EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT – First Kiss: Wanting a Family Man by Dani Collins   I’m thrilled to be returning to Fresh Fiction with an exclusive excerpt from the third book in my Raven’s Cove trilogy, WANTING A FAMILY MAN. In WANTING A FAMILY MAN, Trystan is finishing out the season as a whale-watching captain on British Columbia’s isolated west coast. Cloe is his baby sister’s aunt, someone he hasn’t decided yet whether he can trust. Cloe is starting her life from scratch after her last boyfriend took everything. Trystan and Cloe are warily starting to like each other as they walk through an abandoned town. Nature has begun swallowing up the past and their own romance is starting to blossom. If you love a slow-burn to sexy romance full of a closely-knit community, laughs and a few tears plus tons of heart, you’ll adore this series.       Trystan absently helped himself to a huckleberry as they passed a bush growing out of the top of a broken, rotting stump. Cloe stopped in her tracks. “Can you eat those?” “I just did. They’re like blueberries only red.” That one had been a little tart because they weren’t quite ripe yet….

1–What is the title of your latest release? MARRYING THE ENEMY 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Romeo and Juliet without all the death 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I wanted to strand them on an island and had recently visited my sister in Australia, so I chose an unnamed island in the Whitsundays. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? She’s smart and funny and has great taste in clothes. My hero is rich, sexy, alpha and mad. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? This happened in a different part of Australia from my book, but I ran across a fascinating article where orcas had once helped hunters by herding larger whales into shallow waters. I’ll spare you the details, but everyone ate well. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? Edit as I go. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Old Dutch dill pickle potato chips 9–Describe your writing space/office! For years I wrote in our finished attic, but in 2022, I converted our son’s bedroom into my office. It’s…

1–What is the title of your latest release? FORGIVING HER FIRST LOVE 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? He broke her heart eight years ago. Now he’s her boss and she has nowhere to go. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I created Raven’s Cove from a real-world place called Denny Island on British Columbia’s central coast. My cousin worked there for over twenty years and my aunt had been to visit him in 2016. I saw her photos and thought, “What a great place to set a book!” My husband and I visited in 2018 and the layout of my village is very much like the real place with some artistic license. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! Sophie has a dark, sarcastic sense of humor, but she’s honest and, beneath the tough exterior, very kind and sensitive. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Since I answered this for Sophie above, I’ll say that Logan, the hero, is sinfully sexy, a teensy bit entitled, but a genuinely decent person beneath the sarcasm. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? So many hits by…

Hi Fresh Fiction Readers! I hope you enjoy this exclusive sneak peek at THE SALOON GIRL’S ONLY SHOT. It’s Denver, 1859. After a brawl in the saloon, Temperance has been fired (again!) and told to leave the shack she shares with two other saloon girls. It’s a cold night and she has nowhere to go—unless a good Samaritan takes her in? Owen is the hero, an aspiring saloonkeeper, and Clarence is his dog.   Temperance’s hands were shaking as much from upset and fear as the cold. She firmly tied her bonnet into place and stepped outside. The wind nearly cut her in half. As she came toward the street, a dark shadow peeled itself away from the side of the saloon. “I’m armed, sir,” she lied in her most threatening voice. “With what?” Owen asked. “A spare petticoat and a bar of soap?” “You. Why are you so determined to ruin my life?” “Last I checked, I keep saving it. Come on. I’ll take you to my room.” His silhouette turned to start across the front of the saloon where light spilled from the window. “That is very presumptuous.” She stood her ground. “We are square. I owe you…

Book Title: MARRYING THE NANNY Character Name: Emma Wright   How would you describe your family or your childhood? In a lot of ways, I had a very privileged upbringing. The northern tip of the South Island in New Zealand is a beautiful part of the world. My parents were professionals, so we had all the perks of upper-middle class—a sailboat and a membership at the club. That wealth and status turned my brother into the biggest d!ckhead alive. He teased (bullied) me constantly and encouraged his wife to use me as unpaid daycare. I did all the running around for our parents, but I thought that was just part of being a family. Then I learned that my brother knew my husband was cheating on me and never told me. I might have got over that eventually, but our parents were friends with my ex’s parents, so it turned into a whole thing at Christmas. I was the excluded from my brother’s ‘so it wouldn’t be awkward.’ That was the last straw. I sold everything and moved to Canada.   What was your greatest talent? At the time? I was pretty good at selling houses, but I walked away…

Hi Fresh Fiction! Thanks for having me here today!   1–What is the title of your latest release? THE PROSPECTOR’S ONLY PROSPECT   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?  A divorcee takes her sister’s place as a mail order bride and arrives in gold-rush Denver, but the prospector who needs a mother for his three children knows she’s not the bride he ordered.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?  My editor was looking for a western and I love the Rockies so I pitched gold-rush in Denver and she liked it.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?  Absolutely.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Hardened, intelligent, marshmallow-center   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?  Oh, gosh. I learned so much about the period and politics (the more things change, the more they stay the same!) I learned about women’s rights (and lack thereof) and mining methods and exactly how rough life was back then.   7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I revise as I go. It’s a way for me to get unstuck….

“I’m not asking you to forgive me, only to trust me that this was necessary. For both of our safety.” Her vision blurred with instant, furious tears. Helpless anguish. “I can never trust you. Do you realize that? How could you even suggest it?” “Have I ever hurt you?” he demanded tightly, then swore and looked away, seeming to realize as he said it that he was inviting the vitriol that climbed like bile into her throat. “I meant physically. Look, I’ve been waiting for the right time to resurface. I need to know you’re safe when word gets out that I’m alive. As of today’s debacle, it’s out. Please come with me and let me explain.” She realized the ache in her other hand was from gripping her phone this whole time. All those people inside this tiny rectangle, all those “friends” who’d been so sympathetic, eating up her grief like bitter chocolate bonbons. Where were they now, when she was in real trouble? Not here. She fingered her pendant, thinking of Nels. He was a reliable friend, but they weren’t exactly soul mates. She didn’t have anyone. That’s what she’d come to terms with since Giovanni’s disappearance. For…

Writing for Harlequin Presents, I always know my hero will be exceptionally wealthy. It’s part of the promise to our reader that she will be swept into a glamorous world of luxury, visit exotic locations, and have a passionate encounter with a hero who is lord of all he surveys. These powerful men believe they’re impervious to love, or at least that they can control whom they love the way they control everything else. That arrogance has been winning my heart since I found Harlequin Presents. (Which was in high school! I won’t tell you how long ago that was, but I married my high school sweetheart and our kids are now grown). I have always adored the ruthless, embittered heroes who take an entire book to let down their guard and admit they’re falling for their plucky heroine. It makes the way they turn to mush when a baby is in the picture all the more satisfying! (Think of the old cartoon with the bulldog and the wide-eyed kitten.) I swoon when they discover they are hopelessly ill-equipped to look after a baby, yet suffer a surge of protectiveness that forces them to rise to the challenge. When I…