Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Q&A with Xavier Stirling from XAVIER: THE CONTRACT
Author Guest , Interviews / February 28, 2018

Here’s a Q&A with Xavier Stirling, the (fictional) hero in the steamy romantic suspense book written by Miranda P. Charles called XAVIER: THE CONTRACT (Indie Rebels, Book 1). Interviewer: Hello, Xavier. Glad to have you at MPC Character Interviews. Xavier: Thank you. Happy to be here. Interviewer: So, author Miranda P. Charles wrote a book about you and your romance with Eve Marrin. I have to say, you and Eve have been through some very tough times. Xavier: Well, Miranda P. Charles did base the love story on me and Eve. But she wrote the other bits for pure entertainment. Interviewer: What do you mean? Are you saying some of details in the book aren’t true? Xavier: Yes. For example, in the book, I’m a crime-fighting Indie Rebel. I’m not an Indie Rebel. I’ve never even met an Indie Rebel in my life. Interviewer: I see. Well, according to the book, being an Indie Rebel has to be a well-kept secret because you guys are on the hit list of several criminal syndicates. I can understand why you’re trying to deny being an Indie Rebel. (Winks.) Xavier: (Smiles patiently.) I’m really not an Indie Rebel. Interviewer: Sure, Xavier. I understand….

Carolyn Brown | The Sometimes Sister Top 5 List
Author Guest / February 28, 2018

Hello to Sara and all y’all at Fresh Fiction. I always enjoy myself, whether it’s a book club visit by phone, Ritas & Readers event or having the privilege of attending a book club night. I’m here today to talk to y’all about my newest release, THE SOMETIMES SISTERS. Harper, Tawny and Dana have inherited their grandmother’s small lakeside resort that includes a café run by Granny Annie’s long time friend, Zed. He’s real proud of the recipe book that his mother handed down to him from her mother, and from the look of it, maybe it went back more generations than that. So today we’re going to list the top five things that are mentioned in the book that Zed offers as the daily blue plate special. On Sunday, his blue plate special is chicken and dressing, cranberry sauce from scratch, mashed potatoes (none of that powdery stuff from packages but real potatoes), gravy and corn on the cob. People come from miles to eat at the café on Sunday and there’s usually a waiting line. Fridays were Harper’s favorite. She loved Zed’s pot roast and homemade yeast rolls, covered with butter and right out of the oven. She…

Caroline Linden | Five Things about Gaming in Regency London
Author Guest / February 28, 2018

In Regency England, gaming was The Thing. It was Snapchat and Tindr and the cinnamon challenge rolled into one, bold and daring and personally risky. My new series, The Wagers of Sin, features a dangerous wager in each novel, with the characters’ lives changed by the consequences. To make it come to life, I had to brush up on my research about gambling and wagers in the era. Gambling was everywhere. In the streets, men challenged each other to personal feats, with money riding on who could outdo the other. After dinner parties, hostesses set up card tables for entertainment. Rakehells in London went to coffee houses and gaming hells. As a result, all sorts of establishments sprang up to offer places to play, including clubs in the swank heart of Mayfair like Crockford’s, reputed to be as splendid as Versailles. These were my model for the Vega Club: elegant, elite, and no-limit. As for the name, Vega is one of the brightest stars in the northern celestial hemisphere—and also because “What happens at Vega’s, stays at Vega’s,” is one of the club’s rules. At a gaming hell there would be specific games to play, or course: hazard was very…

Meet Kate Carley
Author Guest / February 27, 2018

Writes: Small-town contemporary romance. I’m launching my new series, Crawford Falls, beginning with the release of book #1 HELPING HER REMEMBER. About: Fun-loving, down-to-earth romance author seeks readers for a steamy reunion story starring a sexy and slightly reckless hero who is balancing the responsibilities of his family’s apple orchard with a father in the early stages of dementia and a kind-hearted heroine who returns to her hometown after accepting her dream job, knowing she’ll be forced to face the truth about why she left seven years ago. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader: Loves a hero who could be the guy next door or the well-dressed gentleman sipping a latte at the local coffee shop or the athletic-looking dude selecting produce in the grocery store. Appreciates a strong heroine whose life is fully complete without a man in it. Enjoys the nostalgia and community found in a small town. Finds a rich layer of quirky and eclectic friends to be a decadent treat that can bring a bit of comic relief at the same time providing support to the hero and heroine. Chooses to spend some Saturday nights curled up with a good book and a glass…

Jennifer Gracen | Top 6 Things I Love About The Harrisons
Author Guest / February 27, 2018

When IT MIGHT BE YOU comes out, it will be the final book of The Harrisons series. Such a bittersweet thing for me, to say goodbye to this family I’ve come to know and love so well. There are now 6 books in all—5 full length novels and 1 novella. So, for 6 books, I’ll present to you my… Top 6 Things I Love About The Harrisons Putting the Fun in Dysfunctional The Harrisons siblings—Charles, Dane, Tess, Pierce, and Nick—all have emotional issues. Hell, some of their issues have issues. This is hugely thanks to their parents: the selfish mother who abandoned them and the cold, controlling father who raised them. The sibs are deeply flawed and they recognize that. But they fight against those flaws all the time so they can be their best selves. You can’t help but root for them. Power Struggles The Harrisons are a mega-wealthy family. The siblings are the 4th generation of a long and esteemed legacy. The older four were raised in a tremendous mansion, went to the most prestigious schools, travelled and experienced life in the ways only billionaires can… but not one of them sought out a similar high-status life partner….

Brooklyn Ann: Taking the Internet by Storm
Author Guest / February 27, 2018

Author to Watch Brooklyn Ann is keeping busy through March with a blog tour in support of her latest romance, FORBIDDEN SONG. She’s stopping by numerous sites sharing stories about writing the book, her life, and all the inspiration it takes to keep writing books readers love. Take a look at her tour list and when you stop by any of them on the day she’s blogging, you could win a $15 gift certificate from Boroughs Publishing Group!                   February 26: The Reading Addict February 27: XoXo Book Blog February 28: The Iron Canuck – review February 28: Long and Short Reviews March 1: Just Me and My Blog Reviews – review only March 1: Wendi Zwaduk ~ Romance to Make Your Heart Race March 2: Notes From a Romantic’s Heart March 2: Two Crazy Ladies Love Romance March 5: Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews March 6: Nickie’s Views and Interviews March 6: BooksChatter March 7: T’s Stuff March 8: Two Ends of the Pen March 8: Liz’s Reading Life March 9: Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess – review March 9: Punya Reviews… About Brooklyn Ann A lover of witty Regencies and dark paranormal romance, Brooklyn Ann combines the two in her new vampire series. The former mechanic turned…

There’s a new Hockey team in town!
Author Guest / February 26, 2018

Be there when the puck drops…   Join New York Times Bestselling Author Sawyer Bennett this fall when the Arizona Vengeance take center ice for the first time! An all-new franchise, these players are heating up the ice and taking the hockey world by storm.   The Arizona Vengeance series launches with the introduction of BISHOP, who is about to find himself in a compromising position…with the coach’s daughter. She’s got a plan to keep him from losing his place on the team, but it may land him by her side at the altar, the last place he’s looking to be.   See if BISHOP is able to stay out of the penalty box with his coach on August 14, 2018!   Turn up the heat with the Arizona Vengeance! Be ready for as much hockey action on the ice as off, and look for bigger drama, hotter action, and more alpha alphas. Because one thing is certain—the Arizona Vengeance go big or go home, and nobody is looking to go home alone. Romance Sports [Loveswept, On Sale: August 14, 2018, e-Book, ISBN: 9781101969625 / eISBN: 9781101969625] Pre-order BISHOP: Kindle | BN.com | iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play |…

Alice Gaines | What makes a man a hero?
Author Guest / February 24, 2018

I have to admit I like nice men, both in my real life and in the stories I write. Although my favorite fictional hero of all time is Mr. Rochester of Jane Eyre, I find I can’t write difficult men. And Mr. Rochester did terrible things to Jane. He let her think he was going to marry another woman and then he almost tricked her into an illegal marriage, knowing full well she was a woman of very strong moral convictions. Still, I fell in love with him the same way Jane did. In my own writing, every time my hero starts to do something mean to my heroine, I feel I have to fix him. I don’t like him if he’s not good to her. I’ve written a few men who think themselves scoundrels, but the minute they meet their heroine, they fall in love—whether they admit I to themselves or not. With love comes the desire to protect her—even though she can protect herself, thank you very much. He can’t bring himself to do anything that would hurt her. So, my hero may have good reasons to avoid emotional attachment. He may have been bitterly disappointed in love…

Gail Ingis | Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
News / February 23, 2018

  You know that frustration you feel when your computer is behaving badly but you’re so in love, you can’t bear to break up with it? Turns out that relationships, including the ones we have with our computers, are very complicated. That’s how I’m feeling right now about my Mac. It’s a MacBook Air and I’ve had it for about 8 years which is like 70 human years. Computer years are even tougher than dog years. If my computer was a PC, I would have been through two more by now, but not with Mac. So, while I’m still trying to hang onto my “best” computer companion, I’ve reached out to Apple Tech Support and any geek/nerd I can find. One of my problems is that my MacBook is not “going to sleep” when I want it to. Which makes it really tough to get updates. Yup, you heard me, Mac will not go to bed! I have to hold down that little button on the top right until it finally goes to sleep. Then after I count ten seconds, I push that button down again, Mac turns on, but not before it flashes a notice at me, The computer shut down because of…

Cover Reveal: The Hidden Cities return!
Author Guest / February 23, 2018

Hidden Cities is a series of horror and dark fantasy fiction novels by Tim Lebbon and Christopher Golden. “Mind the Gap” was the first novel in the Hidden Cities series first published in 2008 to rave reviews and critical acclaim. Following the much-vaunted success of the first novel, Lebbon and Golden followed it up with three more titles to stand at four titles by 2010. Both Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon have been inspired by great horror and fantasy fiction authors such as Stephen King and the classic elements of such author’s fiction find their ways into the series. You never know when you’ll find yourself falling through one of the cracks in the world.… Two of today’s brightest stars of dark fantasy combine their award-winning, critically acclaimed talents in this spellbinding new tale of magic, terror, and adventure that begins when a young woman slips through the space between our everyday world and the one hiding just beneath it. Always assume there’s someone after you. That was the paranoid wisdom her mother had hardwired into Jasmine Towne ever since she was a little girl. Now, suddenly on her own, Jazz is going to need every skill she has ever…