Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Anna Destefano | Welcome to Legacy…
Author Guest / May 23, 2011

It’s a thrill to be back at Fresh Fiction, talking about the next novel in my exciting psychic fantasy series. SECRET LEGACY takes us even deeper into the world of the “near-here”–ruled by the peculiar things that happen daily around us, only in my Psychic Real, these not-so-everyday things that spook and surprise and amaze us are real, rather than just coincidence or our imagination getting the best of us. That’s the best part about being back to blog with you guys, I guess. I get to talk some more about this contemporary fantasy realm that grew from my own dreams and obsession with how close we just might be to the “fringe science” we find ourselves occasionally thinking might actually be real. I mean, what if you could program your dreams to work for you, while you’re resting from all the “real” work you do each day? There are scientists who believe you can. And “what if” those dreams and the progress you make through them could be an even more exciting adventure, because you’re sharing it with someone close to you? Shared dreaming is an accepted possibility in some circles. And “what if” there were psychics who could…

Fresh Pick | THE HOMECOMING by JoAnn Ross
Fresh Pick / May 22, 2011

Shelter Bay #1 July 2010 On Sale: July 6, 2010 Featuring: Sax Douchett; Kara Conway 400 pages ISBN: 0451230671 EAN: 9780451230676 Paperback $7.99  Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Remembering… The Homecoming by JoAnn Ross First in a heartwarming new series from the New York Times bestselling author Your first love never really fades away. Former Navy SEAL Sax Douchett has returned home to the small coastal town of Shelter Bay, Oregon, determined to put war behind him and get on with his life—which is easier said than done when everyone is hailing the former bad boy as a local hero. Adjusting to a new beginning becomes even more difficult when he unearths a long-buried secret that, in turn, reunites him with a cherished part of his past that he’s never forgotten. Drawn back into his life is Sheriff Kara Conway, his best friend’s girl for a long as he can remember—a girl who always held a special place in Sax’s heart. But as he cautiously reconnects with Kara and bonds with her young son, another long-held secret in Shelter Bay threatens their second chance at a forever-after love. Fans of JoAnn Ross will be thrilled with…

Debra Webb | Playing Dirty
Author Guest / May 22, 2011

According to the dictionary to play dirty means to play hardball, to break the rules, or to play rough. Jackie Mercer knows how to play dirty when necessary. She is one heck of a woman and I loved, loved writing her first story. Jackie is the protagonist of my new PI series. This series marks two new steps for me. One, Jackie Mercer is a major change from my long-running Colby Agency series (book 44 came out this month!). My first goal with Jackie was to create a character who had real life challenges, like being forty-five years old and running a business traditionally dominated by men. She’s a single mother with a son in law school. She’s an only child with an aging mother to see after. She worries about her weight and ever finding love again. Oh, and let’s not forget paying the bills! She’s a real woman who has real problems and I adore the way she charged onto the page all sassy and clever and determined. Of course it was absolutely necessary to give Jackie the extra challenge of sheer temptation in the form of Derrick Dawson. Dawson is a former NYPD detective who applies for…

Fresh Pick | THE LONG ROAD HOME by Mary Alice Monroe
Fresh Pick / May 21, 2011

November 2010 On Sale: November 1, 2010 448 pages ISBN: 0778327558 EAN: 9780778327554 Trade Size $13.95  Add to Wish List Women’s Fiction Buy at Amazon.com A great ‘picking up the pieces’ story The Long Road Home by Mary Alice Monroe Her husband’s suicide left Nora MacKenzie alone, and his shady Wall Street dealings left the Manhattan socialite penniless. By a miracle she’s held on to their mountainside farm—and she’ll keep holding on, no matter what. The property is Nora’s one chance to wring some dignity out of the sham she’s been living. The Vermont locals think she’s a city girl on a nature kick, but she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. Nora’s serious about learning the farming business…if she can figure out where to begin. Against the locals’ skepticism, she has only one ally: Charles “C.W.” Walker. C.W. is hardworking, gentle with the animals and a patient teacher of the hundreds of chores Nora needs to learn. Slowly she starts to believe she’ll survive in her new life, even flourish. She might even be willing to open her heart again. But she won’t return to a life of lies…and the truth about C.W. may be more than Nora’s…

Sandra Hill | Sex And Smiles In The Stratosphere
Author Guest / May 21, 2011

So how do you like this Brave New World we are living in now, readers? And do you have any idea how much you personally are going to be forced to change your reading habits? I write funny sexy romance novels. Whether they be Vikings, knights, Navy SEALs, Cajuns, Creole planters, or, yes, even vampire angels, whether they be historical romance, time travel, or contemporary books, the underlying theme in all my books is humor and sizzle. For example, I have a new historical romance coming out in October, THE NORSE KING’S DAUGHTER, and a new Deadly Angels series starting in May, 2012 with KISS OF PRIDE, plus a gazillion reissues of all my Viking novels being put out monthly starting in January, 2011 through May, 2012. Not to mention my still-in-print Cajun novels, including SO INTO YOU. Thus far, all my books have been put out by traditional publishers, in both print and ebook formats. Vikings THE VIKING TAKES A KNIGHT 9/2010 DARK VIKING 10/2010 THE NORSE KING’S DAUGHTER 10/2011 I’m wondering, though, how readers, especially those who are new-to-me are going to find my books in the future, and that is true of all other authors, as well….

Fresh Pick | MEET ME IN MANHATTAN by Judith Arnold
Fresh Pick / May 20, 2011

September 2010 On Sale: September 1, 2010 Featuring: Erika Fredell; Ted Skala 264 pages ISBN: 075731533X EAN: 9780757315336 Paperback  Add to Wish List Romance Buy at Amazon.com Meet Me In Manhattan by Judith Arnold Ted Skala and Erika Fredell were the perfect New Jersey high school sweethearts. Like many teens Ted and Erika spent plenty of time in parked cars under the stars, but there was so much more between them than the chemistry that ignited their courtship, and Ted couldn’t imagine a life without Erika. By graduation he was ready to get engaged. Erika, however, was ready to spread her wings and faraway she flew to college. She broke his heart. She sailed the world. Fast forward 15 years. Living in Manhattan, Erika successfully climbs the corporate ladder but her love life stinks. Ted is also living the life of a successful businessman in Manhattan, and he’s involved in a serious relationship. Problem is, he still can’t get Erika out of his system. When fate intervenes and their paths cross, the result is emotionally explosive and that old black magic is back with the force of a super nova. But Erika once ravaged his heart: How can Ted ever…

Mary Margret Daughtridge | Honors and Heroes and SEALs–Oh my!
Author Guest / May 20, 2011

SEALED FOREVER, my latest release, landed in bookstores the same week the biggest story of the year, put SEALs, whose very secret work usually goes unlauded, on the front page. Suddenly from family, friends, and fans I’m getting phone calls and emails praising me for showing the world what heroes SEALs are. My stories have more in common with Army Wives than with Saving Private Ryan, but really, they don’t have much in common with either. I took the quintessential action figure hero, and turned expectations about what a SEAL story was like on its head. My stories are entirely character-driven. Where I got lucky was that SEALs not only have great bodies, and warrior abilities honed to the absolute pinnacle of the humanly possible, they have the characteristics every romance reader is looking for in alpha hero. SEALs absolutely would not be SEALs if they weren’t the men they are. Aggressive, violent, competitive, bulldog tenacious, self-assured to the point of arrogance, a strategic thinker and also generous, protective and nurturing. Up to now my SEALed books have shown the heroes, away from what for them is the “real world” of operations and the support of other SEALs. To meet…

Tara Taylor Quinn | Measurements … of love
Author Guest / May 19, 2011

How do you measure that which is not quantitative?  My husband, Tim Barney, and I are on tour with our new book, IT HAPPENED ON MAPLE STREET.  We were here at Fresh Fiction last month.  And last week, a ‘tour mate’ asked if there was a way for us to know if we’re doing what we set out to do.  Is the tour working?  Is the book working? It’s not a question I’ve ever heard from a reader before.  As a reader, I’ve never once wondered such a thing. As an author, I ask that question every single time I put words to paper.  My editors and the marketing and sales and art departments that all have a hand in the creation of my books never stop asking that question.  For the publishing professionals, there is a quantitative answer.  For a lot of them, there is only one scale upon which they judge — did the book sell well?  For them, it’s all about the numbers. For my editors it’s more than that, of course, but ultimately, they, too care if the book sells well or not.  The sales of a book they’ve purchased and worked on reflect on them…

Fresh Pick | JUST ONE TASTE by Louisa Edwards
Fresh Pick / May 18, 2011

Recipe for Love #3 September 2010 On Sale: August 31, 2010 Featuring: Rosemary Wilkins; Wes Murphy 352 pages ISBN: 0312356471 EAN: 9780312356477 Paperback $7.99  Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Head of the class…in love Just One Taste by Louisa Edwards Bad-boy chef Wes Murphy dreads his final semester cooking class—Food Chemistry 101—until he meets the new substitute teacher. Dr. Rosemary Wilkins is a feast for the eyes, though her approach to food is strictly academic. Wes decides to rattle her Bunsen burner by asking her for hands- on advice on aphrodisiacs . . . Wary about working with Wes (his casual flirtations make her a little too hot under the collar), Rosemary nonetheless agrees to team up . . . in the classroom. Soon the two are testing the love-enhancing power of chocolate and strawberries, and it becomes scientifically evident that the brainy science nerd and the boyish chef have concocted some delicious chemistry together. Big Bang Theory meets Kitchen Confidential in this enjoyable addition to the Recipe for Love series Excerpt Prologue Market Restaurant, Manhattan Wes Murphy stared down into the huge stainless steel stockpot and watched a single golden bubble pop to the surface…

Anita Clenney | Creating a Written World
Author Guest / May 18, 2011

As writers, we have to create worlds. Whether it’s the real world, a make-believe world, or an alternate reality, we have to populate those worlds. We dress the characters, give them histories, anxieties, families, and dreams. But I think we sometimes insert a little more of ourselves into them than we realize. For instance, you’re eyeball deep in revisions and edits and you realize your heroine is…You. No wonder she felt so familiar. Is this writer’s therapy? Are we working out our childhood troubles and disillusions through our characters? Are we living through them, or just so enamored of ourselves that we are certain we must belong in a book? Well, I hope your life has been so exciting, but I suspect we’re just slipping into the familiar. As I was writing the character of Bree Kirkland, heroine of AWAKEN THE HIGHLAND WARRIOR, I realized that Bree bore some distinct traits that I either have or want to have. Bree is a quirky historian. Not boring and stuffy, but kind of Indiana Jones-ish. Okay, that’s not me, but I wish it was. She’s clumsy–that is me–and she’s always felt a little different than the other girls. Hmmm, maybe me. Of…