Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Olivia Cunning | Friends First
Author Guest / February 28, 2013

Readers of my Sinners on Tour series typically say that the heroes of the series—the five members of the rock band Sinners—have a strong camaraderie that enriches each of the books. They joke around with each other constantly, which also adds to the humorous flavor of the series. I suppose if you live in a bus with four other guys for six months out of the year, you’re bound to form strong friendships, drive each other insane, or a little of both. Jokes will be made. Pranks pulled. Four of the five members of Sinners have been together since high school. They’ve known each other for over ten years. They understand each other’s quirks and limits. They accept each other. They’ve formed a surrogate family over the years and defend each other almost as much as they give each other a hard time. The newest member of the band, Jace Seymour, has only been a part of the band for three years. It’s a dream come true for him. Still, he has a difficult time finding where he fits in this close-knit group. Jace’s book, HOT TICKET, is like the rest of the books in the series, in that a…

Joanne Kennedy | How Tough is “Cowboy Tough?”
Author Guest / February 28, 2013

If you look at the cover of my new book, you might think being “Cowboy Tough” was all about muscles. Or you might think it meant sticking to the back of a bucking horse for eight seconds. But being “cowboy tough” means something quite different here in the West. It’s not about physical strength; it’s about the strength of your mind and your heart. It’s about dedication, determination, and fighting against the odds. I’ll give you a few examples. If you’ve ever watched steer wrestling, you know it’s one of the most physically challenging events in rodeo. The contestant bursts out of a chute on horseback and chases a grown steer down the arena, then leaps from his horse onto the back of the steer, using momentum and skill to halt the steer’s run and bring the animal to the ground. You couldn’t possibly pay me enough money to even try to do that—but in February, World Champion Stan Williamson showed the crowds at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo that you’re never too old to compete. Williamson won his first buckle in 1979, his second in ’82, but at 65 years of age, he still managed to halt…

ML Buchman | Balance Of Home
Author Guest / February 28, 2013

I’ve learned as I write, that books have background layers. That which appears behind the dialog, plot, and action. The readers may not even be aware of their influence, but they impact shapes and changes the novel. For me, they are what brings out the emotion, the heart of the story. My latest release in my “Night Stalkers” series, WAIT UNTIL DARK, can be looked at in a variety of ways when viewed through these different layers. Location layer This adds spice and a picture to the novel. WAIT UNTIL DARK includes several settings, traveling far and wide just as the helicopter pilots of SOAR (the U.S. Army’s secretive 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment) do. They are at the nation’s beck and call, saddling up at a moment’s notice to respond to the next mission. Culture layer This is the setting of the people in my novel. In the “Night Stalkers” series, it is military heli-aviation. It sets a tone, it sets strictures on how the character can react and interact. They are highly trained, SOAR requires a minimum of five years experience in military aviation before you can even apply, then the tests are brutal and the training can…

The Hot New Best-Seller — Category Romance?
Author Guest / February 26, 2013

Let’s talk truth. Category romance has always received a bum rap. Touted as formulaic, with cardboard themes and tropes galore, many hard core romance readers have also admitted they love the big single title but would never deign to pick up a category romance novel. This was never my problem. I adored category romance and ploughed through them like a pre-menstrual woman in a Godiva factory. Still, I did find myself frustrated many times as my favorite tropes were either not used in a fresh way, or the story fell flat. Certain limitations seemed to restrict the freedom of the author’s voice, and I always craved just a bit…more. When I first penned THE MARRIAGE BARGAIN, I wrote for myself. I wrote about my all time fave trope — marriages of convenience — but I decided to write it my own way. My hero kissed another woman. I peppered it with lots of snappy humor and tons of dialogue. I originally wrote a secondary subplot of an older romance, which got deleted later in the editing process, but I didn’t hold back. I wrote the kind of story I wanted to see in the genre I adored. And it got…

Fresh Pick | LAST CHANCE TO RUN by Dianna Love
Fresh Pick / February 25, 2013

December 2012 On Sale: December 1, 2012 Featuring: Zane Jackson; Angel Farentino 412 pages ISBN: 0988607905 EAN: 9780988607903 Kindle: B00AGJ1ZDQ e-Book $2.99 Add to Wish List Suspense, Romance SuspenseBuy at Amazon.com Books to make your heart pace… Last Chance to Run by Dianna Love To an undercover agent, she’s a Person of Interest. He’s interested. Escaping the compound of a deadly international felon–with a fortune in rare, stolen coins hidden on her body–elite athlete Angel Farentino has to make the most important run of her life. Literally. With her father in prison, where he belongs, and a prior undeserved conviction hanging over her head, she has nowhere to turn and no one to trust. Definitely not law enforcement who railroaded her through a judicial nightmare. One step ahead of lethal men and dogs on her trail, she runs into the arms of a dark stranger willing to help her if she’d let him. But that would only get the sexy pilot killed. Between figuring out who’s sabotaging his undercover work for the DEA and trying to save his baby sister from herself, Zane Jackson has enough on his plate. The last thing he needs is to get entangled with a…

Fresh Pick | LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel
Fresh Pick / February 24, 2013

July 2008 On Sale: May 1, 2003 336 pages ISBN: 0156027321 EAN: 9780156027328 Kindle: B0070Y46UY Paperback / e-Book (reprint) $15.00 Add to Wish List FictionBuy at Amazon.com Life of Pi by Yann Martel The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them “the truth.” After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional–but is it more true? Previous Picks

Fresh for your After Valentine Reading
Romance / February 24, 2013

With Valentine’s Day still fresh in our hearts, we can enjoy several charming, sexy, new to paperback love stories to help keep the romance flowing. First, there’s a second shot at first love, the much talked about upcoming sequel in Shannon Stacey‘s ALL HE EVER DESIRED (Kowalski Family series #5) due February 26th from Carina Press. ALL HE EVER DESIRED Rather than watch Lauren Carpenter marry another man, Ryan Kowalski decided after college to leave Whitford, Maine, but now his siblings need his help to refurbish the family-owned Northern Star Lodge. Ryan is quickly forced to face the past sooner rather than later when he catches a vandal only to learn the boy is Lauren’s son… The last person Lauren needs back in her life is Ryan Kowalski. She has enough man trouble already with a bitter ex-husband and a moody teenage son. But fact is- her son needs to learn a few lessons about right and wrong. As a result, Lauren finds herself escorting him to Ryan’s door every day to work off his debt and atone for his crime. In close contact, Ryan and Lauren can’t deny the chemistry between them is more powerful than ever. Still, can…

Margaret Daley | A Motive for Murder: Revenge
Author Guest / February 23, 2013

I was in the middle of writing SCORNED JUSTICE when the show Revenge came on last year on ABC–a show about a burning need to seek revenge on someone who had hurt the lead character. At least that was the impression I got from the ads about the new show. I have to confess I actually haven’t seen the show. But it summed up my story–to what lengths would someone go to get back at another. A person takes the first step in a path of revenge, and before he/she knows it, there is no turning back. The need consumes him/her. When revenge starts consuming the character, the fun really begins. The stakes are heightened. The villain starts to lose it and make mistakes. A show I do watch–Once Upon a Time –has revenge driving the plot. The Evil Queen wants to make Snow White pay for what she did as a child. Revenge is one of the basic motives for a person murdering another. There are others like greed, hate/love, the need for power. When I wrote this book, I wanted to show how far someone could go, how it changed his/her life. And since this is an inspirational…

Margaret Daley | A Motive for Murder: Revenge
Author Guest / February 23, 2013

I was in the middle of writing SCORNED JUSTICE when the show Revenge came on last year on ABC–a show about a burning need to seek revenge on someone who had hurt the lead character. At least that was the impression I got from the ads about the new show. I have to confess I actually haven’t seen the show. But it summed up my story–to what lengths would someone go to get back at another. A person takes the first step in a path of revenge, and before he/she knows it, there is no turning back. The need consumes him/her. When revenge starts consuming the character, the fun really begins. The stakes are heightened. The villain starts to lose it and make mistakes. A show I do watch–Once Upon a Time –has revenge driving the plot. The Evil Queen wants to make Snow White pay for what she did as a child. Revenge is one of the basic motives for a person murdering another. There are others like greed, hate/love, the need for power. When I wrote this book, I wanted to show how far someone could go, how it changed his/her life. And since this is an inspirational…

Kathi Macias | Why a Book about Harriet Tubman?
Author Guest / February 16, 2013

I am often asked why I chose to write a contemporary novel based on the life of historical figure Harriet Tubman. I suppose it was a natural for me, as Harriet Tubman has always been one of my heroines, and I loved the idea of building a contemporary story around her life. I felt it was important to incorporate a love story into the novel because Harriet sacrificed so much, including her marriage to the man she loved, to fulfill her dream of freedom. Though I didn’t know it when I first conceived this idea, the book release’s timing was perfect for both: February for Black History Month (Harriet Tubman) and also for Valentine’s Day (romance aspect). Before beginning my research and writing, I knew quite a bit about Harriet’s work with the Underground Railroad, but little about her service to this country during the Civil War or her efforts to gain the vote for women. All that was exciting to learn, and it deepened my respect and admiration for this amazing woman. The love story in the book is about Mazie and Edward, two young people of different races who are deeply attracted to one another. Mazie has nagging…