Summer is here, and what better way to celebrate but with a new eye-catching series in a completely different format than what we in the cozy genre are used to. Is there romance? Of course. Is there mystery? Absolutely, and the combination in bestselling author Diane Kelly’s new series is as fresh as sipping ice tea by the pool. Diane has taken the cozy genre and added a bold new twist that I adore. Check out her brilliant new angle to a feel-good genre. *** Kym: Welcome to the Cozy Corner, Diane! Diane: Thanks so much for inviting me! It’s always fun to connect with other book people, and especially to talk about the mysteries we love. I love the premise for your new Busted series featuring female motorcycle cops in various small towns across the country. What inspired the transamerican format instead of one small town? Will we see any female Canadian Mounties or a British Bobbies from across the pond? When I wrote Busted, I envisioned it as a stand-alone. I considered it equal parts romance/women’s fiction and mystery, and hadn’t really thought about making it a series since most romances/women’s fiction are stand-alone books. But after publishing it and getting…

Hi, Julie! Thanks for stopping by Fresh Fiction. Please tell us about yourself and your new book, THE LAST FLIGHT. Thanks for having me! THE LAST FLIGHT is the story of two women, both desperate to escape their lives. A chance encounter in an airport bar presents the two women with a crazy solution: switch plane tickets, then drop off the grid when they land. But one woman will never reach her destination. On the surface, both Claire and Eva have led inspired lives. Claire is a socialite and married into a powerful pollical family, but there are painful secrets she’s tired of hiding. Eva was raised in the foster system, and had a pretty good life going until she met the wrong guy. Even though their lives are different, they are quite similar in many aspects. . . How did you develop these two women while writing THE LAST FLIGHT? It took a lot of brainstorming, drafting, and revising to fully flesh these two women out. I wanted to make sure they were fundamentally different, and yet I wanted the core of them to be the same–two women, each fighting to get the life she wants. It took me about two years…

My new release Wrong Bed, Right Brother is a sexy rom-com about a gamer girl who falls into bed not with the co-worker she’s been crushing on for years—but with his twin brother. It’s fun, heartfelt, trope-tastic, and I hope it leaves you smiling! W is for Wrong bed mixup. That’s where it all goes wrong (or so right!) R is for Running. Noah is a running coach who works his heart out. O is for Orgasms. So many of them. Yes! N is for Never giving up. These two work hard for each other and for their HEA. G is for Gamer. Amanda is a video game designer full of creativity. * B is for Best friends. Amanda is BFFs with Noah’s brother and has a strong group of women friends to rely on. Everyone needs a community, not just their one significant other. E is for Electric. Noah and Amanda have so much chemistry, as soon as they touch, the sparks start flying! D is for Dreams. These two have big dreams, in their careers and in life, and they help each other achieve them. * R is for Risks. Love is a risk. Noah and Amanda take…

Wow, what an incredible week of fabulous books by wonderful authors, awesome giveaways, and great giveaways! Our Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup wraps up today with DESSERT! We’ll also learn more about Michelle Hazen’s BREATHE THE SKY, set in the Mojave Desert. Don’t forget—you can catch up on this week’s recipe roundup at the links below, and have chances to win books by commenting on those posts, too. Thank you for following along all week! We’ll be back with another recipe roundup in the Fall! Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Day 2, a main course with Dylann Crush: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10709 Day 3, a side dish with Elise Hooper: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10710 Day 4, a bread recipe with Vanessa Riley: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10711 Day 5, a dessert with Michelle Hazen: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10712 *** In BREATHE THE SKY, Mari is a wildlife biologist, taking jobs deep in the Mohave Desert to hide from an ex-husband who won’t take divorce for an answer. She keeps to herself, scooping endangered species out of harm’s way on construction sites. Until she gets assigned to Jack Wyatt, the grouchy construction foreman who is the terror of all the other biologists. But he meets his match in Mari–the soft-spoken biologist won’t…

Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley 2020 has been a difficult year–a global pandemic, economic turmoil, and racial injustice finally being called out. . . Discussions about how to move forward are hard to comprehend, let alone actually have. As a social worker, I am in a position to see and hear about these issues firsthand, and there is much more work to be done. While I find myself scrolling through news posts and continuing to work through the things I want to improve on, I turn to my favorite way to find solace during difficult times–books. Urban fantasy and dark fantasy may not be the genres for everyone during all of this, but for me, escaping to a different world is a welcome distraction for a little while. Thankfully, there are a plethora of phenomenal books out there to keep me entertained! DEVOLUTION by Max Brooks is one heck of a scary thriller, particularly when read during this quarantine, and I can guarantee you’ll think twice about all those modern conveniences we take for granted (looking at you, Amazon one-click shopping, lol). Mt. Rainier has erupted, and the tiny ecological experimental town, Greenloop, is now cut off from the rest of…

Hi, Abigail! Welcome back to Fresh Fiction. Please tell us about your latest book, BAIT N’ WITCH. Thank you so much for having me back. I always love to visit with Fresh Fiction! 🙂   Can you give our readers a “primer” of your paranormal world? Do you find creating supernatural settings difficult or easy? My paranormal world is set in the real world, but technically apart. They don’t interact with humans unless they have to, and humans don’t know of the existence of these supernatural creatures. While the dragon shifters are the focus of my Inferno Rising & Fire’s Edge series, in Brimstone Inc., we get to see other paranormal creatures in the same world and what’s going on with them. World building is one of my favorite parts of writing paranormal romance. Thinking of the powers and the world in which they would exist. Thinking of how they’d interact with others. Which would be dangerous, which benevolent, all the possibilities. It’s the best time!     What do you think people love about paranormal romance? What do you love about writing it? I can only say what I love personally. I love the escape. The real world sometimes is just a…

The Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup continues with another scrumptious recipe! Today, Vanessa Riley shares an amazing coconut bread recipes, which is also featured in her new historical romance, A DUKE, THE LADY, AND A BABY. And check out our earlier recipes from earlier this week: Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Day 2, a main course with Dylann Crush: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10709 Day 3, a side dish with Elise Hooper: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10710 Vanessa Riley here, Patience Jordan is the fierce heroine of A Duke, The Lady, And A Baby. As the newest recruit to the Widow’s Grace, she’s undercover in her old house, trying to find evidence of the plot which caused her husband’s death and restore her custody of her infant son, Lionel. The Duke of Repington has command of her house and dictated the care of her son, his new ward. The handsome man demands order but from Nanny Patience, but she quick to discover his secrets. To protect Lionel from his late cousin’s conspiracy, the wily duke has filled Patience’s home with soldiers, wounded warriors recovering from the Peninsula War. To keep the peace, Patience bakes Coconut Bread. If the boys are good and put away their canons…

Hi, Chanel! Welcome to Fresh Fiction! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, THE LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST. Thank you so much for having me! I write historical fiction that focuses on women’s stories throughout history. My first two historical fiction releases, Next Year in Havana and When We Left Cuba, were largely inspired by my Cuban heritage and my family’s love for their homeland. My new book, The Last Train to Key West, is set decades earlier in 1935 when the Labor Day Hurricane struck the Florida Keys. The Last Train to Key West follows three heroines as their paths cross in unexpected and dangerous ways, and readers of my earlier books will recognize a familiar last name as I follow Beatriz and Elisa’s aunt through history. I love the different formats you’ve used for setting the scene of the historical stories you’ve told so far. In Next Year in Havana there were dual timelines, When We Left Cuba was set entirely in the past from one point of view, and in THE LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST there are three women’s stories set over Labor Day Weekend in Key West.  How do you decide to…

Last month we looked at lives impacted by World War I.  This month we’ll continue reading about the extraordinary feats and stoic acts of heroism men and women find themselves capable of when tested by the cataclysm that was World War II—a fitting topic as our world continues to battle an invisible modern-day enemy. Not all the heroics happen in desperate clashes between uniformed soldiers.  Jennifer Ryan’s THE CHILBURY LADIES’ CHOIR shows us the increasing strain of worry and scarcity in a small village on the English home front.  When the men of Chilbury go off to war, the vicar suggests that the church choir, stripped of its male voices, suspend operation.  Instead, several forthright ladies decide they will “carry on singing” as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.  Presented through letters and diary entries, the author follows the lives and struggles of the choir’s members, including an agonized widow whose only son goes off to war; a flirtatious teenager drawn to a mysterious artist, a refugee hiding secrets, and the choir director who inspires them.  Intrigue, heartbreak, and courage carry the ladies of this small town through these dangerous and desperate days. From England, we switch to Norway in UNDER DARKENING…

Today, we are pleased to share a delectable side dish in today’s BBQ Recipe Roundup from historical fiction novelist Elise Hooper. Her fascinating new novel, FAST GIRLS, is based on the true story of three women who competed during the 1936 Olympics. Remember: the recipe roundup is all week, so come back tomorrow and catch up on the earlier posts, too: Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Day 2, a main course with Dylann Crush: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10709 Fast Girls is historical fiction inspired by three pioneering real-life women track champions of the 1930s. In the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything. Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team. From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but…