1–What’s the name of your latest release? LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT, coming out August 18! 2–What is it about? LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT is an #OwnVoices workplace rom-com set in the video game industry. In this novel, Korean-American producer named Melody Joo is tasked with launching a controversial video game while being antagonized by everyone around her, especially Nolan MacKenzie, the company’s new MBA intern. 3–What word best describes your heroine? Fierce. 4–What makes your hero irresistible? He’s a charming, smart, quirky, plaid-shirt-and-tortoise-shell-glasses-wearing kind of guy. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? Her best friends Candace and Jane, as well as her mentor/friend at work, Kat. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? The backdrop is Seattle, where I lived for a long time. I love the sense of place it invokes, especially with the weather and the food and cafe scene. The work setting is also something I loved including in this book: I hearkened back to my days in tech where we had cubicles/workspaces and hard-to-book conference rooms and it was a lot of fun to describe. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantser (write…

Would you love to chat with Sarah MacLean? Join us TOMORROW, Thursday, July 30, at 7pm CT for a Fresh Fiction Book Club chat. There’s an interview with Sarah first and then a chance to ask her questions directly, via a Zoom Chat. You can find out more details and register to attend here: Video Book Club with Sarah MacLean *** I was late to the Bareknuckle Bastards. Don’t ask me why–but it was always one of those sore spots in with my fellow citizens of Romancelandia… “You HAVEN’T?” and “Why NOT?” and “Oh, you MUST REMEDY THIS NOW OR WE WON’T BE FRIENDS.” That last one is slightly exaggerated, though not by much. I understood their astonishment that I, a Sarah MacLean fan, had not read each book as it came out over the last few years. I just didn’t. . . But then came the cover reveal for DARING AND THE DUKE, the final book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series and these books were back on my radar. I decided to read all three of them back-to-back-to-back, and readers, I’m so happy I did. The worldbuilding, the backstory, the characters. There’s so much to love in the part…

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…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Julia! Please tell us about yourself and a little bit about your latest book, FIRST COMES SCANDAL. Hi, Fresh Fiction! Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself. I’ve been writing historical romance since 1995, primarily set in late 1700s/early 1800s Great Britain. First Comes Scandal is the final book in my Rokesby/Bridgerton prequel series, and it opens with Nicholas Rokesby being basically ordered by his father to marry his neighbor and girl-next-door Georgiana Bridgerton after her reputation is ruined by an overzealous suitor. This is the final book in your prequel series to the Bridgertons series. What have you loved about writing this expanded world? I first conceived of this series as a way to show some of our favorite characters (namely Edmund and Violet Bridgerton) when they were younger. But then due to the way the series was structured, they didn’t really show up in a meaningful way until this final book. It was incredibly fun to visit with them, and especially to show Anthony and Benedict Bridgerton as young boys. (And Colin as a baby!) But beyond that, the Rokesby books have enabled me to visit new locales. The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  HIS SECRET MISTRESS, the first book of The Logical Men’s Society’s Guide to Dangerous Women series 2–What is it about?  It is about the one that got away. You know, that person whose path crossed ours with such intensity, we couldn’t believe what the relationship promised was real.  So, for whatever reason, we made other choices. Still, the memory of that relationship lingers in the back of our minds years after we have gone on—until we rediscover each other.  Fun stuff because usually, the first parting was not present. 3–What word best describes your heroine(s)?  I will go with a phrase: They aren’t fools. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  That in spite of being mutton-headed at times, his heart is always in the right place. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Friends.  Friends are our sounding boards, our mini-mes.  I need my friends to give me a hard shove in the right direction when I go astray . . . or start feeling sorry for myself. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I’ve been writing about Regency England for over twenty-five years. …

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Tracey! Please tell us about yourself and your latest book, SWEET TALKIN’ LOVER. Thank you for having me! I write contemporary romance novels with interracial couples. I live in Virginia with my husband and three kids and I’m a designer purse and planner addict! Sweet Talkin’ Lover is the first book in my new Girls Trip series which revolves around a group of four women who met during their first year of college and go on vacation together every year. Grief over her beloved grandfather’s death leads marketing director Caila Harris to make several catastrophic work decisions. Devastated, she’s given one final chance to prove herself: shut down an unprofitable factory in a small Southern town. But as soon as she arrives in Bradleton, she meets one outsized problem: the town’s gorgeous mayor, Wyatt Bradley, aka “Mayor McHottie,” who insists on acting as Caila’s personal escort during her stay. Hijinks, sexy times and falling in love ensues. Caila Harris is due for a promotion at work and wants nothing more than to prove to her boss that she has what it takes. She faces a devastating loss at the beginning of this novel, and it affects her…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Eva! Can you tell us more about your new series, Union of the Rakes, and book 1 in particular, MY FAKE RAKE?  Thank you so much for having me back! I’m very excited to introduce my Union of the Rakes series to your readers, since it combines two very important things in my life: my love of the Regency, and my love of the ‘80s. The whole premise of the Union of the Rakes might sound familiar to ‘80s film fans: five very different boys meet at Eton when they’re assigned to an all-day punishment in the library. Yes–it’s the Breakfast Club! Twenty years later, the boys are now grown men in a close friendship, and each one finds their own HEA in the pages of the Union of the Rakes books. My Fake Rake is a mash up between Weird Science, Can’t Buy Me Love, and Some Kind of Wonderful. That means we get fake dating, makeover (it’s his makeover), and friends to lovers, all in one book!  One of my favorite things about this new series of yours is that it’s inspired by 80s movies! Where did this fabulous idea come from? What’s…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Talia! Can you tell us a little bit about your new novel, GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN? Thanks for having me! And you may regret asking me that question because I could talk about it for days. But I’ll try to restrain myself. GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN is a sexy, sarcastic romantic comedy with a fierce, frosty, chronically ill heroine named Chloe and an artistic, kind-hearted, working-class hero named Red. When the story begins, superintendent Red is convinced his posh, uptight tenant Chloe hates him–but she’s actually just mega-awkward, attracted to him, and always in pain. After certain cat-related shenanigans, they make a deal that involves the two of them working through Chloe’s ‘Get a Life’ list together. And then. . . things happen. LOL! One thing I loved about Chloe Brown is that even though her chronic pain and illness from fibromyalgia has hindered her in some ways, she’s still confident, good at her job, has a witty sense of humor, and knows she wants to change her life. What do you think readers will find the most relatable about Chloe? As a chronic illness sufferer myself, it was really important to me…

Fall is the perfect time to break out your slow cooker and let something simmer all day long, especially when you have a great book to occupy your time! As always, comment below for a chance to win a copy of today’s featured book, HEIRESS GONE WILD by Laura Lee Guhrke. Check back tomorrow for more fun!  Day 1 with Elizabeth Goddard: http://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10267   Day 2 with Soraya Lane: http://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10269 *** When Jonathan Deverill promised a dying friend he’d be guardian to the other man’s “little girl,” he’d imagined her to be a sweet little thing in pinafores and pigtails, not a fully-grown, devastatingly beautiful woman with a talent for trouble. Nonetheless, a promise is a promise. Besides, he’d been living in the rough and tumble of Idaho’s mining towns, so he’s pretty sure he can keep one young lady in line. And when Marjorie McGann found out her new guardian was a British gentleman on his way home to London, she thought he’d be the perfect person to help her find a titled husband so she can spend her Yankee millions in style. Both of them turn out to be wrong. And when shady suitors and countess con-artists arrive on the…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction! We’ve been featuring the books you’ve worked on for so long, and we are so excited to learn more about the editors behind the books, as well as How to Write a Romance! Can you introduce yourselves, tell us how long you’ve worked at Avon, and your all-time favorite romance novel? Erika Tsang (ET): I’m Erika Tsang, editorial director of Avon Books. I just celebrated my 17th year here. My all-time favorite romance novel is… a very difficult question to answer. Jude Deveraux’s A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR because I discuss that ending quite a bit. Then there’s Johanna Lindsey’s WARRIOR’S WOMAN, Julie Garwood’s THE LION’S LADY, Jill Barnet’s IMAGINE (there’s a genie!)…my list goes on and on. Nicole Fischer (NF): My name is Nicole and I started at Avon Books about 6.5 years ago. My favorite romance is… ok, that’s an impossible question for a romance editor! I don’t have 1 favorite of all time, I have top picks in each subgenre. But if I had to name one, the first title that pops into my head right this moment is IT HAPPENED ONE AUTUMN by Lisa Kleypas because I love sassy, feisty heroines who…