Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
When I Wasn’t at Writing Camp by Grace Burrowes
Author Guest / March 9, 2022

My success as an author depends on my creativity—my ability to imagine interesting characters in fascinating predicaments and intriguing settings. When the pandemic first hit, as a writer, I thought, “Welp, going to have more time to spend on those happily-ever-afters!” (What I thought as a non-writer went in a very different and less-printable direction.) Initially, I did get a fair amount of new material drafted. I also worked on revising some older titles that had reverted to me, and I took on some website updates. But after a few months, the “extra” no longer resulted in any “extra” words. What’s an author to do? I wasn’t exactly blocked, but the fire hose of words and ideas was producing at a trickle rather than a gush. Upon reflection, I could see what was afoot. If we want our minds to get out of predictive text mode, where we’re on auto-pilot much of the time, then we have to put ourselves in situations we haven’t seen before—or haven’t seen often. Take a different route to work, order a different entré at our fav restaurant. Ask a different co-worker to join us for lunch. Try on some new clothes outside of our…

Danielle Dresser | Most Anticipated New Releases: Fall-Winter 2020!
Author Guest / August 10, 2020

This has been a roller coaster of a year when it comes to books and reading. I don’t think a read a full book in the month of March, but I read over 10 books in July! With Fall quickly approaching, here are a bunch of wonderful and intriguing titles coming out this month through the end of the year, and I cannot wait for everyone to read them. AUGUST Here to Stay by Adriana Herrera – Two New Yorkers get together while they’re both working in Texas. There’s some workplace drama, instant attraction, and much more. Sexy, fun, and low angst. You Had Me at Holaby Alexis Daria – This felt like reading an entire season of Jane the Virgin. Clever, funny, and ultimately, uplifting. Out on the Ice by Kelly Farmer – So we can’t go to hockey games, but we CAN read about them. badass ladies to boot? Sign me up. Also look for: Marriage by Arrangement by Sophia Singh Sisson, Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles *** SEPTEMBER When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole – I am not a thriller reader. I repeat – I am NOT a thriller reader. but I stayed up…

Danielle Dresser | Comfort Reads + a Love’s Sweet Arrow Giveaway
Author Guest / March 25, 2020

I don’t have to convince anyone that these are strange times. On the one hand, book review websites like Fresh Fiction can function as normal–I already work from home! I can access review copies digitally! The internet never sleeps!–but on the other, I’m barraged with news notifications, mortified at the misinformation being shared as fact, and I’m just all around distracted and worried.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve found comfort in books. Everywhere I went, I had at least one book, often more, with me. Now I can carry many books around, be it a small paperback, on my eReader, or on my phone. I find when I’m anxious or worked up over something – and let’s face it, there’s a lot to be worried about right – I turn to books for solace and peace of mind. My favorite way to do this is through re-reading. Sometimes full books, sometimes just a scene or two, but going back to the books and authors that make me happy has been a surefire way to calm me down, cheer me up, and let my mind escape. Here are some of my favorite re-reads and why: Born in Fire…

Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup Day 3 | Historical Romance Authors
Author Guest / February 13, 2019

Welcome back to the Fresh Fiction Valentine’s Day Recipe Roundup! Every day this week, some of our favorite authors will be on the blog chatting about their new books, their main characters, and a recipe for a meal or treat those characters would enjoy this festive week. Today we have the three historical romance authors of the novella anthology, LOVE BY THE LETTERS! Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for more fun! Missed our previous roundup posts? Check them out here! Mystery Authors Contemporary Romance Authors A is for Amorous by Grace Burrowes Ada Beauvais is a spinster in training and an amateur scientist. Her interests range from compost heaps to botany to corrective lenses. The last thing she would volunteer to do is swill tea while politely asking people to donate to a failing orphanage. Lord John Waverly, headmaster of that orphanage, is no better at soliciting funds than Ada is, and he’s too busy managing forty lively children to keep as close an eye on the ledgers as he ought. Lord John’s family despairs of him, and wonders why he can’t take up a country parsonage like all the normal younger sons do. They are a little bit of…

Fresh Fiction Favorite Historical Romances of 2018
Author Guest / December 26, 2018

Over the last week and for the rest of this week, the Reviewers of Fresh Fiction will be sharing some of our favorite reads in various genres. We hope you’ll take another look at these titles, and maybe share your favorites in the comments. We’ll have a different genre featured each day! Be sure to check the blog to see what we’ve already covered. It’s all things historical romance today! Check out our picks below. TAPESTRY OF WAR by Jane MacKenzie Reviewer: Clare It was unusual to see Alexandria as a location for a WW2 romance. Contrasted with Scotland which has an influx of GIs. Women greatly involved in business, nursing and war work. Historical [Allison and Busby, On Sale: June 19, 2018, Trade Size / e-Book, ISBN: 9780749022990 / eISBN: 9780749023003] Alexandria trembles as Rommel approaches Buy TAPESTRY OF WAR: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Ripped Bodice | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR *** MY ONE AND ONLY DUKE by Grace Burrowes Reviewer: Danielle Grace Burrowes is my go-to historical romance author. She writes characters who feel…

Grace Burrowes | A Few of My Favorite Things (about the holidays)
Author Guest / December 12, 2018

So here we are again, approaching the end of another calendar year, and the beginning of another holiday season in many traditions. My yuletide memories aren’t uniformly positive. My dear mother had to wrangle Christmas on a shoestring for seven children. Pennsylvania winters meant those children were very much underfoot, and family tensions could erupt into something other than four-part harmony. And yet, I love this time of year. I love how the whole hemisphere gets a little quieter, the evenings longer, the mood both more reflective and more congenial. I get more writing done over the winter months than in any other season, and writing is one of my very favorite things to do. I also enjoy our annual year-end focus on charity, on welcoming the stranger (angels unaware is one of my favorite Christmas tropes), and on looking out for our neighbors who might have trouble paying the heating bill or affording anything for the children on Christmas morning. I don’t need to see the brain science to know that kindness lifts my spirits, whether I’m the giver or the receiver. I think we are intended to be kind to one another, and the holidays give us permission…

Grace Burrowes | Exclusive Interview
Author Guest / November 7, 2018

Please welcome New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Grace Burrowes! MY ONE AND ONLY DUKE, the first book in her new series, Rogues to Riches, is available now!  1. This is the start of a new series for you, Rogues to Riches. What’s it like starting a new series from scratch? Have any of these characters popped up in previous books/series? Quinn Wentworth, our hero from My One and Only Duke, took Grinch honors in a short story published in Tis the Season, a multi-author holiday anthology, but other than that… He makes his debut in My One and Only Duke. In a long-running series, an author has to strike a balance between allowing each book to serve as a portal to the series, and not boring faithful readers with a rehash of who is married to whom and how they met. A new series has none of those constraints. We’re all meeting the characters for the first time, and that gives the project freshness. I will always enjoy revisiting my foundation families, and eventually, the Wentworths will join their ranks. For now, though, I’m having great time with a very different sort of duke and duchess. 2….

Grace Burrowes | The Best of Brothers
Author Guest / February 11, 2015

The Sweetest Kisses contemporary romance series is built around three brothers who are partners in and co-owners of a western Maryland law firm. They have divided up the legal pie—Trent Knightley does family law, MacKenzie handles criminal defense, James does the civil and commercial cases—but family history and that dear, strange beast, brotherly love, unite them. All three brothers show up in each of the novels, and not simply because I adore these guys. A hero walks a challenging path, from an existence that might be predictable and safe, but lonely, to a more courageous life, lived from the heart, come what may. A journey that difficult shouldn’t be undertaken without support, for several reasons. First, we all need help from time to time. Our stubborn independence might fool most of our friends, but our siblings usually know us longer and better than anybody else does. Siblings support us despite our yearning for self-sufficiency, and despite our pigheadedness. Second, siblings often cut us the least slack. They know what we’re capable of, have faith in us, and don’t pull their punches. When a hero needs a serious talking to or a reality check, his brothers are the guys for the…

Grace Burrowes | Beating the Holiday Blues
Author Guest / October 7, 2014

So much about the Christmas holidays is wonderful. We get together with friends and family we might not see at any other time of year, cook our favorite foods, decorate the whole house, sing the good old songs, give and receive thoughtful gifts…. Even if we also sometimes wish we could find a place to hide and take a three-day nap. Then there’s the weather, which means we can be traveling at the least convenient time of year. And the budget, which must accommodate travel expenses, holiday shopping, holiday meals (with libation), holidays guests, and holiday heating bills. And the folks who react to the holidays by over-imbibing, or channeling Attila the Hun in the mall parking lot, or the children who MUST come down with the flu on December 20th, or the relatives who revive the feud that should have died a quarter century ago (the feud, not the relatives….). And that’s all before Christmas itself. The holidays, in other words, can be stressful. Really, really stressful. The characters in my Scottish Victorian holiday romance, WHAT A LADY NEEDS FOR CHRISTMAS, have added to their yuletide stress by becoming engaged. Dante Hartwell is a Scottish mill owner who seeks…

Grace Burrowes | My Anti-Heroine
Author Guest / August 13, 2014

St. Clair was attempting a confession or a condemnation of himself; Milly wasn’t sure which, but she did know she wanted to take him in her arms when he spoke like this. “Every time you describe your role, my lord, you paint yourself as more and more of an animal, and less and less a man.” And he let her see more and more of the cost to him for having played that role. He opened his eyes. “I am an animal, a traitorous animal, but I’d rather be honestly viewed as that than as any woman’s toy, ever.” He touched Milly’s chin, so she had to look him in the eye. “I tortured those officers, Milly. I studied them, toyed with their trust, and determined how best to wrest from them their dignity, their health, their sanity. Among the English I gained the sobriquet, “The Inquisitor,” and I was very, very good at what I did.” His hand remained under her chin, as if he’d will Milly to repeat his ugly words. His gaze pleaded with her to agree with their import, to accept the truth of his self-characterization. “And nobody was torturing French officers, were they?” Milly spat….