Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Fresh Pick | DEATH, TAXES, AND A SKINNY NO-WHIP LATTE by Diane Kelly
Fresh Pick / April 30, 2012

Death and Taxes #2  March 2012 On Sale: February 28, 2012 Featuring: Eddie Bardin; Tara Holloway 368 pages ISBN: 0312551274 EAN: 9780312551278 Mass Market Paperback $7.99 Add to Wish List Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com Suspense with a twist Death, Taxes, And A Skinny No-Whip Latte by Diane Kelly IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway is at work again. This time, she and her partner, Eddie, are after Marcos Mendoza, a financial expert and suspected loan shark with cross-border ties to questionable businesses and people in Mexico. Mendoza hasn’t just cheated the U.S and Mexican governments, he may have left a trail of bodies, too. Neither the Texas Rangers nor the FBI could prove a link between Mendoza and the suspicious deaths of his employees and associates, but the sheer number of bodies indicates the deaths aren’t mere coincidence. What’s more, Mendoza bought off Special Agent Nick Pratt, who’d earlier been assigned to the investigation, and set the traitor up in a luxury condominium in Cancún, Mexico. He must be stopped. Unfortunately, Mendoza is as elusive as his activities are illegal. Tracking down this tax cheat proves much more difficult, and more dangerous, than Tara anticipated. Given the highly sensitive nature…

Judi Fennell | There’s a Naked Man In My Kitchen.
Author Guest / April 30, 2012

That got your attention, didn’t it? 🙂 I mean, who wouldn’t want a naked man in their kitchen? Well, provided he looked like Todd Best, the hero of my new release, BEAUTY AND THE BEST, that is. If he didn’t, I could certainly understand the complaints. But Jolie, the heroine, isn’t complaining. She’s wondering why, of course, as would any of us, but she’s definitely not complaining. The thing is, nudity isn’t exactly Todd’s M.O. when welcoming new employees to his home, but he’d had kind of a difficult night and well, there might have been some downer emotions and an old bottle of Jim Beam, and well, one thing led to another, and voila! Naked in the kitchen. On her first day on the job. One of the things people have been sharing with the release of this book is their on the job “horror” stories (sorry, I’m not calling Todd being naked a horror story). I have a few of my own; my favorite (?) being the ex-con who used a different middle initial and slightly different spelling of his last name and thought no one would figure it out. Ah, the internet, it Knows and Sees All……

Karen Erickson | Sexy Alpha Heroes
Author Guest / April 29, 2012

A big thank you to Fresh Fiction for having me as a guest on their blog today! I have a confession: when I first started writing, I had a hard time creating an alpha hero. All of my heroes were more on the beta side. The overbearing, macho man didn’t appeal much to me. I wanted a softer, gentler version. Certainly not a wimp, because I do appreciate when a man can take charge, but I didn’t want some jerk bossing me around… Whoops. Sounds like I was taking this alpha hero thing awfully personal. Anyway, as time has passed, I’ve come to realize there’s something infinitely appealing about those alpha males. At least, in the fictional worlds we create or read. Living with one in the real world might be another story, but writing and/or reading about those sexy, strong heroes rushing in to save their heroines, I love it. And when they get all possessive and growly and say things like, “You’re mine,” or “You belong to me,” well. I love that even more. So I’ve deemed this the year of the alpha hero for me. I have not one but two new series chock full of them….

Fresh Pick | A PERFECT STORM by Lori Foster
Fresh Pick / April 29, 2012

Men Who Walk the Face of Danger #4 April 2012 On Sale: March 27, 2012 Featuring: Arizona Storm; Spencer Lark 384 pages ISBN: 037377656X EAN: 9780373776566 Kindle: B006Y9YLNS Paperback $7.99  Add to Wish List Romance Suspense Buy at Amazon.com Moving to Romantic Suspense… A Perfect Storm by Lori Foster He never saw her coming… Spencer Lark already knows too many secrets about Arizona Storm, including the nightmare she survived and her resulting trust issues. But in order to expose a smuggling ring—and continue avenging his own tragic past—the bounty hunter reluctantly agrees to make Arizona a decoy. Yet nothing has equipped him for her hypnotic blend of fragility and bravery, or for the protective instincts she stirs in him. Arizona wants to reclaim her life, which means acting as bait to lure the enemy into a trap. Sure it’s dangerous, especially with a partner as distractingly appealing as Spencer. But as their plan—and their chemistry—shifts into high gear, Arizona may discover there’s an even greater risk in surrendering her heart to a hero… A perfect end to a dynamic series! Two damaged souls coming together for healing can definitely create A PERFECT STORM. Excerpt Arizona Storm sat quietly on the…

Jus Accardo | Writing to a different tune
Author Guest / April 28, 2012

Confession time. I’m a music whore. Any and all types—I can’t get enough. I write songs for a local band, have a fully loaded Zune that goes everywhere with me, and over 100 different playlists. I can look back to almost every major life event and tie it to a specific song or album. I can be standing in line at the food store, or driving down the road, and think, huh…this is totally a <insert appropriate song here> moment. The same goes for my characters. Some writers pen intricate back stories full of dates and places for each of their characters—mine are all musical. A lyrical map of their past, present, and future. At the start of every book, each of my characters gets their own playlist (in addition to the playlists I have for each book). Take my heroine, Dez. Her personal playlist consists of a lot of Pink and Powerman 5000. Stuff that, like her, has tons of attitude. Kale on the other hand, is mostly instrumental and acoustic pieces—at least for this book. It changes a bit in book 2—for both of them. (Cue evil, taunting laugh) I also have songs for each major scene. The…

Fresh Pick | POWER PLAY by Chellesie B. Dancer
Fresh Pick / April 28, 2012

January 2012 On Sale: December 31, 2011 Featuring: Sergio Davis; Liz ISBN: 0013785826 EAN: 2940013785823 Kindle: B006RW91Q4 e-Book $3.75  Add to Wish List Romance Erotica Sensual Buy at Amazon.com Power relationship Power Play by Chellesie B. Dancer Sergio Davis needs to make partner in the ad firm before he turns thirty, and his last chance is getting a huge new account with an underwear magnate. He’s focused all his time and energy on this presentation, until he meets a beautiful woman in the parking garage. Liz is an heiress, hugely successful in business, but not so successful in her relationships. She wants a man who finds her attractive for herself, not her money. She encounters an artistic and sexy man who takes control and that triggers a submissive reaction in her. Realizing he’s enamored of her without knowing who she is, she sets up a seduction in the conference room where he’s scheduled to make his presentation to her. The attraction heightens, and Liz teases Sergio until he turns dominant. Once he discovers who she is, he plots his payback, controlling her body, her emotions, and her sexual pleasure. After a glorious night of sensational sex, the real control battle…

04/27 Lynda Hilburn | Vampires and Ghosts!
Author Guest / April 27, 2012

I’m so happy to be here at Fresh Fiction today! I love this site! Even though my series, Kismet Knight, Vampire Psychologist, (first book, THE VAMPIRE SHRINK) is primarily about bloodsuckers, it also features psychics, wizards, witches and . . . ghosts! In fact, in the new second book in the series, BLOOD THERAPY, Kismet deals with many incorporeal apparitions. Working on edits for that book made me think about my own experiences with the specters. Communicating with the dead is a tradition among my female relatives and ancestors. During my childhood, I remember hearing my mother chat with people who weren’t there as she washed the family laundry. Of course, I would have written that off as nutty if I hadn’t had my own experiences from an early age. Unlike my mother, who attracted no-longer-living siblings, grandparents, etc., I seemed to be a magnet for strangers – my “imaginary friends.” The longest ghostly visitation I’ve experienced was from a beloved aunt (eventually I shared my mother’s tendency to draw relatives along with anybody else who wanted to drop in!), who stayed with me for years. She was as frisky in death as she’d been in life. Her favorite activities…

Elisabeth Naughton | Enraptured With A Villian
Author Guest / April 26, 2012

Thanks so much to the crew at Fresh Fiction for inviting me to stop by! Anyone who’s read my books knows I love a good villain. For me, the villain has to be as clever as the hero/heroine, otherwise they’re no fun to outsmart.  Villains are fun to write because authors can do just about anything with them. We don’t have to worry about redeeming them at a later date. But just like heroes and heroines, villains have to have their own goals, motivations and conflicts. And they have to grow and change as the book/series progresses. Sometimes what was important to them at the beginning of the book isn’t what they’re after at the end. Sometimes they’re motivated by greed, sometimes revenge, sometimes power. But they ALL have reasons for why they do the things they do. And well-developed villain can be just as compelling as a main character. In fact, in a suspense-based book, they’re really the ones who challenge the main characters and keep the book moving at a rapid pace so readers are eager to see how the main characters will eventually win. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a good villain. Hannibal Lecter…

Tracey Devlyn | The Vengeful Heroine – Heroic or Offensive?
Author Guest / April 26, 2012

Huge thanks to Fresh Fiction for having me here today. I’m really looking forward to chatting with folks! Writing my debut novel, A LADY’S REVENGE, proved challenging on many levels. Setting aside the fact that it’s my first manuscript and has undergone much reconstruction, I managed to stretch the bounds of the Regency romance world in several areas of the story. For instance, I opened the story with a torture scene and my heroine has suffered both physically and mentally at the hands of her enemy and now she can’t abide a man’s touch. From an early age, Cora deBeau’s heart was set on avenging the brutal murders of her parents. She trained, she planned, and she eventually sold her soul. Some would call her single-minded, stubborn, and ruthless, others will label her intelligent, courageous, and protective of furry four-legged creatures. Most will agree, however, that she’s a damaged and complicated woman. As you can tell from my description above, A LADY’S REVENGE is not a light and humorous read. The book focuses on the darker side of espionage and human nature. I enjoyed exploring this side of Cora and a few of my other characters as well. So, are…

Fresh Pick | CATCH ME by Jennifer Probst
Fresh Pick / April 25, 2012

1 Night Stand  February 2012 On Sale: February 16, 2012 ISBN: 0033059209 EAN: 2940033059201 Kindle: B0079X0CZO e-Book Add to Wish List Erotica, Romance Erotica Sensual Buy at Amazon.com Sometimes the fantasy of one night can prove miraculous Catch Me by Jennifer Probst Rick Steele has avoided relationships since he caught his fiancée cheating, but when he’s talked into a one night stand through Madame Eve, he’s not prepared for his emotional and physical reaction to his date. Tara shows him a raw passion and honesty he’s never encountered. For the first time, Rick wants more than one night, but he needs to catch her first… Tara Denton escaped a brutal past and needs one night with a stranger to get beyond her sexual and emotional limitations. On the brink of recovering her strength and independence, she wants nothing to do with a relationship. But Rick Steele does more than rock her body…he rocks her heart. Tara has to make a choice, but is she ready to get caught? Previous Picks