CHAPTER SIX San Francisco On Monday, Hannah made the biggest decision of her life. In response, her mother called a man named Dayo. And a day later, Dayo emailed Hannah a business class plane ticket. Destination: Lagos, Nigeria. On Thursday, a day before her departure, Hannah pushed a fork through bits of kale and tried to ignore the anxiety that had given her a sleepless night and an unproductive morning in the office. Despite her attempt, the nerves were impossible to disregard. She tossed the fork on the plate and huffed. “Not hungry?” Flo said, pulling round sunglasses from the crown of her head and over her narrowed eyes. “You’ve hardly eaten a thing.” “I don’t have much of an appetite today.” A fly buzzed above Hannah’s head. She swatted it and protected her drink with one hand over the rim. The salad, she didn’t bother to guard. She had given up on it, her growling stomach be damned. “Maybe we should have gotten a table inside.” Flo dipped sweet potato fries into a glop of ketchup. “It’s so damn hot today.” And the massive umbrella wedged in the middle of the round table did very little to ease their…

“I guess that officially makes us neighbors, then.” He smiled. “Nick Silva. I live at the end of the street. The only house that isn’t the color of an Easter egg, by the way.” Jess was tempted to smile back, but something told her it would only encourage him to linger. Not that Nick needed encouragement. He extended his hand. “And you are…” “Jessica Keaton.” Jess recreated Nita Warrior Princess’s brisk handshake. The rosebush tried to hinder Jess’s final quickstep to the patio, but she made it. Nick followed, Chuck Taylor high-tops trampling violas left and right. “Does that Buick out front belong to you?” Without thinking, Jess shook her head. As far as she was concerned, it wasn’t a lie. The Buick belonged to Jessie Keaton, an eighteen-year-old escapee from a small town much like Winsome Lake. The car had aided and abetted her flight to freedom a decade ago until it eventually made its way to an outbuilding on the Donovan estate. Safely locked away. Like everything else in Jess’s past. But as much as she wished a tow truck would haul the thing to the nearest scrapyard, Jess doubted a vehicle was part of her new benefit…

It was quitting time, and Bridgette was shutting down her office when Wade appeared in the doorway. “Hey, darlin’. Wanna go with me to get a Christmas tree for the store? I’ll throw in a snow cone for your trouble.” “Oooh, yes!” Bridgette said. “Do you want to take your car home first, or leave it here and I bring you back to get it later?” “Are you going to bring the tree back here to the store?” He nodded. “Then I’ll leave it here.” She grabbed her jacket and purse and followed him through the store as he locked up access doors and made sure the security cameras were working. Wade noticed the pensive look on her face and stopped long enough to give her a quick hug. “This was a weird day, wasn’t it, honey? Are you okay about everything that happened?” She sighed. “Yes. Just sorry for Josh’s family. I know LaJune and the kids well enough to visit with them when I see them around. This makes me sad for them.” Wade pushed a curl from her forehead, then brushed a kiss across her lips. “I think Uncle Dub was feeling the same. He called me…

Danielle: Hi, Roan! Welcome back to Fresh Fiction. For readers who might not be familiar, can you give us a little rundown about your Garnet Run series?   Roan:  Totally! The Garnet Run series is what I’d call cozy romance. It’s set in the small town of Garnet Run, Wyoming where (in my head canon, at least) everyone is queer unless explicitly stated. We start with Better Than People, in which Jack, a grouchy and antisocial artist, breaks his leg and can no longer walk his pack of rescue animals. Enter Simon, a super-shy, virgin animal lover who takes over the task. As they get to know each other, Simon falls in love with Jack’s menagerie—and then with Jack himself. Jack, of course, is already smitten. We also meet Jack’s older brother, Charlie, who raised him after their parents died when they were teenagers. The second book, Best Laid Plans, is Charlie’s love story. Forced to grow up at 18, when he had to raise Jack, run the family business, and pay the rent, Charlie missed out on the whole self-discovery part of being young. Now in his thirties, he’s never had a relationship—he doesn’t even know if he has…

The Sheriff and the Cowgirl is the story of a romance that’s been a long time coming. What happens when a tenacious sheriff takes on a determined cowgirl and a champion bull? It’s never easy to make it in a man’s world, and cowgirl Tori Tremayne has chased the same dream most of her life—producing a champion bucking bull on the pro rodeo circuit. With her prize bull Maximus, she’s so close to winning top prize in the finals this year she can taste it. She can’t afford any distractions, especially not the tall, dark and swoony sheriff she’s admired forever. Sheriff Gray Dalton has been in love with Tori since they were kids. He doesn’t want to change Tori or derail her goals, but he does want to combine their dreams—build a life and family with her while she continues to pursue her career and passion. Gray knows he has to shake Tori up so he can step out of the friend zone she’s so determined to keep him in. Can Gray prove to Tori that with him she can have it all—career, love and a family? T – Tori Tremayne, a strong woman working in the man’s world…

1–What is the title of your latest release? ON LOCATION 2–What is it about? It’s a multicultural romcom between Alia and Drew, two crew members on an outdoor TV show. They have a VERY interesting meet-cute which results in them disliking each other, but then they have to work together on a series about the national parks in Utah. The host of the show is a D-list celebrity who is monumentally difficult, so Alia and Drew have to overcome their messy history—and budding attraction—in order to save the show. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The book takes place in southern Utah, which is one of my favorite places in the world. It’s probably my ultimate hiking destination—I can’t think of a more beautiful landscape with the red rock landscape that goes on for miles and miles. I wrote ON LOCATION during quarantine/pandemic when I was stuck in my house dreaming about escaping to a gorgeous destination. Writing it was such a wonderful escape and gave me all the happy feels. 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  I set out to write Alia as a tenacious and hardworking woman in the television industry who’s been through…

Danielle: Hi, Helena! Welcome back to Fresh Fiction. Can you give us the quick elevator pitch for your new book, WHEN SPARKS FLY?   Helena:  When Avery has an accident that puts her out of commission for weeks, her best friend and roommate, Declan, steps in to take care of her. As they grow closer, lines blur and they take their friendship to the next level, but Avery’s past and Declan’s relationship baggage threatens to destroy everything. I love the setting of Colorado Springs for this book, as well as the backdrop of an event planning business for your heroine. What made you decide to set your books here and give your character such a high-pressure job?  Back in 2018, I attended a Book Bonanza, a book convention in Colorado. My family attended and afterward we took the opportunity to travel and see more of the state. I discovered that I’m not a fan of driving on the sides of mountains, but I did love the backdrop and wanted to set the story in Colorado. As far as a high-pressure job, when Avery and her sisters took over Spark House it was manageable, but when the backbone of the event hotel—Avery—is confined…

Chapter One “The very fact that you worry about being a good mom means that you already are one.” —Jodi Picoult Molly Of all the things Molly Princeton understood for certain, there was one thing in particular she had no doubts about—a woman was only as confident as her underwear. For real, she’d ask anyone to hear her out on this point. A girl could always spit shine the outside, but it was what lay underneath that told the true story. This was the reason she generally wore lace. Lace, unfortunately, that no one but herself ever saw. She sighed, a disappointed sigh that came from deep within the soul. Today, however, her life theory was thrown into a bit of a pickle, seeing as she wore no underwear at all. The no undies thing? Not her fault. Well, maybe a little her fault. She was the one who had forgotten to pack undies that wouldn’t show through the silk sheath dress her bestie Rachel had picked out for her as the maid of honor at her wedding. A wedding in the total boonies where there was no Nordstrom’s or even a Walmart to grab something that wouldn’t leave a…

I think it’s safe to say that a swoon-worthy hero, the ever-elusive book boyfriend, is what makes a good book great.  As a reader, I’m always chasing this man. To me, he’s like the unicorn of the contemporary romance world. They come in many forms. We have the nice guys, alpaholes, daddies, and Dominants, mob bosses, to name just a few. What’s swoon-worthy for one reader might not cut it for another. For example, I tend to prefer the nice guy to the alphahole, but nice guys and alphaholes can share many things in common. All the heroes in every single book I’ve written are different, but they each possess some of the same attributes that make me swoon. I’ve been reading romance way before I started writing, and it’s all about the hero for me. Yes, I love a strong, feisty heroine, but I read to find a book boyfriend, and now that I’m a writer, I can mold and shape my hero to meet my book boyfriend criteria. Here are the five things that make me fall in love with a fictional character, whether a nice guy or not. POSSESSIVENESS – A hero who knows what he wants…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A SPOT OF TROUBLE 2–What is it about? A SPOT OF TROUBLE is a sweet 101-Dalmatians-inspired romantic comedy about a cupcake baker and a new-to-town firefighter who both have two very opposite pet Dalmatians. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The setting of this book is a fictional, small North Carolina beach town called Turtle Beach, and it’s actually very near and dear to my heart, because it’s based on a real place called Topsail Island, NC. My family has been visiting Topsail nearly every summer for more than twenty-five years.  4–How did your heroine surprise you?  By listening to her own heart from the very beginning of the book, in spite of her family’s efforts to protect her from getting hurt.  5–Why will readers love your hero?  Readers will love Sam because he’s swoony and stoic and loves Violet just as she is. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  Not going out and adopting a Dalmatian! Ha! (For real, though.) 7–Do you look forward to or do you dread the revision process?  Revisions are actually my favorite part. I…