Five romantic settings from VANQUISHING THE VISCOUNT that you can see for yourself. The heroine of this book, Emma, lives in a crumbling Elizabethan manor house, which is too expensive to maintain. This is where James, Viscount Tidworth, falls ill and is nursed by Emma. She risks her reputation to help him, but he shows no sign of recalling the incident. Unless he’s shamming… Emma’s home, Tresham Court is based on Kentwell Hall in Suffolk, famous for its recreations of Tudor life. It was also the location used for filming Terry Jones’s film version of Wind in the Willows. Emma moves to Figheldene Hall to work as a governess, desperate to keep her noble origins under wraps for fear it will bring the bailiffs swooping down on her impoverished family. Figheldene is inspired by Horton Court in Gloucestershire, used in filming Wolf Hall and the series. The place is built around a Norman hall dating to c.1185, and was owned at one time by William Knight, who was pivotal in obtaining Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Emma is whisked away to the dizzy heights of No. 12, Great Pulteney Street in Bath. This is an elegant Georgian townhouse,…

Fresh Fiction’s Miranda Owen recently sat down with Historical Romance superstar, Stephanie Laurens, to discuss the first book in her Cavanaugh series. They talk finding the right balance of mystery, romance, and action; creating a great heroine; and what she’s planning for the series in the future. Miranda Owen: Even though the reader is made aware of all the shadowy players in THE DESIGNS OF LORD RANDOLPH CAVANAUGH (Review), there is a little mystery for the good guys. Do you find it difficult balancing the mystery, action, and romance in your stories? Stephanie Laurens: Yes and no. It’s certainly something I consciously bear in mind because I actively write mystery-romance (the Casebook of Barnaby Adair series) as well as romance with a touch of adventure/mystery, such as this release. I decide early on what the balance ought to be, and it can vary from about 80% romance/20% adventure-mystery to 20% romance/80% mystery and through all points in between. You could say that striking the right balance takes conscious effort. Miranda Owen: Let’s talk heroines. In online romance book discussion groups, you always get asked to name some of your favorite heroes and heroines. For me, about a billion heroes come…

As a New York Times bestselling author with three names (L.L. Bartlett, Lorraine Bartlett, and Lorna Barrett), readers think they know what my most successful series is. The Booktown Mysteries by Lorna Barrett, of course. That’s the name most people associate me with—it, and the cozy mystery genre. But in reality, I’ve sold many more books in my Jeff Resnick series, and yet that name is far from being a household name. Unlike my cozy mystery series (and I have three), the Jeff Resnick Mysteries are quite a departure as it has an authentic setting—Buffalo, New York—and as I’m not a native, I’ve had to depend on actually visiting the area so that my books reflect the ambiance of the city and its surrounding suburbs, where most of the books take place. Why did I choose Buffalo? I (wrongly) concluded that as it was a much bigger metropolitan area than Rochester, where I live, that the crime rate must be much higher. Nope. But it’s an edgier city that has been shaking off its run-down reputation as a rust-belt relic and has recently been undergoing a renaissance. I’ve had a lot of compliments on the setting for the (so far)…

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 Jennifer Blackwood. Writes : Hi everyone! I’m Jennifer Blackwood and I write contemporary romance and rom coms. My newest release is BURNING UP, a sexy firefighter romance that comes out May 8th. About : Thirty-something romance author seeking readers for sexy and funny firefighter book, with a free-spirited heroine who loves collecting planner supplies. Must love ruggedly handsome firefighter who has an almost-teenage daughter and extremely nosy family. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match : Loves laughing at silly shenanigans, especially a television that is stuck on a certain…ahem… adult channel. Enjoys witty banter with snappy one-liners Falls for characters who are flawed but loveable Wants to spend their weekend swooning over secret moments Enjoys sexy men who will do anything for the women they love What to expect if we’re compatible : A backlist full of rom coms and humorous contemporary romances (plus more books releasing soon!). Giveaways in my reader group and newsletter. About Jennifer Blackwood…

Everyone is more than ready for the trees to bloom and the flowers to sprout. The temperatures are finally rising and hopefully *fingers crossed* we’ve all experience the last snowfall of winter! Sitting in the sun soaking up some vitamin D is finally a possibility, and what better way to celebrate the return of nice weather than to do it with a blanket in the park and a book in your hands? Here are four new mysteries for you to enjoy this spring season. And as a tease for next week, one of these authors will be joining me for a short story right here on the Cozy Corner! It’s your turn to dig into the clues, and figure out the mystery! But, you’ll only be able to do that, by going to each author’s social media sites! QUEEN ANNE’S LACE by Susan Wittig Albert China Bayles #26 A present day ghost leads China Bayles to a secret from Pecan Springs’s past in this haunting mystery from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert. While helping Ruby Wilcox clean up the loft above their shops, China comes upon a box of antique handcrafted lace and old photographs. Following the…

In my YA debut, A MESSY, BEAUTIFUL LIFE, Ellie and Jason are improv comedians who become friends when their improv groups join forces to enter a sketch comedy contest. Laughing and being absurd together—while heartache unfolds around them—pushes them closer, and they have to decide if it’s worth the risk to take their friendship to the next level. Since I ended up marrying my best friend in real life, I’m totally biased as to whether it’s worth the risk to fall in love with a friend. Here are my top five reasons: You get each other’s jokes. For comediansthis is especially important. But if someone gets your sense of humor, they get you. And no one finds you funnier than your friends. Plus, laughter releases oxytocin in our system, the same hormone that bonds people to each other. So, more laughter, more bonding!It just makes sense. You’re committed to commitment. No one wants to risk ruining a good friendship dynamic, so you both understand at the start that if you’re agreeing to take it to the next level, you’re going all in. He comes pre-approved.You get to avoid that awkward introduction to your friends where you’re stressing if he’ll fit…

Sadly, the Donnigans series is coming to a close with THE ONLY THING. Though all the books stand alone as their own stories, I do like to weave characters from other series in and out of various books. It’s like six degrees of separation with Kevin Bacon, but instead of the grand Footloose Master, you have the McCauleys! The MCCAULEY BROTHERS books are the first I wrote for Sourcebooks, and they revolve around the McCauley brothers (go figure.) Their cousins, THE DONNIGANS, also live in Seattle. As do the mechanics who feature in BODY SHOP BAD BOYS, who work for Del McCauley at Webster’s garage. Confused yet? But hey, THE ONLY THING is about J.T. Webster and Hope Donnigan. So let’s focus on these two. Some interesting facts about… HOPE DONNIGAN First appeared in RUINING MR. PERFECT because she works for Cameron McCauley. Is the only girl in her family and among her McCauley cousins Has in the past babysat her nephew Colin McCauley (who appeared in all the McCauley books, staring with THE TROUBLEMAKER NEXT DOOR) First met J.T. at her cousin Mike’s Wedding in WHAT TO DO WITH A BAD BOY J.T. WEBSTER First appeared in (and I…

Greetings, John. You are a homicide detective. Can you tell us a little about your job and what brought you into law enforcement? I didn’t intend to go into law enforcement. I was majoring in political science and began picking up criminal justice courses. After I passed the bar, I told my parents I wasn’t ready for a desk job. I figure there was plenty of time to be a cop and, later, a lawyer like my father. It didn’t make them happy but they knew I’d get this “cop thing” out of my system. Now it’s been seventeen years—ten on the homicide team–and I’m the guy they call in Richmond when the crime is gruesome. You have faced some very dangerous situations as a cop. What was your most harrowing case? We heard that your partner was hurt? How has this changed you? The explosion and fire were the single worst event of my life. My partner and I were on the trail of a serial arsonist. When we entered his residence we realized it was a trap. My partner was badly injured. To this day I lie awake hearing his screams. I can’t say that incident has made…

Hi there, and thank you for joining me over here on Fresh Fiction today. I’m so excited to be here celebrating the release of LENNON REBORN. And with the final book in the series comes the usual question, “Which was your favorite moment of the series?” So, I thought I’d cut to the chase and share them here with you. The Preload series features four men who group up in a Toronto group home together… men who went on to the dizzy heights of success as one of the world’s most incredible metal bands. Dred, the lead singer, is the hero of THE PUREST HOOK in the Second Circle Tattoos series, but Preload focuses on the rest of the band. Without further ado, here are my five favorite moments from the series: The Phone – JORDAN RECLAIMED Jordan has lived most of his life disconnected, literally, from the rest of the world with the exception of the band. He sleeps in the attic, despite living in a beautiful house and doesn’t even own the bass guitars he plays. But meeting Lexi, his ballerina, and the light to his dark, he realizes for the first time in his life that he…

Awareness is one of the ways that people can help in the conservation of wolves and other wildlife. For wolves, finding wolf centers online, going to the wolf centers, buying merchandise, or adopting wolves are easy ways people can participate in the support of wolves and to help provide for the education on them and their care. This is true for big cat reserves and other such places like bear reserves, or even facilities that care for injured birds: owls, falcons, eagles. Teaching our children, taking them to facilities like this, helps to educate future generations. I read an article about a man who was paid to kill foxes. At some point in his life, he began to study them, taking pictures and documenting them instead. Foxes, their kits—what a treasure to share with the world. And yet if he hadn’t changed his occupation, he would have continued to eliminate foxes for a living. He now has been featured many times in National Geographic. Awareness, a change of attitude, a willingness to get along. I was reading where certain shells are used for making jewelry. People collect sand dollars that are living creatures, and shells that house crabs. Oftentimes we…