Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Kari Lee Townsend | Mayhem on the Mind + Giveaway!
Author Guest , Giveaways / February 12, 2024

Hi there. My name is Kari Lee Townsend, and MAYHEM ON THE MIND is the fifth book in my Kalli Ballas Mystery series. Think MONK meets MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING! I sure do have a blast writing these books with the crazy Greek mamas getting into all sorts of trouble. Kalli is adopted, and her boyfriend Detective Nik Stevens is only half Greek, but that’s Greek enough. The mamas have babies on the mind. Meanwhile, Kalli and Nik haven’t even finished the remodel on the house they split, let alone talked about marriage and babies. They’re turning their two apartments into one house, but when a murder happens, mayhem ensues and any plans for the future are put on hold. I hope everyone is coping with this crazy winter and that our spring will be fabulous reading weather.   M is for Mamas – Greek or otherwise who cause all sorts of mischief! A is for Aphrodite’s – Kalli’s parents’ Greek restaurant. H is for Hera’s Halo – Aunt Tasoula’s pride and joy salon. E is for Evil – Aunt Tasoula’s arch nemesis winds up dead at their 40th class reunion, and she’s the number one suspect! Evil is…

Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount | Title Challenge: CROSSING THE LINE
Author Guest , Giveaways / September 12, 2022

Hey there! Lynn Rush, here. It’s nice to meet you all. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a YA paranormal and contemporary romance author and currently have twelve books published with nine more on the way. I love running trails out here in the desert despite having to hop a rattlesnake or scorpion every so often. Come find me on social media and you’ll get to see some epic sunrises from the desert trails I spend most of my time on.   Hi! Kelly Anne Blount a.k.a. Lynn Rush’s co-author checking in! Lynn and I have written six books together, including our latest release, CROSSING THE LINE. When I’m not writing with Lynn or working on my solo YA romance and dark thriller novels, you can find me snuggled up watching my favorite movies, reading, or hanging out with my sweet family and friends! You can find me everywhere (links at the end of this post)!   C is for Courageous Characters R is for Remembering Loved Ones O is for Open Minded S is for Strong Female Lead S is for Second Chances I is for Independent Women N is for New Beginnings G is for…

Kari Lee Townsend | Two Cents of Doom + Giveaway!
Author Guest , Giveaways / April 11, 2022

Kalliope Ballas is a fashion designer with a prissy calico cat, who falls and hits her head, then wakes up able to read minds but only through the power of touch. A nightmare for a germaphobe. Messy Detective Nikos Stevens lives next door with his slobbery saint Bernard. Think Monk meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Nik is half Greek and Kalli is adopted by a Greek family. For the meddling mamas, that’s Greek enough. That got me thinking about big crazy families. I’m not Greek, but I am fascinated by their history, tradition, and culture. In my research, I found ten Greek traditions. Epiphany – Catching the cross On January 6th the Greek people celebrate Jesus Christ and his baptism. The priest throws a special cross into a blessed body of water, and the people jump in to find it. The person who finds the cross and gives it back to the priest is blessed for the entire year. Ragkoutsaria On the days after the Epiphany, people wear scary masks to exorcise evil spirits from the city. People passing by give them coins as payment for getting rid of the evil spirits. The whole city then gathers to eat,…

SUMMER BBQ RECIPE ROUNDUP | Breathe the Sky by Michelle Hazen
Author Guest , Giveaways / June 19, 2020

Wow, what an incredible week of fabulous books by wonderful authors, awesome giveaways, and great giveaways! Our Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup wraps up today with DESSERT! We’ll also learn more about Michelle Hazen’s BREATHE THE SKY, set in the Mojave Desert. Don’t forget—you can catch up on this week’s recipe roundup at the links below, and have chances to win books by commenting on those posts, too. Thank you for following along all week! We’ll be back with another recipe roundup in the Fall! Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Day 2, a main course with Dylann Crush: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10709 Day 3, a side dish with Elise Hooper: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10710 Day 4, a bread recipe with Vanessa Riley: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10711 Day 5, a dessert with Michelle Hazen: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10712 *** In BREATHE THE SKY, Mari is a wildlife biologist, taking jobs deep in the Mohave Desert to hide from an ex-husband who won’t take divorce for an answer. She keeps to herself, scooping endangered species out of harm’s way on construction sites. Until she gets assigned to Jack Wyatt, the grouchy construction foreman who is the terror of all the other biologists. But he meets his match in Mari–the soft-spoken biologist won’t…

SUMMER BBQ RECIPE ROUNDUP | The Cowboy Says I Do by Dylann Crush
Author Guest , Giveaways / June 16, 2020

The Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup continues with the main course, provided by contemporary romance author, Dylann Crush and her new book, THE COWBOY SAYS I DO. And don’t forget to check out yesterday’s post. . .  and come back tomorrow for more delicious fun! Day 1, an appetizer with Lynn Austin: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10708 Thanks so much to Fresh Fiction for inviting me to share a little bit about the first book in my new Tying the Knot in Texas series. . .  The Cowboy Says I Do. Like my heroine, Lacey, I grew up in Texas where everything seems bigger, including the cowboys’ appetites. There were plenty of backyard cookouts and gatherings with family and friends. But it was always so hot out that no one wanted to stand in front of a blazing grill. Lacey knows how to throw a party, so when she’s feeding a crowd she likes to toss together a batch of this Perfect Pulled Pork. Not only does it take just a few minutes of prep work, but it can be cooked the night before so a cowgirl doesn’t have to miss out on the party. There’s no such thing as a small get together in…

SUMMER BBQ RECIPE ROUNDUP | If I Were You by Lynn Austin
Author Guest , Giveaways / June 15, 2020

We’re excited to bring you the Summer BBQ Recipe Roundup! Join us all week for great books, awesome authors, and delicious recipes to create the perfect BBQ menu! Read on for our first recipe, shared by Lynn Austin, and learn more about her new inspirational historical novel, IF I WERE YOU. And be sure to come back the rest of the week for more fun and book giveaways! My newest novel, If I Were You, begins in the summer of 1950. Audrey Barrett has endured the devastating bombing Blitz in London during World War II. She has fallen in love and married an American soldier who was stationed in England. And now she has moved to the US as a British war bride. She lives in one of the thousands of postwar bungalows that sprang up in new neighborhoods all over America after the war. As chapter one begins, Audrey and her four-year-old son, Robbie, are enjoying a swim in the backyard pool. Then–surprise! A woman claiming to be the real Audrey Barrett rings the doorbell, holding her four-year-old son, Bobby, by the hand. The two Audreys know each other. They were best friends until they parted ways in England four…

Tara Johnson | The Inspiration Behind Where Dandelions Bloom
Author Guest , Giveaways / July 1, 2019

Inspiration can come from the most unusual places. As I began to lay the foundation for my latest novel, Where Dandelions Bloom, several factors were easy. I already knew I wanted to base the heroine on the story of real-life Civil War hero and spy Sarah “Emma” Edmonds. Cassie Kendrick was birthed from Emma’s struggles . . . running from an abusive, alcoholic father determined to marry her off to an even more abusive man. To escape a fate that seemed worse than death, Cassie dons the uniform of a soldier and enlists in the Union Army. The hero, Gabriel Avery, was completely fictitious but inspired by Civil War photographers like Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner, whose work completely changed how war was reported to the public. Gabriel is running from the darkness of his past by trying to find his worth in recognition. I came up with the idea for young, precocious Jonah Pfifer when I stumbled across some fascinating research. The youngest soldier in the American Civil War was only nine years old! Most people assume children were only used as drummer boys and buglers, but as the war dragged on, and casualties increased by alarming numbers, recruitment offices became desperate….

Michele Pariza Wacek | 5 Reasons Why We Love Ghost Stories + Giveaway!
Author Guest , Giveaways / July 1, 2019

Who doesn’t love an old fashioned ghost story? Whether it’s something scary on Halloween or a frightening tale told late at night sitting around a campfire, ghost stories have been around for as long as humans have been telling stories. In fact, I’m such a fan of ghost stories I created a whole series “Secrets of Redemption” that combines the psychological thriller genre with a haunted house. (Because who doesn’t love a haunted house? Except … is the house even haunted? Hmmm.) And, to celebrate the launch of the 3rd book The Evil That Was Done in my award-winning “Secrets of Redemption” series, I thought I’d dive into the question of why ARE we so obsessed with ghosts. Below are five reasons to help explain our ghostly fascinations: 1. Overall, stories provide a safe container for us to feel our emotions. So many of us spend our lives trying to push our uncomfortable emotions away (such as sadness and worry and shame), or numb them or run away from them or whatever it takes to not feel them. The problem with that is if we aren’t feeling our difficult emotions, we also aren’t feeling our joyful, happy emotions. And, as…