1–What is the title of your latest release? ACTIVE DEFENSE 2–What is it about? As a former field surgeon in Afghanistan, Heather Fontaine is used to life-or-death situations. She just didn’t expect them to follow her home. When she returns from a party to find that someone has broken into her house–and threatened her friends–she assumes it is the stalker who has been following her and creeping her out. She hopes to find safety and peace of mind by leaving the city and hiding out in a small town. But trouble has followed her even there. Luckily, a stalker isn’t the only one watching Heather. Travis Walker has been secretly watching out for her for weeks. As owner of his own security agency, it’s what he does. Together, Travis and Heather must figure out who wants her dead–and why–before it’s too late. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love that it’s set in the city where I grew up–which is great because I know the “lay of the land” so to speak. 🙂  4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  Heather was a complete surprise, to be honest. When she appeared in the other two…

from Anne-Lise Briard RUE DES MORILLONS, PARIS, APRIL 25TH, 2016 Dear Madam or Sir, I am sending you this package very late, please forgive me. After discovering it in room 128, someone else would have immediately handed it over to the reception of the Beau Rivage Hotel; nevertheless, if you were to ask those who know me, they’d tell you just how lazy I can be in my daily life. So don’t take this postponement to mean that I don’t like your book. Not at all. I will even admit to you: I read it. I had just opened the nightstand to the right of the double bed, which as it happens was quite comfortable, when I was delighted to find the distraction you provided me. You see, I had forgotten to bring a novel to keep me company this weekend on the shore of the Iroise Sea . . . Since I can’t fall asleep without first reading a few pages, I become very annoying when I’m deprived of the pleasure. Thanks to you, my husband didn’t have to deal with my rotten mood. Anyway, it was on page 156 that I found—between two chapters—the address to where I’m…

I set CROWN OF BONES in a fantasy world where Bone Throwers decide every child’s fate, determining if they are savant, those who can raise their phantom, non-savant, those who cannot, or marred, those who are sacrificed to the sea. It’s epic in scope yet written with a contemporary YA voice and feel. In the pages, you will quickly meet the three main characters: Marcus, the troubled Heir to the throne, Ash, his best friend, the non-savant wordsmith, and Kaylin, an enigma I cannot say more of yet. What I can reveal is that I am, in truth, a Bone Thrower, and those fight scenes are authentic as well, choreographed from my experience in Iaido and the insights from my martial arts trained son. I hope you enjoy the danger, romance and adventure! * C is for Contrast, the play of opposites attracting each other, night and day, land and sea, sun and moon, right and wrong… Ash and Kaylin. R is for Rapture. The passion and intensity the characters feel, whether for each other, their goals or a long-awaited first kiss, forms a powerful current the readers will ride from beginning to end. O is for Outspokenness, a quality…

“It’s been a long time, Melody.” He was giving her that look. The one that used to have her tearing her clothes off in seconds. “Don’t call me that and don’t look at me that way.” She took a step closer to him only because she needed to get control of this situation. It was imperative that she prove she could handle being in this space with him at this moment. “You made me lose him. You, of all people, know that time is money.” “What’s the bounty?” His calm demeanor still infuriated her. They’d just killed seven vampires and who knows how many more downstairs and he was standing there talking like they’d just met up by chance on the street. She had no idea why he was here, nor did she care. He obviously had his job and she had hers. More impor­tantly, at this moment, she had to get a grip, to still that incessant churning in the pit of her stomach that hadn’t stopped since the last time she’d seen him. “I knew my target was here and then you barged in and I lost him.” “How much, Mel? What’s the price for you to bring…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Amanda! Congrats on the release of THE EVER AFTER! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?    I love all kinds of mythologies and stories, and I spend most of my free time reading fantasy and horror. I live in Minnesota, with my family and a bunch of pets, and I love writing books.   For our readers who aren’t caught up with the entire Omte Origins series, can you give us an overview of it and how it fits in with your Trylle trilogy?  The Omte Origins is set in a universe where trolls exist, living hidden among humans, but they aren’t exactly the typical depictions. They have incredible powers, but live in a very structured fantasy world.   The first trilogy Trylle follows Wendy, who discovers she was switched at birth and returns to take her place as the heir to a kingdom. The second trilogy the Kanin Chronicles builds on that, with Bryn – an aspiring guard – who uncovers a plot to overthrow kingdom and does all she can to save it.   The Omte origins is the final trilogy, and it’s led by abandoned orphan Ulla searching for her birth parents and her place in the vast troll world.   Your main…

We love our reviewers and hope you enjoy getting to know them in our Fresh Fiction Reviewer Spotlights! Come back through the end of the month to meet the wonderful people who read and review for our site.  Your Name Carol Pennington How long have you been a Fresh Fiction reviewer? 5 months What are your favorite genres to read and review? Clean Romance, historical fiction, fantasy, mystery What are your TOP 3-5 Books of 2020? The Daughters of Foxcote Manor by Eve Chase The Lost Lieutenant by Eve Vestch What do you like to do outside of reading? RV-ing, Quilting What are some of your holiday traditions? Very non-traditional What are your reading resolutions/intentions/goals for 2021? Read at least 100 books What do you love about being a Fresh Fiction Book Reviewer? Ability to review books by known authors If you’re comfortable, please share a photo so our readers can see your faces!  

We are thrilled to share the cover for Jeffe Kennedy’s new book, THE GOLDEN GRYPHON AND THE BEAR PRINCE, available on January 25th. It’s a brand new fantasy romance, the start of her highly anticipated Heirs of Magic series, and sounds absolutely enthralling! *** Follows The Long Night of the Crystalline Moon in the UNDER A WINTER SKY fantasy holiday anthology. A Legacy of Honor Crown Prince Astar has only ever wanted to do the right thing: be a credit to his late-father’s legacy, live up to his duties as heir to the High Throne of the Thirteen Kingdoms, and cleave to the principles of honor and integrity that give his life structure—and that contain the ferocious grizzly bear inside. Nowhere in those guiding principles is there room for the fierce-hearted, wildly free-spirited, and dizzyingly beautiful shapeshifter, Zephyr. Still, even though they’ve been friends most of their lives, Astar is able to keep Zephyr safely at arm’s length. He’s already received a list of potential princess brides who will make a suitable queen, and Zephyr is not on it. A Longtime Obsession Zeph has wanted the gorgeous, charming, and too-good-for-his-own-good Astar for as long as she can remember. Not that her…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Tidewater Bride 2–What is it about? A young woman who is the head matchmaker for a 1634 Virginia colony yet lacks her own match. Selah Hopewell is tasked with bringing ‘Tobacco Brides’ to the male-dominated New World but she never realizes by doing so she is arranging her own nuptials.  3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Early Virginia is an explosion of all the things that make pages turn – a brave New World, handsome tobacco planters, treacherous politics, precious few women, ships, Indians, and the accompanying tumult that settling a new nation brings.  4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  Sometimes they did things I wasn’t expecting, taking a scene in a direction I hadn’t thought of or anticipated. The mystery of creating! There’s even a bit of humor within.  5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  Their faults and foibles became very apparent to me. We all have them and characters should have them, too. Pride and false assumptions play a large part in this story, as troubling then as now.  6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  Keeping…

What am I thinking? He had spent most of yesterday rehashing all the poor choices he’d made in life, and today he’d made two more spectacularly bad decisions: the first to crash Pooja’s wedding, and the second to get involved with Divya’s escape. Last night he’d been at his condo in Los Angeles, unable to sleep. He barely recognized the furniture in the place, let alone remembered how to operate the overly complicated coffee machine. He owned a condo in every major city where he had to spend time for his business. He was tired of hotel rooms, yet none of these condos was home. The closest he’d come to feeling grounded was living with Pooja for three months. But when he’d been with Pooja, all he’d been able to think about was all the things that didn’t work in their relationship. After she’d left, he’d been unable to stop thinking about how great things could’ve been between them. He’d woken up in a cold sweat this morning, wondering whether he’d die alone in one of his ubiquitous condos. Living on his airplane, jetting from city to city was getting old. He wanted a place where he belonged; he wanted…

TO WHATEVER END is a contemporary love story with a small paranormal twist: What happens when you’ve found the one only for the future to show he dies in your arms? Quinn Easterly is cursed. With one touch, she can see the end to someone’s life. Everyday deaths, and ones that haunt her in her daydreams. Ones that have always proven impossible to prevent. She has finally learned to go about life as usual until she meets Griffin. With one touch, she sees a death she simply cannot ignore. Not this time. Not when, dying in her arms, he whispers three simple words that change everything. Even if Quinn can’t change the future, can’t save him, she at least has to try. Even if it means taking the bullet meant for him. T is for time: something that is quickly running out for Griffin and Quinn. O is for Ohio: the story is set in Dayton, Ohio. * W is for who: who’s behind Griffin’s fated death? H is for how: how will Quinn break her unbreakable family curse? A is for arrows: on a whimsical outing, Griffin has Quinn draw chalk arrows on the sidewalk, leading to… (You’ll have…