Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Bookseller-Reader Match” where we introduce you to a bookstore as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Marissa of Love’s Sweet Arrow!  Writes/Sells: I’m Marissa, one of the co-owners of the romance bookstore Love’s Sweet Arrow, the second one in the country! Love’s Sweet Arrow opened last June in Tinley Park, so we are coming up on our first anniversary soon! Love’s Sweet Arrow focuses on having a diverse variety of romance in all subgenres, but also has fun t-shirts, tote bags, buttons, and stickers (some made by BestFriendKelly), soaps (by Perennial Soaps), and candles (NovellyYours, Big White Yeti, and Hearth and Hammer). About: I am 31 and I’ve been a bookstore owner for almost a year now. Before this, I was a special education kindergarten teacher in a local school for a few years and I’m currently a one-on-one paraprofessional in a kindergarten classroom in a different school, which means I’m home from that job too. Before that, I was actually involved in the performing arts and I have an undergraduate degree in music (vocal performance). I’ve got an interesting…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  To Have and to Hoax. 2–What is it about? It’s a Regency rom-com about an estranged married couple who have barely spoken in years, who get immersed in a battle of wits & one-upsmanship as they attempt to get even (and, of course, fall back in love in the process). A fake case of consumption may or may not be involved. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Stubborn. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  He’s a really fundamentally good, considerate person who is so unable to trust that it damages his ability to have relationships with others – and watching my heroine slowly change this in him is, I think, pretty swoony. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  They each have two best friends – Violet, my heroine, has Diana and Emily, and James, my hero, has Jeremy and Penvale. These friends are super meddling – and also really quick to call out Violet and James when they’re being ridiculous, which is key in any friendship. (Spoiler alert: they have to do a lot of calling out in To Have and to Hoax.) 6–What do you love…

Mercury wondered if anyone had ever told Sloan how cute she looked when she became angry. How her brows slashed together over her forehead and how the pupils of her eyes became a turbulent dark gray. Then there was the way her chin lifted and her lips formed into a decadent pout. Observing her lips made him remember their taste and how the memory had kept him up most of the night. “I don’t need you to take care of me.” Her words were snapped out in a vicious tone. He drew in a deep breath. He didn’t need this. Especially from her and definitely not this morning. He’d forgot-ten to cancel his date last night with Raquel and she had called first thing this morning letting him know she hadn’t appreciated it. It had put him in a bad mood, but, unfortunately, Raquel was the least of his worries. “You don’t?” he asked, trying to maintain a calm voice when more than anything he wanted to snap back. “Was it not my stolen car you were driving?” “Yes, but—” “Were you not with me when you discovered you were being evicted?” he quickly asked, determined not to let her…

Hi! I’m so excited to share Love by Design with you! This story has so many of my favorite things: a hunky carpenter, a heroine getting back on her feet, a heavy dose of sexual tension, and a second chance at love. Plus, magic pancakes. It’s steamy and sweet and I hope you fall for Grayson and Annika as hard as I did! My favorite neighbor in the 425 Madison building: It’s too hard to choose just one. I would have to say, Lyla Dupree from Sweet on You because I have a serious sweet tooth and she makes the best goodies. And, Bernadette Williams from Accidentally in Love, because who doesn’t want to hang out with a sassy, straight-talkin’ lady who serves whiskey in teacups? My favorite mode of transportation around NYC: My two feet. There’s so much to see and do in New York, walking around the city is the best way to absorb as much as you can. Plus, it helps work off all the fabulous food. 🙂 Otherwise, the subway, though sometimes nuts, is the most efficient way to get around and avoid the constant traffic! My favorite or must-see NYC landmark: I’m on a museum…

Heroines in romance novels: let’s discuss. A frequent topic among romance readers and authors involves heroines and the unequal way they can be viewed. There are two bones of contention to pick. The first is that a heroine’s life choices are viewed with a more critical and unforgiving eye than a hero’s choices. Secondly, that a heroine’s flaws and personality quirks are viewed more harshly than those of a hero. I believe that both things are very real, but I will only admit to unconsciously doing the latter. If a character – whether male or female – makes life choices that I disagree with, as long as the character is fleshed out and well-written, I won’t judge and I’m still able to enjoy the story. However, if there are aspects of a character’s personality that rub me the wrong way, it’s difficult for me to put that aside and focus on where the author is taking me. As a woman, I often identify more with a female protagonist, and therefore have caught myself being overly critical of that character. This is something I’ve picked up on and tried to snap myself out of doing. Every reader has their pet peeve…

I’m writing this post as the back door swings open for the tenth time in about three minutes. Kids are in and out. Forgetting gloves, hats, and soccer balls. The husband is on speakerphone in the other room on a work call. My elderly parents are calling with another item to add to the grocery list and I’m…staring at the word count goal on my writing calendar-and realize I’m thousands of words behind on my current work in progress. And I’m tempted to check for a news update. Time to take a deep breath and remember that it’s all going to be okay. The most important thing is that we’re all okay. But despite being grateful for SO many things, how does a person go about clearing all their worries and find the ability to be creative? Trial and error. I don’t think that there is one right answer for anyone and it may even change from day to day. I think that’s key though-be flexible. Here are five things that are working for me right now: Waking up before my kids. I always liked doing this, but now that we’re all home together it’s even more important. It’s UNINTERRUPTED…

For those of you who’ve been yearning to return to my little seaside Oregon town of Hope Harbor—the wait is over! If you haven’t visited, I hope you’ll stop by. Starfish Pier is Book 6, but every story stands alone. So please drop in! In my latest novel you’ll meet Holly Miller, who’s new in town. Moving to Hope Harbor was a big step for her for several reasons, but she’s settling in as a first-grade teacher. Life is good…but a little romance wouldn’t hurt. Enter Steven Roark, who’s left the military behind and now runs fishing charters. He’s in town on a mission—a personal one this time—but his take-charge manner isn’t helping him achieve his goal. And he definitely isn’t looking for romance. Funny how that works, though. Sometimes when you least expect it Ms. Right can show up—even if she’s nothing like the kind of woman you thought you’d fall for! So let’s see where this game takes us. S is for Starfish. Matchmakers don’t always have to be human. 🙂 T is for traumatic. Holly and Steven have both had their share of tough times. A is for antagonistic. Which captures the mood of their first meeting….

1–What’s the name of your latest release?   You’ll never guess–it’s BEARS BEHAVING BADLY! Can you believe it? I’ll bet you had no idea, despite the title being plastered all over the promo materials. You must be so surprised! I’m surprised, and I wrote the thing. (Yeah, buckle in. I’m ridiculous.)  2–What is it about?  It’s about a foster care system for shapeshifting minors, the people who work there, and the vulnerable shifters in their charge. We know t here’s a dark web, a deep web, a super-duper secret web, a fifth column, a shadow government, black market cheese, and underground wrestling, so why not a foster care system set up for vulnerable and/or dangerous minors? And not just any minors: shapeshifters. And not just shapeshifters: traumatized shifters who would be incredibly dangerous to others even without the PTSD.    Like any underground organization, it runs parallel (but unnoticed) beside the foster care system for Stables (Shifter slang for ordinary bipeds like me and thee). And while weres only make up a small percentage of the population, that’s still a lot of orphans to keep track of. And because life isn’t complicated enough, while my characters are going about the business of saving vulnerable…

Throughout the month, we’ll be checking in with Marissa Backlin, co-owner of Love’s Sweet Arrow, a romance-focused independent bookstore in Tinley Park, IL. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, sign up for their newsletter, and check out their Patreon. Their online store is still open! Up first, an interview with LSA co-owner Marissa Backlin and FF’s Editorial Manager, Danielle Dresser.  Danielle: Welcome to the Fresh Fiction blog, Marissa! We are so thrilled to learn more about Love’s Sweet Arrow. Where did the idea come from to open a romance-only bookstore in Chicagoland? Marissa: Roseann and I have always been big romance readers. I’ve been reading romance since I was sneaking it around 12 and Mom read it growing up too. I also ordered a few times from The Ripped Bodice once they opened and two Christmases ago, I got Mom the Lydia Bennett box! So two summers ago, we were just talking about how if we had an unlimited amount of money, opening a romance bookstore would be one of the things we would love to do. After a whole summer of daydreaming together about it, we decided to go for it! What are some of your…

One of the hardest parts of creating a series is writing the last book. In My One True Cowboy, the fourth and final book in my River Ranch series, it was sad to say goodbye to the Ford family, but it was also incredibly satisfying writing Angelina Ford’s story! I certainly feel as if I left the best for last… Angelina is everything I love in a woman. She’s ambitious, she’s made it on her own, she doesn’t need a man and she’s strong. It made writing her so satisfying, because for her to fall for a man, he had to be someone very special. In writing her, I put her in the incredibly difficult position of facing a huge life change, which made her much more vulnerable than the strong, nothing-can-knock-me-down woman in the previous books. But it gave me a lot to work with, because I was able to show her grow and change, and also, fall in love. In the modern world we live in, I find it really inspiring reading about a woman who doesn’t need the money or love of a man to make her whole, because it makes the romance that much more satisfying….