Our first foster dog came into our home at an embarrassingly late stage in my dog training career. I’d been talking and writing about fostering for years but hadn’t made the leap to actually doing it for reasons (excuses?) that might sound familiar to you; I was busy, my resident dogs might not enjoy it, and I’d have a hard time saying goodbye to my new best friend. But when the heartbreaking photos of dogs in need on my feed got to be too much for me, I finally decided it was time to stop talking and start doing. We welcomed an adorable pitbull named Freddy and that dude helped us kick off our fostering journey. Since then my husband and I have gone on to foster a bunch of other dogs with more on the horizon. My initial concerns about fostering didn’t really matter when I saw the happy endings that happened once our fosters found their forevers. There are so many compelling reasons why fostering is important, but the following are a few of my favorites. Fostering Saves Two Lives Any time you bring in a foster you’re saving an additional life along with the temporary one under…

Since the  Lamaze class  I  scheduled was in  Jersey,  my sister insisted I stay the night at her place. My phone buzzed with an incoming text just as Sapphire pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. Max: I’m in my apartment and ready to go! “Speak of the devil?” Sapphire asked as she parked the car “Yeah.”  I  got out of the car and could feel her eyes drilling into my back as I texted him. Me: Heading in now. Call you in a few minutes. Avoiding  Sapphire’s scrutiny,  I  walked purposefully toward the main entrance. Unsurprisingly,  my sister followed close behind me.  “Jade.” “What?” “You know how  I  feel about your work and having no life. I want you to be happy. You really can’t blame me for being your voice of reason.” “No,  I  can’t  blame  you  for  being  you.”  When she grinned,  I  leaned in and kissed her cheek. My sister had always been extremely protective of me and brutally honest with her opinions, and clearly she was #TeamMax. A  few minutes later,  Nurse  Gail addressed the class.  Introductions were made, and we were all given name tags to wear.  I  waited until our instructor said, …

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Sarah! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, RUTHLESS. Hello!  Thanks for having me!!  I started off my career writing for television (and still do!), so my prose tends to be fast-paced and dialogue-heavy.  RUTHLESS is the third book in my EYE OF THE BEHOLDER trilogy, about a seemingly idyllic future society where good people are rewarded and bad ones punished… “good deeds” make you more beautiful, while “bad” ones lead to deformity and death.  By the time we get to the third book, our main character, Grace, has learned the truth about her world, and she’s on a mission to set things right.  Although, “setting things right” is more complicated than it seems, just like in real life – and that’s a lot of what this series is about, that nothing is black and white. RUTHLESS marks the end of your Eye of the Beholder trilogy. What have you loved the most about creating these books? Is it bittersweet for this series to come to an end? I’m really excited for this full trilogy to be out in the world!  Though RUTHLESS was the hardest book I’ve ever written, I’m really proud of…