Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Suleikha Snyder | 20 Questions: PRETTY LITTLE LION
Author Guest / October 28, 2021

1–What is the title of your latest release? PRETTY LITTLE LION  2–What is it about? Really attractive miniature lions! Just kidding. It’s the second book in my Third Shift series, featuring various supernatural beings and humans in a post-2016 election world. This one sees lion shifter Elijah Richter, a gruff but deeply loving team leader, joining forces with celebrity influencer Meghna Saxena-Saunders, who is not exactly what she appears to be. The two must stop a would-be supervillain and deal with their sizzling attraction while other beloved Third Shift operatives grapple with problems of their own. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  It’s New York City—and even in an alternate universe where things have gotten worse for marginalized communities, it’s one of my favorite places in the world to write about. It’s a city with a heartbeat—and its heart is comprised of people from all walks of life.   4–How did your heroine surprise you?  I invented her, so I kind of knew what she was up to. Other characters in the book surprised me, because I saw angles in their arcs I hadn’t thought of before, but not her. Meghna is a badass. In many ways,…

Amalie Howard | Title Challenge: RULES FOR HEIRESSES
Author Guest / October 27, 2021

RULES FOR HEIRESSES is the second romance novel in my Daring Dukes series with Sourcebooks Casablanca, and it features a biracial hero who is trying to find his place, along with a fearless and very stubborn heroine who tends to leap before she looks (and gets into a boatload of trouble because of it). I’ve literally been told that I’ve done that my entire life. Lol. Sometimes, it pays to pause and think before acting, and I love that both my heroine and the hero meet the people who help them grow and really appreciate who they are. This novel is set in 1864 and spans from Antigua in the Caribbean (I am a Caribbean born West Indian author, so fist bump!) to the glittering ballrooms of London. My hero, Courtland Chase who was chased away by his family, is determined to make a life for himself outside of England. When my heroine, Ravenna Huntley, crashes into his hotel, while pretending to be a man and on the run from her own obligations, two old friends come face to face…and lip to lip. Obviously, they have to marry because, gasp, they have been seen in flagrante delicto, and while they’re…

Christina Hovland | Title Challenge: APRIL MAY FALL
Author Guest / October 26, 2021

Hi! I’m Christina Hovland, author of APRIL MAY FALL. I’m excited to be here today to tell you all about the story. April is a mommy influencer with a Calm Mom brand she’s curated to show others how to embrace the serene lifestyle. Unfortunately, life gets pretty hard, and April is caught on a live video feed not being calm. (Not at all.) Enter Jack Gibson, the fixer from the company that purchased her brand. He’s there to help her find her way back to calm. Shenanigans and a love story follow. A is for April. The heroine of our story. P is for piping. Piping hot steamy scenes between April and Jack. R is for Rohan. Rohan and the other children (Harmony and Lola) April is raising as a single mother. I is for imaginary. Rohan is having a hard time processing his new life with a single mom and he’s taken solace in a life filled with imaginary (and real!) frogs. L is for ladies. April’s life is filled with friends ready to help. If only she’d let them! * M is for mommy wars. Mommy wars is the name of the series. A is for animal. The…

Verity Lowell | Author-Reader Match: MEET ME IN MADRID
Author Guest / October 26, 2021

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Verity Lowell! Writes: I write steamy romances about ambitious and creative women-falling-for-women. I think of it as queer of color romance but, like the world, my stories have all sorts of ages and stages and different kinds of people. I love to travel and I love good food and I’m always interested in giving the reader a vivid sense of place—if you’re not into evocative description, I may not be your gal. My debut romance, MEET ME IN MADRID is a second-chance entrée with a healthy side of age-gap and plenty of sweet, long-distance relationship angst for dessert. When a blizzard grounds her in Madrid, Charlotte, a museum courier stuck in a job she hates in Connecticut, is unexpectedly reunited with her super in-charge, grad school crush, Adrianna, who offers her a place to “sleep.” Both characters are women of color and part of what brings them together is their shared experience of being marginalized in the academy; the other thing…

Kat Martin | Exclusive Excerpt: THE LAST GOODNIGHT
Author Guest / October 24, 2021

Kade Logan stood on the bank watching the sheriff and his deputies haul the mud-covered vehicle out of the lake.  The crane groaned as the automobile tilted upward, the rear end lifting into the air, the front wheels dragging across the spongy earth.  Brackish lake water poured out through the open windows. For eight long years Kade had been haunted by the mystery of what had happened to the dark green Subaru that belonged to his dead wife.  Her body had been found in a shallow depression in the hills at the base of the mountains outside Denver, but until now, eight years later, her car had never been found. And her killer had never been caught. “You okay?”  Sam Bridger, Kade’s best friend, stood beside him, a tall blond man Kade had known for years. “She’s been dead eight years, Sam.  So yeah, I’m okay.”  But the rage he felt had never lessened.  It should have.  At the time of her death, their marriage was already on the rocks.  The second time Kade had caught Heather cheating, he had filed for divorce. “Maybe they’ll find something in the car that’ll give them a reason to reopen the case,” Sam…

Nina Croft | Author-Reader Match: INSURRECTION
Author Guest / October 21, 2021

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Nina Croft! Writes: Hi everyone, I’m Nina and I love to write hot, sexy romances. All sorts of romance, from contemporary to paranormal to science-fiction. And often a mixture. My latest release, INSURRECTION, takes place five hundred years in the future when humanity (and a few other things, vampires, werewolves, demons….) have fled a dying Earth in search of a new home. About: I’m a full-time writer who lives on an almond farm in the remote mountains of southern Spain. I love the sun and the sea and the mountains, strong heroines, sexy heroes, and animals of any kind (I share my home with a lot of them!) When I’m not writing, my favorite pastimes are reading, riding my horse, walking my dogs, talking to my pig, and lying under the shade of a fig tree, drinking wine. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: I’m looking for like-minded readers, willing to go anywhere and do (almost) anything in search of the perfect happy ever after. A…

Claire Wilder | Author-Reader Match: SPEEDING HEARTS + Giveaway!
Author Guest / October 20, 2021

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Claire Wilder! WRITES Emotional, slow-burn but very steamy small-town romance. In my books, the setting is always stunning and plays a big role in the stories (think small town with sparkling lakes, leafy forests, and tranquil rivers). ABOUT THE AUTHOR Fun-loving lover of romance (plus secret lover of thrillers, horrors, women’s fiction, and YA on the side!) who lives on the west coast of Canada with her rambunctious, creative family. Loves delicious food of all stripes, all the coffee and cab sav. Can frequently be forest walking or riding on an ebike! MY IDEAL READER: Is looking for an emotional read with a big payoff. Dreams of escaping the city for a lakeside retreat. Loves those long-running romances on TV (Pam & Jim [The Office]; Ross & Rachel [Friends, in the beginning!]; Carrie and Brody AND THEN Carrie and Quinn [Homeland]) Likes their romance steamy and is okay with a little angst and few bad words! Considers authors like Claire Kingsley and Melanie Harlow their…

Shae Connor | Title Challenge: HARD DRIVE
Author Guest / October 19, 2021

Hi all! I’m Shae Connor, here to share my new novel HARD DRIVE for the Title Challenge. HARD DRIVE is an F/F college sports romance, set on the campus of the fictional University of Atlanta, featuring a relationship between a computer geek and a softball star. I’ve really enjoyed bringing these characters to life, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading about them. Here’s a little more about what to expect: H is for Happy ending! Guaranteed, naturally. 🙂 A is for Annie, the main character of the story, reserved, quiet, recently out as bisexual, and inexperienced in just about every way. R is for Romance, of course. Annie experiences her first romance after her crush, Eve, asks her on a… D is for … Date! Annie helps Eve with a broken-down laptop, so Eve asks her to… D is for … Dinner, which starts out as just a thank you but ends up leading to more. R is for Rain—or more specifically, thunderstorms. Annie has a phobia, but when they’re caught out in one, Eve finds a good way to distract her. 😉 I is for Introvert. Annie’s a major introvert who deals with anxiety, especially when it comes to…

Betsy St. Amant | Title Challenge: TACOS FOR TWO
Author Guest / October 15, 2021

Tacos. Enough said, am I right? Attraction. This story is unique in that the characters are falling for each other both on AND off screen! Cilantro. Love it or hate it? Jude can’t get enough cilantro (like a true hero) while Rory wishes she could remove it permanently from Planet Earth. Whichever side of this battle you’re on, you’ll appreciate the war. Online romance. Think You’ve Got Mail, with a modern dating app twist. ::heart eyes:: Subterfuge. Sometimes secrets are meant to protect. Other times, they’re meant to harm. This novel offers plenty of both, not only between the hero and heroine, but from both the hero and heroine’s families as well… *  Friendship. Grady is one of my favorite characters in this novel – he serves as a friend/big brother figure to Rory, and I adore his personality! Everyone needs a Grady in their life. Origami. This unique paper-folding art plays a significant role in the story. (I personally do good to fold my dinner napkin into a square, but I digress) Running. Rory and Jude both jog as a personal stress reliever, and end up having an impromptu race at one point in the story that turns into…

Mila Nicks | Author-Reader Match: WHEN YOU WERE MINE + Giveaway!
Author Guest / October 13, 2021

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Mila Nicks! WRITES: Contemporary and paranormal romance featuring heroines of color. ABOUT AUTHOR: Indie author seeks readers for a sweet, swoon-worthy romance. Must love sexy bad-boy heroes who aren’t afraid of being romantic to win over his true love and good girl heroines who are determined, independent, and happen to have a soft spot for said bad boys. Bonus if the reader enjoys adorable little girls with big imaginations and some sass. Double bonus if readers are looking for a cozy fall reader with small town feels. WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR IN MY IDEAL READER MATCH: Enjoys hardworking heroes who aren’t afraid to fight for their heroine Likes second chance romance between high school sweethearts Wants all the cozy small-town vibes when reading about Oak Bend in the fall Prefers a little bit of drama and steam in their romance stories Loves a hard-earned happily ever after for hero and heroine overcome obstacles WHAT TO EXPECT IF COMPATIBLE: Many more feel-good love stories with diverse…