1–What’s the name of your latest release?   THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL. It’s out July 28. 2–What is it about?  It’s about the theft of chemical weapons from an army depot in Colorado. Jessie Kegan, the heroine, is determined to prove her father, an army colonel, is innocent of the crime. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Determined. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  His strength and loyalty, and the military background that give him and Jessie a chance to survive the powerful enemies they confront. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?   They depend on the strength and intelligence of each other. And Brandon can count on his brothers to help him no matter what. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?   I love Colorado. Beautiful mountains and extreme climates provide plenty of interesting scenery and challenges. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)?  I do a little of both. I’m no longer able to just follow an outline. Much of the story depends on the clues that are uncovered as the hero and heroine try to solve the deadly problems they are…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Wife Who Knew Too Much will be out July 28 from St. Martin’s Press. 2–What is it about?  Set amongst the glittering mansions of the Hamptons, The Wife Who Knew Too Much is a decadent summer thriller about the lives of those who will do anything for love and money. It tells the story of the two women who love the same man. Nina is a fabulously wealthy socialite who fell hard for Connor after the death of her real-estate tycoon first husband. Tabitha is a waitress and small-town girl who’s never gotten over her summer fling with Connor years before. When he comes back into her life, unhappily married to Nina, she falls in love all over again. When Nina takes her own life, tragic as it is, they can finally be together. Then she finds Nina’s diary. “I’m writing this to raise an alarm in the event of my untimely death. This is hard to admit, even to myself, let alone to the world. My husband is planning to kill me.” Did Connor kill Nina? Does he love Tabitha, or is she merely a convenient suspect? 3–What word best describes…

Jen: What inspired you to write your new release, ​Musical Chairs​? Amy: The countryside, family, wine, and a little Mozart! I was excited to write a book about a family spending the summer together in a house that has seen better days. And I wanted to include adult children who move back home with their messy problems, dogs, and habits. Also, since my children are all musicians, I decided to place several of the characters in the world of professional music. I wrote a book trailer that makes it pretty clear that there are certain elements of my real life that worked their way into the novel. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IffxAo-QMh4 How would you describe Bridget and Will’s unique friendship? I remember watching Nora Ephron’s iconic movie When Harry Met Sally in 1989 and admiring the longtime friendship between the characters. In discussing male-female friendships, Harry says that “the sex part always gets in the way,” and I wondered. . .  Does it have to? I began writing MUSICAL CHAIRS in an effort to celebrate a male-female friendship, a solid, marriage-like bond between two characters, a bond that–one hopes–can withstand the test of time, conflict, old secrets, and…

Enemies become lovers in The Goodbye Guy, book 3 in my Men of Lakeside series. In this excerpt, Rachel has come home with Beck from a fancy party… Mocha was waiting for them at the door. The shameless mutt wriggled up to Rachel first, as if the dog knew she was a pushover. And apparently, she was, because even though she and Beck had been kissing and touching in the car, building their anticipation even further, Rachel was on her knees–for the dog–as soon as they got home. “She’s been lonely, poor thing,” Rachel said. That snug blue dress rode up her thighs as she nuzzled the dog. “Don’t feel bad, sweetie. You wouldn’t have had any fun at that party.” Beck gave up the hope they’d be heading straight to the bedroom and dropped to the floor beside them. All the better to be near those bare legs. “Except for the dancing.” She leaned against him even as she let the dog curl up in her lap. “Oh yeah, the dancing part was the best.” He reached out to rub Mocha’s wild hair, then let his hand rest on Rachel’s thigh. “I can’t imagine what kind of video your…

REDEEMING A ROYAL is the third and last installment of my Royals of Aldonia series. And while that makes me so sad because I have truly fallen in love with this royal family, I feel it’s only fair, to be honest, and say that this series was never supposed to happen! Allow me to explain. . . When I write books from a series, I always write them as inter-connecting standalones. So, any of them can be read without having to read the ones that came before. And the reason I write them like that is because the Royals of Aldonia is the third series of mine that wasn’t supposed to exist. Reader – I have a problem! The Hidden Prince, which is book one and a novella, was supposed to be just that. A cosy, Christmas novella because nothing can be more swoon-worthy than a prince at Christmas. Right? Well, yes and no. Because while I was writing The Hidden Prince–Prince Alexander’s story–I wrote about his sister Princess Harriet who was very much a secondary character and who was supposed to trot off into the sunset with the rest of those characters. I should have known that she was…

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 MAKENNA LEE! Writes: Makenna Lee writes contemporary romance set in the Texas Hill Country. Her Second Chance Cowboy takes place in the fictional town of Cypress Creek. There’s a massive ranch with loads of history and a secret family mystery. Readers will meet James and Reese who played together as children, fell in love as teens, and haven’t seen one another since he broke her heart eleven years ago. About: Fifty-year-old introverted debut author who drinks way too much coffee while writing. Special needs mom of a twenty-three-year-old who has Down syndrome and influences her characters and stories. Has discovered a love for amateur nature photography after writing a photographer heroine. Dabbles in herbal medicine and enjoys renaissance festivals. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: -Loves a handsome cowboy who wants to help special needs children -Roots for an adventurous heroine with career goals and a romantic heart -Wants to meet a mischievous hound dog who rescues a kitten…

DIRTY TACTICS is a steamy brother’s best friend romance about fighting for love. Reagan Thomas kissed Zac Quinn when she was 15 years old and hasn’t been able to get over him ever since. Now, 10 years later, she proposes a two-week bet where she’ll prove to Zac that they’re meant to be. Zac, however, is wrestling with his own demons: his abusive father and feeling like he doesn’t deserve love. He plans to show Reagan that they’re not meant to be. But Reagan is willing to play dirty and that happiness is on the horizon for them both. D is for Dirty, of course. Dirty games and dirty minds. I is for it is okay to ask for help when you need it. Best friends, brothers, they’re all a call away. R is for Reagan, duh! Smart, hates the colour yellow and a gamer. T is for Thomas. Reagan’s family plays a big part in this story and in both their lives. Y is for whY you fighting such a good thing, Zac? Maybe Reagan will finally discover why. * T is for the working heroine who learns to stand up for herself. A is for all the fun…

Top 5 Reasons to Read A SPRINKLING OF MURDER, the first Fairy Garden Mystery Have you heard of the Fairy Garden Mysteries? They’re new. The first, A Sprinkling of Murder, is just out. It’s set in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, and features Courtney Kelly, a former landscaper who has taken a leap of faith and created her own fairy garden shop called Open Your Imagination. Courtney believes in inviting magic into one’s life, but when uninvited trouble enters her shop, she’ll need more than a sprinkling of her imagination to solve a murder . . . There are a lot of reasons that readers are falling in love with the Fairy Garden Mysteries, but here are the top five. Fiona, the righteous fairy. Fiona is a fairy-in-training. She should be a full-fledged fairy by now, but imp that she is, she did one too many pranks in fairy school, so the queen fairy has booted her out and subjected her to probation, during which time Fiona must get serious. By helping a human solve problems–that’s what righteous fairies are good at–she could earn her way back into the ranks. Fiona is fun, whimsical, and earnest. A powerful combo. Courtney Kelly, fairy garden…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Samantha! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, HE STARTED IT. Thank you so much! My new book, HE STARTED IT, is about three siblings (and two spouses) who have to go on a road trip in order to get an inheritance from their grandfather. Along the way, they have to deal with old grudges, family secrets, and a lot of scores to settle. This is a family road trip novel gone wrong–three siblings with strained relationships have to travel across the country per their grandfather’s will in order to receive a hefty inheritance. The route they are taking is the same road trip they took years ago with their grandfather, and they each have their own reasons for despising that trip. What is it about familial relationships, particularly sibling relationships, that you find fascinating? Sibling relationships are really complicated. If they grow up in the same house, they have a shared history during their formative years–something that can’t be repeated later in life. Siblings know your past, and you know theirs. And typically, they know exactly how to push each other’s buttons. Better than anyone else, in my experience. That makes siblings a…

I’ve been published for ten years, and in those ten years, on average, I put out about ten books a year of varying lengths. Because of my output, and the consistency of my output over time, one of the most common questions that I get is: How do you do it all? I’m afraid that my answer is not the one most people are looking for. I don’t have a magic bullet, or a golden ticket, or a secret key. Well, that’s not true, I do. It’s just that it isn’t an easy trick. The key to producing a lot of work? Just writing. That’s it! But for that to be helpful a writer has to be honest with themselves. They have to realize that writing is not: perusing the internet, tweeting, Facebooking, texting, talking about writing, researching, blogging, going out to fancy lunches, or even having industry-related phone calls and video chats and meetings. Those things might all be part of a writing career, to a greater or lesser degree depending on your path, but they are not writing. Even if I have to do those things, they cannot take priority over my writing, or my writing goals for…