Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
THE ROYAL NANNY by Karen Harper
Author Guest / December 7, 2016

My historical novels so far (seven and counting) have featured the lives of real historical British women, usually royal. Several featured Queen Elizabeth I; I also wrote about an Irish princess and the Plantagenet royals. But when I came across a footnote mentioning Charlotte Bill, a mere lower class nanny who lived in a much later era, I knew I had to know more about her amazing life. And so was born years of research to set the story in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and to learn about a servant class woman with great power, because she reared two kings of England. Charlotte Bill was a Cockney girl who was first hired as an under nursemaid by the royal family of the future King George V and Queen Mary, the current queen’s grandparents, while Queen Victoria was still on the throne. Upon arriving at their Norfolk estate of Sandringham, Charlotte discovered the current nanny was abusing both David (later Kind Edward VIII and Duke of Windsor) and Bertie (later King George VI.) If you recall the movie The King’s Speech, you may remember this terrible incident which hurt both boys for the rest of their lives: David gravitated to…

Tempest in the Highlands by May McGoldrick excerpt
Author Guest / December 7, 2016

One moment, Miranda was gasping for more air. The next, her very existence depended on how close she could get to him. The touch of his lips freed her mind and made her body soar. The tension gripping her limbs and her lungs melted away in an instant. She shivered involuntarily and her arms tightened around his neck. Hawk’s mouth moved back and forth over her burning lips, urging them to open. Surrendering to his silent demand, she parted her lips. She heard the groan deep in his throat as he took a fistful of her hair and his tongue plunged deep into the soft recesses of her mouth. A silent thrill of desire raced through her. She’d never been kissed by a man before. But right now, all fears were forgotten. The trap in which they found themselves became trivial. Miranda allowed the rising hunger she had for him to erupt within her. Lost in the seductive play of his tongue, the heat of his embrace, and his roaming hand, she responded with passion. He lifted her higher in his arms and pulled her legs around his hips. Her body ached for his touch, her heart pounded, and her…

Anna Schmidt | A Life’s Journey
Author Guest / December 7, 2016

LAST CHANCE COWBOYS: THE LAWMAN the second in my Where the Trail Ends series. Readers of book one (The Drifter) will remember the character of Addie Wilcox, a feisty young woman determined to focus on her career as a frontier doctor and forget all about Jess Porterfield, who chose a life in the city over staying in Arizona with her. She’s doing just fine until Jess decides city life is not for him, returns, pins on a badge and becomes the local marshal. These two, hot-blooded (and hot-tempered), set off fireworks in more ways than one on their way to figuring out what the whole town has always known: they were meant for each other. Which character from LAST CHANCE COWBOYS: THE LAWMAN do I most relate to? ADDIE!! Because? Oh, come on—this woman is the epitome of what women have been fighting for lo, these last several centuries. And believe me, I did not write Addie—Addie told me how to write her character starting back in book one, THE DRIFTER, where she showed up as a secondary character and was so loved that she had to have her own story. She is Everywoman—intelligent, outspoken, feisty, a dreamer, a fighter,…

Miranda Liasson | Why We Love Christmas Movies
Author Guest / December 7, 2016

              The other night, I was watching the end of a Hallmark channel movie when my husband walked into the room. “Don’t ruin it,” I said. (He can’t help himself. His urge to say something, usually sarcastic, is too great.) “Are they about to live happily ever after?” he asked, sitting down beside me. “Shh,” I said. “Don’t talk. Just watch.” The heroine was climbing up a ladder, her job to place the star atop the community center Christmas tree. (The community center that was saved from the wrecking ball, of course.) “She’s going to fall, and the hero is going to catch her,” he predicted. (That’s the other thing he does. Tries to guess everything that’s going to happen. Anyone need a spare husband?) “The hero is across the room,” I said. “She’s not going to fall. Please go away.” At the top of the ladder, the cute German Shepherd that was in the movie nudged the ladder, causing the heroine to wobble precariously. The hero bolted across the room and was there in a flash! Sure enough, she fell right into his arms, creating a beautiful moment where they shared a Christmas…

Jane Peden | Why do Opposites Attract?
Author Guest / December 6, 2016

Why is it that so often, in fiction and in life, opposites attract? It’s the perfect set-up for a romance and we see it time and time again. The overly-cautious heroine and the daredevil hero. The popular girl and the computer geek. The urbanite and the wilderness lover. The biker and the debutante. Opposites attract in my current release, THE MILLIONARE’S CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT, Book No. 2 in my Miami Lawyers series. Ritchie Perez is a successful millionaire lawyer living in a waterfront mansion. A former prosecutor, he believes that the way to clean up gang violence and drugs is to convict anyone involved in illegal gang activities and get the maximum sentence. No second chances. Maria Martinez is a struggling artist who dropped out of school to raise her orphaned younger brother Joey, and now works two jobs to put food on the table. She’s also trying to keep Joey out of trouble and away from the gangs so he doesn’t end up like their brother Tito, who has been in jail for the past eight years. Put there by – you guessed it – former prosecutor Ritchie Perez. Maria knows that life can be hard, and believes people are…

Samantha Chase | What’s on YOUR List for Christmas?
Author Guest / December 6, 2016

Hey, Everyone! Samantha Chase here getting ready for my favorite time of year!! Besides having a new book out – which is always a cause for celebration – I am super excited for the holidays. I love the decorating and sending cards and seeing friends and family…I love it all! So with celebrating the release of THIS IS OUR SONG, I got to thinking about this being Riley and Savannah’s first Christmas together. How cute is that? They’d be decorating the house together and making plans for holiday parties…and then agonizing over what to get each other as the “perfect” Christmas gift. Here’s what I imagine would be the top five things on Riley and Savannah’s Christmas list: A new laptop. Savannah’s very practical and she’s going to want the most up-to-date computer to keep her going with her writing career. And it’s going to need to be lightweight and easy to travel with since she’ll be on the road with Riley so much. A new guitar. For Riley, there will never be such a thing as too many guitars. He won’t care if it’s acoustic or electric, it will just be something new to play with and inspire him…

Jody Holford | When Art imitates Life
Author Guest / December 6, 2016

My daughter was reading my upcoming release, MORE THAN FRIENDS when she laughed out loud and said, “Mom, dad brings you food all the time when you’re writing, just like Owen does for Gabby.” Then she asked if I meant to do that and I thought…yeah, I probably did. Sometimes, though, I don’t mean to. I don’t think anyone can write, not from an emotional perspective, without giving up pieces of themselves. If I had to look closely at all of my characters and the worlds in which they live, I’m certain there are elements of my own life. The outside reader might not pick up on these “pieces”, but people close to me certainly do. Another example was when my daughter read my last release, FALLING FOR KATE. In the story, Kate never lets a song finish. This is something I do. It drives my daughter nuts. But to me, the song is over once you get to the last few bars. And I want to see what else we can listen to. I didn’t intentionally think, what little habit of mine could I insert into this moment? My characters were in the car and she was restless. The…

Abbie Roads | Music and Manuscripts
Author Guest / December 6, 2016

Do you listen to music while you read? Maybe I’m weird, but I’ve never been able to listen to music that has lyrics while I’m reading. I’ll switch the two processes and suddenly the lyrics jump from the novel’s page and vice versa. Reading words and hearing different words at the same time confuses my brain. My attention gets too divided and I can’t retain anything I’ve heard or read. Am I the only one like this? And then there’s my complicated relationship with music while I’m writing. In RACE THE DARKNESS, Xander Stone has supercharged hearing. His hearing is so sensitive he can hear people’s thoughts. He can hear a person’s heart rate shifting and the way their voice changes ever so slightly when telling a lie. And because of his sensitivity to sound he absolutely can’t tolerate music. His mind hears an overwhelming noise. When I was writing Xander’s story, I tried repeatedly to listen to music. But a weird thing happened. It always felt uncomfortable to me. The best way to describe the feeling I had was when a song gets on your nerves. Maybe you’ve heard it too many times. Maybe you just don’t like it….

Kendra C. Highley | My Favorite Sports Films
Author Guest / December 5, 2016

I’ve written my share of athletes—snowboarders, outfielders, and point guards—mainly because of a love of sports. My dad is a rabid Texas Rangers fan, and there was always a game on at home. Some of that rubbed off, to the point that I enjoy sports movies, too. Here are a few of my favorite sports movies: Major League All right, Gen Xers, how many of your remember Charlie Sheen playing the wild pitcher, and the ragtag bunch that made up the Cleveland Indians? The premise is pretty simple: once the owner’s wife inherits the team, she wants to move it to Florida, but they have to have a losing season for the move to be considered. Instead, they make it all the way to the play-offs. Now, this movie is NSFW, but it’s also pretty hilarious. The Sandlot I didn’t see this movie until I was an adult, watching it with my kids, but the trueness of it struck me immediately. The way the boys were written…the banter, the shenanigans….it was so well done. And hey, how many times have you said, “You’re killing me, Smalls!” over the last decade or so. I also loved it because of the loving…

Getting Cozy with Charli Rae
Cozy Corner / December 5, 2016

Kym: “Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with Charli Rae Warren in her hometown of Hazel Rock, Texas for an interview. Charli is a kindergarten teacher who came back to Hazel Rock after a twelve-year absence! She’s also an imaginary friend of mine who lurks in my brain and messes with my hair.” Charli: “I beg to differ, you’re the one who’s constantly messing up my hair.” Kym: “That’s because it’s so beautiful; I’m a little jealous.” Charli: “Really?” Kym: I roll my eyes. “No, I just like messing with you.” Charli: “That’s not very nice.” Kindergarten teacher stare. Kym: Laughing. “That’s not going to work on me Charli, I’ve seen a lot meaner faces in my day than yours.” Charli: “So, get to the point. Why did you bring me to The Cozy Corner—other than to mess with me?” Kym: “I thought readers would like to hear a little bit about you, after all, your story releases December 6th.” Charli: “Already? Wow, it seems like it was just yesterday that you were slapping me on a piece of paper, then scratching me out, and then building me up—only to tear me back down again.” Kym: “It was…