Two sisters, Ryan and Wendy, are at the core of this novel, and even though they don’t always see eye to eye, Ryan is ready to help Wendy when she needs help. How does their relationship fuel the plot of this suspenseful novel? Ryan, who is much younger than Wendy, has always been in awe of Wendy. They’ve never lived in the same house, because Wendy was on her way to college when Ryan was born, and afterward she was married and traveling with her new husband. Wendy was the beautiful, seemingly perfect stranger who was so beyond Ryan in everything she did or could do, that there was no hope to compete or to truly win her sister’s affection. Then, suddenly, as the book begins, Ryan is given the chance for both. I really love the title of this book: A FAMILY OF STRANGERS. It’s very captivating! What does feeling like a stranger in one’s own family do to the characters in your book? I originally titled this book The Perfect Daughter, and we all loved it. But suddenly there were dozens of books scheduled everywhere with “perfect” in the title. So when I started looking for a new…

Happiness Key July 2010 On Sale: June 29, 2010 Featuring: Janya Kapur; Tracy Deloche; Wanda Gray 400 pages ISBN: 0778327701 EAN: 9780778327707 Paperback $13.95 Add to Wish List Women’s Fiction Buy at Amazon.com Fortunate Harbor by Emilie Richards When you’ve got friends, anything is possible Join five women connected only by their growing friendship and the road that runs like a lifeline between their cottages in a run-down Florida development called Happiness Key. Tracy Deloche finally gets a chance to swap business for a romantic evening with Marsh Egan, but dinner goes cold when she spots her ex-husband prowling outside her cottage. CJ is supposed to be in prison and out of her life for good. Exactly what is this modern-day pirate seeking and what will it mean for Tracy’s future? Janya Kapur envies every pregnant woman she sees, but Rishi, her husband, is suddenly reluctant to talk about children. Is he disappointed in her inability to conceive? Their marriage was a contract between strangers. Can they ever hope for anything more? Waitress Wanda Gray loses her job after new owners turn the Dancing Shrimp into a tapas bar. Wise neighbor Alice Brooks‘s suggestion that Wanda start her own business…

Look back on your life for a moment, okay? Just close your eyes and remember the people who were most influential in helping you become the person you are. Your parents, who may or may not have been role models you could follow. That special third grade teacher who realized you needed a little extra help learning to spell. The librarian who led you to novels you still remember with a catch in your throat. And the friends. With sixty-something books to my credit, one day I realized that I’d never really written about friendship. Sure, there were lots of friendships in my novels. That person a main character tells her life story to. That person who insists a main character get his act together. The walk-ons who serve a limited purpose before they stroll into the sunset. Lots of friends, but never a novel about friendship. Enter the women of Happiness Key, a shabby beachfront community on Florida’s Gulf Coast who don’t know they need friends, don’t recognize each other’s potential, and are reluctant to spend more than a moment in each other’s presence. Ah, a writer’s dream scenario. Happiness Key, the resulting novel, explored the ways women come…

There is no question that authors are odd. We hear voices in our heads. We stare blankly at walls for hours, leaving those around us to wonder if we have, without fanfare, passed away. We save things other people toss out or never possess in the first place. Real estate circulars. Missing children inserts. Photographs that show nothing except, perhaps, the curve of a cheek or the shape of an eye. We keep files. Oh yes, we keep lots and lots of files. Jotted notes of overheard conversations. Newspaper articles about mortgage fraud. Three word phrases that might vanish in the night. Authors are almost always asked where our ideas come from. No matter how many times I’m asked, I’m not annoyed by this question. In fact I can relate. Myself, I wonder about architects, particularly those who design hotel lobbies and airports. Where did those ideas originate, and can we please extinguish the source? Or artists. Take Jackson Pollock. What possessed the man, other than an urge to pour lots of paint on lots of canvas? Read the rest, click here Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Emilie Richards A serial killer? Well, I didn’t become one, of course. Not exactly. But lately, and I have to admit the following part is true, people are dropping dead all around me. And by my hand. Buy Your Copy today Of course my hand is on the computer keyboard whenever bad things happen. And the people dropping dead? Not nice people, for the most part. People you and I would cross the street to avoid. People who enjoy causing trouble for others. People who are sure the world revolves around them. Serial killers get to choose their victims. And there are so many places to look. Take reality shows, for instance. Haven’t you ever wanted to rid the world–or at least the television studio–of some of those judges? You know the ones I mean. They’re sarcastic and egotistic and often downright cruel, all in the name of ratings. They’re the ones we love to hate, and still, like bystanders staring at a train wreck, we just can’t seem to pull ourselves away. Well, I got rid of one of them this year. got you hooked? read the rest of Emilie’s blog… Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and…