Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Roni! Please introduce yourself and tell us about the fourth book in The Ones that Got Away series, THE ONE FOR YOU. Hi there! Thanks for having me back. J I’m Roni Loren, and I write contemporary romance and erotic romance. My latest book The One For You is the final book in a four-book series about survivors of a school shooting. (You don’t have to have read the previous ones. You can jump in wherever.) The series follows these characters a decade later as they come to terms with what happened, heal, and find love. This new book focuses on one of my favorite characters of the whole series, Kincaid Breslin. She has been the feisty, upbeat, tell-it-like-it-is friend to the other three women featured in the previous books, and now it’s finally her turn to find love. She think she lost the love of her life and her only chance at a happy relationship in the tragedy, but when her wry, bookish (and estranged) best friend from high school, Ashton Isaacs, comes back to town, she’s in for a big surprise. All of the books in this series deal with the aftermath of a tragic…

Welcome back to Fresh Fiction, Jennie! Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book, WISH UPON A COWBOY? Sure! Thanks for having me! And I’m super proud of this book! It’s fun, sweet, sexy, and will make you laugh and cry! It’s the fourth book in my hockey-playing Cowboys of Creedence series. Logan and Harper’s story is about a mother who is fighting to get back her son and a rancher who is trying to save his ranch, and how they help each other to accomplish both. It has a hot cowboy, a sassy heroine, an adorable eight-year-old boy, a marshmallow-eating cow, a feisty kitten, and a Christmas miracle at its heart. It received a STARRED Review from Booklist calling it a “smart and delicious romance” and Publishers Weekly claims “Able plotting, red-hot sex, and a large dollop of sweetness make this holiday charmer ideal all year round.” It’s a perfect romance-reading treat to give yourself for the holidays! Harper Evans has just gotten out of jail, but she lost custody of her son to the mother of her deceased husband. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her son back, and that means finding…

I have had a love affair with American History, especially America’s “Old West” nearly all my life, probably because I grew up on TV westerns like Gunsmoke and old western movies starring Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. But I truly believe there is a part of me who, in another life, lived in the west, either as an Indian or a pioneer woman. My top five reasons for loving the West would be: The magnificent landscapes The phenomenal growth of our frontier The rugged pioneers The fact that men set their own laws, sometimes “on the spot” The respect and admiration most men of the West had for the pioneer women who dared to join them in a savage land And a sixth. . . complete strangers often ended up marrying out of need and loneliness, which is what my book is about. Excerpt: August 1869 Kate ducked into the tall grass as soon as she heard men’s voices. She slowly crawled to get close enough to listen, then parted the dense, yellow blades to see five rough-looking men gathered around a lonely, half-dead cottonwood tree. One of the men raised up in his stirrups and flung a rope over…

As a romantic suspense author, I’ve heard and read complaints that romance authors create unrealistic expectations in our heroes. I beg to differ. My female and male heroes very much reflect my experiences in real life. They reflect people I know and love, including my husband. In fact, my perfect hero is much like the people in your everyday life, in all of our lives, struggling to be better and sometimes actually being their best selves. Keeping that in mind, here is my list of 4 perfect hero attributes. Funny–Have a good sense of humor or at least don’t take themselves so seriously. Though I’ve read and enjoyed books in which the blank-faced hero has no sense of humor, I’m a sucker for a funny and light-hearted hero or even a dry and witty hero. My husband has a very dry and witty sense of humor. He delivers his jokes straight, so there is often a processing pause to register the joke and then the burst of uncontrolled laughter. In the second novel of my Black Ops Confidential series, THE PRICE OF GRACE, there is a lot of tension and suspense, but also humor. Starting with Gracie when she’s hidden…

When I was asked to write a blog about my favorite Disney movies and characters, I was thrilled. I mean, I love blogging about my books and which actors I envision for different characters in them. But getting a chance to dish about Disney, aka the Happiest Place on Earth? Who wouldn’t want to do that? I first fell in love with Disney when I was little and absolutely adored watching The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights. Obviously there’s a lot going on there with the happy memories from that time, sitting on the couch with my mom and dad as Tinker Bell did her arc over the top of the castle before each show started. Just thinking about it now makes me smile. I went to Walt Disney World with my parents when I was in high school, but it didn’t become an obsession until hubby and I went there on our honeymoon. Yeah, some people head to an exotic island for their honeymoon, but hubby and I went to Disney! See, he’d never even seen a Disney movie until I introduced him to The Little Mermaid. He’d never admit it, but I think he was hooked…

Dr. Aaron Samuels visits the rainforest to find a cure for heart disease. Never expecting to meet a beautiful mysterious woman, talking to a frog. As an empty-nester, he recognizes a lonely soul when he sees one, but he never expects she’s Mother Nature herself! Pouting on a log in the El Yunque rain forest, Gaia picked up a coqui. Placing him gently on her open palm, she brought the tiny tree frog level with her face. “Why can’t my sisters, paranormals, and humans be more like you, coqui? All you want to do is climb leaves, eat bugs, and chirp your cute little song. Although, granted, when a bunch of you get together, you can make quite a loud racket.” The coqui just stared at her. At least he seemed to be paying attention. “You see? You’re a wonderful listener. That’s all I want. . . just someone to listen. If my sister thinks I’m a bitch, maybe it’s because no one listens to me.” “I’ll listen to you,” a low male voice said. Gaia bolted upright without turning around. “Was that you, coqui?” A chuckle sounded from behind her. “No, I’m not your frog, but maybe I’m your…

Can you believe Christmas is right around the corner? To celebrate, we asked the authors of our 2019 Christmas titles to answer some fun, wintry and Christmas themed questions! Fall in love this Christmas and be sure to read: Longing for a Cowboy Christmas by Leigh Greenwood, Rosanne Bittner, Linda Broday, Margaret Brownley, Anna Schmidt, and Amy Sandas Wish Upon a Cowboy by Jennie Marts Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kissby Kim Redford Cowboy Christmas Homecoming by June Faver A Dash of Christmas by Samantha Chase Puppy Christmas by Lucy Gilmore Silver Town Wolf: Home for the Holidays by Terry Spear Keep reading to get in the Christmas spirit and check out the books over at Romance Reads! *** What’s the best part about writing a Christmas book? Rosanne Bittner:       The best part about writing a Christmas story is that it takes me into that “miracle” mood that seems to be a part of the Christmas holiday. I always try to include some kind of little miracle in my stories. In last year’s anthology, Christmas In A Cowboy’s Arms, my story miracle was the healed awakening of an unconscious little girl. This year, in Longing for A Cowboy Christmas, my miracle surrounds…

The Reluctant Rake – excerpt Sir Richard Beckwith emerged from his elegant town house on a chilly spring evening wearing a black silk domino over his dark gray pantaloons and long-tailed coat of dark blue superfine. Any one of his friends would have been astonished to see him in this guise, still more to see him out of evening dress at nine o’clock. Had they known that a pocket of the domino held a black mask, they would have been dumbfounded. None of Sir Richard’s exclusive circle was likely to see him tonight, however. When he hailed a hackney cab and climbed in, he directed it to a part of London little frequented by the haut ton. If certain of its men from time to time made their way through these unsavory streets, they did not mention such excursions in polite society. A cold mist rose from the greasy cobblestones, enlivened here and there by hoarse laughter and singing as the hack rattled past some gin mill or bawdy house. One victim of blue ruin went so far as to grab for the cab, hoping to jerk its occupant into an alleyway and fleece him. He missed his target, however,…

Holiday movies and books are uplifting, heartwarming, and absolutely irresistible. Here are several of my favorites, so light a cozy fire, grab a large blanket for two, and snuggle up with one of these romantic holiday treats. Nancy Meyers’ romantic comedy The Holiday stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. After romantic disappointments, Englishwoman Iris (Winslet) and Los Angeles woman Amanda (Diaz) meet on-line at a website that helps people exchange houses. They decide to switch homes for the holidays. Both women discover a fresh look at life and love in this fun and funny switcheroo. The Christmas Spirit by Elisabeth Fairchild is a perennial favorite of readers. I particularly enjoy getting lost in this story of holiday love. In Regency England, Lord Copeland’s Christmas invitations promise a frolicking fortnight imbued with Christmas spirits of every kind. Unfortunately, icy roads complicate the arrival of his guests, except the one person he did not invite. Miss Belinda Walcott, a music teaching spinster, lands on his doorstep with her own hidden reasons for weaving magic into the season to revive Lord Copeland’s flagging Christmas spirit. Christmas in Connecticut stars Barbara Stanwyck as a Martha-Stewart type who writes a column with delicious recipes about…

My reading habits don’t follow a very regular course. I’ll spend an entire year reading nothing but Traditional Regencies only to spend the next six months devouring the entire Betty Neels backlist (all 134 of them, for my fellow jersey dress lovers). Then I’ll skip to sexy thrillers for a few months before losing myself in a sea of Pride and Prejudice retellings. In other words, I tend to read the same way I watch Netflix: I binge. Since it can be difficult to pick my favorites out of the so many different and varied rabbit holes I’ve plunged myself into recently, here are five that stand out as worth a second read. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin: This one came into my world during my Pride and Prejudice retellings binge, and it didn’t disappoint. I particularly adored the hero, Khalid, whose deep and quiet admiration of Ayesha perfectly captured the feelings Darcy has for Elizabeth. Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat: My love for the Captive Prince series is so strong that I re-read these books every year. They’re twisted and sexy and intricately plotted in ways my mind can’t even fathom. This time I opted for the audiobooks,…