Welcome back to the Fresh Fiction Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup! Every day this week, some of our favorite authors will be on the blog chatting about their new books, their main characters, and a recipe for a meal or treat those characters would enjoy this festive week. Today we’re featuring contemporary romance authors from St. Martin’s Press! Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for more fun! Missed our previous roundup post? Check it out here! Mystery Authors LAURA TRENTHAM, THE MILITARY WIFE   Harper Lee Wilcox (yes, named after the Harper Lee) is the widow of a decorated Navy SEAL and living with her mom and young son in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, NC. Bennett Caldwell is a former Navy SEAL that served with Harper’s husband, but now runs a survival school in Virginia Beach. Bennett got to know and love Harper through the emails and letters she sent her husband while they were deployed together. When he meets her face-to-face years later, he discovers the real woman is even stronger and more fascinating than the one he imagined. Standing between them is the memory of Noah, Harper’s dead husband and Bennett’s best friend. A common mission brings them together…

As I’m finishing up writing my now 13th book, I’ve realized something about my stories. I’m stuck in a trope rut. What is a trope? By definition, the word trope is a commonly recurring literary device or cliché in works of fiction. Once you recognize a trope in a book or movie, it’s like slipping into a pair of comfy slippers. You get a general idea of how the story will play out and don’t care that you know. You just want to see it again and again, especially if done in different ways. And it seems I happen to have a few favorite tropes that I automatically go to when I create a story. And not only do I love to write these specific tropes but naturally, I love to read them as well. They seem to hit a sweet spot with me and make me happy. What are they? I’m so glad you asked! 1) Enemies to Lovers   Apparently I wrote four books with this trope, and I know exactly why. For a sweet romance writer like myself, an enemies-to-lovers trope is where I can create the most chemistry without resorting to sex—just fun banter, witty one-liners, and…

Welcome to the Fresh Fiction Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup! Every day this week, some of our favorite authors will be on the blog chatting about their new books, their main characters, and a recipe for a meal or treat those characters would enjoy this festive week. Today, we have mystery authors from Midnight Ink. Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for more fun! JD Allen, SKIN GAME The Sin City Investigations books launched in 2018 with 19 Souls, February 8th, Skin released. Private investigator Jim Bean has worked hard to create his new identity in Las Vegas. Now his life’s on cruise control, destination nowhere. He’s got clients enough to pay his bills, a cat, and a stash of Scotch. But life’s not as static as he’d like. His tragic past collides with a dangerous present when ex-fiancé Erica Floyd walks into his investigation. She’s looking for her missing sister. Bean can’t refuse her and the clues lead him to human traffickers and one of Vegas’ biggest hotel moguls. He’s got to face ghosts of his past, his anger of the present, and a brand new enemy to save four women from a fate worse than death. Jim’s not a fancy…

I write, among other things, contemporary romance. Real people, in real situations, finding love in this crazy world. The fact that we do find one another, and that we manage to have meaningful relationships for however long the relationship lasts, is amazing. Do I believe in soul mates? Yes. I have witnessed two people coming together despite the odds and loving one another. It’s a beautiful thing. I’ve also seen heartbreak, I’ve felt heartbreak…but I’ve also felt love—the fit of your other half. That joy is what keeps me writing romance in all forms. It is a celebration of connection. Backstory for In the Dog House: Emma, orphaned as a young teen when her agoraphobic mother died, goes to live with her great aunt and finds Jackson, who lost both parents in a car accident. This creates the dynamic of two teenagers finding love in sorrow and healing through first romantic love. Jackson is bound by misguided duty and leaves Emma after graduation to fulfill a promise to his dead father, and previous generations of Hardy men. Emma is brokenhearted by Jackson choosing to leave her when he was the first to show her romantic love. I think that forgiving…

Today, Editorial Manager Danielle Dresser welcomes award-winning author Laura Trentham! The first book in her new Heart of a Hero series, THE MILITARY WIFE, is available now. One aspect that I found interesting in the military life you portrayed was how lonely it could be, but also at the same time, there’s a support network of people who will go above and beyond to be there when someone needs help. Can you talk a little bit about these “found” families, and how they formed among your characters? My best friend is a military wife, so I’ve had a front-row seat to the spouse experience for two decades. Military bases are their own communities and only the women (and men) who walk the experience can ever truly understand what it’s like to have a spouse deploy for months at a time, especially when you have kids. It really does take a village. In The Military Wife, the friendship between Harper and Allison is sisterly. Allison is Harper’s guide into a strange new world and gives her some good, but tough advice. Then, when Allison needs support, Harper is ready and willing to step up. I loved how their friendship weathered time…

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 ELIZABETH GODDARD!  Writes: Romantic suspense. My latest release is just hitting shelves this month. Never Let Go is Book 1 in my Uncommon Justice series set in Wyoming.   About: Experienced romantic suspense author looking for readers who would love a  romantic suspense novel featuring a heroine with an intriguing job working as a forensic genealogist. She follows in her grandfather’s footsteps to solve a cold case about a baby stolen at birth twenty-one years ago. But she must team up with her old flame, an ex-FBI agent working as a private investigator, and he’s spent years working to get away from a past he must now face. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: – Enjoys action and adventure as well as edge-of your-seat-suspense. – Must love deep characterization. – Loves strong romantic conflict throughout that is equal to the suspense plot. – Enjoys reading about heroines who have real-life struggles, and who fight for justice, fight to survive…

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 LEIGH LENNON! Writes: I write many different types of romances. I’ve never been able to stick to one of anything. I don’t have a favorite color, I have two or three. I don’t own just one comforter for my bed because that would be too much of a commitment. I don’t marry my purse, I date them. Again, the commitment is too much! So, why would I stick to one genre within romance? My books include humor and back and forth banter. It also contains relevant pop fiction. Some may have angst, where others are sweet. But all my romances include swoon-worthy men who would give their lives for their women. If you like to be surprised at the end of the book and love a powerful hero who’d do anything for his gal, I’m the author for you. My most recent release is coming Jan 31, Must Love Coffee, A 425 Madison Avenue Novel. About: Passionate writer and mother of…

Today we have a delightful interview with Jenn McKinlay, author of a new contemporary romance, THE GOOD ONES, and Fresh Fiction reviewer Miranda Owen!   I love your cozy mysteries and your Bluff Point romance series. What inspired you to write this new Happily Ever After series? Thank you – you’re very kind! As for the new series, I was looking for something new and different that I hadn’t seen before and then I started following The Ripped Bodice on Instagram. For those who don’t know, The Ripped Bodice is a romance bookstore (the only romance bookstore in the U.S., I believe) and it’s run by sisters Leah and Bea Koch. They are funny and smart and wonderfully engaging so they were my kernel of an idea that I took to North Carolina and added a rescue kitten, of course, and a hot cowboy architect guy, natch. What can you tell readers about the Happily Ever After series? Is it built around a particular family? A group of friends? Friends. My books are always built around groups of friends. My entire life has been spent traveling in various squads – I have my mom squad, writer squad, library squad, top…

Welcome YA Author Victoria Scott! Her Young Adult mystery author, WE TOLD SIX LIES, is in stores today. What is We Told Six Lies about in your own words? It’s a story about eighteen-year-old Cobain Kelly, whose girlfriend goes missing. As Cobain searches for Molly, the police look at him as their primary suspect, and as more of Cobain’s friends and family members start accusing him of hurting her – and he replays the memories of their relationship – Cobain starts wondering if maybe he did do something to Molly. You’ve published eight other books. How difficult was this one to write comparatively? This was by far my most challenging book. It’s told in first, third, and second person. You read that right. A good 25 percent of this book is in second person. There are also time jumps between when Cobain is reliving his relationship with Molly, and the present when he is trying to find her. If that wasn’t enough, there are also location jumps. So yes, a challenging book to be sure. What are some fun facts about We Told Six Lies? Cobain gets his name from Kurt Cobain (name that band!), there are handwritten journal entries…

The last couple of years have been a challenge. 2016 saw a massive wildfire force the total evacuation of my home city (Fort McMurray, AB) for a month. Since then, I’ve had several family members become sick and/or pass away. It seemed like just when I thought things were going back to normal, some new horrible thing would happen. The stress was unrelenting and my creative output suffered as a result. Thankfully, I have an amazing editor who stuck with me, offered advice, and encouraged me to keep writing despite the often overwhelming grief I was mired in. Writing Sleight of Hand, the latest release in my Outbreak Task Force series, probably saved my life for several reasons: – It gave me an outlet for my grief and stress – It was something positive to focus on – I worked through some of my own trauma while my characters worked through theirs – Daily writing meant keeping a schedule, setting goals, and feeling a sense of accomplishment – Achieving a goal (creative or otherwise) releases dopamine in the brain (the happy chemical) All of this reduced my stress level, which had a direct, positive, impact on my health by: –…