Ah, romance, there’s nothing better than when that sense of rightness in the world washes over you while cuddling up with a loved one. To learn about your partner’s life and the people who’ve come and gone, their secrets, successes, and failures. Add a little tension and a few heart palpitations and you know you’ve chosen a good one…at least for the few hours it takes to get to the end of their story. Yes, I’m talking about not one, but multiple summer flings with great cozy mysteries. Take advantage of the dog days, and delve into as many as you can, I know I am! If you want to hide in your closet with a little moonshine, chocolate, and a great book from the library, here are some mysteries right up your alley! *** The Moonshine Shack Murder A Southern Homebrew Mystery by Diane Kelly 7/6/2021 In this intoxicating new cozy mystery series, the future for modern-day moonshiner Hattie Hayes looks bright–until death darkens the doorstep of her Moonshine Shack. The Hayes family has made moonshine in Chattanooga since the days of Prohibition, and Hattie is happy to continue the tradition, serving up fun, fruity flavors in mason jars…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE PERFECT RUIN 2–What is it about? It’s about a woman named Ivy Hill who finds out the name of the woman who destroyed her childhood – Lola Maxwell. Lola is a wealthy, well-known woman who is loved by many and Ivy sets out on destroying/ruining Lola’s life as payback. It’s a very twisty and suspenseful read with a revenge plot and a domestic thriller vibe. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love that it’s set near a beach. It’s mostly set in Miami, Florida and I love that you sort of get a visual of the beach weather and the summer activities. And given that this is a summer release makes it all the more exciting! 4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  My main character Ivy was way more calculating and manipulative than I thought she would be. She knew how to truly fake it in order to make it and to get what she wanted. 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  Well, one reason I loved writing this book is that it touches on the effects of trauma and how some people can…

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Jennifer! We are so excited to celebrate the release of THE WOMEN’S MARCH with you. This book is full of incredible historical detail about the women’s suffrage movement. What inspired you to tackle this topic?   Jennifer: The idea for THE WOMEN’S MARCH first came to me in January 2017, soon after the Women’s March on Washington the day after the inauguration of the 45th president. Nearly half a million demonstrators marched in the US capital to protest against his past reprehensible treatment of women and to advocate for women’s rights and other human rights issues. Millions of other protesters joined in satellite marches around the world, including an estimated 100,000 in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. Afterward, when I read news coverage of the events, I was intrigued to learn that the Women’s March of 2017 had an important but nearly forgotten historical precedent. More than one hundred years earlier, thousands of women had assembled in the nation’s capital the day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson to demonstrate on behalf of woman’s suffrage. The organizers planned a beautiful, dignified parade from the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House, with elegantly…

Jen: What inspired you to write A WOMAN OF INTELLIGENCE?  Karin: I really liked the idea of writing about a struggling mother against the backdrop of the Cold War. I was dealing with my own postpartum depression and identity loss and wanted to channel that into a book. Admittedly, at first, I wanted her to be an assassin with a LOT of anger, but my editor talked me out of that one! So she is a spy with a LOT of anger instead – ha. While I was starting to piece together the story, a friend told me about Elizabeth Bentley, a Vassar College grad like me. She graduated in 1930 and went on to study Italian, earning a master’s degree in languages from Columbia University. While at Columbia, she joined a Communist Party cell and then fell madly in love with Jacob Golos, a Ukrainian-born revolutionary who conducted Soviet espionage. While Elizabeth Bentley certainly inspired the book, I did not follow her story that closely. She wasn’t a mother, and she didn’t live a gilded life in New York. But I loved the idea of giving a struggling mother a secret life and a sense of purpose. What leads…

Somehow we have come to the end of another Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup! We are so appreciative of everyone who has commented and, of course, to the authors and publishers who took the time to share recipes and about their new books. Camille Aubray is here today with a look at her historical fiction novel and a fresh, summery recipe with a great drink pairing–enjoy!  And if you haven’t already, be sure to take a look at the amazing authors, recipes, and books we’ve celebrated all week long:  Day 1 with Minerva Spencer Day 2 with Sera Taíno Day 3 with Jennifer L. Wright Day 4 with Alicia Hunter Pace Day 5 with Camille Aubray *** CAMILLE AUBRAY’S Cocktails and Canapés Recipe A reviewer once said about my previous novel, “Don’t read this book on an empty stomach, because you will soon be hungry for the French cuisine in the story!” And now, my newest novel, THE GODMOTHERS, serves up some delicious Italian meals. THE GODMOTHERS is about four remarkable women from very different backgrounds who become sisters-in-law, and godmothers to one another’s children, in New York City from the 1930s through the 1950s. Each godmother has a secret from her past…

We are a lucky bunch today! We have a sweet summery recipe from Alicia Hunter Pace, inspired by her new book SWEET AS PIE. Make sure you check out how to enter for a chance to win a copy below!  Did you know we’re here all week with some of our favorite authors, their new books (and giveaways!), and delicious recipes to take to your next BBQ? Check out who’s been with us so far, and read their posts for some summer fun:  Day 1 with Minerva Spencer Day 2 with Sera Taíno Day 3 with Jennifer L. Wright *** In my Sound Town series, there were two young hockey players—Jake and Robbie—who were nothing but trouble for their older, wiser teammates. They earned the collective moniker Wild Ass Twins—and earned it well. It became apparent they had some stories to tell. SWEET AS PIE is Jake’s story. It will release August 24, 2021.  You can look out for Robbie’s in SMOOTH AS SILK in February of next year. Pro hockey player, Jake Champagne is looking forward to a new team, a new town, and a clean slate in Laurel Springs, Alabama. After a messy divorce, he got busy keeping company with…

Why do they capture our hearts? From Cinderella to Heidi to Pip in Great Expectations or my personal favorite, Jane Eyre, orphan characters have a way of grabbing our affections and not letting go. My own recent novel, Jewel of the Nile, features an orphaned main character, although Chariline is grown up by the time we meet her. But her heart is still living like an orphan, abandoned and unwanted. For me, this perennial fascination with orphans finds its taproots in the third chapter of the book of Genesis. Overnight, humans go from being cherished by the perfect Father to living orphaned lives. We are reduced from flawless belonging to a life of loneliness. From the outset of the loss, God begins to weave the warp and weft of his plan for our restoration into our ailing history. Nonetheless, we have lost that perfect connection with our Father. Eden is gone. Hence the appeal of the orphan. We may have been born to good parents, lived with loving families. Yet deep in every soul, a hazy memory of Eden’s bone-deep attachment still remains. In this fallen world, every attachment falls short of that uninterrupted sense of belonging, and the heart…

Bastille Day on July 14 commemorates of the birth of modern France—a process that was lengthy, violent, and controversial.  But who can resist reading stories about a country so synonymous with wine, culture, fashion, elegance, and savoir-faire, most of the tales featuring real historical figures? We begin chronologically with THE SHADOW QUEEN by Sandra Gulland.  Claude des Oeillets, a real young woman from the theatre and daughter of a famous actress, narrates a story that describes the controversy and strife during the “war of the theatres” between Corneille, Moliere, and Racine and the opposing church.  During those days, she meets the beautiful, arrogant aristocrat who later becomes Madame de Montespon, Louis XIV’s mistress and “shadow queen” of his court. Recruited years later to become Madame’s personal attendant, Claude is brought into the heart of life at Versailles—the politics, the intrigues, and Madame de Montespon’s increasingly desperate and dangerous efforts to hold on to her royal lover.  An intriguing look at the decadent court of Louis XIV from a new perspective. We move forward to the eve of the Revolution in FINDING EMILIE by Laurel Corona, that also fictionalizes the lives of real people.  Daughter of brilliant and unconventional mathematician Emilie…

Another day, another awesome author to feature in the Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup! Today, historical fiction author Jennifer L. Wright is here with more info about her new book, a tasty and easy recipe to share, and a chance to win a copy of IF IT RAINS (details below)!  Have you checked out our recipes from Days 1 and 2? Please do! Day 1 with Minerva Spencer Day 2 with Sera Taíno *** In my novel IF IT RAINS, fourteen-year-old Kathryn is forced from her Oklahoma farm by the Dust Bowl. Her trip is interrupted, however, when she becomes separated from her father and is forced to continue the journey on her own. Crippled, frightened, and alone in a strange land, Kathryn longs for familiarity. She longs for comfort. She longs for home. As a military spouse, I am deeply familiar with this ache. In the past fourteen years, I’ve lived in three different countries and four different states. Just as soon as some place starts to feel like home, the Air Force sends my family and me packing again. It’s a hard life, but it’s also full of beauty. Because I don’t just have one home; I have several….

1–What is the title of your latest release? JOHN EYRE: A TALE OF DARKNESS AND SHADOW 2–What is it about? JOHN EYRE is my dual timeline, partially epistolary, partially gender-reversed, supernatural Victorian gothic retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s JANE EYRE (and one other Victorian classic I can’t reveal without spoiling the story). It’s about strength, allyship, the struggle between light and darkness, and the battle with real-life monsters. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I loved being able to incorporate all of my favorite Victorian gothic trappings. There’s atmosphere and creepiness galore. 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  Bertha Mason Rochester may well be the strongest heroine I’ve ever written. Not because she started out strong, but because, in a deeply horrifying situation, she finds a level of strength she didn’t know herself capable of. By the end of the story, she’s become a formidable opponent. Truly a force to be reckoned with. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  He’s thoughtful and compassionate, and he knows how to listen. He doesn’t start out as an ally—a man willing to risk his reputation to help a woman—but by the end of the novel, he understands what it means…