How does a professional animal communicator end up writing romance novels? It’s a fair question, because the two interests—animal communication and romance writing—don’t seem at all related. In fact, many well-meaning people have advised me to choose one and let the other go. Their point: It’s hard enough to succeed at anything when you’re laser-focused and giving it everything you’ve got. It was entirely possible that such a divided focus would doom both ventures to failure. But I’ve always believed that my passions would provide a roadmap to the next right place. So, as I honed my skills of animal communication, I honed my writing skills too. While I built my business as an animal communicator, I wrote a how-to book about animal communication, and several novels (some that are still under the bed, taunting me like Edgar Allan Poe’s telltale heart under the floorboards). But my romance writing and animal communication skills all came together one day at a romance writer’s conference, when a writer who knew my work said, “You should pitch something to Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks. She’d love your writing.” My truth-meter went off in a big way.  I knew without a doubt that some channel…

Dakota’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?” The gold of his wolf eyes flashed. “Exactly what I should have done days ago.” Dakota inhaled a sharp breath. From the dark look in his eyes, she almost expected him to strip the belt from his jeans and use it to make the bare skin of her ass a dusky shade of pink. The thought of her bent over his knee sent an unexpected wave of heat through her core. Her mouth went dry as adrenaline coursed through her. “Blaze?” she breathed again, prompting more from his non-answer. His chaps and belt were cast aside now along with his Stetson. The shirt came next. “Showering,” he ground out. His tone was harsher, more hardened than usual. She didn’t exactly dislike it. “Exactly like you are,” he growled. “What else?” He turned on one of the showerheads in the adjacent stall block facing her. Another cloud of steam filled the room. “Here?” she nearly squeaked. “What?” he snapped. “We’re both warriors, coworkers as you put it, and I may not be as drenched as your clothes were, but we’re both covered in blood.” His shirt was on the floor now, and those large…

“That is, without question, the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.” Ruby gave a start of surprise at the unexpected voice so close behind her and jerked the leash in her hand. Predictably, the dog on the other end—­a poodle shaved and trimmed into a series of white puffs like a Q-­tip—­didn’t move. Ruby had been holding on to her for over five minutes, and she had yet to see the dog do anything but blink. Her owner had commanded her to stay, so stay was what she intended to do. “I shouldn’t say that,” the voice continued in a low, flirtatious rumble. Its owner, a tall, well-­built stranger with shoulders like a linebacker, smiled as he stepped close. “I’m not supposed to play favorites, but you’ve obviously put a lot of time and effort into this dog. What’s his name?” “Her,” she said. “It’s a girl dog.” “Well, she’s got something special, that’s for sure.” The man extended a hand, his eyes smiling down into hers. They were gorgeous eyes, so dark they were almost black and ringed with the kind of long, curling eyelashes that Ruby had regularly pasted on when she was kid. “I’m Spencer Wilson, by…

1–What is the title of your latest release? PRETTY LITTLE LION  2–What is it about? Really attractive miniature lions! Just kidding. It’s the second book in my Third Shift series, featuring various supernatural beings and humans in a post-2016 election world. This one sees lion shifter Elijah Richter, a gruff but deeply loving team leader, joining forces with celebrity influencer Meghna Saxena-Saunders, who is not exactly what she appears to be. The two must stop a would-be supervillain and deal with their sizzling attraction while other beloved Third Shift operatives grapple with problems of their own. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  It’s New York City—and even in an alternate universe where things have gotten worse for marginalized communities, it’s one of my favorite places in the world to write about. It’s a city with a heartbeat—and its heart is comprised of people from all walks of life.   4–How did your heroine surprise you?  I invented her, so I kind of knew what she was up to. Other characters in the book surprised me, because I saw angles in their arcs I hadn’t thought of before, but not her. Meghna is a badass. In many ways,…

RULES FOR HEIRESSES is the second romance novel in my Daring Dukes series with Sourcebooks Casablanca, and it features a biracial hero who is trying to find his place, along with a fearless and very stubborn heroine who tends to leap before she looks (and gets into a boatload of trouble because of it). I’ve literally been told that I’ve done that my entire life. Lol. Sometimes, it pays to pause and think before acting, and I love that both my heroine and the hero meet the people who help them grow and really appreciate who they are. This novel is set in 1864 and spans from Antigua in the Caribbean (I am a Caribbean born West Indian author, so fist bump!) to the glittering ballrooms of London. My hero, Courtland Chase who was chased away by his family, is determined to make a life for himself outside of England. When my heroine, Ravenna Huntley, crashes into his hotel, while pretending to be a man and on the run from her own obligations, two old friends come face to face…and lip to lip. Obviously, they have to marry because, gasp, they have been seen in flagrante delicto, and while they’re…

Danielle Jackson: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Roshani! We are happy to have you here! Can you give us your elevator pitch for ONCE MORE UPON A TIME?  Roshani Chokshi: ONCE MORE UPON A TIME is, perhaps, a very long epilogue to what I imagine must really happen after a happily ever after. ONCE MORE UPON A TIME was originally released as an Audible Original last summer and is now in print! Did you do anything different in your writing process when you knew it was going to be an audiobook first? What was the process like taking it into print?  Writing for something to be heard was fascinating. It makes you rethink the cadence of every sentence, the time spent on settings, the propulsion of the story, and the function of dialogue. A major thing I had to do was watch the verbs and adverbs surrounding the dialogue. Since someone would be narrating, they didn’t need me to provide tonal context…they would supply it via direction. When we got the news the story would go to print, what had been a process of subtraction meant quickly adding back in some of the tonal cues for readers. One of my favorite parts…

1–What is the title of your latest release? NICK AND NOEL’S CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST 2–What is it about? Two lifelong friends falling in love over the course of a holiday season. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The small town of Mistletoe, Idaho is set in the mountains above Fairfield. The area is gorgeous and the close-knit, mountain town backdrop always makes me feel at home because it’s a homage to the towns I grew up in. 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  Her ability to say exactly what’s on her mind with no qualms. Sometimes, I wish I had that skill. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  Nick is such a genuinely good guy and funny to boot! Who doesn’t love a good sense of humor and a heart of gold? 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  Balancing the weight of Noel’s past with the hopeful joy the holiday season brings. 7–Do you look forward to or do you dread the revision process?  I shine during edits. First drafts are torture. My version of hell is writing a first draft over and over with no input and relying…

Nash A new start. After driving a moving van fourteen hours, putting his stuff in storage, living out of a suitcase for two weeks while sleeping on his best friend Brandon’s couch, and finally finding an apartment, Nash had a home. It was the size of a shoebox…but it was a home. He closed the door and turned to survey the studio. He didn’t have much stuff—­he’d sold most of it before coming up north. The windows behind his couch overlooked Third Street. His bed was pushed up against the left corner of the apartment, a nook where the living space met the outer walls of the bathroom, creating a dedicated sleeping space. The renovated kitchen lined the right-­side wall, conspicuously smaller than any kitchen Nash had ever seen, with a door at the end for a bathroom. He remembered the nights when the electricity went out and Mom had shouting matches with the electric company about extending their payment period. Memories of his twin mattress against the carpet made him thankful for the fact that he could afford a box spring now. While the walls could have used a new coat of paint, as Brandon so kindly pointed out,…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A COWBOY CHRISTMAS LEGEND  2–What is it about? Once a former Texas Ranger, Sam Legend has retreated from family, friends–and life–and settled in the northernmost reaches of the Texas Panhandle. He’s unable to come to terms over the loss of his young wife and throws himself into a new venture of forging knives. All he wants is to be left alone and forget all about any happy celebration, most of all Christmas. But Cheyenne Ronan refuses to let him. She sees his wounded soul and is driven to try to help him. Christmas is no time to be alone, wallowing in misery. Beneath his long hair and unkept appearance is a man worth saving and she’s just the woman to do that. But she has secrets of her own. As Christmas approaches, they have to work together to put another broken family back together and find Christmas is filled with miracles and unexpected love. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The starkness of the Panhandle with it’s harsh winters and heavy snows seemed the perfect place for a man to disappear into. It has high mesas, sweeping vistas, and is filled with deep ravines and gullies. I lived there for a…

Danielle: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Ann! We’re so excited to chat with you today. Can you call us a bit about your new book WITCH PLEASE?   Ann: WITCH PLEASE is a delicious cupcake of a book. It’s just enough to heat, sweet and lovely, with a bit of creamy goodness to make it go down smooth. But if you want more story details, I’d say it’s a forbidden love romance with lots of sisterhood, family complications, and tons of heart and humor. I adore that your heroine, Danica, works as a magical tech “fixer!” What are some of the magical “rules” you have in place in your story that readers should know about?  Magic is low-key in this world. There are no demons being summoned or fireballs being cast. Think along the lines of charms and hexes, illusions, repair work. It’s small, subtle magic generally, though there are some powerful implications in being a tech witch. A tech witch could make a machine malfunction at the wrong time, which would be incredibly dangerous. In terms of rules, mundanes can’t know about the existence of witches due to earlier witch hunts. It’s to keep witches safe from persecution but it…