I freaked out more than a little bit when I first realized I could see Mt. Rainier from my neighborhood. The day has to be clear and the air quality has to be decent, but it’s totally possible to see that giant, magnificent, looming dormant volcano steps away from my back door. And without fail every time I see it, I turn into an overexcited fangirl with zero cool. I don’t know how, but that mountain finds a way to sneak up on me. I’ll be passively scanning the skyline, minding my own business, and then what’s that, a cloud? A trick of the light? Then BAM. Mountain. Just like that. My son now knows to expect cheers and a good amount of jumping when it turns out to be a “mountain day” as we’ve so creatively coined it.   Last year, I was really hoping to make it to Mt. Rainier National Park before winter set in since that’s the destination my protagonist sets out to reach in my upcoming novel, All That Fills Us. I was hoping to get a sense of what the park looked and felt like during the fall, since that is when she’s set to…

Describe the setting that LETTERS TO SINGAPORE takes place for me. LETTERS TO SINGAPORE takes place in Calgary, Canada and Singapore. The protagonist Simran is a new international student at the University of Calgary. Bewildered and alone, she arrives in Calgary (the West) from Singapore (the East). Simran sends letters that go back and forth to 4 women in Singapore. She learns about surviving in a new city, new country and new “everything,” so place becomes a metaphor for transformation and reinvention for Simran.   Does this story draw on personal experience at all? What inspired you to write this book? I was inspired to write this novel when I was accepted into a four-month writing program by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and Alexandra’s Writers’ Centre in 2019. I was excited and inspired, especially when I found out that my mentor was the marvelous Aritha van Herk. Thrilled and nervous, I finished this novel in 100 days. There are some parts of the novel that draw on personal experiences – one is the skiing adventure. Other parts are the strokes of creative fiction that I enjoyed incorporating as I delved into developing the stories. I enjoyed engaging in the intricacies…

Back in Blessings, Carlie was letting Miss Ruby help her out of the bathtub and into her pajamas. Miss Ruby was doing everything right, just like Mama did, but after a day of fear and grief, the adrenaline crash was inevitable, and so was another round of tears. It was becoming obvious that Mama wasn’t going to be there to tuck Carlie into bed or read her a story. She wasn’t going to be the one to come running in the middle of the night if Carlie had a bad dream or to snuggle in beside her when it stormed. Ruby saw the meltdown coming. Carlie’s eyes were shimmering with unshed tears as Ruby pulled the top of her pajamas down over Carlie’s head. Carlie thrust her little arms through the sleeves, then put them around Ruby’s neck and laid her head on Ruby’s shoulder. “I know, I know. It’s all different and so sad. I saw you have books on your bed table. Do you want me to read to you until you fall asleep?” Carlie nodded. “Are you afraid to be in the room alone?” Ruby asked. Carlie shrugged. Ruby sighed. “Okay, we’ll just play this by ear….

SCARLET CARNATION is set in early twentieth-century America. What made you decide to choose this period? After writing MUSTARD SEED, the companion to YELLOW CROCUS, I got the idea in my head that I would return to the descendants of these characters every twenty years or so until I got to the 2000s. SCARLET CARNATION is the fourth in the series. I enjoy starting a novel with the constraint of knowing a rough period and the main character(s) and then researching the geographical and social setting shaping their current lives. The thematic through line in all of my novels is “How does the American caste system harm my characters and how do my characters create beautiful, faith-filled and open-hearted lives despite disappointments, while challenging the oppressive structures they were born into.”   How much historical research did you do for your books? Are you a history buff? I do a lot of research. My favorite way to learn about the era is to read the newspapers from that time. Newspapers.com is by best friend. While I also read non-fiction books for my research, I prefer the raw, happening in the moment information that I get in the newspaper. I’m fascinated by…

Jen: What inspired your new release, THE TOBACCO WIVES? Adele: As a young girl growing up in North Carolina, I was fascinated by my grandmother’s stories about the women she called the tobacco wives. She was a hairdresser for the wives of the wealthiest, most powerful tobacco magnates in Winston-Salem, NC in the 1940s, and tales of these wealthy, glamorous women captured my imagination.   Jen: What’s the most fascinating thing you learned while researching the book? Adele: Insights into what life was like for tobacco workers was fascinating, and pretty disturbing. One example is that the field workers suffered from a condition called “the green monster.” When they tended to and picked wet tobacco leaves, nicotine seeped into their skin, giving them tobacco poisoning. I had no idea about this condition. Factory conditions and practices were also a shocker to me.    Jen: What brings Maddie Sykes to Bright Leaf, North Carolina? Adele: When Maddie’s father is killed in WWII, her mother has a breakdown. She doesn’t know how she’ll support herself and her daughter and decides to take Maddie to her Aunt Etta’s house in the tobacco capital of the South. Aunt Etta is a professional seamstress in the…

Jennifer Vido: How did your admiration for The Great Gatsby inspire your new release, BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FOOLS?    Jillian Cantor: I’ve long been a fan of The Great Gatsby as a reader, but I’ve also always felt there was more to the women’s stories beneath the surface. Daisy says in the original that the best thing a girl can be is “a beautiful little fool.” But I always felt certain she was so much more than that! My novel explores Daisy’s story, as well as Jordan’s, Myrtle’s, and Myrtle’s sister, Catherine’s. What happens during the investigation of Jay Gatsby’s death that sends the police in a tailspin? In the original novel, Jay Gatsby is murdered, and George Wilson is found shot dead nearby, and the police wrap up the case as a murder-suicide. In my novel, one detective finds a diamond hairpin in the bushes by Jay Gatsby’s pool, and that leads him to start looking closer at the women in Gatsby’s orbit. Let’s talk about the three suspects, starting with Daisy Buchanan. How is she connected to the murder victim? Well, as we know from the original novel, Daisy and Jay met and dated in 1917 in Louisville, where…

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 you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Caridad Pineiro! Writes: Meet THE FAMILY SHE NEVER MET, a romance with a strong women’s fiction element. About: Caridad likes to write all kinds of stories, from paranormal to romantic suspense to contemporary romance. She loves the challenge of creating characters who readers will fall in love with. What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: If you’re looking for a story with a strong romance, an emotional story about women overcoming the past to build the future, with a Miami vibe, THE FAMILY SHE NEVER MET is the book for you! What to expect if we’re compatible: If Caridad is your author to try, you’ll get compelling characters, an emotional story, interesting settings, good food, and a rewarding happily-ever-after. THE FAMILY SHE NEVER MET by Caridad Pineiro Jessica Russo knows nothing about her mother’s family or her Cuban culture. Every time she’s asked about it, her mother has shut down. But when the Cuban grandmother she’s never met sends her right-hand man, Luis, to…

Danielle Jackson: Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Lizzie! Congrats on the publication of YINKA, WHERE IS YOUR HUZBAND?. How does it feel to have your debut novel out in the world? Can you tell us about your journey into publishing?  Lizzie Damilola Blackburn: Thank you! It feels absolutely insane. (In a good way!) A few years back, no one, not even my other half had read YINKA, WHERE IS YOUR HUZBAND? in its entirety, so it’s kind of surreal that people, complete strangers, will now be reading it. It’s also very exciting because when I was writing YINK, I used to wander around bookstores and visualize my book on the shelves, and now, I’m a published author!  In terms of my journey to publication, it took me roughly five years. YINKA started off as a short story on a blog that I ran in 2014-15. The decision to turn it into a novel came after I met an incredible author called Jackie Ley. She felt as though the concept – a British Nigerian woman feeling the pressure to settle down – would make a brilliant novel. However, I had no formal writing experience, so I took on the challenge, blindly. As…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Radhika, and congrats on the publication of your book, 30 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MYSELF! The concept of this book is so much fun and follows a woman on a journey of self-discovery and self-love (and acceptance). Where did the inspiration for this novel begin?   It came from my own life! I went on a self-love journey a few years back, in my late twenties, after I had a break-up with the person I thought I’d marry – just like Nina does. It was a really difficult time, but I believe that it’s from the lows that we really grow and evolve, and from then on, my life completely changed for the better. I made a conscious effort to love myself, to ditch my negative self-talk for positivity, and as time went on, I realized I was suddenly thriving in my career, my personal life, and most importantly, with myself. The whole journey was so interesting and funny and hard and important all at once that I knew I wanted to write about it. I decided to turn it into a novel so I could explore a character going on a self-love journey, but also…

But it’s August!” said Carmen into the phone, putting down her book. “August! It’s almost sunny outside! I have sandals on! Ice- cream vans patrol the land! I put sunblock on last week and almost needed it! How can I possibly get my head round what you’re asking me?” “I’m just saying,” her mother’s soft voice came again, and Car-men sighed. They had the same tussle every year. “It’s just useful to know early, that’s all. And of course Sofia . . .” Carmen screwed up her face. “Yes, she’s popping out yet an-other sprog and overpopulating the world, blah blah blah, I know.” “Carmen June Hogan. Be nice.” “Come on, Mum. She’s already got three. She’s just being greedy. Anyway, I don’t know what I might be doing at Christmas. I might be going away.” Who with?” Her mother sounded skeptical. “I could meet someone between now and Christmas! And he could whisk me off to Barbados! Or LA!” Her mother smiled. “So you’re not coming home for Christmas because you’ll be in LA.” “I could be in LA.” Carmen couldn’t, she thought, be the only person in the world who was both nearly thirty and who still turned into a stroppy…