Before launching your career as a full-time author, you worked at Intel Corporation. What has your experience working from home been like in each of these fields? During the two decades I worked at Intel Corporation, I saw how working from home went from impossible to expected. Back when I first started at Intel in the early ‘90s, if I got sick I couldn’t work from home because my computer was strapped down at a desk in a cubicle. By the time I left in 2014, it was mostly expected that you’d work from home if you had the sniffles. As a full-time author, I’ve been working from home for almost six years and I know a thing or two about how to stay productive when there are so many distractions—like incoming texts, social media, and now with the fear and uncertainty of a global pandemic.  We’re certainly working under logistically and emotionally challenging circumstances right now. How do you maintain productivity and momentum while working from home at a time like this? A lesson that might be helpful when it comes to re-thinking where you’re at during this crisis comes from the business author Jim Collins, and it’s about…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Amanda! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, and catch our readers up to speed on what’s been going on so far in the Endeavor series? Thank you for inviting me! I’m a romance author living in Paris, France and an avid reader of novels with high stakes, steamy romance, engaging characters, and tons of emotion. That’s also what I love to write–and what you’ll find in Nightchaser and Starbreaker! The Endeavor series is a futuristic fantasy that introduces readers to Captain Tess Bailey and her crew of Robin Hood-like rebels who race across the galaxy stealing from the privileged to provide for those in need. They get into a sticky situation with a damaged ship and turn to Shade Ganavan for help, not realizing that he could be a danger to Tess–but also so much more. The risks, action, danger, and romance escalate in Starbreaker, the second book in the trilogy. To see how Tess, Shade, and the crew of rebel Nightchasers handle new threats and evolving relationships, you’ll have to try the books! STARBREAKER is the second book in your sci-fi romance series. What do you love most about the world…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Ruin of Evangeline Jones 2–What is it about? Alex is the new Duke of Harcastle but his true passion is uncovering charlatans and frauds. Evangeline (Evie) Jones is a fake spiritualist medium and he’s determined to expose her lies publicly. They strike a bargain: If he can uncover proof of her fraud in seven days, she’ll reveal the tricks of her trade in front of an audience. If he fails, he’ll leave her in peace. Naturally, their attraction foils these plans completely. 3–What word best describes your heroine, Evie? Fierce 4–What makes your hero, Alex, irresistible? Aside from the fact that he’s a hot duke, Alex is relentless, intense, and utterly focused on the woman he loves. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? Alex has a half-sister (Helen Grey from The Madness of Miss Grey, book one in the series) and Evie has a roommate, an actress named Mags Carmichael. Alex and Evie are both lone wolf types (until they meet one another) and, in many ways, they’re both still learning about relationships. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? I liked…

by Fresh Fiction Reviewer Jessica Grogan Welcome to Fresh Fiction! Please tell us about yourself and your new book! Hi and thanks so much for having me on the Fresh Fiction blog! A little about me–I’m an Aussie author who’s happily married to her very own romantic hero. My hubby and I have recently become empty-nesters; our two daughters are currently studying at university, so I have lots of writing time. Yay! Aside from penning historical romance novels, I love to cook. And given the current situation around the world, I’ve been doing a lot of baking, particularly bread making. I find the whole process quite therapeutic and comforting. My new book, How to Catch an Errant Earl, is the second title in my Disreputable Debutantes series with Berkley Romance. It follows the fortunes of my practical bluestocking Scots heroine with a tarnished reputation, Miss Arabella Jardine, and unrepentant rakehell, Gabriel Holmes-Fitzgerald, the Earl of Langdale. At the beginning of the story, the reader discovers that Arabella has been forced to accompany her family on a Grand Tour of the Continent when she’d much rather be in London making plans to raise money for an orphanage. Gabriel is also abroad….

It’s almost impossible for the modern young woman to understand the lifestyle or the mindset of Polite Society’s Regency miss. And no wonder. She had a maid to help put on her unmentionables, comb her hair, and make her a cup of tea. She would never walk out the door without gloves covering her hands, a bonnet on top of her head, and a companion or chaperone by her side to protect her unblemished reputation from slanderous gossip. When going out for a stroll or to shop, most ladies had a dainty reticule swinging from their wrist, though said purse would have little more than a handkerchief, a hairpin, and threaded needle in it to make any hasty repairs. No essentials such as money, keys, or lip gloss. The pampered miss of yesteryear never made her own bed, laundered a piece of clothing, or stepped a foot inside a kitchen for any reason. My belief is that the typical woman of today would think being ridiculously pampered is getting a manicure, a pedicure, and a massage all in the same day. It’s safe to say most of us have washed a dish or two in our lifetime. Even the ladies…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Jane! Please tell us a little about yourself and the fourth book in The Way to the Lord’s Heart series, A DUKE TOO FAR. I’ve been writing Regencies for quite a while now. I love spending time in that world. The Way to A Lord’s Heart series is a sweeter saga than The Duke’s Sons, and A Duke Too Far focuses on the youngest couple in the group. The heroine hasn’t even made her bow to society as yet. Peter Rathbone, the impoverished Duke of Compton, has lost his beloved sister Delia and is at a loss as to what to do next. The crumbling family estate is in ruins, his finances are in disarray, and he didn’t have the usual upbringing expected of an aristocrat. How do these hardships and unique personality traits shape the man Peter has become?  I think they made him both more resourceful about practical matters (like carpentry) and more reticent in society. He knows he’s not the rich aristocrat people expect on hearing “duke.” When we meet Ada Grandison soon after the death of Delia, one of her closest friends, and she believes Delia may have left a clue…

When setting a book in a world that involves the heroine going on Tinder, it was important to me to try and understand how dating apps work. I mean. . . I haven’t been on a date in 35 years so I needed the skinny. What’s involved in the sign-up process, what’s the lingo, what are the dos and don’ts? Do I swipe left or right? And what kind of people are really on these apps anyway? So, what’s an author to do? Yes, you guessed it, I joined Tinder. Me – a happily married 49 (at the time) year old woman! Never let it be said I don’t go above and beyond for my books. Now. . . Let me explain. I didn’t start off intending to join Tinder at all. I started off just Googling around and reading a bunch of articles about the platform. Then I pumped my kids and their friends for information and even sat with a couple of young women as they perused their app to show me the lay of the land. But I found as I was writing there was still so much info I wasn’t sure of and I felt like…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Flying Gold 2–What is it about?  Flying Gold is a second-chance romance centered on Tiffani, a mechanic in her family’s classic car shop, and Matt, a cinematographer fresh off winning an Academy Award who is back in his home state of Georgia to shoot a television show. They were high school sweethearts, but he blew it, and this may be the only chance he has to make it right. 3–What word best describes your heroine, Tiffani?  Impulsive. Tiffani is one of those people who is a little terrifying to love because you never know what she’s going to do next. She’s got a great heart but she follows it without necessarily thinking through all the consequences. 4–What makes your hero, Matt, irresistible?  Matt is one of those guys who’s kinda nerdy and self-deprecating, but he’s also really compelling because in spite of his natural humility, he’s always driving forward, taking what he wants out of life, taking chances, and taking down obstacles that get in his way—including owning up to past mistakes. He’s humble and hungry which I think is a powerful combination. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when…

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 Annabeth Albert! Writes: I write hot men in dangerous situations! More specifically, I write contemporary LGBTQ romance, mainly m/m pairings with bi/pan/ace/demi rep and more.  I love books with heat, heart, and feels amid exciting backdrops. In my latest, BURN ZONE, I’m launching my HOTSHOTS series about smoke jumpers and wildfire fighters in Central Oregon. This series features burning hot chemistry, some of my favorite tropes with fresh twists, and a dedicated community of first responders who band together to keep the place they love safe. Fans of my OUT OF UNIFORM series will like the “band of brothers” feel here! And book one, BURN ZONE, is an older brother’s best friend romance with a forbidden twist as an upbeat newbie smoke jumper takes on the older, grumpy veteran he’s crushed on for years. About: Like long reads and deep feels that linger after the last page? Like your authors with bulging backlists and well-honed plots? Want sexy excitement without sacrificing…

“Why are you out of practice?” Gabe pursed his lips. “Is the rigor of vet school enough of an answer?” “If you need it to be.” He looked her way, his bright hazel-green eyes standing out starkly from the gray skies behind him. “If you’d said anything but that, that’s the only answer you’d have gotten.” “My sister tells me I’m good at cutting through the bull.” “I’ve got no reason to disagree.” He drummed his thumb on the steering wheel. “Aside from a close friend who went to vet school with me, you’re the only girl who’s been in that seat for a while. By design.” Olivia waited to see if he’d offer more. She had so many questions. They’d reached the end of the road, but the parking lot to the river access was a hundred feet away and underwater. The floodwater was flowing over the road, swallowing it up and reaching halfway up a signpost. If the dog had come this way, most certainly he’d angled off in another direction away from the river. “I had a fiancée,” Gabe added after a bit of silence. “A serious one. Before I entered vet school. I was a firefighter-EMT…