There have been some changes occurring in the Cullen household over the past year or so. When you have children, you think they will never grow up and that they will never move out on their own. I believe most parents, like me, feel that parenthood just goes on and on in an endless loop. Recently, two of my three children have moved out. Moved on. They’re ADULTING. And I couldn’t be prouder of both of them. They’re actually doing it! Taking the examples my husband and I set, the tools we’ve taught them, and they’re actually, really, living on their own. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your little ones become functioning, productive members of society. But there is another side to all of this. They’re not home with me anymore. And I don’t quite know what to do with myself these days. I have one more at home but she’s rarely here and that leaves, well. . . me. And my husband. It’s weird. It’s like we’re dating again. A few weeks ago, we went kayaking. Just the two of us. There was no logistics involved. No babysitters to hire. No juggling of the calendar to make…

Against the odds, the oak sapling took root in our backyard that was filled with scrub pine trees and overrun with bramble. Despite the strong growth of the underbrush, the oak sapling, with its tiny trunk and even tinier branches, pushed upward, reaching for sunlight from high above. It was a decent height, maybe five feet, but scraggly and skinny. A canopy of other trees and thicket kept the sapling in the shade and depleted its soil of nutrients. Vines of various kinds wrapped around it, using it to gain a height of its own. But it didn’t die. It also didn’t thrive. It reminded me of a vine of poison oak more than an oak tree. Its sickly trunk bent and twisted, always jetting out and then reaching up, clearly trying to find a way to reach life-sustaining sunlight. At the time our backyard had a blind fence enclosing a half-acre of mostly scrub pines and thicket. We’d left it that way for over ten years because our youngest son asked us to. He loved being outdoors as well as the feel of “deep woods.” It seems he spent half of his childhood in that space. As children do,…

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 Charish Reid! Writes: I write interracial, contemporary romances featuring sexy academics who are trying to keep their lives from imploding with deadlines and grading. In The Write Escape, readers will meet, Antonia, a literary editor turned romance writer, who falls in love with an English professor, Aiden, in Ireland. Sparks fly in the rolling hills of the tiny village of Tully Cross, bringing two adorably bookish people together. About: 30-something romance author/professor seeks a reader who enjoys: Irish holidays, heroines who are ready to finally ready to start living, and devastatingly charming heroes with great forearms! What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: – Doesn’t mind travel mix-ups if they lead to true love – Enjoys close proximity – Wants heroes to listen to their meddling mothers – Agrees with cake baking that leads to amazing oral sex – Must love nervous heroines who take drastic leaps of faith in order to get what they want. (ex. driving a…

Fresh Fiction Senior Review Debbie Wiley Bookstores have always been a place of joy for me, even as a young child. Books open up doors to new worlds and new adventures. Some authors capture that essence in their books by including bookstores as part of their plots. A wealth of emotions can be conveyed as characters learn to cope and heal through books and bookstores. Here are a few recent books that include bookstores as part of the magical world the authors transport us into. Jenny Colgan’s Scottish Bookshop series includes two books, THE BOOKSHOP ON THE SHORE and THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER, centered around a mobile bookstore. Both stories focus on a female lead character who heads to Scotland seeking a new life where a mobile bookstore becomes part of both of their worlds. THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER is the first book in the series and shows how Nina Redmond first creates the idea of a mobile bookstore, as she seeks to share her love of books with a population unaccustomed to reading for pleasure. The second book, THE BOOKSHOP ON THE SHORE, focuses on Zoe O’Connell’s move to Scotland and her struggles to fill Nina’s shoes…

Ask any marriage counselor and they’ll tell you the top three reasons couples fight are money, mothers-in-law, and what to watch on movie night. Okay, I totally made that up, but those topics are up there, right? Let me spare you a few arguments with the infographic below. Even better, these are all double features. So, if you and your spouse are not into staying up super late, this list might be good for ten movie nights. Here’s a little context: I love spy movies, and I love heist movies. This came out in spades in my latest thriller, The Gryphon Heist. Review after review has called it a mashup of “Mission Impossible” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” and you don’t see me complaining. In fact, I decided to take the idea a step further. This infographic pairs ten of my personal favorites–five heist movies and five spy movies–into epic double features. As a bonus, each comes with a mashup–the movie we might have seen if the film canister contents got all jumbled up. Take a break from the movie argument, pop some corn, and enjoy. . . *** THE GRYPHON HEIST by James R. Hannibal Talia Inger is a rookie CIA…

HIDDEN COVE is the latest Solace Island novel by award-winning actress and novelist, Meg Tilly. Be sure to check out the Fresh Fiction Podcast for an exclusive interview with Meg, available TOMORROW! You can find the Fresh Fiction Podcast on Apple Podcasts or the podcatcher of your choice. Now, on with the excerpt!!  *** Gabe leaned against the boardwalk railing, tipped his head upward, and shut his eyes, enjoying the early-morning sunshine on his face. He could hear the seagulls behind him, wings flapping, and the occasional shrill caw. They were flying into the air with clams in their beaks, dropping them onto the rocks and then swooping down to eat the contents. Sometimes a wily seagull would lurk below and snatch the prize from the broken shell. Made him laugh. Reminded him of his dad. When they’d spoken this morning, his dad had sounded much improved, eager to pick Gabe’s brains about the place. “Take your time, boyo. No need to rush back. Enjoy all that the island has to offer. Beautiful women, hikes, biking, art galleries, artisan cheese makers, bakers, beautiful women . . .” His dad had repeated the last one with a laugh. “It’s all those damned yoga…

Imposter Syndrome. Definition. “Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a ‘fraud’.” What does that mean? Well, it means that rather than feel like you’ve actually accomplished something great, you feel like your success is a product of luck and not actual skill. That any moment, you will be called out as a fraud, as someone who doesn’t deserve the praise or benefits of that success. Is that something you have? I know I do. And I struggle with it daily. Before I ever picked up a pen to write a book, I was a reader. I’ve read thousands of books over my 38 years, so you can imagine all the amazing authors I have to compare myself to. Kresley Cole, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Victoria Ashley, Tess Gerritsen, Sybil Bartel, Alison Aimes–the list goes on and on. I’ve read and enjoyed their work and because I am also a born writer, I internalize their artistic abilities, learning from them, get inspired by them and their talent. And when it comes time for me to sit down and actually write my own books. ….

My reading habits don’t follow a very regular course. I’ll spend an entire year reading nothing but Traditional Regencies only to spend the next six months devouring the entire Betty Neels backlist (all 134 of them, for my fellow jersey dress lovers). Then I’ll skip to sexy thrillers for a few months before losing myself in a sea of Pride and Prejudice retellings. In other words, I tend to read the same way I watch Netflix: I binge. Since it can be difficult to pick my favorites out of the so many different and varied rabbit holes I’ve plunged myself into recently, here are five that stand out as worth a second read. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin: This one came into my world during my Pride and Prejudice retellings binge, and it didn’t disappoint. I particularly adored the hero, Khalid, whose deep and quiet admiration of Ayesha perfectly captured the feelings Darcy has for Elizabeth. Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat: My love for the Captive Prince series is so strong that I re-read these books every year. They’re twisted and sexy and intricately plotted in ways my mind can’t even fathom. This time I opted for the audiobooks,…

with Fresh Fiction Reviewer, Helen Williams Helen: How do you go about developing your characters? SUSAN: I first think about how I want the H/h to meet. It might be a completely dramatic thing, or it might be they already know each other. Then I think about what the 85% drama will be. Once I have those two things, I’m good to start writing. Their personalities come out as I write (and since I write series, I usually already know a lot about the Hero because he’s been in the other books before).  How long does it take you to get a storyline together? I never REALLY know what the storyline is until I’m writing. I know what the drama will be, but the rest kind of just comes as I’m writing.  In reading your stories I see a lot of issues that are relevant today. Do you go to any particular resources for background information (i.e. epilepsy, PTSD)? I don’t have a go-to source, but there have been times I’ve asked my readers for their input. For the book Rescuing Macie, the heroine suffers from anxiety. I asked my readers who suffer from this to share their thoughts if…

Do you ever hear a tune or the words to a song and it stays with you for days? Weeks? Or, maybe months? What is it that gets you in? Is it the tune? Or the words? The tune makes me pause to sit and listen, but the words and sentiments linger longer. That happened to me a couple of months ago when I stumbled upon the song ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ sung by Labrinth and Emeli Sande. I’d discovered them on YouTube, bought the CD and play it every day – that song speaks to me. The words are beautiful and I love the sentiments expressed. It started me thinking about relationships. We all have them and love to read about them. Whenever I pick up a book to read or start to plot a story, there is an element of excitement and curiosity. You begin to wonder how things will pan out for your hero and heroine. The same applies to every day relationships and particularly when you meet someone your gut tells you might be significant. When you’re a teenager romance can be so easy and carefree. You don’t have anything to hide. The trouble is, we all…