Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Ruby! Congrats on your debut release, HOT COPY. What made you decided to tackle a workplace romance?  Ruby: Thank you! Very excited to be here! Well, mostly I wanted to write a desk sex scene… But more seriously, I wanted to take a swing at existing power dynamics and I also think that workplaces are a common setting for a lot of real-life romance. Combine all of that together and Hot Copy was the final product! Corrine has a reputation for being ruthless and “icy,” but she feels like she is doing what needs to get done to make it to the top. Of course, this all comes with its own consequences as a result. What do you think readers will relate to in Corrine? How does Corrine have to grapple with the decisions she’s made to further her career?  Corrine is an egg. She’s hard on the outside (she has to be) but soft on the inside (like a lot of us are) and I think that a lot of people are familiar with having to put forward a hard outer shell in order to protect our more vulnerable selves, whether that be in a…

A song by the Weeknd plays over the speakers, and it instantly makes me think of my ex-boyfriend, and what feels like another life ago for me. I wasn’t always the person I am now, and I think it’s important for me to acknowledge that. It’s taken a lot to get me here, to be so strong, and when I think of the old me and the decisions I have made, it makes me cringe. But I guess we all aren’t born strong–it’s something we are made into. “Orion Stenton called up wanting a few custom bikes,” Bronte says to me as she approaches. “He’s dropped over two hundred thousand dollars so far. He must be loaded.” We buy the motorcycles, cus­tom them and sell them as one package. It can end up being pretty pricey. “Name doesn’t sound familiar,” I mutter, turning to Chains. “Who is this guy?” “Orion Stenton owns half of the city,” Chains ex­plains, stretching his neck from side to side. “Old family money, not all of it clean. Orion is the oldest out of four, and from what I’ve heard handles most of the businesses they own.” “He’s friends with the club?” I ask. Chains…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl 2–What is it about? Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl is all about a young woman, Poppy, who finds herself accidentally pregnant after a one night stand with her stoner ex. She’s not sure if she’s ready to be a mother and she doesn’t have a lot of support, so she joins a local Stitch n’ Bitch to make friends and boost her confidence by finally following through on learning how to knit. What she’s not expecting is to fall for Rhiannon, the hot butch clinic escort who’s been giving her lessons. At any other time in their respective lives, it’d be a perfect meet-cute, but can commitment-shy Rhiannon with her chronic second sock syndrome handle the pressure of knowing that being with Poppy means taking on her baby-to-be as well? 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Setting the book in Yonkers, New York was definitely a challenge. I’ve set past books in all sorts of locales, from Vancouver to Ireland to ancient Rome, some of which I haven’t even visited, but New York, even if it’s not NYC proper,…

Joachim set about tidying up the plates and glasses for the housekeeper, who’d arrive the following morning, and encouraged the Graham siblings to get the last few dances out of their system in the salon. He carried an over-heavy armful of crockery backward through the swinging door to the kitchen and nearly dropped the entire load when he caught sight of an unfamiliar blonde man draped over the old oak kitchen table. The chap gave a rude hand-gesture. “För i helvete. Du lämnar.” “I beg your pardon,” said Joachim, bluff and friendly, pretending as though he hadn’t nearly had a heart attack. “I didn’t know any guests were still here.” He lowered the stack of dishes into the sink without incident and wiped his hands on a tea towel before turning back around. But there was no one there, nor was the door to the kitchen still swinging. Peculiar. There was no time to be concerned because a howl of indignation came from the living room came such that Joachim would have run to see what was the matter—if his ankle was willing to be run on. An old battlefield injury precluded that, but Joachim was still quicker than most—even…

Welcome to LEARNED REACTIONS, the second in my Higher Education series. You got a chance to meet Carlton and get a brief glimpse into Deion in LEARNED BEHAVIORS, but there’s a lot of emotional turmoil mixed up in their almost twenty-year friendship. Carlton is convinced all he wants from Deion is friendship…until Deion takes him at his word. Playing like everything is okay is the name of Carlton’s game, and as you can see below, Deion’s not sure whether to pay attention to Carlton’s words or his actions. Enjoy! Excerpt: He must’ve gotten lost in the conversation, because he didn’t hear the door open until Carlton dropped his keys in a bowl. Deion startled and dropped the phone. It landed face-up, the profile picture of the guy smil­ing up at them. Carlton frowned, crossed the short distance to the couch, picked up the phone and glanced at it, his brow furrowing slightly. “Everything okay?” Carlton asked, his hand outstretched. Deion snagged the phone and sat up to make room for Carlton next to him. “Yeah.” His voice sounded like he’d gargled with glass. He coughed, trying desperately to clear his throat, then spoke again. “Yeah, I’m fine. Really.” Carlton’s disbelief…

1–What is the title of your latest release? BEST LAID PLANS (Garnet Run #2) 2–What is it about? BEST LAID PLANS is about Charlie, a gentle giant who lost his parents as a teenager and had to figure out at a very young age how to take care of everything–his younger brother, Jack, his father’s hardware store, their family home–putting his own dreams on hold in the process. Rye Janssen is his complete opposite: where Charlie is stable, Rye has never stayed in the same place for more than a year; where Charlie knows all the rules of adulting, Rye enjoys breaking them. So when Rye inherits a crumbling house in Garnet Run but has no idea how to make it livable, Charlie can’t help but get involved. At first, Charlie and Rye feel like they’re from two different worlds. But soon each one realizes the other is exactly what they need! Charlie never had a chance to figure out what he wanted for himself, and Rye helps him explore. Rye never had a home, and Charlie helps him make one. Throw in some hot sex, a bunch of adorable cats, and all the secondary characters you met and loved…

Thank you SO much for celebrating Valentine’s Day with us this week! We hope you discovered some great new books and will try a recipe or two that have been shared. Don’t forget to leave comments on the posts for chances to win amazing books by these wonderful authors. Today, Roan Parrish brings this roundup to a close with more about her book, BEST LAID PLANS and a recipe for decadent truffles! Best Laid Plans is the second book in my Garnet Run series, which features cozy, queer romances that take place in a beautiful small town. We met Charlie Matheson briefly in Better Than People, the first book in the series, which featured his brother, grouchy children’s book illustrator Jack. When Charlie Matheson’s parents died just days before his eighteenth birthday, he learned to fend for himself and take care of his younger brother, Jack. That included learning how to cook. He was always competent, but he never saw food as anything more than fuel to get him through the day, repeating the same five meals every week for the last fifteen years. When tattooed new arrival, Rye Janssen, inherits a house in Garnet Run, Wyoming, he brings much-needed…

Gus Billy didn’t throw up. He swallowed the pills I gave him and drank the tea, and when he was sufficiently buzzed, seemed to remember he hadn’t eaten since the mini doughnuts I’d forced on him that morning. How does he even live? I’d put away at least six sandwiches since then. “What do you want?” I asked, trying to ignore how much I was enjoying seeing him stretched out on my bed. “I can order something?” Billy shook his head, eyes hooded and heavy. “No. I don’t want you spending money on me, and I don’t have any. There must be something in the cupboards. I just remembered I bought other stuff that’s not in the fridge.” “What did you buy?” “Can’t remember.” “Okay…do you remember where you put it?” “Nope.” Truth be told, he could’ve bought a hundred different things and stashed them in my kitchen cupboards before I noticed. It wasn’t like I ever looked. Curious, I rolled off the bed and sloped downstairs. The fridge was as bare as I’d left it, but a scout of the corner cabinet revealed a squirrel store of baked beans, Super Noodles, and tins of tuna. I couldn’t imagine how…

In this excerpt, Danny tries to convince Prescott to take a closer look at the town’s mid-century architecture. Danny Before we walk out of the shop, Prescott stops to put on a pair of leather gloves that are so tight each finger needs to wriggle in on its own until he uses the opposite hand to yank the taut creamy leather down on to his hand in one fell swoop. The leather scene has never really been my turn-on of choice but something about seeing his skin covered in the supple gloves make me think I should revisit that situation. “Well, shall we go?” he asks, holding the door open. “We shouldn’t keep the shop closed too long.” There’s still snow on the ground, but the sidewalks are clear enough for us to walk side by side. The air is cold and clear. We walk a few blocks past Bridge Street until we’re standing in front of the First Bank of Bucks. “Isn’t it wonderful?” I ask, admiring the gorgeous mid-century marvel. Four tall windows make up the facade. They are uninterrupted by adornment—pure open glass that reflects the snowy street. Between each massive window is a stone and cement…

1–What is the title of your latest release? CRY WOLF 2–What is it about? CRY WOLF is the fifth book in my series following snarky human agent Cooper Dayton and his werewolf partner Oliver Park who work together to solve twisty mysteries. This time the guys are officially moved in together with no case to travel for. .  .so naturally, trouble arrives on their doorstep instead. An old adversary warns Cooper he’s in danger, Park’s ex Eli shows up in desperate need of help, a casual trip to the zoo turns up a dead body in the sea lion pool, and, perhaps most stressful of all, there’s a certain someone’s wedding to plan. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Zoos have always had a somewhat surreal quality for me. That idea of controlled danger, manufactured wilderness, nature at its most unnatural. It was incredibly fun to lean into that and take the guys off the usual path (literally) to explore behind the scenes and blur the lines between who’s caging who. 4–How did Oliver Park surprise you?  Park had to grow up fast and be the “strong guy” in control for most of his life, which…