Danielle Jackson: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Jenny! We are excited to chat with you about your new book, DUKE, ACTUALLY! First things first, we love the title and how it reminds us of Love Actually. Do you have a favorite holiday movie that gets you in the holiday spirit?   Jenny Holiday: This is going to sound silly, but my all-time favourite holiday movie is Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. I’ve been watching it annually since I was a kid and we had it on DVD. Now I subject my own family to it. Though I shouldn’t say “subject,” as it’s truly wonderful, and it has some of the best Christmas songs of all time. Is there anything more delicious than a bad-boy royal? What did you love about writing Maximillian von Hansburg, future Duke of Aquilla?  Max as a person is so easygoing and warm, and he was also like that to write. He just sort of emerged as himself, which doesn’t happen that often! Dani has recently ended her marriage and has sworn off men for a while, which of course is perfect timing when the infuriatingly charming Max shows up in New York. She’s thrust into the pomp and propriety of…

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Paul! We are thrilled to have you here. Can you tell us what inspired your new book, PLAYING THE PALACE?   Paul:  Two things inspired PLAYING THE PALACE: first, I wanted to explore a passionate and uproarious romance between two people of very different social backgrounds, namely Carter Ogden, a lonely New York City event planner, and Prince Edgar, the openly gay Crown Prince of England. Beyond that, I wanted to create an all-out romantic comedy, to combat despair and celebrate the glory of falling in love despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. How do you feel your background in playwrighting and screenwriting influenced writing this novel?   Writing for the theater, the screen and the page can be very different pursuits, but they do inform each other. I want PLAYING THE PALACE to have the pure fun of a great musical comedy, with the heart of a bigscreen romance. There’s a cast of delightful characters throughout PLAYING THE PALACE that add to the hijinks Carter and Prince Edgar find themselves involved in… do you have a favorite side character, who really stood out to you while you were writing this book?  I hate to play favorites, but…

Hello! I’m so excited to be here at Fresh Fiction, sharing an exclusive excerpt from my upcoming release, ROYAL TROUBLE. The second book in the Royally Engaged series, ROYAL TROUBLE is a stand-alone romcom that asks the question, What happens when a member of the royal family unwittingly falls in love with a celebrity dirt reporter? If you like laugh-out-loud banter, sizzling chemistry, and swoon-worthy HEAs, keep reading for a sneak peek at Xander and Everly’s story and a wardrobe malfunction of royal proportions! … The bathroom door burst open with such force it smashed against the stopper before it was slammed shut again. Xander whirled to see Everly throw herself against the door and flip the deadbolt. When she turned to face him, chest heaving, she gave a startled squeal and clapped her hands over her mouth, covering the full lips he’d just been fantasizing about. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was more disheveled than when he’d left her, the chocolate and toffee strands brushing her collarbones in loose waves. Everly’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she dropped her hands to her sides. “That’s not the reaction I usually get from the ladies,” he said, lifting a…

1–What is the title of your latest release? Heirly Ever After 2–What is it about? A young woman is attending her sister’s royal wedding–sans a date who broke up with her after she dropped out of college for him–so she takes a date with a Scottish man she meets on the train who happens to be the outcast of the royal family. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  I love the Cotswold feel of an English country town with rolling hills and the historical aspects of the castle that I built in my head in Heired Lines from watching a lot of Secrets of Great British Castles 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  She wasn’t supposed to be this dang persistent. In my head originally she was spunky, but I kept having to tell my brain one thing and she wanted to do another. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  That he’s genuine. His story could have been very different and he could have been a villain or an anti-hero. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  To make Lord Jacob a real hero and not an anti-hero. 7–Do…

Catching Zayn’s arm in her bony talon as they passed, Roz hissed, “The unmasking will happen at the end of your dance! You’ll have to take the mask off for her—there’s a clasp in the back.” Then she let them go. Zayn led Mina to the dance floor, a pathway clear­ing before them. Other dancers left the floor as they approached the center, a warm spotlight finding them as they came to a stop, facing each other. He wasn’t sure whether it was due to the rush of success in dodging Roz, or simply the primal effect of Mina’s radiant glow in the spotlight, but although they were surrounded, the rest of the room slowly disap­peared as he looked at her. Reaching out his arms, he took her by the waist and pulled her body flush against his. As tall as she was in the heels and the mask, her head still came only to his shoulder, allowing him to rest his cheek on the smooth front of her mask, his own expression shielded by the emanating rays. Her dress was a warm second skin beneath his palm and her lush curves pressed against the hard planes of his own…

Hello! I’m so excited to be here at Fresh Fiction, sharing an exclusive excerpt from my upcoming release, A ROYAL DISASTER. The first book in my new Royally Engaged rom-com series, A ROYAL DISASTER is a stand-alone novel featuring a heroine with impossibly bad luck, a charming crown prince, and a cockblocking cat named Jinx. Elena Murphy is a walking disaster, so when she accidentally paints the Crown Prince of Valeria purple, of course the paparazzi capture it on camera. Now she’s being dragged online and the only way to save her reputation—and her studio—is to pretend she’s dating the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor. Keep reading for an exclusive peek at the world’s most unexpected proposal! *** “Miss Murphy.” Fin darted forward, possibly to prevent Liam from saying something else untoward. “His Royal Highness, Prince William, Prince of Valeria, offers an apology for the trouble that’s befallen you recently.” Elena snorted and crossed her arms. “The trouble that’s befallen me? You mean the trouble he brought to my door by illegally trespassing on my property with his fan club in tow?” Fin stood frozen, as if unsure how to respond to such blatant disregard for royal protocol. Elena lifted a…

It can be fun to flirt. And when you know it can’t go anywhere, it can be a little more fun. You can just let loose because there’s no chance you can blow it. That’s how TEMPTING THE PRINCE starts. Two people who absolutely know they can’t ever be together, sharing a fun night. #spoiler – they do get together! #spoiler – happy ending guaranteed! So here’s a peek at an average American pushing the envelope with her *actual* Prince Charming… *** Mallory couldn’t tell if the bar was nice because everything in Moncriano’s capital was both ancient and charming–or because her bodyguard had chosen very, very carefully where to bring the princess’s sister to get wasted. Because that was, indeed, her entire plan for the night. Drink. Eat a pretzel the size of her head. Maybe flirt with the semi-hot guy who’d been eying her from the corner. Except that flirting would require conversation. That conversation. Because every conversation she’d had with a stranger since returning to the country followed the same lines: How are you? You’re so brave. What’s the princess really like? If she wasn’t fine, she wouldn’t be out at a bar, would she? As for…

REDEEMING A ROYAL is the third and last installment of my Royals of Aldonia series. And while that makes me so sad because I have truly fallen in love with this royal family, I feel it’s only fair, to be honest, and say that this series was never supposed to happen! Allow me to explain. . . When I write books from a series, I always write them as inter-connecting standalones. So, any of them can be read without having to read the ones that came before. And the reason I write them like that is because the Royals of Aldonia is the third series of mine that wasn’t supposed to exist. Reader – I have a problem! The Hidden Prince, which is book one and a novella, was supposed to be just that. A cosy, Christmas novella because nothing can be more swoon-worthy than a prince at Christmas. Right? Well, yes and no. Because while I was writing The Hidden Prince–Prince Alexander’s story–I wrote about his sister Princess Harriet who was very much a secondary character and who was supposed to trot off into the sunset with the rest of those characters. I should have known that she was…

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 VIV ROYCE!  Writes: heartwarming, super sweet smalltown romance about shopkeepers finding love when they least expect it. About: Dog lover – Stationery fan – Chocolate in one hand, cheese in the other – Pride and Prejudice adaptation with Colin Firth is the best ever made (the long look scene!!) What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: A reader who loves: that smalltown vibe where everyone cares for each other (and little old ladies are in matchmaking mode!) swoon-worthy heroes, relatable heroines, real relationship obstacles and a happy ending shop settings you wish you could visit in real life to sample chocolates, browse books or find an antique treasure yummy food (my characters often discuss things over delicious pie, ice cream or pancakes) books that can be read as standalone, but are even better read as series, with previous main characters making appearances and recurring side characters forming a community you’d love to be a part of! What to expect if…

I had a release day plan. Since Heired Lines takes place in England, I was going to take the day off with some of my friends and have high tea at the Chocolate Angel Tea Room (where Fresh Fiction has their own tea’s). But then COVID-19 happened. It’s affected a lot of our plans and I figured I could mope about it, or I could do something. That’s when my daughters and I decided to have our own high tea. Due to certain things being out of stock, our own lack of baking skills, and the fact that my children are seven and nine and picky, we modified our menu a bit to the traditional high tea. We’ve also made it easy for the average reader to follow along and have their own High Quaran-Tea with us! High teas are usually served on a three-tier stand with the first course on the bottom, the second course in the middle, and the third course on top. Of course, we don’t actually have a three-tier stand so we are borrowing one from a friend. If a friend doesn’t have one, you can actually stack teacups and saucers to make the three tiers….