“I may look like a monster, but I’m not going to hurt you.” Her reluctance offended him more than he cared to admit. His reputation painted him in a grim light–and for good reason–and he knew that side of his face was hideous, deformed, but he’d just risked his life for her, saved her. . . and with them alone in his room like this, the thought of when he’d kissed her inside that godforsaken closet haunted him. He’d kissed her so thoroughly that the feel of her against him was forever seared into him. And then he’d told her it meant nothing to him. What a load of horseshit. “It’s not that. I was afraid I’ll hurt you.” She reached for him again. This time, she didn’t shy away. With gentle movements, she cupped his cheek and used a handkerchief to wipe away the fresh blood. Her touch was gentle, tender. Some of the nerve endings on that side were damaged, making it less sensitive, yet he was aware of her every movement. Rogue could count the number of times someone had touched him there on less than one hand. The stroking movements of her palm and handkerchief as…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Cindi! Please tell us a little bit about your latest novel, A COWBOY NEVER QUITS. A Cowboy Never Quits is about the Dawsons, who run a rehab ranch for teens, and a single mom who had a daughter at sixteen. Jess and her daughter have always been close, but they’ve been drifting apart lately, and when Chloe lands in jail, Jess is desperate to keep her from going down her same path and get her the help she needs. Even if it involves working for slightly grumpy cowboy, Wade, and taking a cooking job she may or may not have exaggerate how qualified she is for. This is the first book in the Turn Around Ranch series. What inspired this cowboy romance series? I grew up on a cattle ranch, and I’m a big believer in the sort of therapy that comes from nature, animals, and people who genuinely care. I’m also a mother of teens, and as I’ve talked to other mothers of teens, we’ve talked about some of the issues our kids are facing, namely anxiety and depression. I liked the idea of a close mother-daughter relationship, and a mom who was scared…

The Harvey Girls, in full uniform, stood shoulder to shoulder, arms linked, at the entrance to the church. Emma was at the center of the lineup. Grace Hopkins was on her left and a woman Max didn’t recognize was on her right, all three also in uniform. Sheriff Bolton stood before them, shouting out threats to arrest the whole lot of them. Off to one side sat the bride, her face blotched with either fury or misery or both. Father O’Meara stood between McCoy, the local lawyer, and Mr. Gilmore, trying without much success to get them to lower their voices. And instead of consoling his bride, whose day had clearly been ruined, RJ stood with his arms around his mother—and his eyes fixed on Emma. Max started making his way through the crowd. “Wait, Max,” Aidan called, stopping him. “Let them alone. This just might work.” “Mr. Campbell,” Ford said, “please explain why employees of the Harvey Company are staging what appears to be a protest outside a church of all places.” “It was all their idea,” Aidan said, gesturing toward the waitresses. “Emma’s really—along with Grace and Lily, of course.” “Who’s Lily?” Max asked. Aidan pointed to the…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Jennie! Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book, WISH UPON A COWBOY? Sure! Thanks for having me! And I’m super proud of this book! It’s fun, sweet, sexy, and will make you laugh and cry! It’s the fourth book in my hockey-playing Cowboys of Creedence series. Logan and Harper’s story is about a mother who is fighting to get back her son and a rancher who is trying to save his ranch, and how they help each other to accomplish both. It has a hot cowboy, a sassy heroine, an adorable eight-year-old boy, a marshmallow-eating cow, a feisty kitten, and a Christmas miracle at its heart. It received a STARRED Review from Booklist calling it a “smart and delicious romance” and Publishers Weekly claims “Able plotting, red-hot sex, and a large dollop of sweetness make this holiday charmer ideal all year round.” It’s a perfect romance-reading treat to give yourself for the holidays! Harper Evans has just gotten out of jail, but she lost custody of her son to the mother of her deceased husband. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her son back, and that means finding…

Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? To celebrate, we asked the authors of our 2019 Christmas titles to answer some fun, wintry and Christmas themed questions! Fall in love this Christmas and be sure to read: Longing for a Cowboy Christmas by Leigh Greenwood, Rosanne Bittner, Linda Broday, Margaret Brownley, Anna Schmidt, and Amy Sandas Wish Upon a Cowboy by Jennie Marts Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kissby Kim Redford Cowboy Christmas Homecoming by June Faver A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase Puppy Christmas by Lucy Gilmore Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays by Terry Spear Keep reading to get in the Christmas spirit and check out the books over at Romance Reads! *** What’s the best part about writing a Christmas book? Rosanne Bittner:       The best part about writing a Christmas story is that it takes me into that “miracle” mood that seems to be a part of the Christmas holiday. I always try to include some kind of little miracle in my stories. In last year’s anthology, Christmas In A Cowboy’s Arms, my story miracle was the healed awakening of an unconscious little girl. This year, in Longing for A Cowboy Christmas, my miracle surrounds…

Our Potluck continues with yet another delicious recipe and fabulous author with a new book! Don’t forget to follow along all week for more recipes, more books, and more giveaways!  Day 1 with Elizabeth Goddard: http://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=10267    *** When Cody Ford is back home on the ranch, he loves nothing more than the comfort food he grew up with as a kid. So I can imagine Cody and Lexi curled up by the fire at Christmas, while it’s snowing outside, eating this devious beef stew! Aromatic Beef Stew You don’t need a slow cooker for this recipe, it’s equally as good if you do it in the oven, or if you simmer in a pot on the stovetop. The combination of orange peel, star anise, and hoisin sauce makes it aromatic and delicious! Ingredients Approx. 1.5 kg beef blade steak or beef cheeks 2 Tbsp flour 2 Tbsp cooking oil A handful of shallots 1 cup red wine 1 x 400g can tomatoes Half cup prunes 60ml hoisin sauce 1 star anise One approx 3cm length of orange peel Extra water if necessary Trim the fat off the meat, then cut into large chunks. Put the flour in a plastic…

In UNBREAK ME, LJ Delisle is a Haitian-Creole cowboy with a heart as big as his smile. When he meets Andra Lawler, she’s living like a hermit on her family’s horse ranch and has barely spoken to a man in years. She’s been through hell, and when LJ shows up in her life, a girl might be forgiven for thinking he was a gift from the karma fairy, here to make up for all the hard knocks she took in her early twenties. Here are five ways he turns the head of a woman who had sworn off men for life: He knows his way around a kitchen When LJ wants to make friends, he takes a tack few men ever try: he bakes her a cake. When he sees her collection of TV dinners, he’s so horrified he makes her dinner and spaghetti spins quickly into cooking lessons that start out with warm companionship and start to spark into flirtation. But ladies, how can you resist a man who can cook? Andra sure can’t. Animals love him LJ and Andra meet when he gets a job training her horses: specifically her baby horses! She’s won over by how gentle…

As a born and raised Montana rancher and rodeo cowgirl, I am immersed in my subject matter—often literally in the case of mud, manure, and bovine amniotic fluid. Yeah, I see that face you’re making. I do occasionally get a little too real and my editor has to explain that not only is she baffled when I say a horse ‘broke in two’, but the visual is extremely disturbing. (For the record, it is a synonym for suddenly starting to buck, also known as ‘bogged his head’ and ‘blew up’.) Beyond the language and the technical details, though, I find a writer is most likely to miss the mark by failing to understand that this is a culture unto itself. Regular folks tend to find our values and priorities a tad difficult to comprehend. First, and most awesome, is the way in which women tend to be perceived. Imagine a world where you are routinely praised for being strong, aggressive, independent, and competitive. Where on a day to day basis you are valued for what you can do versus how you look and complimented for kicking ass. Imagine being in a relationship with a man who is utterly baffled if…

“If you write a book set in the past about something that happened east of the Mississippi, it’s a ‘historical novel.’ If you write about something that took place west of the Mississippi, it’s a ‘Western’- and somehow regarded as a lesser work. I write historical novels about the frontier.”   Louis L’Amour My great-grandfather was born in 1904 and was a Polish immigrant. He supported himself by working on the railroads. In his later years, I knew two things – he liked a glass of whiskey now and then, and he liked to get comfy in his recliner with a Louis L’Amour Western. At the time, I was young, and my literary taste ran more along the lines of Nancy Drew books and the Sweet Valley High series. It’s only in recent years that I can appreciate a tale of cowboys, horses, rodeos, and occasionally cattle rustling. Although, admittedly, my Westerns are of a very different variety than those preferred by my late great-grandpa. Mine is full of more naked shenanigans than he would probably care for. I can’t pinpoint which book was the first romance I read with a Western vibe, but it might’ve been “Catcher Creek” series by…

This is a dangerous topic for me. Because if you’re going to make me name my must-have writing snacks then I’m going to have to think about them. And if I think about them, I’m going to want them. And if I start to want them and deny myself, I’m going to crave them. And if I crave them, I know I’ll end up going to the store to get them. And if I go to the store I’m probably going to peruse the book section. And if I peruse the book section I’m going to end up buying quite a few. And if I buy quite a few then I’m going to feel guilty for adding to my already overflowing TBR pile. And if I start to feel guilty then I’ll have to set aside time to read them. And if I set aside time to read them then I won’t be writing. And if I’m not writing then I won’t even need my snacks after all, right? My logic may be slightly flawed, but thanks for going along with my rambling journey. At the risk of never writing another word, here are my 5 must-have writing snacks. I’ve…