It feels like yesterday that Samantha Chase released A SKY FULL OF STARS, but as we all know there is always another book on the horizon. Yes, we have to wait until February for her next Shaughnessy Brothers book, ONE MORE PROMISE (out February, 2018), but as a little treat, Samantha wants to share the cover with us today!   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. She rolls up her sleeves and gets ready to make this the best campaign ever. Fallen idol Dylan Anders catches wind of the project and thinks it’d be the perfect way to redeem himself. Paige is less than thrilled that Dylan is using the cause for his personal gain—and she makes it clear. But as the campaign has them working side by side, their attraction grows. And so do their challenges… Pre-order ONE MORE PROMISE: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Ripped Bodice | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR

Who loves to travel and see new places? Even though I am a home body—I love nothing more than curling up on a cold afternoon in winter with a mug of coffee, and a book or my kindle in hand—losing myself in new worlds, we also do a lot of travelling around researching settings for my books.  Even in summertime down under, you will often find me (when I am not writing or researching) swinging in my hammock with an icy glass of something beside me. But always, always with a story in front of me. I love reading, and wish I had more time to indulge, but new stories and new places beckon. But even though I love being home—being a Cancerian, home and hearth is very important to me—we hit the road each winter, and head off exploring settings and doing research for my stories. I’ve written contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and I’ve dipped my toe into historical and paranormal stories as well over the past six years since I began writing. My writing world is a place I love to be and I hope you enjoy visiting and seeing what I’m currently researching and writing, as well…

In my mid-twenties, I had a group of friends that got together every Friday night for wine tasting.  Sounds like a fairly mundane thing to do, particularly week after week. However, what made this group different was every tasting was blind. The guy who organized these get-togethers would typically choose ten wines, and put them in paper bags. Some weeks we’d know the theme of the tasting—he might ask everyone to bring a bottle of syrah, for example. Other weeks it was a complete mystery. He’d give us tasting sheets, some would make notes, some didn’t care, and at the end of the evening, we’d see what we tasted, and talk about the wines. This was my introduction to wine tasting. Over the course of the years I became a certified executive sommelier, which is the second tier, similar in experience to an executive chef. My husband and I also owned a wine bar. As any writer who has attended any workshop, or even read a book on writing, has heard, write what you know. Thus, my newest series, Butler Ranch, is set on the central coast of California, one of my favorite wine regions—and was hugely inspired by those…

Coming to you from Down Under. The great southern land. The sunburnt country. The—actually, that’s plenty of that. Jess Anastasi here and today I’m talking about what Australia has done for the world of heroes. Like many authors, I love nothing more than “researching” for inspiration when working on my latest book and deciding what my hero is going to be like. Now, we all know the Hemsworth brothers have a made a big impact on Hollywood, but I’m a TV show addict, and today I’m listing my top five favorite Aussie heroes of the small screen. Bob Morely aka Bellamy Blake  Like many Aussie actors, Bob Morley got his start on the long running Australian soap, Home and Away. I’ve personally never watched the show, even though it’s been on TV as long as I can remember. Morely has certainly cemented his abilities as an actor in playing Bellamy Blake on The 100, which started out as a teen drama on the CW (though in its 4th season, I think it’s grown beyond that now). Bellamy has faced a lot, has had to make hard choices and tried to protect a sister who didn’t want protecting. Morely gives the…

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that American readers have long been fascinated with stories featuring their British cousins. We gathered together six inspirational authors who set their novels across the pond in all different historical eras to get the inside scoop on their latest releases. What drew you to choose the setting of this novel? What about it interests you? Roseanna M. White: I’d gotten to know the Edwardian era while writing my previous series and fell in love with the time period—the world was really in a unique place, where the old traditions were still lingering, but new technology was quickly gaining a place. We have both automobiles and horse-drawn carriages, electricity in some places but by no means all, and still a startling gap in England between the upper class and the average person. I love exploring this meeting of old and new, in those years when the world was on the cusp of a revolution of ideas as well. Sensibilities were changing, and the world was beginning to be what we’d term “modern,” but there was still that charming something of an era gone by. Julie Klassen: I chose to set the first book in the series…

Psst. If you ever run into her, don’t tell her that her old friend writes erotica. There’s probably zero chance the woman I’ll call C will connect the shy conservative she used to hang with with Vonna Harper of the ‘dirty’ books. C is more than a tad judgmental, and I don’t need to listen to her opinion of how I’ve turned out, but a part of me would love to see her expression. Back when her husband and mine were best friends, she knew I was a writer, but then I wrote romances and historicals, not the hot-hot-hot stuff. I’m certain it never occurred to her that I have a dark side. Because despite all the time we spent together, we really didn’t have that much in common, our friendship ran its course, but I think about her from time to time, particularly right now as my latest erotic Her Red Corset hits the electronic stands. Why, you ask and even if you didn’t, please play along because I have a bit of a tale to share about why I wrote Her Red Corset. To give you the short explanation, the story takes place on the second floor of…

Happy Friday, friends! I’ve been struggling this week. I’m attempting and rather poorly to juggle health-issues, a book deadline, and life in general (time with God, time with my family, errands, etc.). It’s got me thinking A LOT about balance and priorities. My husband gave me a book he read ages ago, but I’d imagine the majority of you have heard about it–Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Have you read it? I’m so excited to dive further into this book. The little I’ve read so far has been amazing. Yes, I’m decades behind the curve ball, but that’s okay. It’s never too late to look at your priorities and re-evaluate. When was the last time you revisited your priorities? Any books, tools or suggestions you’ve found particularly helping for finding balance in your life? Because, here’s the thing, life is a collection of moments. Big moments, little moments, and they’re all a gift, but who and what we invest time in is what matters. I’ve decided to live for the moments you can’t put into words.   Blessings, Dani www.danipettrey.com

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” –G.K. Chesterton Chesterton touches on a profound point that is relevant even in the modern age. Girls and women of all ages find fairytales alluring. Is it the damsel in distress? The knight in shining armor? The slaying of the dragon? Or the magical happily-ever-after? I’m going to venture to say it’s all of this which appeals to both little girls and grown women. Let’s take a closer look, shall we? The damsel in distress. What woman has not felt the danger of imminent peril in daily life? Whether she is struggling with family issues, financial strain, pressure at work, or relationship problems, she knows what it’s like to dangle from that emotional tower calling out for help. We have all been Rapunzel, looking away from the wickedness within our small worlds and seeking light and hope on the horizon. This is a scenario a girl of twelve or a woman of sixty can understand on an intimate level. The knight in shining armor. While not every boy or man lives up to the perfect prince…

I’m so excited to be back here on the Fresh Fiction blog to chat about my newest release, the second book in the Lone Star Match series, SOMETHING BORROWED. This series is about a matchmaking bride who desperately wants her bridesmaids to be as happy as she is so she sets up a destination wedding and reunites her bridesmaids with the ones who got away. Unfortunately, no one else really wants to be reunited…or so they think. I loved these characters for so many reasons. Brigid is a type-A personality, trying to please everyone and be the person everyone else wants her to be. The problem is – she has no idea who SHE wants to be. She cares deeply for Grady, could probably even love him, but refuses to see it because he doesn’t fit into the definition she has been given her whole life. Yet, he is the one man who loves her exactly as she is and with whom she can be herself. But he also sees deep inside to her insecurities so she can’t hide from him and that’s pretty darn scary for Brigid. Grady has a lot of baggage but is remarkably well-adjusted (if I…

We asked the authors of SAY YES TO THE SCOT to find out all the details. Check them out below and don’t miss the party tonight on Facebook! Anna Harrington What would no Scotsman be without? A good single malt scotch whisky, one whose taste of the earthy smoke of peat fires and the sweetness of heather lingers on his tongue. One with just enough bite warming down his throat when he takes a sip to chase away the damp and cold of a Highland winter. One that he can dribble across the naked body of the woman who’s stolen his heart and drink up before he makes love to her–the same whisky he can raise in a toast to her on their wedding day and every anniversary for the rest of their lives. About Anna Harrington Regency Romance writer for Grand Central/Forever…loves all things chocolate and coffee, BBC fanatic, terrible cook (What’s an oven?). The Secret Life of Scoundrels WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER Lecia Cornwall His sense of honor. He may be a rogue in a kilt, a bad boy in plaid, a sexy, swashbuckling swordsman, but he’s always true to his convictions, devoted to his clan and…