Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley 2020 has been a difficult year–a global pandemic, economic turmoil, and racial injustice finally being called out. . . Discussions about how to move forward are hard to comprehend, let alone actually have. As a social worker, I am in a position to see and hear about these issues firsthand, and there is much more work to be done. While I find myself scrolling through news posts and continuing to work through the things I want to improve on, I turn to my favorite way to find solace during difficult times–books. Urban fantasy and dark fantasy may not be the genres for everyone during all of this, but for me, escaping to a different world is a welcome distraction for a little while. Thankfully, there are a plethora of phenomenal books out there to keep me entertained! DEVOLUTION by Max Brooks is one heck of a scary thriller, particularly when read during this quarantine, and I can guarantee you’ll think twice about all those modern conveniences we take for granted (looking at you, Amazon one-click shopping, lol). Mt. Rainier has erupted, and the tiny ecological experimental town, Greenloop, is now cut off from the rest of…

Hi, Abigail! Welcome back to Fresh Fiction. Please tell us about your latest book, BAIT N’ WITCH. Thank you so much for having me back. I always love to visit with Fresh Fiction! 🙂   Can you give our readers a “primer” of your paranormal world? Do you find creating supernatural settings difficult or easy? My paranormal world is set in the real world, but technically apart. They don’t interact with humans unless they have to, and humans don’t know of the existence of these supernatural creatures. While the dragon shifters are the focus of my Inferno Rising & Fire’s Edge series, in Brimstone Inc., we get to see other paranormal creatures in the same world and what’s going on with them. World building is one of my favorite parts of writing paranormal romance. Thinking of the powers and the world in which they would exist. Thinking of how they’d interact with others. Which would be dangerous, which benevolent, all the possibilities. It’s the best time!     What do you think people love about paranormal romance? What do you love about writing it? I can only say what I love personally. I love the escape. The real world sometimes is just a…

The Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup continues with another scrumptious recipe! Today, Vanessa Riley shares an amazing coconut bread recipes, which is also featured in her new historical romance, A DUKE, THE LADY, AND A BABY. And check out our earlier recipes from earlier this week: Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Day 2, a main course with Dylann Crush: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10709 Day 3, a side dish with Elise Hooper: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10710 Vanessa Riley here, Patience Jordan is the fierce heroine of A Duke, The Lady, And A Baby. As the newest recruit to the Widow’s Grace, she’s undercover in her old house, trying to find evidence of the plot which caused her husband’s death and restore her custody of her infant son, Lionel. The Duke of Repington has command of her house and dictated the care of her son, his new ward. The handsome man demands order but from Nanny Patience, but she quick to discover his secrets. To protect Lionel from his late cousin’s conspiracy, the wily duke has filled Patience’s home with soldiers, wounded warriors recovering from the Peninsula War. To keep the peace, Patience bakes Coconut Bread. If the boys are good and put away their canons…

Hi, Chanel! Welcome to Fresh Fiction! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, THE LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST. Thank you so much for having me! I write historical fiction that focuses on women’s stories throughout history. My first two historical fiction releases, Next Year in Havana and When We Left Cuba, were largely inspired by my Cuban heritage and my family’s love for their homeland. My new book, The Last Train to Key West, is set decades earlier in 1935 when the Labor Day Hurricane struck the Florida Keys. The Last Train to Key West follows three heroines as their paths cross in unexpected and dangerous ways, and readers of my earlier books will recognize a familiar last name as I follow Beatriz and Elisa’s aunt through history. I love the different formats you’ve used for setting the scene of the historical stories you’ve told so far. In Next Year in Havana there were dual timelines, When We Left Cuba was set entirely in the past from one point of view, and in THE LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST there are three women’s stories set over Labor Day Weekend in Key West.  How do you decide to…

Last month we looked at lives impacted by World War I.  This month we’ll continue reading about the extraordinary feats and stoic acts of heroism men and women find themselves capable of when tested by the cataclysm that was World War II—a fitting topic as our world continues to battle an invisible modern-day enemy. Not all the heroics happen in desperate clashes between uniformed soldiers.  Jennifer Ryan’s THE CHILBURY LADIES’ CHOIR shows us the increasing strain of worry and scarcity in a small village on the English home front.  When the men of Chilbury go off to war, the vicar suggests that the church choir, stripped of its male voices, suspend operation.  Instead, several forthright ladies decide they will “carry on singing” as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.  Presented through letters and diary entries, the author follows the lives and struggles of the choir’s members, including an agonized widow whose only son goes off to war; a flirtatious teenager drawn to a mysterious artist, a refugee hiding secrets, and the choir director who inspires them.  Intrigue, heartbreak, and courage carry the ladies of this small town through these dangerous and desperate days. From England, we switch to Norway in UNDER DARKENING…

Today, we are pleased to share a delectable side dish in today’s BBQ Recipe Roundup from historical fiction novelist Elise Hooper. Her fascinating new novel, FAST GIRLS, is based on the true story of three women who competed during the 1936 Olympics. Remember: the recipe roundup is all week, so come back tomorrow and catch up on the earlier posts, too: Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Day 2, a main course with Dylann Crush: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10709 Fast Girls is historical fiction inspired by three pioneering real-life women track champions of the 1930s. In the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything. Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team. From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but…

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 Shannon Stacey! WRITES: More Than Neighbors is the first book in the Blackberry Bay series, about living, laughing, and falling in love in a small New England lake town. ABOUT: Writes fun and lighthearted romance novels, usually while wearing pajamas and drinking too much coffee. Loves going for long walks (but only through bookstores) and having long, meaningful conversations with her two dogs while the cat ignores her. Hobbies include watching too much television, decorating her planner with fun stickers, and pretending that tweeting about TV shows is actually part of her job. WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR IN MY IDEAL READER MATCH: Loves the sparks that fly when two opposites attract Believes you can go home again, and you might just find love when you do Loves children, adorable little dogs, and cranky cats who have no problem letting people know who’s in charge Enjoys meeting new people, especially if they have fresh, small-town gossip Loves to root for a widowed single…

I used to think that dreams were the domain of the young. I assumed that by the time you reached, say, thirty you had everything sorted, you settled down and life got dull. Then I reached thirty and changed my mind… maybe forty was the age? But when I reached forty, that didn’t seem to be the case. Now I’ve found myself on the wrong (or is it the right?) side of fifty… and I’m still looking forward rather than back. This may be because I was a late bloomer. I drifted and I dreamed. Then a nasty, long-term illness jolted me into the realization that life wouldn’t last forever. I was already in my forties by the time I was finally diagnosed and fixed by surgery. The amazing gift of being able to function again gave me the determination I needed to knuckle down. Yet it still took years of harp practice before I could call myself a musician. And my first novel, Ellie And The Harp Maker, was only published last year. Perhaps it is not surprising I chose an older woman for the heroine of my second book, How The Penguins Saved Veronica. So many novels have…

In this scene from Hard Lust, Megan has continued to break countless rules—a no-no in Hell. Aroused by her spunk, Vespar tosses her over his shoulder and carries her to the club’s voyeur area. *** Megan hoped breaking the rules didn’t mean she’d have to face her demons—for real. Working double shifts at Sally Jean’s had almost killed her. Down here, she didn’t have the luxury of checking out permanently, only an eternity without any employee rights, raises, or bonuses. Unless she wanted to count a bite of chocolate every billion years. Or the sex. Vespar bypassed devils and servers humping on equipment she’d never envisioned nor heard about in Story of O, a book she couldn’t bring herself to read. Misogyny in real life was bad enough. Who’d want to revisit the same concept, juiced on steroids, for entertainment? Moans, grunts, and wails competed with the music. Upon climax, the servers and demons they passed wore ecstatic grimaces, each lost in their own world that had taken them far from the ordeals here. Maybe they were on to something. Hell might be hell, but sex with Andros, Racan, and Vespar, three of the hottest demons around, was another matter…

The Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup continues with the main course, provided by contemporary romance author, Dylann Crush and her new book, THE COWBOY SAYS I DO. And don’t forget to check out yesterday’s post. . .  and come back tomorrow for more delicious fun! Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Thanks so much to Fresh Fiction for inviting me to share a little bit about the first book in my new Tying the Knot in Texas series. . .  The Cowboy Says I Do. Like my heroine, Lacey, I grew up in Texas where everything seems bigger, including the cowboys’ appetites. There were plenty of backyard cookouts and gatherings with family and friends. But it was always so hot out that no one wanted to stand in front of a blazing grill. Lacey knows how to throw a party, so when she’s feeding a crowd she likes to toss together a batch of this Perfect Pulled Pork. Not only does it take just a few minutes of prep work, but it can be cooked the night before so a cowgirl doesn’t have to miss out on the party. There’s no such thing as a small get together in…