Today, Senior Reviewer Miranda Owen brings us a fascinating chat with G.A. McKevett! The latest book in her long-running Savannah Reid mystery series, BITTER BREW, is available now. About a million years ago, one of your Savannah Reid books caught my eye at my local library. Naturally, I raved about it to my grandmother (fellow cozy mystery junkie) and got her hooked on the series too. Why write a cozy mystery series? What do you like about writing (or reading) cozies? First, let me say, “Thank you,” for passing the addiction along to your grandma. Families that read together…keep us authors in business. 🙂 Why write cozy mysteries? I’ll be honest with you; that’s what my publisher asked for. I agreed a tad reluctantly. I don’t know if this was true 25 years ago, or if I was ignorant of the genre, but I held the opinion that cozy mysteries, back in the day, made light of the horror of murder. Like homicide was some sort of fun puzzle. Like I said, I could’ve just been ill-informed. I’m sure there were many cozies, even back then, that treated the subject with sensitivity. I just hadn’t read them. My children and I…

As soon as I round the bend from Chicago to Michigan, I see a wall of clouds over Lake Michigan. Half of the sky is bright blue, the other half is steel gray, as if Mother Nature has hung a banner announcing, Nightmare Ahead! Lake-effect snow. My hands immediately tighten around the wheel. I see a Pure Michigan billboard, touting the beauty and landmarks of the state, and laugh. Lake-effect snow is Pure Michigan, I think, my former ad exec coming out, but I don’t see any billboards touting that. Without warning, the world goes from clear skies to total blizzard. I slow the car, tighten my grip even more and turn on my headlights. Lake-effect snow is not just snow, it’s as if the winter skies have opened up and are weeping centuries of frozen tears upon the earth. Within moments, the highway is covered and slick, and trucks and cars are moving at a snail’s pace. My heart is thumping like a jackhammer, and I immediately lament my life change. How could I have forgotten that winter lasts longer than summer, fall and spring in Michigan? Combined! What have I done? My earnings season will be shorter than…

Here’s a chat between award-winning author Rachel Hauck and Fresh Fiction Editorial Manager Danielle Dresser! A dual timeline novel is always so interesting – how the two time periods both juxtapose and complement the other. How did you come up with the connection between these two different women? The connection is always the most difficult and most important part of a dual time novel. Since I can’t always have the connection be a grandmother or an aunt, or some other family member, I imagined two women being connected by a family friendship. The heroines also share a common experience of tragically losing people they love. New York City cop Beck Holiday is having a rough go of it – after a mistake at work she’s suspended and she’s not sure what to do next. Then she finds out she’s inherited a mysterious Victorian house in Florida. Why was it important for Beck to have the experience at this point in her life? Beck is lost and bitter. She can’t remember large portions of her childhood. She’s trying to make a career for herself, trying to be tough, but when her own actions return to her with a demand, she’s forced…

Many of us are familiar with the story of Lady Diana Spencer, the beautiful daughter of an Earl who married a prince at the age of nineteen only for the marriage to founder and end in a well-publicised divorce. What is less known is that Diana Spencer was not the first aristocrat of that name and that an ancestor of hers, Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the Duke of Marlborough, had a life that has some uncanny echoes of her own. It was this earlier Diana Spencer who was the inspiration for the central character of my latest book, The Woman in the Lake. She was born in 1735, the daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough.  At the age of 23 she married Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke. They had two sons. Friends and family were taken aback by the match as Fred was a known to be an extravagant womaniser with a bad reputation – not for nothing was his nickname at Eton “Bully.” After the marriage he maintained exactly the same lifestyle that he had had before, keeping a string of mistresses, drinking heavily and spending even more extravagantly. There were rumours that he was…

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 Terry Shames!  What I write about: A  traditional mystery series set in small-town Texas, and featuring Chief of Police Samuel Craddock. Jarrett Creek is based on a town in central Texas where my grandparents lived when I was a child. It’s populated with characters that I hope readers will love.  I write about people faced with all the issues of small-town life, and I include a healthy dose of contemporary social issues. About Me: I grew up in Texas, and attended UT Austin. Wanderlust took me to Washington, D.C., where I worked for the CIA; Denver, where I was a computer programmer, and finally to the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a reluctant sailor (my husband’s passion), a hiker, and an enthusiastic cook. Find out more at www.Terryshames.com. What I’m Looking for in my ideal reader match: Kirkus says, “A favorite of fans who like their police procedurals with a strong ethical center.” My ideal reader likes: Traditional crime novels. Likes…

I’m having so much fun writing what will eventually be the 4-book Outlaw Mail Order Brides series. The only hope these outlaws have in making a town where once was their hideout was in getting wives and starting families. This series spilled over from my Men of Legend series when Luke Legend started his own private bride service for men and woman living in the shadows who can’t go the normal route. Luke hand carries letters back and forth between the couples and arranges transportation when they decide to marry. Here are five reasons you should read a mail order bride book:   The Great Unexpected Plots really set these books apart. Each one seems a little different somehow and there’s always the big question of whether they work as a couple that draws you in. Sometimes the groom dies before the bride arrives and she’s forced to change directions. Sometimes someone is playing a joke on the poor groom so it’s a surprise when his bride arrives. Then there are the many, many reasons a woman would choose to marry a man she’s never seen. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of variations to these stories. The Romance is a…

AUTHOR-READER MATCH Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Melonie Johnson! Writes: Fun, flirty, contemporary romances with delicious heroes, strong female friendships, plenty of banter, and a dash of wish fulfillment. A debut author, her Sometimes in Love series launches April 30 with GETTING HOT WITH THE SCOT, followed quickly by SMITTEN BY THE BRIT on May 28, and ONCE UPON A BAD BOY on June 25. About: This lifelong romance reader decided to take her favorite tropes from historical romances and play with them in the modern day. She’s learned the road to a happy ending is rarely smooth and enjoys discovering the twists and turns along the way. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Believes modern girls need kilts and dukes and rogues too Likes to see the heroine hanging out with friends, going after her career goals, and doing more than spending time with the hero Appreciates the spicy side of the salsa scale (wink wink) Enjoys seeing lots of affectionate nods…

I love cowboys! I’m not talking about the guys who dress up in western garb during rodeo season, but the real men who put on their Wranglers and boots, live on a ranch and work hard every day. Growing up in the country, where everyone knows you and your family for several generations, gives you a different slant on life. The cowboys of the Dark Horse Cowboys series are based on these men. 1) I love cowboy books because their world is very familiar to me. The smell of rain on freshly turned soil. The sound of horses nickering. This is home. 2) Cowboys are generally nice guys. They love their mothers, are generally respectful, and are loyal to their friends. The woman who wins the cowboy’s heart will always be cherished. 3) I love when cowboys work hard all day and then spiff up to go into town on a Saturday night. Their Wranglers are pressed. Their boots are shined. And they’re ready to two-step. Cowboy up! 4) I’m an animal lover so I enjoy reading about the cowboy’s relationship with his own animals: his horse and he probably has at least one dog too. They are a team….

A generator started up and spotlights clicked on inside the barn, illuminating the dark corners. Nevada was close. The light drew Macy’s attention to the right corner, which was roped off with red crime scene tape. The forensic tech had designated this area as very sensitive because most of the bones and the backpack had fallen here. Inside the tape, the techs had shifted the dirt as they had searched for the last bits of Tobi Turner. Macy elbowed aside anger and shifted her attention to the lost girl and her killer. Photos of Tobi’s backpack had shown that it had contained simple jeans, a sweater, and tennis shoes, but the fabric remnants and glittering blue cowboy boots found with the body suggested she had changed after she left her parents’ house. Macy suspected Tobi had lied about the study session and had diverted to a party. The killer could have recognized her desire for excitement and used it against her. “You made it.” Nevada’s deep voice snapped her back. Macy faced him and saw his shocked expression when he got his first good look at her. He quickly masked the reaction, and his expression became unreadable. Determined to prove…

Alpha, beta, cinnamon roll; which is best? It’s a subject about which many readers have strong opinions. But in case anyone’s confused, what do these terms actually mean? Well, the alphas are the leaders, the CEOs, the warriors, the head of the shifter pack. They don’t have to be cruel or controlling, though sometimes they are. On the other hand, the betas and cinnamon rolls are perhaps best defined by their supportiveness. They don’t want to conquer the heroine but they’ll be there for her no matter what. They’re dudes and they abide. Alphas will annihilate your enemies, but betas will help you move house. Personally, I see the appeal of both. For alphas, think Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey or Sebastian from Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. For betas, almost any Talia Hibbert hero or Winter Makepeace from Elizabeth Hoyt’s Thief of Shadows. I could do a whole post on the wonderfulness of Winter Makepeace. With The Madness of Miss Grey, I didn’t set out with a particular archetype in mind. But I knew my heroine Helen was the tortured one. As a sane woman incarcerated in a lunatic asylum, how could she not be? The hero,…