Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Sarah Zachrich Jen | Exclusive Interview: THE OTHER ME
Author Guest / August 9, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Sarah, and congrats on your debut novel, THE OTHER ME! Can you tell us a little about your journey into publishing this book?   Sarah: Thanks for having me! The book that eventually became THE OTHER ME went through several rewrites on its way to publication. When I started writing, I had no idea that it would be a thriller—I was having more upmarket/literary thoughts, though still with the speculative element, and the original pacing and ending reflected that. I took a few years to get the book to where I thought it was ready to query, and then I entered the Pitch Wars mentoring program, which I’d read good things about online. I didn’t get in, but PW mentor Layne Fargo (who’s also an amazing author) loved my manuscript. She was kind enough to refer me to an agent she knew, who asked me to revise and resubmit. I signed with that agent, did one more revision, and settled in to wait for months while my agent shopped the book around to editors. My agent emailed the manuscript to one editor on a Friday to give her an advance look before we went on…

Anita Kopacz | Exclusive Interview: SHALLOW WATERS
Author Guest / August 5, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Anita! We are so happy to have you here. Can you introduce yourself so our readers can get to know you a little bit?   Anita: I’m Anita. My mom call me Teets. I love to dance. I love people. I love storytelling. I love my kids. I could list all of my credentials, but that’s a bore. Let’s go deep or not go at all. I’m a mermaid. A Black mermaid. I wrote Shallow Waters to help me heal my ancestral wounds. As a descendant of people who experienced chattel slavery, I needed a spiritual hero to take me back and face those wounds. Yemaya was exactly that.  SHALLOW WATERS is your debut novel! Will you share your journey into publishing this book?   I’ve never been the type to do anything by the book. During the BLM movement in 2020, I knew it was time to put Shallow Waters out there. I didn’t really send it to many publishers, but I kept feeling like I needed to make a move immediately. I decided to self-publish, because I felt like the story was ripe. While I was in the process of self-publishing, my bestie, Yadi…

Kaia Alderson | Exclusive Interview: SISTERS IN ARMS
Author Guest / August 4, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Kaia, and congrats on the release of SISTERS IN ARMS. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and where the idea for this book began?   Kaia: I am a lifelong history geek who whose fascination with World War II began early. The aspects of that war that interest me most are the French Resistance and the U.S. Women’s Corps (WAC). Intellectually, I knew that Black women had served in the WAC. But I had never seen a picture of them until a picture of the 6888th marching in France floated down my Twitter timeline almost 10 years ago. I immediately googled “Black women WW2 France” and the rest is history. Personally, I have family who attended Bethune Cookman University (many years ago!), so I was familiar with Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune—an amazing educator who had a major part in developing the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps. What did your research reveal about this incredible woman?   Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was basically the godmother of the Black WAC soldiers. She positioned herself as advisor to WAAC/WAC leadership early on to ensure that Black women would…

Olivia Drake | Exclusive Interview: WHEN A DUKE LOVES A GOVERNESS
Author Guest / July 28, 2021

Danielle: Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Olivia!  Can you tell our readers a little bit about your series, Unlikely Duchesses? Olivia: The “Unlikely Duchesses” series features feisty women who seek employment as a governess in the home of a duke.  They’re slightly scandalous, not perfect ladies, and of course, they don’t care a fig for the rules of high society. Book 1:  THE DUKE I ONCE KNEW showcases Max Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, a rake who was rejected by his first love, Abby Linton, the girl next door. When he meets the spirited spinster again fifteen years later, Abby is governess to his sister and scornful of the rogue that he’s become.  Yet the old spark is still there, fanned into flames by their sizzling encounters. Book 2:  FOREVER MY DUKE features Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, whose ordered life is turned topsy-turvy when he meets a lively American woman. Natalie Fanshawe is hard-working, independent, and plucky, with a definite preference for America’s system of equality over England’s class hierarchy.  The last thing she wants is to marry a duke! Book 3:  WHEN A DUKE LOVES A GOVERNESS continues the series with a penniless hatmaker who dreams of…

Charlotte Carter | Exclusive Interview: RHODE ISLAND RED
Author Guest / July 27, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Charlotte! We are excited to host you here today, and celebrate the re-release of RHODE ISLAND RED, the first book in your Nanette Hayes Mystery series. How does it feel to have Nanette back in print?   Charlotte:  I have to say, it feels pretty good.  This re-do was quite unexpected.  Nanette Hayes is a fierce, clever sleuth, who teaches French and plays the saxophone. Where did the idea for her start for you? How has she surprised you?   It’s true that not too many women play sax, but I actually did see a young woman playing on the street—this was some 20 years ago. I was just taking a walk with my husband, and we came upon her,, gave her a couple of dollars. He was the one who suggested creating a street musician character. From there, I won’t pretend it was easy, but Nan kind of presented herself. I got the chance to give her a lot of stuff that I myself lacked—grit, youth, “hotness,” forthrightness, romanticism, etc. And of course, I put a bit of myself in the mix—the travel bug, love and admiration for music, and the people who play/master it….

Jennifer Chiaverini | Exclusive Interview: THE WOMEN’S MARCH
Author Guest / July 26, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Jennifer! We are so excited to celebrate the release of THE WOMEN’S MARCH with you. This book is full of incredible historical detail about the women’s suffrage movement. What inspired you to tackle this topic?   Jennifer: The idea for THE WOMEN’S MARCH first came to me in January 2017, soon after the Women’s March on Washington the day after the inauguration of the 45th president. Nearly half a million demonstrators marched in the US capital to protest against his past reprehensible treatment of women and to advocate for women’s rights and other human rights issues. Millions of other protesters joined in satellite marches around the world, including an estimated 100,000 in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. Afterward, when I read news coverage of the events, I was intrigued to learn that the Women’s March of 2017 had an important but nearly forgotten historical precedent. More than one hundred years earlier, thousands of women had assembled in the nation’s capital the day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson to demonstrate on behalf of woman’s suffrage. The organizers planned a beautiful, dignified parade from the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue past the White House, with elegantly…

Boston Teran | Exclusive Interview: TWO BOYS AT BREAKWATER
Author Guest / July 12, 2021

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Boston. Please tell us about yourself and a little about your new book, TWO BOYS AT BREAKWATER.   A writer should never tell you a little about their own book. It might tend to sound too much like a waiter reading off to you the night’s specials. Set against the backdrop of New York in the 1950s and 60s, TWO BOYS AT BREAKWATER is about two young men growing up and learning about who they truly are, and the love they find in each other. Where did the idea for this novel originate?   I collect incidents. I listen and I watch. And what I sense will take me somewhere else I write down. I sat at my desk for a generation And watching the Bronx rain one night I recalled A moment in a drinking dive not unlike The one Gary Snyder wrote about in I Went into the Maverick Bar That too was on a rainy night Coming down hard on a tin roof. Above the room  Where a pool table reigned supreme. And where two rough type western drunks Shot eight ball and the breeze. “This is gonna come across as strange,” one said. “But…

Melonie Johnson | Exclusive Interview: TOO GOOD TO BE REAL
Author Guest / July 6, 2021

Danielle: Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Melonie! We are so happy to have you here to chat about your new book, TOO GOOD TO BE REAL. Where did you get the idea for this novel, which is set at a rom-com resort? Melonie: I was actually working on a different book proposal for my editor, loosely based on my favorite rom-com, 10 Things I Hate About You. While I was brainstorming the plot points, I started thinking about how much fun it would be to actually get to experience some of the romantic moments in the movie, and other rom-com movies I love: paintball fights and karaoke serenades and kissing in the rain… and then BAM! The idea hit me. Why not? I love the movie Austenland, which is about an estate that provides guests a chance to live in the world of Jane Austen novels… so I decided why not create a resort that offers the same immersive experience for fans of romantic comedies? And thus, TOO GOOD TO BE REAL was born. I love how there’s an awesome girl group at the center of this story—your main character, Julia, brings her friends Kat and Andie along with her…

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,…

Katee Robert | Exclusive Interview: NEON GODS
Author Guest / June 3, 2021

Danielle: Hi, Katee! Welcome back to Fresh Fiction and congrats on the release of NEON GODS! This is a Hades/Persephone retelling. What appealed to you about this classic Greek Myth?   Katee: Thank you so much for having me! I was really excited to write a Hades and Persephone story because it’s the framework for so many of the stories we tell today. You can see echoes of the dynamics in a good portion of dark romances, and I was really excited to intentionally retell the myth through that lens as a contemporary dark romance. One of the things I love about your novels is how unabashedly sexy they are! NEON GODS is no different, and there are some really poignant and frank discussions about consent, birth control, and boundaries—which I think many readers will appreciate and enjoy. How do you balance the fun sexytimes and the important conversations that go along with them?  Honestly, this might sound a little strange, but I view those conversations as a different sort of foreplay. To me, there’s nothing sexier than a partner (or several partners) discussing how to make the experience enjoyable and safe for everyone involved. There’s a level of caring there, even before…