Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Miranda Owen loves a contemporary gothic story! The atmosphere, the moody settings, and the thought-provoking plotlines… The de Vincent estate was one of the most haunted locations in the entire state of Louisiana. –MOONLIGHT SCANDALS by Jennifer L. Armentrout I have been fascinated by gothic tales of romance and danger since I read my first Dorothy Daniels book in junior high. It had a predictably historical setting, with a dash of the paranormal, and a hint of romance. For a long time, I only connected gothics with a historical setting, and never imagined that there were such things as contemporary gothics. I recently discovered Jennifer L. Armentrout’s spectacular “de Vincent” series and was immediately sucked into her world of danger, mystery, and eroticism with a decidedly gothic edge. All of the authors discussed in this article utilize a few classic elements of a gothic novel but throw them in a story with a contemporary setting. She felt…God, this sounded insane, she felt watched. Obviously, she wasn’t being watched unless it was by a ghost. There were no windows and no one else was in here. –MOONLIGHT SINS by Jennifer L. Armentrout Location is everything. Authors who…

Today we are joined by Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Miranda Owen: I am a widowed lady, well past the age of innocence. Why should I not kiss a handsome man in a drawing room? A little carnality won’t hurt me.  – THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE by Jennifer Ashley I find stories with a widowed heroine particularly compelling. For good or bad, marriage and living with somebody play a huge role in your life, and how you function every day. In a good marriage, your partner enhances your life – in small ways and big ways. If you have the misfortune to be in a bad marriage, it sours many aspects of your life. In different ways, stories about women who have loved and lost, as well as stories about women who have endured until being set free by a spouse’s death, are equally fascinating. In stories where there was some affection between the husband and wife, an author tries to convey the love that existed and how the wife is left to pick up the pieces. One of the first stories I read with a widowed heroine was THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE by Jennifer Ashley. In Jennifer…

Excerpt Candy was starting to figure out Jared was a whole lot of masculine bluster. Beneath the cool stare and the cutting words he sometimes tossed off, he had feelings. Twenty minutes later when she walked into his condo, she realized those feelings included being really doggone romantic. He had recreated her idea of a perfect evening, right down to his own addition of a fire popping warmly in the fireplace. Oh, Lord. If she hadn’t been on the edge before—taking in the table set for two, the chilling wine, and the scented candles burning did her in for sure. It felt almost like she was falling for Jared. Which was insane, since she was supposed to be using him just for the purpose of having some romping good sex. But the stupid man had gone and actually listened to what she had said when she’d been talking. She wasn’t sure any man besides her stepfather had ever actually heard a single word she’d said outside of work related topics. Her ex-husband sure in the heck never had. “Oh, Jared, you didn’t have to go to so much trouble.” But she was sure glad he had. “It wasn’t any trouble.”…

The third book in my MURDER BY DESIGNS series, ONCE UPON A GHOST, has a pesky ghost who likes to wake up medium Bailey Burke by singing. Celine Dion off-key by a dead mobster at three in the morning is so not romantic, but it got me thinking about the power of music and love songs. For me, music has always been a huge part of my life and it inspires my writing. Since Bailey’s relationship with Marner heats up in this book here is my list of top romantic songs. I Will Always Love You. I do love the original Dolly Parton version, but the Whitney Houston version from the movie The Bodyguard is just stunning. Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley. This song is just so sweet and stands the test of time. I could see Marner secretly listening to some Elvis music. Your Song by Elton John. I always said that the first man to serenade me with this song would be my husband. Sadly, my hubby, who we call Mr. Writer, did not sing it to me at any point, but I did use it to walk down the aisle at our wedding. Love…

This is my first amateur sleuth novel, though I’ve written mysteries into romance novels. But Bailey Burke, home stager extraordinaire, is the first heroine I’ve actually thrust into the role of having to solve crimes, and she’s inconveniently afraid of blood, but at least she’s always dressed to the nines. I like to think that given my interest (hubby would call obsession) with crime TV, I would be able to figure out the clues and solve a crime or two. But you never know until you’re in the situation and I’ll stick to fiction, thanks. No true crime for me. So what are the rookie mistakes Bailey makes? Wrong uniform. It’s a bitch to run from the bad guy in heels. Not spotting a liar from twenty feet. Sure, we have to trust someone but not every cockamamie story she’s told. A genuine people pleaser, she is worried about hurting the detective’s feelings by prying. Growing up reading Agatha Christie novels, which I loved, I had this idea the sleuths intrinsically have information we the readers did not. I wanted a heroine more like a Stephanie Plum character, who stumbles from situation to situation, but somehow manages to hold her…