Welcome back to Fresh Fiction! Can you tell us a little bit about your new book, WHEN THE MARQUESS WAS MINE? Sure! It’s the third book in my Wagers of Sin series, with a luxe, risque gaming club called the Vega Club at the center. Each book’s story turns on a scandalous or notorious wager at the club, and in this book, it’s actually a drunken birthday party that gets the hero, Rob (Marquess of Westmorland) in trouble. He wins, mostly by accident, the deed to a country house. His friends tease about turning it into a brothel, but Rob doesn’t really want the house; he decides to return the deed, but not to the feckless idiot who lost it. He plans to give it to the man’s wife and family, figuring they can punish the guy a lot more than Rob can himself. Georgiana Lucas is visiting her friend Kitty in the country when Kitty hears alarming news from her husband: the terrible Marquess of Westmorland is coming to take possession of their house. He claims he was swindled. He scares them all to death. Kitty vows Westmorland will never be allowed inside her house. So when Rob turns…

FALLEN by Rebecca Zanetti Deep Ops #2 Too quiet. A talented hacker who got caught, Brigid Banaghan is now forced to work with a secret Deep Ops unit. But she won’t reveal any more to these renegade Feds than she has to. Especially not to Raider Tanaka, her control freak of a bodyguard and handler. It’s enough that his body is tensed for action and his heated gaze is always on her . . . Too sharp. Raider knows there’s more to his new assignment than he’s been told. Why send a deadly agent of his experience to guard a computer genius—even a gorgeous, unpredictable, undisciplined one? But when Brigid’s estranged father is named in an investigation into Boston’s organized crime, Raider’s mind switches onto high alert, just like his senses . . . Too close. To clear her father’s name, Brigid needs Raider’s help. The Unit’s idea that she bring a straight-laced Fed in as her “fiancé” won’t fly, though—not unless Raider can release his inner bad boy and become the rebel Brigid can’t resist . . . Romance Suspense [Zebra, On Sale: September 24, 2019, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781420145830 / eISBN: 9781420145847] For her his…

Alice Gaines here. I thought I’d introduce you to the hero of my contemporary romance, The Revenge Game, from Entangled Publishing. Adam Morrow is a self-made millionaire, but one night with his first love, Nicole Westmore, could ruin everything. Here’s how Adam describes his back story. “I’ve worked my ass off for what I have, and I’m damn proud of it. I started off with nothing and now I’m filthy rich. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like revenge to help you get your ass in gear. And that’s what I’m taking, with every exclusive resort I open–sweet, sweet revenge. . . on her. “Nicole Westmore was my first love. The poor little rich girl stole my heart with her sweet smile, hot body, and irresistible innocence. The summer I worked for her father was the best time of my life. . . until he drove me away. Even then, I thought Nicole would wait for me. She didn’t. “And so, I decided to get even, opening rival hotels, slowly driving them out of business. The old man is gone now, but Nicole is still running the company that’s about to collapse. All my hard work will soon pay off….

IT WAS LATE NOVEMBER WHEN HE FOUND THE ENVELOPE. Big Jim Garrett held the letter for a while before opening it. It was from his sister-in-law, Adele, who now lived over in Fort Worth. There was a stack of mail on the kitchen counter, but from what he could tell, it was made up mostly of Christmas cards. He would leave those for the others in his household to open, but this letter was addressed to him personally with no “and family” tacked on. What’s going on with Adele? After Big Jim’s brother had died, Adele had sold their land and moved to Fort Worth, where she had some relatives. Big Jim’s back teeth ground together as he recalled how she had fallen way behind in property taxes and was forced to sell off the property and stock. The woman had always been headstrong and shortsighted, to his way of thinking. No business sense, and she hadn’t come to Big Jim until it was too late. He took a seat at the counter separating the kitchen from the dining area. Tearing the envelope open, he slid out a single sheet of notepaper. Dear Jim, I’m writing to let you know…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-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 Snow! Writes: An Alaskan Christmas is a sexy contemporary romance set in a fictional town in Alaska, featuring search and rescue heroes and heroines. About: Socially awkward, introverted author seeks equally awkward introverted readers who like to hang out together, while silently reading their respective novels. I’ll supply coffee, wine, and sexy contemporary romances. . . Also, you must love cats. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: · Must love a narcoleptic Husky puppy · Must love strong, sometimes “prickly” heroines · Must love a wild, adventurous, breathtaking setting · Must love Christmas · Must love a brave, sexy, charming hero · Must love a story that makes them laugh out loud, swoon, cry and feel emotionally satisfied by the last page What to expect if we’re compatible: · Fun, heartwarming, sexy stories supplied on demand · The previously promised coffee or wine should we meet face to face · An inconsistent newsletter with lots of giveaways…

Holy crap. . . He’d killed her. Carter dropped to his knees and gently shook her the second Emery collapsed. “Emery? Emery, come on now. . . wake up!” Fear had him by the throat when he realized how rough he’d been with her a moment ago. He had no idea anyone was staying here and thought she was a burglar! How was he supposed to know it was Emery? And for that matter, he was still confused as all get-out why she was here. Giving her another small shake before checking her pulse, he continued to coax her to wakefulness. His hand getting smacked away was kind of a shock. “You still know how to make an entrance, Montgomery,” she murmured, slowly sitting up. Looking around as if still a little dazed, she took her time before letting her eyes land on him. And when they did, they were shooting daggers. “Are you okay?” Hesitantly, he reached out to help her to her feet and once again she moved his hand away. It wasn’t until she was up and steady on her feet that he realized how little she was wearing. “Um. . . Emery?” “What is your deal,…

Hi! I’m so delighted to be here today with an exclusive excerpt from ARCTIC HEAT, my newest release in the Frozen Hearts series set in Alaska. As with the other two books in the series, this one stands alone well–there’s only the briefest of mentions of the prior books’ couples and no spoilers. This is my opposites-attract, odd couple roommates, snowbound romance as a seasoned ranger finds himself paired with a newbie volunteer for the winter season where they’ll be snowed in together at a remote Alaska state park. One thing I loved about writing this one was showing the progression of them from unwilling partners to reluctant roommates to something more. For this excerpt, I wanted to show you a look at the moment when the ranger, Quill, realizes that the winter partnership with Owen, for whom he already had a bit of an awkward encounter with the night before, is inevitable. **** Quill had no hope of this thing working well for anyone, but he’d already done what he could. No sense in upsetting Hattie, who was simply trying to do her job. He saved his ire, heading to the coffee table where Owen was still fussing with…

As a romantic suspense author, I’ve heard and read complaints that romance authors create unrealistic expectations in our heroes. I beg to differ. My female and male heroes very much reflect my experiences in real life. They reflect people I know and love, including my husband. In fact, my perfect hero is much like the people in your everyday life, in all of our lives, struggling to be better and sometimes actually being their best selves. Keeping that in mind, here is my list of 4 perfect hero attributes. Funny–Have a good sense of humor or at least don’t take themselves so seriously. Though I’ve read and enjoyed books in which the blank-faced hero has no sense of humor, I’m a sucker for a funny and light-hearted hero or even a dry and witty hero. My husband has a very dry and witty sense of humor. He delivers his jokes straight, so there is often a processing pause to register the joke and then the burst of uncontrolled laughter. In the second novel of my Black Ops Confidential series, THE PRICE OF GRACE, there is a lot of tension and suspense, but also humor. Starting with Gracie when she’s hidden…

No matter the season, there’s alway a perfect hat, especially if it’s designed Sandra Bretting’s Missy DuBois. This super sleuth knows how to solve a mystery in style and her latest caper definitely takes a bite out of crime down South in Louisiana. This is Ms. Bretting’s fifth mystery in the series and it’s one of my favorites. (Although I’m not a fan of alligators–yikes!) ALL HATS ON DECK by Sandra Bretting A Missy DuBois Mystery #5 No Southern wedding is complete without a special veil designed by Louisiana hat maker Missy DuBois. But it’s hats off to Missy DuBois when she tries to save her town from a bayou killer . . .    When Ruby Oubre asks Missy to advise her grandson on a business idea, the successful owner of Crowning Glory is happy to oblige. After a quick jaunt down the river, Missy meets with eighteen-year-old Hollis about the viability of opening an alligator farm for tourists. But it isn’t an alligator Missy finds floating at the mossy bottom of the Atchafalaya River. It’s Ruby, and her death wasn’t caused by accidental drowning. It seems everyone from local tour boat operators to the chief of police and…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction! Please tell us a little bit about your new book, ONE DARK WISH, the second book in your Deadly Force Series.  ONE DARK WISH is both complicated and simple. At its core, it’s a basic love story about two people (Nate and Sarah) who should never have met and whose problematic lives mean they can never be together. The book also has an involved National Treasure-type plot where a group of dishonorably discharged ex-Green Berets, desperate to regain their honor, must stop a historian (the heroine Sarah Munro) from solving a 17th-century cipher. If Sarah solves it, one of their men will be killed. If she doesn’t, her father will die. Nate Walker, one of the ex-Green Berets who is struggling to keep his men together as a unit so they figure out how to fix their lives, is tasked with stopping Sarah. Except nothing can stop Sarah. While Nate and his men struggle to figure out this new civilian world they’re living in, why their enemy is throwing around old ciphers, and why they should even care (because it all seems ridiculous to these men of action), Sarah has uncovered a 17th century secret that may…