Chapter 1 The police didn’t believe me. A jury wouldn’t have, either, if I’d gone on trial, and most definitely not the judge. My attorney had more than a few reservations about my story. Ms. Allerton hadn’t said as much. She didn’t need to. I saw it in her eyes, could tell by the way she shuffled and reshuffled her papers, as if doing so might shake my lies clean off the pages, leaving only the truth behind in her inky, royal blue swirls. After our first meeting I’d concluded she must’ve known early on–before she shook my hand with her icy fingers–that I was a liar. Before she’d walked into the room in shiny, four-inch heels, she’d no doubt decided she’d heard my excuses, or a variation thereof, from countless clients already. I was yet another person claiming to be innocent. Another criminal who’d remained adamant they’d done nothing wrong, it wasn’t their fault, honest, despite the overwhelming amount of evidence to the contrary, a wall of impending doom surrounding me. And still, at the time I’d believed the only reason Ms. Allerton had taken on my case pro bono was because of the amount of publicity it gave…

Jen: What inspired you to write The House on Fripp Island? Rebecca: The House on Fripp Island began as a challenge I set for myself to see if I could write something with a straightforward question (as introduced in the prologue), sustain interest in this question for an entire book, and accomplish interesting work with character development inside of this construct. I began with an ensemble cast in which I didn’t know whose personal arc would end up taking precedence, or providing the key to the mystery. Attempting something new with plot was really illuminating to me, craft-wise; I learned what aspects of storytelling tend to trip me up or send me spiraling in a wrong direction, and how to rein them in. Fripp Island is a beautiful place. (My family spent a week there last summer!) Why did you choose to set the story on the island? It is beautiful – lucky you! My mother-in-law has roots in South Carolina, and an aunt who owned a home on the island. That home is no longer in the family, but Fripp has remained a favorite family destination for her, and into my husband’s growing up years as well. We spent…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? Pirate’s Persuasion 2–What is it about? An immortal pirate is haunted by the loss of his nephew 200 years ago, but when the ghost of his nephew communicates with a local medium, Drake and Heather discover there is more than a ghost bringing them together. 3–What word best describes your heroine? Unique 4–What makes your hero irresistible? His loyalty and honor 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? Agent Bale at Dept. 13 and One-Eyed Bob the immortal pirate cook  6–What do you love about the setting of your book? It takes place in modern-day Savannah Georgia. It’s such a gorgeous, haunted city with so many stories! I love it there! 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)? Pantser 8–What is an ideal writing day for you? As long as I have my playlist and headphones I can write anywhere. 9–Do you listen to music while you write, need total silence, or do you have the TV on? Playlist for every book. 10– How do you approach research? I usually do most of my research at the…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Ian! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your latest sci-fi novel, ALIEN SECRETS. Well, I’m Ian Douglas, also known as William H. Keith, H. Jay Riker, and a few other names. Alien Secrets is the first book in the Solar Warden series.  Solar Warden, in real life, is a conspiracy theory about a top secret US government program of the same name, involving our government back-engineering crashed flying saucers, trading abductees for advanced technology, working with various alien species, and keeping it all hidden from the public. This is the first book in your new series, Solar Warden. What do you enjoy about starting a new series? What will readers find within the world you’ve built in ALIEN SECRETS? Unlike much of my SF writing, the Solar Warden series is set pretty much in the present day. While I get to imagine the various alien technologies available, I can also reference recent world events without having the characters think of them as ancient history.    There’s quite a bit of history throughout ALIEN SECRETS. Did you initially intend for this? Where did the idea come from? I’m a history buff anyway, and much of the current conspiracy…

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 Renee Dahlia! Writes: Renee writes romances featuring women who seek personal success and stumble across love. Some of her books are historical, some are contemporary, and nearly all of them feature LGBTIQ+ characters. In Her Lady’s Honor, WWI veterinarian Nell agrees to deliver her boss’s horse to his home in Wales because she doesn’t know what else to do with her life now the war is over. When her boss’s wife dies in mysterious circumstances, she stays to help her boss’s daughter, Beatrice, figure out what happened. Beatrice has a big heart and reminds Nell about what is important. Love, family, and that money can’t solve all your problems, although it certainly helps. About: Book loving author, who is really just a reader who writes to satisfy her creativity, seeks other readers who want to squeal about their favourite authors, argue over why secret baby is the worst trope (or is it misunderstandings/miscommunication?), and who love a little mystery with their…

All right, let’s talk first loves. No, I don’t mean that sexy bad boy from school. I’m talking about the paper kind. Those first, unforgettable books that were your introduction–your gateway drug, if you will–into the wonderful world of Romance. Was it that illicit stash of Harlequins you discovered at your grandma’s house? The dog-eared bodice-ripper you reluctantly started because it was the only book in the vacation rental that wasn’t by Stephen King? Whatever it was, it changed your life for the better. I was, I admit, a latecomer to romance. I’d studied ‘Serious, Proper Literature’ at University–which generally meant books written by men. I’d read everything from Chaucer to James Joyce, Shakespeare to Kafka. And I’d noticed how few of the women in those ‘classics’ ever achieved success or received any pleasure. If they did, they were usually punished, or ended up dead. I clung, ever hopeful, to the sparsest of romantic threads, but ended up shouting at my paperbacks instead; “Forget the train station, Anna Karenina! Run off with Vronsky and bloody well live happily ever after.” “Step away from the poison, Madame Bovary, he’s not worth it!” Don’t even get me started on Tess of the…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch 2–What is it about? The heroine, Pansy, is on a quest to become Chief of Police to honor her father’s memory, but her attraction to the new bad boy in town complicates things… 3–What word best describes your heroine? Pansy is very good. It’s important to her to honor her father’s memory and to do right by the town of Gold Valley. She’s also afraid of her own wild impulses, which West brings out in her.  4–What makes your hero irresistible? He’s a bad boy who is also a good man.  5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? West is learning the concept of family and connecting with half-brothers he only recently met, and he’s starting to turn to them for advice. Pansy is very close to her siblings. When their parents died, they took care of each other. She confides in her sisters, and in her older brother.  6–What do you love about the setting of your book? I always love returning to Gold Valley. I love the old west feel of the town and the mountainous terrain that surrounds…

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 VIV ROYCE!  Writes: heartwarming, super sweet smalltown romance about shopkeepers finding love when they least expect it. About: Dog lover – Stationery fan – Chocolate in one hand, cheese in the other – Pride and Prejudice adaptation with Colin Firth is the best ever made (the long look scene!!) What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: A reader who loves: that smalltown vibe where everyone cares for each other (and little old ladies are in matchmaking mode!) swoon-worthy heroes, relatable heroines, real relationship obstacles and a happy ending shop settings you wish you could visit in real life to sample chocolates, browse books or find an antique treasure yummy food (my characters often discuss things over delicious pie, ice cream or pancakes) books that can be read as standalone, but are even better read as series, with previous main characters making appearances and recurring side characters forming a community you’d love to be a part of! What to expect if…

Writing this book was especially fun for me because I pretty much grew up on the back of the sweetest little barrel racer, a quarter horse mare named Duchess. So I really identified with my heroine, Amanda, and her love for her barrel racers. And just like Amanda, I found myself eating dirt a time or two. Before I fully comprehended that most barrel racers have two speeds–full stop and eye-watering gallop–I once found myself hanging upside down and fully stuck on a barbed wire fence after flying over my horse’s head. Thankfully, I wasn’t hurt at all, but I also learned the perils of wearing a puffy coat while riding a barrel racer that day, because I hung stuck there until a neighbor happened by and peeled me off. While competing at the level Amanda does in Wrangling the Cowboy’s Heart is pure fantasy for me, as is the dream ranch and the hunky cowboy, I do enjoy watching rodeo events such as barrel racing–and bull riding, of course–whenever I can. I am also excited to have the chance to give away a copy of my first book in the Rodeo Romeos series, The Bull Rider’s Second Chance, as…

I think it’s safe to say that a swoon-worthy hero, the ever-elusive book boyfriend, is what makes a good book great.  As a reader, I’m always chasing this man. To me, he’s like the unicorn of the contemporary romance world. They come in many forms. We have the nice guys, alpaholes, daddies, and Dominants, mob bosses, to name just a few. What’s swoon-worthy for one reader might not cut it for another. For example, I tend to prefer the nice guy to the alphahole, but nice guys and alphaholes can share many things in common. I’ve written a three-book series. The heroes are all different, but they each possessive some of the same attributes that make me swoon. I’ve been reading romance way before I started writing, and it’s all about the hero for me. Yes, I love a strong, feisty heroine, but I read to find a book boyfriend, and now that I’m a writer, I can mold and shape my hero to meet my book boyfriend criteria. Here are the five things that make me fall in love with a fictional character, whether a nice guy or not. POSSESSIVENESS – A hero who knows what he wants and…