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 JENNIFER KINCHELOE! About: Adventurous historical mystery author seeks readers for a humorous, romantic romp through 1900s Los Angeles. The series features a brilliant, naïve, disowned heiress who gets a job as a police matron with the LAPD, and the police chief’s blue-collar son, who traps criminals and plays a mean ragtime piano. Together they fight crime and each other in this I Love Lucy-meets-Agatha Christie adventure. I’m looking for in a Reader who: Is between the ages of 13 and 113 Likes their romance served up funny Wants to experience old Los Angeles Enjoys twists and turns and piecing together clues Is fascinated by opulent lifestyles Wants to learn about courtship around the turn of the 20th Likes learning about the challenges women faced in the 1900s Is interested in the beginnings of women in law enforcement Enjoys making fun of the patriarchy What to expect if we’re compatible: More books in the Anna Blanc Mystery series in paperback, ebook, and audiobook…

I’ve been published for fourteen years and put out a lot of books – over 70 at last count. Across those 70 books I’ve written the odd pet or two but it seems, in the last few years in particular, I’ve written a lot of pets that have tended to take over the story. In No More Mr. Nice Guy there’s a cockatoo called Shakespeare with a very loud mouth and very poor timing. In Playing With Forever, a tear away Great Dane called Tiny takes centre stage. My first Credence, Colorado book – Nothing But Trouble – showcases Wilburta, a cute little piglet and in the second book which is out in October – The Trouble With Christmas – a turtle called Zoom steals the show. I’ve also written several different pet dogs of varying ages and degrees of…shall we say, attractiveness? As well as fornicating goldfish and even an alpaca. Pets aren’t only cute and fun to write but they deliver the awww factor. They also give we, the readers, insights into the characters because how people treat animals is a true litmus test for the kind of person they are and this is as true in fiction…

We’re joined today by Fresh Fiction reviewer Helen Williams, with a wonderful author recommendation!  The first time I read a book by Susan Stoker was two years ago.  I have been hooked from that moment on. The thing that made me continue reading her novels is her style of writing for her female characters. I like the fact that they find themselves in hopeless circumstances but they continue to fight and not give up. These women go through horrendous situations but show tremendous character in spite of their circumstances.  I have read books before with strong female characters but Ms. Stoker’s novels drew me in like no other.  The storylines have a real-life feel to them. The different situations that her characters experience are sometimes painful to read about but Ms. Stoker’s writing style gives you hope when you see her heroines triumph over the different hardships they encounter. The novels portray some light humor between the characters but they also have some serious realities. Ms. Stoker’s books cover issues dealing with PTSD, rape, physical and emotional abuse, blindness, agoraphobia, homelessness, drug abuse, cancer, epilepsy, physical scars, and human trafficking.  Although these are heavy issues, Susan Stoker delivers them in…

While I was writing my first book, I started running around the lake five minutes away from my home to expel energy. The lake is my ‘happy place’—the place I go to unwind and relax, to rejuvenate and to generate ideas. Sometimes, when I wasn’t running, I would sit and watch the hub of activity occurring around me. Birds swept the sky and huddled together on the water. People drifted idly in canoes and kayaks, families picnicked on the lawn, kids played at the playground. It always stirred such intense emotion within me—I wanted to write about it. Before starting my second book, FLEETING MOMENTS, the only idea I had was to write about a woman whose boyfriend had left her, but that was it. While running around the lake one afternoon, the sun beating against my face, I saw a personal trainer taking a group class on the lawn not far from the water. Looking at him, an idea floated past me. What if my main character, Maya, met a personal trainer at the lake? As I continued to run, more ideas flashed through my mind. There were lovers seated on the bench seat by the pier, water birds…

Every reader has favorite authors, even writing teams. Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke are a personal favorite of mine because, with each new release, their writing style evolves. Case in point … their latest book, The Two Lila Bennetts. The storyline is told in alternating viewpoints. The protagonist, Lila Bennett, is a multilayered character with a complicated life. Everyone makes mistakes, right? Well, so does Lila and the choices she makes ultimately defines her future. Thanks to Liz and Lisa for giving us a sneak peek at their upcoming release in the interview below. The Two Lila Bennetts will be available on July 23rd. Preorder your copy today wherever books are sold. It’s one of this summer’s hottest reads! And, don’t forget to check back for my next Jen’s Jewels interview next month, here on FreshFiction.com. *** The Two Lila Bennetts is a tale of regret and retribution. How did you arrive at the premise? We knew we wanted to write a book with a “Sliding Doors” premise. When we began exploring our storyline, we decided to focus the story around a complicated female protagonist who had made a lot of mistakes in her life. In the dual storylines, we…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction! We’ve been featuring the books you’ve worked on for so long, and we are so excited to learn more about the editors behind the books, as well as How to Write a Romance! Can you introduce yourselves, tell us how long you’ve worked at Avon, and your all-time favorite romance novel? Erika Tsang (ET): I’m Erika Tsang, editorial director of Avon Books. I just celebrated my 17th year here. My all-time favorite romance novel is… a very difficult question to answer. Jude Deveraux’s A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR because I discuss that ending quite a bit. Then there’s Johanna Lindsey’s WARRIOR’S WOMAN, Julie Garwood’s THE LION’S LADY, Jill Barnet’s IMAGINE (there’s a genie!)…my list goes on and on. Nicole Fischer (NF): My name is Nicole and I started at Avon Books about 6.5 years ago. My favorite romance is… ok, that’s an impossible question for a romance editor! I don’t have 1 favorite of all time, I have top picks in each subgenre. But if I had to name one, the first title that pops into my head right this moment is IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN by Lisa Kleypas because I love sassy, feisty heroines who…

Thanks for stopping by Fresh Fiction! Can you tell us a bit about The Bookish Life of Nina Hill? TBLONH is about a millennial girl who works in a bookstore, loves her cat, her planner and her trivia team, and whose life is ticking along nicely until suddenly it all gets complicated. Nina Hill is wonderfully nerdy, and as the title suggests, bookish! We’re big fans of bookish people – real and fictional. What made you decide to make Nina so ensconced in books? Did this make her easier or harder to develop?  Nina was inspired by all the lovely young bookstore women I met while touring bookstores to promote my last book, Other People’s Houses. They were all incredibly well-read, super smart and slightly quirky. I wanted to make them the hero for a change. After Nina’s estranged father dies and includes her in his will, Nina finds herself with this new family of very outgoing, very eager people who want to get to know her. After spending most of her upbringing with her live-in nanny while her photographer mother was on assignments around the world, this is a huge and unexpected adjustment. How does this newfound family change her perspective…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction! Can you catch us all up to speed with the Crown of Shards series and a little bit about PROTECT THE PRINCE?  Thanks for hosting me. I appreciate it. 🙂  PROTECT THE PRINCE picks up a few months after the events of KILL THE QUEEN, book #1 in my Crown of Shards epic fantasy series. Everleigh “Evie” Blair might be the new gladiator queen of Bellona, but her problems are far from over, something she realizes when someone tries to assassinate her in her own throne room. Magic, political intrigue, a steady stream of assassination attempts, oh and a will they-won’t they romance… PROTECT THE PRINCE has it all! In fantasy series, I’m always impressed by the amount of worldbuilding that goes into, well, everything! Was there anything in particular that inspired the “realm” in Crown of Shards?  Thanks! I appreciate that. When I was first coming up with the series, I knew that I wanted to write about gladiators, so I decided to use Roman and other mythologies for some of the place and character names. For example, Bellona, my gladiator kingdom, is named after a Roman war goddess. I thought the Roman mythology…

A list of my top ten heroes. Some of them are book heroes, some of them are real live people, some from movies, but they are all swoon-worthy to me. Either because of looks, strength of character, personality, alpha-ness, and how they treat women. They are not in any particular order. 1. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Either Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyn, or the character as you imagine him from the book. 2. Rhett Butler. Definitely as I imagined him from the book, because although most women love Clark Gable, I could never see him in that role. 3. Indiana Jones. Love how Harrison Ford played that character in all the movies. 4. The Duke of Manchester from my book, The Duke’s Quandary. You’ll have to read the ending of that book to know why I love him as a hero. 5. Will Smith. Aside from being a really nice guy—from those who know—he plays great heroes in his movies. And looks pretty good, too. 6. Shrek… I know, but it’s my list. 7. Superman. Need I say more? 8. Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird. A true hero for his time. 9. Jon Snow from Game of Thrones…

Although the drama in my novel PLASTIC centers around a disfigured pop star and the plastic surgeon who is brought in ostensibly to restore her looks, yet realizes he’s there to erase evidence of a crime, it’s easy to forget that PLASTIC is also about a marriage on the rocks. You say, what? My intention had always been to make my high-flying Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Harold Previn hit bottom after his wife Helen Burke, decides he isn’t the man she fell in love with and walks out on him. This to me was the ultimate sign of how “lost” Previn is as the novel begins. I wanted to pose the question, could he redeem himself in Helen’s eyes? That to me was the ultimate measure of the journey he was on. But many readers come to a Hollywood conspiracy story like mine expecting just that, a by the numbers crime drama. So how to amplify the marital crisis without losing the reader? That was the challenge. And while it might be argued that subplots reinforce the main plot, it’s always a delicate balance. The crime genre has its particular demands. I’m reminded about how in his day John…