A question I’m often asked is whether I prefer writing stand-alone novels or books in a series.  The Morgan Dane series was my first continuing character series, and I’ve enjoyed it much more than I anticipated. The slower, more organic progression of the romantic relationship allowed me to focus on the mystery plots in each book. I’m wasn’t forced to resolve every personal conflict in the span of one book. As a result, Morgan and Lance’s relationship feels natural and solid. SECRETS NEVER DIE is Morgan Dane’s fifth book, and I’ve recently finished book six, Save Your Breath, which releases in September 2019. Writing six books about one couple has allowed me to give my characters more complex, deeper arcs. Instead of 300 pages to develop their lives, I’ve had 1,800 pages to bring the cast of Morgan Dane to life. Their personalities are richer and their lives more realistic. If you’re a reader who must read a series in order, Say You’re Sorry is Morgan Dane’s first book. If not, begin with whichever title appeals to you the most. Each book has a stand-alone mystery plot. New readers shouldn’t feel lost if they begin in the middle. Morgan Dane…

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 Rachel Van Dyken!  Writes:  I write contemporary romance and my new book is Risky Play, a sports romance out March 19th. About: I love writing, in fact I get anxiety when I don’t write! I write in multiple genres, have listed on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller lists. I’m addicted to Swedish fish, and I think that life would be more interesting if we all had our own soundtracks! What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: I love making readers cry, in fact, I collect their tears. I’m often found with my Kindle app open at three am with drool running down my face. I will lie and say I’m going to the bathroom, but be reading instead. If you don’t like the smell of real books, we can’t get together. I believe historical romance is the only way to truly cleanse your soul. Mafia romance is my drug of choice. IT SHOULD ALWAYS INVOLVE…

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 Allie York! Writes: I write sweet contemporary romance with a bit of steam. Each book comes as a standalone and with a happily ever after. About: Southern hopeless romantic seeking lovers of swoony romance staring sassy heroines and the tolerant men who love them. Ideal reader match: -Loves books set in the south (mostly) -Understands that every good love story has hills and valleys -Loves sassy heroines -Loves all kinds of heroes from the hopeless romantic to alpha males What to expect: -Swoony happily-ever-afters -couples so madly in love they can barely function *** About the 425 Madison Series Welcome to 425 Madison Ave the perfect place to fall in love. Nine delicious romances set in fast-paced & sexy NYC just waiting for you to read. The series features stories from some of your favorite romance authors: Leigh Lennon, MK Moore, Allie York, Aubree Valentine, Kay Gordon, Lauren Helms, Sylvia Kane, Katy Ames, and C. Lesbirel. Join these authors as they come…

They were always there for you, books, like a small pet dog that doesn’t die. – Ian Sansom, THE CASE OF THE MISSING BOOKS Books are my life. In addition to spending time either reading or writing about books, I have worked in various libraries for years, and even met my husband while we were both working at our local library. Books about books – specifically stories about librarians, and people who collect books, or work in bookstores – are a favorite sub-genre of mine. Then there are books that take characters from classic works of literature and put them in the role of amateur sleuth. As I’m a huge fan of mysteries, I love combining these types of characters and themes with the quirkiness of a cozy mystery. The results can be delicious. He was sick of the excuses and the lies. He was tired of the evasions and the untruths, of people refusing to stand up and speak the truth and take responsibility for their own actions. It seemed to him like yet another symptom of the decline of Western civilization; of chaos; and climate change; and environmental disaster; and war; disease; famine; oppression; the eternal slow slide…

Today, Fresh Fiction Editorial Manager Danielle Dresser chats with bestselling author Melinda Leigh about the latest book in her popular Morgan Dane Series, SECRETS NEVER DIE! Your Morgan Dane mystery series is long-running. For new readers, tell us a little bit about the series, and what inspired the creation of Morgan. Morgan was originally a secondary character in my Scarlet Falls Series. By the time I had finished writing Seconds to Live, she wanted her own story. I had been wanting to write a continuing character series for a while, and Morgan seemed perfect. She was already a complex character. I’d given her a deep backstory that begged for further development. What are the pros and cons of writing about Defense Attorney Morgan and PI Lance Kruger now that they are in an established relationship? After writing a dozen traditional romantic suspense novels, I was ready for a fresh challenge with the Morgan Dane Series. I enjoyed writing a continuing character series much more than I expected. In a traditional romance novel, the couple must achieve their happily ever after by the end of the book. Slowing down the romance to a pace that felt more organic meant I never…

Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley has some great book recommendations for the luckiest day of the year!  St. Patrick’s Day is only a few days away and what better way to celebrate the magic of Ireland than through books! I had the good fortune to visit Ireland several years ago and St. Patrick’s Day brings back those joyous memories. So, let’s dive into the books as the allure of Ireland awaits us. Carlene O’Connor’s biography indicates she spends time regularly in Ireland and her love for the country shows in her Irish Village series. The first book, MURDER IN AN IRISH VILLAGE, introduces us to Kilbane in County Cork where we are immediately immersed into the life of a small Irish village. I love how Carlene O’Connor incorporates the inflections of speech as it makes me feel as if I’m sitting in the family-owned bistro in Ireland right along with the rest of the O’Sullivan clan. Carlene O’Connor’s sixth book in the series, MURDER IN AN IRISH PUB, delves more into the work of the Garda in a small village and is a real treat for readers. I love the direction this cozy mystery series is taking and recommend the Irish…

I’m often asked where my book ideas come from and, quite honestly, they come from too many sources to list. I’m one of those people who can imagine almost any situation as a novel. And I really do believe that every person walking the planet has a unique and interesting story . . . if you dig deeply enough. Consequently, I doubt I’ll ever run out of material to write about. And since I plan to keep writing until I’m, say, a hundred, I should have sufficient inspiration to keep me going. Speaking of growing old, the story idea of Courting Mr. Emerson was inspired by the simple fact that we are all aging. It’s simply a fact of life. As a ‘baby-boomer,’ I’m constantly confronted with this news via obnoxious email ads for anti-aging products like hearing aids or granny-diapers. I also get unwanted letters from AARP and a multitude of other “gentle” reminders that seem determined to remind me that I’m “of a certain age.” Not to mention some aches and pains I didn’t have twenty years ago. So, okay, I get the hint already. As a result, I sometimes find myself observing other aging “baby-boomers.” I probably…

Thanks so much for having me here on Fresh Fiction. I’m a huge fan of your site. I’m excited to be celebrating the release of my book, Story of Us. In the book, Sophia Strombi is the younger sister of a lifelong friend of Declan James. That isn’t the only thing that’s supposed to keep her off limits for his heart; he also hires her to be the manager of his pub, On Dec. With a background in marketing and promotion, Sophia is eager to bring in new business for the local establishment. One of her ideas is to bring in a speed dating company. I thought, for this post, it might be fun to have both of my main characters answer a ‘speed dating’ questionnaire. I’ve selected ten questions from an online questionnaire that I’ll put below and answer in character for each of the questions. Let’s see how well suited they are after the fact! Sophie Strombi 1. What makes you happy/sad/angry? Creating a really successful marketing campaign makes me happy professionally. Personally, being with my family and just sitting back and watching them all interact with each other brings me a sense of happiness. It makes me…

Parenting is tough. Understatement of the year, right? First, it’s the baby years of all-hours-of-the-day feedings and forever dodging spit up. Next, it’s the toddler years, when you’re convinced they’re going to trip and fall down any flight of stairs within a three-mile radius if you turn your head for one second. Then comes elementary school, where you’re trying to keep your sanity while trying to coach your kids through “new” math (which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever—why can’t five plus seven just be twelve without all these darned boxes and rounding and uuuuuuuugh). We’re now into the middle and high-school years at our home, and trust me, those each come with their own (frequent) moments of chaos and homework calamity. Add in two kids in sports that of course never meet at the same time or place, and yeah, insanity can quickly become magnified tenfold. So why do we let them do it? Because we love our kids (and we wouldn’t trade a moment of any of it for the world.) Band, choir, drama, sports—these are just a few of the extracurricular activities that threaten to gobble up those precious few minutes between work/school and bed. But they’re also…

Enjoy this fun interview between bestselling author SOPHIE JORDAN and Fresh Fiction Editorial Manager, Danielle Dresser! For readers who aren’t caught up, can you tell us a bit about the Rogue Files series, and your latest release, This Scot of Mine? Well, believe it or not, This Scot of Mine is the fourth book in the Rogue Files series. They’re all connected through characters often family members. By book four it’s a little challenging to relate how they are all connected. Book five, possibly the last in the series, is coming this October. Hmm. Maybe it’s time for a family tree!?   This Scot of Mine is a crazypants idea I came up with while on a writers retreat …. I pitched it to some of my other fabulous writer friends and we all brainstormed until I arrived at the final idea of a girl who PRETENDS to be ruined and pregnant (all lies for good reason) and gets paired up with the hero who needs to get married but has this curse hanging over his head.  I’ve read about secret babies before, but not so much about made-up pregnancies in historicals! Clara was such a fun heroine. What was your favorite part about writing her…