Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Paul! We are thrilled to have you here. Can you tell us what inspired your new book, PLAYING THE PALACE?   Paul:  Two things inspired PLAYING THE PALACE: first, I wanted to explore a passionate and uproarious romance between two people of very different social backgrounds, namely Carter Ogden, a lonely New York City event planner, and Prince Edgar, the openly gay Crown Prince of England. Beyond that, I wanted to create an all-out romantic comedy, to combat despair and celebrate the glory of falling in love despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. How do you feel your background in playwrighting and screenwriting influenced writing this novel?   Writing for the theater, the screen and the page can be very different pursuits, but they do inform each other. I want PLAYING THE PALACE to have the pure fun of a great musical comedy, with the heart of a bigscreen romance. There’s a cast of delightful characters throughout PLAYING THE PALACE that add to the hijinks Carter and Prince Edgar find themselves involved in… do you have a favorite side character, who really stood out to you while you were writing this book?  I hate to play favorites, but…

Hello! I’m so excited to be here at Fresh Fiction, sharing an exclusive excerpt from my upcoming release, ROYAL TROUBLE. The second book in the Royally Engaged series, ROYAL TROUBLE is a stand-alone romcom that asks the question, What happens when a member of the royal family unwittingly falls in love with a celebrity dirt reporter? If you like laugh-out-loud banter, sizzling chemistry, and swoon-worthy HEAs, keep reading for a sneak peek at Xander and Everly’s story and a wardrobe malfunction of royal proportions! … The bathroom door burst open with such force it smashed against the stopper before it was slammed shut again. Xander whirled to see Everly throw herself against the door and flip the deadbolt. When she turned to face him, chest heaving, she gave a startled squeal and clapped her hands over her mouth, covering the full lips he’d just been fantasizing about. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was more disheveled than when he’d left her, the chocolate and toffee strands brushing her collarbones in loose waves. Everly’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she dropped her hands to her sides. “That’s not the reaction I usually get from the ladies,” he said, lifting a…

1–What is the title of your latest release? The Wedding Dilemma 2–What is it about? An accident-prone artist is rescued from a failed body cast art project by a sexy firefighter, only to discover he’s going to be her new stepbrother! They have to help plan wedding parties together while fighting off the volcanic attraction they feel, but he’s keeping a secret that could ruin everyone’s happily ever after. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  It’s set in the Mile High City, aka Denver, Colorado, the best place to live (I might be a little bias since I live here, lol). 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  She was much more afraid of love than I first thought. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  He’s a Cinnamon Roll firefighter, what’s not to love;) 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  Researching all the firefighting facts. I did interviews with firefighters and my own personal research, but as I’ve never been a firefighter, I’m sure I made a mistake somewhere (my apologies for any mistakes made). 7–Do you look forward to or do you dread the revision process?  I dread…

Thirteen years ago, decorated former Army Ranger Roman Sheppard rescued Mexican heiress Cenobia “Cen” Trujillo from a shocking kidnapping that riveted the world. Now, this reluctant warrior prince–head of an elite security firm and the lost prince of a small Spanish kingdom–has come to Mexico to once again protect the heiress-turned-CEO as growing threats work to derail her launch of a car that will change the Mexican industrial landscape for the better.  Cenobia hopes his close proximity will allow her to finally figure out if what she feels for him is a teenager’s daydream or a grown woman’s reality. Roman, however, is doing everything he can to resist thinking of her as his sweet Cen. *** He was the sensation she knew he would be in the vast room with its spectacularly decorated high ceiling of stained glass, its giant chandeliers gleaming off marble floors, and large, gold framed mirrors that made the room boundary-less. National and international representatives of the auto, oil, and gas industries, many who were wealthy enough to buy small nations, weren’t immune to the presence of royalty, no matter how reluctant the royalty was. Roman shook the hands and said the words, but quickly demurred…

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 Hudson Lin! Writes: I write queer romance featuring people of color. I truly believe that everyone deserves a Happily Ever After, especially folks who feel like outsiders and are looking for a place to belong. HARD SELL is about a successful businessman looking for something more. That’s when his best friend’s kid brother walks back into his life, all grown up and impossible to ignore. They’re on opposite sides of the boardroom, but definitely on the same side of the bedroom as they navigate family and careers to find their happily ever after. About: Taiwanese Canadian bisexual woman living in Toronto. Avid knitter, crafter, cook, baker, reader, and TV-binger. Can talk for hours about social justice, mental health, anti-oppression, and equity—and get a little angry while doing it. Left the corporate world to be an artiste. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves to read with a box of tissues at hand. Wants to travel around the world…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Heirly Ever After 2–What is it about? A young woman is attending her sister’s royal wedding–sans a date who broke up with her after she dropped out of college for him–so she takes a date with a Scottish man she meets on the train who happens to be the outcast of the royal family. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love the Cotswold feel of an English country town with rolling hills and the historical aspects of the castle that I built in my head in Heired Lines from watching a lot of Secrets of Great British Castles 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  She wasn’t supposed to be this dang persistent. In my head originally she was spunky, but I kept having to tell my brain one thing and she wanted to do another. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  That he’s genuine. His story could have been very different and he could have been a villain or an anti-hero. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  To make Lord Jacob a real hero and not an anti-hero. 7–Do…

The write what you know writing advice is so well known and repeated it’s a cliche. It’s often dismissed as worn out and antiquated thanks to research being so much easier with our current level of technology (I grew up in the 80s and used a rotary phone. Wheee! Fun times). The thing is, write what you know doesn’t mean technical know-how to me. Anyone can research police procedure, medical facts, and rocket science, that stuff is easy. It’s the people stuff that’s hard to write if you’ve never lived it yourself. People stuff? Definition: People stuff – A mixture of psychology and life experience, including but not limited to: personality, traumas, successes, failures, deaths, injuries, odd relatives, first car, first love, betrayals, jobs, major life events (good and bad), etc… All of that and a lot more shapes our attitudes, understanding, and actions. It allows us to create a variety of characters who feel three-dimensional and alive. Every writer writes what they know, what they’ve lived through and have come to understand. Every writer has a personal theme that appears in every story they write. Mine is a combination of Protector and Healing. My stories are about characters who…

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 Samanthe Beck Writes: Sam writes contemporary romances set in small towns, or big cities, featuring sweet-talking heroes, or dirty-talking heroes, or the strong, silent types and shy, straitlaced heroines, or bad-girls with golden hearts, or kick-ass heroines who take no prisoners. The only constants? Her stories are so sexy you gotta keep a spritzy-fan handy and pack the kind of emotional punch that requires a “book hangover” warning. About: Sam’s turn-ons include sleep (there’s never enough!), wine (um, again, there’s never enough!), her family (she has just enough!), and characters who come out of nowhere and make her laugh. Turn offs include missed deadlines, missed meals, missed sleep and being out of wine! What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: For my newest book, WET AND RECKLESS, my ideal reader must love: Small, southern towns such as Bluelick, Kentucky, the fictional town where the story takes place, (also known as the sexiest small town south of the Mason-Dixon line)! A strict small-town cop with a sexy scowl…

1–What is the title of your latest release? PEOPLE YOU MEET ON VACATION 2–What is it about? I think a good pitch is When Harry Met Sally mixed with One Day. It’s the story of Poppy and Alex, best friends since college, who’ve taken a summer trip together every year for ten years—only for a disastrous final trip to Croatia to ruin their relationship. Now, two years later, Poppy’s determined to mend it with one last trip, so the book follows their post-friend-break-up vacation, as well as all the trips they’ve taken up to that point. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  Usually, my books are pretty grounded in one location, but this one takes place in multiple cities and countries, and reliving bits and pieces of all the trips that inspired those particular scenes was a blast. I definitely think of this novel as a vacation in book form, and I hope readers will have that experience too. 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  A lot of times, I’m very conscious of how I think my readership will react to my female characters. It just seems like it’s easier for female characters to grate on…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Coming Home to Seashell Harbor 2–What is it about? It’s an enemies-to-lovers second-chance romance with lots of dogs! And three best friends-for-life. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love old homes and I love the ocean, so put the two together and I’m in my happy place! 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  Success for Hadley was defined in a way that wasn’t making her happy. But she didn’t think that what she really wanted to do was in line with her definition of success. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  Tony is fun and has a heart of gold but he has a big struggle – he had an injury that prevented him from being one of the greatest footballers of all time. And he’s desperate to show the world that he’s become a success in a different way. And even though Hadley and he are on opposite sides for much of the book, he can’t help falling in love with her.    6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  Answer: The dogs have personalities too. That’s all I’m…