Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-ReaderMatch” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Lee Tobin McClain! Writes: Cottage at the Beach is a place where wounded police officers and their K9 companions come to heal–and find love–in a fictional small town on the Chesapeake Bay. About: Idealistic author seeks readers who want to escape their problems, laugh, cry, and get lost in a sweet, small-town romance. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Loves dogs, including noble police dogs and goofy, misbehaving puppies Enjoys spending time in small waterfront towns during the off season Swoons over wounded heroes Identifies with courageous, independent heroines Believes milkshakes should be consumed as often as possible What to expect if we’re compatible: Emotional stories that will make you reach for the tissues along the way to a happy ending Kids and dogs to shake things up Small towns full of charming, interfering characters who believe love isn’t just for the young Weather disasters Books you can comfortably share with your teenage daughter, your pastor, or your grandma Fun and freebies…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Kelly! Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your new book, UNDONE. Hi! Thanks so much for having me. I’m the author of ten novels. I write in a few genres – contemporary and historical fiction, as well as contemporary romance. UNDONE happens to be the third book in my Startup in the City series. It’s the story of Jake and Jess – long-time frenemies and some-times lovers, who reunite when they both find themselves on a wedding party… Jess Cohen can run a busy start-up without any issues but being a bridesmaid in her best friend’s wedding is the last thing she wants to do, especially when the groom’s brother just so happens to be the ex-boyfriend she’s never been able to forget… How does Jess’ past keep her from truly moving forward? What did you love about creating this multifaceted heroine? Jess has survived some incredibly difficult things, but make no mistake, she is strong as hell anyway. She’s had to build a wall between her past and her present in order to move on with her life, but her relationship with Jake makes her question whether that wall is working…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  TANGLED UP IN TEXAS. It’s the first book of the Lone Star Ridge series for HQN. 2–What is it about? It’s about a Texas rancher, Shaw Jameson, who’s reunited with his childhood crush, Sunny Dalton. Sunny was once the star of a reality TV show that featured her and her triplet sisters, and she’s returned home after some personal and medical setbacks. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Resilient. Sunny’s been through a lot, but she’s managed to hang onto her “sunny” outlook on life. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  Along with being hot, Shaw is a rock. As the oldest of his many siblings, he handles a lot of the family problems along with running a ranch. He’s the go-to guy who’s only missing one thing from his life–the woman he let get away. But now he has a chance to fix that. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Both the hero and heroine have siblings–lots of them–so they have plenty of help when they need it. My heroine, Sunny, is a triplet, and she’s very close to her sisters and her brother, Hayes. I…

Travis headed in the opposite direction from Elaina to reduce his chances of running into her again. He wan­dered toward the back of the house instead of going to the upstairs family room. He wasn’t feeling running into Grant either. He could hide out in the back sunroom or on the lanai until Byron got here and was ready to go. The faint sounds of violin music stopped him. His feet changed direction and instinctively followed the music. How many times when he was younger had he gone to the music room after a stressful or frustrat­ing encounter with his family, Grant or Elaina? Lured by the sound of something smooth and soothing like a balm to his hollowed emotions. He stopped at the door and watched India. He didn’t recognize the song she played. The music was a strong, fluid sound laced with an edge of anger and passion. Her eyes were closed, a line between her brows as she focused on the intricate pattern of notes. She’d been a great player before leaving with the orches­tra, and now she was outstanding. The complicated and intense execution of the music fascinated him. Something was bothering her. She lost herself…

Today we’re joined by Synithia Williams with a delicious recipe and more information about her new contemporary romance, FORBIDDEN PROMISES.  *** Forbidden Promises is a story of family secrets, lies and forbidden love. The main character, India Robidoux, is a violinist whose spent years traveling with an orchestra to escape her family’s drama. She returns home for a quick visit and is roped into helping with her brother’s political campaign. Staying longer wouldn’t be a problem if she weren’t still in love with her sister’s ex-husband, Travis Strickland. Travis owes everything to the Robidoux family and, he’d do anything for the family—his divorce could never change that. India always understood him better than anyone else. And the longer they work together on the campaign, the more torn he is. Coming between her and her sister is out of the question. But how can he let love pass him by a second time? India and Travis grew up in the south, and though they enjoy big breakfast with all the fixings, neither of them are big on spending a lot of time in the kitchen. They would start a weekend morning with a quick and easy staple of salmon patties and…

To be honest – it’s that second chance. Initially falling in love has its challenges, depending on the baggage your characters come with. But asking them to fall in love for a second time with someone with whom they already tried to have a relationship with? That’s asking a lot of anyone. When they fall in love or ‘connect’ with someone the first time, there’s hope that ‘this time will be different’.  Sometimes, the characters don’t even see it coming. (That’s one of the best kind—friends/enemies to lovers—another fabulous trope!) But here they are, in love, making promises. Then ‘reality’ hits, and one, or both, of them, has a major freak out of some sort. This usually comes from fear and any one of a multitude of insecurities, leading to termination of that relationship. Things are said, promises are broken, ties are cut. And now, it’s over. Each character will try to heal, to move on, but they KNOW deep down it’ll never be as good as that one true love that didn’t work out. That is exactly what my melty, romantic, heart-eyes, heart loves about Second Chances- they never really stopped loving each other. Love endures and conquers all….

(1) I enjoy following characters over time. I’ve always loved reading series and writing series because I get to see what happens to the people in the future. (Conversely, with HER SCANDALOUS PURSUIT, it was fun figuring out what happened in the past!) (2) I’m able to develop my characters in fuller detail. Over the course of writing a book, I come to understand my characters more. As I write dialogue and have them interact, I get a better ‘feel’ for what they would do or say. This process works even better when they appear in several books. With the twins’ stories, HIS SINFUL TOUCH and HIS WICKED CHARM, I saw them grow up throughout the four books, and they became the most ‘real’ and beloved characters to me. (3) I find other characters in the series that I want to write about. People pop up that I hadn’t planned on or a side character develops in a way that makes me really interested in him or her. I had intended the Mad Morelands series to be only the original four books. But I loved the twins so much (and fortunately, so did readers) that I had to write stories…

Suzanne was fed up. Ready to throw in the towel and give up on the Neanderthal on her couch. The only prob­lem with that plan? It didn’t get him off her couch or out of her cottage, or get her out of the position of car­ing for him. So giving up was not an option—not be­cause she was determined or noble but simply because she was stuck. So as the early darkness of winter fell over Summer Island, she did two things. First, she texted Dahlia, irate. Look, I don’t know where you are or why you’re not answering Zack, but he’s had a major mental setback. I accept that you’re not here, physically—but I need you to be present with him, Dahlia. He’s officially despondent now, and I’m not sure what to do. Please call him as soon as you see this. Second, she made a delicious dinner. Remembering that Dahlia had once mentioned Zack loved her meat­balls, Suzanne got out the recipe, which Dahlia had given her along with others, and started squishing ground beef into a mixture of bread crumbs, minced onion, Parme­san cheese, an egg, and some spices. She took her time, since he clearly needed…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Little Bookshop on the Seine which is book one of The Little Paris Collection, a trio of stand-alone novels set in Paris. 2–What is it about? It’s about a small town American bookshop owner who does a book shop exchange to Paris and finds things in the city of love are not all they’re cracked up to be. It’s an ode to books with a big helping of friendship, Paris and love! 3–What word best describes your heroine? Bookworm! 4–What makes your hero irresistible? He’s a little mysterious but all for good reason! 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? Sarah has her squad back in the U.S. but while she’s in Paris she turns to Oceane who helps her with the little things (the best way to tie scarves in the French fashion) and the big things like love — without her I think Sarah would have hightailed it home already. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? The location! I’m a loud and proud Francophile and I love nothing more than researching off-the-beaten parts of Paris so I can set scenes…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Sarah! Can you tell us a little bit about your latest release, A WEDDING IN DECEMBER? Thank you for inviting me back! Great to be here. A Wedding in December is the story of the White family, who come together in beautiful snowy Aspen, Colorado, to celebrate the wedding of youngest daughter Rosie.  On the surface it’s about the wedding (although whether or not the wedding actually happens, I’m not saying! No spoilers here for people who haven’t read the book), but really, it’s a family drama and also three romances in one book because as well as the bride-to-be Rosie, we follow her sister Katie, and her mother, Maggie. Maggie is very much the anchor of this story, which explores how the relationship between the different family members changes over time. It’s a fun, festive holiday story with plenty of drama. What a wonderful family romp to read this time of year! What inspired the White family and their various predicaments? During the holidays, families are often thrown together in a confined space with individuals they might not see too much of for the rest of the year. That’s a recipe for drama! And…