This month’s Fresh Fiction column talking all things women’s fiction features a Q&A with Noelle Salazar, whose 2019 debut novel, FLIGHT GIRLS, was an instant bestseller.   Noelle is back with THE ROARING DAYS OF ZORA LILY, about a strong but disadvantaged young woman who uses her remarkable gifts for sewing and design to create a future for herself and her family. The backdrop for this intriguing story –  Seattle, Washington in the 1920s – is one we don’t often see, and adds even more depth to Zora Lily’s intriguing story.   Marie Bostwick: Though not quite a dual timeline, Zora’s story is bookended by contemporary sections that bring up intriguing questions which thrust readers immediately into Zora’s story and keep them turning pages. Without giving too much away, can you set up the scene for us? Noelle Salazar: The story begins in present day with a curator at the Smithsonian working on a collection of costumes from a film in the 1920s. When a tag on one of the gowns falls off, she goes to sew it back on, only to find another name handstitched beneath where it had been. The name – Zora Lily. From there the story…

For many readers who are now fans of paranormal romance or fantasy, they – like my husband and sister-in-law – were fans of the cartoon show Gargoyles. I admit that I never watched it. As I got older, I did read one or two books with gargoyle characters and was intrigued. I will discuss romances featuring gargoyle heroes that range from rom-com, suspense, sweet, spicy, and everything in between. For readers looking for a paranormal rom-com vibe with a side of gargoyles, Ava Ross and Honey Phillips have books that might hit the spot. EXTRA VIRGIN GARGOYLE by Honey Phillips is part of the Monster Between the Sheets series that takes place in Screaming Woods – a town populated with people who were transformed into a variety of monsters. Angie is a normal human transplanted to Screaming Woods because of an inherited bookstore. She initially feels a slight chill because the townspeople are somewhat cautious about an outsider in their midst. Books are the thing that led to a side job working for a gargoyle named Alastair. He is instantly smitten, and their unexpected courtship has a definite Disney Beauty and the Beast vibe. The biggest hurdle to overcome is…

It’s almost Halloween, the perfect time of year to read magical romances about things that go bump in the night. My suggestions have ghosts, demons, vampires, witches, werewolves, and even Death himself. The heat levels and subgenres vary, so there should be something for everyone. LIVE AND LET WITCH by E.B. Lorow If you like YA, check out this fun romance between a teen witch who’s serving time in a magical detention center and accidentally summons a poltergeist in an attempt to get free and a fellow inmate who sees himself as a modern-day Robin Hood. Their banter and chemistry bubbles as they’re on the run from supernatural bounty hunters. SERAPHIM’S LAMENT: INFERNUM by Layla J. Omorose This Dark Urban Fantasy is a devilishly good time. Syrna Reynolds’s nightmarish visions end up coming true when the forces of hell send a demon general out to claim her. The devilishly handsome Dom falls for Syrna and vows to protect her from his wicked overlord. Things get steamy hot as Dom and Syrna navigate the circles of hell and her mysterious bloodline is revealed. THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SAVED A DEMON by Kimberly Lemming Fantasy lovers will adore the whole…

In the last several days, months, and years, checking the news has proven to be a disheartening affair. Human cruelty and misery are constants. Miraculously, so is man/womankind’s desire to create art. I don’t think I’m alone in counting fiction as a most wonderous artform, and I am enormously grateful to writers of today and yesterday for gifting us such captivating words (especially romance!) to sink into like a warm blanket. A book club I belong to read HONOR’S SPLENDOUR this month, by the late Julie Garwood, and each and every one of us agreed that though much of the writing style was outdated and the story took place in the far away year 1099 (!), the tale of a determined young woman buffeted by forces seemingly beyond her control, who refused to surrender her will, uplifted us all. Of course the hero, Duncan, was gorgeous and as captivated by Madelyne as she was by him, the sex was spine tingling, and the adventure glorious. Thank you, Julie, for leaving us gifts that will sustain us in times of turmoil! Eloisa James’s latest Wallflower novel, NOT THAT DUKE, is a lovely addition to her series. Stella knows her appearance, with…

This month, my women’s fiction blog features a Q&A with Katherine Reay, bestselling author of ten novels. Her latest book, A Shadow In Moscow, a riveting tale of two women who are spying behind Russia’s iron curtain during different cold war eras, was released in June.       Q: Your more recent books, including A SHADOW IN MOSCOW, feel like they’ve taken a big turn from your previous books, such as DEAR MR. KNIGHTLEY and THE PRINTED LETTER BOOKSHOP, which solidly occupied the realm of women’s fiction. Even so, elements of women’s fiction are strongly present in these newer books. Can you tell us more about how the inner journey and personal growth of your female characters add to the story of your newer books?   A: So true, there absolutely has been a bit of a transition. I not only moved from contemporary to historical fiction, but added more elements of suspense and a more proactive journey for the female leads of these later stories. Part of the switch came from wanting to bring the “past” out of backstory or memory and set it on the page for the reader, alluding to real times, peoples, and places we can point to and have…

It’s the spooky season.  Time for the pumpkins to come out. Time to watch horror shows and munch on popcorn. It’s time to jump when you think you see something in the shadows. Normally, I talk about romantic suspense books in my monthly post here, but, in honor of the spooky season, I thought I’d expand things a wee bit. Let’s chat about supernatural romantic suspense. In supernatural romantic suspense, our heroes and heroines aren’t just dealing with the usual danger. Nope, not just talking about abductions and murders and those twisted serial killers. With supernatural romantic suspense, there’s a whole new element at play—a completely unpredictable element. Monsters. Those monsters can be vampires, demons, werewolves—you name it.  Readers don’t face typical killers in these tales, and because the killers are – so – beyond the norm, the normal rules don’t apply. These villains can come back again and again. They can have incredible powers. In other words, the hero and heroine will be in for the fight of their lives. There are plenty of authors who write supernatural romantic suspense. Heather Graham’s Krewe of Hunters books feature an elite FBI paranormal team that tracks down the worst of the…

Autumn is just around the corner and it’s time to knit a murder plot! Or maybe you would prefer to cook-up a scheme to blame another for your deadly deeds. Actually, why don’t we let the pros take on the crimes the way it ought to be done—on the page in a great mystery that will entertain you for hours. This month I’m featuring two wonderful novels by two seasoned writers who know how to weave layers of suspense into their intrigue. It’s all about the heroines to the rescue when the innocent are framed to take the fall in a brutal game of collusion and complicity and what better champions can we have than a best friend or a grandma?   KILLER HOOKS by Betty Hechtman releases September 26th and SIEVE AND LET DIE by Victoria Hamilton will be available on October 17th. Add these two books to your library and indulge in two delicious fall treats that won’t hurt your waistline. (Spoiler alert: the snacks you munch on while engrossed in these two page-turners may be bad for your health—choose wisely!) Killer Hooks Crochet Mysteries Book 15 9/26/23 Betty Hechtman KILLER HOOKS by Betty Hechtman Crochet Mysteries #15 Molly Pink…

What history nerd can fail to be fascinated by stories of Chinese history and culture?  While modern governments seldom last more than a handful of seasons, imperial China endured for two thousand years.  Although, as elsewhere in the world, China was dominated by rulers and an elite hierarchy of men, there were several women at the end of its imperial history who wielded real power. This month’s selections will give us glimpses of two of the most important of them, the first empress and the concubine-turned-empress who came to overshadow her. We begin with THE OTHER EMPRESS by Amanda Roberts.  Though trained from birth to become the wife of a high-ranking man, gentle fifteen-year-old Zhenxiu was not prepared to master the bitter rivalries and dangerous intrigue of the Qing Court into which she is thrust as the new wife of future emperor Xianfeng.  Befriending young concubine Lanhua, she helps bring the girl to the emperor’s attention, and over the years, the two grow close.  When the emperor dies, leaving Lanhua’s five-year-old son as the new emperor, the two band together to protect the boy, becoming defacto rulers.  But as the unprepared dowager empress relies more and more on the bold…

Fresh Fiction readers read EVERYTHING, but many of us have a particular fondness for romance. And what is romance? A love story with a happy ending. Many stories (and given my penchant for writing books with the word “Second” in the title, these certainly include my books) involve the main characters getting a second chance of some kind or other. But there is also magic in so many varieties of first encounters, including, of course, the popular “meet cute.” During this past month, I had a first encounter, and I fell HARD! Rebecca Yarros. You’ve heard of her, of course, and probably read her long list of books. Somehow, I had not. Whatever rock I’ve been living under managed to keep her off my radar, but I have pushed that rock aside and told it sternly to behave. In its absence: delight. I’ve sped through IN THE LIKELY EVENT (Wonderful! Kept me glued to the page!), MUSES & MELODIES (Poignant and part of a great series with Sarina Bowen and Devney Perry) THE THINGS WE LEAVE UNFINISHED (Achingly beautiful), and finally and most gloriously, FOURTH WING. FOURTH WING will keep you holding your breath for a very long time, so…

I should preface this piece by saying I have always had a bug phobia. When the first book in Tiffany Roberts’ Spider’s Mate series came out, I thought – “yeah, right”. Who would find a romance with a half-man, half-spider hero appealing. Apparently, me – after a few intrepid forays into reading monster themed romances. I know, I know! Bugs – ick. Your mind might be going to Jeff Goldblum’s character in The Fly which is all kinds of gross. But hear me out. The buggy heroes I’ll be discussing here are human enough so that it’s not The Fly level ick, and they are a complex group of strong, heroic, devoted, patient, caring, and – as C.M. Nascosta describes one of her mothman heroes – “adorkable”. One day I was browsing Amazon and where Scifi and monster romance intersect, I found Susan Trombley’s Iriduan Test Subjects series and some other books that are connected to that series. As I usually do, I started backwards and read MY CHAMELEON MATE, and then MY ANT MONSTER MATE. Those two books led me down a rabbit hole and I started devouring the other books in the series. Again, I cannot stress enough how bug phobic I am. Something about…