1–What is the title of your latest release? NOBODY’S HERO, a Cottonbloom novella, and part of the RESCUED anthology. All the stories feature rescue dogs! We are donating the first two days of profit to Roxanne St. Clair’s animal rescue charity. 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? An ex-con tries to persuade an abandoned puppy and an innocent romance author he’s nobody’s hero. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? NOBODY’S HERO is part of my Cottonbloom series, so the quirky town is well established (at least in my imagination!) It’s divided by a river, half the town is in Mississippi and half in Louisiana. Hijinks and rivalries ensue. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Considering she is a romance writer as well… YES! 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Guarded, Dangerous, Horny (LOL) He did recently get out of jail… 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? How many dogs out there need to be adopted from shelters! 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I wait until I am totally done. If I don’t, then I’m not sure…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BITTER ROOTS 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The brutal murder of a beautiful vineyard expert and a devastating storm force Virginia winemaker Lucie Montgomery to confront painful changes on the eve of her wedding.  3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? It’s the 12th book in my Virginia wine country mysteries, so I knew exactly where it would take place—at a family-owned vineyard in northern Virginia, a beautiful region of rolling hills and winding country lanes, that is also horse and hunt country. As for how I originally chose the setting, I was living in London in the 1990s and came back to the US with my husband and sons on a home leave trip. A friend decided we needed to see the Virginia vineyards since my husband is French and we had lived on the French-Swiss border for five years where we often explored the vineyards of those countries. When I got back to London my British literary agent learned of the trip and said, “That’s the setting for your next novel.” I agreed to write one book—as I said, BITTER ROOTS is…

1–What is the title of your latest release? HOW TO BOOK A MURDER (Starlit Bookshop Mysteries #1) 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A recent Ph.D. becomes a literary event planner to save the family bookstore, but when a murder mystery party turns murderous, she takes on the role of amateur sleuth to protect her beloved aunt, a famous author accused of the crime. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I imagined my dream bookstore, which turned out to be in the middle of an artistic community on a riverwalk. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes, especially if she would give me a discount in the bookstore. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Bookish, curious, determined. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Although I worked for a short time in a bookstore, it was decades ago, so I was very lucky to have some booksellers who were willing to talk to me. All of them said that working with customers was their favorite part of the job. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? For the first…

In your new thriller SIX GRAVES, things get very personal for your detective. Tell me about Detective Kim Stone. How is she as a person, and as a detective? Because of her traumatic childhood Kim is a loner and doesn’t let many people into her circle. She is quite rude and brusque and totally lacks social skills. She doesn’t show her feelings and although she cares deeply about her team, she rarely shows it. She offers all her affection to her rescue dog, barney. As a police officer she is passionate, driven and always fights for the underdog. She believes in justice and will go over and above to make sure the perpetrator is caught and punished. Has SIX GRAVES been any more difficult to write than any of the other books in the series because of the intensity and personal angle for your main character? In some ways six graves was very difficult to write because of the scenes I knew were coming at the end of the book. in other ways I absolutely love the challenge of putting her in new situations. I actually didn’t want to stop writing this book and feel as though I could have…

1–What is the title of your latest release? DEATH PLANS A PERFECT TRIP, Charlotte Adams number 6, will be released on May 17th!   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? When her mother, the famous thriller writer, Esme Adams, vanishes, Charlotte Adams, professional organizer and amateur sleuth, races across Europe to save her. As Charlotte keeps one step ahead of the nameless villains, she discovers her mother’s dark history and the source of her own on-going nightmares.  Reader warning: contains travel tips, food, dogs and a touch of romance.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place: I had always wanted to set a cozy mystery in Europe and over a couple of years returned to some of my favorite spots (Paris, Lisbon and northern Italy) with a mystery percolating in my busy brain. This book was so much fun to write!   4–Would you hang out with your sleuth in real life? Good question.  I would definitely like Charlotte to drop in and give me a hand organizing and to offer some wardrobe advice. She’d be welcome any time and I would make her favorite cookies.  But I do worry she might…

1–What is the title of your latest release? SUMMER AT THE FRENCH CAFE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Kat loves her life in France, but this summer’s tricky – even before she gets involved with the mysterious Noah. Sunny, romantic commercial fiction underpinned by contemporary conflicts to make the reader wonder if everything can possibly come right for Kat. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Travel was difficult when I was researching and writing the book, but I’d set JUST FOR THE HOLIDAYS there in the past, so had a library of photos and memories to work with. 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Definitely! Kat’s a hardworking, valiant heroine, and I have huge sympathy with her when she appears to be overlooked by those who should know better. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Mysterious, hot, determined. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? How to run a book cafe. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Mainly, I write a first draft and then a second (and maybe a third). However, where I know a first…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Hi there, Fresh Fiction readers! Right now, I’m celebrating the release of THE RASCAL, the first in my new series of Regency-set historical romances! 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? If you’re getting worried that historical authors are running out of titled aristocrats, perhaps you might like a different variety of Regency hero. He’s intelligent, handsome as can be, and has found a home for himself in London, under the wing of an eccentric wealthy lady. But Mr Fitzallan Wilde has one fatal flaw…he’s a bastard! And he’s determined to keep his heart firmly locked away, until he is forced into the role of Good Samaritan and everything changes… 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The Regency is almost like my “second home”. I was born and raised in England, not far from Jane Austen’s home in Chawton, Hampshire. My first book was a Regency historical, and I’ve been blessed with many readers who have enjoyed the many historical romances I’ve written over the years. So yes, setting a book in that time and that place? I’m very happy there. 4–Would you hang out…

The genre for my new story, WHEN THE DAY COMES, has a lot of readers talking. Is it time-travel? Dual timeline? Science-Fiction? Historical fiction, times two? Or, is it a little of each one? The story is about a woman named Libby who is born with a gift. She lives in 1774 colonial Williamsburg and when she goes to sleep there, she wakes up in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. Back and forth she goes, every day, with no time passing while she’s gone. On her twenty-first birthday, she must choose which life to keep and which to forfeit forever.   Since it’s hard to pigeonhole WHEN THE DAY COMES into one genre, I thought I’d share four similar movies and television series to give you a taste of what the story is like. Outlander Outlander is a popular series that follows Claire Randall, an English woman who was a nurse in WWII. Her life is turned upside down when she travels to Scotland with her husband to try to reconnect with each other and with his family history. There, she accidentally falls through a portal in a stone and ends up in 1743 where she meets, marries, and…

Jennifer Vido: What inspired your new release, THE HOMEWRECKERS? Mary Kay Andrews:  I was watching one of those DIY reality television shows and the title The Homewreckers came to me. Not coincidentally, we’d just purchased a fixer-upper beach cottage on Tybee Island, Ga, where the book was set, so I had the title and the research, and very quickly, the plot started to come together.   Jen: What is causing angst in Hattie Kavanaugh’s personal and professional lives? Mary Kay:  Hattie is guilt-ridden because she fears that the over-budget money pit of a house she’s been restoring with her father-in-law’s construction company will bring the company to financial ruin, but on a deeper level, her emotional life has been on hold since her husband’s death, seven years earlier, in a hit-and-run accident. Faced with the possibility of romance, she’s deeply conflicted.   Jen: When Mauricio Lopez offers Hattie a starring role in a beach house reality show, how does she react? Mary Kay:  Hattie tells Mo she has zero interest in show business, and just wants to do her job, restoring old homes.   Jen: What does Hattie think of her male cast mate? Mary Kay: Hattie’s first response is…

Auction Scene from chapter XIII © 2022 Marcella.  https://www.instagram.com/mariamarcelw/   # Chapter XIII excerpt#   For the entire morning, Gracie could not be found without a gaggle of women around her. And she took a circuitous route wherever she went, further hindering his chances of finding an opportunity to deliver a private apology. Jack had considered giving up until Harris and Gracie entered the big top, her small hand tucked in the crook of his elbow. She wore a pale pink dress trimmed with white bows and black ribbon. In her free hand, she carried a black umbrella. If Gracie could forgive Harris enough to let him escort her to the auction, it seemed reasonable that she could overlook whatever Jack had said to offend her yesterday and last night. Squaring his shoulders, Jack marched in after them. The tent was filled with a brown fog from the fine dirt kicked into the air by the patrons who’d come for the auction. Jack signed his name to a wooden bidding paddle while the Colonel stamped his hammer to close the sale of a gilded mirror. The small herd of auction attendees stirred a little in the break before the next…