We’re joined today by Fresh Fiction reviewer Helen Williams, with a wonderful author recommendation!  The first time I read a book by Susan Stoker was two years ago.  I have been hooked from that moment on. The thing that made me continue reading her novels is her style of writing for her female characters. I like the fact that they find themselves in hopeless circumstances but they continue to fight and not give up. These women go through horrendous situations but show tremendous character in spite of their circumstances.  I have read books before with strong female characters but Ms. Stoker’s novels drew me in like no other.  The storylines have a real-life feel to them. The different situations that her characters experience are sometimes painful to read about but Ms. Stoker’s writing style gives you hope when you see her heroines triumph over the different hardships they encounter. The novels portray some light humor between the characters but they also have some serious realities. Ms. Stoker’s books cover issues dealing with PTSD, rape, physical and emotional abuse, blindness, agoraphobia, homelessness, drug abuse, cancer, epilepsy, physical scars, and human trafficking.  Although these are heavy issues, Susan Stoker delivers them in…

While I was writing my first book, I started running around the lake five minutes away from my home to expel energy. The lake is my ‘happy place’—the place I go to unwind and relax, to rejuvenate and to generate ideas. Sometimes, when I wasn’t running, I would sit and watch the hub of activity occurring around me. Birds swept the sky and huddled together on the water. People drifted idly in canoes and kayaks, families picnicked on the lawn, kids played at the playground. It always stirred such intense emotion within me—I wanted to write about it. Before starting my second book, FLEETING MOMENTS, the only idea I had was to write about a woman whose boyfriend had left her, but that was it. While running around the lake one afternoon, the sun beating against my face, I saw a personal trainer taking a group class on the lawn not far from the water. Looking at him, an idea floated past me. What if my main character, Maya, met a personal trainer at the lake? As I continued to run, more ideas flashed through my mind. There were lovers seated on the bench seat by the pier, water birds…