Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Lorelei James | More of the Mastered Series
Author Guest / December 2, 2014

As an erotic romance author, one of the first questions I’m asked is if I’ve “done” every sexual scenario I’ve written about…Umm…No. The really funny thing about that? I’m also a mystery writer but no one ever asks me if I’ve actually killed someone. Gives the person asking the question something to think about 🙂 In the Mastered series, in BOUND, UNWOUND and SCHOOLED (a novella out December 2nd) my two main characters are Ronin Black and Amery Hardwick. In addition to being an 8th degree black belt in jujitsu, Sensei Ronin Black is also a kinbaku rope master. What does that mean exactly? Well, he likes to use rope on women as an artistic and sexual expression of beauty. I’ve read lots of books where the hero is very much into rope bondage, but my starting point for the series wasn’t a male character’s need to immobilize sexual partners as a measure of control, but the fact kinbaku and shibari were borne out of hojojutsu—the traditional Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope. I wanted to explore rope bondage from a different angle. Which meant lots of research. My favorite type of research is the…

Laura Childs | Happy Holidays and Remember When
Author Guest / December 2, 2014

A guest blog from Laura Childs, author of the Cackleberry Club Mysteries, Tea Shop Mysteries, and Scrapbooking Mysteries. As I fuss about my writing studio, stumbling over sleeping dogs and gazing at Christmas presents I’m trying to keep hidden, my thoughts seem to naturally drift back to Christmases past. I have a hazy memory of a Christmas party I attended when I was three years old.  This was back when moms didn’t work, but baked cookies and fudge and congregated with their toddlers in each other’s homes.  While us kids played with train sets and fuzzy bears under a twinkling Christmas tree, our moms sipped coffee and talked.  As the day slipped into a blue-black winter evening, fathers would arrive from work, stomping snow and wearing hats and long coats, ready to gather up wives and children.  It was magical and lent a feeling that all was safe and right with the world.  And I miss that feeling terribly. When I began writing my Cackleberry Club Mysteries, I tried to capture that magical, innocent, fifties-feeling.  Though the mysteries are set in contemporary times, they offer a raft of small-town characters that make you yearn for simpler times.  At the top…

Juliet Blackwell | Hearst Castle Dreams
Author Guest / December 2, 2014

About halfway down the coast of California stands a grand estate on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Called San Simeon, or Hearst’s Castle, it is, indeed, much more than house. It was commissioned by William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper heir, and built by the amazing Berkeley-based architect, Julia Morgan – a bespectacled woman who, at 4’11”, ran her own construction crew at a time when women were told to stay home, mind the children, and leave public life to the menfolk. As a native Californian, I toured Hearst Castle as a child. The estate is a Gothic/Italianate/Spanish revival wonder, a mix of styles and resources and artwork. With Hearst’s almost unlimited checkbook, Morgan took trips to a war-torn Europe and bought entire rooms – paneling, ceiling medallions, corbels, built-ins – and whole stone staircases. She purchased ancient Roman birdbaths and medieval tapestries. She imported mural panels and dismantled small stone houses to be rebuilt in the garden as guest accommodations. Also, Julia Morgan designed two swimming pools: one a Grecian wonder featuring massive columns, and the other a subterranean fantasy of cobalt blue and brilliant gold. It took me years to get over that sparkling grotto – in fact,…

Duffy Brown | Learning to Ride
Author Guest / December 2, 2014

Question: What is the hardest part of learning to ride a bike? Answer: The pavement. Evie Bloomfield here, all the way from Chicago to the happy land of Mackinac Island, the setting for GEARED FOR THE GRAVE. There are no cars, no motor anything on the island. Fact is, if you want to get somewhere it’s by horse or foot or bike. See that Chicago reference above? I’m a city girl and that means I have zip history with horses and with bikes. I got the foot part down from running after trains and buses but even an eight mile island it a lot to take in on foot. I could jump on a horse-taxi here on the island of course but that’s expensive so that brings us to the bike mode of transportation. And there’s another reason I should learn to ride a bike…I work at a bike shop. Rudy’s Rides. So how do you learn to ride a bike? I asked Rudy the guy who owns the shop and this is his advice. (warning: Rudy is a little crusty around the edges so if you are easily offended you might want to stop here.) Rudy said learning to…

Kara Braden | Heat Up Your Winter on the Isles of Scilly with THE DEEPEST NIGHT
Author Guest / December 2, 2014

Just off the coast of Cornwall lies the most gorgeous, welcoming holiday destination you’ve probably never heard of: the Isles of Scilly, a place of puffins and palm trees, flower fields and harbor seals. The North Atlantic Current bathes the islands in such warmth that it rarely snows there. Designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the islands are famous for flowers, bird watching, stargazing, and hospitality. What better place to fall in love? Not that Michelle Cole was looking for love when she went there. Her trip to the island of St. Mary’s was mostly a favor to her best friend, who’d just inherited a bed and breakfast called Valhalla’s Rest. As a former B and B owner, Michelle went there to survey the property and the island, to see if Vicky should keep the property or sell it. Really, it was supposed to be a quiet two-week vacation… Until ex-Royal Marine Ray Powell showed up on her doorstep, battered and bruised from a rescue mission in the desert, seeking a refuge from the stresses of his job as a military security consultant. Valhalla’s Rest had been his haven since childhood, the place where he could go to…