As the winds of spring turn to summer, we look to the Middle Ages for this month’s round of stories.  “Uneasy is the head that wears the crown,” Shakespeare wrote, and along with illuminating a long-vanished world, these novels also vividly demonstrate the danger within the glamor of those whose blood ties them a little too closely to a throne. Proceeding chronologically, we begin with THE REBEL NUN by Marj Charlier, which sheds new light on fascinating and little-known sixth-century personality Clotild.  While a (not surprisingly) nega...

NEVER BLOW A KISS by debut author Lindsay Lovise came out this month, and it’s lovely. Imagine you’re somewhere you don’t belong, you’re trying to slip out without being caught, and your attention is caught by a gorgeous man himself obviously desperate to escape the clutches of an uninteresting spinster and her very determined mother. You catch his eye and smile in spite of yourself, and then you blow a kiss before making your escape. That’s how NEVER BLOW A KISS begins, and it’s non-stop fun, suspense, and shenanigans right through...

My first Book Boyfriend was a vampire. No surprise since vampires have always had sex appeal. The second was a mage. I’ve always loved magic and characters who can use that. But the movies almost always portrayed male magic users as either very young boys or very old men. Warlock being a rare exception, but I was too young to appreciate how sexy Julian Sands was when I first saw it. Then, at 14, I got hold of the Dragonlance novels. There you had a 20-30-something year old mage whose body was shattered, hair turned white, skin turned metallic...

I just returned from a spring retreat in the mountains of North Carolina. The air was fresh with pine, rain, and flowers and the silence from manmade machines soothed my soul. Horseback riding and hiking by day with no television, no computer, and very little phone reception was a true gift. It was magnificent in it’s simplicity and my reading material was all the entertainment I required. It also provided me with some great recommendations for mystery readers who want to get away as badly as I did. Even if you can’t escape the hustle and b...

Hiding to find a new life or defying expectations to find one, this month we look at four courageous nineteenth century women determined to forge a new path in the field of medicine. We begin with THE NURSE’S SECRET by Amanda Skenandore.  Bellevue Hospital in New York was the first in the US to establish a school of nursing based on principles developed by Florence Nightingale, who insisted that nursing should be a profession peopled by trained and skilled women of good character, not slovenly, unschooled drudges.  Into this regimented and ...

This month’s guest on the FF Women’s Fiction column is bestselling author, Katherine Reay. Katherine’s newest book, THE BERLIN LETTERS, set in the Cold War era, tells the story of a CIA codebreaker who discovers that the father she long assumed was dead is actually imprisoned in East Germany. Her daring attempt to free her father and get him out of Berlin alive is full of twists, turns, danger, and love in the last place she expected to find it.   Q: Katherine, I’m so happy you’re with us today. What inspired you to write The Ber...

As I type these words, spring is bursting out ferociously across much of North America. So ferociously, in fact, that many people have their heat turned up in the morning, but by late afternoon, it’s grown so hot that air conditioning is called for. And then there’s the pollen! All this exterior chaos is the perfect excuse for settling down in a comfy chair with a great book, and as always, I have some fabulous recommendations. For those in the know, the long wait is over for the new Susan Elizabeth Phillips book. And for those not in the k...

In honor of the Wearin’ of the Green, this month we’ll look at stories featuring characters who hail from the Emerald Isle.  Slainte! Moving chronologically, we begin with THE IRISHMAN’S DAUGHTER by V.S. Alexander.  Briana Walsh loves her home at Carrowteige, County Mayo, where her father Brian is the land agent at Lear House for the English owner, Sir Thomas Blakely.  Brian’s job requires him to collect rents from the tenant farmers, which they pay by selling rye and oats, while for their own food, they grow potatoes. Times are alwa...

In honor of Black History Month, I decided to highlight some supernaturally awesome reads by Black authors. Faye Princess series by Layla J. Omorose If you like epic romantasy, you’ll love this slightly dark, slow burn spicy series! DARKNIGHT: ANCIENT BLOODLINES by Layla J. Omorose Faye Princess #1 His worth will be measured by the strength of her love… A Runaway Princess… Tara Du’Faye, Second High Princess of the Faye, has had it with the King’s demands. Fleeing the palace, she is captured by a world of savagery and...

Once upon a time, I used to present a writing workshop on “Crafting Killers” to new writers.  Why did I focus my talk on killers? It’s because I think the villains in books are just as important as the protagonists.  A “good” villain can make or break a book. After all, a “good” villain will stay with you long after a story has ended. (Looking at you, Hannibal Lecter!) For today’s post, I thought I’d hit on a few key points when it comes to crafting a powerful villain. I have two main guidelines for villains: Good villains m...