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…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  FURY UNLEASHED, the first book in the Forgotten Brotherhood series. 2–What is it about? The Forgotten Brotherhood are a group of paranormal assassins. They aren’t the monsters lurking under the bed. They’re the ones that kill them. Maccus Fury is a fallen angel and their leader. Now Lucifer has sent Morrigan Quill, one of Hell’s bounty hunters after him. This is not your ordinary love story. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  In this series? Badass. 4–What makes your hero irresistible? Maccus is the type to kill first and ask questions later. He’s dangerous, cynical, and trusts no one. How can you not love him? 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? No one. As a fallen angel who has spent time in Hell, Maccus trusts no one, not even the members of the Brotherhood. He expects betrayal, so he’s never disappointed when it happens. Morrigan signed a contract with Lucifer to save her sister. The life she once knew is gone, and she can’t afford to trust anyone. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? New York City is the perfect playground for…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Nghi! Please tell us about yourself and your debut novella, THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE. So I spent a good many years thinking I couldn’t write novels, and that I would always love writing short stories best. Then the Tor call came for novellas, and it suddenly struck me, hey, 20,000 to 40,000 words, I know what that looks like! I can do that!  With respectable parameters and a deadline, I wrote The Empress of Salt and Fortune in about a month. I feel like this says something about me, and I’m still not sure if it’s good or bad. The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a story about memory and love. There’s a lot of fear and fury in it, a lot of terrible things that happen to the people who least deserve them, and there is a victory at the end, but yeah, mostly it’s about the people we remember, how we love them while they’re here, and how we love them after they’re gone. It’s also got talking birds, fried morel mushrooms, war mammoths, and a ton of fortunetelling, as well! The Empress In-yo has gone through great lengths to keep…

I don’t have to convince anyone that these are strange times. On the one hand, book review websites like Fresh Fiction can function as normal–I already work from home! I can access review copies digitally! The internet never sleeps!–but on the other, I’m barraged with news notifications, mortified at the misinformation being shared as fact, and I’m just all around distracted and worried.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve found comfort in books. Everywhere I went, I had at least one book, often more, with me. Now I can carry many books around, be it a small paperback, on my eReader, or on my phone. I find when I’m anxious or worked up over something – and let’s face it, there’s a lot to be worried about right – I turn to books for solace and peace of mind. My favorite way to do this is through re-reading. Sometimes full books, sometimes just a scene or two, but going back to the books and authors that make me happy has been a surefire way to calm me down, cheer me up, and let my mind escape. Here are some of my favorite re-reads and why: Born in Fire…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-ReaderMatch” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present USA Today bestselling author Christi Barth! Writes: I’ve written over thirty smart & sassy rom-coms. What do they all have in common? They’re heavy on friendships, bromance, banter, flirting and swoony, big romantic gestures. My Sexy Misadventures of Royals series kicked off with an average American woman who discovered she was a missing European princess. Kelsey didn’t want to be a princess and leave her life behind. Fitting in to a new country—and a new family—was only survivable by, well, falling for her bodyguard. Ruling The Princess is the next book in the series (stand-alone, I promise!). Princess Genevieve is blindsided when her royal purse strings are cut. Lord Theo is thrilled with the opportunity to get revenge on the royally spoiled princess. They only stop fighting when he kisses her… About: Ridiculously happily married author seeks a reader who enjoys snappy banter that’ll make you snort-laugh your wine, over-the-top romance that makes your heart flutter, and doesn’t mind staying up waaaaay past bedtime to finish binging a…

A note from Adriana: I love that I get to finish the Dreamers series with a strong Dominican woman at the center of the story. Of all the characters, Priscilla is the one closest to me and the hardest to write. One of the things that I’ve tried to do with these Dreamers is to have nuanced conversations about the realities of immigrant lives, but without extracting the joys of who we are. Women of Color in fiction sometimes get cheated out of softness, and because we have so much to prove. The paths that we take to follow our dreams sometimes are so riddled with obstacles, we are not allowed to be. And then it can be hard to look for our own soft landing. Priscilla fights hard to stay in control. To feel self-sufficient until little by little Juanpa shows her that she can lean on him without losing herself because he’s done the work of becoming strong enough to be that for a woman like her. I love their story, and I’m so proud that it’s with these two that we say farewell to these Dreamers.   *** Priscilla The smiles and whoops of joy were already…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The name of my latest release is HERS TO TAME. It’s the second book in my NOLA Knights trilogy and features Kir Vasilek (right hand to a powerful Russian vor taking control of New Orleans) and Cassie McClintock (a sassy television news reporter who’s already tangled with Kir a few more times than she thinks she should have). 2–What is it about? HERS TO TAME picks up on a thread introduced in the first book of the series–HIS TO DEFEND. Cassie is a television reporter who’s reaped some serious notice and a promotion at work thanks to some information Kir leaked to her months ago. But work wasn’t all they did together, and the chemistry was off the charts smoking hot. Unfortunately, Cassie didn’t realize Kir was connected to a growing crime family in New Orleans when they first hooked up. As soon as she did, she shut down all communications in an effort to keep her reputation as a reporter squeaky clean. The only problem–her stories seem to be drying up and she still hasn’t shaken how much Kir affected her. When the death of one of Kir’s men brings them back…

As my first release of 2020, Love Under Protection sets this year off with a bang for me. Fling Romance is a newer to me trope but I had a lot of fun bringing these characters to life and revisiting NYC again too. I’m excited to share will you, my TOP FIVE FAVORITE THINGS about the 425 Madison world. My favorite amenity in the 425 Madison building: First of all, can I just say that I am SO jealous of the tenants at 425 Madison? With all of the amenities that one can hope for, they seem to have it made. Hands down my favorite amenity would probably be the rooftop deck/lounge. What better of a place to escape and take on the city lights OR do a little hanging out with your favorite neighbors?  My favorite local hang out/nightspot in the 425 Madison world: When it comes to nightlife, O’Hara’s is my favorite place. O’Hara’s Pub is an actual spot located just 4 miles from the 9/11 Memorial and often frequented by – you guessed it – my beloved everyday heroes. For those that are new to me, I have a weakness for men in uniform, hence the inspiration…

Like every reader, there are some books that come along that I must read, and in turn, I must interview the author. The Keeper by debut author Jessica Moor was one of those books. Since my career in law enforcement began too many years ago for me to share, I’ve felt passionately about changing the way society views domestic violence and violence against women. I transferred into the Special Victims Unit on the police department to work for a specific sergeant, but when I got there, staying there to make a difference became my personal passion. When I was promoted, I spent time in patrol but went right back to the unit that had become my calling. Today, I still feel passionately about the subject, I am disheartened when we take steps backwards, and heartened when we smash that glass ceiling as The Keeper sets out to do. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Kym: Welcome to the Cozy Corner on Fresh Fiction, Jessica! Jessica: Thank you! I’m feeling distinctly cozy already! Congratulations on the release of your debut novel! In just a few sentences, tell us what THE KEEPER is about.  THE KEEPER is set in and around a shelter for women fleeing domestic…

Before I wrote my new book A First Time for Everything–which is also my first New Adult romance–all my romances were in third-person and alternated between the hero and heroine’s point of view. This is a satisfying, tried and true approach to romance novels, and I toyed with the idea of doing the same thing with A First Time. But I wanted to give readers what they like and expect in a New Adult book, which is first person, and I thought a change in my usual approach would be an interesting challenge. I went with first-person present, which gives the book a super immediate and raw feel, because everything Hannah experiences is being processed in the moment. That’s how things feel to everyone falling in love, but I think it’s especially true when we’re falling in love for the first time. The next decision was whether to alternate between Hannah and Casey’s point of view. I initially wanted to, but when I thought about writing from a twenty-one-year-old guy’s point of view, I gave a mental shudder. How could I possibly get into the mind of some horny college guy? I seriously couldn’t go there, not at first. I…