June 2011 On Sale: June 9, 2011 Featuring: Daniel Hayes 352 pages ISBN: 052595211X EAN: 9780525952114 Hardcover $25.95 Add to Wish List SuspenseBuy at Amazon.com The Two Deaths Of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey A captivating story of love and memory, where the only thing more frightening than the questions are the answers. A man wakes up naked and cold, half-drowned on an abandoned beach. The only sign of life for miles is an empty BMW. Inside the expensive car he finds clothes that fit perfectly, shoes for his tattered feet, a Rolex, and a bank envelope stuffed with cash and an auto registration in the name of Daniel Hayes, resident of Malibu, California. None of it is familiar. What is he doing here? How did he get into the ocean? Is he Daniel Hayes, and if so, why doesn’t he remember? While he searches for answers, the world searches for him—beginning with the police that kick in the door of his dingy motel, with guns drawn. Lost, alone, and on the run, the man who might be Daniel Hayes flees into the night. All he remembers is a woman’s face, so he sets off for the only place he…

Good morning to all you wonderful folks at Fresh Fiction! Now that I’ve met you, visited with you and broke bread (fajitas do count as bread, don’t they?) with you, it’s even more special to be here today. Thank you so much for inviting me to visit with everyone about my newest release, RED’S HOT COWBOY, the second book in the Spikes & Spurs series. It’s on the bookshelves now in all the major book stores, online stores, ebook stores and Wal-Mart. Don’t you just love the cover with all those beautiful bright colors and that sexier than hell cowboy? Wil and Pearl take center stage in RED’S HOT COWBOY. Neither of them was ready for that Christmas Eve, let me tell you. It hit them both right between heart beats like cupid’s sharp little arrow. Wil Marshall wasn’t looking for trouble, honest he wasn’t. He was only looking for a place to stay after a winter storm knocked out the electricity at his ranch. The hunky cowboy had no idea that he’d get tangled up with a sassy red head or get himself messed up in a murder investigation that night. He might have endured the cold and the…

July 2011 On Sale: July 5, 2011 Featuring: Stacy Benedict; Tyler Locke 448 pages ISBN: 1439181829 EAN: 9781439181829 Hardcover $24.99  Add to Wish List SuspenseBuy at Amazon.com The Vault by Boyd Morrison A combat engineer and linguistics expert must find the connection between Archimedes and the legend of King Midas before it is too late. In the latest international thriller from bestselling author Boyd Morrison, former combat engineer Tyler Locke races against time to unearth the truth about the fabled touch of King Midas. Tyler Locke’s routine commute on a Washington State ferry is interrupted by a chilling anonymous call: his father has been kidnapped, and a truck bomb is set to detonate on board in twenty minutes. When Tyler reaches the bomb on the boat’s car deck, he’s stunned to find classical languages expert Stacy Benedict waiting for him. She’s received the same threat, and her sister has also been taken. In order to disarm the bomb, Tyler and Stacy must work together to solve an engineering puzzle—a puzzle written in ancient Greek. But preventing the explosion is only the first step; they soon learn the entire setup is a test created by a ruthless criminal who forces them…

It seems a long time ago that I was single and dating.  That was part of the fun, though, of writing LUCKY GIRL, my quirky romantic comedy to be released September 6th by Entangled Publishing.  When writing the book, I mentally slipped on my three-inch heels, donned my slinky size 6 dress, and sashayed back through memories of when I lived and studied in England—the good experiences, the awkward, and the deliciously romantic.  Best of all, I got to relive once again my first date with the man I affectionately call “The Brit,” who later became my husband. The heroine of LUCKY GIRL, Jessica Devlin, finds herself single at twenty-nine, months before she was to be married.  Heartbroken, she takes an overdue vacation from her job as beauty editor of Orlando’s O Tart magazine and flies to England to be maid-of-honor in her cousin’s wedding.  Jess is anxious about the trip, and not just because her cousin is living the fairy tale romance Jess wanted so badly.  There’s also the embarrassing episode that took place two years ago after Jess’s grandfather’s funeral; it involved an English pub, too many drinks, and a handsome Brit who held her in his arms…

The most memorable e-mail I ever received from a reader was also the most emotional. There’s a scene in my second novel, STRIPPED, in which Detective Serena Dial interviews a woman whose child has died in an accident.  A reader wrote to me and asked if I had ever lost a child myself.  He and his wife had gone through that experience, and he told me that I had captured the emotions of that situation so well that he assumed it must have happened to me, too. Fortunately, I was able to say no.  In fact, I don’t have kids.  But I consider that e-mail one of the most meaningful compliments I have received as a writer, because it gets to the heart of what I hope to achieve in my books – empathy.  I want to get inside the heads of my characters.  I want them to reflect the moral and emotional depth of real people, not just hollow caricatures of good and evil. You can find thrillers around almost every theme these days.  Forensic investigation.  Corporate espionage.  Political intrigue.  Terrorism.  I’ve read plenty of those books and loved them.  I can remember reading Robert Ludlum‘s THE CHANCELLOR MANUSCRIPT…

Anna Travis #2  July 2011 On Sale: July 5, 2011 Featuring: Anna Travis; Detective Chief Superintendent Langton 512 pages ISBN: 143913930X EAN: 9781439139301 Trade Size (reprint) $15.00 Add to Wish List Thriller CrimeBuy at Amazon.com Best Thrillers to read this summer include… Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante The latest international bestseller When the body of a young woman is discovered close to a highway service station, Detective Inspector Anna Travis is brought on to the team of investigators by her former lover and boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Langton. As more evidence is uncovered, the team realizes that they are contending with a triple murder investigation—and no suspect. But then a murderer Anna helped arrest years ago makes contact from prison. Cameron Welsh insists that he can help track down the killer, but he will divulge his secrets only to Anna herself. Does he really have an insight into another criminal’s mind, or is he merely intent on getting into hers? The team soon realizes that they are dealing with a killer whose deviousness has enabled him to commit horrific crimes, yet remain undetected for years. As the case draws to a close, Welsh’s obsession for Anna fuels a terrifying…

One of the oft-asked questions in interviews, is “Tell us about how you came to be published.”  My response is the fairly generic, “Once upon a time I wanted to be a writer…” because I’m never quite sure if I should reveal the entire, seemingly endless angsty events. But, in the event you write or read an author’s response, I’m fairly certain that the timeline below is the behind the scenes, real deal. Here is the timeline of the journey to publication: 1. You have an idea. 2. You begin to write a book. 3. After the first two chapters, you are so smitten with your own genius, you pause to jot down the names of actors who will [consider themselves lucky to] portray your characters. 4. After chapter two and a half, you decide it’s time to dust the fireplace, crochet the twelve bedspreads you’ve been buying yarn to complete for the past ten years, and start a scrapbook for each of your children, your yet-to-be-born grandchildren, and the family pet(s). 5. You continue writing [or gazing at the monitor] and decide that repeatedly poking yourself in the eye with a hot stick would be welcome relief from the…

July 2011 On Sale: July 5, 2011 Featuring: Gabriel St. James; Charity 400 pages ISBN: 0451234006 EAN: 9780451234001 Paperback $7.99  Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com Summer love One Summer by JoAnn Ross When former U.S. Marine photojournalist Gabriel St. James arrives in Shelter Bay to help out a fellow Marine, the last thing he expects is to meet a woman like Charity. A veterinarian with a past that would have defeated a less resilient woman, Charity still possesses a heart as generous Gabriel St. James has never found a reason to stay in one place until he reaches Shelter Bay. Family and passion is Ms. Ross trademark for assuring us Excerpt Chapter 1 After having spent over a decade in war zones and other hot spots around the globe, Gabriel St. James was an expert at zeroing in on a shot Read More… Previous Picks

I’ve written four previous romantic suspense novels set among the Amish, and FALL FROM PRIDE begins a new trilogy.  Why do I like to use the Amish for my novels?  And what makes Amish books popular today? Let me try to answer that second question first and hope some of you “fabulous Fresh Fiction aficionados” are willing to weigh in on this. I think Amish novels are popular today partly because of good old curiosity.  We want to know how these “separate” people cope with the modern world when they chose not to be completely part of it.  It is said the Amish live “on” America, not “in” it.  Of course, for us modern readers, there is always the lure of nostalgia when we see the Amish way of life:  buggies, pioneer-style dress and hair; huge farms with horses pulling plows.  But I think there is a deeper reason modern, high-tech Americans are intrigued by the Plain People. The more high-stress and impersonal our lives become, the better the Amish look.  Their days are not run by the internet—not even phones, though some of them use cell phones for business.  No lines snake into their homes to tie them to…

September 2010 On Sale: September 1, 2010 Featuring: Paige Turner; Torrian Smallwood 224 pages ISBN: 0373861796 EAN: 9780373861798 Paperback $6.25  Add to Wish List Romance, Multicultural RomanceBuy at Amazon.com August pre-season football needs a little romance. Buy for your e-reader! Huddle With Me Tonight by Farrah Rochon All Paige Turner wants is to be taken seriously as a journalist. The entertainment columnist and blogger extraordinaire gets more notoriety than she planned when her scathing review of NFL superstar Torrian Smallwood’s memoir sparks an online confrontation. But that’s nothing compared to the sensual heat that tackles her when she meets the heart-stoppingly sexy athlete face-to-face…. Torrian can’t let Paige derail his dream of a new career as a restaurateur. Even if the sassy, sultry writer is making America’s favorite wide receiver yearn to be on the receiving end of her desire. And with a reality TV cook-off propelling them into the spotlight, Torrian can no longer hide his passionate secret goal—to build a future with the woman who’s making an end run around his heart…. The perfect romantic read to kick off the NFL season Excerpt Paige rounded the corner of Mancini’s Grocery and spotted the owner in his usual spot,…