Character Interview (Perspective): Meet park ranger and woodworker, Derek Poole from PURSUING THE BEAR “Sure!” Oh crap, that was too eager. Bria lowered her voice and tried again. “I mean, sure, if you’re already heading that way. Don’t go out of your way on my account, though. I have this.” She held up the compass. “And you know how to use it?” Derek’s eyes shone. It seems like you have a bit of a humorous streak. Do you like to tease? Derek: I only tease people I like. And it’s gentle teasing. Nothing mean or bullying of course. With all the issues in Deep Creek National Park right now, I find having a sense of humor helps me cope. I also hope it puts people at ease. So you don’t tease the lions? I haven’t really had the chance. Besides, they’re trying to take the bears’ land away, and the cave. With war brewing, I really don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how to entertain the lions. Especially the twins, Marco and Mason. Those lions are trouble waiting to happen. But you tease Bria? Yeah. I kind of like her. (chuckles) She’s so smart, though. I’m not sure…

Hi Dear Readers! Well, it’s that time again! My next Delos series book, SECRETS, is available, released on 11.21.16! Novella, 2B2 is a sequel follow-up on UNBOUND PURSUIT, 2B1, which was released on 9.29.16). This is Mark Reuss and Mattie Lockwood’s story. If you read UNBOUND PURSUIT, you met Mark Reuss, who was a dark, secretive secondary character. He’s a man with a violent past and moves in and out of the lives of the people who love him. Darkness surrounded him. Could love rescue him… EXCERPT: December 23rd Mark Reuss was in such deep shit he couldn’t see daylight any more. His broken lower left arm ached so badly, he wanted to yell like a banshee, but the blackness of the Texas night, the biting December cold seeping into his body, made him call on all his ex-recon Marine skills to escape up the hill. He kept his night vision goggles over his eyes as he climbed, while below him ATF, DEA, Border Patrol and FBI agents swarmed around an 18-wheeler truck. Thanks to Mark, they’d made a surprise raid on Mexican drug lord Diego Cardona’s vehicles, and now American agents were rounding up what was left of the…

Their bond is heaven on earth…but it could tear their pack apart. Ethan Jager is forced to hide behind a false identity as his pack mates suffer under Michael Tanner’s rule. It’s not his choice; he was born broken, without the primitive urge to breed driving him to pick a mate. While his wolf sleeps, his heart has chosen for him: Noah, widower and fellow pack dominant. Everything changes the day Hannah Kagan smiles at him. Lust awakens his wolf–a first. Hannah is beautiful, loyal, kind, everything an alpha male should want. And mating her will allow him to reclaim his pack. It will also leave his soul with a giant hole when he’s forced to rip Noah out of his life. Hard choices are required of alpha males, but choosing which lover to let go is one Ethan refuses to make. The alternative will not only change the pack, but transform their world…if he can keep his mates alive long enough to claim them both. Warning: Contains an alpha male whose wolf doesn’t like to share his toys, a dominant female who’s nobody’s plaything, and a beta male who doesn’t roll over for anyone. Also: speed dating, werewolf style….

I can’t believe it’s two years ago this month that I clicked to ‘publish’ the pre-order for my very first Indie book. And today is publication day of CAPTURING CALEB (Knight Security 3) my 21st Indie book, and also my 220th book. It’s been a wild roller-coaster 2 years—and I have enjoyed every minute of it. If anything I love Indie publishing more now than I did when I first decided to take that leap into the unknown. It’s been an amazing learning experience, but also one that it very personally rewarding. It has also allowed me to connect on a more personal level with my readers. Keep those emails coming, I love to hear from you! So, what have I learned in the past two years? Well, I now know how to put the whole book together, rather than just sending the book content to my publisher. Because I am now the publisher as well as the author. I choose the publication date, and the cover picture, how that cover is going to look, and all of the content, front, back, and sideways. I also decide what series I am going to write, and how many books will be…

“Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour.” William Cowper. Recently I read a post about readers liking their heroines to be strong and decisive and this got me thinking about the heroines I write. I spend a lot of time in creating my characters and ensure they are unique and special in their own right. They all look different, have particular personalities but they’re not all strong or wilful. Why? Because then they’d all be the same, it would be boring. When reading a romance, you want to be swept away in the journey between the hero and heroine. They help each other to develop and grow (the character arc) so that they are different at the end of the book to how they were at the beginning of the book. My most popular heroine is Daisy in WANTING MR RIGHT and I believe it’s because she’s sassy, upfront about her sexual desires and her ability to talk straight from the mouth. She’s strong and wilful and definitely not your average woman. I suspect women would like to be her but in reality, not all of us can be blessed with slim bodies, six foot…

Dear Readers, It may be summer warm in Florida, but it feels like Christmas to me! I’m hearing jingle bells and ho, ho, ho. There’s a hint of cedar, pine, and wood smoke drifting through the air. Houses are decorated with the welcoming warmth of colorful Christmas lights, and it’s the perfect time to announce the publication of my second Christmas novella Mistletoe, Mischief, and the Marquis. When most people hear the word Christmas they think of kids, snow, and gifts. Mistletoe, Mischief, and the Marquis has all three and a whole lot more wrapped up in an emotional love story between a serious-minded gentleman and a fun-loving heroine. Here’s a short summary of the novella Mistletoe, Mischief, and the Marquis. The Marquis of Wythebury is expecting an ordinary Christmastide at Hurst—until he is set upon by a beautiful miss who takes him to task for not allowing his young nephews to play outside. In his mind, a five and seven-year-old needn’t get chilled in the snow; better to plop them in front of the fire with a book. Few people have even been brave enough to challenge him over anything, much less the rearing of his wards. The cheeky…

Julie Anne Long’s latest novel WILD AT WHISKEY CREEK releases today. To make the characters feel real, Long spent time curating the perfect playlist to inspire her writing. She stopped by Fresh Fiction to share her secrets. Long, Long Time — Linda Ronstadt We first meet Glory at an open Mic night in HOT IN HELLCAT CANYON, and this is the song she riveted the audience with…and walked out in the middle of…when she saw Eli standing in the doorway. We learn in Wild at Whiskey Creek that this is the first time they’d seen each other in nearly a year. She knows this beautiful song of unrequited love is one of Glenn Harwood’s favorites, and she loves to make crusty Glenn cry. Hey Hey What Can I Do — Led Zeppelin Pivotal to the story, this Led Zeppelin song is a bit of a paradox—enormously popular on FM radio, it was the flipside of The Immigrant Song but never appeared on any album, so it’s nearly impossible to buy it or own it. It’s the White Whale for many Led Zeppelin fans. Glory catches Eli singing this off key at the top of his lungs in his car when…

Giveaway: $10 Amazon Gift Card Hello, I’m thrilled to be here on Fresh Fiction and to talk to you about two of my favorite subjects: Cowboy Heroes, and Military Heroes. I write hot, humorous, heartwarming, contemporary romances, and nine times out of ten my hero is either a cowboy or military hero…or both. When I’m asked which is my favorite to write I always answer with both. It’s way too hard to choose one over the other. I even made a long list of their attributes to help. Here are the top 4 of each: Cowboys: Respectful. The cowboy heroes I write about are contemporary, but modeled after the John Wayne, Audie Murphy, Roy Roger cowboys of the big screen. They are righteous and live by a code of honor. Even when they go all alpha and my heroines knock them down a peg, they remain respectful. Loyal. Cowboys put family first, their women, their friends, sacrificing their needs to help those they care about. Swoon-worthy drawl. It doesn’t take much imagination on my part at all to hear the handsome cowboy in my head whisper, “Darlin’”, in a deep sexy tone to my heroine. It’s goose-bump city for me….

What would you do if you were being stalked? Those who have had it happen (and I have), realize the terror of feeling like a hunted quarry and it’s only a matter of time until the man hurts you. It is a paralyzing and helpless feeling because more law enforcement won’t believe the woman in the first place. I wanted to address stalking of women by a man in this book because it’s important to understand just how a woman feels when she’s in the gun sights of her hated hunter. WIND RIVER WRANGLER is about a romance author being stalked in New York City where she lives. Hit with writer’s block, she wants to escape it all. Maud Whitcomb, owner of the Wind River Ranch in Wyoming, a family friend, invites her out. Shiloh Gallagher has no idea of how many ways her life is going to be upended. Meeting Roan Taggart, the wrangler from the ranch assigned to “babysit” her for the months she is out there, doesn’t exactly agree with him. Roan is an ex-Special Forces operator. He’s come to the ranch two years earlier to deal with his PTSD, and he’s on the mend. But having…

Hi, I’m Mia Hopkins and I write supersexy cowboy romance. My newest release, COWBOY RISING, is about an introverted cowboy who butts heads with the feisty newspaper reporter who’s writing a story about his family’s ranch. On the surface, Daniel and Georgia have little in common. He’s a conservative country boy with deep roots, she’s a liberal city girl with a taste for adventure. Despite these differences, they constantly surprise one another. Soon their shared passion, intelligence and stubbornness lead them to the bedroom, where a scorching one-night stand turns into something much, much deeper. For strong-minded Georgia Meyers, only an intelligent, capable hero will do. Here’s what makes Daniel MacKinnon tick. He works hard. Daniel is a third-generation cattle rancher, trained by the best of the best. When his older brother deserts the family and his father falls ill, Daniel does his best to keep things together. At 24, Daniel will do anything to make the 5,000-acre ranch succeed, including oversee a lengthy organic certification process that places a nosy (but sexy) reporter right in the middle of his business. He’s got deep roots. Daniel’s grandparents started the cattle ranch and almond orchards. His swaggering father and his rodeo…