Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Susan Wiggs | Make 2017 the Year of YOU
Author Guest / January 8, 2017

I never considered myself a “cruise” person. In my mind, a Caribbean cruise was for newly-weds and nearly-deads. I pictured crowded buffets, jam-packed pool decks, windowless cubicles masquerading as staterooms. Turns out I was looking at the wrong cruise lines. The Mystery and Romance Cruise, dreamed up by the dreamers at Vacations By Design, is the one you want. It’s an eleven-day indulgence you’ll never forget. Okay, so some of you are objecting to the price. I don’t blame you. An eleven-day cruise is going to cost you. But let’s face it—eleven days on ANY vacation is going to cost you. I’m good at math. Used to teach it, in fact. So let’s do the math. What does a nice hotel room—a suite—run you these days? Probably around $300 per night. And meals (we’ll assume meals for two, and we have to include drinks and tip)—breakfast, $30. Lunch, $50, afternoon tea, $40, cocktail hour, $40, dinner at a nice restaurant, $100. Entertainment—live shows, music, films, dancing, sports…The sky’s the limit, but let’s say you go to a performance every day, which is what you’ll do on the ship. Minimum $100 for two seats at a live show. We’re already up…

Meet Barbara Claypole White, author of ECHOES OF FAMILY
Interviews / January 5, 2017

Marianne Stokes fled England at seventeen, spiraling into the manic depression that would become her shadow. She left behind secrets, memories, and tragedy: one teen dead, and her first love, Gabriel, badly injured. Three decades later she’s finally found peace in the North Carolina recording studio she runs with her husband, Darius, and her almost-daughter, Jade…until another fatality propels her back across the ocean to confront the long-buried past. In her picturesque childhood village, the first person she meets is the last person she wants to see again: Gabriel. Now the village vicar, he takes her in without question, and ripples of what if reverberate through both their hearts. As Marianne’s mind unravels, Jade and Darius track her down. Tempers clash when everyone tries to help, but only by finding the courage to face her illness can Marianne heal herself and her offbeat family. Writing a Woman’s Life columnist Yona Zeldis McDonough e-chats with Barbara Claypole White to talk about the genesis of this dark, haunting but ultimately uplifting tale. About Barbara Claypole White A Brit living in North Carolina, Barbara Claypole White writes hopeful family drama with a healthy dose of mental illness. Her debut novel, THE UNFINISHED GARDEN,…

New Paranormal / Fantasy Books for January 2017
Urban Fantasy / January 5, 2017

Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet The Kingmaker Chronicles #2 Sourcebooks Casablanca January 2017 On Sale: January 3, 2017 Featuring: “Cat” Catalia Fisa; Griffin ISBN: 149262604X EAN: 9781492626046 Paperback / e-Book Fantasy | Romance Paranormal Buy Breath of Fire: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR SHE’S DESTINED TO DESTROY THE WORLD… BUT NOT IF SHE CAN HELP IT “Cat” Catalia Fisa has been running from her destiny since she could crawl. But now, her newfound loved ones are caught between the shadow of Cat’s tortured past and the threat of her world-shattering future. So what’s a warrior queen to do when she knows it’s her fate to be the harbinger Read More » The follow-up to 2016’s most popular debut Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh Psy-Changling #15 Jove January 2017 On Sale: December 27, 2016 512 pages ISBN: 1101987782 EAN: 9781101987780 Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint) $7.99 Romance Paranormal Buy Allegiance of Honor: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound |…

Excerpt from BREATH OF FIRE by Amanda Bouchet
Author Guest / January 5, 2017

BREATH OF FIRE by Amanda Bouchet The Kingmaker Chronicles #2 SHE’S DESTINED TO DESTROY THE WORLD… BUT NOT IF SHE CAN HELP IT “Cat” Catalia Fisa has been running from her destiny since she could crawl. But now, her newfound loved ones are caught between the shadow of Cat’s tortured past and the threat of her world-shattering future. So what’s a warrior queen to do when she knows it’s her fate to be the harbinger of doom? Everything in her power. Griffin knows Cat is destined to change the world—for the better. As the realms are descending into all-out war, Cat and Griffin risk sacrificing everything they’ve fought for. Gods willing, they will emerge side-by-side in the heart of their future kingdom…or die trying. Romance Paranormal | Fantasy [Sourcebooks Casablanca, On Sale: January 3, 2017, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781492626053 / ] The follow-up to 2016’s most popular debut Buy BREATH OF FIRE: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Kobo | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR “I did it!” Jocasta shouts. I grin at the target. Her knife isn’t in the middle, but it’s pretty damn close….

Meet Holly Robinson, author of FOLLY COVE
Interviews / January 4, 2017

The Bradford sisters are famous in Rockport, Massachusetts: for their beauty, their singing voices, their legendary ancestors, and their elegant mother, Sarah, who has run the historic Folly Cove Inn alone ever since her husband disappeared. The two youngest sisters, Anne and Elly, fled Folly Cove as soon as they could to pursue their dreams and escape the Bradford name, while Laura stayed and created a seemingly picture perfect life. After a series of bad decisions, Anne has no choice but to come home and face her critical mother and eldest sister, reluctantly followed by Elly, another Bradford woman who’s hiding something. As the three sisters plan a grand celebration for their mother’s birthday, they struggle to maintain the illusions about their lives that they’ve so carefully crafted. But when painful old wounds reopen and startling family secrets are revealed, they soon discover that even the seemingly unbreakable bonds of sisterhood can be tested. Author Holly Robinson e-chats with Fresh Fiction Columnist Yona Zeldis McDonough about her page-turning new novel. About Holly Robinson Novelist, journalist and celebrity ghost writer Holly Robinson is the author of several books, including The Gerbil farmer’s Daughter: A Memoir and the novels Beach Plum Island…

Top 5 Country Songs That Impacted The Heroines in Carolyn Brown’s THE BAREFOOT SUMMER
Author Guest / January 4, 2017

Good mornin’ to everyone. Here’s hoping that your holidays were amazing, that you got to spend time with your family and friends and that you now have time to sit down, prop up your feet, enjoy a good cup of coffee, hot chocolate or wine and enjoy reading for a few days. Thank you, Sara, and all the folks at Fresh Fiction for letting me stop by today and talk about my newest release, THE BAREFOOT SUMMER. Three women all married to the same man. None of them know about the other two. Until they all three show up at his funeral. They all three listen to country music and the songs that they like play a part in the book. There were five that really made an impact on the women’s decisions, though. Number 1 was “Heartbeat” by Carrie Underwood. Kate is helping out a ranch belonging to the detective who is trying to prove that one of the women killed the cheating husband when she hears the song. The story the words tell is one of her heart. She’s trying to decide whether to go on with the path that was set out for her by her mother…

Vella Munn | Feral Justice Romantic Suspense Series
Author Guest / January 4, 2017

As the happy servant to a couple of rescue dogs, I have a deep, warm place in my heart for the people and organizations that care for neglected animals. Nothing upset me more than hearing about an animal being abused. What I fantasize about doing to abusers would get me locked up, but it might be worth it. Where I live has what’s called a Saving Train. Earlier this year they held an open house, and I took my granddaughters to it with me so the three of us could learn more about this service. (I also thought the girls might volunteer to work with the animals during summer break, which one of them did.) The director explained that the Saving Train’s purpose is to take hand-picked dogs and cats from overcrowded pounds (I hate that word) elsewhere and bring them to our area where they’re adopted. The rescuers travel long distances to retrieve animals needing second and sometimes first chances. It goes without saying that by the end of the open house, I wanted to bring at least one animal home with me, but I’m at my limit walking two dogs. Months later, as I worked on my Feral…

Lynn Winchester | How Changing Genres Energized my Muse
Author Guest / January 4, 2017

Can we agree that sometimes change is needed to create momentum? Can we agree that sometimes creativity requires a jump start? We’ve just begun 2017, but this time last year I was struggling… My muse and I were on the outs and I couldn’t write a scene without copious amounts of caffeine, self-deprecation, and lots of second guessing. I found myself putting off writing to do other things, month after month, and eventually, around June 2016, I gave up, putting my WIP aside to pursue a career as a publicist. I quickly realized that helping other authors promote their books made me jealous, but it also made me angry that I wasn’t writing my own books. What happened to me? I went from being passionate about creating worlds and characters to bitter and dispassionate. I hated myself. I hated that I was scared of writing. I hated that my muse had abandoned me. I sat down, cried, and decided to be honest with myself; my muse and I were getting a divorce. Irreconcilable differences. She and I had different goals: she wanted to write something other than sexy romance, and I was determined to finish book three of a sexy…

Excerpt from MY HIGHLAND REBEL by Amanda Forester
Author Guest / January 4, 2017

MY HIGHLAND REBEL by Amanda Forester Highland Trouble Second in a passionate, fast-paced Scottish Highlander romance series from critically acclaimed author Amanda Forester A conquering hero Cormac Maclean would rather read than rampage, but his fearsome warlord father demands that he prove himself in war. Cormac chooses what he thinks is an easy target, only to encounter a fiery Highland lass leading a doomed rebellion and swearing revenge on him. Meets an unconquerable heroine Jyne Cambell is not about to give up her castle without a fight, even though her forces are far outnumbered. She’s proud, hot-blooded and hot-tempered, and Cormac falls for her hard. It’s going to take all of Cormac’s ingenuity to get Jyne to surrender gracefully-both to his sword and to his heart… Romance Historical [Sourcebooks Casablanca, On Sale: January 1, 2017, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781492605461 / eISBN: 9781492605478] Buy MY HIGHLAND REBEL: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR Jyne walked up to him and put a hand on his sleeve. Cormac stared at her hand, clean and white compared with…

Kim Redford | Sneak Peek at BLAZING HOT COWBOY
Author Guest / January 3, 2017

At the Wildcat Bluff Fire-Rescue Station . . . Kent Duval’s mind whirled as he tried to reconcile his teenage love with the young widow and mother standing before him. Lauren Sheridan had the same honey-blond hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and to-die-for body that had distracted him from his studies in high school. Now she was so much more. And every last bit of her was setting him ablaze in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. To cool down, he turned his thoughts to the Blue Norther that had dumped ice and snow all over Wildcat Bluff County last Christmas Eve, but his body was having none of it. Spring was coming on strong and Lauren was standing before him, so there was no getting around the earthly renewal of the birds and the bees. Cold weather was giving way to that perfect time of year when a young man’s fancy turned to—Lauren. He resisted the urge to head down a path that was dangerous to his heart. He’d thought for years that what they’d had between them was well and truly done and gone, nothing but raging teenage hormones. Now he wasn’t so sure. About the time…