I am so excited to be on Fresh Fiction today to talk about BY A CHARM AND A CURSE! Charm is my first novel, and I had so much fun writing it. (It’s really easy to say that now that it’s done!) Writing about a carnival let me cram in so many of the things I like: sparkling lights, intricate costumes, performers defying gravity, and a healthy dose of romance. Below, I’ve outlined Five Things You Need to Know about LeGrand’s Carnival. Let’s go! LeGrand’s Carnival is kind of a conglomeration of the Texas Rodeo carnival, the local Renaissance Festival, and the Halloween carnival my elementary school used to put on every year. I stole the rides from the rodeo carnival, the food from the ren fest, and the sense of fun and excitement from the Halloween carnival. It’s all of those things but glossier, shinier, and with a healthy dose of magic. Leslie, the owner of the carnival, and Lars, operator of the Ferris wheel and one of LeGrand’s long-time employees, were based on Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec. I’ve always loved their dynamic; how they sometimes butt heads but always had each other’s backs,…

Hi! I’m Maggie Adams, contemporary romance author. I write stories of small-town heroes and heroines, folks just like you and me that overcome hardships, and always have hope. That’s what I love about the romance genre – whether it’s a paranormal, fantasy, historical or contemporary romance, young or old, the characters all have one thing in common. They HOPE for love, for a solution to the crisis, for their Happy Ever After; or at least, a happy for now. Since I have been called “the eternal optimist” by more than one family member, I guess that’s why I am drawn to the romance genre. Truth to tell, I do try to find the bright side in any situation, but I also work at it; more often than not, that leads me into trouble, and it’s up to my family and friends to help me out! My husband of thirty years says it’s like living in an “I Love Lucy” sitcom, and my kids think I’m too old to be this naïve’, but I do try to believe the best in people. I guess that’s why no matter how sexy the story, there’s a sweetness to all my work as well….

Thank you for inviting me to speak to your readers about THE SECRETS OF MINDFUL BEAUTY published by Skyhorse Publishing. I’m Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd. I’m an author and academic in the field of gender studies. My natural pen name Eliza Redgold is based upon the Gaelic meaning of my full name, Elizabeth Reid Boyd. I write contemporary and historical fiction published by Harlequin and St Martin’s Press (as Eliza Redgold) and non-fiction (as Elizabeth Reid Boyd). I also practice mindfulness and meditation, and teach these practices to my university students. In 2017, The Secrets of Mindful Beauty came out with Skyhorse Publishing, New York. I’m fascinated by how much more creative we are when we slow down and let ideas grow. Our minds are truly magical. I’ve developed some life coaching practices for creative women: mixing magic with mindfulness. These exercises based on women’s wisdom from the past will enhance your creativity. Here’s one to help you slow down and enjoy reading more. A GRACE FOR BOOKS: MINDFUL READING ‘Why have we no grace for books, those spiritual repasts – a grace before Milton – a grace before Shakespeare – a devotional exercise proper to be said before reading…

My interest in wolves was not so much in their physical details, though those are amazing (did you know wolves can smell something a mile away and hear something 6 miles away in the forest or 10 miles away in the open?) I have always been more interested in details about social structure. For example, subordinate wolves often try to bring peace to the pack after a fight between dominants. The more violent the fight, the harder the subordinates try to diffuse the situation with nose kisses and touching and licking. That’s because a Pack must work together to survive. When wolves travel, they put the weakest at the front to set the pace, then sandwich strong and weak wolves, with the Alpha at the back so that he can see everything. When writing about Silver, who is at the dead bottom of the hierarchy, I was curious to read that lower-ranking pack members are often particularly resourceful because they don’t get the pick of the kill and have to use their ingenuity to get enough to eat. I also wanted to know where some of the misconceptions about wolves came from. Like an article in the Journal of Zoology…

I admit it, I am a pop culture binger. As an author, I’m pretty focused, so I don’t allow myself many distractions when I’m in work mode, but in between projects…watch out, I’m watching! There are a couple shows I do make time for during the week because I have to watch in real time. I can’t stand to be left out. This Is Us I have watched, and bawled, weekly since episode one. I love my hour with the Pearson family each week. I have a rather impatient relationship with Kevin. Most of the time, he aggravates me, but then…there are flashes of greatness. The pushmi-pullyu nature of Kate and Toby’s love affair hits me in all of the feels. Toby may even be creeping past Jack to compete for second billing in my affections. But no one can touch Sterling K. Brown as Randall, as far as I’m concerned. I love him and every one of his neuroses. I love how he loves Beth and the rest of his family. And I am so grateful that the show runners are still allowing us glimpses of William. *sigh* I just love that show. The Voice I keep waiting for…

I’ve always been a plot-oriented writer–which can be good news or bad. Fortunately, the idea for BEYOND DANGER, book #2 of my Texas Trilogy, came to me while I was working on book #1. Beau Reese, co-owner of Texas American Enterprises, is black-haired, blue-eyed, and sexy as hell. He was once a highly successful race car driver, sort of a Texas Paul Newman. Beau loves fast cars and fast women. He is also wanted for murder. Private Detective, Cassidy Jones, is smart and beautiful and she’s no pushover. Lucky for Beau, she’s also determined to prove his innocence. When the idea came to me for the first book in the trilogy, BEYOND REASON, I knew I wanted to write multiple stories set around Lincoln Cain. Since Linc owned a company that demanded a lot of his time, I figured he needed a partner to help while he was trying to protect the heroine, Carly Drake, from a dangerous drug lord. As I began working on the second book, the beginning was easy. Beau was in the wrong place at the wrong time, making him the prime suspect in his father’s murder. The trick was to follow the clues that would…

Writers all get their start as avid readers, and most of us never stop devouring books. One of the coolest benefits of being an author is getting the inside scoop about upcoming books. So, I want to share with you some of the books that have just released within the past month – or are coming soon – that I’ve already read and loved, or can’t wait to get my hands on! Here are those books – and a secret look behind the scenes from each author! (Make sure you read to the bottom to see how you can win signed copies of two of these fabulous books now!) BREAKING POINT by Allison Brennan What it’s about: Lucy Kincaid is on the hot-seat with her new boss, but that won’t stop her from helping her friend JT Caruso find his sister, who goes missing while working undercover in a human trafficking organization. Go behind the scenes: Breaking Point is a Lucy Kincaid book, but former cop Bella Caruso kicks off the book and I immediately fell in love with her. Bella is both smart and dangerous, and is willing to take any risk to protect the most innocent in society….

Dylan Anders is making amends …to his family …to the public …to the woman who just walked into his life Paige Walters must learn to forgive …her busy father …her bossy sister …and the wonderful man she horribly misjudged Ambitious Paige Walters is ecstatic when she’s hired to recruit musicians for a literacy campaign—it’s her chance to prove she’s got the chops to make it in the family business. When Dylan steps in, she immediately dislikes him and vows not to let the fallen idol screw it up. But as the work brings Paige and Dylan closer together, their attraction grows…and so do their challenges… Writing a series about a fictitious rock band has been so much fun and so different from the stories I usually write. I was looking for something new and fresh to create for my readers and I think I was able to totally pull that off with the Band on the Run series. ONE MORE PROMISE is book two in the series (ONE MORE KISS came out last February) and I had the best time writing Dylan and Paige’s story. One of the reasons it was so much fun was because I totally had a…

If you have people in your life who aren’t huge fiction readers (why are you doing this to yourself), then you may find them rolling their eyes when you share some insight into life that you gleaned from a book. However, throughout my reading life, I’ve found myself taking away profound words of wisdom from some of my favorite characters. Today I wanted to share some words of wisdom from THE DATING DEBATE because, sometimes, fictional characters reveal real truths. Valentine’s Day was probably a marketing ploy thought up by florists, so they could sell overpriced flowers to desperate guys who were hoping to get laid. All meals should end in chocolate. You should buy a healthy mix of paperbacks and ebooks, just in case there is an EMP blast that knocks out all digital content. If you have no paperbacks you’d have nothing to read and that would be a true apocalypse scenario. In real life, if you’re unhappy, you need to work to change yourself. Having someone who cares about you helps, but it’s not a magic anti-jerk pill. Life lesson is code for things that suck. Dogs/pets unravel the stress in your soul. They’re like furry four-footed…

He doesn’t always have to be the hero. I love when the hero’s there to help when he’s needed, but he also knows when to step back and trust that his love can handle the situation. It’s great getting rescued and all, but sometimes it’s more fun to be the one to rescue him. He’s shy. Confidence is hot, sure, but I have a soft spot for a rough and tough guy who gets a bit tongue-tied in the presence of his crush, especially if… He’s also secretly hilarious. If he makes me laugh, he’ll steal my heart. He’s really good at horseback riding. Whether he’s a cowboy or a Mountie, there’s just something about a man who knows what he’s doing on a horse. The tight pants don’t hurt, either. He loves animals. I mean, puppies and hot guys? Yes. Grumpy cats and hot guys? Yes. Rescued baby goats and hot guys? Yes. The combination of fuzzy animals and hot guys works every time. When someone steps in to help an animal in need (even if it’s just in need of snuggles), there’s really nothing more heroic (or more adorable) than that. SURVIVE THE NIGHT by Katie Ruggle Rocky…