Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Julie Hammerle | A Former Attorney and a Security Guard Find Love in a Small Town
Author Guest / May 12, 2023

1–What is the title of your latest release? PLAYING FOR KEEPS   2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?  A former attorney decides to quit the rat race and ends up in a small town where she falls for a cute security guard, who’s trying to save up enough money to escape said small town.   3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?  It’s loosely based on my own personal favorite small town – Galena, Illinois.   4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?  I would. She’s smart and funny, and I respect her decision to start living her life on her own terms—which means mostly wearing pajamas.   5–What are three words that describe your hero? Loyal, patient, empathetic   6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?  A lot of new legal terms and basketball jargon!   7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I usually do a few step-backs as I go along. I’ll write the first quarter of the novel, then go back and revise. Then write the next quarter, and go back to the beginning. I keep doing this over…

Julie Hammerle | Exclusive Excerpt: IT’S RAINING MEN
Author Guest / July 27, 2021

A loud crash and the sound of glass shattering cut her off, and my head snapped toward the bar. Our bartender, the guy with the eyes, was leaning over, gripping his leg. Blood trickled toward his ankle, and shards of the broken bottle surrounded his feet in a puddle of fizzy pink wine. I leaned over the bar. “Are you okay?” I shouted. He looked over at me. “I’m bleeding.” “I see that.” I glanced at Kelly, looking for permission. “Go,” she said, waving her hand. “Be the superhero. We’ll talk later.” “No.” I grabbed my purse and headed toward the injured patient. “Come with me. We’ll talk while I clean him up.” The bartender’s eyes widened in shock and concern. “What?” “I’m a doctor.” I motioned to one of the waiters working the tables. “Can someone clean this up, please?” The bartender tilted his head in disbelief as his eyes scanned my ensemble. “She is a doctor,” Kelly said, glancing at her phone, “and a damn expensive one, too. Consider yourself lucky.” “Where’s the manager’s office?” I asked, glancing around. “That way.” The bartender nodded toward a closed door in the hallway off to the right of the bar….

Julie Hammerle | 20 Questions: WRITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Author Guest / December 4, 2020

1–What’s the name of your latest release?  WRITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2–What is it about?  The author of a very popular fantasy series hires a woman to cook for him while he’s on a tight deadline…right before Christmas. Romance ensues! 3–What word best describes your heroine?  Hardworking   4–What makes your hero irresistible?  He’s a gruff (but hot) loner, like the Beast in Beauty and the Beast. It takes the right woman to knock him off his guard. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help?  Dani, the heroine, has her family, especially her sister-in-law, Una, who is a life coach. Matt, the hero, relies on his assistant, Jane. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book?  My parents own a house in a resort out in the country. They’re on the outskirts of the resort, in the middle of nowhere, and it’s my favorite place on the planet. Their house and its surroundings are what I pictured while working on this novel. 7–Are you a plotter (follow an outline) or a pantster (write by the seat of your pants)? Plotter! 8–What is an ideal writing day for you?  I’m not someone who can write…

Julie Hammerle | 40 is the new 16
Author Guest / November 12, 2018

Before KNOCKED-UP CINDERELLA, I published four YA novels, three of them rom-coms. I’d always seen myself as a young adult writer, because I’d always idealized teen romance, with the heady, all-encompassing first loves and epic mistakes. Teenagers are blessed with time–time to obsess over minutiae, whether that means longing looks from a hot guy in calc class, perceived slights from a best friend, or every lyric from their favorite band’s new album. For most of my twenties and thirties, I continued to romanticize teen love, probably because, for me personally, those decades were not about looking for romance and dating, but marriage and parenthood. And most of my circle of friends were in the same place. But now that I’m approaching forty (in a little over a month *cough*), I’ve started to focus more on mature romances. I have friends who’ve found love after thirty-five–after they’ve settled into careers and their single lifestyles. They’re learning how to let a new person–with their own careers and baggage–into their already established existences. I know people who have divorced and found themselves single for the first time in two decades. They have to figure out the dating game in a whole new millennium….

Julie Hammerle | The Book That Inspired Artificial Sweethearts
Author Guest / July 25, 2017

My favorite books of all time are the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. They follow three young girls, who become friends at about six-years-old, through high school and into adulthood. They’re set in a small town in Minnesota—hi, just like ARTIFICIAL SWEETHEARTS!—and take place at the turn of the twentieth century—not like ARTIFICIAL SWEETHEARTS. There are ten main Betsy-Tacy books, in which Betsy Ray is the central character, but then there are three satellite books, one-off stories that follow some of the more peripheral characters in the world of Deep Valley. One of these books is Carney’s House Party. Now, I didn’t read Carney’s House Party back when I was a kid. I read the book probably about fifteen years ago, and I LOVED it. Most of all, I loved Sam, the guy who falls for Carney. I fell for Sam. Hard. He was smart, funny, and easy-going, the perfect foil for rigid Carney, who was dead-set on staying with her high school boyfriend. Oh, honey. My kernel of inspiration for ARTIFICIAL SWEETHEARTS came from that book, hence Sam and hence Tinka, whose nickname comes from her family, just like Carney’s. The spark of an idea went like this:…