Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Janice Cantore | On Writing and Recharging
Author Guest / June 28, 2019

I love to write fiction, and because of my law enforcement background, I write mystery/suspense and deal with cops, crimes, and criminals. Sometimes, when researching for a novel, the articles and websites tell tragic stories, emotionally draining. The darkness can be overwhelming. My upcoming release, Cold Aim, deals with human trafficking. Talk about dark. Modern-day slavery is far more prevalent than people want to believe. And it’s not only the crimes. Lately, a lot has been going on in law enforcement that is tragic and sad. It seems like every day an officer is shot—on the whole, the world is just going crazy. I’m not complaining, because with my fiction I control the outcome, so nothing goes unpunished as far as my novels are concerned. Often, however, I do need a little recharging, a reminder that God is in control and evil never wins. A few months ago, I moved to paradise. At least it’s paradise to me. I moved to the Big Island of Hawaii, looking for a more temperate climate, something that would be easier on my back and my knees. So far, so good. Usually, the temp runs about eighty-five, but nice, gentle trade winds make it…

Karen Barnett | Traveling for Research
Author Guest / June 28, 2019

I’ve always loved to travel, so I’m particularly drawn to novels set in interesting locations or featuring characters who take a journey of some sort. It’s my way of exploring the world even when I need to stay close to home. I’ve heard people refer to it as “armchair travel.” It’s the perfect escape from the daily demands—kids, job, friends, bills—you name it. Back when I was first dreaming of being an author, I remember reading a whole stack of Robin Jones Gunn’s delightful Sisterchicks books. As I closed the final cover, a thought jumped to mind. “This writer has it figured out. She must travel to all of these exotic locations to do book research—and it’s probably a business expense!” I realized the same was probably true of many of the other authors I made a habit of reading. Professional vacationers. Wouldn’t that be the life? Now that I’ve been on multiple book trips, I can tell you for sure: it is incredible. Traveling for novel research is a dream come true. It’s also a lot of work. My current series is set in some of our country’s most beautiful places, our national parks. When I first proposed the…

Liana De la Rosa | The Most Emotional Movie Scores To Write to For Maximum Impact
Author Guest / June 28, 2019

After a day spent listening to Baby Shark ad nauseam, I crave peace and quiet. To be fair, sometimes a little Rage Against the Machine is just what I need to release the stress of the day, but I digress. When I write my historical romances, the music I listened to needs to be void of lyrics but heavy on the emotional feels. And do you know what kind of music fits that bill? TV and movie scores! Depending on the scene I’m going to write, I select a song from a movie score I know is going to deliver the emotional punch I need to bleed the feels into the words I type. So here are my top five TV/movie score songs to write to. 5. “Marry Me” by Hans Zimmer from the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End score The combination of horns and strings creates a romantic, soulful sound perfect for writing those grand gesture scenes. 4. “The Way” by Zach Hemsey from A Discovery of Witches trailer This is the perfect song to listen to during the black moment. The crescendo leading to the climax of the song is potent and soaring, and the last…

Emilie Richards | Exclusive Interview: A FAMILY OF STRANGERS
Author Guest / June 28, 2019

Two sisters, Ryan and Wendy, are at the core of this novel, and even though they don’t always see eye to eye, Ryan is ready to help Wendy when she needs help. How does their relationship fuel the plot of this suspenseful novel? Ryan, who is much younger than Wendy, has always been in awe of Wendy. They’ve never lived in the same house, because Wendy was on her way to college when Ryan was born, and afterward she was married and traveling with her new husband. Wendy was the beautiful, seemingly perfect stranger who was so beyond Ryan in everything she did or could do, that there was no hope to compete or to truly win her sister’s affection. Then, suddenly, as the book begins, Ryan is given the chance for both. I really love the title of this book: A FAMILY OF STRANGERS. It’s very captivating! What does feeling like a stranger in one’s own family do to the characters in your book? I originally titled this book The Perfect Daughter, and we all loved it. But suddenly there were dozens of books scheduled everywhere with “perfect” in the title. So when I started looking for a new…

Carrie Turansky | Who Were the British Home Children?
Author Guest / June 28, 2019

Many readers are familiar with the Orphan Trains that took impoverished children from large cities in the East to live with families in small towns and on farms in the Midwest. But did you know during that same time period more than 100,000 poor and orphaned British children were sent from England to Canada as British Home Children? This child emigration scheme was started by those who had good intentions and who hoped to clear the streets, children’s homes, and workhouses of orphaned and abandoned children in England’s overcrowded cities and towns. The children were promised a better life in Canada, but sadly that was not the case for all of them. Most of these children were not adopted and welcomed into families. Instead, the boys were taken in as indentured farm laborers and the girls worked as household servants called domestics, even at very young ages. Those who took them in simply filled out a form and paid a small fee. There was little screening and often no follow up. Because of this, and prevailing attitudes of the time, many of these children suffered neglect and mistreatment. Many slept in barns or other outbuildings and were not given adequate…

Sheryl Nantus | My Top 5 Tomb Raider Movies
Author Guest / June 27, 2019

Warrior in Love is about a professional tomb robber and a Valkyrie on the hunt to retrieve an ancient artifact before it’s used to trigger Ragnarök – but treasure hunters have been around for decades! Here are my Top 5 Tomb Raider movies! #5: Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft Oh, come on – you knew this was going to be here! Yes, I know it’s from a video game – and yes, it had a sequel and has been rebooted since. But to me, this first movie was a great show of female power and strength, with Lara charging in where men feared to tread to find the treasure. A great movie! #4 The Mummy (NO, not the Tom Cruise one – the Brendan Fraser one!) Rick O’Connell kicked Royal Butt in this movie, chasing down an ancient mummy along with finding true love with Evy – a librarian who is much tougher than she looks. Don’t you DARE email me and argue for the Tom Cruise version – no, no, no! #3 The Mummy Returns No, it’s not cheating! Not when you see that Evy and Rick have an ADORABLE little boy and he’s just as…

Maxym M. Martineau | My Top 5 Fantasy Novels
Author Guest / June 27, 2019

First off, it’s truly painful to only pick five novels. How on earth am I supposed to do that? There are so many lovelies out there, and I just want to snuggle them all. From stories that sparked inspiration for my own work, Kingdom of Exiles, to just plain amazing concepts… Sheesh. This is so hard! But, as I must follow the rules, I’ll only bend them slightly by admitting the following: I feel like Harry Potter is a given. It completely and totally shaped my childhood, but since that’s on an echelon all its own, I’ll go ahead and pick my top five fantasy novels to date (in no particular order) that get shelved next to JK Rowling for me. Okay, ripping the band-aid off in 3…2…1… A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass Okay, so that really should say, A Court of Mist and Fury, but as that’s the second book in the series, you’ll have to start with ACOTR. Now, that’s not to say ACOTR isn’t amazing. I can’t remember if I devoured this story in one sitting or not, but I do recall my husband trying to talk to me, and me consequently…