Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
FAVORITE SCENE and HOW IT CAME TO BE…
Author Guest / December 5, 2017

My favorite scene is SWIMMING IN THE PACIFIC. EXCERPT: Lights from the buoy and boat filtered down, and Kerry could see the surface of waves above them. The eerie light permeated the kelp bed, catching the creatures inside unawares. A unique forest full of sea life skittered around, tickling her and making her giddy as they passed by. There was such a humbling feeling of grandeur in the ocean. You could know everything and nothing, but witness it all the same. Her fingers touched the tall stalks of giant kelp—Macrocystis pyrifera—as they wavered in the ocean current like corn stalks in a strong breeze. She slid her fingers along part of their length. This stuff was harvested throughout the coast and used in a variety of products. It was so big here, she wondered if anyone knew about this particular prize cache. She certainly wasn’t going to tell them. Diving down, she felt along the rocky bottom and recognized bull kelp. A soupfin shark swam by, its tail touching her briefly. She wondered what else lived beyond the light. EXPERIENCE: Water is my favorite compound. I developed a love of swimming at a very early age and feel a very…

Heidi R. Kling | Why travel romances are the best
Author Guest / December 5, 2017

The summer after I graduated from high school was one of the most romantic I’ve known. Something about the air. The heat. The freedom. The caught-between-childhood-and-adulthood space. That summer, I cut a clipping out of a magazine article titled, “Why summer romances are the best romances,” and it encapsulated the same feelings I had and have about travel romances. The briefness of the period of time. The heightened sense of awareness when all your senses are on hyperdrive. And on that note, the heightened sense of urgency because you know you_only_have_so_much_time. Soyouhavetohurryandfallinlovefast!!! With the added bonus of not having to worry about fallout the way we do in regular high school or college. Have a fight and break up with your BF/GF? You have to see them every day. But after a whirlwind love affair on a tropical island, you leave, tucking an Ed Sheeran song-worthy photo in your pocket, and soft, sexy memories in your heart and voila! It’s done. The exciting urgency in WHERE I FOUND YOU, and the tough question the novel begs is, “What if your temporary love is your real forever.” And he lives on the other side of the world. THUNK. Those romances have…

Gayle Leeson | Eccentricities
Author Guest / December 5, 2017

Eccentricities. We all have them. And as long as we aren’t too eccentric, we and the people around us think we’re “normal” or “okay.” If you’ve read my books, then you know that I love writing eccentric characters. The Down South Café series has an abundance of them. Aunt Bess is an octogenarian who has discovered the Internet. She has Pinterest boards such as People I’ve Outlived and Lord, Have Mercy. Aunt Bess has also been known to use dating sites during their free trial periods. Still mentally sharp as a whip, Aunt Bess has an opinion on everything. Dilly Boyd, an older woman who comes to the Down South Café for breakfast every morning, feeds a raccoon a biscuit every evening. I have to admit that I didn’t come up with that scenario on my own. A few years ago, my family stopped at a house near my mother-in-law’s home to see some puppies. As we talked with the dogs’ owner, she mentioned that a raccoon came out of the woods and down to her back porch every evening at dusk. She said, “I give him a biscuit, and he goes on his way.” “You have to give him…

The UNREAL BOYFRIEND by Miranda P. Charles – excerpt
Excerpt / December 5, 2017

Exclusive Excerpt: She crossed her legs. “So how else do you intend to take care of me today?” she asked coquettishly. Derek’s hand stilled from squeezing a lemon to look at her. “First, I’ll feed you. Then I’ll ask what you want to do next, and so on.” “So it’s all up to me?” Derek walked to her and placed a kiss on her lips. “That’s how I plan to take care of you today, babe.” Bernadette sighed. She was trying to be sexy, but she was so touched that she had to battle to stop her eyes from misting. “Are you really my boyfriend? My real boyfriend.” “Your one and only,” Derek said with a wink before going back to his task of fixing them lunch. “What if I want to stay inside all weekend?” “No problem. We have enough food to last us for days. I made sure.” “So you were expecting me to want to stay in for the whole weekend.” “A man can hope,” Derek said with a grin. She got off the stool and walked to his side of the island. “You better let me help you, then, so we can start lunch earlier.” Derek…

Amanda Ashby | Top 5 Ways to Cure a Heartbreak
Author Guest / December 5, 2017

In my new book, THE HEARTBREAK CURE, sixteen year old Cat Turner finds herself dumped and humiliated a week before starting her junior year at high school. She also finds herself the recipient of some heartbreak brownies. For years, Birdie, the old woman who once lived next door has been handing out these chocolate sugary delights to anyone who needs them.In the past Cat’s always scoffed at the idea, but when her own brownies get delivered by Birdie’s gorgeous ,but bad boy grandson, Alex Locke, Cat starts to discover that brownies can work in mysterious ways! And while the true healing takes a bit more than biting into a brownie, I loved the idea that in a strange way it was the gift that helped Cat find a way back to a new normal. So, I thought it would be fun to look at some other ways to get over heartbreak. The healing power of comfort food. Okay, so this might not be scientifically backed up, but there’s something so delicious about indulging in something we really love, and I like to think of it as an act of self-care. It’s allowing ourselves to feel the trauma and hurt of…