Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Smashwords Hotlist Top 10 Preorders Releasing May 07 – May 14, 2024
Author Guest / May 6, 2024

Cornered at the Corral, Book 4, Ghost Town Mysteries by Jamie L. Adams In This Moment, Book 2, Heart of Vallantine Series by Kelly Moran Doll Face by Beth D. Carter The Bigtime Series: Volume 1 by Jennifer Estep The Designer of His Own Fortune, Book 14, Have Body, Will Guard Series by Neil S. Plakcy Knot Dead Again, Book 10, Yarn Retreat Mysteries by Betty Hechtman Elyon’s Warriors Collection: Books 1-4, Elyon’s Warriors Series by Eve Langlais Flawless by J. Scott Coatsworth Living Sands, Book 3, Warlords of Atera Series by Celia Kyle Dating A Snow Goddess, Book 4, Jinx Paranormal Dating Agency Series by Laura Greenwood     Each Monday the Smashwords store lists the top ten most highly anticipated indie fiction ebooks based on the previous week’s preorder accumulations. Each title on the list is scheduled to release within the next week. To help the talented authors on this list accumulate even more preorders, click the title of the book. The hyperlink will bring you to a Books2Read page where you can order from your preferred ebook retailer. If the preorder is part of a series, click the hyperlinked series title to learn about the other books…

Smashwords Top 20 Bestselling Indie Fiction Books by Units (April 21 – April 27, 2024)
Author Guest / May 3, 2024

The Sunshine Court, Book 4, All for the Game Series by Nora Sakavic One Tiny On Dit Later, Book 3, Singular Sensation Series by Sandra Sookoo Museum of Murder, Book 30, Merry Wrath Mysteries by Leslie Langtry You Complicate Me, Book 1, You Complicate Me Series by Isabel Jordan Ruin Me, Vegas Knights Series by Bella Love-Wins Rosemary for Remembrance by Nikki Broadwell No One Else Can Have Her by Sam Crescent Get In My Swamp: An Ogre Love Story, Book 1, Get In My Swamp Series by G.M. Fairy The Vampire’s Oath, Book 10, The Moretti Blood Brothers Series by Juliette N Banks Stealing the Sun: Books 1-3, Stealing the Sun Series by Ron Collins Instant Karma by David Michie Avenging Angel by Kristen Ashley A Day Like Any Other by Bob Every Walk the Dog, Book 3, The West Side Series by Isabel Jolie The Alpha’s Revival, Book 3, Shifters of Grey Ridge by Reece Barden Tempt, Wicked Sanctuary Series by Marie Tuhart Slay King by Abbi Glines Reckless Hawke, Book 4, The Hawke Family Second Generation Series by Gwyn McNamee New Orleans Nocturnes Collection 1, New Orleans Nocturnes Series by Carrie Pulkinen The Housemaid by Sarah A….

Eileen Garvin | Three Wounded Souls Whose Fate Intersect at a Remote Alpine Lake
Author Guest / May 3, 2024

1–What is the title of your latest release? CROW TALK 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Crow Talk tells the story of three wounded souls whose fate intersect at a remote alpine lake following an encounter with an injured baby crow. The main characters are Frankie, a grieving daughter and ornithologist; Anne, a young mom who’s also an Irish musician; and her son Aiden, a bright, curious five-year-old who has suddenly stopped speaking. Anne and her husband are in conflict over what to do about Aiden. She and Frankie each have other struggles that unfold during the course of the story. The three of them meet by chance after Frankie rescues a baby crow and Aiden takes refuge in her cottage during a storm. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’ve spent most of my life in the Pacific Northwest. Since I was a little kid, I’ve loved being in the woods, particularly at my family’s lake cabin. Early in the pandemic, when all the trails near my house (actually the whole state) were closed, I was reminded of how comforting the natural world is for me. When I started writing Crow…

Kari Lee Townsend | Author-Reader Match: ROAD TRIP TO RUIN and Giveaway!
Author Guest / May 3, 2024

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 Kari Lee Townsend!   Writes: Humorous paranormal cozy mysteries! ROAD TRIP TO RUIN is the second crossover book of the Sunny Meadows & Kalli Ballas mystery series. Kalli is from Clearview, CT. She and her boyfriend, Detective Nik Stevens, met Sunny and her husband, Detective Mitch Stone, on a cruise in the first crossover CRUISING INTO DANGER. Murder happens in the Bermuda Triangle and the detectives ban together to solve the mystery while Sunny and Kalli stir up all sorts of trouble as they do a little investigating of their own. This time it’s Kalli’s turn to visit Sunny’s hometown of Divinity, NY where murder happens with Kalli being the prime suspect. Her detective boyfriend shows up to help, but when her big fat Greek family arrives, they stir up trouble bigger than the size of Ma’s beehive hairdo.   About: If you like a little bit of romance, lots of laughs, cute pets, fun small towns, and one or more mysteries with plenty…

Rochelle Bilow | A Friends-to-lovers Second-chance Romance Mashup That Takes Place in a High-end Restaurant
Author Guest / May 3, 2024

1–What is the title of your latest release? EFFIE OLSEN’S SUMMER SPECIAL   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? It’s a friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance mashup that takes place in a high-end restaurant. Think” The Bear, but cozier, and featuring the cutest darn Maine-raised MMC you’ve ever met.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I’m a New England gal through and through (I live in Vermont), and lately, I have been feeling so inspired by the beauty of my region. I’ve been wanting to “save” a Vermont setting for a farm-centered story, and Maine felt like a natural fit for a restaurant romance.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? TBH, I’d be pretty intimidated by her! Effie is a real-deal chef, who’s been in the restaurant industry for years. I’ve been in the food journalism for most of my career. I don’t know if I could hang tough with Ms. Olsen.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Willing to grow.   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned SO much about writing a three-dimensional MMC/love interest. I was so focused on…

Elle Marr | Title Challenge: THE ALONE TIME
Author Guest / May 2, 2024

Hi! I’m Elle Marr, author of five thrillers, and I’m excited to share a little about my latest psychological thriller THE ALONE TIME. Two sisters, Fiona and Violet, survived a plane crash that killed their parents twenty-five years ago. Now, when a true crime documentary filmmaker begins digging into the past, they must face the secrets they left buried in the woods. This story has twist after twist, with an antagonist that will surprise even the most well-read thriller lover. It’s also loosely inspired by my own experience with a plane crash when I was a kid.   T is for travel. Fiona and Violet swear off it after they are rescued from the Washington wilderness. H is for Henry. Henry is Fiona and Violet’s father, and the pilot of the passenger plane that crash landed in the forest. E is for explorers. True story: in the 1800’s, a band of explorers got lost in the Olympic National Park, the same location in which Fiona and Violet were stranded. It took the explorers six months to find their way out.   A is for art. As an adult, Fiona has channeled her trauma into creative expression, through her modern art installations in…

Dani Collins | Exclusive Excerpt THE SALOON GIRL’S ONLY SHOT
Author Guest / May 2, 2024

Hi Fresh Fiction Readers! I hope you enjoy this exclusive sneak peek at THE SALOON GIRL’S ONLY SHOT. It’s Denver, 1859. After a brawl in the saloon, Temperance has been fired (again!) and told to leave the shack she shares with two other saloon girls. It’s a cold night and she has nowhere to go—unless a good Samaritan takes her in? Owen is the hero, an aspiring saloonkeeper, and Clarence is his dog.   Temperance’s hands were shaking as much from upset and fear as the cold. She firmly tied her bonnet into place and stepped outside. The wind nearly cut her in half. As she came toward the street, a dark shadow peeled itself away from the side of the saloon. “I’m armed, sir,” she lied in her most threatening voice. “With what?” Owen asked. “A spare petticoat and a bar of soap?” “You. Why are you so determined to ruin my life?” “Last I checked, I keep saving it. Come on. I’ll take you to my room.” His silhouette turned to start across the front of the saloon where light spilled from the window. “That is very presumptuous.” She stood her ground. “We are square. I owe you…

Anna Bradley | Title Challenge: HERE COMES MY EARL
Author Guest / May 2, 2024

H is for…Heroine. Phee, the last of the Templeton sisters to get her happily-ever-after is at the heart of this story, finally gets her chance in the spotlight. E is for…Eloquent. James begins to see Phee in a new light after she eloquently scolds him for his poor treatment of Lord Gilbert. It’s the first time he truly sees her, and it leads them down the path of love. R is for…Romance. What else? E is for…Entranced. James doesn’t expect to fall in love with a lady like Euphemia Templeton, but it isn’t long before she’s all he can think about.   C is for…Caress. What’s a love story, without a few stolen kisses and caresses? O is for…Ogle. It’s not polite to ogle a lady, but can one truly expect otherwise from a gentleman in love? M is for…Magical. Can a love story be anything less, when two people who believe they’ll never fall in love become each other’s soul mate? E is for…Embrace. Once Phee and James fall into each other’s arms, there is no going back. S is for…Sweet, because James, for all that he’s a bit of a grump at first, is a cinnamon roll hero…

Camille Aubray Talks About What Inspired Her to Write The Girl From the Grand Hotel
Author Guest / May 1, 2024

I’ve spent a lot of time on the French Riviera, starting when I was chosen for a special writers’ residency, and I returned again and again, often as a scriptwriter attending various film festivals and television conferences. It gave me time to immerse myself in the history, culture and cuisine of the South of France.     I simply fell in love with the Cote d’Azur, and I got to know the fine people who ran a Grand Hotel which became what they called my home away from home. I explored the famous Riviera landmarks and the not-so-known little villages, as well as the enticing food markets and local restaurants. Then I started digging into the history of the Cannes Film Festival, and, lo and behold, I stumbled over a nugget of history that was “hiding in plain sight” which inspired me to write my novel, The Girl from the Grand Hotel.     I learned that, while most people assume that the very first Festival de Cannes was the 1946 one, actually, the whole thing began in 1939. That summer, boatloads of big-name Hollywood stars arrived for the pre-opening festivities, and they ensconced themselves in the very best hotels,…

Wenyan Lu | An Unnamed Woman in a Remote Village in China Cries at Funerals for a Living
Author Guest / May 1, 2024

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE FUNERAL CRYER 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? The Funeral Cryer tells the story of an unnamed woman in a remote village in China who cries at funerals for a living. Her fellow villagers shun her as they believe she carries a deadly atmosphere. She leads a mundane and isolated life and her jobless husband does not appreciate her hard work. She goes to the barbershop regularly and gradually she is attracted to the barber, who is a newcomer in her village. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Professional mourning is a dying tradition in China – it mainly exists in remote areas now, so a village setting without convenient transport and where everyone knows everyone seemed an ideal place for the story to take place. I interviewed some friends who are from villages in Northeast China, and West Mud River Village, the village in the book, is actually the name of a real village; I based my story village on its details. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Yes. I’d tell her she doesn’t carry a deadly atmosphere…