1–What’s the name of your latest release?  NOT THAT KIND OF GUY 2–What is it about?  It’s a workplace romance between an older woman and her intern, but with wild Vegas weekend in the middle. It’s the companion book to NOT THE GIRL YOU MARRY, and you get to see a lot of the characters from that book, but it can be read on its own.  3–What word best describes your heroine?  One word to describe Bridget Nolan: tough. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  His kindness and empathy.   5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Bridget turns to her dad and brothers, and Matt turns to his parents.   6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I loved the brief period of time that I lived in Chicago and I think it’s such a great rom-com setting. It’s larger than life.   7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)? I’m pretty much a plantser. I have a synopsis at the start but most of my books diverge from the plan at some point.  8–What is an ideal writing day for you?  Honestly, my…

I am fascinated by the heroines of this new series, A League of Extraordinary Women, who are suffragists! It was also particularly intriguing in the scenes where Queen Victoria shows up, to find that she was against this movement, and wanted to get rid of feminists. What was the most surprising thing you learned while researching this novel?  I spent some time in the archives of Oxford’s first women’s college, Lady Margaret Hall, to research my story. The first surprise was how pleased the archivist was about my interest in the first women at Oxford because they were so “under-explored”. I wondered why–these women were extraordinary, pioneers if you will, considering how unusual and controversial it was for a woman to go for higher education in 1879. I want to add that LMH shone a spotlight on the first women students this summer, when they marked the 140th anniversary of the college, and I was delighted when they asked me to share my research for the occasion. The other big surprise was how frequently objections to women’s rights in the Victorian era were couched in terms of concern for women’s health and happiness. Women were not allowed to fully matriculate…

Set-Up: Lady Charlotte Hastings and Lord Malverne, along with their aunt, Lady Chelmsford, have taken Sophie Brightwell for a jaunt through Hyde Park during the fashionable hour. . . Lord Malverne leaned closer, drawing her attention away from the lake. “So was I correct in my assessment that ton­nish activities are tiresome?” he murmured in a conspirato­rial fashion. “I’m quite content to enjoy the view,” remarked Sophie, trying to ignore the scent of Lord Malverne’s spicy cologne as it teased her nostrils, or the bump of his pantaloon-clad knee against hers. She didn’t think it would be wise to agree with him within earshot of Charlie, Lady Chelms­ford, or their current conversation partners, the Countess of Poole and her decidedly spinsterish sister. Lord Malverne smiled in such a way that Sophie’s heart tripped and her cheeks heated. “So am I. The view is quite spectacular.” “You really shouldn’t do that,” she said, trying to adopt an expression that would pass as reproving, but wasn’t too stern. It wouldn’t do to appear waspish. Infuriatingly, Lord Malverne’s chiseled mouth simply tilted into a half-smile that was even more roguish. “Do what?” “Openly flirt with me,” replied Sophie under her breath. She tried…

In UNBREAK ME, LJ Delisle is a Haitian-Creole cowboy with a heart as big as his smile. When he meets Andra Lawler, she’s living like a hermit on her family’s horse ranch and has barely spoken to a man in years. She’s been through hell, and when LJ shows up in her life, a girl might be forgiven for thinking he was a gift from the karma fairy, here to make up for all the hard knocks she took in her early twenties. Here are five ways he turns the head of a woman who had sworn off men for life: He knows his way around a kitchen When LJ wants to make friends, he takes a tack few men ever try: he bakes her a cake. When he sees her collection of TV dinners, he’s so horrified he makes her dinner and spaghetti spins quickly into cooking lessons that start out with warm companionship and start to spark into flirtation. But ladies, how can you resist a man who can cook? Andra sure can’t. Animals love him LJ and Andra meet when he gets a job training her horses: specifically her baby horses! She’s won over by how gentle…

We’re chatting about high school, house renovations, and of course, new books with bestselling author Julia London and Editorial Manager Danielle Dresser! Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Julia! Please tell us about your brand-new series, the Princes of Texas, and book 1, The Charmer in Chaps. It’s about the Prince family, which is a happy cross between the Ewings of Dallas and maybe the Clampetts of Beverly Hillbillies (I think we need a reboot of that one). Anyway, the Prince family is legendary in Texas with an enormous ranch along the lines of the King Ranch. But they fall on hard times, no thanks to Dad’s horrible big-stakes gambling problem, and suddenly find themselves having to figure out life without all the trappings of wealth. In The Charmer in Chaps, Luca is the one they call a bunny hugger. He wants to preserve some of the land before they strip it of all the character it had. But he’s going to have to figure it out on his own, and without any help from his family. And he’s got some personal issues that are going to make figuring it out on his own especially difficult. It’s the sort of issue that…