Hi Fresh Fiction readers! I’m so excited to be here today to chat with you about my newest release, A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL. Parents are not supposed to pick a favorite child. I know this. But does that same rule apply to authors and their paperback children? I hope not, because I can’t help myself. Of all the novels I’ve written, this one is my favorite. Not only did I have an incredibly fun time writing the romance between my hero and heroine, I am passionate about the book’s underlying message. You see, I’ve worked with young women for five years now. And as a semi young woman myself (does 32 still fit into the young woman category?), I know just how inundated we are with messages about beauty. So often, those messages aren’t healthy ones. So often, we are led to feel “less than”. So often, we find ourselves looking at the glittery, sparkly world of high-fashion—a world filled with flawless women and perfect clothes—and we think we’re missing something. Maybe if we change ourselves somehow, we’ll look more like that pretty woman on the cover of the Victoria’s Secret magazine. But what if that pretty woman on…

Fresh Pick for Thursday, April 24th, 2014 is BIRTHMARKED by Maria Violante #SupernaturalThursday It’s not what it seems The Markers: Book One Author Self-Published March 2014 On Sale: March 13, 2014 186 pages ISBN: 1497341264 EAN: 9781497341265 Kindle: B00FLKR6XI Paperback / e-Book (reprint) Add to Wish List Fantasy Urban, Paranormal – Supernatural Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound Birthmarked by Maria Violante Charlie Kale knows life isn’t easy. But for the first time, this truck driver might have finally found her little piece of happiness. She’s got it all—her big rig, friends, a great mentor, and a man about to join her on the road. That is, until the good things in Charlie’s life all fall apart, and she finds herself at the mercy of a sexy but mysterious gunman who claims to be a member of a secret order dedicated to fighting the supernatural monsters that filter over into our world. She’s given a choice—join up or die, and while the gunman might be insane, Charlie’s hell-bent on not dying. Too bad it looks like that might not be an option. A Compelling New Series which Will Leave You Ready for More! Previous Picks

Kick-Ass heroines and Alpha heroes take on outlaws, gunfights, crooked card games . . . and the supernatural with rockin’ love scenes, rowdy bad boys and good girls gone bad. That’s my Gone Bad Series set in Texas and Indian Territory. How did I get there? I combined Native American Old West with American New West. Old World beliefs, such as Epona, Celtic Goddess of Horses, were brought to the New World. Native Nation mysticism and empowered women shared similarities with Victorian Spiritualism’s belief in free love, abolition, suffrage and ghosts. (Journals). All came together in the ancient land of Turtle Island. As the United States rolled relentlessly westward gobbling up nation after nation, the remnants of sixty-seven sovereign states were stuffed into Indian Territory (Indian Territory) with Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado and New Mexico Territory as borders. By the 1880s, I.T. was an outlaw’s paradise due to U.S. legal jurisdictional nightmares. Deputy U.S. Marshals, Indian Lighthorsemen), bounty hunters and Anti-Horse Thief Association Detectives put their lives on the line to bring justice to Indian Territory. In Lady Gone Bad (Amazon), a saloon singer called Lady hears Epona’s warning cries when she’s in danger. Rafe, Deputy U.S. Marshal, tries…

I’m so glad to be back at Fresh Fiction celebrating the release of my fourteenth book, EAST OF ECSTASY! This is the final book in my Greek-mythology-inspired Hearts of the Anemoi series, which includes: NORTH OF NEED, WEST OF WANT, and SOUTH OF SURRENDER. The Anemoi were wind gods the Greek associated with controlling the wind, weather, and seasons. In EAST OF ECSTASY, hero Devlin Eston is the heir to the East Wind which has long been associated with unluckiness, misfortune, and, thanks to Devlin’s father, even evil. Devlin himself has been the victim of father’s evil, and thereby finds himself an outcast among his own divine family. Devlin is the epitome of the tortured, bad boy hero, and he was incredibly fun and heartbreaking to write. Today, I wanted to talk about what I learned from finishing my first fiction series. I currently have four series underway, but the Hearts of the Anemoi is the first of them that I’ve seen all the way through to the publication of the final book. Here are the things I learned from that experience: 1. Finishing a series is scary. This might be a funny place to start, but I cannot exaggerate…

I’m sure, that like me, you probably do. How else could it be possible that out of 7 billion people in the world, you could manage to meet your soul mate? And how else would you explain the birth of a child? It might even be a miracle that you managed to get to work on time today. Or find a parking space up close at the grocery store, when you least expected to. Except…those aren’t really miracles, are they? They might restore our hope in humanity and warm even the coldest of hearts, but if we can be honest with ourselves, those kinds of things happen all the time to all kinds of people, don’t they? Miracles, by definition, are special. They are physical manifestations of divine intervention. To believe in real, honest-to-goodness miracles, you have to believe that the rules of physics and the laws of science can be altered and you also have to believe in God. Both are concepts that our modern age sometimes–many times–finds laughable. Except that it would be rather sad to believe they ever couldn’t happen. It would feel like slamming the door on the bedrock beliefs that were incorporated into…well…much of the…

Monday, April 28th (9am to 11am) Marie will be co-hosting (not just doing a segment) on The Broadcast on KTXD-TV in Dallas. This will be prior to her”Cobbled Court Quiltapalooza Book Bash Road Show” event that same evening at the Books-A-Million in Grapevine. We’ll also be having dinner with Marie at Love And War In Texas at 5pm (Grapevine) And don’t miss the other “Quiltapalooza” events in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Details at Quiltapalooza

Fresh Pick for Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014 is A SEAL’S KISS by Tawny Weber #RomanceWednesday Uniformly Hot! Harlequin Blaze April 2014 On Sale: March 18, 2014 224 pages ISBN: 0373797958 EAN: 9780373797950 Kindle: B00FTQ2AFI Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Romance Contemporary, Romance Erotica Sensual Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound A SEAL’s Kiss by Tawny Weber Subject: Navy SEAL Petty Officer Aiden Masters Current Status: On leave Obstacle: Deploy “Mission: (Fake) Engagement”…without actually falling for his fiancée! The goal of Mission: Engagement is simple—a fake engagement concocted to bring happiness to Sage Taylor’s ailing father. The Rules: 1) Treat it like a military mission 2) Keep the truth undercover 3) The “engagement” lasts as long as the professor’s health depends on it; and 4) No sex…especially with each other! But the incredibly spirited (and a touch quirky) Sage has never been one for rules. Especially when they involve Aiden’s rock-hard navy bod and a ton of smokin’-hot sexual attraction. Which means in order to seduce this sexy SEAL, she’ll have to completely outmaneuver him…. A faked engagement might be just what they need Previous Picks

Imagine my utter surprise when my husband came home from work one day and told me we were going to Switzerland. Switzerland! He’d been invited to give a keynote address, and I’d won the vacation lottery! Needless to say, we had the time of our lives in the land of watches, army knives and chocolate. But there’s way more to Switzerland than that. Here are ten things we enjoyed most, so be sure to include them in your plans when you go. Strolling through the charming narrow streets of old town Lucerne, admiring the still-intact medieval city walls with their fairy-tale towers. Countless clocks chime on the hour, but the oldest clock in the city does the honors. It’s allowed to chime a minute before all the others! Visiting the Engelberg Benedictine Monastery and meeting real-life monks. Engelberg means angel mountain, and the monastery got its name when two monks saw a host of angels while they were walking in the nearby meadows. The monastery gave its name to the village that grew up around it, and an angel is the symbol of the idyllic town. Learning the ancient art of cheese making at the Engelberg Monastery Cheese Factory. Cheese…

Hey, did you know A SINGLE THREAD, the first book in the Cobbled Court series, is only $2.99 this week (through April 27th). If you haven’t discovered the enchanting world of the women of New Bern, here’s your chance to get the first book for a special price on your e-reader. Kindle | nook | iTunes Determined to overcome the despair that has engulfed her since her husband of twenty-five years walked out on their marriage, Evelyn Dixon takes a spur-of-the-moment trip from her home in Texas to see the fall colors in New England. There, she falls in love with New Bern, Connecticut, a village that could have been lifted straight from a Currier and Ives print. Embracing her newfound impulsivity, Evelyn moves to New Bern and reawakens her long dormant dream of opening a quilt shop. But a shocking revelation about her health threatens to destroy Evelyn’s dream before it begins. As she struggles with the newfound challenge, one by one three unique women come into her life, each at a crossroads, all needing the support the very special bond of friendship can provide. When life’s pendulum takes an unexpected swing, these four very different women come together;…

Fresh Pick for Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014 is A KILLING NOTION by Melissa Bourbon #WhatsNewTuesday Great Read Magical Dressmaking Mysteries #5 NAL April 2014 On Sale: April 1, 2014 320 pages ISBN: 0451417208 EAN: 9780451417206 Kindle: B00F9EZBXS Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Mystery Cozy Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound A Killing Notion by Melissa Bourbon Harlow Jane Cassidy is swamped with homecoming couture requests. If only she didn’t have to help solve a murder, she might get the gowns off the dress forms…. Harlow Jane Cassidy is swamped with homecoming couture requests. If only she didn’t have to help solve a murder, she might get the gowns off the dress forms…. Harlow is doing everything she can to expand her dressmaking business, Buttons & Bows, without letting clients know about her secret charm. When she has a chance to create homecoming dresses with a local charity and handmade mums for several high school girls–including Gracie, whose father, Will, has mended Harlow’s heart–she is ready to use her magical talents for a great cause. But when Gracie’s date for the dance is accused of murder, Harlow knows things won’t be back on course until she…