In THE MISTLETOE TRAP, Julie’s fairly certain she can convince her best friend Gavin to watch chick flicks with her. Convincing him to join her and his sister doing facemasks proves to be more of a challenge. So, she simply swipes some on his face and tells him he might as well let her do the rest. There are some movies that practically require fuzzy socks and a warm blanket. Here are my top five movies to cuddle up with this holiday season. 1–Just Friends – Ryan Reynolds, friends who start to fall, and a wild yet loveable Rockstar. This movie is full of lots of hijinks and laughter and is one of the movies I can’t wait to snuggle up next to my husband and watch. 2–The Holiday – This is one of those amazing movies with not just one romance, but two! And not to spoil it if you haven’t seen it, but just wait till you see Mr. Napkin Head. Talk about swoon (which is something I never thought I’d say about something involving napkins. LOL) 3–While You Were Sleeping – Not only does this movie have a lot of quotable lines, it’s one of Sandra Bullock’s…

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 Victoria James! Writes: Snowed in with the Firefighter: When Melanie travels to her sister’s remote cabin in Montana to escape the holidays, she doesn’t expect to walk in on her brother-in-law who is also escaping family. They figure out their families are trying to play matchmaker, they decide they’ll play along. Except these two opposites find themselves falling for each other for real! About:  Holiday-movie-loving, sweet romance author looking for readers who love escaping the big city for heartwarming stories featuring wounded characters with big hearts, and happily-ever-afters, guaranteed. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Must love warm and cozy cabins in the middle of the nowhere Must be okay with roads not getting ploughed for days after a big blizzard Must love opposites attract with two very stubborn characters Must love a heroine who’s a perfectionist on the outside and vulnerable on the inside-but who figures out the hero is worth the risk-in the nick of time! Must love a hero who’s wounded…

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 Jayce Ellis! Writes: Hey y’all! I’m Jayce, and I write super sensual, contemporary Black and IR queer romance. What does that mean? All pairings, but at least one, if not both (or more. . .) MCs will be LGBTQ+. I write real people, living real lives, that don’t end just because romance is in the air. In my latest, LEARNED BEHAVIORS, JaQuan–Jaq to his friends–has just dropped his daughter off for her freshman year of college, and is ready to figure out the next stage of his life. That gets rudely interrupted when his company lands a major project, and he’s forced to work with the irritatingly sexy, hyper-business-focused Matt Donaldson, up close and in person, for the next three months to get it ready. Matt is determined to keep their relationship strictly business, but their personal lives collide, that becomes impossible, and they find that maybe, if they work at it, they can truly have it all. About: You’ve got…

Hi, Nicola! We’re so glad to have you hear on Fresh Fiction today. Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your new book, THE BOY TOY?   Hi, thanks so much for having me! I’m a USA Today bestselling and multi-award winning author of 70 books. I write contemporary romance, women’s fiction and domestic thrillers for a variety of publishers and I’m hugely excited about my new book, THE BOY TOY. It’s a multicultural, interracial contemporary romance set in my home city of Melbourne, featuring a biracial heroine who’s half Indian, half American, an Aussie stuntman with a stutter who’s a decade younger, and a cast of interfering friends and relatives! While it’s a romance, it tackles a few deeper issues like infertility, divorce, cultural assimilation, family expectations and speech impediment. You write across a variety of different genres and have had quite a few new books come out over the last year (and in the coming months)! What do you like about writing in different genres? Do you find it difficult to switch between them so often?   Writing in different genres allows me to flex my creative muscle. It’s not difficult to switch between them because it…

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been reading romance novels for over thirty years, and there are some things that I absolutely must have. They can make the difference between an okay and a great read. Here’s my list. 1. That first meeting. To me, this is THE moment. The chemistry has to be just right. The attraction has to strong enough to set the page (or Kindle) on fire. Remember, this is a second chance, so something comes between them. I want to see what made them fall in love the first time. 2. Glimpses of the past. I’m not a fan of chapters upon chapters of flashbacks as a reader. I’d much rather see what the characters are up to now, but second chance romances need to give up glimpses of the past. We need to see what made the relationship so strong, and why we believe in this couple so much that we want them to get back together. 3. The breakup. The reason for the breakup has to not only be good, but believable! I’m not a fan of breakups happening over a misunderstanding. Romance novels are all about finding your soulmate. This person is…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Rough and Tumble 2–What is it about?  Grant and Darryn, two friends, college roommates, and gymnastics teammates who discover they’ve fallen for each other–but one of them has already moved on with someone else. What happens when that relationship turns sour? 3–What word best describes your POV hero?  Snarky! 4–What makes your love interest hero irresistible?  Sweetness. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Grant turns to his twin sister, Annie, his parents–and Darryn. Darryn turns to Grant and to his parents. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  It’s in my city, Atlanta! The University of Atlanta is fictional, but its location is near where another college sits, and I used to live across the street. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)? I’m a plantser. I do some planning/plotting before I start writing, but then I make changes and add/remove elements while I’m writing. 8–What is an ideal writing day for you?  A quiet cabin in the woods or a beach house. 9–Do you listen to music while you write, need total…

“You like it. My testosterone. You’d like to be poisoned by it, admit it.” “There’s that sense of unearned self-confidence,” she said, her heart hammering steadily against her chest. “Right on time.” “It’s not unearned. I watch you. When we fight. Your face gets all flushed.” “That’s called anger.” “Why? What is it about me that makes you so damned angry?” “You… You are just…a useless, base ape.” “Base?” He asked the question with a dangerous sort of softness to his voice, and it made her trem­ble. “That’s what you think? That I’m like an animal who can’t control himself?” “Yes,” she spat. “I know all about you and your reputation. You get drunk at the bar, you pick up women every night of the week.” “I don’t get drunk,” he said. “That’s not me.” “Maybe that’s how you see yourself, but it’s not what I hear. I hear that you’re just a big, dumb, blunt instrument. You might go on and on about how you pulled yourself up by your bootstraps, but your daddy made all this happen. You might wear a cowboy hat, but there’s a silver spoon in your mouth the same as mine. So don’t you…

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 Barb Curtis! Writes: Hi there, I write contemporary romance with humor and heart. My debut novel, Forever with You, is a small town second chance romance set in wine country, and the first in the Sapphire Springs series. Leyna Milan has taken over the family restaurant but the deal has come with strings attached–opening a second location at Wynter Estate, a winery owned by her grandfather’s best friend. When Stefan Wynter has a health crisis, he names his grandson Jay as his successor to the family business, leaving Leyna destined to be business partners with the man who broke her heart. About: I’m a Fun-loving free-spirit and lover of the arts. When I’m not writing, you can find me planning my next renovation project or trying out a new recipe. I’m a music junkie and especially love crossing concerts off my bucket list. A few fun facts about me: I’m a rock star in my car, a perpetual student (I’ve studied…

“I did not call you a sex robot.” The woman behind the counter flushed almost the exact same color as the pink polo top displaying a cutesy lip-print logo. She was gorgeous. Tumbling blond hair swept up into a bouncy ponytail, wide green eyes staring at him unflinchingly, and full lips all competed for his attention. There was something arresting about her, something strong and willful and so electric it grabbed Ronan Walsh by the balls. Add to all that a full figure with the kind of curves that could make a grown man weep, and he was momentarily robbed of his resolve to not to even think about women for the next twelve months. “She totally called him a sex robot.” One of the younger women at a nearby table snickered and ducked her head behind a coffee cup big enough to caffeinate an entire college faculty. “How embarrassing.” “Can I help you with a drink?” The woman asked, trying to act like she wasn’t ruffled. As she came closer, Ronan caught the name Audrey printed neatly on a white badge. “Maybe a croissant or a bagel?” “A coffee, black, in whatever is your biggest cup.” He tore his…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  SLOW BURN 2–What is it about?  After a terrible tragedy, Jake Lowell flees his home. But he leaves behind the girl he loves. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Adaptable. . . 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  He feels things deeply, even when he can’t show his emotions. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  For Nikki, it’s her mom. Jake turns to no one. He lives life on his own. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I had to brush up on New Jersey, because I haven’t spent time there. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)? Pantser all the way! 8–What is an ideal writing day for you? Putter in the morning, chores, email, etc. Then hit the writing hard in the afternoon. If my husband has night meetings, I’ll write a lot more after dinner. 9–Do you listen to music while you write, need total silence, or do you have the TV on? Total silence. . . 10– How do you approach research?  I Google everything!! And I mostly write…