My latest book, Under the Northern Lights, is about Mallory Reynolds, a driven, passionate woman who is pursuing her dream of photographing wild animals in remote locations. On the way to her favorite spot in the Alaskan wilderness, the unthinkable happens—the engine on her plane stalls and she crashes. Mallory survives the crash only to find herself injured with limited supplies and no hope of returning home. Just when all seems lost, Michael Bradley, a mysterious mountain man, comes to her rescue. Mallory soon discovers that she has to spend the entire winter in a small, isolated cabin with a stranger. The remoteness, the caregiving, the constant threat of danger—it all creates a near-instant intimacy between the characters that is both real and understandable. I love writing tension between characters, so having them stuck together for months was a writing playground for me. It led to some great interactions early in the story, keeping the pace flowing in a fun and realistic way. Here is one of my favorite interactions between my hero and heroine from Under the Northern Lights: “How was work?” I jokingly asked. A brief laugh escaped him. “Good and bad.” “Oh, how so?” I asked, amused that he…

I’m a Kansas farm girl at heart, and I love a great cowboy romance. Throw in a quirky small town and a dog, and I’m sold. That’s why I write small town stories filled with humor and heart. And I love when a western romance does something unexpected, like when Colorado cowboy heroes also play hockey. Oh wait, I know that series. And if you love the idea of cowboys who are as hot on horseback as they are on the ice, then you need to check out the Cowboys of Creedence. The third book in the series, It Started With a Cowboy, is just releasing now, and in this one, Colt, the youngest James brother, talks shy schoolteacher, Chloe Bishop, into helping him coach a youth hockey team of rowdy eight years olds. Being so close to the cowboy she’s crushing on is dangerous territory for Chloe. But when a real enemy threatens her, Colt will do anything to protect her. Even if it means risking himself—and his heart. Once you’ve devoured the James brothers and made Colt James your newest book boyfriend, here are five other great cowboy books to sink your spurs into. It was so hard to pick just five,…

Do you remember the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century? For a while, it was my favorite show as a kid. For those who don’t remember, the premise of the show was that a US astronaut got accidentally frozen on a deep space mission and then was defrosted five hundred years later, only to find that Earth was a completely different place to the one he remembered. Although the TV producer’s vision of the future looked a lot like the era it was made—Farrah hair, shiny neon cat-suits, and mini-skirts! The thing that really stuck with me though, *mumble-cough* years later, was that the hero was a man out of his time. All the cultural references he made were lost on the people around him. His jokes fell flat because they didn’t have the context for them. But we did. And the audience laughed along with Buck and commiserated that no one else got the joke. Although to be fair, I think sometimes we were laughing at Buck rather than with him. Go back and watch an episode, you’ll see what I mean! The thought of being transported to the future has always tickled my imagination. What would…

Romance tropes, cute dogs, and Scottish vacations – oh my! Enjoy the chat between author Talia Hibbert and editorial manager Danielle Dresser! Welcome to the Fresh Fiction blog! Can you tell us a little bit about the Ravenswood series? Hi! Thanks so much for having me. ☺ Ravenswood is a small English town where things aren’t as sweet and simple as they seem. The series follows four prickly, guarded women who have become Ravenswood’s outcasts, and the strong, loving heroes who support them on their journey to happiness. I’d say the Ravenswood series is very steamy, very tropey, funny and mildly dramatic. It also features issues like family illness and looking after your mental health in a compassionate way. As a woman of color, I love and appreciate the diversity among your characters and couples! Rae and Zach have different backgrounds, life experiences, and not to mention a significant age difference – how did their love story develop for you? Thank you! Diversity of all kinds is very important to me. I knew from the moment I introduced Zach in A Girl Like Her (Ravenswood book 1) that he would have his own story, but I didn’t know who his heroine…

Research has a way of pulling us historical authors down into a never-ending spiral of, oooh, I must know more. For some of us, it’s the most fascinating part of our job and for even more of us history geeks, it’s like catnip. We’ve always been infatuated with those who came before us. But that must be the reason we love the genre to begin with. Recently, I was listening to a YouTube video of the song, The Massacre at Glencoe, sung by John McDermott. I found this ballad on a previous trip down the research rabbit hole and I’m still occasionally haunted by it, so when the mood strikes, I pull it up and listen again. The song is about the true story that inspired the “Red Wedding” in Game of Thrones. It’s the tale of the slaughter of innocent members of clan MacDonald by Campbells, who were under the MacDonald roof as guests and it has always touched me emotionally. This particular day, I started bawling. That’s when I decided to go on a quest. There must be something about me that makes this reach into my soul the way it does. I suddenly remembered the magazine I’d…

Editorial Manager Danielle Dresser chats with bestselling author CHRISTY CARLYLE! Welcome back to the Fresh Fiction blog! For readers who aren’t familiar, can you tell us more about the Duke’s Den Series? The idea behind the series is that it’s a Victorian take on the reality TV show, Shark Tank, in which inventors present their ideas to venture capitalists. In this case, those with capital are dukes (except for the hero of this book) and they are investing in the wild plethora of inventions and innovations that were popping up with regularity during the Victorian era. I really loved that Diana Ashby was an independent woman, focused on her inventions and work. What inspired Diana’s tenacity and creativity? I know lots of women creators: writers, artists, and innovators, and I’m inspired by their tenacity. Diana wasn’t inspired by one single woman I know but by many who believe in themselves and their work and don’t let disappointments or even rejection stop them. Diana definitely embodies the kind of woman I’d like to be. Aidan Iverson had humble beginnings, but has become a successful and wealthy man. Nonetheless, he still strives to be accepted by high society. Why is this acceptance…

Usually, the books I love make me laugh. But…the books I love most make me cry. Anyone else out there love a good cry? I still tear up just thinking about the on-page death of Snape and how Harry names a child after him in the Harry Potter series. Or when they have to put the dog down in Marley and Me (especially since my dog was exactly that crazy). Actually, now that I think on it, it’s true of movies as well. I can’t stand cheating stories, but the scene in The English Patient where he carries her body out of the cave still makes me sob. Or (SPOILER ALERT) Hodor holding the door in Game of Thrones. I can tell you right now that writing a scene with that kind of emotional gut punch is difficult. I have one in my new release, The Rookie that took a lot out of me to do. My editor said, “I don’t want to see tears on page. Make the reader cry all the tears.” What I did with that advice was reach into moments I usually prefer not to visit. I’ve been to my fair share of funerals over the…

From Chapter 1 of TIGHTROPE:  “There is no need to fear robots,” Dr. Pickwell declared. It was clear that the suggestion that robots would displace workers annoyed him. He raised his voice to be heard above the murmurs of the crowd. “I urge you to consider that these machines could take the place of soldiers. Wars of the future will be fought with robots, not human beings. Think of the lives that will be saved.” “You’re mad,” someone else shouted. “You want to create robots that can kill? What if these machines of yours decide to turn on their creators and try to destroy us?” “Don’t be ridiculous,” Pickwell snapped. “Robots are nothing more than mechanical devices. Fundamentally, they are no different than the cars we drive or the radios that we use to get our news.” “Futuro looks mighty dangerous to me,” the man in the front row called. “Nonsense,” Pickwell said. “Allow me to demonstrate how useful Futuro can be. Futuro, what is the forecast for tomorrow?” The robot answered in a scratchy, hollow voice. “There will be fog in the morning but by noon the day will turn warm and sunny. No rain is expected.” Pickwell faced his…