Best Genre Fiction of 2012 With the advent of 2013 the reviewers at Fresh Fiction were asked to make a list of our favorite 2012 books.  As a group we reviewed approximately 2,000 books making choosing a top 10 a huge challenge.  We love our books and get pretty attached. So after much arm wrestling, hair pulling, and attempts at bribery, we’ve settled on letting our reviewers have their own top 5. So, here are some of our reviewers’ selections for the best genre fiction of 2012. Jessica Dunn # of books reviewed 2012- 61 Genres: Romance (Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal, Erotica), YA For someone who averages a book a day, I found it extremely difficult to narrow down my top pics. I have favorite authors whose series I have followed over many years but then I began reviewing for Fresh Fiction six months ago. As a result, I expanded my genres and tried new authors. As a result I found authors like Lori Wild and Sarah MacLean whose books had characters I was invested in.  For a book to become a favorite I need to be drawn in, feel where the character is coming from, and be taken along their…

Chick lit is dead. Or so I as told three years ago when my published decided to put an end to my first series, the High Heels mysteries. The High Heel mysteries were a chick lit series about a fashion designer turned amateur sleuth who had a bad habit of stumbling on dead bodies, as well as an incontinence attraction to a bad boy detective on the LAPD Homicide squad. At the time, I was sad to see the characters go.  Not only were they the first I had sold, but by the time the series ended I’d written five books with them and felt like I’d really grown with them. As my main character had met her awesome guy, transitioning from a single gal to a women in relationship, to a women on the brink of marriage, so had I. But, I trusted my publisher’s instincts and let my characters fade into the sunset along with the entire chick lit genre. And then along came self-publishing. Through a series of circumstances, I got the rights to this series back from my publisher at just about the time that the self-publishing revolution was taking place. So, I decided to self-publish…

Jennifer Bernard offers a smokin’ hot read, all for a good cause Jennifer Bernard blazed onto the romance scene with back-to-back publications of the first two books in Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel series earlier this year, with Publishers Weekly calling book one, THE FIREMAN WHO LOVED ME, “solid, sexy, and funny.” While readers wait for the next full-length story from the Bachelor Firemen, Bernard has a sizzling prequel for them with ONE FINE FIREMAN, an e-original novella from Avon Impulse on sale November 13, 2012 (e-ISBN 9780062257956; $1.99). Not only will readers get a story with lots of heat, they will also be contributing to a good cause with their purchase of ONE FINE FIREMAN. Bernard has pledged to contribute a portion of her earnings from every book sold for the lifetime of the book to the Firefighters Cancer Support Network, an organization she heard about while researching her novels. According to its website, the mission of the Firefighters Cancer Support Network “is to provide timely assistance to all fire service members and their families in the event of cancer diagnosis…[and to provide] awareness to fire service members and their families about the importance of cancer prevention and screening…

Heroes of all types Tuesday, September 25, 2012 What is a hero? It can be anything from a sister taking care of her sibling, a single mom struggling to raise a family, to a uniformed officer. Today’s we’re exploring heroes in fiction with something for everyone. If you like action heroes, we have a pair of time-traveling ones, if you like to read ‘on-the-edge-of-your-seat thrills’ we have a suspense novel that mixes 9/11 with what if. And a twist on the Peter Pan story, wasn’t Tiger Lily a hero too? She saved Peter. So get ready as we explore some heroes in fiction.   YESTERDAY’S HEROES by Heather Long Romance Time Travel Aurora “Rory” Graystone Codename: Halo Abilities: superior reflexes, I.Q. and aptitude for calculating probabilities Mission: find missing teammates Rory knows she’s being watched, and she’s not about to let the hunter catch her in his trap. She’ll confront her stalker, a man she suspects is involved in the disappearances of other superheroes-if she can ignore the sensual heat that fills her every time he’s near… Michael Hunter Codename: Hard Target Abilities: expert tracker and sniper Mission: kill Rory Graystone One of five desperate men sent back in time…

Are You On My List? By NYT Bestseller Dianna Love People ask me all the time in interviews, “If you could meet anybody, who would it be?” They usually want a short sentence or two—a sound bite–so I never get to tell them there are four answers to that question.  For three of them, I’d have to time travel. My first person would be Leonardo Da Vinci, but not because of the recent movie and books. And honestly, not even because of his amazing paintings.  I’ve been fascinated by him since I was young, because he was an artist who was right brain/left brain, like me. Oh, I definitely admire his artistic ability in creating paintings like the Mona Lisa and Last Supper, but I would love to talk to him about his inventions and ideas such as the “Helical Air Screw”– drawings from the fifteenth-century of a rotary-wing flying apparatus.  He drew those sketches hundreds of years before the first helicopter was built in the 1940’s.   Scattered drawings have been found of his “robotic knight,” and he had an early design for an “armored car” (tank type vehicle) with light cannons on a circular platform that could rotate all…

Romance…and Thrillers “Move over Jack Reacher – Jess Harris is comin’ to town.” ~ Cindy Gerard, New York Times bestselling author. Agent Jess Harris is back in another thrilling installment of Debra Webb‘s Faces of Evil series. Jess is ready to start the next chapter in her life as the deputy chief of Birmingham’s major crimes division. But with her first love, Chief of Police Dan Burnett, acting as her new boss it looks like Jess won’t be able to put the past behind her that easily. When the death of a celebrated ballet instructor is assigned to another division and ruled an accident, Jess can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to the story. Her investigations take her deep into the world of Birmingham/s gang and drug culture where another kind of elite power is at work. Jess quickly finds herself the target of more than one deadly enemy. Will she be able to solve the crime before her own life is in jeopardy? “…readers won’t be able to resist.” ~ CJ Lyons, New York Times bestselling author. Faces of Evil Suspense series set in Birmingham, Alabama featuring FBI Special Agent Jess Harris Obsession Faces of Evil #1.0 August…

Are Readers Feeling Alienated at Book Signings? by NYT Best Seller Dianna Love With so many books going to electronic format, readers now have their favorite fix with the click of a button for every type of story from both debut authors and best sellers.  But what’s happening to the book lover’s special keeper shelf of signed novels by favorite authors? It’s empty, because E-Fans have nothing to ask an author to sign. I’ve noticed a trend over the past two years: E-book readers who did attend signings often apologized for not buying the print edition. Some asked to have their e-reader device and/or covers signed. Other fans would slink up looking embarrassed, apologize for buying an electronic copy and ask to have a piece of paper autographed. They actually apologized! I was appalled that ANY reader should feel the need to apologize for purchasing a book, regardless of the format.  I instigated dialogue online with readers about this and discovered that E-fans often do feel alienated because many bookstores now require the reader to purchase the new release at their store in order to attend a signing, reading, or author event.  That’s understandable since bookstores need to cover expenses,…

Treasure of the Celtic Triangle is a sequel to the recent Barbour title From Across the Ancient Waters. Both books are set in Wales in the late 1800’s, though Ireland and Scotland figure into the stories as well. Ever since my work with Scottish novelist George MacDonald began in the 1980s, I have been setting books in Scotland. As I embarked on this series, I thought, “Why not branch out and place the story in Wales instead, yet keep the Celtic theme?” That’s how the books began. The story follows young Scot Percy Drummond, his Welsh cousin Florilyn Westbrooke, and mysterious peasant girl Gwyneth Barrie, who disappears and takes her secrets with her. Percy’s uncle, Florilyn’s father, possesses the most important secret of all. On his deathbed, he commissions Percy to find the one person who holds the key to a long-buried mystery and the future inheritance of Westbrooke Manor. Thus, Percy possesses secrets as well. But his uncle has sworn him to secrecy. He must carry out his commission, and unravel the mystery of Westbrooke Manor…alone. Percy’s quest leads him to Ireland, where Percy must do much soul-searching to discover the truth about the love in his heart. During…

“Was it her imagination or was the spider giving her a “bring it” gesture with two of its spindly legs?” Love can happen in a day Grace never thought she’d be starting her life over from scratch. Losing everything has landed her in Lucky Harbor, working as a dog walker for overwhelmed ER doctor Josh Scott. But the day his nanny fails to show up, Grace goes from caring for Josh’s lovable mutt to caring for his rambunctious son. Soon Grace is playing house with the sexy single dad . . . With so many people depending on him, Josh has no time for anything outside of his clinic and family-until Grace arrives in town. Now this brainy blonde is turning his life inside out and giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “good bedside manner.” Josh and Grace don’t know if what they have can last. But in a town like Lucky Harbor, a lifetime of love starts with just one day . . . Spend the summer in Lucky Harbor Lucky In Love Lucky Harbor #4 June 2012 At Last Lucky Harbor #5 July 2012 Forever And A Day Lucky Harbor #6 August 2012 From FOREVER AND…

What would you do for a royal romance? From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes a new series brimming with the lavish romance of the Regency period—and the dangerous passions of royals in love … The advance buzz has been hot and the reviews are already rolling in.  Romance Junkies says: “BE MY PRINCE surpasses my expectations. It is a phenomenal read; one that I just could not put down…. All I can say is bring me more. I will be waiting patiently for the next book in THE ROYAL TRILOGY series.” MacLean has created an opulent, luxurious world for the Royal Family of Petersbourg – a fictional European nation alive with romance and intrigue during the turbulent age of Napoleon…. Attention one and all. His Royal Highness, Prince Randolph of Petersbourg, will set sail for London in early June and reside at St. James’s Palace for one full month…Some say the true motive for the prince’s visit to our fair country is to seek and marry his future queen. I will therefore pose the question to our devoted and reflective readers: Who among us will be the chosen one? —From the London Ballroom Society Pages Lady Alexandra Monroe…