So my May book is the third in a four book series set in Georgian England. The series is The Legend of the Four Soldiers and the book is To Beguile a Beast. The other three books are about soldiers coming home from war. But To Beguile a Beast doesn’t have a soldier hero. Sir Alistair Munroe is a civilian naturalist. The other three soldier heroes were in the British army when their regiment was decimated by the French and their Indian allies. They volunteered for the army or bought a commission, but in any case, they chose to be there. Sir Alistair just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. And while the other heroines in The Legend of the Four Soldiers series are aristocratic heroines, Helen Fitzwilliam, the heroine of To Beguile a Beast is no aristocrat. Nor is she a lady. Click to read the rest and to comment on Elizabeth’s blog. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Thank you, Fresh Fiction for inviting me to blog today! I’m Dianne Emley, author of the L.A. Times bestselling Detective Nan Vining “thrillogy”: THE FIRST CUT, CUT TO THE QUICK, and, just out, THE DEEPEST CUT. These three are a thrillogy because they have an overarching storyline in which Nan Vining obsessively pursues the man who attacked her and left her for dead, the creep who Vining and her teenage daughter call T.B. Mann—The Bad Man. The Nan Vining series continues! I’m working on the fourth which will be out in 2010. I’ve learned a lot about the art and business of writing since the first book hit the shelves. I’ve become not just smarter, but wiser. I’ve developed a few rules that I strive to follow when I’m writing and editing a book and some that govern my behavior when the book is out. I’d like to share these with you. Herewith: Dianne Emley’s Ten Commandments of Fiction Writing1. I shall heed good editorial advice, shun bad advice, and learn how to tell the difference. Click to read the rest of Dianne’s Commandments! Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

First I’d like to thank Fresh Fiction for giving me an opportunity to chat with you! I’m Caridad Pineiro, a USA Today and NY Times Bestseller who has written of over twenty novels. My current releases are HONOR CALLS and FURY CALLS from the popular THE CALLING Vampire series from Silhouette Nocturne. In November 2009 I will have my first paranormal romantic suspense single title release – SINS OF THE FLESH – from Grand Central Publishing. I love writing and creating characters that stay with readers long after the book is on the shelf. The plot for FURY CALLS, my March 2009 release from Silhouette Nocturne, definitely has two of my most interesting characters and the plot of the story is driven by the conflicts of the two heroes – Blake and Meghan. Blake, in particular, helped define the nature of the villain and also, forged the redemption of one of THE CALLING’s more interesting Big Bads – Foley, the owner of the Blood Bank. Blake has actually become one of my favorite characters of all time. Since he popped onto the scene in TEMPTATION CALLS in October 2005, he has been hanging out in the world of THE CALLING,…

I like to blame it on the popularity of evening soap operas during my formative years, but I just adore villainous but intriguing characters. Texas Oil baron J.R. Ewing from Dallas was one of the most hated characters on television—but he was also the reason millions of people tuned in religiously for more than ten years. His cold-blooded, scheming character was originally supposed to be a small part, but he was such a hit with viewers that it wasn’t long before the whole show revolved around him. Anyone alive at the time will surely remember the angst and intrigue over the burning question: Who shot J.R.? I’ve always wanted to write one of these odious yet absorbing characters, and with my new Hardcastle Progeny series, I finally have. The three book series revolves around billionaire tycoon Tarrant Hardcastle and his attempts to find an heir for his glittering Manhattan retail empire—by tracking down the illegitimate sons he once scorned. Tarrant is not a nice guy. Click here to read the rest of the blog. Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

I love writing. I feel fortunate that I get to make my living at putting words to paper. It means that I get to indulge my love of doing what I enjoyed when I was a child, which was read every single word I could get my hands on. Now I get to read wonderful works by other authors and friends, and sometimes I feel like I have a front-row seat to the ever-changing publishing world. I see a book make a bestseller list and I think, “Wow! I met that author!” Call me perpetually star-struck because I suppose I am. I root for everybody’s careers and the state of the publishing industry because this is my team, the team that allows me to stay at home and do what I love to do most: Write, read, be a mom, a wife, a good neighbor and friend. Click Here To Read More Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Many years ago in my distant past, when I was still living on the southeast coast of England, I spent four memorable summers working for my mother in her small seaside hotel. I laid, waited on and cleared dining tables, cleaned rooms, welcomed guests and hauled heavy luggage up two flights of stairs since we had no elevator. It was hard physical work and long hours, made even longer by my mother’s insistence that I entertain the guests on the piano when all the chores were finally done. All I received for my pains were room and board, and tips that were few and far between. A poor return for the efforts I put in. At least, that’s how it seemed at the time, when I was stumbling exhausted to my bed, only to rise a few hours later and do it all over again. Looking back on that experience much later in my life, I realized it had given me so much more. I made some wonderful friends, met some bizarre characters, and had adventures that would have made my mother’s hair curl if she had ever found out. Life back then was unpredictable, exciting and fun!More than twenty…

Trapped in the past for nearly two years, I have written four historicals in a row! I much prefer to mix in Contemporary Romantic Suspense, but contract obligations made it impossible. The good news is, when you are writing in a certain time period, you begin to get a feel for that period. Mostly, my historicals have been set in the Regency Period, but a few years ago, I got an itch to move on, and so I set The Heart Trilogy: HEART OF HONOR, HEART OF FIRE, and just released, HEART OF COURAGE, in London in the 1850’s. The books are all set around the London ladies’ gazette, Heart to Heart. I chose the period because it was a time when women were beginning to be involved in activities outside the home. They worked, they owned businesses, they were becoming more outspoken. I thought this time would give me an opportunity to explore a broader range of stories and I think it has. Currently I am immersed in The Bride’s Trilogy, books about three brothers, also set in the Victorian period. The first, ROYAL’S BRIDE, will be out next September. In the meantime, I hope you will watch for…

I’ve been working on Wolf Tales IX for the past couple of months which, counting the novellas in anthologies, is the seventeenth title in my erotic tales of the Chanku. It’s due for release in January 2010. I remember wondering when I signed the contracts for the third set of novels and novellas if I’d ever get them all written. Now, all of a sudden, the stories I’m contracted for are almost done and I’m waiting to hear from my publisher about plans for more of the series. Characters who were new to me less than four years ago have now become old friends. I know their secrets, their loves, their needs and their fears. I wonder what the future holds in store for them, and I worry about them as if they’re real flesh-and-blood people who matter to me in the way of those I love in real life. I’m either desperately in need of a good therapist, or totally involved in my imaginary world…and I’m hoping it’s the latter, because it’s such a great world to hang out in. For one thing, it’s filled with fascinating (to me, anyway!) characters with a strong sense of family and a…

My fourth Annie Seymour mystery, SHOT GIRL, came out on Election Day. So far, reviews and comments from readers have been good. All are saying it’s the best in the series. It was the hardest one to write. I decided to do something different with SHOT GIRL. With each book, I embrace a different style. My first book was a traditional mystery, the second is what I call my Mafia book, and the third is much more fast paced and thriller like. In SHOT GIRL, Annie is an unreliable narrator. I had a friend express surprise that I would do this in the fourth — and last — book in the series. Wasn’t it a risk? she asked. Sure it was, but I wanted to see if I could do it, if I could pull it off. When I’d started writing the book, I’d just finished reading Scott Turow‘s PRESUMED INNOCENT, in which he masterfully portrayed an unreliable narrator. Could I do that with Annie? I thought. It was worth a shot. My goal was to have the reader ask throughout the book: Is Annie telling me the truth? What is she keeping secret? I know she’s not telling me…

Are you one of those people who tend to crack a joke when you’re in trouble? Is it because fear brings out the urge to laugh, or is it that laughter helps us get though the worst of times? And maybe it depends on who’s in it with you. Like a good buddy you can count on to watch your back. Our heroine, Brooklyn sex therapist Saylor Oz, and her sidekick, Benita Morales, are buddies who race through crime adventures bickering and bantering, sometimes blaming, and always forgiving. Kind of like our marriage. Being a husband-wife team writing under one pseudonym, we sometimes feel like we’re living a reality TV buddy movie. Aside from combining our opposite qualities — a guy who loves boxing and a woman who loves perfume — we use the roller coaster dynamics of a relationship between two strong-willed people to help shape the fun and exciting relationship of our characters. Not that we’ve ever been given a deadly ultimatum by a hit man called “The Monster.” Or that we’d go poking into dangerous situations. Like Saylor does, only to find herself knee-deep in trouble against some slimy, nasty dudes. But we love combining a gritty,…