Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Fresh Pick | MURDER SIMPLY BREWED by Vannetta Chapman
Fresh Pick / May 27, 2014

Fresh Pick for Monday, May 26th, 2014 is MURDER SIMPLY BREWED by Vannetta Chapman #SuspenseMonday Zondervan April 2014 On Sale: March 25, 2014 352 pages ISBN: 0310326168 EAN: 9780310326168 Kindle: B00DL0WQGC Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Amish, Mystery Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound Murder Simply Brewed by Vannetta Chapman When the coffee shop manager is murdered in Middlebury’s Amish Artisan Village, two women from different walks of life must join together to solve the mystery. Spring has arrived in Middlebury, Indiana, and Amber Wright is optimistic about the growing profit from her collection of Amish shops—until she receives a call that Ethan Gray is dead. Hurrying over to A Simple Blend, she finds a solitary hole in the front window and the store manager lying next to the espresso machine, dead from an apparent heart attack. All the money is still in his register. When Amber hires a young Amish woman, Hannah Troyer, to take over the shop’s duties, the two women become fast friends—as well as amateur sleuths. The police believe Gray’s death is a by-product of vandalism, but Amber and Hannah aren’t convinced. Clues that don’t add up, a neighbor who is…

Tonya Burrows | Why I Don’t “Write What I Know”
Author Guest / May 27, 2014

One question I’m constantly asked at conferences: was I in the military? Short answer is no, although I have come close to joining several times. But, see, there’s an old writer’s axiom—”write what you know”—and because of that, people seem to assume that having military experience is the only possible way I can write my books. And, yes, maybe that was true back before the technological advances of today when research was much harder to do. Now, however, I think it’s the biggest load of hooey told to budding writers. C’mon, I’m a small town girl with a perennially boring life not at all conducive to writing the kinds of books I want to write. Lemme give you an example. I’ve spent the last several months doing research for BROKEN HONOR, the third book in my HORNET series, which is about human trafficking in Eastern Europe. Some of the topics I’ve delved into this month alone include the Navy SEALs (again!), NCIS (not the TV show), arms and sex trafficking, the countries of Moldova, Ukraine, and an unrecognized breakaway republic called Transnistria that’s still stuck in the Soviet era. Did you know that Moldova is the poorest country in Europe?…

Spotlight on Lori Wilde
Author Spotlight / May 27, 2014

Return to Cupid, Texas With the publication of Love with a Perfect Cowboy, my Cupid, Texas series comes to a close. I’m going to miss writing about those cowboys, and the Davis Mountains. There is no other region in Texas like the Trans-Pecos. It’s completely unique, and the people who live there are a different breed—rugged, independent, hardworking, and stoic—molded by the extremes of climate and topography. It’s a place of austere beauty that has captured the hearts and imagination of renowned artists from around the world. As research for the books, my husband, and I traveled to the Davis Mountains in our RV, and we experienced some of the adventures you’ll read about in the book. We rode our all-terrain vehicle in the desert, just as Luke and Melody do. What fun we had! And the gear Melody wears is the same gear my husband decked me out in. We visited the MacDonald Observatory, and a late night star party was inspiration for the same event that takes place in the book where Luke and Melody slip off into one of the observation domes. When we toured the domes, I leaned over to whisper in my husband’s ear, “Can…

Liz Mugavero | Pawsitively Organic Mysteries
Author Guest / May 27, 2014

Thanks for inviting me to hang out at Fresh Fiction today! I’ve been making the rounds, visiting different blogs since the second book in my Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series, A BISCUIT, A CASKET, came out in April, and I’m thrilled to be here. I love writing the Pawsitively Organic books. Why? Because I get to combine a love of writing murder mysteries with a love of animals and all things holistic health, which is so cool. In the books, my protagonist, Stan Connor, chucks her corporate life in the city after she loses her job. She moves to the small town of Frog Ledge, Connecticut with her Maine coon cat Nutty, for whom she cooks and bakes because of his gastrointestinal issues, and soon finds that the entire animal population in town is nutty for her treats. Which leads her down a path to her own business – baking organic, gourmet treats for pets. And, of course, stumbling over dead bodies and solving mysteries. Let’s get one thing out of the way – I’m not a chef. In fact, I can barely cook for myself, never mind my numerous pets. But I can write, I’m fascinated by crime and I…