Excerpt from Chapter 1     Beth He looks at me with what appears to be great effort. Like he was about to nod off into a heavy, much-needed nap when I interrupted. He doesn’t look too bothered. Not like he might were I a car smashing through his fence. See that, Mom? I take my hand off the Nikon’s focus ring and give him a friendly wave. Hopefully he doesn’t find it creepy that I’m peering over his fence with a camera in hand. Why am I still holding the camera, anyway? “Hi?” he says as if he isn’t sure I’m even real. “I thought I was all alone out here.” I gesture vaguely at the world around us. Told you I’m a liar. “Seems like everybody else on the street already jumped ship for the season. Winter is coming.” “Call it a slack tide,” he says with a somber nod. “We’re between holidays, the kids are back in school, the weather’s just starting to turn, but the storm watchers won’t start arriving for another month. There aren’t many year-rounders here.” He pokes at the logs with an old hot dog skewer that’s coated in rust. The sight of…

Lady Emma Hardwick seems to have a lot of complications in her life in DUKES DO IT BETTER. How would you describe her as a heroine? Realistically flawed? Some of my favorite historical heroines are those written by Stephanie Laurens because I like a heroine who is shrewd and pragmatic. What attributes do you like giving your heroines? Shrewd and pragmatic heroines are always going to be preferrable in my world because I understand those! More than anything, I want my characters to be relatable in some way. Even if there are aspects we don’t like, or wouldn’t embrace for ourselves, I want their actions to make sense and ring true. Lottie (ANY ROGUE WILL DO) was a ‘control enthusiast’ because she’d learned the hard way that the only person she could rely on was herself. Phee (West End Earl) was always going to gravitate toward options where she could lone wolf to get things done, because independence meant safety. But I remember writing Emma and feeling like it Just. Wasn’t. Working. As I pushed on, it became clear that the only way forward was to really let her emotions reflect my own experiences as a single mother. When you’re…

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 you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Melinda Curtis! Writes: Melinda Curtis writes sweet romance and sweet romcoms set in small towns and bigger cities. Her stories make readers laugh a little, cry a little, and sigh a little. Her latest release is a small-town ranching romance loosely based on Beauty & the Beast.   About: Melinda Curtis developed her sense of humor working her way from a corporate cubicle to an office, which seems surreal considering she grew up on a 50-acre sheep ranch. She’s raised kids and furry creatures and is a newly minted grandma living in a fixer with a fishpond in the backyard (the previous owners stocked it with regular old goldfish that somehow are still alive). To combat a chocolate addiction and writer’s butt, she gets on the Peloton every morning, but her nights are filled with reading romances and watching kdramas or Hallmark movies.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: The ideal reader for my latest release – HEALING THE RANCHER –…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE ROGUISH BARON 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A roguish scoundrel must reform and face some difficult truths about himself if he’s to win the woman he loves before she marries someone else in this childhood friends to lovers romance. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I worked that out as I developed the characters and plot. Since Jack ran off to London to escape his feelings and his father’s demands, it made sense for the plot to take place at his family estate and nearby village upon his return. This allowed Sophia to be in the situation of missing him, wondering about him, and eventually giving up hope of ever marrying him, before he suddenly drops back into her life. Tension and conflict unfold from there. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Definitely. She’s very down to earth and kind. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Rebellious, sentimental, determined.  6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I love adding something new and different to my stories so when Jack and Sophie get caught in a…

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 you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Cynthia St. Aubin!     Writes: (short description of new book/genre) The original squirrel, Cynthia can’t stick to purely one genre and scampers back and forth between a snarky, silly paranormal rom-com-mysteries (Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery) and steamy, trope-tastic contemporary romances centered around smoke-show billionaire siblings (The Kane Heirs).   Whether she’s turning up the temperature in corner offices or making mischief for a ramshackle pack of werewolf artists, you can expect tons of tension, buckets of banter, all the feels, and most likely gratuitous food/adult beverage descriptions. CORNER OFFICE CONFESSIONS, her very first novel with Harlequin Desire, is a twin-rivalry second chance romance with all the fixins!   About – Cynthia’s very favorite thing is to make people laugh. An art history aficionado and foodie, she’s likely to corner you at parties and tell you way too much about Cambezola cheese (seriously though, go try it immediately) or obscure 19th century French painters. A bone fide bird nerd, she’s her happiest…

1–What is the title of your latest release? My next Harlequin Romance (Mills & Boon True Love) is TEMPTATION IN ISTANBUL. It’s out May 12th (UK) and May 24th (North America). In other words, it’s right around the corner! 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Billionaire and single dad Faisal shares one thing in common with his young daughter’s nanny, Maryan: their powerful mutual attraction. Two weeks together in his home in Istanbul, Turkey tempts their jaded hearts into trying love again. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Wellllll… I wrote the first draft back in December 2018, and I had a completely different setting then. So, when I revisited that first draft in November 2020, I knew the first thing that had to change was the setting. It wasn’t speaking to me. And then I thought of Turkey, and the pieces of the story fit together. My characters are Somali, and there’s a growing population of Somali tourists who have been visiting Turkey the last few years. On top of that, I’d been meaning to go to Istanbul in Spring of 2020, but my vacation was put on hold because of…

Fresh Fiction: Tell us a little bit about your new book, FLIRTING WITH FIFTY. Jane Porter: FLIRTING WITH FIFTY is about a strong, smart, successful divorced woman who is quite happy being single, and isn’t interested in dating or marriage because it would require compromising, and she’s done enough of that in her life.  But in Paige’s desire to be safe, she’s also somewhat stuck, and a little too risk adverse.  Enter popular, handsome world traveler, renowned scientist Dr. Jack King, and everything changes, pretty quickly.  And probably far too quickly for our cautious Paige!   What inspired you to write this book? I have a very close friend–a smart, funny, loving, youthful 50-something year old friend– who decided years ago, after her divorce, that she would never get involved with a man again.  And yet men are intrigued by her, and attracted to her, and ask me to introduce them to her.  So I’ve had conversations with this friend asking her what would it take to want to date again, and she said nothing.  I still don’t accept this answer and so I created a hero that I knew my friend would fall for (I mean, he looks like High…

1–What is the title of your latest release? IT TAKES A VILLA   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? An American woman with a meticulous plan for restoring the Italian villa she bought for 1 Euro is in for a rude awakening. Hot Italian architect Pietro will turn her plans—and her heart—upside down.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Folks have been pretty cooped up as a result of COVID. I wanted to write a story that would take readers to another place. I chose Italy because it’s one of my favorite places to travel and I chose the Amalfi Coast because it’s got everything: the best on land and sea.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Totally. We would go antiquing together, drink wine and talk about art, solve mysteries together and tell stories. Natalie is my kind of person.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Driven, reverent, and sensual. He’s in love with architecture and history and he sees beauty all around him. His life’s work is to preserve important buildings across Italy and in his own historic town. But he’s…

Fresh Fiction: For readers, like me, who may be new to this series – who and what are the “Men of Haven”? Rhenna Morgan: The Men of Haven is a series founded on a group of men who have banded together and built a tight-knit family of choice. They all grew up under less than ideal circumstances, but together they’ve banded together and helped each other find success while operating under their own unshakable principles of what’s good and right. Those principles might not always meet the expectations of others, but they stand by what they believe and support each other come hell or high water. They bring that same conviction and passion into winning and protecting the women they come to love as well.     Fresh Fiction: In your book TRUSTED & TRUE, the two main characters have a shared history. Is it more interesting for you, as a writer, to tell a story about two characters who have a complicated history? Is the second chance-at-romance a favorite trope of yours? I include characters who may not have been romantically involved in the past but had some kind of history or tension together. Rhenna Morgan: I wouldn’t say…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A DARING PURSUIT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Sleeping with the enemy has never been such fun! The Davies and Montgomery families have been locked in an ancient feud for centuries, but it’s a thin line between love and hate. When fiery Carys Davies and wickedly proper architect Tristan Montgomery make a scandalous enemies-with-benefits agreement, the sparks of passion really begin to fly . . . 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? All three books in my Ruthless Rivals series take place on the border of England and Wales. The Davies and the Montgomerys have been neighbors-and adversaries-for generations. Think Hatfields and McCoys, but in the Regency. All of which, of course, leads to forbidden passions, teasing rivalries, and plenty of snarky, enemies-to-lovers shenanigans. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Absolutely. Carys is my favorite type of heroine – a badass in a bodice! She’s daring, witty, brave, and incredibly loyal. She’s making the best of a bad situation and hiding a secret that could ruin her family, but she can’t resist needling her old nemesis, Tristan Montgomery. He’s…