There are so many things to watch on TV, it’s hard to choose between them. But some shows have take-aways that viewers can use in their personal lives. I like shows that have positive energy and people who face tough challenges and overcome them. It leaves me feeling good, and it’s something I try to put in my writing. One of my favorite shows is America’s Got Talent. The contestants and their talents are very diverse. Many have gone through hard times, and their particular talent is often the thing that got them through adversity. The judges and audiences usually take them to their hearts and cheer them on whether they advance or get sent home. Another favorite is Dancing with the Stars. The stars face physical and emotional challenges and many–including some athletes–say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done.  A strong camaraderie develops among the stars and their partners, and their dancing is often amazing. A third favorite is Survivor, which also tests players in many ways– their ingenuity and stamina, their survival and social skills to name a few. It’s definitely a game involving strategy and forming alliances, and players learn a lot about themselves. My fourth…

Damp air settled between the marlstone walls, its chill creeping into my bones as our group wandered reverently through the ancient mines. We stopped to read the old inscriptions, listen to the stories, and remember all that happened in these tunnels along the southern tip of The Netherlands. During World War II, these passages were used to hide artwork from the Dutch masters and as an escape route for Allied pilots and those escaping the Nazi occupiers. What would it have been like to be a Jewish woman down here, I wondered, trying to navigate the thousands of tunnels as she fled from a Nazi officer intent on finding her? What if, in order to save her life, she had to leave behind the boy she loved? My mind began to follow my feet in the wandering. Each of my novels builds block-upon-block on the foundation of an experience like this one. In those tunnels last year, I could feel the wetness of the marlstone walls on my hands and the coldness in my lungs. I could breathe the moist air and fight the weight of darkness as the walls pressed in. In the wandering of my mind, the breadth…

Jen: What inspired you to write Coming Home for Christmas? RaeAnne: I’m very intrigued by stories of women who go missing and the impact that has on their loved ones. Usually, the boyfriend or husband is blamed (often correctly). But what if a woman goes missing, her husband faces accusations and suspicions, and she shows up again–alive and mostly well–years later? After everything they have been through and all the pain of the past seven years, is it possible to reconnect? How does losing her parents and postpartum depression affect Elizabeth Hamilton’s relationship with her husband and children? Despite various treatments, Elizabeth continued to spiral downward after her beloved parents died suddenly in a boating accident. Postpartum depression made everything worse until on one desperate wintry night, she didn’t feel she had any other choice but to flee to protect her family. The ramifications of that decision have lasting effects on Elizabeth and for everyone she loves. How does a fateful event change her life forever? On the night she runs away to protect her family, Elizabeth is in a terrible car accident where she suffers severe injuries and almost dies. She loses her memory for a long time. Only…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction! Congrats on the release of your new novel, THE VANISHED BRIDE, the first book in your new Bronte Mystery series. Please tell us a little bit about where you came up with the idea for this book, and about yourself!  I have been a fan of the Bronte sisters since I was around the age of 10. The idea for The Vanished Bride came as I was writing another novel set in Haworth. I had the idea of the Brontë sisters appearing in this novel as cameo characters, involved in uncovering a literary mystery. However, as soon as I had that idea I realized what a great novel it could be in its own right, and so The Vanished Bride was born. One of my favorite things about this novel was your clear appreciation and admiration for each of the Bronte sisters. What was your favorite thing about bringing each of them to life in this book?  I love Charlotte, Emily and Anne so much that it was really important to me to take a great deal of care in bringing my fictional versions of them to life. They are such iconic women, and mean so…

Hello there, and thanks for having me on the blog today! I’m just coming off the release week of my latest title from Entangled Teen, STUCK WITH YOU, and I’m thrilled, but exhausted. No, I’m not traveling the globe on a fantabulous book tour—in fact, I, like most authors when their books launch, spent the week doing a bit of celebrating, working my day job, and posting my butt off on social media. Almost as good as a book tour! LOL. Resting author face at the end of release week. Cropped out of the picture is a giant glass of wine. Anyway, this week got me thinking about book titles. I wonder if readers know just how many different titles a book has from the very first draft to publication? Maybe y’all do know–maybe I’m just naïve, but I always thought a book title was a book title and always the author’s choice–until my books started to get published. For example, my first YA novel, which came out in 2011, was a book about a teenaged cake decorator. The entire time I was writing that sucker, even when it sold to my publisher, it was called THE ICING ON 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 NOMI SUMMERS! Writes: Sweet Contemporary Romance About the Author: Nomi Summers is a clean contemporary romance author with a flair for taming bad boy heroes readers swoon over. When she’s not dreaming up her next small-town romance, you’ll find her at the beach devouring the latest new release on her Kindle. Her other guilty pleasures include getting lost in mindless reality TV and spending far too much time talking to her dogs, as she’s convinced they understand every other word! Nomi’s living her own “happily ever after” with her loving husband and their two fur babies in Tampa Bay, Florida. However, a piece of her heart will always belong in Michigan where she’s originally from–the inspiration behind the settings in her novels. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader: Seeking lovers of small town romance, bad boy heroes, and second chances. What to expect if compatible: Swoon-worthy clean reads with hot heroes and strong heroines set in picturesque small towns you’ll…

I’ve truly enjoyed writing baseball romance. I love the combination of sports and love in any medium. This is likely why some of my favorite movies are of the sports variety. For Love of the Game, in case you hadn’t picked up on that yet, is the inspiration for my series name. As this is the third baseball romance I’ve written, I’ve spent some time researching and Googling the lingo. There are a surprising number of metaphors and idioms within baseball language that are a very recognizable part of our regular speech. For those of us who don’t actually watch baseball or pay close attention to it, it’s interesting how common some of these phrases are. Here’s a list of the top ten I feel like we use (as speakers, readers, and writers) frequently. I’ve put an asterisk next to the ones I think can be of specific use for romantic moments in a book. Grand slam* Sweet spot* Hit it out of the park Play ball Raincheck* Step up to the plate* Homerun* Play hardball First/Second/Third base* Grandstanding What do you think? Did I miss any others that are a regular part of conversations? Any you think make a…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction! Can you tell us a little bit about your latest release, THE WONDER OF NOW?  Thanks for having me! It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the end of the Sanctuary Sound series. I’ve really enjoyed writing about these three childhood friends, the traumas they’ve survived, and the betrayals they’ve overcome. This final book was the most difficult to write because Peyton–a privileged, self-centered woman who ran off with her friend’s boyfriend–had the Mt. Everest of mountains to climb in terms of earning her redemption. But ultimately I fell in love with her story, and am extremely pleased with early reader reaction. I also think readers will enjoy traveling around Europe with her on her book tour.  Something I’ve admired in the books in the Sanctuary Sound series is each of the heroines has survived difficult hardships. THE WONDER OF NOW features Peyton Prescott, who recently survived breast cancer, but is reliving every moment of her diagnosis, treatment, and recovery promoting a memoir she really didn’t want to write in the first place. What went into creating a character readers see at her most vulnerable?  Writing the excerpts from her memoir was the most difficult…

Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley  School is back in session and it’s time to hit the textbooks! Navigating the politics of any school system can be tricky, but it’s even worse when things turn to murder. Several cozy mystery authors give us a taste of what happens when things turn deadly. Lee Hollis takes us into the ugly shenanigans at Portland High in MURDER AT THE PTA where someone has been posting nasty rumors and gossip on an anonymous blog. Private Investigator Maya Kendrick tracks down the owner of the blog, only to find her dead. Meanwhile, Sandra Wallage, PTA President and wife of a US Senator, is facing all sorts of hostility thanks to the last rumor posted on the blog. Maya doesn’t believe the death is a suicide, and Sandra wants to help. Lee Hollis’ first book in the Maya and Sandra Mystery takes some hilarious turns, even as we see Maya and Sandra dealing with some very weighty personal issues. I like that we see how Maya and Sandra team up together and I can’t wait to see what other murders they will solve! Susan Wittig Albert takes us away from high school to the college level in…

“I couldn’t put it down!”  Those words are some of the most satisfying comments an author can receive.  Nothing pleases me more than a note from someone grumbling about staying up late to finish one of my books. It’s music to my ears. There are lots of ways to earn those precious words.  Writing a fast-paced novel is one of them.  It is certainly my goal every time I start a new book. My latest, THE DECEPTION, was no different.  I knew I would be writing Hawk Maddox’s story.  Hawk had been on my mind since he first appeared in a previous novel, BEYOND DANGER.  I knew what he was like–strong, determined, tough as boot leather, and at six-foot-four, two-hundred-twenty pounds, a total beefcake hunk. He was also a bounty hunter, which made him an interesting character with an interesting job.  I always try to find the hero’s perfect match and Kate Gallagher was just right for Hawk.  Tall, blonde, and curvy, she loved country music and drinking tequila at the Sagebrush Saloon. But that was her secret side.  She also owned her own business consulting firm so she was smart and hard-working. I like to read books that draw…