Alone in her bedchamber later in the day, Gwendeline thought over what the countess had told her. Why had such a sought-after gentleman, the type her father had called a real out-and-outer, taken an interest in her? Why had he been the one to come and fetch her, or the infant he said he’d expected? If he was a leader of the ton, and Gwendeline saw no reason to doubt his mother’s description of his position, what was his interest in her? Friendship with her parents seemed the only possible explanation, but he never spoke to her of them or appeared eager to answer when she tried to do so. Quite the opposite, in fact. This thought reminded Gwendeline of a series of odd remarks she’d caught since coming to town. Both Lady Merryn and her son had made references she didn’t understand to her “situation.” Gwendeline hadn’t been aware that she possessed a situation in the sense that they used the word; seemingly, it was an awkward one. And she was becoming more and more interested in finding out exactly what it involved. She didn’t relish the thought that the people surrounding her knew more of her circumstances than…

Please welcome bestselling author Christy Carlyle! We have a double feature today: an interview with Christy and an exclusive excerpt from her latest release, A DUKE CHANGES EVERYTHING. Don’t forget to check out the Fresh Fiction review, as well! INTERVIEW FF: Mina and Nick are two really interesting characters! On the one hand, you have Mina, who has a profound sense of duty and loyalty to the ducal estate of Enderley, and on the other, there’s Nick who wants nothing to do with it: the title of Duke of Tremayne, the actual property, and all of the responsibilities that come with being a duke. How did you balance this conflict with their budding romance? CC: Thank you! They were definitely two of my favorite characters I’ve ever written. Balancing that conflict with their romance was really the fun part. I love starting out with a hero and heroine who are truly at odds in terms of their goals. It provides the opportunity to have each of them take small steps toward each other, toward understanding and appreciating each other’s perspective. Not to say that either will change who are they are fundamentally. But when a hero and heroine can expand…

Strong heroines. Deadly villains. Killer suspense. That’s my brand – three things I promise to deliver readers with every book. But what does it take to create a strong, modern heroine? Sometimes, it’s a FBI SWAT agent, a woman who’s as deadly with her bare hands as she is with an MP-5 submachine gun, like Maggie Delacorte, the heroine of SWAT SECRET ADMIRER. Other times it’s a socially awkward FBI profiler, a woman who struggles with simple small talk but can tell you what a serial killer will do next before he even knows it himself, like Evelyn Baine, the heroine of my Profiler series. Like real women, strong heroines are as varied as the individuals themselves. Yes, I’ll admit it: I have a soft spot for a woman like Maggie, whose teammates get a kick out of letting her “initiate” the new guy – by going to shake his hand and then promptly flipping him over her shoulder and down to the ground. But even the strongest heroines have vulnerabilities. For Maggie, it’s trusting anyone with the truth about her past and what led her to the FBI: being abducted and raped by a serial criminal who’s still out…

I most often write in the sunroom at the back of my house. It’s a cozy space in my South City St. Louis home that faces out into my backyard. My desk sits in the middle of a wall of windows overlooking a remarkable magnolia tree that flowers a little bit at a time from spring to fall. In the room with me when I write, undoubtedly, are my dogs, Nala and Hazel, and my cat, Owen. Hazel is usually content to doze on the couch while Nala and Owen compete to see who can end up closer to me. Owen is often on my lap or trying to take over my keyboard, while Nala worms her way underneath and often naps on my feet, putting them to sleep and making it difficult to get up for a break. On my desk near my monitor is a collection of meaningful trinkets related to whatever story I’m working on. Over the years, I’ve found this helps me quickly connect to my work in progress. For this series, I started with a Schlilich German shepherd who reminded me of Sledge in A New Leash on Love. When I was writing Sit, Stay,…

Last week, you learned about the first half the authors I met at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This week, I have the second group of fantastic books for you to check out. They are the perfect escape from the holiday bustle that seems to have started before Thanksgiving arrived! Just for you, these authors have created fantasy worlds through loads of research. If you’d like to attend the annual Birding Expo with J.R. Ripley, pick up a copy of A Bird Lover’s Mystery, it’s sure to capture your attention. Book #8, A Birder’s Guide to Murder released this month! If you want to travel to the wine country, JC Eaton has an intoxicating series, The Wine Lovers Mysteries. Book #2, Chardonnayed to Rest, released in October and is a perfect blend of warm-hearted community with secrets that will keep you guessing. Cheryl Hollon’s Shattered at Sea, A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery, will open your eyes to the art of glass blowing and cast your imagination out to sea with the beauty and intrigue that occurs when a passenger disappears on a cruise liner. To round out my recommendations, a bit of historical noir will ground you with how…

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 L.J. Evans! WRITES: I write…well, lots of genres, but they all have some kind of romance wrapped into them. My current standalone series, MY LIFE AS AN ALBUM, is contemporary romance. It started with a coming-of-age romance and is ending with a new adult slow burn. I’ve been accused of making people cry with my words, and I’m only half sorry for it.  Each book in this series was inspired by music and each chapter is really a song title where the words of the song speak to what the characters are going through. If you like music and romance, then you’ll, hopefully, love how they collide in these books. ABOUT AUTHOR: Sappy, romantic writer seeks fans of beautiful lyrics and touching words to read a series that is full of raw emotions and happy endings. After being a victim of “love at first sight” herself and being joyfully married for twenty-five years, the writer feels qualified to share a few happily…

On November 1st, 2018, THEIR CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, book number two in the Charity, Montana trilogy from TULE Publishing, made the USA Today Bestseller list! It is the first time one of my books has made it, and I couldn’t be happier. THEIR CHRISTMAS MIRACLE by Lynne Marshall Charity, Montana, #2 Hunter Wood wants to be respected. A talented cook, he’s ventured out on his own, opening a breakfast and lunch diner in Charity, Montana. He’s got a lot to prove–mostly to himself–and more than a few people to convince he’s a changed man. Tracy Blevin is a registered nurse and pie baker extraordinaire, who is drawn to a most unlikely man, Hunter Wood. A nurturer by profession, she likes to feel needed, but the only thing Hunter needs her for is her pies. Their friendship has changed over the last six months as business partners. The more time Hunter spends with Tracy, the more he finds things to like about her. She’s smart, organized, and…those bright green eyes and delicate mouth are really starting to get to him. Maybe it’s time to move beyond just partnership… When a Montana winter car crash leaves a baby an orphan, Godfather Hunter, lives…

Music is a big part of my writing experience, along with dancing, whenever the mood strikes. My playlists are an eclectic mix of genres. Hip-hop, pop, rap, reggaeton, jazz, country, classical—they’re all part of my music selections. The perfect song can put me in the right headspace and drown out any competing thoughts that get in the way of my productivity. I become lost in the music as well as the story while I’m writing. From a practical standpoint, it also blocks out my upstairs neighbors when they get too loud. A killer playlist becomes the soundtrack for my story and often reflects the attitudes of my characters, along with the ups and downs they face. For instance, in THE FIRST RULE OF HOOK-UPS, as I thought about Alexa and her friends at the Breakup Bash—a party held at Club Escapade to help women get over one man and move onto a better one—a few of Beyoncé’s songs about women and empowerment came to mind. And in the book, when the DJ cues up a line dance song and Alexa joins in, the “Cupid Shuffle” was playing through my headphones. Music also helped in imagining Raphael, a retired male dancer…

Falling in love is not limited to twenty-somethings. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading about young love. I was there once. It can be passionate, heart-wrenching, and exhilarating. But emotions don’t dry up when a character reaches the age of thirty or thirty-five. People over that age are still vibrant and passionate—in real life, and on the page. Mature characters in romances might have lost a partner through death or divorce, or they may have never found the right person or the right time for a relationship. Usually, they are comfortable with themselves and the lives they’ve built so they may not be all that eager to throw another person into the mix, no matter how wildly attracted they are to them. I enjoy writing what some call seasoned romance, romances with characters no longer in their twenties. But traditionally, the romance industry has favored young romances, and the word going around was that readers didn’t want to read love stories with characters who weren’t in the bloom of youth. Things are changing slowly, but I’ve discovered that there is a growing readership who are looking for romances with older characters. Older characters have more life experiences to bring…

Welcome Fresh Fiction reviewer and Blog Coordinator, Danielle Dresser, sharing the books she’s thankful for… Stay tuned for more articles from our reviewers in the near future! I’ve always been a big reader. Anyone in my family will tell you that while I was growing up, we could be a block or two away from our house, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you how to get home because if I had a free moment – in the car after soccer practice, on the way to school, running errands with my parents – I was reading, and oblivious to everything around me if I was invested in a good book. So you can imagine, later this week when we’re sitting around Thanksgiving dinner and everyone is reflecting on the things we’re thankful for, I will definitely be saying books! Here are a few books I’m thankful for (from an ever-changing and ever-expanding list), and why they mean so much to me. Born in Fire by Nora Roberts This was one of the first romance novels my mom every recommended to me. My mom reads everything from medical journals to the latest bestsellers to the romance novels that line the…