As we head into the holiday season, most of us anticipate sharing time with friends and family: those people who love us, assist us and bring joy to our lives.  Traditionally, women have played the supporting role in the family, taking care of the everyday business of life to smooth the paths for husband and children, sometimes at the cost of their own ambitions and talents.  This month we’ll look at fiction that focuses not on two famous, almost mythically larger-than-life men, but on the private lives of the often-overlooked women they married. Starting with the brilliant, we have THE OTHER EINSTEIN by Marie Benedict. Abandoning the usual early twentieth-century female role of wife and mother, Mitza Maric earned a coveted place studying physics at an elite Zurich university.  There she met another, equally brilliant student – the young Albert Einstein. Though Mitza had pledged with several fellow female students to avoid marriage and devote her life to science, she eventually agreed to wed Einstein, with whom she worked and collaborated – there are even proponents who believe she, not Albert, was the true author of the theory of relativity.  In any event, her husband removed her name as co-author…

I’m very excited to be here on Fresh Fiction today to celebrate the release of A PROTECTOR IN THE HIGHLANDS! This book is the second in my Highland Roses School series about two sisters who journey into Scotland to start a school for ladies in the 1690s. The theme around the series centers on empowering women at a time when they were often treated as inferior. Women were left out of inheritances, business dealings, education, and decision making. Their purpose in life was to bear children and manage the home. And if a woman found herself in a domestic abuse situation or attacked, she was often blamed with no way out. When researching for my series, I read a wonderful book about two sisters living in the mid-1600s in England (A Court Lady and A Country Wife by Lita-Rose Betcherman). One sister birthed several children and managed her home mostly in the country while the other one became an influential woman at court. Both ladies were considered a success in their circles, although they had many limitations placed upon them because of their sex. Even though the court lady was a friend to the queen of England, she still had…

**Today we are joined by Fresh Fiction Reviewer Danielle Dresser and what she’s noticed about her reading trends over the last year.** Between reviewing for Fresh Fiction, belonging to a book club, and being an all around avid reader, I’ve read a LOT of books this year. It’s the time of year when bloggers, reviewers, and publications are releasing their “Best Books” of the year lists, and while I don’t always think it’s super fair to do that (I’m too indecisive to be so definitive), I did notice some things about my 100+ books read this year… I read almost exclusively female authors. Call me biased or my little way of sticking it to the patriarchy, but aside from a few books in my book club, over 90% of the books I read were by women/female-identifying authors. It wasn’t totally on purpose, but when I noticed this over the summer, I made an extra effort to make sure I was reading books by women. A lot of the books I review for Fresh Fiction are romance novels, which is a genre mostly written by and for women, and I think that’s pretty bad-ass. It also leaves a ton of room for…

Before I was an author, I was a reader. I read A LOT of books over the years. (In fact, I taught myself to read at 3 years old because I wanted to write stories so badly.) And, one of the things I began to realize is I preferred books that mixed genres over just a single “pure” story. I’m also of the belief that I’m not alone. Look at the popularity of certain mixed genres categories. (Romantic suspense anyone?) So, as an author who has taken mixing genres to a whole new level (my current Secret of Redemption series combines psychological thriller, mystery, romance, paranormal and even a touch of women’s fiction) I thought I’d share my top 5 reasons why mixed genres are best. 1. There’s a little something for everyone. No matter what sort of story you prefer (romance, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi) in a mixed-genre book, you’re more likely to find something you like. Better yet, in a mixed genre book, even if you’re not crazy about one of the genres, you may still like the book because you like the other storylines. 2. Less chance of boredom. So, it may just be me, but one storyline…

Alone in her bedchamber later in the day, Gwendeline thought over what the countess had told her. Why had such a sought-after gentleman, the type her father had called a real out-and-outer, taken an interest in her? Why had he been the one to come and fetch her, or the infant he said he’d expected? If he was a leader of the ton, and Gwendeline saw no reason to doubt his mother’s description of his position, what was his interest in her? Friendship with her parents seemed the only possible explanation, but he never spoke to her of them or appeared eager to answer when she tried to do so. Quite the opposite, in fact. This thought reminded Gwendeline of a series of odd remarks she’d caught since coming to town. Both Lady Merryn and her son had made references she didn’t understand to her “situation.” Gwendeline hadn’t been aware that she possessed a situation in the sense that they used the word; seemingly, it was an awkward one. And she was becoming more and more interested in finding out exactly what it involved. She didn’t relish the thought that the people surrounding her knew more of her circumstances than…

Please welcome bestselling author Christy Carlyle! We have a double feature today: an interview with Christy and an exclusive excerpt from her latest release, A DUKE CHANGES EVERYTHING. Don’t forget to check out the Fresh Fiction review, as well! INTERVIEW FF: Mina and Nick are two really interesting characters! On the one hand, you have Mina, who has a profound sense of duty and loyalty to the ducal estate of Enderley, and on the other, there’s Nick who wants nothing to do with it: the title of Duke of Tremayne, the actual property, and all of the responsibilities that come with being a duke. How did you balance this conflict with their budding romance? CC: Thank you! They were definitely two of my favorite characters I’ve ever written. Balancing that conflict with their romance was really the fun part. I love starting out with a hero and heroine who are truly at odds in terms of their goals. It provides the opportunity to have each of them take small steps toward each other, toward understanding and appreciating each other’s perspective. Not to say that either will change who are they are fundamentally. But when a hero and heroine can expand…

I most often write in the sunroom at the back of my house. It’s a cozy space in my South City St. Louis home that faces out into my backyard. My desk sits in the middle of a wall of windows overlooking a remarkable magnolia tree that flowers a little bit at a time from spring to fall. In the room with me when I write, undoubtedly, are my dogs, Nala and Hazel, and my cat, Owen. Hazel is usually content to doze on the couch while Nala and Owen compete to see who can end up closer to me. Owen is often on my lap or trying to take over my keyboard, while Nala worms her way underneath and often naps on my feet, putting them to sleep and making it difficult to get up for a break. On my desk near my monitor is a collection of meaningful trinkets related to whatever story I’m working on. Over the years, I’ve found this helps me quickly connect to my work in progress. For this series, I started with a Schlilich German shepherd who reminded me of Sledge in A New Leash on Love. When I was writing Sit, Stay,…

Last week, you learned about the first half the authors I met at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This week, I have the second group of fantastic books for you to check out. They are the perfect escape from the holiday bustle that seems to have started before Thanksgiving arrived! Just for you, these authors have created fantasy worlds through loads of research. If you’d like to attend the annual Birding Expo with J.R. Ripley, pick up a copy of A Bird Lover’s Mystery, it’s sure to capture your attention. Book #8, A Birder’s Guide to Murder released this month! If you want to travel to the wine country, JC Eaton has an intoxicating series, The Wine Lovers Mysteries. Book #2, Chardonnayed to Rest, released in October and is a perfect blend of warm-hearted community with secrets that will keep you guessing. Cheryl Hollon’s Shattered at Sea, A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery, will open your eyes to the art of glass blowing and cast your imagination out to sea with the beauty and intrigue that occurs when a passenger disappears on a cruise liner. To round out my recommendations, a bit of historical noir will ground you with how…

**Please welcome Jessica Nathan, who attended Fresh Fiction’s Readers & ‘Ritas event in November! She has put together a wonderful overview of her time at the event, meeting authors and other readers. Look for more articles from Jessica soon, discussing the things she’s been reading and loving lately…** It is no small thing to feel welcomed. To feel as though you have arrived in a space where you are not only safe, but with others who not only appreciate your company, but enjoy it and would seek it out over others. And to create this with a group larger than three is rare. (Even more rare for a group of women) This was my first-time attending Readers & ‘ritas (RNR). I have attended numerous smaller Fresh Fiction (FF) gatherings at restaurants, member homes and the monthly tea (this year, almost everyone attended by an author). My initial “hook” for attending the two-and-a-half-day conference was the allure of the elusive and legendary author Christine Feehan. For those unfamiliar with her work, I will not spend time berating you and simply let her numerous best-selling series, one of which is over 30 books long, speak for themselves. For those who are familiar,…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present L.J. Evans! WRITES: I write…well, lots of genres, but they all have some kind of romance wrapped into them. My current standalone series, MY LIFE AS AN ALBUM, is contemporary romance. It started with a coming-of-age romance and is ending with a new adult slow burn. I’ve been accused of making people cry with my words, and I’m only half sorry for it.  Each book in this series was inspired by music and each chapter is really a song title where the words of the song speak to what the characters are going through. If you like music and romance, then you’ll, hopefully, love how they collide in these books. ABOUT AUTHOR: Sappy, romantic writer seeks fans of beautiful lyrics and touching words to read a series that is full of raw emotions and happy endings. After being a victim of “love at first sight” herself and being joyfully married for twenty-five years, the writer feels qualified to share a few happily…