We’ve all been there, right? Some totally hot guy attracts our attention and we are left to figure out how to get him to notice us. Sometimes it can be tough to get the man of our dreams to see as us more than a friend or acquaintance or… horrors upon horrors, the buddy of the girl he really likes. So to help make sure that doesn’t happen, I’ve put together a list of the top ten ways to attract a guy’s attention. *Disclaimer: While if you follow these steps, your man-candy is just about guaranteed to notice you, there is no guarantee he might not end up a tad frightened and run for the hills and/or issue a restraining order. But hey, true love is worth the risk, right? Be mysterious. Nothing lures a guy in like wanting to know more. If he asks your name, make him guess, even if it takes a while. Think Rumpelstiltskin. His natural curiosity is bound to make him fall in love with you. Give him thoughtful presents. After all, who doesn’t like gifts? Homemade is always nice. One suggestion is a scrapbook you’ve made with you and your boo’s faces superimposed on…

I love this topic. When suspense writers get together, discussing stories and plot twists keep our adrenaline racing. We can talk about how to add more details for hours because we live it. Every aspect of creating an anxious or uncertain character means adding tension, stress, and conflict into every line. And we love the various ways to fill our pages with this excitement. Our friends and families (unless they’re writers) have no clue how our minds work or where we find ideas for our next novel. The un-writers among us think we’re strange … We need counseling … Or prescription meds. Can you imagine that? For example: husband and I are driving into our subdivision. We see a neighbor has a roll of old carpet at the curb. Husband comment this person must have installed new carpet. Not me. I’m wondering if there’s a body rolled up inside that dusty mess. Is it a man or a woman? How were they killed? Why? Does the killer think it’s a perfect crime? What evidence did he/she leave behind? Then I spin out of control with characters and plot. See what I mean? So I’ve compiled a list of telltale signs…

Happy New Year, Fresh Fiction! Box sets are the new craze in the publishing world because bundled books offer literary treasure at a quality price and introduce readers to new authors. The ONCE UPON A TRUE LOVE’S KISS box set by USA Today Best-selling author, Julie Johnstone, and best-selling authors, Katherine Bone, Collette Cameron, Jillian Chantal, Samantha Grace, Alanna Lucas, Lauren Smith, and Victoria Vane, delivers what readers really want—eight tantalizing kiss-and-tell stories featuring dashing, wildly charming rogues, spies, pirates, rakes, and their extraordinary, intrepid heroines. What better way to usher in the New Year on a cold winter’s night than to be whisked away on sweet to sizzling romantic romps in wickedly entertaining historical romances, eh? But who are the authors of After Forever, The Pirate’s Duchess, Her Scandalous Wish, Milady and Her Spy, Kissed by a Scottish Rogue, Stolen Kisses from the Viscount, Tempted by a Rogue, and The Redemption of Julian Price? Here’s a short Q&A with the ONCE UPON A TRUE LOVE’S KISS authors for your reading pleasure: Julie Johnstone, do you have any favorite TV shows? Julie: The Affair, Shameless, Outlander, Game of Thrones. Katherine Bone, if you could have one superpower, what would it…

Thank you for joining us today at Fresh Fiction. I’m a real fan of military romance and suspense and loved your Shadow Warriors series. This new Delos Series brings us characters that are just as strong and dynamic and has some very scintillating plots. Viki: After reading the first four books in your new Delos Series, it is proving to be as fabulous as your other series. Who or what was your inspiration for the Delos Series? Lindsay: : Thanks for asking, Viki. Since Morgan’s Mercenaries, my first family saga that I created in 1980’s, was successful, I wanted to try it again. The Delos Series is my second family saga-series. Only this time, I wanted to create it based upon our world as it is today, in 2015, onward. We are a global community held together by a spider web-like digital age that makes connects all of us whether we like it or not. When you are no longer isolated, but communication, videos and other digital media, such as the social side (Facebook, among many others), we become ONE. Also, because of global travel, people are free to fall in love with one another, regardless of whether they come…

Has 2015 been good for you, reading-wise? Looking back on this past year, I can definitely recall many books that have either made me laugh or cry. Those ones are sitting proudly on my keeper shelf and will no doubt be ones I’ll be returning to again and again. For me personally, I think J.R. Ward has had a fabulous year. Not only did she shock fans with her latest Black Dagger Brotherhood release, THE SHADOWS, but she also started a new spin off series with BLOOD KISS, featuring the Brothers and new trainees. Moreover, she even returned to her roots and wrote the first book in a new Contemporary Romance/Women’s Fiction series. Another series to get excited about is Chloe Neill’s new series Devil’s Isle. THE VEIL delivered on its world building and character development. In just one book, I was hooked. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in the series. It feels like it’s been forever since I first read BURNED by Karen Marie Moning back in January but it’s not a book that you can easily forget about. The events in BURNED changed the course of the series and marks a new chapter…

One of the fun things about writing the Paws & Claws Mysteries for dog and cat lovers is writing the characters of animals. Everyone who has a dog or cat family member knows how different they all are. For instance, in my real life, I have a Golden Retriever who is red, not golden, and absolutely refuses to retrieve. She makes me laugh because she’s kind of like me. When I toss her a ball, she ducks! Meanwhile her brother, Baron, loves nothing more than catching a tossed ball. There are two new pets in MURDER MOST HOWL that are based on real animals. Ella Mae belongs to one of my readers. She’s a ten-pound mix of miniature pinscher and rat terrier. In the book, a couple is interested in adopting her. Well, the wife is interested, but the husband-not so much! I’m not telling how that turns out. The other newcomer is a big cat named Leo. His human won the right to have the pet of her choice in one of my books. Leo is a great cat. He thinks he’s in charge in his feline world but is confused by humans who don’t understand him. Do you…

When I sat down to write HERE TODAY, GONE TAMALE, the first book in my Taste of Texas series, I pondered the best way to take hold of the story. Would it be the plot? The setting? The mystery? Sure the mystery was important. Who wants to read a book with a predictable plot? And though I loved Far West, Texas and the desert towns near the border, they didn’t reach out and grab me right away. Head bowed and eyes closed, I prayed like a child, “Dear Lord, how the heck do I write a story that will make readers smile and feel at home?” Now, you may not pray, and the good Lord knows I don’t pray as often as I should; but the answer dropped into my soul. It was all about the characters. I decided to write lovable, quirky people I wanted to spend time with. I had to start with a heroine with grit and a bit of an attitude. She couldn’t be svelte and perfect either. She had to love her tamales. Once reporter Josie Callahan came onto the page, I needed a reason for her to leave the cool vibe and big city…

There is a lot to be learned about writing by going to see Billy Joel in concert. Hang on. I’ll prove it. My family and I attended one of Billy’s (we’re close personal friends, as he was with the other 17,000 people in attendance) Madison Square Garden shows recently. He plays there once a month as he said, “for the rest of my natural life.” The kids had never seen him live and their birthdays are close enough to each other that we could justify the expense. Because the shows are monthly, Mr. Joel is given to dredging up album cuts you might not expect and playing around with songs in inventive ways. But he makes sure the huge hits are represented, if not all covered, and he doesn’t ever lose sight of the fact that there’s an audience. At three separate stages during the concert, he looked out over the enormous, incredibly appreciative crowd (never an empty seat, month after month) and offered what he called “fielder’s choice” songs—he’d mention two titles and whichever drew more applause would be played. It’s a classic way to engage an audience by making them feel they’re driving the show. And it worked….

What great joy it to have THE ICED PRINCESS, the second book in the Snow Globe Shop Mysteries, now available. And just in time for Christmas gifts. The Iced Princess continues with the same cast of characters from SNOW WAY OUT. And a few new ones, too. One of my favorite parts of writing fiction is creating new characters. Each one takes on a life of his or her own, and I love watching them flesh out and develop when they are dealing with the people and circumstances in their lives. Camryn Brooks is the protagonist in this series. She is currently managing her parents’ business, Curio Finds, a shop that specializes in snow globes from around the world. It’s not where she planned to be at this point in her life—or ever—but it’s where she landed after a scandal changed her career path. Alice “Pinky” Nelson, one of Cami’s best friends, runs a coffee shop, Brew Ha-Ha, in the building adjoining Curio Finds. Their other childhood friends, teacher Erin Vickerman and Brooks Landing Police Officer, Mark Weston are woven in the storylines, as they are in their life events. As is the assistant chief of police, Clinton Lonsbury who…

I live for the moments when I say something shocking enough that my husband closes his eyes on a slow inhale and shakes his head back and forth. Joy bubbles through my chest, and I celebrate with an energetic fist pump. LOL! Yes, I got him! He is my real life alpha hero. A big personality with a smart wit and a generous heart in a football player physique. And he teases me relentlessly. I’m more silly than funny and my wit runs on the slow side. I’m the person who three days after a conversation will think of the perfect come back. Craaaaaaap…too little and way too late. So, my weapon of choice to tease my husband (and face life in general) is my inappropriate humor, and I embrace it with passion. At this time in my life, and after beating breast cancer (fingers crossed it stays that way) I’ve come to realize that life is way too short to live it satisfying someone else’s expectations or comfort. I want to laugh, I want to love, I want to find joy in the little things and reach for the big things (sooooo many jokes running through my head right…