Life can be frustrating, especially at this time of year with vampires, goblins and wizards–both real and imaginary. Sometimes a girl’s gotta have a little fun. So sit back and relax with these hot October romances. THE BID, Jax (Aphrodisia, October 2010, $14.00) As Jax, Jacquelyn Frank—New York Times bestselling author of the Nightwalkers and Shadowdwellers series—makes her Aphrodisia debut with a blisteringly hot erotic novel set in an exotic paranormal world. Strapped and chained on the block, a masterpiece of naked flesh and muscle turns slowly…the eyes of the crowd devour the sight of Vejhon, whose platinum-white hair marks him as newly captured from a wild planet on the outer edges of space. His cat-green eyes blaze with fury at the noble men and women in a bidding frenzy—and stops on a man named Najir. This strikingly handsome man who strangely resembles him cries out the winning bid on behalf of the lady he serves. Hanna Drakoulous must and will have a matched pair of the finest males in the galaxy. Shackled, Vejhon can only marvel at the mysterious beauty with blue skin and shining eyes whom Najir clearly worships. But Vejhon refuses to humble himself—until Hanna’s kiss strikes…

The showers of April will probably be required when you take a look at some of the HOT books on sale now. From feral beasts to dangerous rakehells you’ll find a little special treat. Kate Douglas, Kathleen Dante, Devyn Quinn, SEXY BEAST VIII (Aphrodisia, 3/30/2010, $14.00) Kate Douglas headlines a brand-new collection in which fierce, feral men aim to fulfill every woman’s most carnal desires. In “Chanku Spirit,” Anton travels to Florida with Stefan, his lover, and Matt, one of the newest Chanku in a quest to learn more about their sensual shapeshifter history. There they find the goddess who gives their erotic birthright meaning, but only Matt is powerful enough to discover the amazing secrets this mystical woman possesses. Julia Templeton, VICTOR (Aphrodisia, 3/30/2010, $14.00) Rakehells of Rochester In the second book in Julia Templeton Rakehells of Rochester trilogy, a rake without a conscience sets out to seduce a virtuous widow, but realizes it is he who has been seduced, heart and soul. Jean Johnson, BEDTIME STORIES (Berkley Heat, 4/6/2010, $15.00) Jean Johnson doesn’t disappoint with her re-tellings of classics such as Beauty and the Beast, The Frog Prince, Puss n’ Boots, and Sleeping Beauty. Jean Johnson reinvents classic…

Headbands, bell-bottoms, love beads, and Janis Joplin. Don’t worry about tomorrow, enjoy today. Getting back to nature, organic food…. I don’t know, maybe it’s the economy or something, but Karl and I planted a garden this year. We planted plenty of squash, peppers, and tomatoes because we figured some of the plants would die. They didn’t. Our freezer is almost full of squash (we have a small chest size freezer), but the tomatoes are getting ripe now. I’ve put squash in stir-fry, soups, spaghetti, and pizza. I’m going to need some more squash recipes. I’ve been wondering about squash wine. What do y’all think? The strangest thing has happened, though. I’m losing weight. By “bulking” up my food with lots of veggies, I don’t get hungry nearly as often. Crazy, isn’t it? Okay, now I have something to control my appetite, I wondered what would happen if I started exercising, just a short workout on the treadmill. I started out at 15 minutes, and that was pushing it. I’m a writer, and I sit on my butt every day so I have no exertion level. Zilch, none. I’ve lost 15 pounds! I’m empowered, look out world! Click here to read…

TJ Bennett is the author of “Dark and Daring Romance” and a former Romance Writers of America Golden Heart nominee. TJ writes “outside the box” historical romance featuring richly detailed settings and unusual subjects. Her critically-acclaimed debut novel, THE LEGACY, was rated a “Buried Treasure 2008” and a “Desert Isle Keeper” by the influential reader site All About Romance. The Historical Novel Society deemed THE LEGACY “a solid historical romance from a promising debut author.” THE LEGACY, set in 16th century Reformation Germany during the Peasant Revolution, was also a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest, the Book Buyers Best Award, and the Holt Medallion. TJ’s newest release, THE PROMISE, follows a mercenary during Charles V’s Italian campaigns. THE PROMISE was awarded TOP PICK status by Night Owl Romance and given four stars by Romantic Times BOOKReviews, which called TJ an “author to watch.” Eye on Romance’s Historical Romance Writers’ reviewer says TJ is a “master at writing historical fiction.” FF: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, TJ. Tell us a little more about your work. TJ: I’d like to thank Fresh Fiction for having me here today to talk about my latest release, THE PROMISE. This is a…

If someone doesn’t glue me down soon I’m going to hurt myself. Why all the extra energy? Lot’s of reasons. Despite this economic downturn and the lull in publishing, romance has not only survived, it’s thriving! Take that, literary snobs! Okay, that isn’t nice, but it’s how I feel. Would someone please tell me what is so bad about losing yourself in a passionate love story? One that ends with a Happily Ever After? Hot heroes to die for, heroines we’d like to befriend and that warm fuzzy feeling we get when we read The End. How can anyone have issues with that? Not me, and I don’t defend romance either. I blow off the snarky comments with a shrug of my shoulders and a suggestion to the naysayer that perhaps they might want professional help to deal with that cynical chip on their shoulder. Okay, maybe that is a wee bit defensive, but it’s true! Click here to read the rest of Karin’s blog and to leave a comment. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Oldest? Middle? Youngest? Only? Does your position in your birth family determine aspects of your personality? May psychologists believe that it does. A glance around my own birth family (6 siblings), as well as the family I gave birth to (3 kids), tells me there’s a nugget of truth in birth-order/personality theories. An added bonus: yet another character-creation aid for writers. When I dreamed up the various members of the Santangelo family in A Little Light Magic (Leisure Books, May 26), I kept birth order personality traits in mind. Here’s a quick rundown: Nick Santangelo (hero of A Little Light Magic): The classic oldest child. Conservative, responsible, workaholic, protector, doesn’t like to take risks. Nick’s a business owner, which is not unusual for an oldest child. He’s used to making decisions and giving orders (having practiced in childhood on his younger brothers). He doesn’t often let loose and just have fun – everything’s tied up in work and responsibility for Nick. Click here to read the rest of Joy’s blog and to comment. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

I love a great many things about romance, but I like the fantasy aspect the most. Daydreaming is such a wonderful pastime, isn’t it? And it’s free! I did get to indulge in a big way while writing SAVED BY THE MONARCH. Since I’m scared to death of flying, I make a point to do it at least once a year. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my intrepid heroines, it’s that life is too short to let fear win. When I travel, I see as people wait for their loved ones at airports, or for strangers holding up signs with names. And since I’m a writer, I see book ideas everywhere… What if someone went on vacation to Europe, to a small kingdom her parents had left behind when she’d been a very young child? And what if the surprise of a lifetime waited for her when she arrived? Click to read the rest of Dana’s blog and to leave a comment. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Recently Samhain Publishing released a true book of my heart, BUTTERFLY TATTOO. This edgy and genre-bending contemporary romance is my seventh published book although it was the very first one that my agent shopped on my behalf. The winding path this novel took before becoming published is a true study in how important relationships are, not only in publishing, but in all walks of life. I thought it might be interesting for my friends and readers to learn the crazy relationship connections that are involved in my road to publication. The story begins with Louisa Edwards, the editor who ultimately bought my first book, PARALLEL ATTRACTION. Louisa is literally one of my favorite people in all of publishing. We’ve worn a lot of hats together, and it’s almost amusing as time goes on to see just how many caps and beanies we can swap. While Louisa was still an editor at Penguin Putnam, I placed three authors with her, and we always felt that our tastes overlapped and blended almost mystically. So when my agent Pamela Harty—a super goddess among agents, by the way—shared BUTTERFLY TATTOO with her, Louisa fell in love. I mean, head-tripping-over-heels, crazy in love. She fought…

We’ve all got tropes we like – assassin heroes, marriage of convenience, small town romance, older man/younger woman (or vice versa), uber alpha heroes, beta heroes, certain historical periods (me? I love me some wallpaper regencies), friends to lovers, whatever your preferences may be – we’ve all got em. Relentless is a story of opposites. In Abbie, we have a woman without political power. In the world I built for my Federation books, the haves are Ranked. As in they are members of the ruling Families who hold the reins of political and economic power across all the Federation Universes. Everyone else is unranked and therefore able to rise only so high. So Abbie is unranked. She’s also a barrister, a public defender if you will and she has spent her adult life working to bring a more representative form of governance to her home ‘Verse. She’s small and fiery and full of passion and conviction. Click to read the rest of Lauren’s blog and to comment. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

My mother and I don’t always see eye to eye, but the one thing we always have agreed on are romance novels. We absolutely love them. One of my main memories as a child was going to the library with my mother every Sunday, where she’d exchange her stack of hardcover romances for a new stack of books. As soon as I was old enough to have run through the Judy Blume books, I made my way over to romances. And was hooked. Little did I know that I would be writing them one day. (And that my mother would be reading them. But that’s another article, entirely!) Like many writers, I took the long way around to becoming an erotic romance author. I graduated from Stanford with an Economics degree in 1994, but really, I knew I was never going to become a management consultant. No, I wanted to be a rock star. So I recorded 4 CDs, played 1,000+ shows throughout North America, had a turn at being a star in Brazil, and then said, “Okay, what’s next?” Somewhere along the way when my bank account was looking worse for the wear, I worked as a Director of…