Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Sarah Zachrich Jen | Exclusive Interview: THE OTHER ME
Author Guest / August 9, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Sarah, and congrats on your debut novel, THE OTHER ME! Can you tell us a little about your journey into publishing this book?   Sarah: Thanks for having me! The book that eventually became THE OTHER ME went through several rewrites on its way to publication. When I started writing, I had no idea that it would be a thriller—I was having more upmarket/literary thoughts, though still with the speculative element, and the original pacing and ending reflected that. I took a few years to get the book to where I thought it was ready to query, and then I entered the Pitch Wars mentoring program, which I’d read good things about online. I didn’t get in, but PW mentor Layne Fargo (who’s also an amazing author) loved my manuscript. She was kind enough to refer me to an agent she knew, who asked me to revise and resubmit. I signed with that agent, did one more revision, and settled in to wait for months while my agent shopped the book around to editors. My agent emailed the manuscript to one editor on a Friday to give her an advance look before we went on…

Charlotte Carter | Exclusive Interview: RHODE ISLAND RED
Author Guest / July 27, 2021

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Charlotte! We are excited to host you here today, and celebrate the re-release of RHODE ISLAND RED, the first book in your Nanette Hayes Mystery series. How does it feel to have Nanette back in print?   Charlotte:  I have to say, it feels pretty good.  This re-do was quite unexpected.  Nanette Hayes is a fierce, clever sleuth, who teaches French and plays the saxophone. Where did the idea for her start for you? How has she surprised you?   It’s true that not too many women play sax, but I actually did see a young woman playing on the street—this was some 20 years ago. I was just taking a walk with my husband, and we came upon her,, gave her a couple of dollars. He was the one who suggested creating a street musician character. From there, I won’t pretend it was easy, but Nan kind of presented herself. I got the chance to give her a lot of stuff that I myself lacked—grit, youth, “hotness,” forthrightness, romanticism, etc. And of course, I put a bit of myself in the mix—the travel bug, love and admiration for music, and the people who play/master it….

Shanora Williams | 20 Questions: THE PERFECT RUIN
Author Guest / July 26, 2021

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE PERFECT RUIN 2–What is it about? It’s about a woman named Ivy Hill who finds out the name of the woman who destroyed her childhood – Lola Maxwell. Lola is a wealthy, well-known woman who is loved by many and Ivy sets out on destroying/ruining Lola’s life as payback. It’s a very twisty and suspenseful read with a revenge plot and a domestic thriller vibe. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love that it’s set near a beach. It’s mostly set in Miami, Florida and I love that you sort of get a visual of the beach weather and the summer activities. And given that this is a summer release makes it all the more exciting! 4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  My main character Ivy was way more calculating and manipulative than I thought she would be. She knew how to truly fake it in order to make it and to get what she wanted. 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  Well, one reason I loved writing this book is that it touches on the effects of trauma and how some people can…

Debbie Wiley | The Ultimate Lady of Mystery
Author Guest / July 12, 2021

I fell in love with mysteries at an early age. Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and the Hardy Boys were my first foray into the genre. Then I discovered Phyllis Whitney’s young adult mysteries, Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries changed my world. Hercule Poirot bragged about using “the little gray cells” while both he and Sherlock Holmes carefully observed the tiniest details and made brilliant observations around those details. Miss Marple, on the other hand, listened to town gossip and used her years of wisdom about human nature to deduce what others missed. All three of them shrewdly found the solutions to murders that stumped even the cleverest of inspectors. I devoured all sorts of mysteries and thrillers, trying to astutely deduce the murderer just as my fictional favorites of Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, and Sherlock Holmes had done. Recently, while driving back and forth to South Carolina, I listened to several of Agatha Christie’s stories as produced by the BBC, including POIROT’S FINEST CASES and MORE FROM MISS MARPLE’S CASEBOOK. My love for all things Agatha Christie re-ignited, and what a joy for me to…

J.L. Crosswhite | Author-Reader Match: OVER HER HEAD
Author Guest / June 11, 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 you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present J.L.Crosswhite! Writes: Christian romantic suspense with her latest release, OUT OF RANGE, book 2 of the In the Shadow series. Book 3, OVER HER HEAD, will hit the shelves on June 21. Because when you grow up in the shadow of a hero as a sibling, can you find your own adventures as well? About: California-native author who’s spent significant time in the Midwest seeks readers for a page-turning novel about clothing designer and sister of the groom Kim Taylor, who is planning the girls’ adventure and spa weekend before the wedding to prove to her brother she’s not the flighty flake he thinks she is. But when the bride’s sister has other ideas, a forest fire burns out their adventure, and a stalker sets his eye on Kim, can she find strength and comfort in fun guy Matthew Ellis? He blew his first chance with her but he’s desperately trying to make things right. When her life is on the line, can he…

Nekesa Afia | 20 Questions: DEAD DEAD GIRLS
Author Guest / June 4, 2021

1–What is the title of your latest release? Dead Dead Girls 2–What is it about? Dead Dead Girls is a prohibition-era about a tiny, tired Black lesbian who is forced into solving crime. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love the vibrancy and how alive the 1920s were. Even when the world was reeling, postwar, there is a generation that still grew and thrived on their own terms. 4–How did your main character(s) surprise you?  My main character, Louise Lloyd, surprised me by being so confident and determined. She is put into many different situations and still manages to come through as herself and stronger. 5–Why will readers relate to your characters?  I think readers will relate to my characters because they’re human. They get to make mistakes and have fun and be wrong and right. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  One of the biggest challenges while writing this book was getting the vibes exactly right. I was trying to get myself in the headspace of a woman who was born nearly a century before me, and has lived a completely different life. It’s impossible to…

Alma Katsu | Do Women Make Better Spies?
Author Guest / May 25, 2021

Alma Katsu is an award-winning novelist who happens to have spent 34 years in intelligence with CIA and NSA. Her first spy novel, Red Widow, the story of two women CIA officers pitted against one another in a race to find a deadly mole inside Langley, was named a NY Times Editors Choice and has been optioned for TV by FOX. In the world of espionage, it seems there’s finally a place for women—at least on television and, to a lesser extent, movies. Carrie Mathison (Homeland). Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans). Sydney Bristow (Alias). Maya (Zero Dark Thirty). If you look at lists of espionage novels, you’ll see that this is where things break down a little. Lists of the most popular spy novels tend to be dominated by male writers and male protagonists. If women write in the field, it tends to be historical fiction, standalone novels about women in the resistance during World War II or toiling away in the steno pool during the Cold War. And while these books are inspiring, as an intelligence professional it was a little disappointing to not see the work of my female peers being represented in literature. This was my main motivation…

Elle Cosimano | Author-Reader Match: FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT
Author Guest / May 17, 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 Elle Cosimano! Writes: I write fast-paced, genre-bending thrillers with a touch of romance and captivating whodunnits. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first book in my new, compulsively readable mystery series for adults, about the eponymous struggling author and single mom who, when overheard discussing the plot of her latest novel over lunch with her agent, inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband for money, in order to make ends meet. “Cosimano cuts dexterously between Finn’s adventures as a hitwoman, her deeply iffy romance . . . , and the domestic crises that keep on piling up as if nothing had ever happened to disturb them. Suspenseful, funny, and even a tad mysterious. More, please.” —Kirkus Reviews About: I enjoy cooking, reading, and traveling. (I do not enjoy excessive exercise, housework, or doing my own taxes.) I’m a homeschooling mom and an award-winning author of mysteries and thrillers for both the young and young at heart. I live in…

Melissa Koslin | NEVER MISS: What’s in a Name?
Author Guest / May 4, 2021

My husband and I have this long-standing disagreement. He likes names like John and Jane—literally the more boring the better. I, however, like something with some interest. While I have to work with him on naming our baby, I don’t have to give a hoot what he thinks about my character names! I am a collector of names. I have files in my phone for girl names, boy names, and surnames. Whenever I come across something interesting, I add it to the list and then pull my character names from there. Side characters usually have something I like but not one of my top favorites, except when I have a theme going. In NEVER MISS, which is a Christian romantic suspense book releasing from Revell on May 4, 2021, my female main character’s family all has names related to combat and fortification, which is fitting for a family of snipers. Their last name is Tolle simply because I’ve always liked that name. Bastion – her father Redan – her uncle, Bastion’s brother Caponier – her cousin Ravelin – her cousin The male character’s parents’ names are more personal. Lee Vaile is his father. Lee is my father’s middle name, and…

James R. Hannibal | Exclusive Excerpt: THE PARIS BETRAYAL
Author Guest / May 3, 2021

Home Paris Ben climbed the stairs from the metro station at Saint Germain and turned north on Rue Bonaparte under the late morning sun. Its rays did nothing to ease the winter cold, and he altered his route to his flat in the 16th arrondissement to take him past a favorite café. In the ten months of Ben’s posting there, Paris had stolen his heart. He loved his country, certainly, but his American roots had thinned. His parents had him late in life and passed while he was still muddling around in his six years at Rice University, deciding what he wanted to be when he grew up. He knew he didn’t want to be a cabinetmaker, so he’d sold the family business, the last tie binding him to his hometown, and moved on. No siblings. No connections. The Company sought out people like him. They’d recruited him—­rescued him—­during his first year as a commodities trader. Life at the schoolhouse ended nine months later with his death. Drug overdose. Tragic. His professors at Rice would have never guessed. The Company resurrected him in London as Ben Calix, and he’d never looked back. With a fresh cup of tea to warm…