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 Amanda Cabot! Writes: Historical inspirational romances with more than a dash of danger and suspense to keep readers turning pages. Out of the Embers, the first of the Mesquite Springs trilogy, takes readers to a town in the beautiful Texas Hill Country where a young woman with a tragic past arrives, only to discover that trouble is close behind her. About: Incurably romantic author seeks readers who share her love for heroes and heroines who defy the odds, finding love and happily-ever-after despite danger, betrayal, and the occasional small-town busybody’s meddling. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves stories of heroes and heroines surmounting obstacles to find true love Savors the closeness of small-town life, at least in fiction Doesn’t mind the occasional sleepless night when she has to read “just one more page” Cheers when justice prevails Enjoys the slower pace and different social structure of the nineteenth century Old West Believes that faith is an integral part of life…

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 EVELYN SOLA! Writes: I focus on contemporary romance filled with love, laughs, and drama. My stories tend to be on the lighter side but will pull on your heartstrings. Flirtatious banter, interesting family dynamics, the push and pull between the two lovers are just a few of my trademarks. My debut novel is CRAVE (March, 2nd), a diverse romance about a man who had given up on love until he spots her from across the room. Unfortunately for him, things transpire that evening that sends his lady love running as far and as fast as she can. The chase is on after that! About: New author seeks lover of contemporary romance who appreciates heroines who aren’t afraid to speak up, and a hero who knows exactly what he wants and isn’t afraid to fight for it. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Knows that a hero who swears off love falls the fastest. Has a weakness for smart independent heroines….

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Reese! Please tell us a bit about yourself and your new book, SECRET HEIR SEDUCTION. Thank you so much for having here on Fresh Fiction. I’m a native Ohioan who has been living in Central North Carolina for the past decade. I write sexy, emotional romance served up with a side of family drama and surprising secrets.  SECRET HEIR SEDUCTION is my third contribution to the long-running Texas Cattleman’s Club series. In this story, a fashion mogul discovers his true paternity and newfound siblings, including the matchmaking sister determined to reunite him with his ex – a diamond heiress he split with five years ago. Audra Covington has always lived in the shadow of her parents’ fortune, but she finally has the opportunity to prove herself through her own in-demand jewelry line with high profile clientele. Audra’s drive to succeed on her own is inspiring! What did you love about creating Audra? I love that Audra has a strong sense of self and she’s determined to chart her own path. She is a confident entrepreneur who is making a name for herself and while she loves her parents very much, she’s over trying to please them….

From Chapter Twelve State Route 123 Langley, Virginia Jordan had played her. Talia’s mind spun as her Civic clanked over the flattened hydraulic barriers of Langley’s southern gate. How foolish she’d been. No conversation with Jordan was ever just a conversation. “Leave them wondering how much you know,” Jordan had told her moments before Talia walked into her first mock interrogation back at the Farm. “That’s the key.” The Art of Interrogation–one of Talia’s worst memories from her training despite a syllabus that included Arctic Survival and Sewer Navigation. The memory filled her with regret. “But how?” she had asked Jordan. “Scott won the toss and played interrogator first. He has the advantage.” Talia watched him twiddle his thumbs on the other side of a two-way mirror. “The information is new, but the format is the same. The game favors Player One.” All Farm students spent time on both sides of the table in a two-player game. Each had to extract a set of unique, fictional information from the other. The more information extracted, the higher the score. Talia held up well under Scott’s shouting, but he had gained enough points to take the lead in the class. “Then think…

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 Lee Tobin McClain! Writes: Cottage at the Beach is a place where wounded police officers and their K9 companions come to heal–and find love–in a fictional small town on the Chesapeake Bay. About: Idealistic author seeks readers who want to escape their problems, laugh, cry, and get lost in a sweet, small-town romance. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves dogs, including noble police dogs and goofy, misbehaving puppies Enjoys spending time in small waterfront towns during the off season Swoons over wounded heroes Identifies with courageous, independent heroines Believes milkshakes should be consumed as often as possible What to expect if we’re compatible: Emotional stories that will make you reach for the tissues along the way to a happy ending Kids and dogs to shake things up Small towns full of charming, interfering characters who believe love isn’t just for the young Weather disasters Books you can comfortably share with your teenage daughter, your pastor, or your grandma Fun and freebies…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Kelly! Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your new book, UNDONE. Hi! Thanks so much for having me. I’m the author of ten novels. I write in a few genres – contemporary and historical fiction, as well as contemporary romance. UNDONE happens to be the third book in my Startup in the City series. It’s the story of Jake and Jess – long-time frenemies and some-times lovers, who reunite when they both find themselves on a wedding party… Jess Cohen can run a busy start-up without any issues but being a bridesmaid in her best friend’s wedding is the last thing she wants to do, especially when the groom’s brother just so happens to be the ex-boyfriend she’s never been able to forget… How does Jess’ past keep her from truly moving forward? What did you love about creating this multifaceted heroine? Jess has survived some incredibly difficult things, but make no mistake, she is strong as hell anyway. She’s had to build a wall between her past and her present in order to move on with her life, but her relationship with Jake makes her question whether that wall is working…

Chapter 7 Of Love and Pies “So, Isa, dish out the details. What’s the deal with Diego?” Pippa asks. I shrug and bite into the best fraisier cake I’ve ever had. I chew slowly, hoping they’ll find something else to talk about—something that isn’t “the hot Spaniard.” It’s finally Friday. Week one in Chef Grattard’s kitchen has come and gone and all I have to show for it is a bandaged finger and spoon thirteen sitting at the bottom of the rack. Not exactly what I had in mind. To celebrate this grand accomplishment, Pippa invited us to Pâtisserie Lulu, her favorite spot in Lyon, where we’ve been sitting outside, watching people walk by on the street. The only good thing to came out of this week is my new uncanny ability to memorize Chef Troissant’s instructions. It turns out fear is a great motivator. Take yesterday, for example: she was teaching us about French cheeses and opened a wooden box containing a small wheel of Époisses de Bourgogne. It has a sticky orange rind and a smell reminiscent of sweaty gym socks and filthy barn animals that’s led to it being called the stinker of all cheeses. While everyone…

From Chapter 1 White Night February 1994 Lynwood, Louisiana The bald tires of Frank Daniels’s corroded pickup rolled over a shallow bed of popping gravel and stopped next to two men in pointy hoods. The men huddled together, shifting around an imaginary fire and stomping their feet now and again. Their hoods were for show, not warmth. The other conspirators waited inside the clapboard frame house. Daniels got out of his truck and acknowledged the security detail with a half salute, which was all the formality he could muster given the late hour. With a rocking gait and fixed grin, he waddled up to the house in oversized boots worn to accommodate his swollen feet. The sentinels followed, hoods now in their hands. He wasn’t yet much of a Klansman, not compared to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, but Daniels soon would fix that by leading his own white night. The residents of Lynwood wouldn’t know it right away, but the town’s coming racial reckoning would be the doing of the Klan’s new grand dragon. All revolutions started somewhere, and that Friday evening Lynwood would join Fort Sumter as a cradle of insurrection. He closed the door behind him and…

The world needs more female leaders, that’s for sure. But bringing a strong female leader to life in my latest book Echoes from the Veil wasn’t always easy for me. In this book my half-Fae main character Elizabeth Tanner has to learn how to trust herself and her abilities to lead a Fae rebellion. I didn’t want to write a cliché “kickass female heroine,” though. I wanted readers to see her development, her struggles, and her insecurities. I’ve recently finished Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead and she says that one of the most defining factors of a good leader is being able to lean into vulnerability. It seems a bit counterintuitive in our hyper-competitive, “show no fear” kind of leadership culture, but for Brené Brown, true leadership comes from understanding one’s values, strengths, and weaknesses. It means coming to terms with fundamental truths about who we are, and in order to do that, we must make ourselves vulnerable. In Echoes from the Veil, I wanted readers to experience that journey with my heroine as she struggles to carry the heavy mantle of leader of a resistance movement in the Faerie realm. Because she doubts herself and her abilities, she…

Blake suspected Clay was going to be trouble no matter what they did. Give him a room. Don’t give him a room. But Blake liked that Nicole was willing to allow the guy the opportunity to remain there and do his investigation. Hopefully, Clay would stay out of Nicole’s way. Blake knew Nicole would love to complete the task, and he and his brother and sisters would do anything they could to aid her in finishing it. He thought the world of her for being good-natured enough to be okay with Clay solving the case so she could spend more time with Blake. Besides, staying with her while the guy was here was definitely a good thing. At least he hoped so. He remembered going on a trip with his siblings to Grand Cayman Island once, and Roxie talking to a middle-age couple about why they were there. Was it a honeymoon? Anniversary? She learned the couple had dumped their spouses and were doing a trial vacation in paradise. They were each paying their own way, but this was like a honeymoon before the marriage, if it went that far. Blake wasn’t surprised Roxie would talk to the woman. She…