If you could spend a week with one character from THE DEADLY HOURS, who would it be and why? Susanna Kearsley: I think I’d probably choose Captain del Rio from my own story, who first walked into an earlier novel—A Desperate Fortune–and unexpectedly became one of my favorite side characters, determined to outwit and upstage everyone else in his scenes. I think spending a week with him would be tremendous fun, if not always good for my health. CS Harris: I’d probably say Jude Lowe, the World War II RAF fighter pilot from Siren’s Call. When I was growing up, we had several good family friends who used to tell us their experiences as German generals in WWII, fighting in Europe and North Africa (my dad was in Air Force intelligence). So it would be fascinated to hear Jude talk about fighting those same battles but from the other side. Anna Lee Huber: Susanna knows I’ve had a soft spot for Edmund ever since I read The Firebird, so probably him. I mean, I am named Anna (the same as his wife), so maybe it’s a given. Christine Trent: Ever since reading Anna’s The Anatomist’s Wife, I’ve always had a crush…

I don’t have to convince anyone that these are strange times. On the one hand, book review websites like Fresh Fiction can function as normal–I already work from home! I can access review copies digitally! The internet never sleeps!–but on the other, I’m barraged with news notifications, mortified at the misinformation being shared as fact, and I’m just all around distracted and worried.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve found comfort in books. Everywhere I went, I had at least one book, often more, with me. Now I can carry many books around, be it a small paperback, on my eReader, or on my phone. I find when I’m anxious or worked up over something – and let’s face it, there’s a lot to be worried about right – I turn to books for solace and peace of mind. My favorite way to do this is through re-reading. Sometimes full books, sometimes just a scene or two, but going back to the books and authors that make me happy has been a surefire way to calm me down, cheer me up, and let my mind escape. Here are some of my favorite re-reads and why: Born in Fire…

Welcome Fresh Fiction reviewer and Blog Coordinator, Danielle Dresser, sharing the books she’s thankful for… Stay tuned for more articles from our reviewers in the near future! I’ve always been a big reader. Anyone in my family will tell you that while I was growing up, we could be a block or two away from our house, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you how to get home because if I had a free moment – in the car after soccer practice, on the way to school, running errands with my parents – I was reading, and oblivious to everything around me if I was invested in a good book. So you can imagine, later this week when we’re sitting around Thanksgiving dinner and everyone is reflecting on the things we’re thankful for, I will definitely be saying books! Here are a few books I’m thankful for (from an ever-changing and ever-expanding list), and why they mean so much to me. Born in Fire by Nora Roberts This was one of the first romance novels my mom every recommended to me. My mom reads everything from medical journals to the latest bestsellers to the romance novels that line the…

December 2010 On Sale: December 1, 2010 Featuring: Carrie McClelland 576 pages ISBN: 1402241372 EAN: 9781402241376 Paperback $16.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical, Romance Paranormal Buy at Amazon.com Romantic Times winner for Historical Fiction The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley When she can no longer tell the difference between today and centuries ago, he\’s the only one who can reveal the secrets of time… History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors, and starts to write. But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory…making her the only living person who can know the truth of what did happen all those years ago – a tale of love and loyalty…and ultimate betrayal. An exciting mystery filled with love, loyalty and the ultimate betrayal. Previous Picks

In his memoir, I WANTED TO WRITE, Kenneth Roberts, famous for his bestselling historical novels of the American northeast, pointed out (quite rightly) that: “Historians have a great advantage over a novelist in that they can state a supposed fact without explaining it…An historian can announce that a hitherto unmentioned Indian suddenly appeared in the ranks of a lost and bewildered [army] detachment and guided it to safety; he is not required to explain how the Indian got there, or who he was, or why he hadn’t acted as a guide before the detachment was lost. The novelist can’t be so mysterious. “An historian can state that an army has provisions for only fifteen days; then coolly permit that army to exist for twice that length of time without explaining the miracle. A novelist must find out how the army escaped starvation, and explain it to the complete satisfaction of the reader. Otherwise his story doesn’t, as the saying goes, hold water. Each omission is a hole in his tale. Most histories are filled with holes and leak like sieves.” Filling these holes can be one of the greatest challenges I face when writing a book like THE WINTER SEA,…