Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Rachel Lacey | Top 5 Sweet & Sexy Cowboys
Author Guest / January 28, 2015

For the FOR KEEPS blog tour, Fresh Fiction asked Rachel Lacey to list her top 5 favorite sweet and sexy cowboys from TV, books, or movies. Here is what she had to say! 1. I adore all of Lori Wilde‘s cowboy heroes, but sexy Rafferty Jones in A COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS really makes me swoon. He’s the perfect blend of macho and tender. 2. Slate Calhoun in Katie Lane‘s GOING COWBOY CRAZY is another cowboy romance favorite of mine. 3. Luke Perry in Eight Seconds – holy hotness! 4. One of my childhood favorites is “Little Joe” aka Michael Landon from Bonanza. Charming and sexy 🙂 5. John Wayne – but of course! Get to know Rachel’s own sexy cowboy TJ Jameson in FOR KEEPS, on sale today! About FOR KEEPS A summer fling…or something more? Merry Atwater would do just about anything to save her dog rescue – even if it means working with the most stubborn man on the planet. It’s hard to avoid the sparks that fly with TJ Jameson, the ruggedly sexy cowboy in charge of the children’s camp where she’s just taken an animal therapy job. But commitment is not Merry’s style, and TJ clearly wants more…

Jamie Beck | Players in More Ways than One
Author Guest / January 28, 2015

There’s something inherently sexy about poker. Unlike many forms of gambling, poker requires skill, knowledge, and instinct. You need confidence to pull it off, and confidence is always a turn-on. Levi Hardy, the hero of IN THE CARDS, uses his poker skills to change his life. His con artist father introduced him to the game in grade school. Then, while living on the run with his dad, time and practice honed Levi’s skills. Good thing, too, since his father’s lifestyle robbed him of a proper education. But Levi ultimately uses his intelligence, discipline, and determination to break away from his dad and build a stable life for himself. How? Poker tournaments, of course. If that sounds far-fetched, consider the fact that twenty-eight-year-old Andrew Robl’s lifetime poker earnings are already approaching four million dollars, while forty-year-old Daniel Negreanu has earned thirty million at the tables. Luckily, like those real players, Levi is exceptional. Once he banks a few million dollars, he leaves Vegas and moves to Malibu, which is where he runs into Lindsey for the second time in his life. Then the girl with a big heart melts his cynical one, and falling in love teaches him a thing or…

Deeanne Gist | Dating Victorian-Style
Author Guest / January 27, 2015

Meeting a guy is so dad-gum complicated. You have to go to a bar, go to church, or go to your computer and fill out a form. And then, once you do manage to go out, your date wants—no, expects—to stay over. Why can’t it be like it was in the olden days? Simple, straight forward and, well, romantic. But after a little investigation, I found it wasn’t quite as easy to meet a guy “back in the day” as I thought. Your parents had to know his parents. He had to be attending the “right” church. He had to have a livelihood. He had to have a sterling reputation. And that was just to meet him. Once you’d been introduced, there were a bazillion little rules to adhere to. He had to remove his glove before shaking your hand. He was to remove his hat with the hand farthest from you. He had to wait for you to recognize him first on the street before he was allowed to greet you. When you got past the introduction, there were rules for conversing. He was not to use a classical quotation before you unless he knew, with absolute certainty, by…

R.C. Ryan | Excerpt from THE REBEL OF COPPER CREEK
Author Guest / January 27, 2015

New York Times bestselling author R.C. Ryan‘s latest ranch-set romance THE REBEL OF COPPER CREEK is available now, and we can’t wait to join the ride. Fellow readers, enjoy the excerpt below, and be sure to pick up your copy of the book Fresh Fiction reviewer Sandra Wurman calls “a timeless piece about acceptance, love, integrity and inner strength.” Excerpt from THE REBEL OF COPPER CREEK She opened a second door to reveal a bathroom fit for a queen, with a tub and shower big enough for an army, a lovely oval sink and mirror, and all of it done in shades of white marble. She turned to him with a look of alarm.  “Oh, Griff.  I don’t belong here.” He merely smiled.  “Neither do I.   But I won’t tell if you don’t.”  His smile grew.  “I say we just kick back and enjoy all this until they discover we’re frauds.” She tried to laugh, but it came out in a sigh. Before she could say more he touched a finger to her lips.  Just a touch, but they both looked stunned at his boldness. He lowered his hand and took a step back.  “I’d better say goodnight and get…

Liza Palmer | Why I’d Hate Me if I Were a Fictional Character
Author Guest / January 27, 2015

I was getting a pedicure the other day. The salon I go to is set up so that the walkway down the middle of the pedicure chairs is very narrow and is peppered with the rolling stools of the pedicurists. I was carefully picking my way to the bathroom at the back of the salon, when one of the pedicurists stood up and her stool rolled right into my path. And I leapt over it. Okay, I stepped over it. But, in that moment, I could almost hear the swelling soundtrack playing behind me as I became the hero of my own story. I looked around the salon. Didja see that?! Anyone?? (crickets) I continued on to the bathroom wondering where my round of applause was? On days like today, I have to come to terms with the fact that while I may like to think I’d survive the zombie apocalypse or win the Hunger Games or be stoic and steely like Sydney Bristow as I kick ass and take names, my best case scenario would be Shaun from Shaun of the Dead. But most likely I’d be Peeta or even more likely one of the nameless, faceless office workers…

Jessica Lemmon | Top 5 Reasons to Fall For an Artist
Author Guest / January 27, 2015

Thank you for having me! This was a fun list to make. Evan Downey from BRINGING HOME THE BAD BOY is just the kind of artist I’d fall for. Okay, here we go… 5. Evan’s a great dad. He understands his son doesn’t love all the things he loves, but he still tries to encourage Lyon to paint and draw. 4. Evan sees the world in vibrant color. From his tattoo designs to his children’s book illustrations, every surface is his canvas. 3. Evan doesn’t mind getting paint on himself, or on Charlotte. Which leads to some interesting encounters… 2. Now I’m distracted. What number are we on? Oh, right. Number two…let’s see. Evan has an appreciation for all sorts of artwork, including Charlie’s photography. 1. And I’m still thinking about #3. …Two words: Finger. Painting. What about you, readers? What quality do you admire in creative types? About BRINGING HOME THE BAD BOY Evan Downey needs a new beginning. Since the death of his wife five years ago, the brilliant tattoo artist has shut himself away in a prison of grief that not even his work can break him out of-and what’s worse, Evan knows his son Lyon is…

Fresh Interview | The Sweet Life of Candis Terry
Author Guest / January 27, 2015

Welcome, readers! Thanks for checking out our latest Fresh Interview. Features Editor Pasha Carlisle was thrilled to chat with super sweet author Candis Terry to mark the release of SWEET SURPRISE. Pasha: Hi, Candis! We’re so excited for you to join us today. SWEET SURPRISE is the fourth novel in your Sweet, Texas series. What keeps you loving this series as you write it? Candis: Hello! And thank you for having me here today. What keeps me loving Sweet, Texas is, without a doubt, the characters. Sometimes I’m not sure where they came from, but from a fashionista goat to an octogenarian cowboy Casanova, they’re all there, ready to pop up unexpectedly at any moment and make me laugh. Also, my absolute love for the Wilder family keeps me going strong. As an only child, I always dreamed of having siblings who’d stand by my side or call me out when I needed a little discipline. I guess I created my dream of that close-knit family in the Wilders, and I really wanted to make sure each and every one of them got their happy ending. Pasha: We love those happily ever afters, so please keep them coming. The latest installment…

Tessa Bailey | Writing Multiple Genres
Author Guest / January 27, 2015

Somehow I have found myself at this weird (and sometimes lovely) three-way intersection of genres. Adult contemporary, New Adult and BDSM. In some ways, this mishmash of different worlds is total godsend. Just because I love all three of these worlds I’ve created for each respective series, doesn’t necessarily mean I want to spend all my time in one, exclusively. Taking a break from something heavy and cleansing the palette in a lighter environment can save a writer, in my experience, from feeling fatigued or losing perspective. It’s like my writer equivalent of playing the field, dating around, sowing my oats. But way more nerdy. These three genres all intersect in Sexyville, but the difference is the tone. The most specific shift is into BDSM, because there is an internal conflict that always seems to have a direct effect on sex between the characters. It’s not just a slaking of lust, it’s exploring new territory (at least, for my Serve series heroines) and involves a giving over of trust, which I find hard to write with a light tone. It’s dark and sexual and (think of a slow drum beat). Many authors straddle the line between New Adult and Adult….

Laura Griffin | The Latest in the NYT Bestselling Tracers Series
Author Guest / January 26, 2015

Readers always ask me where I get my story ideas. I got my start as a newspaper reporter, and often my inspiration comes from current events. I’m constantly skimming headlines and asking myself, “What if…?” My new book BEYOND LIMITS was sparked after I read a news article about Navy SEALs and wondered what would happen if one of these highly trained warriors learned about an impending attack on American soil. Would he be able to leave it to someone else to handle, or would he feel compelled to intervene? BEYOND LIMITS opens with Navy SEAL Derek Vaughn, who is on a harrowing rescue mission overseas when he finds evidence of an attack being planned in the city where he grew up. He returns home determined to help thwart disaster. Derek decides his best way in to the FBI’s investigation is to manipulate a woman he cares about—Special Agent Elizabeth LeBlanc—into giving him inside information. With the help of the forensic experts at the Delphi Center, Derek and Elizabeth embark on a race against time to stop a deadly plot. BEYOND LIMITS is the eighth book in my Tracers series. Derek and Elizabeth first met in SCORCHED, which won the 2013 RITA…

Ashlee Mallory | Feeding my Addiction to HGTV and Carter Oosterhouse
Author Guest / January 24, 2015

Who said addictions were unhealthy? I for one have to credit my own addiction for all things HGTV—or anything that had a good home renovation project on it—as the inspiration for my new book, HER BACKUP BOYFRIEND. Heck, well before HGTV and TLC were on the scene, I watched dozens of Bob Villa projects on good old PBS, even if the progress of those projects could be like watching glue dry. Literally. But later, it was those delicious moments on shows like TLC’s Trading Spaces that really left an impact. You know, right around the time they cued the hot carpenter guy—remember a young Carter Oosterhouse?—to arrive on the scene in faded denim and an oh-so-tight t-shirt clinging to a taut upper torso that sent my mind running to less than wholesome images. It was those guys, with their quiet confidence and surprisingly sharp wit that always, at least for me, stole the show. My new book, HER BACKUP BOYFRIEND, is about a strait-laced ambitious woman, Kate, who is trying to manage her own home renovation project while staying ahead of the game at work and not falling apart at the news of her ex-boyfriend’s engagement. Enter Dominic, the sexy…