1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Revelations of a Secret Princess 2–What is it about?  When Princess Caro discovers the daughter she’d believed dead is still alive, she’ll do whatever it takes to be with her. Even taking on the role of nanny in disguise, because her little girl’s guardian is one of the world’s most powerful men who has no intention of giving her up. This story is full of secrets, scandal and passion. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Desperate. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  The tender, caring side he hides behind his stern façade. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Each other! 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The Swiss Alps. It’s a little like the setting for The Sound of Music but with higher mountains, more meadow flowers and better chocolate. Plus there’s a castle set high on a mountain. Sigh. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)? Pantster, or as I prefer to call it ‘organic writer’  I know my characters and conflict and go from there. 8–What is an ideal writing…

When I decided to write a book about a bestselling author who is way past deadline and struggling with writer’s block, let’s just say that I didn’t have to look too far for inspiration. It’s something I’ve dealt with ever since I sold my first book fifteen years ago. Writer’s block is one of those frustrating things that once you have it, you get caught in a downward spiral you can’t climb out of, all while some well-meaning person tells you that there is no such thing and you should just write through it. Unfortunately, for many of us, that simply doesn’t work. So what does? For me, it was getting brave enough to look at what was stopping me from writing. Turns out it was a whole lot of limiting beliefs and a fear of being discovered as a fraud. Even writing this post is nerve-wracking in case someone thinks I don’t know what I’m talking about, or that it’s self-indulgent to even bring it up. Weirdly though, it’s being able to accept the idea that some people will definitely think those things, which has helped me. Truth is that we can’t change what anyone else thinks, and it’s…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Therese! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, ONE LAST CHANCE. Thank you so much for having me! My name is Therese Beharrie and I’m a South African romance author. My brand is basically banter and heart, and ONE LAST CHANCE is no different. It’s a romance about two best friends who love one another but act on it at the wrong time. Years later, they have to decide whether it’s the right time. It’s full of tropes – I call it a friends-to-fake-relationship-to-lovers-to-spouses-to-estranged-spouses second chance romance!  Zoey Roux is the third of the Roux sisters to get her own HEA! What has Zoey learned from her sisters as they found love in their lives? What has Zoey learned about herself in the time she’s been apart from her estranged husband? This is such a great question. So much of Zoey’s story is about her growth, and she’s definitely seen and admired her sisters’ growth as they’ve fallen in love, but more importantly, as they’ve found themselves while falling in love. Zoey doesn’t see herself clearly, despite having worked incredibly hard to become a better person since her marriage fell apart, but she prizes…

Thanks so much to the folks here at Fresh Fiction for having me today to talk about my new release, HARD RIDE, the fifth book in my Clean Slate Ranch series with Carina Press. Single guy Derrick Massey is facing a long summer of five family weddings, and he needs a fake boyfriend to keep his family off his back about settling down. Quiet cowboy Slater needs a place to stay in the city while he heals from a broken ankle, and what starts out as an arrangement starts to feel more like the real thing for both men. HARD RIDE was my very first time writing the fake-relationship trope, and I had so much fun I’m definitely doing it again! I have no idea why I waited so long. Maybe I just needed the right couple to pop up, and they definitely did in Derrick and Slater. Both men have been part of the Clean Slate Ranch series since book one, especially Derrick, who’s made an appearance in every single book so far. Slater was mostly a name or figure in the background, so when it came time to write about another ranch cowboy, he was the perfect…well, clean…

Like so many people, I have an ongoing struggle with my image of myself. It can be especially difficult during this time of  year, when diets and gyms ramp up their ads and we’re all being sold on the idea of “New Year, New You.” But even with all of this, years of weight fluctuations, a very difficult and high-risk pregnancy, an autoimmune disorder diagnosis, and thyroid complications, on most days, I am content with the body I have. I’ve been smaller and bigger than I am now, and will probably be both smaller and bigger in the future. Some days I think I’m super cute, other days… not so much.  What has changed over the years as I’ve come to this place of body acceptance is the way body positivity and confidence are portrayed in all forms of media – movies, TV, social media, podcasts, and of course, books. Plus-sized, average-sized, and ideally-sized people exist in reality, what the media projects on us, and in works of fiction. And we’re all deserving of love and happily-ever-afters.  I recently read three books that made me think about body acceptance in romance and fiction: Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Get a Life,…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Antidote for Everything 2–What is it about?  It tells the story of what goes spectacularly wrong in the deep friendship between a woman named Georgia (a urologist) and a man named Jonah (a family medicine doctor) after one of them is unjustly fired. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  Bullheaded 4–What makes your story relatable? I think we are all tuned in to the concept of friendship as a fundamental human relationship, maybe even more so than family in certain ways, since friendships are voluntary and self-selected. But also the novel poses the question of who should get to make medical decisions: politicians? Administrators? Or doctors and patients? And what is a justifiable response to injustice? 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  I have two main characters and there is no question: they turn to one another. Neither of them has close family and they have the magical kind of friendship where they are completely comfortable with each other. There’s no artifice, no self-censoring, no fear of abandonment between them. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? It’s set in Charleston…

Jen: What inspired your latest release, This Won’t End Well? Camille: For my fortieth birthday, my husband, two children, and I went to Paris. It was an amazing trip. We stayed in a magical apartment in Montmartre that had sweeping views of Paris and the Eiffel Tower. We couldn’t have found a bad meal if we tried, and we managed to do just enough sightseeing to make the most of the vacation without burning ourselves out. But eight days is a lot of family time–especially for a writer used to spending long stints alone in front of her computer. By the day after my birthday, I’d had so much togetherness that I felt like I couldn’t hear myself think. My husband, bless him, quickly realized this and volunteered to take our kids to a park on the Seine so I could go for a walk by myself. I was strolling along the river, thinking about what a feat it is to successfully manage relationships–even, or maybe especially, when they’re with the people you love most–when a single sentence popped into my head: Hello seems like such an innocuous word, but it’s really a portal to loss.  Which is, of course,…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Kiss List 2–What is it about? All Haley Bowman has ever wanted was her One True Love. But now, with her cousin getting married and Haley back in her small town, the pressure is on. Good thing she’s got a foolproof Kiss List, full of potential OTLs. Her parents knew they were soul mates at their first kiss, so surely Haley will know the same. All she needs to do is…well, kiss each of these guys… Enter Max Gallagher: bane of Haley’s existence, her nemesis since childhood, and, unfortunately, as a local, her way in with all the guys on the Kiss List. Max wants nothing to do with love and certainly nothing to do with Haley, but he can clear the way for her to get to know the guys on the list. Of course, he wants something in return: to be made a partner in Haley’s family’s business. One kiss for relinquishing her hold-out vote on Max. But the more time Max and Haley spend together, the clearer it is that there’s a paper-thin line between love and hate. Max will have to decide between the job he’s always dreamed…

Thank you SO much for following along with our Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup all week! Our final post features a delightful new romance coming out this April by T.I. Lowe. *** Recipe for a Happily Ever After: Take one independent heroine and add one handsome alpha hero. Mix in conflict, a dash of an obstacle, and a good measure of attraction. Stir until you have one fine mess, then pour in a healthy serving of clarity to resolve any angst. Add the anticipated kiss, a sprinkling of tender caresses, two rapid heartbeats, and combine into an awe-inspiring conclusion. I’d like to introduce you to a couple who fits this recipe to a T: Lincoln Cole and Opal Gilbert. I asked them to describe each other to me, and they sure didn’t hold back. Here’s what they had to say: Opal: “Lincoln Cole is lousy at first impressions. A brooding giant, he reminded me of a puffer fish—prickly yet somehow cute. Sure, there were glimpses of more in the depths of those ridiculously attractive brown eyes, but that stinker wouldn’t let me near enough to get a good look. Eventually, I discovered underneath the thick layer of orneriness was a big…

Alas – it’s the last day of our Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup! We have two more great posts from awesome authors – read on for a caffeine fix! *** In my new book, The Solid Grounds Coffee Company, ex–rock climber Bryan Shaw opens a coffee-roasting business in Denver . . . and ropes his friend and longtime love interest, marketing expert Analyn Sanchez, into helping him. And while the characters in the story are more concerned with third-wave roasting methods and black coffee made by pour-over, I happen to know that no one can resist a Valentine’s Day latte. Filled with chocolate-covered cherry goodness, even a coffee purist won’t be able to resist this “dessert-in-a-mug” take on chocolate-covered cherries. DARK-CHOCOLATE CHERRY MOCHA Makes: 1 serving 4 ounces very strong coffee or espresso 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao or higher) 8 ounces whole milk, 2% milk, or almond milk 2 ounces sour cherry juice ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (or) 2 tablespoons unflavored simple syrup Whipped cream (optional) Chocolate shavings or sprinkles (optional) Combine half of the milk with the chocolate in a double boiler and whisk over low heat until melted. Whisk in…