Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Kelly Farmer | Author-Reader Match: OUT ON THE ICE
Author Guest / August 25, 2020

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 Kelly Farmer! Writes: Hi there! I write contemporary romance and light women’s fiction with snarky humor and heart. My debut novel, OUT ON THE ICE, is a female/female hockey romance. Caro runs a successful all-girls hockey training center and is embarrassed to be given a shout-out here. She’s very private. Amy, however, is thrilled to meet you. She’s an out and proud bisexual who plays professional women’s hockey. They develop the feels while coaching at Caro’s summer camp, then start a long-distance relationship. Caro’s need to be private clashes with Amy living life out loud. Through the power of love, they bring out the best in one another and work together to achieve their goals. Yay! About: I’m an Aquarius who enjoys long walks in the moonlight, candlelight dinners… I try not to take life too seriously, obviously. Writing has been a passion since childhood. It took 20 years to achieve publication, so I’m also rather stubborn and refuse to give…

Roan Parrish | Exclusive Interview: BETTER THAN PEOPLE
Author Guest / August 25, 2020

Hi, Roan! Welcome to Fresh Fiction. Thanks for visiting with us today. Will you tell us about yourself and a little bit about your new book, BETTER THAN PEOPLE? Hi! Thanks so much for having me :-). I am extremely into cooking and baking, plants and gardening, Halloween, horror movies, DIY projects out of random stuff I find, and exploring abandoned buildings. I live in West Philadelphia with my magical cat, Dorian Gray, where I bake a lot and write queer love stories about people who feel like home to one another. BETTER THAN PEOPLE is the first in my cozy new series, Garnet Run, and the whole series is my love letter to animals. BETTER THAN PEOPLE is about Jack, a grouchy children’s book illustrator, who eschews other people in favor of a pack of stray animals he’s collected. Jack’s favorite thing is walking his pack of dogs (and Pirate the cat, who leads the way). But one evening, chasing after Puddles, a jittery dog, he breaks his leg and needs someone to walk the animals for him. Enter Simon, an animal lover with no animals and intense anxiety around people. The more Jack and Simon know about each other,…

Avon Gale & Piper Vaughn | Exclusive Excerpt: TRADE DEADLINE
Author Guest / August 18, 2020

Daniel sighed, the sound lost to the thud of their skate blades on the rubber mats lining the tunnel. He hadn’t anticipated the chilly reception when he arrived in the Thunder’s dressing room that first day of train­ing camp–and now he finally knew why his breath had practically been fogging whenever he was in the presence of his new teammates. Apparently there was some resent­ment about his win. Probably some assumptions about his reasons for being there or how he would behave. Never mind that Daniel had worked his ass off for more than a decade before he could add Stanley Cup champ to his resume. He’d fought his way there–tooth, nail, broken bones, and bloody lips. It hadn’t come easy, and he didn’t take it for granted. Nor did he think he was hot shit now that he had a championship win under his belt. He was just trying to play hockey, same as he’d done all his life. Daniel poured onto the ice with the rest of his team­mates and sucked in a breath, the cold, crisp scent as familiar and comforting as the sound of his blades cut­ting into the ice and the roar of the crowd….

Adriana Herrera | Author-Reader Match: HERE TO STAY
Author Guest / August 18, 2020

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 Adriana Herrera! Writes: I write contemporary romance centering Afro-Latinx characters and have recently been dipping my toes into historical romance. I like to say I write books about people who look and sound like my people getting unapologetic happy endings–that’s the best way to describe my stories. Here to Stay is a contemporary romance set in Dallas, Texas, and centers around Julia del Mar Ortiz and Rocco Quinn two New Yorkers who have recently arrived in the Lone Star State and are at odds in their workplace. Here to Stay is about found family, starting over and there is a lot of fashion, family shenanigans, and cute stray cat rescue. About: New York City (by way of Dominican Republic) 40ish bi trauma therapist/author looking for readers who love: stories centering Afro-Latinx culture, banter, foodie moments in their romance,  a little social justice in their romance,  found family, big HEAs, and protagonists who reach for love as they reach for their dreams….

May Peterson | Title Challenge: THE IMMORTAL CITY
Author Guest / August 6, 2020

The Immortal City is the second standalone book in The Sacred Dark series from acclaimed author May Peterson. This lush fantasy romance features bird-shifters with supernatural powers, a beautiful amnesia love story, time magic, and love that beats the odds. Read on to see how author May Peterson uses the novel’s title to describe all the amazing elements you’ll find in Ari and Hei’s story. T is for time mending, a witchcraft for second chances. H is for Hei, a mysterious but charming wanderer who falls from the sky. E is for erotic chemistry, something Ari and Hei have a great deal of. * I is for immortality, the common gift of the moon-souls. M is for memory, a commodity as fine as gems in the streets of Serenity. M is for moon-souls, the dead resurrected by the power of noble beast spirits. O is for original life, that which Ari is trying to reconnect with. R is for resurrection, the miracle that brings about living-again. T is for Tamueji, a merchant of knowledge who can drink anyone under the table. A is for Ari, a sleepy dove-soul who doesn’t remember his mortal life. L is for living-again, those raised…

Elia Winters | Exclusive Interview: HAIRPIN CURVES
Author Guest / July 31, 2020

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…

Annabeth Albert | Exclusive Excerpt: HIGH HEAT
Author Guest / July 27, 2020

Hi! I am so thrilled to be here on one of my favorite blogs with an exclusive excerpt of HIGH HEAT, my new release. This is book two in my Hotshots series about smoke jumper wildfire fighters in Central Oregon, but each book is designed to stand alone as well.  HIGH HEAT centers around an injured smoke jumper, Garrick, trying to recover from serious injuries and his sexy new neighbor, Rain who barrels his way into Garrick’s life, complete with a lost dog who needs them both.  In the exclusive scene that I’ve brought Fresh Fiction today, Garrick has agreed to help Rain get in shape to meet the wildfire fighter fitness standards. They’re out for exercise in the park and just starting to dance around a mutual attraction. . . Read on to see the sparks starting to fly! *** Needing to change the subject, Garrick pointed at the paved trail that wove through the park. “If we follow this, we’ll hit various obstacles, including pull-up bars. I plan to make you do most of them.” “At your command.” Rain’s dark eyes sparkled, almost like he knew precisely the effect his flirty tone would have on Garrick. “Sit-ups.” Stopping…

Emma Salah | Title Challenge: DIRTY TACTICS
Author Guest / July 21, 2020

DIRTY TACTICS is a steamy brother’s best friend romance about fighting for love. Reagan Thomas kissed Zac Quinn when she was 15 years old and hasn’t been able to get over him ever since. Now, 10 years later, she proposes a two-week bet where she’ll prove to Zac that they’re meant to be. Zac, however, is wrestling with his own demons: his abusive father and feeling like he doesn’t deserve love. He plans to show Reagan that they’re not meant to be. But Reagan is willing to play dirty and that happiness is on the horizon for them both. D is for Dirty, of course. Dirty games and dirty minds. I is for it is okay to ask for help when you need it. Best friends, brothers, they’re all a call away. R is for Reagan, duh! Smart, hates the colour yellow and a gamer. T is for Thomas. Reagan’s family plays a big part in this story and in both their lives. Y is for whY you fighting such a good thing, Zac? Maybe Reagan will finally discover why. * T is for the working heroine who learns to stand up for herself. A is for all the fun…

Jayce Ellis | 20 Questions: ANDRE
Author Guest / July 14, 2020

1–What’s the name of your latest release? High Rise: Andre 2–What is it about? One-night-stand turned employer-intern turned omg I think I’m in love. 3–What word best describes Andre? Confused. Poor baby is so confused. 4–What makes Marcus irresistible? He’s so focused, and he knows what he wants. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? For Andre, his friend Fiona. For Marcus, his boy Jake. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? Honestly, I love the familiarity of it. I can go out and scout the locations, and they’re places that are comfortable, welcoming, where you don’t have to feel on edge the entire time. It feels more like home. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants) Plotter all day long! I tried pantsing once, and after a tantrum to rival that of any two-year-old told “no,” realized the error of my ways. 8–What is an ideal writing day for you? On my balcony with either my papers or laptop, a cup of Earl Grey tea in hand, at 6:00 a.m., for two and a half hours of uninterrupted work. Summer…

Cole McCade | Exclusive Excerpt: JUST LIKE THAT
Author Guest / July 3, 2020

“You don’t want me, Summer,” he said firmly. “I’m quite old, used-up, and I don’t even know how to be with someone anymore.” “I don’t think that’s true,” Summer murmured. “Isn’t it?” Silence, before Summer said slowly, “Maybe I’m wrong. . .  I’m probably wrong. Or maybe you were a good enough teacher that I can figure some things out. But either way, I think you shut yourself away while you needed to…but your protective walls turned into a cage when you didn’t need them anymore, and now you can’t find your way out.” Shut yourself away while you needed to. The simple memory of just why he’d shut himself away cut deep, digging down to a tiny pain that lived at his heart. He’d made it tiny deliberately, so he could compact it down into a thing so small it could fit in the palm of his hand, all of that agony crushed down into nothing so that he could never touch too much of it at any one time, its surface area barely the size of a fingerprint. And then he’d tucked it away, burying it down where he couldn’t reach it. But those simple words threatened to…