The Fresh Fiction Podcast

Film & TV Ep. 1 | 'Parachute' (feat. Brittany Snow) & 'Loot' SSN 2 (feat. creators Alan Yang & Matthew Hubbard)

Fresh Fiction Podcast is expanding to the world of film and television! For our debut episode, Fresh Fiction's Preston Barta and James Cole Clay discuss what's happening this week at the cinema and at home on the tube. We also have filmmaker and actor interviews to share. So, pull up and chair and listen in!

This week's happenings include:

FILM

• Wicked Little Letters
• Parachute
• Monkey Man
• The Greatest Hits
• The First Omen
• Dogman
• Anyone But You 
• Drive Away Dolls

TV

• Palm Royale
• Manhunt
• The New Look
• Loot - Season 2

INTERVIEWS

This week's interviews include:

• Loot creators Alan Yang & Matthew Hubbard
• Parachute director/co-writer Brittany Snow

Delight with Jayne Ann Krentz

We talked with Jayne about the latest in her suspense series, Lost Night Files. 

The Night Island

Lost Night Files
Berkley
January 2024
On Sale: January 9, 2024
Featuring: Talia March; Luke Rand
336 pages
ISBN: 0593639855
EAN: 9780593639856
Kindle: B0C1YCHX1Q
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
Romance Suspense

 

The disappearance of a mysterious informant leads two people desperate for answers to an island of deadly deception in this new novel in the Lost Night Files trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz.

 
Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rivers, bonded by a night none of them can remember, are dedicated to uncovering the mystery of what really happened to them months ago—an experience that amplified innate psychic abilities in each of them. The women suspect they were test subjects years earlier, and that there are more people like them—all they have to do is find the list of others who took that same test. When Talia follows up on a lead from Phoebe, a fan of the trio’s podcast, she discovers that the informant has vanished.
 
Talia isn’t the only one looking for Phoebe, however. Luke Rand, a hunted and haunted man who is chasing the same list that Talia is after, also shows up at the meeting place. It’s clear he has his own agenda, and they are instantly suspicious of each other. But when a killer begins to stalk them, they realize they have to join forces to find Phoebe and the list.
 
The rocky investigation leads Talia and Luke to a rustic, remote retreat on Night Island in the Pacific Northwest, where the Unplugged Experience promises to rejuvenate guests. Upon their arrival, Talia and Luke discover they are quite literally cut off from the outside world when none of their high-tech devices work on the island. It soon becomes clear that Phoebe is not the first person to disappear into the strange gardens that surround the Unplugged Experience retreat. And then the first mysterious death occurs. . . .

Meet Katie Ruggle | Author of 'FISH OUT OF WATER'

We're buzzing with excitement to chat with Katie Ruggle about her splash hit, FISH OUT OF WATER. It's not just about romance.

Katie's not your everyday author. Imagine living off-grid in the Rockies, being a Police Academy grad, and diving in cold Colorado mountain reservoirs. Yeah, she's all that and more. We're talking horseback riding, shooting, and even Krav Maga. Katie brings this kickass energy right into her writing.

FISH OUT OF WATER
Why date a mountain man? Because he knows how to pitch a tent.

When Dahlia Weathersby's sister disappears on what should have been a simple day hike, Dahlia immediately heads deep into the Colorado Rockies to find her. Knowing she'll never survive the mountains alone, she convinces the local hermit—adorably grouchy survival expert Winston Dane—to be her guide. All it takes is a good helping of Dahlia's charm…and just the teeniest bit of blackmail…before she's got all six-foot-something of him wrapped around her finger. But even with her very own mountain man in tow, things aren't going to be easy. There are:

• Long hikes through gorgeous wilderness? Check.
• Bears? Check.
• A single shared sleeping bag? Check.
• Enough sparks to set the Rockies ablaze? Check, check, check.

With everything the wilderness has to throw at them, it'll take more than charm and some city-girl ingenuity to make this trek anything but a disaster waiting to happen…and an adventure she'll never forget.

Go behind the secrets with David McClosky

This week, we're chatting with David McCloskey, author of MOSCOW X. We had a lively conversation about espionage and mystery!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst and consultant at McKinsey & Company.

While at the CIA, he wrote regularly for the President’s Daily Brief, delivered classified testimony to Congressional oversight committees, and briefed senior White House officials, Ambassadors, military officials, and Arab royalty.

He worked in CIA field stations across the Middle East throughout the Arab Awakening and conducted a rotation in the Counterterrorism Center focused on the jihad in Syria and Iraq.

David holds an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. He lives in Texas with his wife and three children.

Meet the hilarious and knowledgeable Dakota Cassidy

This week, we're chatting with Dakota Cassidy, author of JINGLE ALL THE SLAY. 

Evening Rundown (all times CT):

7:00 pm - informal chitchat and icebreaker with readers

7:30 pm - Interview with Dakota Cassidy (recorded live)

8:00 pm - Unrecorded Q&A with readers

8:30 pm - Reader after party

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

USA Today Bestselling author Dakota Cassidy lives for a good laugh in life and in her writing. In fact, she almost loves a good giggle as much as she loves hair products and that's saying something.

Her goals in life are simple, (like really simple): banish the color yellow forever, create world peace via hot rollers and Aqua Net; and finally, nab every tiara in the land by competing in the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World pageants, then sweeping them in a stunning trifecta of much duct tape and Vaseline usage, all in just under one week. Oh, and write really fun books!

Dakota lives in Texas with her dogs and has a husband who puts the heroes in her books to shame.

Meet Katie Reus -- celebrate Christmas with a Hitman

Fresh Fiction is joined by #KatieReus, the bestselling author of the grumpy-sunshine romance 'HOW THE Hitman Stole Christmas.' In the interview, we discuss Katie's writing process, the narrative arenas she feels most comfortable in as well as what her holiday traditions are. Enjoy the conversation!

Video Book Club is a great opportunity to connect, shared insights and explore the nuances of writing life. Whether you're a seasoned book club enthusiast or a first-time participant, or even if you haven't had a chance to read the book yet, you'll be welcomed into a warm and engaging community of readers. Take advantage of all these events by signing up for our weekly newsletter here (http://eepurl.com/cc9BoH)

ABOUT THE BOOK: Explosives expert Elliana hates Christmas—and the only good thing about this holiday season is that her gorgeous neighbor seems allergic to shirts and clothes in general. She knows because she’s been watching him for months with her drone. She’s never stalked anyone before, but he not only doesn’t seem to mind, he puts on nightly strip shows just for her. When she finally works up the courage to talk to him, she stumbles right into a murder—that he’s committed. But this holiday is one she’ll never forget…

According to him, the whole murder thing is no big deal—the dead guy needed killing. And while her hot neighbor wants her, protecting her is his main priority. So when she’s targeted, this cinnamon roll hitman kidnaps her for her own good. With a deadly threat hunting them and a hot hitman who keeps handcuffing her to him “for her own protection”, Elliana is starting to reconsider her grinchy stance on the holidays. And when everything finally comes to a head, the results are bound to be…explosive.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Katie Reus is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Ancients Rising series, the Endgame Trilogy and the Red Stone Security series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it. However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing paranormal romance and romantic suspense.

Meet Stefanie London

For #VideoBookClub this month, Fresh Fiction was joined by #StefanieLondon, a multi-award-winning and USA Today bestselling author.

Video Book Club is a great opportunity to connect, shared insights and explore the nuances of writing life. Whether you're a seasoned book club enthusiast or a first-time participant, or even if you haven't had a chance to read the book yet, you'll be welcomed into a warm and engaging community of readers.

Take advantage of all these events by signing up for our weekly newsletter here (http://eepurl.com/cc9BoH)

ABOUT THE BOOK: August Merriweather has always been good with animals. In fact, she’s known as Manhattan’s Dog Whisperer. Men, on the other hand? Not so much. She’s been falling for the wrong guys ever since her regrettable crush on Keaton Sax, older brother of her best friend, Leah, and the biggest jerkface this side of the Hudson.

Now an emotionally closed-off widower, Keaton has become one of the most formidable men on Wall Street, but August knows his secret. He’s not driven by sales targets and bonus checks—Keaton just wants to give his family the security they never had. So when Leah asks Keaton to wrangle her over-the-top dramatic husky at a weekend talent competition, Keaton says yes…and begs August to help him win the event for Leah.

Between obstacle courses, Molly’s husky temper tantrums and a cabin with just one bed, August is having a blast. Away from the pressure to have a “perfect life” with the “right guy,” she finds herself relaxing and getting to see the softer side of the man she once loved. Is this just a temporary truce? Or could Keaton finally be the right guy at the right time?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stefanie’s books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and “elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT magazine. Her stories have won multiple industry awards, including the HOLT Medallion and OKRWA National Reader's Choice Award, and she has been nominated for the Romance Writers of America RITA award. Originally from Australia, Stefanie lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges in her passions for good coffee, lipstick, romance novels and anything zombie-related.

#authorinterview #author #interview #bestsellingauthor #romance

Meet Pippa Grant

This week, we're chatting with Pippa Grant, author of THE GOSSIP AND THE GRUMP. Join us for a lively conversation about romance and laughter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Pippa Grant is a USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author who writes romantic comedies that will make tears run down your leg. When she's not reading, writing or sleeping, she's being crowned employee of the month as a stay-at-home mom and housewife trying to prepare her adorable demon spawn to be productive members of society, all the while fantasizing about long walks on the beach with hot chocolate chip cookies.

Chat with Tammy L. Grace

Listen in to our interview with Tammy L. Grace as she talks about her series, Sisters of the Heart, set in Lavender Valley.

Meet Matt Coyle

Interview with mystery writer Matt Coyle, author of the Rick Cahill series.