1–What’s the name of your latest release? SUMMER BY THE RIVER 2–What is it about? Single mother Josie Waterhill is perfectly happy with the “do over” she’s been given after her tragic upbringing. She’s created a new life and isn’t looking back. She and her six-year-old daughter Zoe are nestled safely in the Midwest, and Josie manages a tea garden owned by elderly Myra Moore. In fact, Josie can’t think of a thing she’d change. Invariably, the world starts pressing in when Myra welcomes more guests—journalist Carter O’Brien and his giant rescue dog, Buttercup. Carter is charming, compassionate…and way too interested in Josie’s past. Carter’s interest in Josie deepens, and he inadvertently stirs up trouble when he uncovers things that Josie would rather not have known. Ready or not, Josie must make peace with her painful past so she can create a glorious future. 3–What word best describes your heroine? Capable 4–What makes your hero irresistible? His charismatic demeanor and playful, flirtatious sense of humor. Once Josie gets to know him, she’s also drawn in by the kindness Carter shows to people she cares about including her six-year-old daughter and to the wounded stray dog he rescues. 5–Who are the…

Danielle: Hi, Marie! Welcome to Fresh Fiction. Please tell us about yourself and your new book, THE RESTORATION OF CELIA FAIRCHILD. Marie: Hi! I’m happy for the opportunity to talk with you today! I’m a lot of things – wife, mom, quilter, dog lover – but mostly I’m a writer. So far, I’ve written nineteen novels that run the gamut from historical to contemporary, set in just about every region of the country. But there’s a common thread in all my books; though my characters face the kinds of problems and challenges that resonate with women, my stories always end on an uplifting and hopeful note. That’s why I’m especially excited about introducing readers to Celia Fairchild and her story. Celia is the kind of friend we all wish we had, and her story of restoration and hope is something that I think we all need right now. Celia writes a popular advice column, called Dear Calpurnia. I loved this aspect of the novel! What sort of research did you do into advice columns and giving good advice? Do you have any favorite advice columnists?   I’ve been an advice column junkie for a long time so, in a way,…

Synesthesia is a rare neurological condition where sensory paths are crossed in the brain. You might see musical notes as colors, taste textures like “triangles” or “squares” while eating food, or have a sequence-space form in which dates and numbers occupy a spatial location in your mind. The condition has always intrigued me, and I’ve long wanted to write a novel in which the main character experiences the world through this lens. In my latest book, NOT ONE OF US, Jori Trahan has a rare form of synesthesia commonly known as “colored hearing.” For Jori, every person’s voice has particular colors and textures as they speak. This ability ultimately gives her a unique edge to solve an old murder. Jori, like most synesthetes, enjoys her condition; for her, this is just the way the world is. But sometimes the condition can be overwhelming if she is enclosed in a noisy room. In one scene at a crowded bar, the background noise “formed a steady drumbeat of colors that swirled and morphed into blackish splatters of ugly blobs.” Her friend Dana’s voice is the color of “fizzing green arrows” and another character’s voice is “a bruising purple-black, the color of storm…

My cell phone rings and I tear my gaze from the darkness to eye Chuck’s number on caller ID. “What do you have for me?” “I emailed you an encrypted file that has a lot of random data you should find helpful. As a point of interest though, I cross-referenced a connection between Roberts and the victim and found nothing.” Nothing means nothing with Chuck. He’s that thorough. “I went further than requested,” he continues, driving home that thought. “I cross-referenced his family, his ex-wife, his cases, looking for anything that matched up to the Summer case. There’s nothing there.” “There was a ‘professor’ noted in the file. Do you have anything on him?” “Yes, I saw that and checked it out, but there’s no one that I can connect to Summer or Roberts who fits that title. Not obviously at least. It could be a nickname.” A nickname’s an interesting premise, I think, but we need to rule out the real deal at this point. “Look up professors with a literature and/or poetry connection. I’m sure you noticed, but we don’t have much of a description.” “Right. I have the description in the file, which is pretty nondescript and…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A Game of Cones 2–What is it about? It’s about family, friends, community, and of course murder! A Game of Cones is a cozy mystery and second in my An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery series. In it, Bronwyn’s (Win for short) former colleague from New York, Rory Hunter, and her Aunt Jack, the former manager of Crewse Creamer both arrive just as Zeke Reynolds is found shot to death. Zeke, a visitor from a Texas company set on gentrifying Win’s beloved Chagrin Falls, puts the entire village in a head spin. But be sure, there is enough ice cream to go around. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The small town filled with “neighbors.”  4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  Win Crewse is a go-getter, well-educated and family-oriented twenty-something. She’s also single. So, I put a handsome, helpful, smart guy right at her reach but she just does not seem interested. HIs name is O. A law professor and invaluable with it comes to all things illegal, like murder. It isn’t that Win hasn’t noticed those things about him, she’s mentioned them a time or two and even…

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 LYNN H. BLACKBURN! Writes: Inspirational romantic suspense with southern sass. My stories tilt slightly toward the romance side of the romance + suspense equation and always include a supporting cast of characters who keep things entertaining even when the bullets start flying. And the bullets fly—a lot—in UNKNOWN THREAT, the first book in the Defend and Protect series. About: Coffee-drinking, chocolate-eating, sleep-deprived author looking for readers willing to lose sleep over stories that put savvy heroines and bold heroes in intense situations which could end in death but don’t because the happily ever after is never doubt. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: You want stories about intense situations that you personally never want to experience in real life. You appreciate the word y’ You like it when characters wrestle with their faith. You frequently wish the characters in a novel were real people so you could hang out with them. You love a kissing scene (or two or…

You’ve probably heard the writing advice “write what you know.” When I sat down to create my new cozy mystery series, which kicked off with FURBIDDEN FATALITY this week, I tried to do just that. Not that I have ever run a pet rescue (although I have volunteered at one). Or won the lottery, alas. But I do know a little something about rescue animals because I am the proverbial crazy cat lady, and all four of my current feline overlords came from one kind of shelter or another. In fact, most of the cats I’ve had over my lifetime have been rescues. My beloved Magic the Cat, Queen of the universe (who inspired the little black kitten named Queenie in the series), came from a shelter. I went in for one kitten to keep my last remaining elderly cat company and came home with ten-week-old black Magic, her large gray brother Mystic, and their mother Minerva, who was so terrified and sickly, the shelter folks begged me to take her as a “bonus” cat, without paying any fees. It took two years for me to convince Minerva to sit on my lap, but after that, she never wanted to…

Jen: What inspired you to write FLOWERS OF DARKNESS? Tatiana: I wanted to explore the near future and how artificial intelligence and “smart homes” can wreak havoc with our intimacy. This book is a journey into a fragile woman’s paranoia. Clarissa has just discovered that her husband is being unfaithful and decides to leave him.  She moves into a highly sophisticated artistic residence, hoping to find a new start here. But little by little, her past and her traumas come back to haunt her.  She is a writer obsessed with places and the memories that are linked to homes and the past. She is convinced that the new “connected home” she now lives in is trying to pillage her creativity for the purpose of AI. Her daughter is worried she might be sinking into a depression, but her teenage granddaughter is convinced that her granny is right… I leave it up to the reader to decide! Why does Clarissa Katsef move to Paris? Clarissa is half French, half English. She was born in the UK but moved to Paris when she was in her twenties. She is perfectly bilingual, and my book discusses those “hybrid brains”, people who live, talk,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BEST LAID PLANS (Garnet Run #2) 2–What is it about? BEST LAID PLANS is about Charlie, a gentle giant who lost his parents as a teenager and had to figure out at a very young age how to take care of everything–his younger brother, Jack, his father’s hardware store, their family home–putting his own dreams on hold in the process. Rye Janssen is his complete opposite: where Charlie is stable, Rye has never stayed in the same place for more than a year; where Charlie knows all the rules of adulting, Rye enjoys breaking them. So when Rye inherits a crumbling house in Garnet Run but has no idea how to make it livable, Charlie can’t help but get involved. At first, Charlie and Rye feel like they’re from two different worlds. But soon each one realizes the other is exactly what they need! Charlie never had a chance to figure out what he wanted for himself, and Rye helps him explore. Rye never had a home, and Charlie helps him make one. Throw in some hot sex, a bunch of adorable cats, and all the secondary characters you met and loved…

She was being as silly as Laura. Dorothy frowned as she placed the hat on her head for what felt like the hundredth time, tilting it ever so slightly to the left. It wasn’t as if she were about to meet the president. All she was doing was going for a walk. There was no reason to fuss so much over her appearance. Today was the fourth day since Brandon Holloway had come to Mesquite Springs, and it seemed that both he and Laura had fallen into a routine. Each day Brandon came to Polly’s Place for his midday meal. Each day Laura kept peeking out the kitchen door, almost as if she didn’t trust Dorothy to tell her when he arrived. And when he did, she insisted on taking Brandon’s meal to him, returning to the kitchen with the same report: there was no question about it; he was the man she was meant to marry. Finally satisfied with the angle of the hat, Dorothy secured it with two of her prettiest hatpins, then descended the stairs. Once a quick look confirmed that nothing in the kitchen needed her attention, she opened the back door and stepped out into…