Thanks for having me on the Fresh Fiction blog! I thought, since my new release, COVERING ALL THE BASES, is a sports romance, I’d share my five favorite sports romance books and five favorite sports romance movies. Ready? The list is not in any particular order: Books (You might see a theme): See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson The Trouble with Valentine’s Day by Rachel Gibson True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson For the Win by Sara Rider No Limits by Lori Foster Movies (they aren’t necessarily romantic but they’re all awesome): For Love of the Game Invisible Blind Side Remember the Titans Blue Crush Only one of these are related to baseball but the three sports romance I’ve written (CAUGHT LOOKING, COVERING ALL THE BASES, and CATCHING HER HEART) have ball playing, or former ball playing, heroes. When Isla tries to get to the deathbed of a grandfather she didn’t know she had, she finds comfort in the kindness of a stranger. But that stranger ends up being so much more. Liam Cruz has never felt such a strong and fast connection to anyone as he does the woman who comes into his bar. The two fall…

They were alone. They were away from prying eyes and the cutting comments about her, which she’d had enough of for one evening, thank you very much. They were alone and there was no need to maintain any ruse. “Daisy, I don’t know what to say, other than that I’m sorry.” “It’s not your fault. You didn’t say any of those things.” He remained silent, a confession of sorts, and she understood. “You didn’t say any of those things within earshot,” she corrected. “Tonight.” “I am so sorry. It is unkind for anyone to say such things in any circumstances. And with you, it’s also just plain wrong. For one thing, if you are old then so am I.” Daisy couldn’t care less about being considered old, not when she was counting the minutes until she was officially On the Shelf and an Unredeemable Spinster. But she wasn’t so hurt or stuck up that she couldn’t recognize his offering of peace. Funny that, coming from him. But she wasn’t so hardened that she didn’t appreciate the overture. Even if she didn’t know what to do with it. In fact, it left her speechless. They stood there in the dim light,…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction! Can you tell us a little bit about Fix Her Up and the new series it starts, Hot and Hammered? Thank you for having me! The Hot and Hammered series was inspired by a trip I took to Port Jefferson, Long Island. It’s got this rustic, small town vibe—right on the water—and I immediately wanted to write my local family of house flippers, the Castles. FIX HER UP is the youngest daughter’s story. She’s a birthday party clown who no one takes seriously. Enter Travis Ford, her lifelong crush and major league baseball’s tabloid favorite. They decide to pretend date to change their reputations, but of course fall deeply in love along the way. Georgie has always been viewed as the “little sister” – generally annoying, always cracking jokes, and often ignored or forgotten. But as readers find out, Georgie is a sensitive, hardworking, and complex woman. What did you learn from Georgie as you developed her character? I learned how sensitive she is the moods/issues of those around her. She really listens when people talk and wants to help, like creating a Kickstarter for her friend’s restaurant or boosting Travis when he reveals he’s…

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 Tracy Townsend!  What do I write: I’m an author who looks at fantasy and science fiction and says, “This is great. I want to do all of it.” I love fantasy that dabbles with technology; futurism riddled with fun anachronism; big-concept genre plots with deep, personal, character-driven stakes; people who are almost monsters and monstrous beings that are almost people. I love writing that appeals to a sense of adventure and doesn’t give up on literary style to do it. My novels are set in a world full of washed-up mercenaries, crooked cops, charming criminals, scrappy pickpockets, cynical clergy, murderous trees, nightmarish ogres, and endless secrets and conspiracies. More about me: I teach science fiction and fantasy literature as well as creative writing, so you can bet I put story craft and knowledge of genre fiction at the front of my writing. Of course, there’s a lot of my background as a martial arts instructor and acting coach mixed in, too. I…

Self-driving cars are coming! In my latest novel, THREE LAWS LETHAL, New York City is swarming with fleets of them, all competing for your business. The cars are programmed to keep people safe…right? Of course they are. But as the AIs driving the cars find more and more creative ways to beat the competition, they start to develop minds…and goals…of their own. But what about you? Are you lining up to buy a Tesla? Or staying as far away from them as you can? The question brings us to our Top Five list! A self-driving car might kill you in the following five ways: By Saving Someone Else. Let’s say a tree falls in front of a self-driving car and you’re walking nearby. Does the car kill its passengers by hitting the tree, or swerve to save them and kill you instead? With a human at the wheel, there would be no time to consider the question, but an AI has plenty of time to make a choice. In fact, it’s been programmed ahead of time to find the “best” option in any situation. So which one is best? Should it value the life of its owner more than it…

Hi Everyone! Thanks for allowing me to be here today.  When I was here last year, I wrote about my five favorite go-to romance movies last year.  So, I decided to write another “Top 5” list, and a few nights ago, I sat on the couch and started pondering ideas. Hubby came in with the glass of Sauvignon Blanc I’d started and accidentally left in the kitchen (I think he knows my best ideas start with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc), and sat down across from me. Me: I need to come up with a Top 5 list to write about. Something interesting. *takes a sip of wine* Hubby: How about Top 5 dog breeds? Background: I love dogs, especially older rescue dogs. We’ve had seven since we’ve been married and currently have 3, one of which just joined the family last month. Gizmo is a ten-year-old going-blind, going-deaf sweet-ball-of-fur shih tzu.  I also write children’s books about said rescue dogs. You can check them out at: www.dogsandbooks.com . Me: It needs to be romance-related. And fun. And unique. Hubby: How about five best sexual positions? Me:  *sigh* And clean. *takes another sip of wine* Hubby: How about the five…

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 SYLVIA KANE! What I Write About: Contemporary romance that’s heavy on the steam, with a lot of emotion and character growth. My heroes and heroines aren’t cookie-cutter…they’re real, but lovable people who have to find a way to be together. My latest release is Back For More, a brother’s best friend romance set in Manhattan about a Wall Street attorney who can turn anyone’s head and his best bud’s little sister, for whom he’s always carried a torch. About Me: Thirty-something lawyer-turned-author who’s a bit of a cynic but absolutely believes in true love. I’ve always had a bit of a perfectionist streak, and am naturally high-strung, but writing helps me relax. I’m an avid volleyball player, and just starting out with gardening. My six and three-year-old girls keep me busy, and insane! My husband of ten years is amazingly supportive of my writing career. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Doesn’t mind scorching scenes that send your heart…

Here’s how it happened: I’d just submitted Splinter in the Blood to my agent (Felicity Blunt), expecting it to go out with more of a whimper than a bang—and it confounded my wildest expectations, receiving keen interest from publishers worldwide. This was 2017, the genre du jour was domestic noir, and Splinter was a serial killer thriller—my first, after publishing 12 crime and mystery novels, and the fulfillment of a twenty-year ambition. A self-indulgent treat that might be seen as self-destructive, given that it seemed the publishing world was focused elsewhere, but at that point, I wasn’t thinking beyond Splinter: you see, I’d convinced myself that novel #13 would be my last, so I thought, What the heck… The London Book Fair was just days away, interest was hotting up, and multiple bids were on the horizon. But one of the foreign rights scouts wanted to know about the next book. Did I have any ideas, Felicity wondered, “Even a para you could put together?” As a rule, I start jotting down notes and ideas about the next book two-thirds the way through the one I’m currently writing. This time, I had nothing—why would I, when book thirteen was sure…

Tucked into the interstices of the writing life, I’ve cultivated a creative hobby—landscape photography. This requires me to travel around the Pacific Northwest visiting rugged coastlines, mountain lakes reflecting snowy peaks, cascading waterfalls, and most recently the wildflowers blooming along the Columbia River that divides the states of Oregon and Washington. On this most recent venture I hunted for previously unexplored hillsides splashed with the vivid yellows and purples of Balsam Root and Lupine, as well as searching out new vistas in a few places I’ve visited before. No matter if the setting I’ve driven hours to see and shoot is new to me or a favorite spot, I’ll often prowl around and observe how the light, weather conditions, and my movement through the terrain changes the landscape, thus the potential composition of a photograph. When I find a composition that feels strong and balanced (two years of art college put to use!), I’ll stop and set up my tripod and camera. More than once I’ve found myself wishing that a novel, a chapter, or a scene could be a three-dimensional landscape I could physically move through with the same ease. Whether I’m engaged in photography or writing, the process…

Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley is here to take us on a tour of one of the hottest summer vacation destinations: FLORIDA. All of these great summer reads are set in the Sunshine State!!  Summer is here, and vacation mode is in full swing for many. Florida is one of the hot spots for summer travel. Not everyone can travel in person, however, so traveling to Florida through books is a great alternative. Here are some books to help you tour Florida this summer: We start out our adventure in Key West with Lucy Burdette and A DEADLY FEAST. Amateur sleuth Hayley Snow has a new mystery on her hands when someone dies during a seafood walking tour. Lucy Burdette takes readers to real restaurants in the Keys, giving readers a guide to locate all the scrumptious and tasty treats. I’m not kidding when I say I not only love the Key West Food Critic series but that I also use the series as a travel guide for my visits. While we are down in the Keys, don’t forget to stop in No Name Key and visit the No Name Pub. Tim Dorsey visits the Keys and No Name…