Thanks to Fresh Fiction for having me here today! Apple. Walmart. Chanel. We live a world of brands and categories. It’s a good thing! Shortcuts help you decide in a soundbite (or mindbite) whether you want to buy.  A necessity, really, with as fast as life is these days. Who has time to research every last detail of which toothpaste to buy or how many types of sunscreen there are? But what if you’re not a one-size-fits-all? What if you’re living in a vanilla world but you’re a tiny bit. . . chocolate? Here’s a fun little quiz to see if you might be quirky. A group from work or school is going to McDonald’s for lunch. You: Go along. Mac’s is great! Go along. But order a salad. Suggest that little hole-in-the-wall deli instead. Stay at your desk. You have a hot date with the latest JR Ward. Whip out an array of hot sauces ranging from mild to stupidly toxic and play your own version of First We Feast’s Hot Ones (the show with hot questions and even hotter wings).  Your own answer! You arrange for dinner with a big group of friends, but you arrive an hour…

Kellan tried to shut out the chatter and noise in the squad room so he could volley his attention be­tween the live feed from the surveillance camera at the Serenity Inn and the medical examiner’s report for Oswald. He’d printed out the report to free up his com­puter so he could use full screen for the surveillance camera. He wanted to see something–in either the report or at the inn. To find something. He wanted a blasted smoking gun that would give them Eric on a silver platter. There sure as heck was nothing in the report or on-screen that would do that. But maybe Maylene would come through for them four hours from now as she’d said. Maybe she could indeed lure Eric there at noon. However, it was just as possible that this was a trap or a wild-goose chase. Still, a trap could yield them Eric if they played this right. Kellan had started the “playing right” by already having three deputies in position near the inn. When it got closer to noon, he’d go out there, as well. Wear­ing Kevlar and armed to the hilt. And if he got lucky, this would all come to an…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Rosemarie! Please tell us about yourself and your latest novel, COBBLERED TO DEATH. I’ve been married for 37 years. We have one son, one daughter-in-law and two granddarlings. I’ve been writing since 1991. I focused on short stories early in my career then graduated to books when I became an empty nester. COBBLERED TO DEATH is a food-themed cozy and my first foray into the mystery genre. The main character, Courtney Archer, is a cooking show star asked to co-host The American Baking Battle which is supposed to be a genteel competition like The Great British Baking Show. Behind the scenes, egos and tempers flare. When a contestant is bludgeoned to death with Courtney’s cast-iron fry pan of cherry cobbler, Courtney becomes the main suspect in the murder. To clear her name and find the real killer, Courtney sifts through clues all while smiling for the camera. Your lead character, Courtney Archer, is the star of her own show Cooking with the Farmer’s Daughter, as well as co-host of The American Baking Battle, a new cooking competition show. She has a lot on her plate, so to speak! Where did your inspiration come for this new series,…

I always wanted to write a book where a girl knows more about a sport than the boy playing it. I was inspired by watching Draft Day–a movie about the NFL draft day, in which Jennifer Garner’s character is the money person behind the football team. I loved that feeling of going toe-to-toe with the hardened football experts, and being able to tell them where to get off! Avery is the reluctant heroine in my new book, The Love Playbook. She’s sat on the bleachers since she was four, watching her dad coach every football player that ever went to her school, and now, as her family recovers from a tragedy, she overhears one of the team’s key sponsors saying that if the high school football team doesn’t get to the playoffs, he’ll do everything in his power to have him replaced as coach. In a panic to avert another family tragedy–her father losing his job—she agrees to coach the new guy on the team, Lucas, a player (in more than one way) who seems to have lost his mojo. But Lucas comes to her town with a fake name and a big secret. . . a secret that could…

Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? To celebrate, we asked the authors of our 2019 Christmas titles to answer some fun, wintry and Christmas themed questions! Fall in love this Christmas and be sure to read: Longing for a Cowboy Christmas by Leigh Greenwood, Rosanne Bittner, Linda Broday, Margaret Brownley, Anna Schmidt, and Amy Sandas Wish Upon a Cowboy by Jennie Marts Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kissby Kim Redford Cowboy Christmas Homecoming by June Faver A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase Puppy Christmas by Lucy Gilmore Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays by Terry Spear Keep reading to get in the Christmas spirit and check out the books over at Romance Reads! *** What’s the best part about writing a Christmas book? Rosanne Bittner:       The best part about writing a Christmas story is that it takes me into that “miracle” mood that seems to be a part of the Christmas holiday. I always try to include some kind of little miracle in my stories. In last year’s anthology, Christmas In A Cowboy’s Arms, my story miracle was the healed awakening of an unconscious little girl. This year, in Longing for A Cowboy Christmas, my miracle surrounds…

Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley  Fantasy novels are magical with their ability to transport you to other worlds. Worldbuilding is crucial to the success of any fantasy novel as we need to believe in these imaginary and sometimes quite fantastical worlds. Character development is important as well since we have to care about the fates of the characters. Despite the fact that both elements are important to any genre but particularly the fantasy genre, most readers have a preference for one or the other and I have to admit I prefer complex worldbuilding over character-driven novels. Here are some of my recent favorite fantasy novels in which the authors do a marvelous job at balancing both character development and worldbuilding. Who doesn’t love a series featuring a Library in charge of the world? Rachel Caine’s brilliant series, The Great Library, recently concluded with the fifth and final book, SWORD AND PEN. SWORD AND PEN showcases all of the characters we’ve grown to love and cheer for putting it all on the line in hopes of finally creating a world of peace and information, where the Library doesn’t squelch knowledge it doesn’t like. The worldbuilding is phenomenal, as we have…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Elle! Please tell us about yourself and about your latest novel, FLAMEBRINGER. Hello! Thanks so much for having me. I’m Elle, I write books, read books, and enjoy any and all things nerdy. Flamebringer is my third book and the last in the Heartstone trilogy, which follows a healer, her dragon-riding husband, and their no-nonsense dragon as they hunt down the monsters plaguing their kingdom.         FLAMEBRINGER marks the third and final book in your Heartstone fantasy series! Without giving too much away, what has been the most satisfying part about finishing this fantasy epic? It was a bittersweet experience, saying goodbye to these characters, but it was a good feeling to tie off their character arcs and (hopefully) give them and the readers a sense of closure. It was fun too, resolving mysteries from book one. Little clues, offhand conversations, subplot threads you might have missed in Heartstone will come back in a big way in Flamebringer. It was satisfying to bring it all full circle. It’s interesting that this fantasy series is inspired by Jane Austen! What are some of the ways Austen’s work influenced you while writing the Heartstone series? The first book…

My most recent release, Diamond in the Rogue, marks my first Road Trip Romance (or, perhaps more accurately, carriage trip romance). I love hitting the road so much that my husband and I made a goal of visiting all fifty states and all seven continents, and, as of 2017, we achieved that goal, and we haven’t stopped exploring! Interested in planning your own adventure? Here are my tips! The Vehicle Of course the easiest thing to do is to set out in your own car, but if you don’t own one or don’t wish to rack up those miles, a rental car is an excellent option. Without a rental, we could not have made all 50 states–we’d fly one-way to our destination, rent a car at the local airport, arrange to drop off the car in another location, and then take a second one-way plane trip home. If you choose this method, here are some things to remember: Check ALL rental car companies, rates and drop off fees vary drastically. When searching, try not to drop off on a Sunday. On a recent trip, estimates upwards of $2000 dropped to $250 when I changed the pickup day. Don’t forget to…

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 STEVE GOBLE! Hello. My name is Steve Goble, and I love ocean breezes, fresh seafood and long walks on sandy beaches where corpses wash up. (I was told to write this sort of like a dating profile, so. . .) Writes: I write historical murder mysteries featuring Spider John Rush, who as a young ship’s carpenter was given a choice by attacking pirates — join us and use your valuable carpentry skills on our behalf, or drown. Spider joined, and has spent several years now trying to escape piracy and return to the woman he loves and a son he’s never really known. Along the way, he and his pirate friends get caught up in trying to solve murderous plots. The latest book in the series, A BOTTLE OF RUM, finds Spider investigating a series of deaths in an English madhouse, and confronting vengeful pirates along the way. About: I worked in community journalism in Ohio for more than 30 years, before leaving…

Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? To celebrate, we asked the authors from the anthology Longing for a Cowboy Christmas to answer some fun Christmas themed questions! Their answers certainly have us Longing for a cowboy Christmas of our own!   What’s the best part about writing a Christmas book? Rosanne Bittner: The best part about writing a Christmas story is that it takes me into that “miracle” mood that seems to be a part of the Christmas holiday. I always try to include some kind of little miracle in my stories. In last year’s anthology, Christmas In A Cowboy’s Arms, my story miracle was the healed awakening of an unconscious little girl. This year, in Longing for A Cowboy Christmas, my miracle surrounds the birth of a baby boy the mother wasn’t sure she could love. Anna Schmidt: For me the holidays are a magical time of sharing and giving and FORgiving. To be able to tell stories that convey those things is a gift in itself. Margaret Brownley: I always seem to be writing a Christmas book during the searing heat of summer.  To get in the right mood, I try to imagine a reader…