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…

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…