I love movies and television and will often write with the television on in the background. I’m a very visual person and draw a lot of useful cues from the expressions on the actors’ faces, how a shot is framed or the rhythm and words in the dialogue. Eye Candy in some cases. Of course, sometimes I watch just because it’s a darn good movie! LOL! So today I’m sharing with you my Top 5 must see movies or television shows! 1. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER – I got hooked on this show accidentally when I caught a scene between Buffy and Angel as I was flipping through the channels. After that, I was a loyal viewer all the way to the seventh season. If you’re wondering if I’m an Angel or Spike girl, Spike all the way! He always had such passion! 2. X-FILES – So loved all the creepy unexplained phenomena and Sculley and Mulder. The tension that grew between them was so amazing and I could not wait for the movie and that one kiss. . .and then it didn’t happen. Sigh. Still waiting for a true happily ever after for them. I am a hopeful romantic….

Kate stopped as her phone began to buzz. She slipped it out of her purse and felt her arms start to tingle as Jonah’s name popped up on the screen. She’d programmed it in after Viv had given her the number, wanting to be prepared in case he did call. “Sorry, I need to take this,” she said, stepping away from the giraffe as she tapped the phone screen to answer. “Hello, this is Kate Geary,” she said in her best professional voice. “Kate Geary,” he repeated, his voice smooth and warm the way it had sounded over dinner in Ashland that night. It was so different from how he’d sounded at Viv’s house earlier that day or when she’d chased him down the boardwalk during his shirtless dog-walking exercise. “This is Jonah Porter.” “Hello, Jonah.” “Tell me something, Kate Geary,” he said. “What would you like to know, Jonah Porter?” Kate wasn’t sure if the name or the flirtatious note in her voice made Amy look up. The assistant producer lifted one eyebrow and turned to look at a copper shelf on the wall. Jonah laughed on the other end of the line and Kate had another flash of…

Hey, Everyone! So HOLIDAY SPICE is – obviously – a holiday romance and I am so excited that it’s finally here!! I love the holidays – the traditions, the decorations, but mostly I LOVE the movies!! So to celebrate the release of Darcy Shaughnessy’s story, here are my Top Five Favorite Holiday Movies. Just know this…I have VERY eclectic taste in movies and wanted to give you a good variety. Enjoy!! Scrooged – I absolutely ADORE this movie. This is a tradition in our house and I swear we quote it year-round. With Bill Murray in the lead, this comedic take on a Christmas Carol is absolutely hysterical! A Charlie Brown Christmas – This is a classic and we watch it as a family, every single year. I’ve probably watched it every year of my life because I am a HUGE Peanuts fan and every year, whenever there was a Peanuts special on, my grandfather would call and remind me. It’s just a great memory. The Holiday – I love writing holiday romances and I love watching them too. And there is just something very real about this movie that’s not over-the-top or cheesy, but just makes you feel good!…

When I first wrote the story that became THEN CAME YOU. it was set on the wrong coast. That may seem like an odd statement, but the original book was set near Puget Sound in Washington State. I’d made my own town, college, populated it and set to work. However, when I finished Mia and Adam’s story, and there was something off – something not right about it. So, I sent it to my friend JoAnn Ross, a woman who has turned small town romance into an art form, and she said something that floored me: “Your characters are looking at the wrong ocean.” That wasn’t what I expected. But it sure made me think. As I examined the story, I went back over JoAnn’s thoughts about the book, and while she liked it, she agreed that it needed more. That more was a location change. Now, it wasn’t as simple as switching coasts. I started at square one, and that’s when Compass Cove was born. I recreated the character backstories, I tweaked the plot, but more than that, I set out along the north shore of Long Island, the place I’d live my whole life, and found the inspiration…

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 Elizabeth Harmon What do I Write: Romance with a dash of different. Which means characters and settings you don’t see often (if ever!) in contemporary romance. Such as present-day Moscow, sans spies or hitmen. A warm-hearted small town, on the scenic coast of…Antarctica. Hot guys who play hockey on their days off, but are better known as world champion figure skaters. A male stripper who aspires to be the next Stephen King. A wallflower who blossoms on a sexy reality show. A prim and proper Ice Queen, whose mom was a Guns N’ Roses groupie. A billionaire’s son who’s changed his bad boy ways—if only he can make the woman he loves believe it. Intrigued? Let’s get to know each other. More about me: I’m a contemporary romance author whose latest release, SHINING THROUGH, comes out today! My five book Red Hot Russians series is set primarily in the world of competitive figure skating, and the first book in the series,…

Ellie, the main character in my debut YA contemporary romance, A MESSY, BEAUTIFUL LIFE, is captain of her high school’s improv team. She meets Jason onstage in an improv scene that turns pretty steamy. I love improv, and as an anxiety-prone introvert the principles of improv have been a huge gift in my life—stay present, listen, trust. Really, improv has all the benefits of meditation, but without the pesky sitting-still part. For me, the greatest gift of improv has been meeting some of my best friends, including my husband, Brian. (But no, we did not meet in a steamy improv scene.) Since it’s contemporary romance day at Fresh Fiction, I thought I’d talk about relationships. I don’t profess to be a relationship guru (not at all!), but Brian and I have been friends for 22 years and we’re celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary three days before my book release. We believe so much in the principles of improv that we based our vows on them, and I thought it might be a fun way for non-improvisers to think about their relationships: THE IMPROV GUIDE TO RELATIONSHIPS You are all supporting actors Just as in a good improv scene, no one…

I’m not entirely certain where my fascination with old houses – mansions, really – began. The house I grew up in was built for my parents and me, and I was about eighteen months old when we moved into it. Our house was small: two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen, den, and living room with an attached carport. Nothing antebellum or mansion-like about it, but I loved growing up there. Most likely, the fascination started with Nancy Drew – the same way my love of mysteries did. Nancy’s adventures thrilled me, and several of them take place in old houses, some of them antebellum mansions. The Hidden Staircase, The Sign of the Twisted Candles, and The Secret in the Old Attic feature settings that fit the bill. (Three of my favorite books in the series, by the way!) Every old dwelling has secrets to tell, and Nancy always managed to winkle them out. I imagined what it would be like to live in a house that had multiple stories, features like turrets or secret rooms or hidden passages, and a long connection to the past. (I have always wanted a turret of my own but sadly I don’t think I’ll ever…

Kisses. Hot, steamy, sweet, funny, chaste. They come in a hundred different varieties, and I love reading about them all. Who doesn’t? (Well, my husband, for one, but I’d guess he’s in the minority in this audience!) However, as much as I enjoy reading “the kissy bits,” as a good friend of mine labels these moments, I certainly don’t write them all. That’s because I write young adult fiction, and kissing serves a different purpose here than in adult romances. In particular, kisses are an opportunity for me to take my character on an emotional journey of “firsts,” and my goal is to pull the reader along for that ride. Does that mean that kisses in YA fiction are any less swoony or emotional? I hope not! Instead, I’d argue that although kisses in YA novels have a different feel, they can be just as enjoyable. Exhibit A. Callie and Logan’s first kiss in FORGET TOMORROW, where I focus on her feelings rather than the mechanics: His lips touch mine, as light as a moth dancing on a breeze. I’m lost. In school, we learned about the butterfly effect, that something as insignificant as the flapping of insect wings could…

Happy Friday, friends! Is there any word more beautiful than Hope? Dictionary.com describes hope as: the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best No offense to Dictionary.com, but I totally disagree. Hope is not a feeling. It’s a belief. Belief and trust in the One who is our hope. The One who is the anchor for our soul, firm and secure. (Hebrews 6:19) I love the reference to an anchor. While thinking on hope the following definition came to mind. Hope is your beacon in the dark shoals of life. Let it shine!  Again, I love the ocean imagery. If you don’t know, I’m a beach girl through and through. I married a Navy guy who loves to dive. My girls and grand babies are all swimmers. I have a shirt that says Part-time Mermaid (though my puppy ate a whole in the center of it–though I digress…). Needless to say if it involves water or the beach, I’m there. However, here’s the thing about the ocean, you can never turn your back on it. As beautiful and majestic as it is, it can also be deadly with rip currents, strong undertows,…

Sounds pretty fun, doesn’t it?? And as of September 25, my latest book TO CONQUER A SCOT is available to readers and lovers of time travel and historical romance! I’m very excited about this book, and while writing it I actually termed it my Hot Scot novel. Although having read some early reviews, I’m led to believe that it actually may have some funny bits in it. Now I can’t remember writing a comedy, but as long as readers are enjoying the book, I’ll take it. J I started writing TO CONQUER A SCOT during the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and managed to get almost half of the book done during that month of continuous writing. I knew that the Scottish highlander stories were pretty popular, and I too started to read more of that genre, but time travel is the genre of my heart, so I had to write a book that also included that element. And so, To Conquer a Scot was born. This book is going part of my new TIME TRAVELER’S HIGHLAND LOVE series with Entangled, and I’ve just finished TO SAVE A SAVAGE SCOT, which follows on from book one of Aedan and Abby’s…