1–What’s the name of your latest release?  A Little Bit of Grace 2–What is it about? After the implosion of her marriage and the loss of her mom leaves Grace Adams entirely alone in the world, a letter from a relative she never knew she had sends her on a trip to a tropical paradise, where she starts to uncover answers about the eccentric woman her family never mentioned: an octogenarian who writes a viral relationship-advice blog, a compulsive (and highly successful) matchmaker. . . and the keeper of an unimaginable family secret held for more than fifty years. It’s a story about the choices families make and how they color what we believe, finding forgiveness for the unforgivable, and starting over when the happy ending ends. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  For Grace, it’s underestimated; for her Great-aunt Millie, it would have to be something like expansive, extravagant, magnificent, fantastical. 4–What makes your story relatable?  Grace holds family so dear and is so deeply loyal that in caring for everyone else she has lost touch with what she wants for her own life. I think that’s incredibly common for so many of us these days, particularly women, who often seem to feel…

Wednesday, August 26 at 7pm CT, you can chat via Zoom with Jennifer Ryan, during the Fresh Fiction Virtual Book Club! Please check our Eventbrite page for more details and to register. Hope to see you there! *** 1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Waiting on a Cowboy 2–What is it about?  Tate McGrath and Liz Scott have been best friends since kindergarten. Tate can always count on Liz to have his back and give it to him straight, so he’s not about to mess a good thing up. Until he sees her with a new guy and she gives Tate the cold shoulder. Tate doesn’t think Clint is good enough for Liz, and when her relationship with Clint turns dangerous, he discovers that not only does he want to protect her, he wants to keep her because everything he ever wanted was right in front of him the whole time. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Tough 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  Tate cares, and he’s persistent. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Each other and family. Readers will get a glimpse of the entire McGrath family. 6–What do you love…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Marriage by Arrangement, the first in the Nights at the Mahal series from Harlequin Desire.  2–What is it about?  This is a second chance romance that explores the conflicting demands of cultural values, individual fears, and family obligations against falling in love.  The heroine Rani is an Indian American who struggles with her traditional Indian upbringing and her feminist beliefs. She’s still reeling from the community stigma of being divorced, the last thing she wants to do is fall in love with another Indian man with a traditional family. Arjun is the eldest son of a dynastic family and is arranged to be married to a business partner and family friend. Falling for Rani will rip his family apart. Both Arjun and Rani must find the courage to love, and to make the sacrifices necessary to see their love to fruition. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Conflicted. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  “He owns the room, even when it doesn’t belong to him.” The line is straight out of the book and perfectly described Arjun Singh.   5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  For Rani…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  HIDDEN AMBITION 2–What is it about?  This is a revenge plot with the hero out to get even for the people who hurt his family. The shero gets caught in the middle and he realizes he’s going to have to make a decision between family loyalty and love. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  My shero, Haley, is strong-willed, determined, loyal, and has a soft spot for Chase. She’s a kickass businesswoman and runs the office in a “man’s world” role. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  Even though he’s out for revenge, you can’t help but fall in love with him. He’s hurt because his family fell apart, so he’s going about his justice in the wrong way. A tough hero with a vulnerability is so sexy to me! 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Oh, they definitely run to each other for help, but they don’t realize how many lies they’ve gotten wrapped up in so they are definitely in this ordeal together. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  This is set in New York and the surrounding areas. I love…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Murder in the East End (Below Stairs Mysteries Book 4) 2–What is it about?  Kat Holloway, a cook in a Mount Street mansion in Victorian London is asked to look into the disappearance of a nurse from the Foundling Hospital. Distressed for the woman, and intrigued, because the request comes from the foster brother of Daniel McAdam, a man she’s falling for, Kat can’t refuse. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  Tenacious 4–What makes your story relatable? The character of Kat. She’s an ordinary person, not an aristocrat or wealthy dilettante. She works very hard, is good at what she does, and knows exactly who she is. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Kat turns to Daniel McAdam, who is a man-of-all-work who sometimes masquerades as an upper-class gentleman in order to assist the police. She also relies on Lady Cynthia, who prefers men’s clothing to women’s more restrictive ones, and Mr. Thanos, a genius mathematician who is smitten with Cynthia. Kat’s kitchen assistant, Tess, and Daniel’s son, James, round out the irregulars. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The Victorian…

Hi, Elia! Welcome to Fresh Fiction! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your new book, HAIRPIN CURVES. Thanks for having me! HAIRPIN CURVES is a frenemies-to-lovers road trip romance. Megan and Scarlett used to be best friends, but a falling-out after high school has kept them apart for the last seven years, and now they’re headed to Quebec on a road trip for a mutual friend’s wedding. Along the way, they of course discover a lot about each other and themselves.  There’s something so fun about a road trip romance! Have you ever gone on an epic road trip like Megan and Scarlett? Definitely. I grew up doing road trips, because my family had moved to Florida and left most of our extended family in Massachusetts. My parents didn’t fly, so we drove. We did more than the FL-to-MA trip, too: Jonesborough, Tennessee for the National Storytelling Festival; Parris Island, South Carolina for my brother’s Marine Corps graduation; St. Louis, Missouri to visit my sister, etc. As an adult, I’ve continued the road trip tradition, although I don’t have any aversion to flying (when it’s not a pandemic). My husband and I have driven to Quebec a number of…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?   THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL. It’s out July 28. 2–What is it about?  It’s about the theft of chemical weapons from an army depot in Colorado. Jessie Kegan, the heroine, is determined to prove her father, an army colonel, is innocent of the crime. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Determined. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  His strength and loyalty, and the military background that give him and Jessie a chance to survive the powerful enemies they confront. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?   They depend on the strength and intelligence of each other. And Brandon can count on his brothers to help him no matter what. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?   I love Colorado. Beautiful mountains and extreme climates provide plenty of interesting scenery and challenges. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)?  I do a little of both. I’m no longer able to just follow an outline. Much of the story depends on the clues that are uncovered as the hero and heroine try to solve the deadly problems they are…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Wife Who Knew Too Much will be out July 28 from St. Martin’s Press. 2–What is it about?  Set amongst the glittering mansions of the Hamptons, The Wife Who Knew Too Much is a decadent summer thriller about the lives of those who will do anything for love and money. It tells the story of the two women who love the same man. Nina is a fabulously wealthy socialite who fell hard for Connor after the death of her real-estate tycoon first husband. Tabitha is a waitress and small-town girl who’s never gotten over her summer fling with Connor years before. When he comes back into her life, unhappily married to Nina, she falls in love all over again. When Nina takes her own life, tragic as it is, they can finally be together. Then she finds Nina’s diary. “I’m writing this to raise an alarm in the event of my untimely death. This is hard to admit, even to myself, let alone to the world. My husband is planning to kill me.” Did Connor kill Nina? Does he love Tabitha, or is she merely a convenient suspect? 3–What word best describes…

Jen: What inspired you to write your new release, ​Musical Chairs​? Amy: The countryside, family, wine, and a little Mozart! I was excited to write a book about a family spending the summer together in a house that has seen better days. And I wanted to include adult children who move back home with their messy problems, dogs, and habits. Also, since my children are all musicians, I decided to place several of the characters in the world of professional music. I wrote a book trailer that makes it pretty clear that there are certain elements of my real life that worked their way into the novel. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IffxAo-QMh4 How would you describe Bridget and Will’s unique friendship? I remember watching Nora Ephron’s iconic movie When Harry Met Sally in 1989 and admiring the longtime friendship between the characters. In discussing male-female friendships, Harry says that “the sex part always gets in the way,” and I wondered. . .  Does it have to? I began writing MUSICAL CHAIRS in an effort to celebrate a male-female friendship, a solid, marriage-like bond between two characters, a bond that–one hopes–can withstand the test of time, conflict, old secrets, and…

Miranda: The first of your books I read were in the Fusion series. I loved it because it had friendships and realistically strong yet flawed female characters. How important is it for you to write strong female characters and friendships? Does the dialogue flow easily? Kristen: Thank you! I’m absolutely a dialogue-driven author. I also love to read dialogue. I think it moves the story along at a fast pace. Friendships are integral to every book I write. None of us just fall in love and have no one else in our lives. I think it’s important to show a character’s community, her family and friends, and their reactions to the character falling in love. One of the things I enjoy so much about your Romancing Manhattan series, as well as many of your other books, is the balance between romance, character development, and conflict. Do you consciously try and maintain balance in your books or does it just evolve organically? The books evolve organically, as I write them. As a huge fan of the series, I’m thrilled about your new Romancing Manhattan book AFTER ALL! But are there any supporting characters in any of your series that you’ve toyed…