“Aiden, are you okay?” Janie’s soft voice—the hesitation, the worry— hung over him, hovering, beckoning him to let her into this dark place until she filled it with light. But he couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t risk losing her. He couldn’t let her see who he really was. He couldn’t scare her. But God, he wanted her. He wanted her softness, her compassion, her heart—all of her. “I’m fine. Wait for me outside,” he bit out, hating the harshness in his voice. His heart throbbed painfully in his chest as he waited to hear her footsteps leaving. Janie didn’t leave. Instead she knelt down beside him and placed a hand over one of his, which were still holding on to that box like it was his last hope. Until the sight—the feel of her softer, smaller hand on his, gripping him—pulled him back from an edge he hadn’t visited in so long. “Hey, it’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay, Aiden.” She turned to him, her other hand going to the scarred side of his face. The side he hated. He forced himself to meet her eyes and searched for signs of disgust, because he knew she could…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Victoria James! Writes: Snowed in with the Firefighter: When Melanie travels to her sister’s remote cabin in Montana to escape the holidays, she doesn’t expect to walk in on her brother-in-law who is also escaping family. They figure out their families are trying to play matchmaker, they decide they’ll play along. Except these two opposites find themselves falling for each other for real! About:  Holiday-movie-loving, sweet romance author looking for readers who love escaping the big city for heartwarming stories featuring wounded characters with big hearts, and happily-ever-afters, guaranteed. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: Must love warm and cozy cabins in the middle of the nowhere Must be okay with roads not getting ploughed for days after a big blizzard Must love opposites attract with two very stubborn characters Must love a heroine who’s a perfectionist on the outside and vulnerable on the inside-but who figures out the hero is worth the risk-in the nick of time! Must love a hero who’s wounded…

I’m writing this post as the back door swings open for the tenth time in about three minutes. Kids are in and out. Forgetting gloves, hats, and soccer balls. The husband is on speakerphone in the other room on a work call. My elderly parents are calling with another item to add to the grocery list and I’m…staring at the word count goal on my writing calendar-and realize I’m thousands of words behind on my current work in progress. And I’m tempted to check for a news update. Time to take a deep breath and remember that it’s all going to be okay. The most important thing is that we’re all okay. But despite being grateful for SO many things, how does a person go about clearing all their worries and find the ability to be creative? Trial and error. I don’t think that there is one right answer for anyone and it may even change from day to day. I think that’s key though-be flexible. Here are five things that are working for me right now: Waking up before my kids. I always liked doing this, but now that we’re all home together it’s even more important. It’s UNINTERRUPTED…

Thank you so much for having me back to Fresh Fiction! How much do I love Fall? I love it as much as my heroine, in The Boyfriend Contact, Emily Birmingham does. . . bring on pumpkin spice everything! I was married in the fall, both of my children were born in the fall (okay, we didn’t actually plan to have two kids in the fall, but still), and my current book release is in the fall. A few years ago my husband, kids, cat, and I moved from the city to a small town on the shores of Lake Erie, in Canada. It has been an adventure and a huge learning experience! Who knew driving only an hour and a half from the city would be like an entirely different world. Here are my top five favorite things to do in the fall now that we live in the country: 1) The County Fair-okay we get a real kick out of this every year. We must really look like city people as we walk through the various displays and barns filled with animals and pumpkins waiting to be judged and ooh and aah. 2) The foliage-it is truly as…

Hi! I’m so happy to be back here, blogging at Fresh Fiction! This is release week for my book, THE DOCTOR’S FAKE FIANCEE. I probably had the most fun with the hero in this book, Evan. He was also the most different of all my heroes. He’s a guy who’s always had to excel, skipped ahead in school, and had it instilled in him that he needed to be the best. He’s a guy who’s SO intelligent. But he’s actually the most emotionally unaware hero I’ve ever written, so I had a blast torturing him into self-awareness. I brought the poor guy to his knees by the end of the book, as it FINALLY dawned on him what was most important in his life. So while I enjoy reading and writing about all different kind of heroes, there are certain traits they must all have-or acquire-by the end of the book. Here’s my list (in no particular order). 10. Honor. Even if a guy is a grump at the beginning of the book, he needs a code of honor. If he doesn’t have one, he just doesn’t interest me and I’ve lost respect for him. 9. Ambition. He doesn’t have…

Ach! I’ve always loved cowboys! Growing up, I have vivid memories of my father watching endless Clint Eastwood westerns. Clint was my kind of cowboy-strong, silent, handsome. In romances, the cowboy is a long-standing beloved hero archetype. Here’s my top ten list for must-have character traits for any cowboy hero I write (in no particular order): Hardworking Strong Loyal Brave A Protector Stubborn Rugged Confident Loving Tender Obviously he can’t be all those things with all people, but those are integral to the man that he is. In my new release, THE RANCHER’S SECOND CHANCE, Cole Forrester is a strong man with a very tender side. He’s a widower and he’s closed himself off to finding love again. In comes Melanie Simms, city girl and good friend to his little sister. Melanie is a woman who has it all together on the outside, but she’s running from a past that continues to haunt her. She’s been hurt before and has a hard time with trust. She unknowingly brings out Cole’s protective, caring side and soon they are unable to fight the pull they feel. Both these characters are so real and are dealing with the kind of pain that many…