Operation K-9 Brothers is a three-book romantic suspense series about Navy SEAL heroes returning to civilian life. That’s not such an easy transition for these men, but the service dogs they work with calm their demons. These men are not looking for love, but when they find the one, they fall hard. They are hardwired to protect, and when danger threatens, they will protect the woman they love with their life. M is for MOUNTAIN RESCUE of course. O is for Operator. Dallas is a SEAL and SEALs are operators. U is for Universal because romance is universal. N is for Numb. How Dallas feels inside. T is for Tender. How Dallas feels toward Bella, the dog that has never known the kind touch of a human. A is for Asheville, the location of the story. I is for Incredible. What Dallas thinks of Rachel. N is for Nickname. Dallas’s nickname for Rachel is wildcat. * R is for Residence. The mountain cabin two strangers accidentally end up in together. E is for Extraordinary. What Dallas thinks of stunt double woman Rachel. S is for SEAL, and who doesn’t love a SEAL hero? C is for Cowboy. Yes, Dallas is…

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…

Thank you so much for allowing me the pleasure of being on your blog, it’s such an honor. I do hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday season! Enjoy this excerpt. *** “Well hell, look who’s decided to grace me with his presence again. Parker Jax. How the hell are you, man?” After hugging the man at the bar, Parker grinned when he stepped back. “Better, Marc. How about you? Place is looking good.” Marc Chariz shrugged and looked Skylar over and flashed one of his signature and patented sexy smiles. Known all over the world to get women to drop their panties. Parker wanted to punch him. “Marc, this is Skylar. Skylar Radford, the second-best damn Marine I’ve known, Marc Chariz.” Marc offered his hand and took hers with a smile. “You’re a delightful pleasure for this place. Nice to meet you.” The next second, he’d pulled her into a hug and whispered something into her ear. “You didn’t do her justice when you told us about this stunning woman, my friend. I used to serve with this old codger. If I need a stand-in fiancée, can I hire you?” Skylar laughed. “Don’t let her go, and we’re no…

“So what do we do now?” Hannah asked. When she’d reopened the boutique, customers flooded the store. Russell had offered to help her until things slowed down. One hour had turned into two and in the blink of an eye the entire day had passed. She’d appreciated the help, but when she’d told him she felt guilty for keeping him from see­ing his family, he’d waved away her concern like it was no big deal. She’d wondered if he was avoid­ing them, then dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Unlike her, he had a loving, supportive family. And for a man who’d never worked in retail and who hadn’t had a clue about women’s fashion, he’d done incredibly well. A woman who’d come into the boutique looking for the perfect blouse had left with three dresses, two pairs of pants and three pairs of earrings in addition to that blouse, all because Russell had said she’d looked nice in them. He’d also given thumbs down on two other dresses and the woman had left without them. More than providing her customers with a male’s perspective, Russell had served as the mus­cle she’d needed, carrying boxes for her. He’d also unpacked and…

Hi, everyone! Thanks for joining me today to celebrate the release of TRUSTING A WARRIOR, the third book in my Loving a Warrior series! Each book stands alone, but all are interconnected, and I think Geo and Lani’s story in TRUSTING is my favorite. Geo is a SEAL K9 handler who’s grieving the loss of his mentor and friend. Lani’s just gone through a painful breakup with her childhood sweetheart. Together they find understanding, healing, and of course love. If you want to read about a Navy SEAL who lets himself be vulnerable, a woman who takes charge of her own future, plus one badass military working dog, then TRUSTING A WARRIOR is for you! T is for a tactical mission, the one where the dog saves your life. R is for realizing that sometimes you can’t do it alone. U is for understanding that healing takes time. S is for seeing your own worth. T is for trusting your instincts. I is for the inner strength you didn’t know you had. N is for Navy SEALs aren’t superheroes, no matter how much they’d like to think they are. G is for good dog! * A is for always loyal,…

In this time of #stayhome, even introverts like me are starting to go a little stir crazy. I love writing, of course, and reading, but I’ve needed something else to fill my days. So let’s talk hobbies! In my recent release, HONOR AVENGED, my hero Marcus loves to surf and watch movies. (He has an encyclopedic knowledge of movie quotes that he uses regularly throughout the series.) Now, I can barely walk across my house without tripping over my own feet, and I live in the cool and rainy Pacific Northwest, so surfing is no for me. And while I love movies, I don’t have Marcus’s memory for snappy quotes. So what’s a bored writer to do during quarantine? At first, I tried to keep busy with stuff that needed done around the house. I painted my bathroom. Power washed the front sidewalk. Ignored the pile of laundry sitting on my office chair. I filled my Amazon cart with all the stuff I want, then emptied it again when I saw the total. I tried working out, got through a full week of BeachBody On Demand, then got lazy for a week, then tried again. I walked the dogs. Cleaned…

We’re joined today by Fresh Fiction reviewer Helen Williams, with a wonderful author recommendation!  The first time I read a book by Susan Stoker was two years ago.  I have been hooked from that moment on. The thing that made me continue reading her novels is her style of writing for her female characters. I like the fact that they find themselves in hopeless circumstances but they continue to fight and not give up. These women go through horrendous situations but show tremendous character in spite of their circumstances.  I have read books before with strong female characters but Ms. Stoker’s novels drew me in like no other.  The storylines have a real-life feel to them. The different situations that her characters experience are sometimes painful to read about but Ms. Stoker’s writing style gives you hope when you see her heroines triumph over the different hardships they encounter. The novels portray some light humor between the characters but they also have some serious realities. Ms. Stoker’s books cover issues dealing with PTSD, rape, physical and emotional abuse, blindness, agoraphobia, homelessness, drug abuse, cancer, epilepsy, physical scars, and human trafficking.  Although these are heavy issues, Susan Stoker delivers them in…

Thanks for having me at Fresh Fiction! I’m delighted to be here and chat about one of the elements from my latest release, DEADLOCK (June 25)! What strikes me most about my hero and heroine is that they begin from a place of high-stakes mistrust. One wrong move might get either of them killed. What’s more tantalizing than a couple so overcome with need for each other that they throw all caution to the wind to be together? I love it. And so I present you, in no certain order, my Top 5 enemies-to-lovers romances. A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J. Maas It’s hard to say too much about this one without spoilers, so consider this your warning! I was simply floored at how masterfully Maas took a character who seemed to be a villain from the previous book and turned him into a hero. Amazing. (A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES is required reading to get the full impact of this one, but it’s fabulous as well.) WALLBANGER by Alice Clayton When you can hear your neighbor’s, erm, very frequent nocturnal activities through the thin wall separating your bedrooms, how can you face him? This is…

Being a military wife of seventeen years, I know a thing or two about writing a love letter. Between my husband’s five deployments, we have thousands of them stored in our basement, our own little time capsule from days where pen and paper were our only means of communication. Those letters have saved our marriage more times than I can count. The beautiful thing about love letters is that just like love, they come in all sorts of different varieties. Some are poetic, some romantic, some erotic, and some don’t even look like love letters at all. What all good love letters have in common is heartfelt emotion. In The Last Letter, Ella regrets writing in pen when her awkward nature gets the best of her during her first letters with Beckett. But that sincerity is what first draws Beckett to her in their letters. Start with your feelings, and you can’t go wrong. Some of my favorites didn’t read like love letters at all. They came from the front lines, scrawled on scrap pieces of paper between missions, the letters blurring from the touch of Jason’s fingers. They were short, and often held two distinct paragraphs—one updating me on…

The last couple of years have been a challenge. 2016 saw a massive wildfire force the total evacuation of my home city (Fort McMurray, AB) for a month. Since then, I’ve had several family members become sick and/or pass away. It seemed like just when I thought things were going back to normal, some new horrible thing would happen. The stress was unrelenting and my creative output suffered as a result. Thankfully, I have an amazing editor who stuck with me, offered advice, and encouraged me to keep writing despite the often overwhelming grief I was mired in. Writing Sleight of Hand, the latest release in my Outbreak Task Force series, probably saved my life for several reasons: – It gave me an outlet for my grief and stress – It was something positive to focus on – I worked through some of my own trauma while my characters worked through theirs – Daily writing meant keeping a schedule, setting goals, and feeling a sense of accomplishment – Achieving a goal (creative or otherwise) releases dopamine in the brain (the happy chemical) All of this reduced my stress level, which had a direct, positive, impact on my health by: –…