Aubrey leaned back against the side of the boat, working to loosen her hands while her captor steered the boat through the narrow inlet. Her head pounded, and she’d sliced her leg on something, but at least she was still alive. She couldn’t say that about Papps. If his family hadn’t found him by now, she knew he would have already bled out. A sick feeling snaked through her as her mind continued to replay what had happened and what she could have done differently. But they’d been ambushed by a sniper. She’d done what she’d been trained to do—­try and neutralize the threat. Having failed that, the only thing she could do now was pray that Papps’s sons had heard her scream. But her captor had timed his dirty deed well. Duck hunting wasn’t like deer hunting, which was more of a solitary pursuit. And for the McKenna family, it had always been a social event. It had been the same every year for as long as she could remember. She knew exactly what had been going on at the blind. Until the birds landed, there would be no shortage of conversation. They’d watch the sunrise break through the…

Our first foster dog came into our home at an embarrassingly late stage in my dog training career. I’d been talking and writing about fostering for years but hadn’t made the leap to actually doing it for reasons (excuses?) that might sound familiar to you; I was busy, my resident dogs might not enjoy it, and I’d have a hard time saying goodbye to my new best friend. But when the heartbreaking photos of dogs in need on my feed got to be too much for me, I finally decided it was time to stop talking and start doing. We welcomed an adorable pitbull named Freddy and that dude helped us kick off our fostering journey. Since then my husband and I have gone on to foster a bunch of other dogs with more on the horizon. My initial concerns about fostering didn’t really matter when I saw the happy endings that happened once our fosters found their forevers. There are so many compelling reasons why fostering is important, but the following are a few of my favorites. Fostering Saves Two Lives Any time you bring in a foster you’re saving an additional life along with the temporary one under…

Since the  Lamaze class  I  scheduled was in  Jersey,  my sister insisted I stay the night at her place. My phone buzzed with an incoming text just as Sapphire pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. Max: I’m in my apartment and ready to go! “Speak of the devil?” Sapphire asked as she parked the car “Yeah.”  I  got out of the car and could feel her eyes drilling into my back as I texted him. Me: Heading in now. Call you in a few minutes. Avoiding  Sapphire’s scrutiny,  I  walked purposefully toward the main entrance. Unsurprisingly,  my sister followed close behind me.  “Jade.” “What?” “You know how  I  feel about your work and having no life. I want you to be happy. You really can’t blame me for being your voice of reason.” “No,  I  can’t  blame  you  for  being  you.”  When she grinned,  I  leaned in and kissed her cheek. My sister had always been extremely protective of me and brutally honest with her opinions, and clearly she was #TeamMax. A  few minutes later,  Nurse  Gail addressed the class.  Introductions were made, and we were all given name tags to wear.  I  waited until our instructor said, …

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Sarah! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, RUTHLESS. Hello!  Thanks for having me!!  I started off my career writing for television (and still do!), so my prose tends to be fast-paced and dialogue-heavy.  RUTHLESS is the third book in my EYE OF THE BEHOLDER trilogy, about a seemingly idyllic future society where good people are rewarded and bad ones punished… “good deeds” make you more beautiful, while “bad” ones lead to deformity and death.  By the time we get to the third book, our main character, Grace, has learned the truth about her world, and she’s on a mission to set things right.  Although, “setting things right” is more complicated than it seems, just like in real life – and that’s a lot of what this series is about, that nothing is black and white. RUTHLESS marks the end of your Eye of the Beholder trilogy. What have you loved the most about creating these books? Is it bittersweet for this series to come to an end? I’m really excited for this full trilogy to be out in the world!  Though RUTHLESS was the hardest book I’ve ever written, I’m really proud of…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  FURY UNLEASHED, the first book in the Forgotten Brotherhood series. 2–What is it about? The Forgotten Brotherhood are a group of paranormal assassins. They aren’t the monsters lurking under the bed. They’re the ones that kill them. Maccus Fury is a fallen angel and their leader. Now Lucifer has sent Morrigan Quill, one of Hell’s bounty hunters after him. This is not your ordinary love story. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  In this series? Badass. 4–What makes your hero irresistible? Maccus is the type to kill first and ask questions later. He’s dangerous, cynical, and trusts no one. How can you not love him? 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? No one. As a fallen angel who has spent time in Hell, Maccus trusts no one, not even the members of the Brotherhood. He expects betrayal, so he’s never disappointed when it happens. Morrigan signed a contract with Lucifer to save her sister. The life she once knew is gone, and she can’t afford to trust anyone. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? New York City is the perfect playground for…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Nghi! Please tell us about yourself and your debut novella, THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE. So I spent a good many years thinking I couldn’t write novels, and that I would always love writing short stories best. Then the Tor call came for novellas, and it suddenly struck me, hey, 20,000 to 40,000 words, I know what that looks like! I can do that!  With respectable parameters and a deadline, I wrote The Empress of Salt and Fortune in about a month. I feel like this says something about me, and I’m still not sure if it’s good or bad. The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a story about memory and love. There’s a lot of fear and fury in it, a lot of terrible things that happen to the people who least deserve them, and there is a victory at the end, but yeah, mostly it’s about the people we remember, how we love them while they’re here, and how we love them after they’re gone. It’s also got talking birds, fried morel mushrooms, war mammoths, and a ton of fortunetelling, as well! The Empress In-yo has gone through great lengths to keep…

I don’t have to convince anyone that these are strange times. On the one hand, book review websites like Fresh Fiction can function as normal–I already work from home! I can access review copies digitally! The internet never sleeps!–but on the other, I’m barraged with news notifications, mortified at the misinformation being shared as fact, and I’m just all around distracted and worried.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve found comfort in books. Everywhere I went, I had at least one book, often more, with me. Now I can carry many books around, be it a small paperback, on my eReader, or on my phone. I find when I’m anxious or worked up over something – and let’s face it, there’s a lot to be worried about right – I turn to books for solace and peace of mind. My favorite way to do this is through re-reading. Sometimes full books, sometimes just a scene or two, but going back to the books and authors that make me happy has been a surefire way to calm me down, cheer me up, and let my mind escape. Here are some of my favorite re-reads and why: Born in Fire…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-ReaderMatch” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present USA Today bestselling author Christi Barth! Writes: I’ve written over thirty smart & sassy rom-coms. What do they all have in common? They’re heavy on friendships, bromance, banter, flirting and swoony, big romantic gestures. My Sexy Misadventures of Royals series kicked off with an average American woman who discovered she was a missing European princess. Kelsey didn’t want to be a princess and leave her life behind. Fitting in to a new country—and a new family—was only survivable by, well, falling for her bodyguard. Ruling The Princess is the next book in the series (stand-alone, I promise!). Princess Genevieve is blindsided when her royal purse strings are cut. Lord Theo is thrilled with the opportunity to get revenge on the royally spoiled princess. They only stop fighting when he kisses her… About: Ridiculously happily married author seeks a reader who enjoys snappy banter that’ll make you snort-laugh your wine, over-the-top romance that makes your heart flutter, and doesn’t mind staying up waaaaay past bedtime to finish binging a…

A note from Adriana: I love that I get to finish the Dreamers series with a strong Dominican woman at the center of the story. Of all the characters, Priscilla is the one closest to me and the hardest to write. One of the things that I’ve tried to do with these Dreamers is to have nuanced conversations about the realities of immigrant lives, but without extracting the joys of who we are. Women of Color in fiction sometimes get cheated out of softness, and because we have so much to prove. The paths that we take to follow our dreams sometimes are so riddled with obstacles, we are not allowed to be. And then it can be hard to look for our own soft landing. Priscilla fights hard to stay in control. To feel self-sufficient until little by little Juanpa shows her that she can lean on him without losing herself because he’s done the work of becoming strong enough to be that for a woman like her. I love their story, and I’m so proud that it’s with these two that we say farewell to these Dreamers.   *** Priscilla The smiles and whoops of joy were already…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The name of my latest release is HERS TO TAME. It’s the second book in my NOLA Knights trilogy and features Kir Vasilek (right hand to a powerful Russian vor taking control of New Orleans) and Cassie McClintock (a sassy television news reporter who’s already tangled with Kir a few more times than she thinks she should have). 2–What is it about? HERS TO TAME picks up on a thread introduced in the first book of the series–HIS TO DEFEND. Cassie is a television reporter who’s reaped some serious notice and a promotion at work thanks to some information Kir leaked to her months ago. But work wasn’t all they did together, and the chemistry was off the charts smoking hot. Unfortunately, Cassie didn’t realize Kir was connected to a growing crime family in New Orleans when they first hooked up. As soon as she did, she shut down all communications in an effort to keep her reputation as a reporter squeaky clean. The only problem–her stories seem to be drying up and she still hasn’t shaken how much Kir affected her. When the death of one of Kir’s men brings them back…