / September 17, 2010

October Daye #3 September 2010 On Sale: September 7, 2010 Featuring: Toby Daye; Blind Michael 368 pages ISBN: 0756406269 EAN: 9780756406264 Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Fantasy Urban Buy at Amazon.com An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire Experience the thrill of the hunt in the third October Daye urban fantasy novel. October “Toby” Daye is a changeling-half human and half fae-and the only one who has earned knighthood. Now she must take on a nightmarish new challenge. Someone is stealing the children of the fae as well as mortal children, and all signs point to Blind Michael. Toby has no choice but to track the villain down-even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael’s realm, home of the Wild Hunt-and no road may be taken more than once. If Toby cannot escape with the children, she will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael’s inescapable power. It’s up to a changeling to save fae and human children who have been kidnapped by a monster. Previous Picks