I didn’t set out to create a series with a sleuthing couple. But Lizzie Stuart, my crime historian protagonist, found John Quinn, Philadelphia homicide detective, intriguing when they met in Cornwall England in Death’s Favorite Child. In A Dead Man’s Honor, when Quinn astonishes her by applying for a position at the Virginia university where she is going to spend a year doing research, she is both dismayed and even more attracted. This relationship between my amateur sleuth and a police officer is common in mystery novels. There are even series – at least three or four — with a male amateur sleuth who is involved with a female cop. The reason for these pairings is often convenience. If the amateur sleuth has a relationship with a police investigator – whether romance or friendship – the sleuth can then: gain access to crime scenes gain access to autopsy and crime lab reports find out what witnesses and various suspects claim have a man (or woman) with a gun handy when one is needed The relationship also introduces on-going tension between two primary characters because the amateur sleuth – prone to getting into situations involving murder and other crimes – has…

I’ve heard people talk about owning your crazy. I appreciate this notion. I have a lot of crazy to own. But today, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about owning my lazy. In some ways, I’m a pretty hardworking gal. I hold down a job, keep my house tidy, do the occasional load of laundry, and even crank out a book here and there. (Hello Heartbreaker!) But when it comes to my face? Wow. That’s a lot of lazy. I could tell you the things I do for my face, but it might be easier to tell you what I don’t do. I don’t wash my face before bed. I don’t use fancy moisturizers, despite having entered those golden mid-forties where the wrinkles and sagging and bagging seem to grow up overnight. I don’t wear makeup—not because my face doesn’t need it, because of course it does. More because I’m too lazy to take it off at night. I don’t pluck my eyebrows. (I do pluck the hair that grows out of my chin. Is that TMI?) I don’t exfoliate. I’m not even entirely sure what that is. The heroine of Heartbreaker, Tess, is a…

Taking on a K-9 series has been one of the most rewarding, yet challenging endeavors of my writing career. Sure, it’s easy to select a breed for my K9 characters or to pick a cool name for the dog, but writing dog-speak? Trust me, it’s not so easy. Not if you want your canine characters to be just as much a part of the show as your human ones. As authors, we have two intrinsic ways of “showing” readers who and what our heroes and heroines are as people and what their personalities are like. One way is through action, and the other is via conversation. What a character says is a fundamental way to convey who that character is and what’s important to them. But how do you do that when one of your main characters isn’t human and can’t talk? English, that is. A dog has basic language skills he/she uses to get its point across: bark, woof, snort, whine, whimper, growl…you get the picture, but there’s no language as we (humans, that is) know it. So how can it be done? How does an author get across to the reader what kind of personality a dog has?…

What do a bear and a wolf eat on their one free night? When I saw that Fresh Fiction had recipes up last week for Valentine’s Day, I had to laugh. The hero and heroine of my new novel, Taming Her Mate, Frankie and Ryan, are busy people! They’re saving Detroit from a deadly virus and keeping their respective shifter packs from going to war with each other. Their meals reflect their busy lifestyles. Inspired by the delcious recipes shared last week, I knew whatever my characters would cook would be interesting… For example, Frankie is the daughter of the alpha wolf. She’s got to help out whenever life gets too busy for anyone in the pack. That means comfort foods that are easy to remember and that picky pups will eat. She makes the simplest meatloaf recipe she can remember with ingredients on hand and while it’s in the oven, she whips up a box of Macaroni and Cheese. And now here’s the cool secret: ketchup and brown sugar. The original recipe called for a modest amount of both, but let’s face it, who doesn’t love ketchup and brown sugar? She mixes up enough of that to slather over…

Today we are joined by Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Miranda Owen: I am a widowed lady, well past the age of innocence. Why should I not kiss a handsome man in a drawing room? A little carnality won’t hurt me.  – THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE by Jennifer Ashley I find stories with a widowed heroine particularly compelling. For good or bad, marriage and living with somebody play a huge role in your life, and how you function every day. In a good marriage, your partner enhances your life – in small ways and big ways. If you have the misfortune to be in a bad marriage, it sours many aspects of your life. In different ways, stories about women who have loved and lost, as well as stories about women who have endured until being set free by a spouse’s death, are equally fascinating. In stories where there was some affection between the husband and wife, an author tries to convey the love that existed and how the wife is left to pick up the pieces. One of the first stories I read with a widowed heroine was THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE by Jennifer Ashley. In Jennifer…

“I was, uh… just, you know, starting a load of laundry.” I caged her in with my arms on either side of her body, my hands pressed against the top of the washer, and leaned down to bring my face closer to hers. “You’re a horrible liar, Tatum,” I practically growled. “You’re even worse at hiding something.” “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “There’s something in here”—I tapped on the lid—“that you don’t want me to see.” “Just clothes. Dirty, smelly, sweaty clothes.” I didn’t bother to fight the smirk as I held her stare, silently calling her bluff. “And socks, too.” Her voice was almost inaudible, felt more in the air that drifted from her lips to my face than heard in the words she’d spoken. “Lots of socks.” I no longer believed she hid lingerie, though I was lost at what it could be. “Then it’s a good thing I walked in when I did, huh? You shouldn’t mix your clothes. You could ruin them if they’re not separated. But don’t worry, I’ll help you sort.” I started to pull away so I could lift the lid and end the charade, but she stopped me by…

He saw Elliott’s car just after he pulled up. He was thinking of the snakes, big cats, and occasional black bear that might be around the lake. Animal attacks were rare, but they were a possibility. He grabbed a handheld radio and popped the trunk to get a rifle. After checking to see if it was loaded, he pocketed some extra rounds, shouldered his backpack, and headed toward the car. He knew Millie Powers had been inside it looking for a clue as to who owned it, but he looked inside to satisfy himself before striking out. After circling the car a couple of times, he finally found a set of tracks leading along the shore and followed them. About two hundred yards from the car, he found his first clue. It was a tube of oil paint—­burnt umber. That was when he remembered that Elliot was an accomplished artist, so he took a picture of the tube of paint, put up a marker to indicate where he found it, then dropped the paint tube in an evidence bag and kept moving. Lon paused a moment along the shore to look around and slowly became aware of what might have…

Today we are joined by Senior Reviewer Deb Wiley, with an article all about charismatic pets as side characters in cozy mysteries, contemporary romance, and other fiction genres. Enjoy! Stories featuring pets are always a popular draw for me. Whether it involves a man borrowing someone’s dog to capture the interest of a woman, such as in Sarah Morgan’s NEW YORK, ACTUALLY, or a mysterious cat who keeps popping up at the most opportune times, such as in FINAL SHADOWS by Kay Hooper, dog and cat stories are almost guaranteed to be on my TBR shelf. But what about stories featuring some more unusual animals rather than the expected dog or cat? Here are a few of the more intriguing stories I’ve read with pets outside the norm. Kym Roberts is hands-down the winner for having the most unusual and most entertaining pet! Her Book Barn series features a bookstore owner, which already draws my attention. However, Charli Rae Warren’s pet pink armadillo, Princess, steals the show in almost every book. In KILLER CLASSICS, Princess gets a boyfriend.  I’m not going to spoil anything by saying more but if you love pets and other animals getting involved in the storylines,…

One of the best things about writing romances is that I get to delve into my favorite tropes (back when I first started writing romance, in the olden days, we called them hooks) and wallow in their awesomeness. I can explore those fun fantasies I love to read and put them into my own stories. One of my favorite tropes is Friends-to-Lovers. When emotions start to change between longtime friends it can throw them for a loop, especially when they’re not sure if the other one’s feelings have changed as well. Then there’s the worry that if they do take the relationship to the next level, will it ruin everything they had? Is a romance between friends worth the risk? In THE STANDBY GUY, Carter and Katie are not just best friends, they live next door to one another. Yeah, the Boy Next Door/Girl Next Door trope. I can’t help it, I love that one too. So there’s the added pressure of what would happen if things didn’t go well. Not only could they lose their friendship, but they’re going to run into this person all the time. Talk about awkward. Again, is it worth the risk? Another favorite trope…

We are pleased to share this interview between bestselling author KAREN ROSE and Fresh Fiction reviewer Pat Pascale. Karen’s new book, SAY YOU’RE SORRY, is in stores now. If you’re in the Houston area, Karen Rose and Lisa Gardner will be at Murder by the Book this Wednesday, February 20, for a fun event. You can find out more here: https://www.murderbooks.com/event/lisa-gardner-karen-rose. Now, on with the interview! I’ve been a fan of the bestselling and award-winning author Karen Rose since she published DON’T TELL in 2004. SAY YOU’RE SORRY is among my best reads of the year so far. It’s over 600 pages of pure terror, excitement with a touch of sweet romance kept me glued until the end. The serial killer in this novel is a monster who must be stopped before he mutilates, assaults, and kills another victim. He has a strange “code of ethics” behind how he chooses victims. Please tell us more about him, and how this character formed in your mind while writing SAY YOU’RE SORRY. I wanted to write a killer whose fury might be understandable to readers, even when his actions were totally wrong. SAY YOU’RE SORRY’s killer tells himself he’s taking out this fury…