1–What is the title of your latest release? THE STOLEN KINGDOM 2–What is it about? For a hundred years, the once-prosperous kingdom of Perin Faye has suffered under the rule of the greedy and power-hungry Thungrave kings. Maralyth Graylaern, a vintner’s daughter, has no idea her hidden magical power is proof of a secret bloodline and claim to the throne. Alac Thungrave, the king’s second son, has always been uncomfortable with his position as the spare heir–and the dark, stolen magic that comes with ruling. When Maralyth becomes embroiled in a plot to murder the royal family and seize the throne, a cat-and-mouse chase ensues in an adventure of dark magic, court intrigue, and forbidden love.  3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love this question, because I love talking about how THE STOLEN KINGDOM came about! Years ago, I wrote THE SEEDS OF PERIN FAYE, my very first, very terrible novel. THE STOLEN KINGDOM is a complete rewrite of THE SEEDS OF PERIN FAYE. The rolling vineyards and secret magic of the original story are dear to my heart and are a huge part of THE STOLEN KINGDOM.  4–How did your main character(s) surprise you? …

Hi, Lexi! Welcome to Fresh Fiction. Please tell us a little bit about yourself!   Thank you for having me! Let’s see, I’m a romance author, I like to line dance, my own hero is a veteran, former fire chief, and current Coast Guardsman. I’m a native of nowhere but live in Florida at the moment. I have two kittens named Bailey and Whiskey. I make my own ice cream every weekend. I always wear a hat. Did I mention I’m a romance author? I’m a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romance inspired by the classics and I now have 30 books out. Yay! The Time Weavers Inc. series is such a fun premise! For readers who aren’t familiar, can you set up the series for us and tell us where A POCKET IN TIME fits in?  Oh, I’d love to! Time Weavers, Inc. (TWI) is basically “Quantum Leap” meets “Charlie’s Angels” meets “X-Men.” 🙂  TWI was created by the mysterious Jules who only communicates telepathically with the agents of TWI. Disruptors have been changing history to the detriment of mankind, so the agents go back in history and basically reset history on its original path. The first book…

So why are Regency romances as popular as ever? Romance readers of all stripes know that a happily-ever-after ending is coming by the last page of any romance they pick up. But historical romance readers want more – they also want the fantasy world that historical romances create. After all, we live in the same world as contemporary romances (international tycoons aside…for most of us, unfortunately). But historicals give us not just the swooning romance but also the fairytale fantasy of escaping the contemporary world. Okay, let’s be honest. For all that historical romance writers do our best to be historically accurate with the details, the overall world we portray in our pages is pure fantasy. The real Regency era was smelly, dirty, disease-ridden, filled with a large amount death and starvation, a dearth of good teeth, and very limited indoor plumbing. Very limited. Even Jane Austen, the original Queen of Regency Romance Novels, avoided this darker side of life, only tangentially including poverty and war into her books, although both were pervasive in real Regency England. What romance readers want, though, isn’t reality; they want the fairytale world of castles (or at least grand country estates), carriages, dashing princes…

Lily reached behind her and held up a Ziploc bag. “I put these aside specially for you.” “Score!” Fist-pumping, Noah jumped off the stool and plucked the bag from her fingers. He then grabbed her waist and started twirling her around the kitchen. “You totally rock!” “Put me down, you idiot, before you injure yourself or me,” Lily laughed breathlessly. “Is this a private party, or can anyone join?” Dante’s tone was mild, but the brittle edge cut through the light-hearted atmosphere like a warm knife through cold butter. He stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable. Lily disentangled herself from Noah and stepped back to the counter, although she had no reason to feel guilty. Dante had no claim on her. Besides, there wasn’t the slightest spark between her and Noah. The man who made her pulse race wasn’t the one whose arms she’d just been in, but the one watching her with a muscle twitching in his jaw. She picked up the squeeze bottle and began icing again. Her hand shook a little, making the white lines of the ‘M’ a little wobbly. Unwilling to show how rattled she was, Lily gritted her teeth and continued with the…

1–What is the title of your latest release? PAWS FOR LOVE 2–What is it about? Danielle is dedicated to finding forever homes for retired greyhound racers and fancies herself something of a matchmaker when it comes to dogs and people. When her high school boyfriend comes back to town after fourteen years in the Marines, Danielle is determined to match him with a perfect dog, but it turns out it’s not the dog who’s his perfect match . . . 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Living in Miami Beach for fourteen years gave me a real appreciation of Art Deco architecture and Mid-Century Modern design. I tried to infuse that love into the Fur Haven dog park series. I also love writing about what it’s like for a regular person like me to live in a place more known for its celebrities and excesses. There’s definitely the glamorous side to life on the Beach, but there are also days when people crowd the beach because there’s a major fish migration happening and if you stand in the water, the fish swim around you. And of course it’s understood that if you see a dolphin, you…

One of the most common questions writers are faced with is: where do you get your ideas? And we usually answer, from everywhere! That’s true, but a little too general. My ideas do come from everything I read, watch, think about and experience. But each different series I write calls for different kinds of ideas. Take, for example, the Merry Muffin Mysteries I write for Beyond the Page Publishing. It is a given that when you own a castle and need to make money for the upkeep, you are bound to think of ways to make a few bucks that include TV and movies. Merry Wynter (Merry Muffin Mysteries – Beyond the Page Publishing) has that dilemma and has solved it a few times with movie shoots of the exterior and interior of her American castle in Western New York State. She and her friend and business partner Pish Lincoln even hosted a ghost hunting show in one memorable instance! But an opera-singing reality TV show? When Opera DivaNation is tossed from the hotel where they are shooting, Pish – as a fundraiser for the Lexington Opera Company, a couple of members of which are judges and mentors 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 Amy Pershing! Writes: I write the Cape Cod Foodie Mysteries, which (obviously) revolve around food and Cape Cod. And murder.  And romance. Or, at least in the first book of the series, A SIDE OF MURDER, it was a romance. Now it’s, well, complicated. It all begins when Samantha Barnes — once an up-and-coming New York chef until an unfortunate YouTube video went viral — retreats home to Cape Cod.  There Sam finds herself dealing with a falling-down house, a ginormous puppy, and a job writing restaurant reviews. Oh, yeah, and a dead body. And the town’s new harbormaster, Jason Captiva.  Who, it turns out, was Sam’s high school crush. . . About: Like Sam, I am a total foodie.  I’ve edited cookbooks, reviewed restaurants, and pretty much eaten my way around the world. I’m also a total fool for love.  Especially first loves.  At 16, I thought my guy was the cutest, smartest, funniest, sexiest guy in the room.  I still do.  For more about me…

1: Sink me! I adore a good caper. And The Scarlet Pimpernel is a GORGEOUS movie and full of hilarious banter. Plus, it features an amazing cast that includes a young Ian McKellen! 2: Emma with Romola Garai is my very favorite version. It is such a treat! Romola plays Emma as fun, feisty, and yet limited by the fact she’s never left home. Also, they do a great job of giving context to the childhoods of supporting characters. A really lovely and fun presentation! 3: Girls are boss! In this very gritty, funny, and pretty true series, Harlots gives Georgian England the full female treatment. I’ve read a lot about Covent Garden and the show holds true to form. This one is not for the light of heart or for those who prefer their love scenes off screen. Produced, directed, and largely acted by women, I love it! So gorgeous! 4: War and Peace sounds really heavy and it is serious, but I could look at the main characters in their fabulous costumes in their fabulous settings all day. It’s a gorgeous trip back into the height of war time 1800s. The balls are out of this world. 5:…

Ava was still daydreaming about her lunch with Hunt and didn’t think to check the rearview mirror before heading home. It wasn’t until she was pulling up into her drive that she caught a glimpse of red and then a car pulling in behind her. When she realized it was Vince, her heart stopped. She had a moment of sheer panic, and then anger washed through her. The fact that he was an utter jerk was no longer in question. He was stalking her and it made her mad. She reached beneath the seat, grabbed the old baton her dad had given her years ago when she began working nights at the hospital in Savannah, and got out with it in her hand. Vince got out, holding up his hands in a joking I-give-up gesture when he saw what she was holding. “There are laws against stalking,” Ava said. Vince took a step toward her, grinning. “Aw, come on, Ava. I’m not stalking you. I just wanted to clear the air. I didn’t mean anything back at the grocery store. I was just surprised to see you and—” “You weren’t surprised. You were looking for me or you wouldn’t be…

There was a swinging door between the kitchen and living room, and Lila blessed it. Which was a switch from earlier, when she’d been carrying boxes and mistimed the swing (“Ow, dammit!”). But now the contrary thing concealed her for a crucial few seconds, and then the guy who kicked in her door came through, and she had the barrel up behind his ear before he was all the way in. “Jeez, you Domino’s guys are persistent,” she hissed. “I told you. I. Don’t. Want. Any. Pizza. Jackass.” “Please. If I was delivering pizza, it’d be Green Mill.” That startled a laugh out of her. She had to give it to him, he didn’t sound rattled in the slightest. And he was distractingly good-looking. Not every guy could pull off a Caesar haircut. Or had eyes the color of forest moss. Forest moss? Time to get laid. Not by this guy, though. Most likely. His looks made up for his clothes: He was wearing scruffy slacks, a shirt he hadn’t bothered buttoning up all the way (which revealed the shoulders and abs of a swimmer, which was even more irritating), he didn’t have a coat, and…was that blood on his…