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 Shannon Stacey! WRITES: More Than Neighbors is the first book in the Blackberry Bay series, about living, laughing, and falling in love in a small New England lake town. ABOUT: Writes fun and lighthearted romance novels, usually while wearing pajamas and drinking too much coffee. Loves going for long walks (but only through bookstores) and having long, meaningful conversations with her two dogs while the cat ignores her. Hobbies include watching too much television, decorating her planner with fun stickers, and pretending that tweeting about TV shows is actually part of her job. WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR IN MY IDEAL READER MATCH: Loves the sparks that fly when two opposites attract Believes you can go home again, and you might just find love when you do Loves children, adorable little dogs, and cranky cats who have no problem letting people know who’s in charge Enjoys meeting new people, especially if they have fresh, small-town gossip Loves to root for a widowed single…

I used to think that dreams were the domain of the young. I assumed that by the time you reached, say, thirty you had everything sorted, you settled down and life got dull. Then I reached thirty and changed my mind… maybe forty was the age? But when I reached forty, that didn’t seem to be the case. Now I’ve found myself on the wrong (or is it the right?) side of fifty… and I’m still looking forward rather than back. This may be because I was a late bloomer. I drifted and I dreamed. Then a nasty, long-term illness jolted me into the realization that life wouldn’t last forever. I was already in my forties by the time I was finally diagnosed and fixed by surgery. The amazing gift of being able to function again gave me the determination I needed to knuckle down. Yet it still took years of harp practice before I could call myself a musician. And my first novel, Ellie And The Harp Maker, was only published last year. Perhaps it is not surprising I chose an older woman for the heroine of my second book, How The Penguins Saved Veronica. So many novels have…

In this scene from Hard Lust, Megan has continued to break countless rules—a no-no in Hell. Aroused by her spunk, Vespar tosses her over his shoulder and carries her to the club’s voyeur area. *** Megan hoped breaking the rules didn’t mean she’d have to face her demons—for real. Working double shifts at Sally Jean’s had almost killed her. Down here, she didn’t have the luxury of checking out permanently, only an eternity without any employee rights, raises, or bonuses. Unless she wanted to count a bite of chocolate every billion years. Or the sex. Vespar bypassed devils and servers humping on equipment she’d never envisioned nor heard about in Story of O, a book she couldn’t bring herself to read. Misogyny in real life was bad enough. Who’d want to revisit the same concept, juiced on steroids, for entertainment? Moans, grunts, and wails competed with the music. Upon climax, the servers and demons they passed wore ecstatic grimaces, each lost in their own world that had taken them far from the ordeals here. Maybe they were on to something. Hell might be hell, but sex with Andros, Racan, and Vespar, three of the hottest demons around, was another matter…

The Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup continues with the main course, provided by contemporary romance author, Dylann Crush and her new book, THE COWBOY SAYS I DO. And don’t forget to check out yesterday’s post. . .  and come back tomorrow for more delicious fun! Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Thanks so much to Fresh Fiction for inviting me to share a little bit about the first book in my new Tying the Knot in Texas series. . .  The Cowboy Says I Do. Like my heroine, Lacey, I grew up in Texas where everything seems bigger, including the cowboys’ appetites. There were plenty of backyard cookouts and gatherings with family and friends. But it was always so hot out that no one wanted to stand in front of a blazing grill. Lacey knows how to throw a party, so when she’s feeding a crowd she likes to toss together a batch of this Perfect Pulled Pork. Not only does it take just a few minutes of prep work, but it can be cooked the night before so a cowgirl doesn’t have to miss out on the party. There’s no such thing as a small get together in…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  TRAP ’N’ TRACE 2–What is it about?  This story is about tracking an elusive killer, and the police can’t find a motive. The only link between the victims is that they were discovered by the same person–Katrina Vandenburg. Kat is a wealthy socialite with a heart of gold. She gives oodles of money to charity every year and has her own charity–the Canine Haven, a rescue shelter that finds good homes for dogs and trains some of them to be service animals. FBI agent Dayne Andrews and his K-9 Remy are drawn into the investigation and wind up protecting Kat. Despite their extremely different backgrounds, the sparks fly between Dayne and Kat. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Caring. Many people often equate wealth with snobbishness, insensitivity, and self-centeredness. Kat is just the opposite of that, and Dayne is surprised to learn just how warm, generous, and caring she really is. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  I just love a strong hunky guy with emotional wounds from his past, and Dayne is no exception. He’s tall, dark, and broody with amazing green eyes, and he’s got a soft spot for Kat. Although it…

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 Cindi Myers! Writes: Fast-paced, emotionally intense romantic suspense. Running Out of Time is the fourth book in Harlequin Intrigue’s Tactical Crime Division miniseries and features two agents undercover in a small town on the trail of a poisoner and a bomber. About: A homebody author with a taste for adventurous reads seeks readers willing to share the adventure and the search for true love. I enjoy smart characters who engage in fast-paced banter and flirt with intense sexual tension, all while testing their mettle hunting down dangerous criminals. I like chocolate, books, knitting, cooking and dogs. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Must love reformed bad boys who aren’t afraid to risk everything for love. Can relate to smart heroines who still have a thing or two to learn about relationships. Enjoys barbecue dinners, dancing to country music in a bar by the lake, and staking out a suspect on a long summer night. Believes in happily ever…

We’re excited to bring you the Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup! Join us all week for great books, awesome authors, and delicious recipes to create the perfect BBQ menu! Read on for our first recipe, shared by Lynn Austin, and learn more about her new inspirational historical novel, IF I WERE YOU. And be sure to come back the rest of the week for more fun and book giveaways! My newest novel, If I Were You, begins in the summer of 1950. Audrey Barrett has endured the devastating bombing Blitz in London during World War II. She has fallen in love and married an American soldier who was stationed in England. And now she has moved to the US as a British war bride. She lives in one of the thousands of postwar bungalows that sprang up in new neighborhoods all over America after the war. As chapter one begins, Audrey and her four-year-old son, Robbie, are enjoying a swim in the backyard pool. Then–surprise! A woman claiming to be the real Audrey Barrett rings the doorbell, holding her four-year-old son, Bobby, by the hand. The two Audreys know each other. They were best friends until they parted ways in England four…

from SISTERS AND SECRETS by Jennifer Ryan, available for preorder now and available next Tuesday, June 16th!  Chapter Three Heather pulled onto the shoulder and parked the car next to the mailboxes. She checked the car seat behind her and found her daughter, Hallee, still slumbering, her face soft and sweet. Every time she looked at her little girl, she saw a glimpse of the man she’d loved and lost. Cars drove by on the main road. She climbed out and inhaled the slightly salty scent in the air, though they were a ways from the beach. She loved it here in Carmel Valley. So much so, she’d never left. Not like Sierra. She couldn’t imagine all her sister had been through these last weeks. Mom called an hour ago, said she’d heard from Sierra, and asked Heather to stop by after work to talk about Sierra and the boys. She missed her sister. But as much as she wanted to help, she dreaded Sierra’s return. Everyone would start asking questions about Heather’s daughter again. Family. They wanted all the details about your successes and mistakes. Hopefully, Sierra’s troubles would keep them all occupied and off her back. Life had…

Jen: What inspired you to write Perfectly Famous? Emily: I love writing about strong women who are at crossroads in their lives and need to figure out how to find happiness again. In this case, I set out to tell the stories of two women—a famous author and a former journalist—whose issues are very different, yet, in the end, they manage to save themselves and each other. I also wanted to give my readers a fun, deliciously dark thrill ride with some major twists and turns. What happens to author Ward DeFleur that tears her life apart? Her 16-year-old daughter, Stevie, is abducted and killed, while Ward is busy launching her new book. How does Ward’s life change after the tragedy? Ward flees the sheltered town in Connecticut, where she lived with Stevie, and disappears. She reneges on all future book tour events and the other novels she’s contracted to write. She feels responsible for what happened to Stevie and like she can’t go on with things as they were. Nothing makes sense to her anymore. She lives in constant fear and in a state of depression. What happens in Bree Bennett’s life that leads to her taking a job…

My new novel, Miss Cecily’s Recipes for Exceptional Ladies, has two heroines–Kate Parker, 40 and on the verge of a break-up, and Cecily Finn, a 97-year-old grumpy but very funny old lady–bond over an unusual cookbook.  The cookbook, Thought for Food, contains more than just recipes.  It has menus for some of life’s most challenging occasions: “Dinner for the Man You Hope to Marry,” “Dinner for The Man You’re Trying to Bid Farewell To.”  Along with delicious recipes, the book has tips on how to survive the occasion, varying from the practical to the richly comic. Thought for Food was a real book published in 1957.  It was co-written by the real-life Cecily Finn, who was my grandma. Real-life Cecily was born in London’s East End in 1903.  Her family ran a candy and ice-cream store–which created her lifelong passion for food. My grandma had a beautiful older sister, May, and my great-grandpa Josef constantly told Cecily that because she lacked May’s beauty, she’d never find a husband, and so at 18, he forced her to become a teacher.  (The job would guarantee a secure pension.)  Cecily may not have shared May’s beauty, but she was warm, smart, funny, creative,…