Have you been to a coffee shop lately? Sometimes I know exactly what I want. Salted caramel, light, no whip. But sometimes, if it’s really hot I’m in the mood for a frappacino. But which one? There are so many choices. Recently, I took my kids to a smoothie shop. We had never been there before, and it took us thirty minutes to decide what to get. How do you choose from strawberry mango madness and peachy keen? It reminded me of when we went to Baskin Robbins recently. Thirty-one flavors and counting. Not to mention all the shakes and stuff on the menu board. What happened to chocolate and vanilla, with an occasional strawberry thrown in? Could we ever go back to those simpler times? I don’t think so. And I’m not sure we would want to. I like my buttered pecan. So what about the book market? The choices are astronomical and often overwhelming. So do we really need another Vampire story? My hope was to create a vampire story that wasn’t like any other vampire story out there. And the wonderful RT Book Reviews review I received attests I have done exactly that! 🙂 Really, who would…

August 2012 On Sale: August 7, 2012 Featuring: Sheila Tao; Jerry Isaac; Abby Maddox 352 pages ISBN: 1451664540 EAN: 9781451664546 Kindle: B0061OTD6Q Hardcover $24.99  Add to Wish List Thriller Psychological, Thriller Serial Killer Buy at Amazon.com Continuing thriller / suspense week Freak by Jennifer Hillier Sitting alone in a maximum-security prison cell, Abby Maddox is a celebrity. Her claim to fame is the envy of every freak on the outside: she’s the former lover of Ethan Wolfe, the killer who left more than a dozen dead women in his wake and nearly added Puget Sound State professor Sheila Tao to the tally. Now Abby, serving a nine-year sentence for slashing a police officer’s throat in a moment of rage, has little human contact — save for the letters that pour in from demented fans, lunatics, and creeps. But a new wave of murders has given Abby a possible chance for a plea bargain — because this killer has been sending her love letters, and carving a message on the bodies of the victims: Free Abby Maddox. Jerry Isaac will never forget the attack — or his attacker. The hideous scarring and tortured speech are daily reminders that the one-time Seattle…

July 2012 On Sale: July 10, 2012 336 pages ISBN: 0307455173 EAN: 9780307455178 Paperback $15.00  Add to Wish List Science Fiction Suspense/Thriller Buy at Amazon.com Science Fiction thriller Zone One by Colson Whitehead A pandemic has devastated the planet, sorting humanity into two types: the uninfected and the infected, the living and the living dead. After the worst of the plague is over, armed forces stationed in Chinatown’s Fort Wonton have successfully reclaimed the island south of Canal Street—aka Zone One. Mark Spitz is a member of one of the three-person civilian sweeper units tasked with clearing lower Manhattan of the remaining feral zombies. Zone One unfolds over three surreal days in which Spitz is occupied with the mundane mission of straggler removal, the rigors of Post-Apocalyptic Stress Disorder (PASD), and the impossible task of coming to terms with a fallen world. And then things start to go terribly wrong… At once a chilling horror story and a literary novel by a contemporary master, Zone One is a dazzling portrait of modern civilization in all its wretched, shambling glory. Previous Picks

August 2012 On Sale: August 14, 2012 Featuring: Miranda 304 pages ISBN: 1423149769 EAN: 9781423149767 Kindle: B008K5SLOY Hardcover $17.99  Add to Wish List Young Adult Science Fiction Buy at Amazon.com A new world False Memory by Dan Krokos Miranda wakes up alone on a park bench with no memory. In her panic, she releases a mysterious energy that incites pure terror in everyone around her. Except Peter, a boy who isn’t at all surprised by Miranda’s shocking ability. Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically-altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But adjusting to her old life isn’t easy—especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can’t remember loving. Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run. Suddenly her past doesn’t seem to matter…when there may not be a future. Previous Picks

I knew that title would grab your attention! Before you read further, let me assure you that I do not intend to describe intimate details of the Amish or any other people group in this article. I’m going to talk about some of the interesting practices and beliefs I discovered while researching the books in the Amish of Apple Grove series, THE HEART’S FRONTIER and A PLAIN AND SIMPLE HEART, which I co-authored with the fantastic, the awesome, the incredibly talented Lori Copeland. When an author performs research for a story, she unearths all sorts of facts and fascinating details, most of which never make it into the book. That’s because a good novel focuses on characters and action, with just enough historical detail to lend a sense of realism. But some things are just so much fun to talk about! Here are a few tidbits I found interesting that didn’t make it into A PLAIN AND SIMPLE HEART: Amish People Don’t Drive Cars Amish people travel from place to place in a horse and buggy. Some communities are permitted to own bicycles, though not all of them. None are permitted to own or drive cars. For longer trips that…

Morganville Vampires #12 May 2012 On Sale: May 1, 2012 Featuring: Claire Danvers 352 pages ISBN: 0451236718 EAN: 9780451236715 Kindle: B0072NWJCA Hardcover $17.99  Add to Wish List Young Adult Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com When you’re in the mood for Hunger Games Black Dawn by Rachel Caine With its eclectic mix of vampire and human citizens, Morganville, Texas, has always been a risky place to call home. But with the invasion of the vampire’s deadliest enemy, Morganville isn’t just in danger—it’s dying… Ever since the draug—mysterious creatures that prey on vampires—took over Morganville, the lives of student Claire Danvers and her friends have been thrown into turmoil. Most of the town’s residents have evacuated, but Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael have chosen to stay and fight. Using the city’s water system to spread, the draug have rapidly multiplied. Things in Morganville look grim, especially since vampire Amelie—the town founder—has been infected by the master draug’s bite. Now, if Claire and her friends don’t figure out how to cure Amelie and defeat the draug, it looks like Morganville will become little more than a ghost town… The Fight For Survival The exciting and adventurous alternative to Twilight that you’ve been looking for!…

Hi, thanks for having me today. I’m so glad to tell you a bit about my new book, and how it’s gotten me out of a tough spot with a few of my old professors (well, maybe). You see, I graduated Journalism School from the University of Missouri. It was one of the first journalism schools in the country and let’s just say they take the news very seriously. Whenever I go back to visit, some of my professors like to tease me about how I don’t really use my degree. I spent all those years learning how to present news facts, only to turn around and make things up for a living. Of course, I like to remind them that they actually have to wear shoes to work. Flash forward to this new series. I hadn’t planned to use my degree (why start now?) But as I was writing IMMORTALLY YOURS, it hit me. The book takes place in a paranormal MASH camp during the middle of a centuries-long supernatural war. And while the hero is a tough-as-nails wounded warrior and the heroine is the doctor who saves him (in more ways than one), we still need coverage of…

I’m thrilled to be back at Fresh Fiction to celebrate my birthday! Woohoo! I’ve got a fun post and a great giveaway just for you! Read on… In any romance, the hero and heroine are the main event, of course. And I love a good romance where I can route for them to get together and find their happily ever after. But I also really love those stories where the romance also has an awesome bromance – a long-standing, tight friendship between two or more of the male characters. There are a lot of reasons I enjoy these male friendships. First, the men in these relationships usually don’t pull punches—they tell it like it is, don’t let each other get away with anything, and give each other the swift kick in the butt that’s sometimes needed to make them man up. Second, bromantic relationships often offer great moments of comedic relief. The banter and good-natured ribbing between these characters is sometimes biting, sometimes witty, but always worth a good laugh. Third, bromances often further endear us to the hero—you get to see what a good friend he is, what he’s willing to sacrifice for a friend, and how much his…

January 2012 On Sale: January 17, 2012 304 pages ISBN: 1936661586 EAN: 9781936661589 Kindle: B006T3MHV2 Paperback $12.95  Add to Wish List Non-Fiction Buy at Amazon.com Explore why some authors think the Hunger Games is so phenomenal The Girl Who Was On Fire (Movie Edition) by Leah Wilson Katniss Everdeen’s adventures may have come to an end, but her story continues to blaze in the hearts of millions worldwide . . . especially with the highly anticipated March 2012 release of the film version of The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence. In The Girl Who Was on Fire – Movie Edition, sixteen YA authors take you back to the world of the Hunger Games with moving, dark, and funny pieces on Katniss, the Games, Gale and Peeta, reality TV, survival, and more. From the trilogy’s darker themes of violence and social control to fashion and weaponry, the collection’s exploration of the Hunger Games reveals exactly how rich, and how perilous, Panem really is. • How does the way the Games affect the brain explain Haymitch’s drinking, Annie’s distraction, and Wiress’ speech problems? • What does the rebellion have in common with the War on Terror? • Why isn’t the answer to…

When I started planning out my FIRST RESPONDERS series, I knew that the first book was going to feature a sexy paramedic, the second would have a cop, and the third a fireman. What I didn’t know was that when it came time to write IN THE LINE OF DUTY, that cop would end up being the heroine rather than the hero. This was a big surprise for me. When I thought about a series for “Men in Uniform” it was always men. I mean, the whole idea was that I find a man in uniform uber-sexy! But no matter how I tried to work a plot, a character arc, anything to do with this story, it wasn’t a man I saw. It was a very fit, very determined, very guarded female RCMP officer. So a girl Mountie named Kendra Givens was it. She makes a small appearance in OFF THE CLOCK, the first book in the series, but IN THE LINE OF DUTY is really her story.  She’s a good cop, but she’s got some baggage of her own.  The story opens with her responding to a break and enter call at Jake’s Pub. And she really has a…