Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Michelle McLean | 20 Questions: HITCHED TO THE GUNSLINGER
Author Guest / August 25, 2021

1–What is the title of your latest release? Hitched to the Gunslinger 2–What is it about? A notorious and grumpy gunslinger wants nothing more than to retire and live out his days napping somewhere quiet but instead stumbles into this hole-in-the-wall town and finds himself promptly fake engaged (and then real married) to a morbidly optimistic and determined woman who never gives him a moment’s peace. The rest of the zany townsfolk talk him into becoming the sheriff and he find a way to defeat a corrupt landowner who is terrorizing his new wife and the town while chasing after his own HEA. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  It’s wild west but it’s also green and pretty. It’s still remote and untamed but not the tumbleweed dustbin I often think of when picturing a wild western town. 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  She’s more patient with Gray’s antics than I pictured her being. I’d go into a scene picturing her irritated and it would end up really fun, with her playing off Gray’s surliness and egging him on almost rather than being offended by it. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  He is so…

Robin Bielman | Exclusive Excerpt: WRITTEN FOR YOU
Author Guest / August 23, 2021

Hi everyone! This scene picks up after Cam and Reese have just played a game of This or That with his brothers and things got a little sexy. He’s offered to walk her back to the guesthouse where she’s staying on his family’s property… “I’ll walk you back,” Cam said, making her jump. She hadn’t heard him follow her. “You don’t need to do that.” “I know.” They stepped onto the porch together. “About what just happened…” he trailed off, hands in the front pockets of his stylish sweatpants as they continued toward the guesthouse. “It was nothing. We got a little carried away is all. I call it the Nash influence.” “The Nash influence?” “Yes, he loves to infer dirty and sexual things, which in turn gets the people around him thinking them.” “Okay, but in this case…” They’d gone there on their own. Of course Mr. Smarty McSmartyPants would realize that. She spun and faced him, took backward steps. “Sugar Rush.” He raised an eyebrow. Just one brow, in that sexy way of his. “When a person eats sugar, the brain produces a surge in dopamine, which in turn makes them think of pleasurable things and then sometimes…

Abigail Owen | Title Challenge: THE TRAITOR
Author Guest / August 19, 2021

Hey, y’all! My Name is ABIGAIL OWEN and I’m so excited to be here today to share a little bit about my new book THE TRAITOR with Fresh Fiction’s fun Title Challenge. This bad-ass dragon shifter is going to meet his match in a bundle of sunshine and sarcasm who desperately needs his help. Problem is, he has a bounty on his head, and she’s off limits. Let’s go…. T is for Traitor. Rune knew the only way to protect the innocent was to turn his back on everything he had spent his life fighting to protect. H is for heart of gold. This grumpy anti-hero dragon shifter has one hidden somewhere. E is for ending. This book is the last of my Fire’s Edge series! * T is for trouble. Which is exactly what Hadyn is to Rune. He’s on the run after all. R is for rogue dragon. Possibly the most infamous rogue ever to turn his back on his kind. A is for admiration. Hadyn risks her life climbing a very tall mountain in winter to track him down. That takes guts. I is for intense. He’s a rogue dragon shifter y’all. They only come in one…

Heather McCollum | Exclusive Excerpt: THE HIGHLANDER’S PIRATE LASS
Author Guest / August 18, 2021

Beck watched the heavily gunned galleon sweep around the small isle, the wind filling its sails. After six months of patrolling the waters off the west coast of Scotland, Beck wouldn’t let this chance of capturing the most notorious French pirate slip past him. If the bastard outgunned them, he would use some intimidation to slow him down until Cullen could attack the Borreau from the other side. “Gavin,” he yelled, “are the men ready?” Gavin’s mouth dropped open, frozen, as he gazed past Beck. Beck pivoted on his boot in time to see… Eliza? The woman wore sailor’s clothing. No petticoats, but the breeches that she’d worn under her skirts. Tall boots hugged her shapely legs up past her knees. She wore a longish coat of wool and leather with an intricate braid trim, a white tunic, and a floppy hat over her hair. A crossbow swung by her side. She charged across the deck, Alice, who was also dressed in trousers, hurrying behind her with a lantern. “Holy Lord,” Rabbie said next to him. “Beck,” Drostan yelled, pointing at Eliza. As if he hadn’t seen her. Half his men had stopped to stare at the lass as she…

Helen Hardt | Exclusive Excerpt: FOLLOW ME ALWAYS
Author Guest / August 3, 2021

Seconds pass like hours. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. I wait. I wait while emotion hurricanes through me in a mass of anger, sadness, and fear. I wait for Braden to continue. To say what he has to say. To end our relationship—a relationship that perhaps should never have begun. I could be content right now. Who needs Susanne Cosmetics? I could still be working for Addison Ames. She paid me pretty well, and yeah, she’s a narcissistic bitch, but I was making contacts. And Tessa. I’d still have Tessa. My best friend forever, except that forever apparently has an end after all. Maybe I’d be dating that Peter guy. He’s not a billionaire, but he’s an architect at a major firm. He does all right. Who needs a private jet anyway? Or a private driver? I’ll settle for a guy with a decent car. Who needs to be tied up? Spanked? Choked? I never did. I was content before. Except that I wasn’t. I was never challenged. And Braden? He challenges me. Not just in everyday, run-of-the-mill ways, either. He challenges my very way of thinking. He challenges my concept of myself. He dares me to try new things. Things…

Lisa Kessler | Exclusive Excerpt: PIRATE’S PROMISE
Author Guest / July 29, 2021

Hello! I’m so excited to be back with you on the Fresh Fiction Blog! If we haven’t met before, I’m Lisa Kessler and I passionate, page-turning paranormal romances filled with plenty of twists and turns, danger and adventure, and sexy romance that will curl your toes. I love writing paranormals, and I don’t stop with vampires and shifters. In the Sentinels of Savannah series, I’ve got a sexy crew of immortal pirates, but they’re not vampires. Their final plunder as mortals turned out not to be gold, but the Holy Grail. They’ve been immortal ever since, living and working at their favorite port city, Savannah Georgia! My new release, Pirate’s Promise, is book 5 in my Sentinels of Savannah Series but it can be read as a standalone. Why pirates in Savannah? My grandmother was born and raised just outside of Savannah in Darien, so I’d visited America’s Most Haunted City before and pirates are a big part of their history. I’ve wanted to write a pirate series since the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out, but I didn’t want to write a historical soooo… One day it hit me! What if the pirates were still here, today?…

Julie Hammerle | Exclusive Excerpt: IT’S RAINING MEN
Author Guest / July 27, 2021

A loud crash and the sound of glass shattering cut her off, and my head snapped toward the bar. Our bartender, the guy with the eyes, was leaning over, gripping his leg. Blood trickled toward his ankle, and shards of the broken bottle surrounded his feet in a puddle of fizzy pink wine. I leaned over the bar. “Are you okay?” I shouted. He looked over at me. “I’m bleeding.” “I see that.” I glanced at Kelly, looking for permission. “Go,” she said, waving her hand. “Be the superhero. We’ll talk later.” “No.” I grabbed my purse and headed toward the injured patient. “Come with me. We’ll talk while I clean him up.” The bartender’s eyes widened in shock and concern. “What?” “I’m a doctor.” I motioned to one of the waiters working the tables. “Can someone clean this up, please?” The bartender tilted his head in disbelief as his eyes scanned my ensemble. “She is a doctor,” Kelly said, glancing at her phone, “and a damn expensive one, too. Consider yourself lucky.” “Where’s the manager’s office?” I asked, glancing around. “That way.” The bartender nodded toward a closed door in the hallway off to the right of the bar….

Lisa Wells | Casting Call for My Book + Giveaway!
Author Guest / July 20, 2021

Aggie the Horrible versus Max the Pompous Ass is an across-the-tracks romance that will lead the readers laughing one moment and shaking their heads the next at the hot mess these two main characters make out of their work-life situation. In a perfect world, Aggie the Horrible versus Max the Pompous Ass would become a primetime movie, AND I would be asked to cast all of its main characters. Afterall, no one knows them as well as I do. And since I hate to not be prepared for all of the what-ifs in the world, I thought I’d go ahead and pick the actors/actresses who would be invited to try out for each part. Cast of Characters: 1-AGGIE is a free-spirited young lady with a bit of a chip on her shoulder. She doesn’t feel the need to play by society’s rules. If anything, she takes pleasure in not playing by them. And she’s certainly not afraid to speak her mind. For her, I’d choose Emma Stone, most recently seen in Disney’s Cruella De Vil. 2-MAX was born into a dysfunctional wealthy family and was raised to view the world through rose-colored, privileged glasses. He’s driven to succeed for many…

Jennifer Snow | Top 5 Movies featuring Secret Journals/Love Letters
Author Guest / June 29, 2021

There’s definitely something romantic about old journals and love letters, a certain mystery that intrigues me. So, I wanted to include this element in my upcoming release, A Lot Like Love hitting store shelves on June 29, 2021. In this second chance romance, Sarah Lewis not only inherits her grandmother’s B & B in a small coastal town, but she also finds her grandmother’s old journal, where she discovers a secret no one ever knew. This plot device of journals and love letters as a way of communicating in books and movies is one of my favorites and here are my top 5 love story movies that feature this element. P.S. I Love You– This movie starring Gerard Butler and Hilary Swank based on the bestselling novel by Cecelia Ahern has to be my all-time favorite. Love letters from beyond the grave that are heartwarming, sentimental and tear-jerking make this movie unforgettable. For me, the best part was seeing their love for one another through the flashback moments that the letters provided and seeing the heroine overcome her sadness and open herself up to love again. The Lake House– This movie starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was so unique…

Stefanie London | Exclusive Interview: FOREVER STARTS NOW
Author Guest / June 29, 2021

Danielle: Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Stefanie! Please tell us a bit about yourself and your new book, FOREVER STARTS NOW.  Stefanie: Thanks for having me! I’m Stefanie London, Aussie gal living in Canada. I’m the USA Today bestseller of more than thirty contemporary romances and romantic comedies that meet at the corner of sweet and sexy. Outside writing, I love to read, knit, bake and play video games. My latest release, FOREVER STARTS NOW, is a fake relationship romance between an Aussie hero searching for his father, and a prickly diner owner whose life has stagnated after divorce. At the heart of it, this story is about understanding who you are and being authentically yourself. There are also very strong themes of family and belonging. Both Monroe and Ethan have had their lives shaken up by devastating news, and we meet them in the aftermath of trying to figure out where they’re headed. It’s funny and heartfelt and you might tear up a little. There’s a steamy kiss in a haunted house, a wacky town mascot and a quirky cast of characters to fall in love with. I hope you’ll check it out! Forever Falls, the fictional small town at the heart of your novel, sounds charming,…