When Bryce entered the hall in his best shirt and his hair combed, he found the small gathering waiting by the hearth. Other than two servants there were no other women with their group. For a moment his chest relaxed. Perhaps his bride had abandoned him. He’d be glad to be spared this duty. It would save them both a lot of misery. Lach might be able to force him to marry for an alliance, but the laird couldn’t force Bryce to live with her or get a bairn on her. It would be a marriage contract in name only. A binding to gain access to a seaport from the McCurdys and nothing more. Lach, Cam, and the priest were frowning when he arrived. “What’s the matter. Did the lass flee?” Bryce couldn’t help a slight smile. “Nay. She’s there with her maid.” Bryce glanced over at the woman young enough to be Dorie McCurdy. A tall stick of a girl who looked as if she hadn’t eaten a good meal in ages. Her midnight hair longed for a comb, and her blue eyes darted around as if ready for an attack. He’d noticed her as he’d approached, but thought…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  THE PRICE OF TEMPTATION 2–What is it about?  An estranged married couple must reunite to circumvent blackmail against the family. This book started out life as “Pride and Prejudice if Lizzy were a jewel thief and Darcy were a conman” and took on a life of its own from there. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Resourceful. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  His utter devotion to the heroine. Even after years apart, Adam is still willing to do anything to protect and support Lily. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  In this case, each other. Both have an unfortunate habit of trying to fix situations on their own, but when they’re really in need, Adam and Lily know they can count on one another despite their rocky history. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? With every book I write in the Regency era, I love to dive deeper into a certain aspect of the history. In this case, I did a lot of research about the fad of Egyptomania and how this love for all things Ancient Egyptian affected certain social circles….

Hello! I’m so excited to be here at Fresh Fiction, sharing an exclusive excerpt from my upcoming release, A ROYAL DISASTER. The first book in my new Royally Engaged rom-com series, A ROYAL DISASTER is a stand-alone novel featuring a heroine with impossibly bad luck, a charming crown prince, and a cockblocking cat named Jinx. Elena Murphy is a walking disaster, so when she accidentally paints the Crown Prince of Valeria purple, of course the paparazzi capture it on camera. Now she’s being dragged online and the only way to save her reputation—and her studio—is to pretend she’s dating the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor. Keep reading for an exclusive peek at the world’s most unexpected proposal! *** “Miss Murphy.” Fin darted forward, possibly to prevent Liam from saying something else untoward. “His Royal Highness, Prince William, Prince of Valeria, offers an apology for the trouble that’s befallen you recently.” Elena snorted and crossed her arms. “The trouble that’s befallen me? You mean the trouble he brought to my door by illegally trespassing on my property with his fan club in tow?” Fin stood frozen, as if unsure how to respond to such blatant disregard for royal protocol. Elena lifted a…

Hi, I’m Nina Croft, writer of all sorts of romance. And I’m here to talk about my latest release, DECEPTION, book 2 in my Dark Desires Origins series, a mixture of science fiction, paranormal, and romance. The remnants of humanity have fled to the stars in search of a home. Now, after five hundred years, they’ve finally reached a system capable of supporting life. It’s time for a new start. * D – D is for Destiny, my heroine, the only person to be born on the journey from Earth and with a mysterious role to play in the survival of humanity. E – E is for Earth. Which is long gone and now the future of mankind lies in a galaxy far away. C – C is for Chosen Ones. The people who won the lottery and got a place on the fleet leaving the Earth. Except the lottery might have just been a little bit rigged. E – E is for Ever after. And that’s a long time if you’re a warlock, like Milo, my hero. P – P is for Prejudice. Milo has always dreamed of a world without prejudice, where the “monsters” no longer need to…

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…

“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? Try As I Smite 2–What is it about?  In a paranormal retelling of A Christmas Carol, two people usually at odds with each other have to learn from the past, present, and future in order to stop a demon uprising. Sometimes it pays to have a little devil in you. . .  3–What word best describes your heroine?  In charge 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  He’s incredibly powerful, but hasn’t been corrupted by it. His intentions, even when he’s being an ass, are about using his power, both as a mage and as a leader, to help. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Each other, oddly, given how against each other they start out. Delilah turns to her mother (which may or may not be a mistake) but her relationship with both parents is a little…unusual. Alasdair’s only family is his sister. He calls on the Convens Syndicate of magical leaders, of whom she is a part. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The book is set primarily in the northern California mountains near Yosemite which is gorgeous and one of my…

1. Autumn colors!–and not just the spectacular varieties of leaf color, but also walking through the leaves. The brush and crunch underfoot add music to wherever you walk and the colors a feast for your eyes. Get outside, be active, and enjoy the season. 2. Cozy sweaters–I love snuggling into a soft warm sweater on cool mornings and evenings. Add a cup of hot chocolate or apple cider, and a good friend to talk or binge-watch TV with and I’m having a great time. 3. Crafting with friends–I start working on Christmas craft projects in October. I’m a paper crafter, so handmade Christmas cards are a must, but also paper ornaments, exploding box cards, and folded books. Here some pics of projects I’ve already completed. 4. Pumpkin. . . everything–Latte, pie, or muffin, I love it all. Did you know Kraft Dinner has a new Pumpkin Spice flavor this year? I’m trying to find it so I can try it, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on any yet. If you’ve tried it, please let me know in the comments what you think of it. 5. Catching up on a good book. . . or three–I’m reading…

If you ask an author what they want out of their writing career, you will most likely hear something about making a bestseller list, royalties, or five-star reviews. And, of course, we do want those. But there are a few other things we strive to accomplish that we don’t always talk about, because while they make our hearts flutter, they may sound a bit. . . sadistic. Evil Secret #1: We want to make people cry. Not in a bad way. But in that, you care so much for our characters you feel for them, kind of way. We want readers to gasp, laugh, and yes, cry with our characters. Tears of happiness at the end are preferred, but if there are a few misty eyes when our heroes face their darkest moments, we enjoy knowing that as well. And even if we apologize for making you weep, secretly we are delighting in the knowledge that you’ve lost yourself in our story to the point of tears. We triumph in success at your distress. Evil Secret #2: We want to leave you dazed and overwhelmed. Tell us how shaken you were by our storylines and scenes, and we’ll offer our…

Scandinavia. . . Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. . . are beautiful countries. Until COVID raised its ugly head this year, most travelers chose cruise ships for these destinations since all the major cities can be accessed by ship as well as the spectacular fjords, but taking a bus/land tour with a much smaller group of people has its benefits. It presents the opportunity to learn more about the people and the land than what a short day excursion while in port can provide. Denmark is, as they say, “flat as a pancake” and everyone (everyone!) owns a bicycle.  Part of the reason is that there is a 150 percent surcharge on personal cars, although the Danes can get a “business” plate. Cycling also keeps them incredibly fit and healthy in spite of a penchant for ice cream and waffles. Historically, the Danes were powerful, having control of both Norway and Sweden for centuries. (Remember Hamlet?)  Odense is the home of Hans Christian Anderson and a museum there has beautiful editions of The Little Mermaid. Sweden is very pastoral, with forests and a huge lake (Lake Vattern) that nearly bisects the country. Stockholm is actually a city of many islands crisscrossed…