Hi, I’m Sami and I write romance novels set in Australia. Not surprising since I live in Australia and have all my life. They say ‘write what you know’ and I know a lot, a LOT, about Aussie men. I didn’t mean that to sound like I’ve had a LOT of personal experience…more that I’ve been a life-long observer J. One of the best things about the new publishing paradigm is the freedom it allows me to write my Aussie blokes, the way I see them. Years ago when I first began reading romance—long before the e reading revolution when I could only get those little Harlequins from the library or my local K-Mart—there were very few Australian men in romance novels. The ones that existed were the uber rich type who lived in a posh part of Sydney, travelled a lot and spoke like British aristocrats. In the end these guys came off looking very cosmopolitan, and very unreal to me. The men I actually knew were nothing like that. They were big and loud and uncouth, sometimes volatile and often inappropriate. They were also protective and strong, hardworking optimists, decent salt-of-the earth individuals who laughed loudly and made…

Hi. My name is Candice Gilmer, and I write contemporary and paranormal romance. And I used to write fan fiction. I wrote a lot of fan fiction. I had a fangirl love for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars, and wrote about my adoration of the character quite often. If he had as many girlfriends as I wrote about him having, well that Jedi would have never gotten anything done. I even wrote ongoing stories with him and an OC I made, (Original Character), a serial before serials were popular. And I loved it. I loved the world, I loved the rules of the world, and I loved Star Wars. (Still do.) Sure, I branched out and wrote some Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction (my latest release, FANTASY GIRL, the main character, Lynn, writes Buffy fan fiction) and a few other genres. It was fun to delve deeper into these worlds that I loved, and create more stories and explore the nuance of every scene or episode, weaving my own stories in among the cannon ones. Besides being fun, I learned how to do a lot of specific things writing fan fiction, too. Like dialog. Pacing. (Two simple things, but…

As an author who’s fortunate enough to write historical romance, which also includes throwing in time travel every now and then, I have to say there is nothing better than sitting down and reading a book that has juicy scandal throughout it, or characters who skate on very thin ice that could possibly throw them toward ruin. I tend to write outside the box, which will probably never make me a household name, but then I don’t write to the market, I write books that I’d love to read, and hopefully others will as well. My new series which debuts with Entangled Publishing’s Select Historical imprint To Marry a Rogue certainly has scandal, sex and a villain who’s seriously in need of a good wallop. ONLY AN EARL WILL DO opens with the words, “You’re ruined!” Which should set you up for a read that will hopefully keep you turning the pages? It’s a tale of two people, ripped apart by financial status, and the devious plans of others with their own alternative motive. Of course when two people are separated by time, life happens, it certainly doesn’t stop for anyone, and things happen… needless to say, when my hero…

The vast majority of my plotting is done either driving to and from work, or in the shower. Seriously, if I could get a water proof computer set up in my master bathroom, I’d plot a book in half the time. Despite my propensity for free-thinking behind the wheel and while washing my hair, the general premise for the Eden Series came from someplace completely unexpected. I was in my kitchen one afternoon prepping for some guests to come over and running horribly late, when I spun toward something sitting on the countertop across the room, held out my hand palm up, and tried to “summon” the object to me. No, I’m not delusional. (Well, okay. Maybe I’m a little bit nutty, but they tell me it’s all part of the job.) Still, what shocked me with my simple action was that I fully expected the object to fly across the room and land in my palm. I didn’t plan it. I just did it as if it were completely natural. About three seconds later—once I’d double checked to make sure no one had seen what I had done—I realized the reason I’d believed I could actually pull off such…

I started out writing mainstream science fiction more years ago than I care to admit to. Those stories were filled with menacing aliens designed to terrify my heroes and heroines. Then romance called, and I decided to try my hand at writing that. I still wanted aliens, but nicer ones. Hunky ones. Aliens who would make an Earthling race off-planet for love. When I started, I wasn’t sure how to build hot extraterrestrials. What would make them different from Earthlings, but not so different that they were unattractive? I had a few thoughts, but I wasn’t certain what tempted me would appeal to readers. Unsure of how friends and family would feel about me writing explicit scenes, I was afraid to ask anyone I knew. This was before social media, so I didn’t have that connection either. Enter happy hour on a Friday night after work. Alcohol. Woozy co-workers. Lowered inhibitions. The door was open, and I walked through it. “Aliens,” I said to the three raucously giggling women I toiled 30 hours a week with. “They want to ravish you. What are they ravishing you with?” The descriptions that followed told me what a pure life I’d led up…

While I’ve been a voracious reader of romance – Harlequin books specifically – since I was fourteen years old, I’ve never been a writer of typical romance novels. My books are filled with hard topics, issues that face real women, without any sugarcoating to make them more palatable. I didn’t choose this route. The voices, the stories, the people that appear in my head, chose me. No matter what I write, for whatever line or continuity or project, my books are filled with intense, emotional fiction based on facts of life. They aren’t true stories. None of them are based on real people (other than my own true life love story published with HCI books.) They are larger than life. And yet…they all that grain of truth that taps into real feelings, real hurts, real challenges. All of my books give something else, as well. They show real ways to deal with the issues. The challenges. They are filled with life truths. They are filled with hope. And the promise of happiness. HIS FIRST CHOICE emulates all of this. While Lacey Hamilton, my heroine, is a strong, necessary, vital character, I feel that the book is larger Jeb’s as well….

Since I was three years old I have loved the written word. There is nothing like getting lost in a good book. Starting in grade school I discovered that I was pretty good writer, but as much as I loved to write I still wasn’t ready to take the leap into seriously pursuing a writing career. And then I discovered two writers who would change my life, Jackie Collins and L.A. Banks. The first Jackie Collins novel I ever read was Dangerous Kiss, A Lucky Santangelo Novel. At the time I read Dangerous Kiss, it was the most recent in the Lucky Santangelo series. I fell in love with Jackie’s writing. It was descriptive, interesting, and diverse. Jackie created characters from all walks of life, showcasing the real world we all live in. After devouring Dangerous Kiss, I read the rest of the books in the Lucky Santangelo series before moving on to reading every book Jackie had written. Today I own and treasure them all and am grateful for the lasting influence she has had on me. Jackie would always tell aspiring writers that she was a reform school drop out with no writing background and if she could…

“All I Need” by Mat Kearney A gorgeous song, one which Kearney reportedly wrote after hearing the story of friends’ escaping Hurricane Katrina. The lyrics portray a couple holding on to one another for survival and fighting against overwhelming odds. An incredible song about an incredible love, which Emmett and Savannah find in ALL I NEED. “Whatever It Takes” by Lifehouse Although the lyrics seem to be more about an existing couple trying to stay together, the idea of doing “Whatever It Takes” could be Emmett’s theme song in ALL I NEED. He’s in the relationship way before Savannah is, and he’s pretty determined to do whatever he needs to in order to win her heart. “Over My Head” by The Fray This one belongs to Emmett as well. What starts as a friends-with-benefits arrangement with Savannah soon has him in deeper than he’s even been with any woman – and he’s a little overwhelmed and unsure once he realizes that: He groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. She was never going to have anything to do with him again and he didn’t know how to— This was not the way a guy acted over a woman who…

My name is JL Merrow and I—this will be no surprise to anyone who’s ever read one of my books—am British. Painfully so, and nowhere was this brought home to me more fully than on a recent trip to southern Italy. The sun didn’t so much smile upon us as leer down with an evil glint in its metaphorical eye. It was hot. The Italian women strolled around in the 36 degree heat (that’s high nineties in old money) looking cool and expertly made-up in elegant shift dresses; their menfolk swaggered easily in shorts and open-necked linen shirts; all displayed sunkissed limbs and perfect hair. I, on the other hand, was a pink-faced, frizzy-haired fashion disaster, not so much tanning in the Mediterranean sun as turning into one giant ambulatory freckle. Noel Coward sang, famously, that “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” This, I can assure you, is because in this green and pleasant land, we don’t actually have any midday sun, as a rule. Oh, we get the occasional short spell of warmer temperatures, giving the tabloids an excuse to dust off the Cor, What a Scorcher! headlines and print pictures of amply endowed young…

Hello, Fresh Fiction readers! This is my first time on the Fresh Fiction blog, and I’m super excited to be here. I’m celebrating the release of TRIPLE SCORE, but it’s a bit bittersweet, as it’s the final book in my Art of Seduction series and my final book for Harlequin Blaze. I’ve loved writing for Blaze. I like the sexual tension. I like the heat when that tension explodes. But most of all, I like the snappy dialogue. Yep, dialogue’s my jam. I live for lively banter, witty repartee, the perfect parting remark. My idol is Aaron Sorkin, who wrote masterpieces like TV’s West Wing and Newsroom and movies Moneyball and The American President. His dialogue sparkles. It’s musical, reflective, funny, smart. Like this gem from The Social Network: Lawyer: Mr. Zuckerberg, do I have your full attention? Mark Zuckerberg: No. Lawyer: Do you think I deserve it? Mark Zuckerberg: What? Lawyer: Do you think I deserve your full attention? Mark Zuckerberg: I had to swear an oath before we began this deposition, and I don’t want to perjure myself, so I have a legal obligation to say no. Lawyer: Okay – no. You don’t think I deserve your attention….