Excerpt from BEFORE YOUR MEMORY FADES, Copyright © 2022 by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Reprinted by permission of Hanover Square Press.   Summer is fleeting in Hakodate. Not long after the first leaf or two falls, Mt. Hako­date suddenly comes ablaze with the colors of autumn. During this season, a sloping street called Daisan Re­galia Rise attracts tourists in droves for its beautifully cobblestoned paving, straddled by the exotic autumn leaves of the roadside mountain ash trees, all of which creates the mood of a faraway land. Autumn had also arrived in the large window of Café Donna Donna, which overlooked Hakodate Port and vast blue sky. The red-and-gold foliage spreading across the base of that panorama filtered into the café’s atmosphere, making it feel quite romantic. Maybe that was why, seated at the counter, Nanako Matsubara was thinking, I’m seeing so many couples. Today was Sunday. With double the number of customers than usual, the café was extremely lively. However, as most were tourists, it was an open ques­tion as to how many knew this was a café where you could return to the past. Mixed in with all the couples was a gangling man in his late forties, whose features…

1–What is the title of your latest release? NEVER LEAVE ME 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? In NEVER LEAVE ME, Harrison Burlington, a brilliant scientist, is left to pick up the pieces after his friends Marian and Arthur Creighton die from comas after supposedly traveling into the past to the Middle Ages. With his power and wealth, Harrison continues the search for more holy water, with the hope of saving the woman he secretly loves, Ellen Creighton, who is dying of a genetic disease. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? It takes place in Canterbury, England, a place I’ve dreamed about visiting! 4–Would you hang out with your heroine in real life? Yes, because she’s such a positive and caring person, and we all need someone in our lives to remind us that the cup is always half full. 5–What are three words that describe your hero? Aristocratic, Intelligent, Determined 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? Miraculous healings that took place through the drinking of holy water. I’m not sure if such healings really occurred, but they are recorded all throughout Europe during different time periods. 7–Do you edit…

Forgiveness is one of the themes woven throughout the pages of my historical time-slip novel, Under the Tulip Tree. In it, Frankie, a 101-year-old former slave, tells the story of her life to Rena, a young white woman who works for the Federal Writers’ Project, a government program that employed thousands of out-of-work writers, teachers, librarians, and others during the Great Depression. As an unlikely friendship emerges between the two women, a startling revelation threatens to undo the bond of respect and admiration they’ve nurtured. Can they overcome it? The answer hinges on one word: forgiveness. Forgiveness means different things to different people, but in Under the Tulip Tree and in this article, I’m referring to the biblical definition. The original Greek word that appears in the New Testament is aphiemi, a verb with several meanings: to send away; to expire; to let go; to disregard; to give up a debt; to keep no longer. In Under the Tulip Tree, both Frankie and Rena are faced with situations that require them to forgive someone, yet forgiveness is not easy. In fact, it can be one of the hardest things we’ll ever do, especially if the offense left us traumatized. As…

Her footsteps go where no other woman has walked before. Through a doorway our heroine treads into a fracture in the universe, and empty space becomes a walkway to her destination. Stonehenge is the beginning of her journey; a renowned world is the end. And everything else between is…nothing? Science is an ingredient I really wanted to add to The Sea’s Embrace, but only as much as I could get away with in a romance novel. I managed to throw in enough to make it work, excluding a short prologue divulging the secret behind the mysterious floating orbs lighting the way. (You’ll have to read the story to find out about them.) The true science comes with time travel. I’ve always been fascinated with the Bermuda Triangle. Ever wonder why things go missing there? Did you know there’s a similar phenomenon off the coast of Japan? Some scientists believe these two locations are connected beneath the earth by a black and white hole. Though it hasn’t been proven, and has caused a bit of controversy within the scientific community, most gurus would love to believe in this fantastic theory. Think time travel. Not in a sense you can travel back…

Everyone fears the shadows of the night. No one likes walking down a deserted street after the sun goes down, not in 2008—and not in 1508. Of course, we think we’re being silly to start at every little sound we hear—when we know nothing is lying in wait for us out there in the dark. And violence and crime is on the upswing because our society has broken down—and not for any other reason….right? Welcome to the world of the Masters of Time. The Masters of Time are Highland warriors sworn to protect Innocence through the ages. They do not choose their destiny—it is chosen for them. The Masters are medieval men to the core—savage in war, ruthless in outlook, totally sexist in nature, and impossibly powerful—after all, they are descended from the old Celtic gods. And one of their greatest powers is the power to leap through time… And then along comes a very modern and independent woman… The romantic conflict is instantaneous. Imagine turning your street corner and coming face to face with the medieval hunk of all time—a Highlander who has more power than any mortal, a mandate to save the world, the knowledge he’s a cut…

Hi Everyone! First off, I’d like to thank Faye and everyone at Fresh Fiction for having me here here today. It’s such a wonderful site for readers and authors alike. Thank you!Now, onto ghosts for the holidays! Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved ghost stories. From Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge to Abbott and Costello, I’ve loved them. The quirkier, the better. At Disney World, my favorite ride was always the Haunted Mansion–especially near the end, when you ride past the tall mirrors and see a wispy spirit sitting next to you. All of those great things combined has inspired my writing, and in particular my November release, Into Thin Air. When I first began writing the book, several of the secondary characters sort of just happened, and they turned out to be some of my favorite, most endearing folk. And to have them interract with the live characters, in a very familial, ordinary way, as if it’s a natural occurrance and happens to everyone really made it fun to write. My hero, Gawan, has lived with them for centuries, and they’re more like family than anything. I wanted my heroine, Ellie, to experience the same sort of joy I…

My hands were clammy and the nervous feeling in my stomach felt like it was trying to work its way out as I dialed the numbers on the telephone. “Hello?” he answered, and I was immediately taken off guard. “I…I am sorry, I didn’t expect you to pick up the phone,” I stumbled over the words, desperately thinking about what I could say. After all, he hadn’t actually answered the phone for years; how could I have predicted that he would now! “I dreamed about you all night last night,” I decided to go for broke with an honest explanation. “And I tried to call you yesterday,” he said quietly, like the words might betray some emotion. “Most of your old numbers don’t work, but I left some messages at the one that did. I just wanted to hear your voice.” Has something like this ever happened to you? I am a firm believer in the magic of love. Whether it is the science of chemical reactions or an attachment on a spiritual level that we can’t explain, I can honestly say that it is the last true magic I see in the world I once had a friend tell…