Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Kim Law Author/Reader Match
MatchMaker / October 31, 2017

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Kim Law. Writes: Contemporary romances filled with laughter, love, drama, occasional tears, happiness, and forever. Hardheaded, book one in my Deep in the Heart series, releases October 31st, 2017. About: Passionate and fun-loving romance author seeks readers not afraid to get in touch with their emotions. HARDHEADED will not only make you wish you were angry enough to wield a sledgehammer, but it’ll have you laughing, crying, smiling at the possibility that love doesn’t end just because a person stops breathing, and it might just make your heart race a time or two. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Someone who’s never without their e-reader or a paperback. You never know when you might find five minutes to get lost in a story! Someone who loves HGTV home renovations shows. Who loves to imagine themselves on an HGTV home renovation show. Enjoys close friendships and everlasting bonds. Seeks a forever love, even if it means admitting past mistakes…

Cora Brent Author/Reader Match
MatchMaker / October 31, 2017

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Cora Brent. Writes: Contemporary romance and my latest book, FIRED, is a fun, sexy workplace romance that releases on October 31. About: Romance author and avid yarn collector is searching for readers looking to get lost in a love story featuring passion, humor and plenty of pizza. Promises romantic angst, sexy banter, and a sassy heroine who finds herself clashing with and falling for her impossibly gorgeous, demanding boss. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: You find yourself reading when you are supposed to be doing other things. Like working. Or cooking dinner for your hungry family. You have an insatiable appetite for love stories. You have a long list of book boyfriends. You understand that insta love is real. You know there is definitely no such thing as having ‘too many books’. What to expect if we’re compatible: Sometimes you will love me and sometimes you will be furious at me. Sometimes I will make you cry…

Meet Mika Jolie at Readers & ‘ritas in November!
Author Guest / October 31, 2017

As part of our countdown to Readers & ‘ritas 2017, our Meet the Author interview series helps you get to know the authors joining us in Texas on November 10-12. Read on to get acquainted with Mika Jolie, and purchase your tickets to meet her in person at Readers & ‘ritas! What book made you fall in love with the genre you write? It was The Passionate Lover by Carole Mortimer under Harlequin Presents. I found it at used bookstore, and from that moment, I was hooked. I’d count the day for her releases and stay up all night and read. For me, the contemporary romance genre tackles a myriad of relatable issues that women deal with on this beautiful journey called life. But also, at the heart of those novels is learning to forgive, discovering something new, and loving the men in our lives, our families, and our friends. If a movie were made of your most recent book, who would you cast in the lead and why? Lance Parker is my Dean. He was my muse while I was writing THE BOY FRIEND. I actually have a whole page on my website dedicated to my muses. What was…

Dani Pettrey | O is for Obstacles
Author Guest / October 29, 2017

I chose the word obstacles for our letter today, because let’s face it, we all encounter our fair share of obstacles. Whether it’s an issue with our kid’s homework or teacher, an issue on the job, a family issue, a spiritual issue–life is full of issues and obstacles, but it’s how we react to the obstacles that matters. It’s a great idea to just weave around the obstacle and smile about it, and honestly I hope that’s my attitude the majority of the time, but often the obstacles are so big and heavy that instead of swerving around them, we’re forced to climb them. To sweat it out. To scramble our way up with God’s help. I love this verse from Isaiah: “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” ~Isaiah 41:13 No matter what obstacle we may be facing, and it may be a brutal one, we can rest assured God is right there with us. Holding us by His right hand and guiding us along the way. I love Alistair Begg. He’s an amazingly gifted preacher from Parkside Church in Cleveland,…

RaeAnne Thayne | What Christmas Means to Me
Author Guest / October 27, 2017

Last year, my family spontaneously decided to take a cruise over Christmas. With six of us – including a married daughter and son-in-law who live in another state – it can be tough to juggle schedules in order to find a time when we can vacation together. Christmas break is usually the only time that consistently works, so we decided to take advantage of the chance. This was a celebration trip to honor several momentous event in our lives – our daughter was graduating from college with a teaching degree, our middle son graduated from high school earlier in the year and my book SNOWFALL ON HAVEN POINT hit #5 on the New York Times bestseller list. We opted to leave on a 7-day cruise out of New Orleans for the Western Caribbean, leaving two days before Christmas and returning two days before New Year’s. It was surreal being on a ship with 3500 strangers over Christmas, but the vacation had its unforgettable moments, too. On the morning of Christmas Eve, I woke up early and walked out to our fore-facing balcony and for nearly an hour I watched the sun rise over the vast ocean, feeling as if I…

Maryann Jordan | 5 Characteristics of a “Sweet” Alpha
Author Guest , Top 5 / October 27, 2017

Alpha. We all see this word when looking for romance novels to read, but what does it mean? According to the dictionary, the word has numerous meaning, from chemical compounds, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, beginnings, or the most dominant animal in a pack. Hmmm, I suppose for romance authors we take the last meaning for our descriptive word. I describe my heroes as sweet alphas which, I hope, delineates them from what I read in so many other books. My alphas do not grunt their responses, order everyone around, nor expect the woman to sit down and be quiet while the male goes off to save the day. So, what do I mean when I say I write sweet alphas? A sweet alpha is a man unafraid to take charge when the situation calls for it. For many authors, this includes literally telling the woman to sit down and shut up. Not for my books! My heroes respect their women, but also have an innate desire to protect and have no problem stepping up as the situations calls and placing themselves in front to face the danger. A sweet alpha is a faithful to the woman they…

Redeeming a Hero by Elle Boon
Author Guest / October 26, 2017

When I was thinking about what to write about, it was easy. You see, we all love our heroes to be a certain way. Looks can change and occupations, but the core of the men will be the same. We all want our heroes to be men we can fall in love with time and time again. The ones we can escape with, for a little while and pretend we’re the heroines being made love to. That’s my goal when I sit down to write, creating characters my readers fall in love with, even if in previous books they may have hated him or her. To me, that is the ultimate challenge. I love to write romance, and my heroes tend to be strong, dominate men who put their loved ones, especially their women first, but my heroines are every bit as amazing. However, sometimes life gets in the way as it does in real life and things don’t always go according to plan. I kinda like to torture my characters before the HEA. I like the saying “You’ll appreciate it more if you have to work for it,” and definitely put it to the test between the pages of…

A Highland Pirate’s Moral Code
Author Guest / October 26, 2017

From the perspective of Shaw “Savage” MacDougall Name’s Shaw, but most people call me Savage. I’m a Highlander, born and bred, proud of my Scots roots. Proud of my clan, the MacDougalls. Proud of who I have become. A defender of the weak. But I’m also a pirate. A ravager on the high seas. I pillage towns, I fight and crush my enemies. I love a good, hard whisky and a soft, willing lass. I wasna always a pirate. Born in Oban, Scotland to a cold bastard who sold me to a pirate king to gain his own freedom. Look at me now. I’m the prince of pirates, the leader of the Devils of the Deep. The world fears me, and yet those I save, worship the sea I glide on. I’ve never been in love, and I never will be. Love weakens a man—trust me on this point. I might be brigand, but I’ve got me code, too. Sit down and I’ll tell ye. Never trust a pirate. Aye, ye might be giving me a wonky eye at that one, but ‘tis true. Pirates canna be trusted. Unless they are a part of your brethren. Ye see, a pirate’s…

Barbara Longley | History and Inspiration
Author Guest / October 26, 2017

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of time travel. Also, to satisfy my own curiosity, I’ve read a lot about differing theories regarding dimensions and the multi-verse model of reality. Couple that with a deep and abiding appreciation for the history of Ireland, and a love of Celtic myths and legends, and how could I not create a romance weaving together all of these intriguing elements? Blame it on my Irish heritage and an overactive imagination, I guess. I’ve visited Ireland twice, and both times I experienced an overwhelming sense of homecoming. Maybe genetic memory is a thing? I haven’t yet explored the northern half of the island, so I will be going back. In fact, I’d really love to rent a cottage by the sea there for a summer. Anyway, while doing research for TANGLED IN TIME, my daughter and I spent two weeks touring Ireland in 2014. It was a happy discovery for me to learn we both share a love for all things ancient and Celtic. We spent fourteen glorious days exploring ruins, museums and landmarks. Many of the sites we visited have been incorporated into Fáelán and Regan’s tale, and I’d love to share a…

Danielle Annett | Evolution of a Book Cover
Author Guest / October 26, 2017

Hi! *waves* Thanks so much for having me today. I’m so excited for the release of BRANDED BY FIRE, book 4 in the Blood & Magic series. What a lot of people may not know is that prior to becoming an author, I actually started as a book review blogger and cover designer and created the cover for BRANDED BY FIRE myself. I thought it would be fun to show you all a little behind the scenes sneak peak of how the cover was made. The model used for my covers unfortunately doesn’t have a lot to choose from so I’ve been able to keep the series consistent by using the same model face but on another models body. Thanks to a little Photoshop magic, I was able to go from these two pictures to this. I removed the background on both images and erased the model’s face in the plaid outfit. Then I flipped my main characters face so that she was looking the opposite direction and layered her face over the other model. I had to do a massive amount of blending to her neck and chest so you couldn’t see the lines but the process was actually…