I remember the day I came up with the idea for HER SUMMER WITH THE MARINE. I was on the phone with my friend Paula, talking about how every book idea had been done to death. And having written over 50 books (at the time), a lot of those done-to-death stories had been done to death by ME. LOL! I longed to do something fresh and interesting, and that day I came up with the fresh, unusual aspects of Ellie and Finn’s story. But at its heart, HER SUMMER WITH THE MARINE is the story of a woman coming home, meeting up with the boy – who is now a man – who’d been her high school nemesis, and learning that everybody grows up and time really can heal all wounds – if we let it. It’s also a story about sexual attraction. Finn and Ellie had been in each other’s social sphere the whole way through twelve years of public school education. It’s only when he returns home after ‘finding himself’ as a marine, and she returns home a well respect advertising executive, that they realize their competition might have been a bit more about unrequited romantic feelings than…

Hi everyone – I’m so excited to be visiting the Fresh Fiction blog again! I’ve missed all of you! My new release, NIGHT ANGEL, is a standalone novella in my Night Series. This book takes place in Ireland and features Colin, who you met in NIGHT DEMON. At the end of NIGHT DEMON, Colin is left with an injury his immortal body is unable to heal, and NIGHT ANGEL opens with a darker side of Colin. He’d always been quick to smile, with a playful sense of humor, but his world is completely off-balance now that this proud immortal has had his confidence rattled. He’s riddled with doubt about whether he can protect those in his care and he’s trying to hide his injuries. It isn’t until his path crosses a mortal woman who lost her hearing in the Shankill Road bombing that he discovers there may be more to him than his mangled left arm. Writing this book was a labor of love. Having a strong deaf heroine was also a thrill to write. In high school I spent a year as a teacher’s assistant to the deaf classes. I learned sign language and also discovered that being deaf…

A Detective Geraldine Steel Mystery March 2014 On Sale: February 25, 2014 Featuring: Geraldine Steel 352 pages ISBN: 0062325663 EAN: 9780062325655 Kindle: B00ESEE83O Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Mystery, Thriller Police ProceduralBuy at Amazon.com #SuspenseMonday A murder to be solved, a book to savor Death Bed by Leigh Russell Two brutal murders. No witnesses. The battered bodies of two young girls are discovered in North London, one shortly after the other. Desperate to avoid hysteria in the community, the police struggle to make a quick arrest before the deranged killer can strike again. Not having any luck, Detective Geraldine Steel, recently transferred to London, is called in to make sense of the grisly murders and the killer’s unusual signature: he extracts two teeth from each of his victims. With the death toll mounting, Geraldine is running out of time as she hunts for the elusive killer the papers have dubbed “The Dentist.” A nail biting, murderous puzzle that will keep you guessing until the very end. Previous Picks

Hi. My name is Ginger. If you have a little time, I’d like to tell you a little about myself. Okay, so I’ve already said my name is Ginger, but my close friends and cop buddies call me Storm. My ex-partner, Homicide Detective, Skitch, gave me the nickname Storm after I caught a ruthless killer during a hellified rainstorm in Miami, FL. That was one of the happiest days of my life. But… Right after I captured Nancy Kingston’s murderer, my ex-boyfriend did something horrible that landed me on probation. Sigh. Sigh. And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, my best friend’s husband got murdered, and my new man is the number one suspect. Sweet Jesus! This is so much to handle until I can hardly tell the story. If you think your head is hurting from reading about my jacked up life, just think about how my head is feeling. Will someone please bring me a cup of coffee with an extra shot and some Excedrin? Well, other than being somewhat of a Tomboy with a high sex drive and loving my job, there’s not much else to tell. Thanks for listening to my story. It helps…

Driving to the supermarket the other day, the song “I Need a Hero,” from the movie Shrek played on the radio. As I sang along—hoping no one could hear me—it got me thinking about what actually makes a hero? Those of us who write romance can spout off hero qualities at the drop of a hat. (Boy would my editor slap my hand for that cliché.) We’ll tell you he is handsome, tall, muscular, honorable, a great lover, kind, gentle, strong . . . You get the picture. These are the kinds of heroes we dream about. The hero who will arrive on his white horse, sweep us (literally and figuratively) off our feet as we ride into the sunset to our happily ever after. But what about real life heroes? And I’m not even talking about the men you see on the news who rescue children from burning buildings, or save a woman from attack. Sure, they definitely fall into the category of heroes, but I’m thinking of a more subtle, will never make the front page of a newspaper hero. The ones we encounter in our everyday life. Maybe the one you face over the breakfast table each…

Stealing the Heart March 2014 On Sale: March 10, 2014 Featuring: Chad Walker; Amelia Snyder 179 pages ISBN: 1622662873 EAN: 9781622662876 Kindle: B00IHCNQT0 e-Book Add to Wish List Romance ContemporaryBuy at Amazon.com #Free4All Sunday Stealing the Groom by Sonya Weiss Friends don’t let friends marry the wrong woman… Chad Walker may be a take-no-chances man with a plan, but there’s no way Amelia Snyder is going to let her best bud marry Mean Girl #1—even if the wedding is solely so he can secure the controlling shares in his family’s company. But free-spirited Amelia’s at-the-altar groomnapping scheme takes a surprising turn when she ends up as the blushing bride instead. Suddenly, with Amelia living in her handsome husband’s home—in his bedroom, no less—she starts to reconsider their strictly platonic arrangement. But Chad’s always been strictly anti-risk and definitely anti-love, and betting a lifetime of best friendship on the chance at forever might be the biggest gamble of all. Stealing this groom backfires on a well intentioned friend. Previous Picks

Second Chances #4 May 2014 On Sale: May 13, 2014 Featuring: Kristen Grey; Jason Mitchell 160 pages ISBN: 1619220954 EAN: 9781619220959 Kindle: B00H8QNC18 e-Book Add to Wish List Romance, Romance Contemporary Buy at Amazon.com #Free4AllSaturday Enjoy the romance The Back-Up Plan by Mari Carr Just How Legally Binding is a Promise Made on a Napkin Kristen Grey has always been married to her work, but as her fortieth birthday looms, she begins to wonder if that’s all there is to life. When her friend Zoey suggests she come up with a goal for a second chance at happiness, the first idea to pop into Kristen’s mind falls out of her mouth—to find a husband. One night, after a few too many shots of vodka, it falls out of her mouth again, in front of the last man she wants to hear it. Her annoying, cocky law partner, Jason Mitchell. She’s shocked when he vows to help in her quest to find a man. After all, he has a vested interest in her success. Years ago, they foolishly made a pact that if they hadn’t found “the one” by age forty, they’d marry each other. Time is running out. Problem is,…

March 2014 On Sale: March 18, 2014 Featuring: Elle Butler; Logan Butler 304 pages ISBN: 1426733267 EAN: 9781426733260 Kindle: B00IBJP62Y Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish ListInspirational FictionBuy at Amazon.com #InspirationalFriday can this family be saved? A Test Of Faith by Christa Allan Will the revelation of a 16-year-old secret shatter—or mend—a fragile marriage? Elle Butler has managed to hold on to her politically-driven husband and her secrets until the unexpected happens. When one phone call rips her world apart, Elle will have to decide if the truth is worth the consequences. Especially when it threatens to destroy the world she’s so carefully built around her life and her marriage. Excerpt I wanted to kill my husband’s mistress. Of course, that was impossible. But Logan reassured me that the insufferable, insensitive and insistent creature that had consumed both him and our relationship would die a natural death. But, once again, she beckoned him away for the night to another hand-shaking, wide-smiling, campaign-promoting event. “It’ll be over soon. I promise.” Logan grabbed the back door handle and tossed his farewell over his shoulder like an old nubby sweater. The state of Louisiana was not to be denied. Just me. Well, at…

Some would argue that there is no wrong way to read a book. With one glance at my towering stack of TBR novels, you might argue I’m the wrong person to write about the perfect way to read a book because obviously I collect them rather than actually read them. One look at our overloaded calendar and you might determine that there is absolutely no way that I read a sentence let alone an entire novel. Fortunately, you would be sadly mistaken, because reading is like breathing to me. I. Must. Do. It. Reading isn’t optional. I long for an escape to another place, another time, another character. My life is wonderful and I love it. But I also adore learning about other places and times. What was it like to be a Pinkerton Agent? A Monuments Man? A bookstore owner? What a book requires is simple. A perfect setting. Some people would say that’s their favorite chair. A bath full of fragrant suds. A vacation with the beach at your feet or the mountains at your back. I’ve read on the treadmill – just today I was reading a Melody Carlson book at 6.5 mile an hour pace, my…

Sometimes I’m asked why so many of my books are set in small towns. Well, the answer is simple—it’s because I live in small towns. My husband and I divide our time between a very small “mountain” town (population less than 3,000) and a slightly larger (but still quite small) “beachy” town. Yeah, I know it’s rough. <g> But the truth is—it is not for everyone. For instance, there’s definitely limited shopping options and restaurant selections. Sometimes that gets old. And if you want to make a fast run to the grocery store (which is overpriced) plan on taking your time because you will run into someone you know. Also, you don’t want to go slumming unless you want someone to start spreading rumors that you’re having “difficulties.” Really, it’s surprising how many people can’t handle the whole small town thing. Oh, sure they think it’s “charming” at first, but it can wear thin for some folks. I know because we’ve been here almost twenty years and we’ve seen people come…and go. However, life in a small town is different in the fictional world. I’m able to create small towns that are similar to my town, but with my fictional…