Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Amanda Ashley talks shape-shifters, romance, and who she’s reading today!
Author Guest , Interviews / May 31, 2017

Miranda Owen: For readers like me, who are unfamiliar with your books written as Madeline Baker, could you please describe what your historical romances are like? Amanda Ashley: They all have Indian or half-Indian heroes. A few of them are gunfighters because I love bad boys. Several of the books are time travel romances because they are such fun to write. Of course, they are all set in the Old West – Arizona, Montana, the Dakotas – places like that. I did a lot of research on the Lakota, the Cheyenne, and the Apache, as well as a few other tribes, in an effort to make the books as realistic as possible. Miranda Owen: I’ve always described most of your vampire romances as being “contemporary paranormal Gothic”. I love Gothic historical romance and I always felt like your writing style was tailor-made for that type of story. You’ve written a few books with many of those same elements that make historical Gothics so delicious. Would you ever consider writing a Gothic historical series? Amanda Ashley: I actually started one a few years ago, but it never got off the ground. I just couldn’t make it work. Miranda Owen: Although I…

Jade Lee’s Memorial Day Antics plus a SALE
News / May 31, 2017

Guess what I did on this great three day weekend? Hung out with good friend Julie Ann Walker, Cindy Dees, and Heather Snow. Plus others, but I only have a picture of Julie and me. Oops!  Went to NYC with hubby for Broadway shows. That’s after taking out a 2nd mortgage to afford Hamilton tickets. Well, not really. There weren’t any Hamilton tickets available. Slept, ate fattening foods, and convinced hubby to rub my feet. Heaven! Remembered stuff. It’s Memorial day, after all! Answer: Everything but A. The writing retreat with my buds was the week before, so that doesn’t count! So yes, I did go to NYC. Saw Keven Klein in Present Laughter.  Also saw Waitress and silently crooned along. We did eat great food and yes, my loving husband finally was convinced to rub my feet. And yes, I spent a few minutes remembering my loved ones who have passed, but I admit, I spent a lot more time creating new memories with the ones who are still with me. And now for some AWESOME NEWS!  Guess what it is! I was abducted by aliens who taught me how to get my dog to poop diamonds and pee…

N.J. Nielsen | The Whys and Whos of Wardens of the Guild
Author Guest / May 31, 2017

First off, thank you for having me as a guest to talk about my book… Wardens of the Guild 2: ALL THAT SHIMMERS. This is a series that I’ve been thought about writing for quite a while before I actually put pen to paper. The characters have always been inside my head just waiting for their chance to be heard, and I must admit Murtagh and Eric were two of the loudest. Jory on the other hand was more of a surprise for me. He kind of snuck up on me and I’m very glad that he did so, because I believe he made the story so much more interesting… but interesting is better, right? In a way ALL THAT SHIMMERS has set the precedence of how the following two stories in the series will be written. The continuing back story will be there throughout each book, as well as them both having their own personal stories to tell, so that the readers can fall in love with the main characters of each book as well. I can’t tell you what they will be about as I never know until I sit down and start writing. I wish I could…

Time for a Mystery Vacation
Cozy Corner / May 30, 2017

By Kym Roberts You don’t need to plan a vacation or a staycation this week. Take the week off and relax from all the hubbub that has had you running around like a crazed mom of quintuplet five year olds in a toy store. Pick up a book or two, or three—the ones that have been stacking up in your to-be-read pile and just breathe. Escape into another world where ghosts are real, magic is everywhere, sewing is easy and a Book Barn is on Main Street. Trust me, the May releases are to die for—including one of my own 😉 GHOSTAL LIVING by Kathleen Bridge Hamptons Home & Garden In the latest mystery from the author of Better Homes and Corpses and Hearse and Gardens, Hamptons interior designer and antiques picker Meg Barrett uncovers a veil of spooky goings-on… The first Sag Harbor Antiquarian Book and Ephemera Fair is right around the corner, and interior designer Meg Barrett has her hands full decorating rooms at the Bibliophile Bed & Breakfast for wealthy rare book collector Franklin Hollingsworth. Rumor has it Hollingsworth is in possession of an unpublished manuscript written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. When the Fitzgerald manuscript’s authenticator is…

Kat Martin | Summer Adventure
Author Guest / May 30, 2017

Every summer my husband and I try to have some kind of adventure.  Not the hearty kind we used to undertake–like riding horseback into the high Sierras or tent camping for a week in Montana.  But whatever we choose, summer is great time for a getaway. This year, we’re driving from our home in Montana to the Western Writers of America conference in Kansas City, Missouri.  We’ll take the back roads, meander two-lane highways that wind through six different states. Along the way we hope to visit old writer friends, Kathleen and Michael Gear–authors of the PEOPLE series that takes place 10,000 years ago.  They live on a buffalo ranch in Wyoming. From there, we’ll head for the Dakotas, spend a little time in Rapid City, a great old West town.  Lots of historic buildings and fun art galleries. Staying off the beaten path, you can find all sorts of intriguing bits of history.  Sioux City sits right on the Missouri, plenty of steamboat lore, and you can learn about Louis and Clark in Omaha.  If you’ve never done a cross country road trip, it’s really a worthwhile adventure. Speaking of highway adventures, BEYOND REASON travels the roadways of Texas. …

Character Perspective Guest Post with Terri Osburn
Author Guest / May 30, 2017

Hi there! I’m Terri Osburn and today I’m excited to celebrate the release of THE LAST IN LOVE, the fifth and final installment in my Ardent Springs Series. This entire series has been about second chances, and Abigail “Abby” Williams deserves one more than most. After losing her husband to a roadside bomb, this Army widow has watched family and friends all find their happily ever afters. All while she’s still mourning the husband, and future, that she lost. Anyone who’s had the experience will tell you that being a military wife is not for the weak, and Abby definitely learned that during her marriage. The constant worry. The long months alone, hoping he’s safe and feeling guilty for wishing he didn’t have to be so far away. The fear you can’t ignore. Will this be the last time I see him alive? Will that dreaded knock on the door come today? Unfortunately for Abby, that knock did come, and she’s spent two years trying to get past it. Let’s see how she’s doing now. Do you regret marrying a military man? Of course not. I loved Kyle and I don’t regret a moment that I had with him. He…

Cover Reveal of RESCUED by Cara Downey
Author Guest / May 30, 2017

Rescued The beginning of Sean Harris’s life wasn’t easy. Even after he was engulfed in the arms of a loving family who filled an empty void left by a rough start in life, his closet still harbored skeletons he worked hard to forget. With the love and support of his family, and his inner drive and ambition, he built a company from the ground up. His success is a testament to that and his determination to succeed. In spite of his achievement, his personal life lay dormant. He had his share of encounters with the opposite sex, but never anything that might have been considered a relationship. His love life is non-existent, and he’s not really living; he only exists. All that changes the day his future walks into his office. He can’t help it—Shervon Jones bewitches him the moment they make eye contact. He’s instantly drawn to her. His need to dominate and control her rushes to the surface, overpowering him. Sean knows in that moment she belongs to him. The obvious realization and acknowledgement knocks him off balance because he’s never had such a reaction to a woman like this before. Yet, he can’t wait to show her…

Ready for Summer? Pack your Beach Tote is on!
News / May 29, 2017

Believe it or not summer is upon us and that means VACATIONS! Okay, maybe just a mini vacation or even a short weekend away from work but it’s the state of mind that’s important here, so let Fresh Fiction authors and friends help you! We’ve got the best contests with all kinds of goodies to enable even the worst procrastinators to get ready to hit the beach or run off to a summer vacation! Most of these contests end on June 14th so don’t delay and enter today! Win a Historical Romance E-Book from Gail Ingis Get a FREE Copy of The Stone Men – Volume 2 from Kathy Lyons! Enjoy the Fireworks at the Down South Cafe & Win a FREE Book & a Gift Card from Gayle Leeson! Heat Up Your Summer and Win Your Own Copy of BLACKMAILING THE BAD GIRL by Nina Croft Kym Roberts Offers a Free Cozy Mystery for the Beach! WIN a Historical Romance from Jade Lee! It’s a Deathbed Promise and a Chance to win a FREE Historical Novel from Karen Dean Benson Win a Regency Summer Read from Amelia Grey Escape to Nantucket by WINNING Nan Rossiter’s New Beach Read, SUMMER…

Julie Rowe | When You Don’t Want the Story to End – giving life to secondary characters
Author Guest / May 29, 2017

The first time I met River, the hero of VIABLE THREAT (out May 22nd) was in early 2015 when he made an appearance in LETHAL GAME (book two in the Biological Response Team series). He was part of a protection detail, a secondary character, meant to interact with and support the main characters. I thought he was a cool dude, and he took complete advantage of my writerly affection, staying with me long after the book was finished. Secondary characters can be sneaky. Most of them come and go with no trouble, do the job of best friend, acquaintance, or irritant, then disappear quietly off stage. Occasionally, one will come along that has no interest in quietly going anywhere. Instead, they sneak into the hearts and imaginations of their author and readers, demanding their own story. River didn’t demand, per say, he just occupied the front of my mind and refused to leave until he got what he wanted: life, love, and a happily ever after. During the course of LETHAL GAME he sustains a head wound and other injuries. VIABLE THREAT picks up a year later with him now state-side in a teaching role and struggling with PTSD. He’s…

Delancey Stewart | First Kisses
Author Guest / May 26, 2017

Hi! I’m Delancey Stewart – if you haven’t met me before, I write contemporary romance. I’ve set my books in small towns, but most are set in big cities because I favor them in my real life. I’m a military spouse, so the last fifteen years of my life have pretty much been set in small towns no one’s ever heard of, but prior to that I lived in Los Angeles, New York City and San Diego. And my last three books? So weird—they’ve been set in Los Angeles, New York and…you guessed it – San Diego! WITHOUT WORDS comes out this month, and that’s the one set in San Diego, which is less of a big city and more of a collection of little towns that each have really distinct personalities. The book is set in Ocean Beach, which is a funky little beach community with a weekly farmers’ market, lots of unique shops and a huge pier that extends way out into the water. The first kiss in my book is set on that pier, but I’m not telling whether I’ve done any kissing out there myself… Okay, of course I have. Here’s that kiss from the book:…