Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present DiAnn Mills! WRITES: DiAnn Mills writes romantic suspense. Her latest title, Airborne, releases in print today, September 8, 2020. ABOUT: Romantic suspense writer seeking readers who want to ride the wings of a suspense-filled adventure with FBI Special Agent Heather Lawrence. She’s pregnant, her husband wants a divorce, and a deadly, mysterious illness appears onboard her transatlantic flight. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Expects every scene to vicariously export them into an adventure. Desires a suspenseful story seen through the eyes of a strong heroine or hero. Prefers a clean story that doesn’t hold back on the reality of crime and the world we live in. Craves an emotional experience through the heart and mind of point-of-view characters. Wonders how the FBI, CDC, and federal and local agencies work together to solve a horrendous crime. Questions how a virus could be unleashed to unsuspecting people. Wants a thrilling FBI story. Discovers how a heroine responds to betrayal and abandonment. Longs for a thread of romance…

Hi, T. I.! Welcome back to Fresh Fiction. Please tell us about yourself and a little bit about your new book, SEA GLASS CASTLE. Thank you for inviting me again! I’m a storyteller and a daydreamer, and I have promised to never apologize for either. I’m from coastal South Carolina, so yes, I have a thick Southern twang and walk around barefoot more often than not. As you can imagine, Sea Glass Castle comes from my roots. Even though the Southern beach setting was easy enough, the characters weren’t so much. This story is the first one where I explore a divorcee and a widower. Sophia and Wes were a unique challenge, and it was so satisfying to give them a second chance at love. This is the final book in the Carolina Coast series. What has writing this series meant to you and what do you hope readers get out of it? This series explores romance, of course, but it also explores strong bonds of friendship. Readers will meet a young trio of women called the Sand Queens and also an older group called the Knitting Club. The two groups are quite different in dynamics, but the key elements of…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  A Life Once Dreamed 2–What is it about? A Life Once Dreamed is the story of Agnes Pratt, who ran from her upper-class life to the rustic town of Penance six years ago. She’s a teacher who loves her students, her town and friends, but still wonders what might have been had she not left everything behind. When the new doctor arrives she’s forced to confront the past she ran from and to once again ask herself what she wants in the future. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Stubborn, kind, resilient, loving and mysterious 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  He’s determined, has a heart that’s fully committed, is stubborn about the right things and is willing to make a fool of himself for the girl he loves. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  The people of Penance are loyal to each other. My main character’s closest friends are Minnie (a loud mouth with a good heart) and Hannah (a quiet gentle soul). 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The Black Hills are secluded and such a contrast from the world Agnes…

Hi, Liz! Welcome to Fresh Fiction. Please tell us about yourself and a little bit about your new book, A DAZZLE OF DIAMONDS. Sometimes I can’t believe that A Dazzle of Diamonds is my 19th book! My first book released more than ten years ago, but I started writing long before that. I wrote my first novel–a western romance–when I was twelve. It’ll stay tucked in its drawer forever while I keep writing new books in my free time. By day I work in marketing for a non-profit in Phoenix. I find time to write on my lunch breaks and weekends. And I loved writing A Dazzle of Diamonds about Penelope and Tucker, best friends since childhood. But when Tucker’s family name is muddied, they set out to find a 150-year-old treasure and the truth. What they find is much more unexpected–and delightful.   This is the third book in your Georgia Coast Romance series. What has been fun about creating this world? What do you want readers to know about it if they’re reading this series for the first time? I’ve absolutely loved spending three books on the Georgia coast, unpacking a bit of the history and a whole…

I am a tenth-generation Texan, but London has held a place in my heart for over ten years. You see, I have a son who has lived there for more than a decade. Thanks to him and his family of three–my granddaughter was born there on New Year’s Eve 2019–the city will always be special to me. There is absolutely nothing like walking those streets with a thousand years of history close enough to touch. It was on a walk with my son through this great city that the stories of nineteenth-century London came alive. With fog shrouding the rooftops of buildings that were hundreds of years old and our footsteps echoing on the cobblestones, I could imagine a time when lack of electricity and CCTV would make this place less than charming on a dark night. Less than safe. What reminded me of my favorite childhood movie, Mary Poppins, quickly became more reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. And then a story was born. Only I just had half the story. The other half came to me several years later when I stumbled across an article in Texas Monthly magazine about a serial killer who rampaged through Austin, Texas in…

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  Under Scottish Stars, the third book in the MacDonald Family Trilogy. 2–What is it about?  Single mom Serena Stewart has focused on her kids to the exclusion of her career and her sanity. But when she returns to the Isle of Skye to help oversee her family’s guesthouse, her independent nature is challenged by the prickly and all-too-handsome hotel manager, Malcolm Blake. 3–What word best describes your main character(s)?  Dedicated. Whatever Serena turns her mind to, she does it wholeheartedly, whether it’s giving her children a good life after their father dies or making the family hotel into a success. 4–What makes your story relatable?  Those of us who have children can relate to the fact that they become the priority, even to the exclusion of the things we need for our own health and happiness. Even if you don’t have kids, it’s easy to relate to how life sometimes throws us curveballs and interferes with the futures we’ve envisioned for ourselves. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Serena’s aunt Muriel is the rock upon which the MacDonald family is built–she’s quirky, sassy, and always has…

Or  . . . falling in love while in imminent danger. See what I did there? I’ve been reading romantic suspense since I was in my early teens. Romance, really, but I found myself drawn to stories with suspense and mystery elements. Romance and suspense can show up in not only contemporary stories, but mystery, historical, fantasy and science fiction novels too. I love when danger and tension drives the two main characters together. The protective hero. The strong, determined heroine. Both of them together facing off with a worthy villain. Now decades later I have the most amazing job in the world because I get to write romantic suspense for a living. Admittedly, writing in this genre comes with challenges. For one, there’s the ticking time bomb issue. How does one fall in love when in imminent danger? Have you ever read a romance and felt uncomfortable with the pace? You felt that the romance moved much too quickly. Or you were stunned that the couple could possibly profess their love so soon or even get engaged or married after knowing each other for a short time? In real life, how much time is needed for couples to fall…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? The Heart of a Hero 2–What is it about?  What happens when the woman you love is caught in a hurricane—do you go after her?  And when you do…what if you, also get trapped? The Heart of a Hero is a story about two rescuers who are tasked with saving themselves—and others—when a Cat 5 hurricane hits Key West. 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Aria Hathaway is a Pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon who is focused, determined and buttoned up. Until, of course, she meets former Navy Seal and Jones, Inc team rescuer Jake Silver.  Aria is adventurous, brave and the kind of woman who would give everything to save a friend, or a patient. But she is in over her head when she meets Jake and realizes that he is the one her heart wants. Because Jake is everything her brain says she shouldn’t have—Jake has no problem putting his life on the line for others. And Aria can’t lose someone she loves again…it’s better to never love at all, than to lose someone you love. 4–What makes your hero irresistible?  Jake masks his deep hurt with humor and charm, never letting anyone see…

“Sisters, as you know, also have a unique relationship. This is the person who has known you your entire life, who should love you and stand by you no matter what, and yet it’s your sister who knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt you the most.” Lisa See, author When I was younger, I was all about trying to fix what was wrong in my life. Smoothing out the rough edges. If I couldn’t fix my flaws, I’d figure out a way to hide ’em. As I’ve aged, I’ve accepted the messiness of life. Sometimes we fall, Humpty-Dumpty-style, and break, and the pieces don’t fit back together again. As an author, I love to delve into complicated relationships. Family relationships. Friendships. Does he-doesn’t she romantic entanglements. You want to try to unravel some problematic relationships? Try to understand the bonds between sisters. Some sisters are each other’s designated best friends, with their phone numbers on speed dial so they chat with each other multiple times a day. Some sisters are so hostile toward one another that they haven’t seen or spoken to one another in years. And some sisters are an oil and water mix of the…

Hi Bethany – welcome to Fresh Fiction! Please tell us about yourself and your new book: Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish.  Hi! I’m excited to be here! A little bit about me. . . I’m the wife of a radio broadcaster who I met in an online chat room in the late 90s, the mom of two boys who really are the best teenagers on the planet–even if they can’t keep their rooms clean to save their lives–and I’m the most three of all threes on the Enneagram. As for Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish. . . it’s the story of two polar-opposite celebrity chefs, Hadley Beckett and Max Cavanagh, who are forced to work together months after an on-air altercation between the two of them that brought Max’s career crashing down and helped shoot Hadley to stardom. Hadley Beckett is a successful TV chef who goes out on a limb to participate in a cooking competition show. The culinary world is notoriously male-dominated, but Hadley can hold her own against the best of the best! What inspired the character of Hadley? What does her chosen profession as a chef add to her story arch? When I first began thinking about this story,…