Okay, I’ll admit it. I love fairytales. The whole Prince (or Princess) Charming thing is super enticing. But, it’s not just that. Pretty much everything about fairytales draws me in. I love the wonder and magic and escapism they bring, and I’ve rarely been disappointed in an adaptation or retelling. In fact, the edgier the reimagining is, the better. Oh, and if it’s pure bangtastic brain-candy fodder, the much, much better. Anyway, when I was writing my newest release, EVER AFTER, I knew without a doubt that it had to be Cinderella-inspired. It was an easy choice. Of all the fairytales, Cinderella is one of my favs. It was the first Disney movie I ever saw as a young girl at a movie theater, and although my mom told me I watched the whole movie while sitting upside down in the chair in the cinema, it still made an impression. I just loved the happy ever after. The notion that no matter what, no matter how bad things seemed, everything will work out in the end. However, as an erotica writer, I quickly came to terms with the fact that EVER AFTER wasn’t going to be a straight adaptation. It…

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 Victoria James! Writes: Snowed in with the Firefighter: When Melanie travels to her sister’s remote cabin in Montana to escape the holidays, she doesn’t expect to walk in on her brother-in-law who is also escaping family. They figure out their families are trying to play matchmaker, they decide they’ll play along. Except these two opposites find themselves falling for each other for real! About:  Holiday-movie-loving, sweet romance author looking for readers who love escaping the big city for heartwarming stories featuring wounded characters with big hearts, and happily-ever-afters, guaranteed. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Must love warm and cozy cabins in the middle of the nowhere Must be okay with roads not getting ploughed for days after a big blizzard Must love opposites attract with two very stubborn characters Must love a heroine who’s a perfectionist on the outside and vulnerable on the inside-but who figures out the hero is worth the risk-in the nick of time! Must love a hero who’s wounded…

Unless you’re a certified saint, you’ve done things that weren’t very nice. Maybe you pulled your sister’s hair as a kid or shoplifted a Mars bar or two. Cut people off in traffic? You might have done worse. But why do most of us keep our antisocial urges more or less under control, while others go on to rob, destroy, and even kill?  I’ve always been fascinated by what motivates nasty characters, both real and fictional. My latest novel, KILLER COIN, explores the dark impulse of greed. I’m not talking about an extra slice of cake but greed so greedy it kills. Worst of all, that sort of greed often involves the people we trust most – relatives, lovers, and spouses. I’ve rounded up five of my favorite true crime podcasts about greed:  1) Criminal – The Money Tree At just 26 minutes long it’s a quick listen and involves no deaths but is guaranteed to shock you. Who can you trust? No one, after hearing this podcast! Bonus: you might feel better about your family. 2) Dateline – The House on the Hill  If you thought things couldn’t get worse after listening to the previous podcast, you were wrong….

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany 2–What is it about?  The book, set in Italy, chronicles a life-changing journey of three second-born daughters who, according to centuries-old family lore, are believed to be cursed, never to find lasting love. But eccentric Aunt Poppy never believed in the curse. She invites her great nieces–and fellow second-born daughters–to accompany her to their homeland of Italy, where Poppy vows she’ll meet the love of her life on the steps of the Ravello Cathedral on her 80th birthday, and break the supposed curse once and for all. As the trio traverses the Italian countryside, hearts are lost, memories are found, and secrets are revealed. . . secrets that could threaten the Fontana family far more than a centuries-old curse.  3–What word best describes your heroine(s)?  Independent 4–What inspired you to write about this group of women? When I worked as a high school guidance counselor, it wasn’t unusual for my young female students to come to me, heartbroken over some doomed teenaged romance. I tried to assure them they were young and had decades ahead of them, that if I had a crystal ball, we’d see that one day…

2020 has been a YEAR. I know I don’t have to go on and on about the trials and tribulations associated with it, but with the US Thanksgiving holiday next week, I decided to practice gratitude and think about the things I’m grateful for… some of these are silly, some are serious, and some are, of course, books. Keurig K-Cafe Coffee, Latte, and Cappuccino Maker  This was one of our early pandemic purchases and it has made my life so much better. I’m not saying I stopped going to Starbucks, but having the ability to make delicious lattes at home with just a few pushes of a button has changed my life–and probably the lives of the two people I live with, who know I must be caffeinated to be remotely pleasant. Harlequin Desire Category Romances 2020 will be the year of desire for me… Harlequin Desire, that is. Between the recent cover style revamp and the current crop of authors writing for this line, Harlequin Desire romance novels have saved my life this year. When things began in March, I was in a huge reading slump, and the comfort I found in reading about outrageously beautiful and unfathomably wealthy…

Hi, everyone! Thanks for joining me today to celebrate the release of TRUSTING A WARRIOR, the third book in my Loving a Warrior series! Each book stands alone, but all are interconnected, and I think Geo and Lani’s story in TRUSTING is my favorite. Geo is a SEAL K9 handler who’s grieving the loss of his mentor and friend. Lani’s just gone through a painful breakup with her childhood sweetheart. Together they find understanding, healing, and of course love. If you want to read about a Navy SEAL who lets himself be vulnerable, a woman who takes charge of her own future, plus one badass military working dog, then TRUSTING A WARRIOR is for you! T is for a tactical mission, the one where the dog saves your life. R is for realizing that sometimes you can’t do it alone. U is for understanding that healing takes time. S is for seeing your own worth. T is for trusting your instincts. I is for the inner strength you didn’t know you had. N is for Navy SEALs aren’t superheroes, no matter how much they’d like to think they are. G is for good dog! * A is for always loyal,…

Jen: What was your inspiration behind Girls of Brackenhill? Kate: When I was a kid, we didn’t take big fancy vacations. Our only trip to Disney World lasted two days: we drove down in a rented car and stayed an hour away with my great grandparents in July. Instead of hotels and airplane trips, we went camping. Up and down the East Coast, to whatever state park was drivable. When I was about fourteen, we camped in the Catskills and drove through a town called Roscoe NY. My dad parked the car and led us up a steep incline to Dundas Castle. At the time, it was marked as private property, but it was abandoned and not monitored in any way. The doors were all unlocked and we spent (to my memory) hours there, exploring every square inch of this abandoned castle. Memory is a fickle thing but I do remember the basement being a series of very small rooms. I remember this day with more clarity and fondness than either of the two days I spent at Disney World. When I had to plan my next book, I really wanted to write a ghost-like story. The memory of the…

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 Jayce Ellis! Writes: Hey y’all! I’m Jayce, and I write super sensual, contemporary Black and IR queer romance. What does that mean? All pairings, but at least one, if not both (or more. . .) MCs will be LGBTQ+. I write real people, living real lives, that don’t end just because romance is in the air. In my latest, LEARNED BEHAVIORS, JaQuan–Jaq to his friends–has just dropped his daughter off for her freshman year of college, and is ready to figure out the next stage of his life. That gets rudely interrupted when his company lands a major project, and he’s forced to work with the irritatingly sexy, hyper-business-focused Matt Donaldson, up close and in person, for the next three months to get it ready. Matt is determined to keep their relationship strictly business, but their personal lives collide, that becomes impossible, and they find that maybe, if they work at it, they can truly have it all. About: You’ve got…

Hi, Nicola! We’re so glad to have you hear on Fresh Fiction today. Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your new book, THE BOY TOY?   Hi, thanks so much for having me! I’m a USA Today bestselling and multi-award winning author of 70 books. I write contemporary romance, women’s fiction and domestic thrillers for a variety of publishers and I’m hugely excited about my new book, THE BOY TOY. It’s a multicultural, interracial contemporary romance set in my home city of Melbourne, featuring a biracial heroine who’s half Indian, half American, an Aussie stuntman with a stutter who’s a decade younger, and a cast of interfering friends and relatives! While it’s a romance, it tackles a few deeper issues like infertility, divorce, cultural assimilation, family expectations and speech impediment. You write across a variety of different genres and have had quite a few new books come out over the last year (and in the coming months)! What do you like about writing in different genres? Do you find it difficult to switch between them so often?   Writing in different genres allows me to flex my creative muscle. It’s not difficult to switch between them because it…

The pandemic has given us a very different 2020 than most of us would have anticipated. Would you say that the pandemic has helped or hindered you creatively? Do you have any advice for writers or artists trying to navigate their creative pursuits during this time? I’ve been doing all right for the most part. I work at home, so quarantining doesn’t change that. Near the beginning, I’d get bummed out being on lockdown, but I’ve adjusted, and writing is nothing if not an escape. I really would have liked to go to New England to research a book this summer, but I couldn’t (and still can’t) do that, which has been unfortunate. For those trying to navigate creative pursuits–writing is mostly done online anyway. You can pitch, sell, and even buy books without leaving your computer. For others, it’s not so easy. No theaters, no art shows… it’s a lot harder to go out into the world for inspiration. Though a lot of museums have virtual tours now, which can spark ideas! Most conferences have gone online as well, which, while not having a social element, can actually make it easier for those with disabilities or those who can’t…