Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Marie! Please tell us about yourself and your new book, THE KISSING GAME! Hi there! I’m a NYT and USA Today bestselling romance author of over 100 books. I write contemporary, paranormal, and romantic suspense, all with a bit of heat and humor. And I live in Central Oregon with two growing teens, a dog and a cat (who thinks he’s a dog). The Kissing Game is a standalone romance centered around Valentine’s Day. It’s also a book I’ve been dying to write for YEARS. The heroine is a romance book lover; the hero is a tall Viking-like hunk who has a big heart but isn’t great at showing it. They are perfect for each other! The story has the hero doing his best to win the heroine by Valentine’s Day with some. . . interesting. . . presents. Tell us more about the heroine of THE KISSING GAME, Rena Jackson. Fans of your books know that she was actually introduced a few years ago. . . what sparked her having a book of her own? Rena Jackson was first introduced as the romance book-loving cousin of the heroine from What to Do with a…

I can’t exactly remember when and where my fascination with dogs started–but it wasn’t because I grew up with dogs. My mother’s dad raised Border Collies that he trained to herd sheep–they weren’t pets, and she had no desire to have the stinky dirty beasts in the house. And then my little brother developed allergies to dogs (and cats, and chocolate, and just about everything else you can imagine), so the first pet I was allowed to own was a turtle that I named Paddlefoot. My love of dogs must have started with books and movies. The first dog I remember knowing about was Lassie, the transgender wonder dog (you might remember that Lassie was always played by a male dog. Anybody know why?). But she/he was a little too perfect to be my first dog crush. That flowing coat, though. She/he was totally the Fabio of dogs, wasn’t she/he? I really fell in love with dogs from reading The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. Yes, it was an actual book before ‘ol Walt made it into a movie. I read and re-read the book almost as often as I read Charlotte’s Web (but I didn’t cry since…

“I may look like a monster, but I’m not going to hurt you.” Her reluctance offended him more than he cared to admit. His reputation painted him in a grim light–and for good reason–and he knew that side of his face was hideous, deformed, but he’d just risked his life for her, saved her. . . and with them alone in his room like this, the thought of when he’d kissed her inside that godforsaken closet haunted him. He’d kissed her so thoroughly that the feel of her against him was forever seared into him. And then he’d told her it meant nothing to him. What a load of horseshit. “It’s not that. I was afraid I’ll hurt you.” She reached for him again. This time, she didn’t shy away. With gentle movements, she cupped his cheek and used a handkerchief to wipe away the fresh blood. Her touch was gentle, tender. Some of the nerve endings on that side were damaged, making it less sensitive, yet he was aware of her every movement. Rogue could count the number of times someone had touched him there on less than one hand. The stroking movements of her palm and handkerchief as…

1–What’s the name of your latest release? THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE’S SECRET 2–What is it about? An outlaw with a large bounty on his head becomes sole guardian of twin nephews and a niece. He quickly sends for a mail order bride to help with the kids only she’s come looking to find his loot and facilitate his arrest. 3–What word best describes your heroine? Desperate 4–What makes your hero irresistible? The love he shows these kids who have no one else. 5–Who are the people your main characters turn to when they need help? Friends in the outlaw town of Hope’s Crossing. 6–What do you love about the setting of your book? It’s wild and desolate—the perfect place for outlaws 7–Are you a plotter or a pantster? I’m a true panster. I don’t outline at all and want my story to unfold through the characters as I go and not through any preconceived plan. 8–What is an ideal writing day for you? An ideal day is when the story flows through my fingertips and I can easily get 5k words. 9–Do you listen to music while you write, need total silence, or have the TV on? I need total…

Even poodles didn’t have an endless enthusiasm for dog parks. Now on their fifth stop of the day, Caleb and Riley sank onto a dog bone shaped bench in Hollywood, Florida’s recently renovated Hollywoof park and surveyed the weaving poles, the separate sections for large and small dogs, and the mushroom like platforms at different heights for what Caleb could only guess was for doggy step classes. LouLou didn’t stray too far from them, exhausted from a frenzy of running at Snyder Park when she’d spotted turtles in the lake. She hadn’t gone in after them, but she’d run the shore in anxious back-and-forths until Riley’d finally scooped her up and hosed her off. He’d watched as Riley added hoses to her dog park wish list. He noticed that she didn’t add lake or turtles. She’d been awfully worried that LouLou would catch a turtle, even though the poodle was never closer to one than ten feet. “What would you even do with a turtle, LouLou?” she’d asked while hosing mud out of her curly coat. LouLou’s response had been enthusiastic tail whumping and a roll in the soft grass as soon as Riley loosened her hold on the dog….

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Adriana! Please tell us about your new series, Survival Instincts, and the first book, WHITEOUT. Thank you so much for having me! It’s a pleasure, as always! My new Romantic Suspense series, Survival Instincts, pits my heroines and heroes against nature and a group of big baddies who want to change the face of the planet. I’m calling the subgenre Survival Romance, because each book follows a specific couple into extreme run or die situations. WHITEOUT, the first in the series takes us to Antarctica, at the cusp of the long, dark winter.  Angel Smith is a chef at a research facility in Antarctica – and she has her own reasons for finding a job at the edge of the world – but aside from dealing with the cold temps, she doesn’t think her job will be all that difficult. . .  until she finds herself on the run across the frozen landscape from a killer. Tell us more about Angel’s character development, and how she deals with this intense situation! From the start, Angel is a strong person, both mentally and physically–she’s a woman who climbed the ladder and held her own as a chef in…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-ReaderMatch” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Pat Simmons!  Writes: Lean on Me is an inspirational romantic women’s fiction. A mouthful, but if you’re attracted to any or all of those genres, Lean on Me is a perfect match. A good story never ends. In this novel, I tackle the unpredictability in the life of a caregiver and despite all the obstacles in the path, love will always find shortcuts. About: I seldom get lonely because I know how to entertain myself with my one-woman comedy show. If we’re just meeting, a conversation starter would be about disclosing secrets uncovered in our family trees. You would have my undivided attention for hours that I might forget to eat, breathe and sleep. If you rather keep family secrets buried, a train, car or plane ride to a fabric store would win me over. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: · Hopeless romantic craving a steak dinner romance versus a picnic in the park love story · Someone who…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Asa! Please tell us about your Viking Warriors series and its latest novel, LOKI ASCENDING. I’m super happy to be here! Thank you for having me again! The immortal Vikings and Valkyries in the Viking Warriors series have been sent back to contemporary Midgard–the human realm–by Odin and Freya in order to thwart Loki’s evil schemes and defeat the wolverine-human hybrid monsters he has sent to Midgard. The Norse warriors are supposed to stay undetected by the human population but one-by-one, book-by-book, they meet a mortal and fall in love with them. Loki Ascending is the third book in my Viking Warrior series–although each book can be read as a standalone–and fans of the series will recognize the hero, Scott, and the heroine, Irja, from earlier books. Irja is an immortal Valkyrie and the healer of the Norse men and women. She puts all her self-worth into how well she serves her fellow warriors. Although she’s been attracted to Scott for some time, she doesn’t think herself worthy of him since he is her queen’s younger brother. Also, history has taught her that bad things happen to people she loves. Scott also has a chip on his…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Cindi! Please tell us a little bit about your latest novel, A COWBOY NEVER QUITS. A Cowboy Never Quits is about the Dawsons, who run a rehab ranch for teens, and a single mom who had a daughter at sixteen. Jess and her daughter have always been close, but they’ve been drifting apart lately, and when Chloe lands in jail, Jess is desperate to keep her from going down her same path and get her the help she needs. Even if it involves working for slightly grumpy cowboy, Wade, and taking a cooking job she may or may not have exaggerate how qualified she is for. This is the first book in the Turn Around Ranch series. What inspired this cowboy romance series? I grew up on a cattle ranch, and I’m a big believer in the sort of therapy that comes from nature, animals, and people who genuinely care. I’m also a mother of teens, and as I’ve talked to other mothers of teens, we’ve talked about some of the issues our kids are facing, namely anxiety and depression. I liked the idea of a close mother-daughter relationship, and a mom who was scared…

The Harvey Girls, in full uniform, stood shoulder to shoulder, arms linked, at the entrance to the church. Emma was at the center of the lineup. Grace Hopkins was on her left and a woman Max didn’t recognize was on her right, all three also in uniform. Sheriff Bolton stood before them, shouting out threats to arrest the whole lot of them. Off to one side sat the bride, her face blotched with either fury or misery or both. Father O’Meara stood between McCoy, the local lawyer, and Mr. Gilmore, trying without much success to get them to lower their voices. And instead of consoling his bride, whose day had clearly been ruined, RJ stood with his arms around his mother—and his eyes fixed on Emma. Max started making his way through the crowd. “Wait, Max,” Aidan called, stopping him. “Let them alone. This just might work.” “Mr. Campbell,” Ford said, “please explain why employees of the Harvey Company are staging what appears to be a protest outside a church of all places.” “It was all their idea,” Aidan said, gesturing toward the waitresses. “Emma’s really—along with Grace and Lily, of course.” “Who’s Lily?” Max asked. Aidan pointed to the…