I love to write novels that revolve around interesting subjects.  The bad news is, it’s usually a subject you don’t know anything about or you wouldn’t find it interesting.  That involves a ton of research. My latest release, THE PERFECT MURDER, the final book in my Maximum Security Series, is set around the offshore oil drilling industry.  Since I couldn’t actually visit a platform off the Houston, Texas coast, I had to dig into the subject extensively.  It’s a difficult, dangerous life, I learned, one that takes the men and women who work on the platforms away from their families for two or more weeks at a time. I learned a lot and I’m hoping readers will find the subject interesting as well In THE PERFECT MURDER, Reese Garrett, CEO of Garrett Resources, a billion-dollar oil and gas corporation, is a man with a past who is determined to retain his hard-earned reputation by avoiding an affair with the beautiful woman who works for him, a valued and trusted employee. When McKenzie Haines is accused of murder, Reese is forced to make a choice–one that could destroy his career or get him killed.  It’s a fast-paced, high-stakes action-adventure as well…

My new novella, COME MIDNIGHT, is one of my personal favorites, though I have no idea where the story idea came from.  Breanna Winters, seated on an airliner next to a good-looking man in an expensive suit, finds herself kidnapped by Honduran terrorists.  She doesn’t expect Derek Stiles, a corporate executive, to put his life at risk by volunteering to go along when Bree is dragged from the plane and marched into the jungle. Fortunately, Derek is a former Navy fighter pilot with extensive survival training and has spent time in the jungle before.  Still, it’s soon clear they’ll need to depend on each other if they’re going to survive. I loved writing this high-action adventure, and I particularly liked the interaction between the two main characters.  Though at first Bree and Derek seem to have nothing in common, in the end they discover they are the perfect fit. I hope you enjoy COME MIDNIGHT and that you’ll watch for Derek again in THE PERFECT MURDER, Reese Garrett’s story, the final book in my Maximum Security series. Till then, all best and happy reading, Kat *** Read on for an exclusive excerpt from COME MIDNIGHT by Kat Martin:  The sound…

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Michelle! We are excited to chat with you today. Please tell us a bit about your new series, Carolina Girls.   Michelle: Thank you so much for having me visit today—I’m excited to be here! The Carolina Girls series is a fun spinoff from the original Magnolia Sisters series set in the fictional town of Magnolia, North Carolina. The series features an unlikely friendship between three women all working to start over and create a new life for themselves. The stories are romances at their heart but also explore the importance of friendship, community and finding the right place to call home.  We love a smalltown setting! What do you love most about Magnolia, North Carolina? If you were to spend a day there, where would you visit?       Well, since I currently live in Colorado, which is a beautiful—but very landlocked state—I’d definitely make a trip to the beach outside of Magnolia. The town is based on a few coastal towns we visited when I was a kid vacationing every year in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina and also further south to Hilton Head, South Carolina. I hope I’ve been able to infuse Magnolia with…

WHEN THE POUNDING STARTED, Ryan Sorensen glanced from the television to the front door and then back again, settling deeper into the faded recliner. Rain beat against the roof of the cottage situated a few blocks from the beach near the town of Magnolia, North Carolina. The Carolina Hurricanes were up by one goal against Detroit with five minutes left in the second period. He was warm, dry and as comfortable as his injured leg would allow. Nothing good would come of answering an insistent knock on a stormy night. His jaw tightened as he imagined what his father would think of him ignoring a person potentially in need of help. Ryan had been taught from a young age that he owed the world something, no matter what the world handed him in return. The lesson had led, in a roundabout sort of way, to a bullet in his leg a month earlier and a colleague and friend dying in his arms. It had been one hell of a difficult pill to swallow. He figured whoever was outside his door would give up eventually. Minutes later the door rattled on its hinges as the pounding increased in intensity. “Hello?” a…

I love to read novels set in interesting places.  Currently, I’m reading a historical romance that takes place in Nazi-occupied Paris during WWII.  I’ve always loved Paris, which makes the book even more fun to read.  Being able to recognize the settings where the action takes place, as well as the names of restaurants and streets I have visited. As a writer, going to the place your book is set, or choosing a place you have actually been, is the best way to make your book seem real. In THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL, the novel takes place in Colorado, a state I love to visit.  After I’d concluded my second Maximum Security novel, THE DECEPTION, which was set in Texas, I was looking for someplace different for book number three.  Colorado, with its wide variety of landscapes and extreme climate conditions, seemed perfect. Having been to Denver a number of times, street names were familiar, parks and airports, locations of smaller towns, and rural mountain communities. Since this was a Maximum Security novel, a romantic thriller, I began by researching crime in the state.  I had digging and digging and finally stumbled onto an article about the U.S. Army chemical weapons…

Bran’s mood fluctuated between concern for Jessie and what she had suffered, and fury that he was helpless to do anything about it. Lowlife Ray Cummings was in prison, exactly where he belonged.  He was being punished–not enough as far as Bran was concerned–but punished nonetheless. And now, knowing the extent of what she had been through put Jessie even further out of his reach.  She didn’t need more heartache and having sex with him was exactly where that would lead.  She wasn’t a one-night hook-up kind of girl and he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy. Jessie deserved a man who was gentle and caring, a guy who would help her deal with the trauma she had suffered.  Bran was a rough-and-tumble lover.  He demanded a lot from a woman, and the women he took to bed liked it exactly that way. He sighed as he lay on the lumpy sofa in the living room staring up at the ceiling.  If only he could get the look on Jessie’s face out of his head, the heat in her big green eyes when she’d told him she was thinking about having sex with him. Sweet Jesus.  He ached with every…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?   THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL. It’s out July 28. 2–What is it about?  It’s about the theft of chemical weapons from an army depot in Colorado. Jessie Kegan, the heroine, is determined to prove her father, an army colonel, is innocent of the crime. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Determined. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  His strength and loyalty, and the military background that give him and Jessie a chance to survive the powerful enemies they confront. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?   They depend on the strength and intelligence of each other. And Brandon can count on his brothers to help him no matter what. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?   I love Colorado. Beautiful mountains and extreme climates provide plenty of interesting scenery and challenges. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)?  I do a little of both. I’m no longer able to just follow an outline. Much of the story depends on the clues that are uncovered as the hero and heroine try to solve the deadly problems they are…

I’ve been published for ten years, and in those ten years, on average, I put out about ten books a year of varying lengths. Because of my output, and the consistency of my output over time, one of the most common questions that I get is: How do you do it all? I’m afraid that my answer is not the one most people are looking for. I don’t have a magic bullet, or a golden ticket, or a secret key. Well, that’s not true, I do. It’s just that it isn’t an easy trick. The key to producing a lot of work? Just writing. That’s it! But for that to be helpful a writer has to be honest with themselves. They have to realize that writing is not: perusing the internet, tweeting, Facebooking, texting, talking about writing, researching, blogging, going out to fancy lunches, or even having industry-related phone calls and video chats and meetings. Those things might all be part of a writing career, to a greater or lesser degree depending on your path, but they are not writing. Even if I have to do those things, they cannot take priority over my writing, or my writing goals for…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Bad Boy of Redemption Ranch 2–What is it about? The heroine, Pansy, is on a quest to become Chief of Police to honor her father’s memory, but her attraction to the new bad boy in town complicates things… 3–What word best describes your heroine? Pansy is very good. It’s important to her to honor her father’s memory and to do right by the town of Gold Valley. She’s also afraid of her own wild impulses, which West brings out in her.  4–What makes your hero irresistible? He’s a bad boy who is also a good man.  5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? West is learning the concept of family and connecting with half-brothers he only recently met, and he’s starting to turn to them for advice. Pansy is very close to her siblings. When their parents died, they took care of each other. She confides in her sisters, and in her older brother.  6–What do you love about the setting of your book? I always love returning to Gold Valley. I love the old west feel of the town and the mountainous terrain that surrounds…

Flora was ten minutes early. Did that matter? Nerves were jumping around in the pit of her belly, but she always felt that way before seeing Jack. A man striding past gave her a wide berth and she realized it was because she was smiling at nothing in particular. Feeling positive, she walked up the steps and rang the bell. One day, she promised herself, she was going to have a proper front door of her own. Maybe flanked by olive trees, or pots filled with trailing plants. Jack opened the door. He was wearing jeans, and his shirt was open at the neck. His feet were bare and there was a hint of shadow on his jaw. Here in his own domain, he seemed younger and more relaxed. “You found us okay?” His gaze connected with hers and she felt a searing flash of chemistry that almost knocked her off her feet. Feeling a little disorientated, she stepped into the house. His fingers brushed lightly against hers, sending a shimmer of heat coursing through her. For a wild moment she thought he was going to simply kick the door shut and drag her against him, but instead he closed…