Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Davidson King | A Fast-paced, Steamy, MM Mafia Romance
Author Guest / January 16, 2023

1–What is the title of your latest release? WAR OF THE WICKED 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? War of the Wicked is a fast paced, steamy, MM Mafia romance. Brutal enemies and a hot love story. In the War of the Wicked no one gets out unscathed. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? All my books are written in fictional universes but they all are familiar in my mind as pieces of places I’ve actually been. Lucifer’s Landing for example is mirrored after the five boroughs of New York. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? So Dante is terrifying and dangerous but super loyal and would die for Rainn. And Rainn is a firecracker so yeah, I suppose I would. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Dante would be loyal, dangerous, and morally ambiguous (yeah that last one was 2 words but come on they go together) 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That just when I think I can’t write darker, I can. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I write until I feel I’ve…

Annabelle Greene | Exclusive Excerpt: THE SERVANT AND THE GENTLEMAN
Author Guest , Excerpt / May 18, 2022

The wrought-iron door handle was cold against Hartley’s fingers. Quite why he was gripping it so tightly he didn’t know; it had to be fear or excitement. Or both, coiled so inextricably within him that he couldn’t tell which one was which. It was different in candlelight. Last time there had been barely any light; it had been easy to forget himself, to get lost in the rush of desire that had taken hold. Now, with enough light to see both the cramped tightness of the room and a glimpse of his own white face in the mirror above the basin, it was almost impossible to imagine feeling enough pleasure to overcome the terror filling him. He held his breath as Mr. Balfour moved closer. Close enough to press against him, chest to chest, thigh to thigh. Hartley sighed, a deep shiver running through him as he looked into the man’s warm brown eyes. He couldn’t even think of him as Mr. Balfour anymore. Not in this naked, vulnerable light. Master, servant, Mr. Hartley, Mr. Balfour; no rank, no polite form of address, quite held up to scrutiny. Not here. Not now. The man in front of him was Josiah….

Allie Therin | Exclusive Excerpt: PROPER SCOUNDREL
Author Guest / December 22, 2021

Discomfort was the first thing Sebastian became aware of, his mouth parched and his head pounding. He ignored both, struggling to recall what had happened. Mercier—the ring of fire— Lord Fine. Sebastian’s eyes flew open and he sat up. Or tried to. He swore as metal bit into his wrists. His arms were stretched up and out to either side, cuffed to—he craned his neck with difficulty, following the line of his right arm—cuffed to— Bedposts? Tall mahogany bedposts, exquisitely carved, and above them stretched a deep green canopy, embroidered with gold. His head rested on something soft, and the fabric against his cheek was like silk. A twitch of his legs confirmed they were free, and there was no bite of lead against his skin. So someone with significant money had cuffed him to a bed, but they hadn’t taken his magic into account— “Finally awake, are you?” Sebastian turned his head to the left, toward the sound of Lord Fine’s voice. The viscount was only a few feet away, sitting in a chair of dark wood and green velvet. He had removed his jacket, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows above bandaged forearms, and on his lap…

Jayce Ellis | 20 Questions: IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING
Author Guest / December 20, 2021

1–What is the title of your latest release? IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING 2–What is it about? DeShawn, who was raised by his grandmother, learns that her cancer has returned and she’s not going to pursue further treatment. In her will, she decides to leave part of her estate to DeShawn’s ex-husband, Malik. Except it turns out Malik isn’t his ex at all, because the divorce never went through (this happens more than you might think). DeShawn’s Uncle Robert ends up suing Malik, and that pushes them together. You’ll have to read to figure out the rest. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love that this is more DC-adjacent than fully focused in city. So many people are just outside DC, but live and work and love there. So there are moments in Upper Marlboro and Baltimore that hold just as much weight as being in DC proper. 4–How did DeShawn surprise you?  I don’t think I quite expected the arc DeShawn went on, and his final decisions about what he wanted to do career-wise. It was a way for him to have the best of both worlds, and I was thrilled to give it to…

Verity Lowell | Author-Reader Match: MEET ME IN MADRID
Author Guest / October 26, 2021

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 Verity Lowell! Writes: I write steamy romances about ambitious and creative women-falling-for-women. I think of it as queer of color romance but, like the world, my stories have all sorts of ages and stages and different kinds of people. I love to travel and I love good food and I’m always interested in giving the reader a vivid sense of place—if you’re not into evocative description, I may not be your gal. My debut romance, MEET ME IN MADRID is a second-chance entrée with a healthy side of age-gap and plenty of sweet, long-distance relationship angst for dessert. When a blizzard grounds her in Madrid, Charlotte, a museum courier stuck in a job she hates in Connecticut, is unexpectedly reunited with her super in-charge, grad school crush, Adrianna, who offers her a place to “sleep.” Both characters are women of color and part of what brings them together is their shared experience of being marginalized in the academy; the other thing…

Shae Connor | Title Challenge: HARD DRIVE
Author Guest / October 19, 2021

Hi all! I’m Shae Connor, here to share my new novel HARD DRIVE for the Title Challenge. HARD DRIVE is an F/F college sports romance, set on the campus of the fictional University of Atlanta, featuring a relationship between a computer geek and a softball star. I’ve really enjoyed bringing these characters to life, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading about them. Here’s a little more about what to expect: H is for Happy ending! Guaranteed, naturally. 🙂 A is for Annie, the main character of the story, reserved, quiet, recently out as bisexual, and inexperienced in just about every way. R is for Romance, of course. Annie experiences her first romance after her crush, Eve, asks her on a… D is for … Date! Annie helps Eve with a broken-down laptop, so Eve asks her to… D is for … Dinner, which starts out as just a thank you but ends up leading to more. R is for Rain—or more specifically, thunderstorms. Annie has a phobia, but when they’re caught out in one, Eve finds a good way to distract her. 😉 I is for Introvert. Annie’s a major introvert who deals with anxiety, especially when it comes to…

Annabeth Albert | Exclusive Interview: SAILOR PROOF
Author Guest / September 28, 2021

Danielle: Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Annabeth! Congrats on your new release, SAILOR PROOF. Can you give us the quick elevator pitch for this book?  Annabeth:  This is my new military romance LGBTQ+ series. Readers who loved my Out of Uniform series will love this best friend’s little brother romance which has a heaping helping of fake dating, close proximity, only one bed, and big feels in a low-angst package! This is the start of a new series for you! What do you like about starting new series? What are some of the challenges?   I love getting to explore a new universe, discover interesting side characters and places, and I actually love the research aspect. Here, I got to research Navy subs, Seattle, and the Olympic Peninsula. It was hard because of COVID-19 because I couldn’t actually go places and had to rely a lot on memories as well as tons of pictures, videos, documentaries, blogs and more.  To make his ex jealous, Naval Chief Derrick Fox wants to return home with what appears to be a new boyfriend. But his plan goes awry when he and the fake BF, Arthur, start to have very real feelings. Fake dating…

Roan Parrish | Exclusive Interview: THE LIGHTS ON KNOCKBRIDGE LANE
Author Guest / September 24, 2021

Danielle: Hi, Roan! Welcome back to Fresh Fiction. For readers who might not be familiar, can you give us a little rundown about your Garnet Run series?   Roan:  Totally! The Garnet Run series is what I’d call cozy romance. It’s set in the small town of Garnet Run, Wyoming where (in my head canon, at least) everyone is queer unless explicitly stated. We start with Better Than People, in which Jack, a grouchy and antisocial artist, breaks his leg and can no longer walk his pack of rescue animals. Enter Simon, a super-shy, virgin animal lover who takes over the task. As they get to know each other, Simon falls in love with Jack’s menagerie—and then with Jack himself. Jack, of course, is already smitten. We also meet Jack’s older brother, Charlie, who raised him after their parents died when they were teenagers. The second book, Best Laid Plans, is Charlie’s love story. Forced to grow up at 18, when he had to raise Jack, run the family business, and pay the rent, Charlie missed out on the whole self-discovery part of being young. Now in his thirties, he’s never had a relationship—he doesn’t even know if he has…

Amy Andrews | Title Challenge: PLAYING IT SAFE
Author Guest / September 7, 2021

Hi fellow lovers of zee kissing books! Super thrilled to have my first ever boys kissing boys book (aka MM romance) out there in the world and I’m here to tell you a little bit more about it. Not your thing? Maybe I can get you to take a chance…? P is for pucker up, baby! Donovan’s never even kissed another guy before and Beck is about to blow his mind! L is for liaison. The secret type that Donovan and Beck embark on because he’s in the closet and has zero plans for coming out while he’s still playing pro-football. Sad face. A is for all-consuming. Once Donovan gets a taste of Beck’s sweet, sweet loving he doesn’t want to stop. Oopsies! Y is for yearning. OMG! So. Much. Yearning. I is for intimacy. So. Much. Intimacy. And I don’t just mean the sexy times but the closeness and snuggles and the chatting and the cooking together. Happy sigh. N is for normal. Some men love men, some women love women. Some people fall for the person and gender doesn’t matter. Some people aren’t particularly fussed about any of it. How boring would it be if we were all…

Penny Aimes | Exclusive Interview: FOR THE LOVE OF APRIL FRENCH
Author Guest / August 31, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Penny! Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your debut novel, FOR THE LOVE OF APRIL FRENCH.   Here’s the bio I’ve been using everywhere! “Penny Aimes was assigned Hoosier at Birth but made her way to Austin, Texas, where she lives with a beautiful accountant and a very loud bird. Her debut novel FOR THE LOVE OF APRIL FRENCH is the story of a trans woman who has always seen herself as a stopover for others on their way to a happily ever after and the cis man who knows his home will never be complete without her. Both kinky and unrepentantly fluffy, it is a story about letting go of fear and believing that you can love and be loved in return. It’s also about embracing your community and letting your community vice you a little versa now and then.” “Kinky and unrepentantly fluffy” comes from a very kind review from Talia Hibbert, which is also quoted on the front of the book. A funny thing about that quote is that we had to keep revising the attribution as Talia got more awards and honors. I think we finally settled…