Friday Feature Author Interview #2 with Elise Cooper: Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard

Book Description

Mackenzie Hanson’s special set of skills opened the door to a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, allowing her to put her criminal past behind her. But when a long-ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father’s tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and hopefully save lives.

Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. But even as he’s trying to relax, he’s drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common–a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.

When the situation turns deadly, Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find the answers they need–before someone silences Mackenzie for good.

USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard weaves a tangled web of nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping romance in this fast-paced conclusion to her Rocky Mountain Courage series.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard explores the impact of cyber criminals, a thrilling battle of wits between two hackers. A bonus for every series of Goddard is that readers can know what is happening with characters from previous books.  In this series it is Jack and Terra from Present Danger, as well as Erin and Nathan from Deadly Target.

The plot begins with MacKenzie Hanson on an amusement park ride where she spots a former partner in cybercrime. He gives her a message about her father’s Montana company being targeted.  Realizing she must now face her past she decides to return to Montana and visit her estranged family.

As a teenager MacKenzie and her partners hacked into wealthy companies in Robin Hood fashion, stealing from the rich to give to charities. But when one of the partners used their skills for nefarious reasons, she and one other partner blew the whistle. She was able to put her criminal past behind her to become a successful college professor.

Also back in Montana is Diplomatic Security Services (DDS) special agent Alex Knight to decompress from a mission gone wrong.  He and MacKenzie also had a past when he took her on a tour of the DDS offices.  They end up meeting on a trail path after he notices a drone is following her.  When a shooter attacks them, they barely escape unharmed. She recruits Alex for protection while figuring out who’s trying to hurt her family. With suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and possible espionage, Alex and Mackenzie work together to find the dangerous hacker and their use of technology.

The plot has escalating tension. Family issues, putting one’s past to rest, and renewing relationships also add to this action-filled story.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Elizabeth Goddard: This is the last book in the series. I wanted to do a criminal cyber security story because I have a computer science background. I am a technical person although I did speak to a cyber security expert.  I talked with them about every single aspect of the story to make sure I got it correct. I had in the story drones, artificial intelligence, and cyber weapons.

EC:  What about the Montana setting?

EG:  I love to write action adventure within beautiful settings, set in the mountains or a rocky beach. I thought it would be fun to have the story set in the mountains of Montana.  Tech companies really are moving to Montana so their employees can have more fresh air and productivity.

EC:  I thought of the “Jungle Cruise” ride when I read the waterfall scene.  Did you base it on that?

EG:  No, but I do remember now, the line in the “Jungle Cruise” movie.  How they said ‘here is the backside of water’ after going around the waterfall. I had the scene in earlier books, Targeted for Murder and Deception.  I love waterfalls so I put it in this book. I think they are amazing with the caves behind them. When writing about the mountains I need to put in a waterfall somewhere within the story.

EC:  The scene in the amusement park?

EG:  The ride, Octopus was a horrible experience for me.  I think the Carnival experience is kind of creepy. All the noise and smells. 

EC:  How would you describe MacKenzie?

EG:  Athletic, vulnerable, stubborn, determined, and brilliant. She was a troubled person who has found her way. She was a cybercriminal and now as a professor she can share her knowledge to do something good with her life.

EC: What is penetration testing, something MacKenzie teaches?

EG:  A cyber security company is hired to go into a system to see if they can hack into it to find the vulnerabilities. Can they penetrate the system?

EC:  What about the relationship with her sister Nora?

EG:  Very challenged. There is a lot of emotional drama.  But now they want to put the past behind them.  They both feel betrayed and hurt by each other.  Now they must work together to find the murderer.

EC:  How would you describe Alex?

EG:  He is a diplomatic security agent, a true professional. Being from Montana, means he has some cowboy in him. He is kind, thoughtful, caring, strong, and protective.

EC:  Next book?

EG:  It is a new series based in Alaska called “Missing in Alaska.”  The first book is titled, Light of Day to be released in February 2023. A character from Critical Alliance will be the main character in this first book. There will be murders with the body count rising.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Review: Nightwork by Nora Roberts

Book Description

Harry Booth started stealing at nine to keep a roof over his ailing mother’s head, slipping into luxurious, empty homes at night to find items he could trade for precious cash. When his mother finally succumbed to cancer, he left Chicago—but kept up his nightwork.

Wandering from the Outer Banks to Savannah to New Orleans, he dons new identities and stays careful, observant, distant. He can’t afford to attract attention—or get attached. Still, he can’t help letting his guard down when he meets Miranda Emerson. But the powerful bond between them cannot last—because not all thieves follow Harry’s code of honor. Some pay others to take risks so they can hoard more treasures. Some are driven by a desire to own people the way they own paintings and jewels. And after Harry takes a lucrative job commissioned by Carter LaPorte, LaPorte sees a tool he can use, and decides he wants to own Harry.

The man is a predator more frightening than the alligators that haunt the bayou—and when he strongarms Harry into robbing a Baltimore museum, Harry abandons Miranda—cruelly, with no explanation—and disappears. But no matter what name he uses or where he goes, LaPorte casts a shadow over Harry’s life. To truly free himself, he must face down his enemy once and for all. Only then can he hope to possess something more valuable than anything he has ever stolen.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724963-nightwork?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hv4JgTG1H2&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

NIGHTWORK by Nora Roberts is a unique romantic suspense with a young hero who grows up to becomes a gentleman thief with his own set of rules and moral code. This is a standalone that that is mainly told from the viewpoint of the hero.

Harry Booth never knew his father, but he always had the love of his mother and aunt, Mags. When Harry is 9 years old, his mother has her first fight with cancer. The sister’s cleaning company cannot keep up with the bills and Harry begins to pick pockets to help with money. By the age of 12, he was breaking into homes, only taking a few things of value and never with a weapon. When Harry graduated from high school, his mother died after two remissions, he set out on his own. He went south and his aunt went west.

This is the start of a tale that follows Harry, Silas, Booth, Sebastian (different identities) all over the U.S., Europe, South America and then back to the U.S. I loved the flamboyant family of thieves and cons he kept as a pseudo family in New Orleans even though that is where his trouble with the antagonist, LaPorte in this story meet. I also loved how he always stayed in touch with Mags no matter what. When he first meets Miranda Emerson, you just knew it wouldn’t last, especially if you remember his taro reading, but when they come back together as adults it works.

This is a very enjoyable book. Booth’s travels and escapades are interesting, Miranda is his perfect match, and all the other secondary characters are colorful and entertaining. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous and quick. There are ups and downs in the plot that keep you turning the pages.

I enjoyed Harry and his story very much.

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About the Author

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 — The Becoming — the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Catch by Lisa Harris

Book Description

After a harrowing attempt on a judge’s life at the courthouse, Deputy US Marshals Madison James and Jonas Quinn are tasked with finding a missing woman and an endangered child in connection to the murder of the judge’s wife. What seems like a fairly straightforward case becomes hopelessly tangled when the marshals discover that the woman they are searching for is in witness protection and the Amber Alert put out for the missing child has put two lives in danger.

Madison and Jonas are forced into a race to find the woman and the child before the men who want her dead discover her location. And in a final showdown that could cost her everything, Madison will come face-to-face with the person who murdered her husband.

USA Today bestselling author Lisa Harris concludes her thrilling US Marshals series with this breathless tale of secrets kept, lies exposed, and ultimately, justice prevailing.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Catch by Lisa Harris is an intense mystery.  In the final book of the series the plot brings to close all the extending arcs.

This story is multilayered.  These sub-plots had Madison searching for the person who killed her husband Luke, a search for the murderer of a judge’s wife, and a kidnapped child. The suspense ratches up after the child’s babysitter is found to be in the witness protection program and having an amber alert put out on her and the child put both lives in danger.  As these three plots are weaved together readers realize nothing is as it seems.

Book three of the series gave readers a thrilling and captivating ride. All the loose threads tie together in a surprising yet inspiring ending. Readers will get their fill of suspense, action, and twists.

There is also a novella, Point Blank, part of a compilation with three other authors titled, Heroes in the Crossfire. In Point Blank, the last two series Lisa Harris has written, “The Nikki Boyd Files,” and “US Marshals,” are combined. It is interesting how she was able to compare the lead characters, Madison James, and Nikki Boyd.  Both had feelings of “what if” and struggled with out-of-control feelings while attempting to let go of their guilt.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why include Nikki Boyd in Point Blank, the prequel to the Madison series?

Lisa Harris: I was asked to write something for a compilation so I decided this novella would be perfect for it. In the US Marshal series book 1 there is a little bit about the loss of Madison’s husband, and with Nikki Boyd books, they take place over 48 hours. They both want to make a difference in the world. Both had different careers: Nikki was a teacher and ended up in the missing person task force while Madison was a policeperson and ended up as a US Marshal. They lost someone close with neither of them having closure.  At the end of the series, they do find the answers they are looking for.

EC:  The scene of the silo, wow?

LH:  I did a lot of research.  There are a lot of accidents that happen in the silos where people can drown in the grain. I knew I had to put this in the novella. It is hard to write action scenes and I am always looking to find something different to write about. 

EC:  The idea for the story, The Catch?

LH: The first book had a fugitive chase. I wanted each book to highlight a different skill used by the US Marshals. This third book had a combination of witness protection and a task force looking for a child endangered. I weaved together these two elements in the story along with the Washington state setting that has beaches and a rain forest. The arcs between Jonas and Madison’s romance as well as the arc of who killed Madison’s husband gets resolved in this book.

EC:  Did you know anyone who had a child who disappeared?

LH:  No, I did not, thankfully. The Nikki Boyd series was all about missing children.  I learned through my research.  I thought about those parents who had the drama in real life versus writing fiction.  It would be one of the worst things that ever happened in life, the threat of losing a child. Because there is so much darkness around us, thankfully I could have happy endings in my book, a bit of light.

EC:  Do you have a crystal ball because one of the stories has a judge threatened?

LH:  Sometimes it is scary how some of the things I have written about have come true. I should get my ideas from the newspaper and not the other way around.  This plot includes drug trafficking, extortion, kidnappings, and revenge.

EC:  How would you describe Becca?

LH: She got in way over head.  She was missing something in her life and lost her heart. She smudged the line between right and wrong.  She is vulnerable, troubled, frustrated, and desperate.

EC:  How would you describe the relationship between Jonas and Madison?

LH:  I like that it was resolved over the course of books.  For example, each Nikki Boyd book took place over 48 hours.  A romance cannot be resolved over that short period of time. The relationship went from admiration and respect when they first met to trying to keep at arm’s length while US Marshal partners to Madison bowing to her fears that something would happen to Jonas like her husband to a happy ending.

EC:  Next books?

LH:  A prequel to this series will be out June 1st, an e-book novella, Point Blank. It covers when they first met while training. Jonas was training a group of officers that were not US Marshals yet, which included Madison. Nikki Boyd is also in the novella.

I am also self-publishing. It is a series where the town is off the grid without technology.  It is Longmire meets Jericho. It is a modern western, solving crimes without technology, titled “The Fallout Series.” The third book just came out which is titled Frequency. There is also a novella to this series.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Review: Poison Evidence by Rachel Grant

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

POISON EVIDENCE (Evidence Book #7 on Goodreads, Book #8 on Amazon) by Rachel Grant is another thrilling installment in the Evidence series featuring another brilliant member of the Naval History and Heritage Command team. This book is easily read as a standalone, but there is carryover of characters from previous books in this series. Any history from previous stories between characters is explained without going into detail and seamlessly keeps the current story flowing.

Ivy MacLeod is sent to the islands of Palau with her new advanced remote sensing technology known as CAM to map a WWII battle site. Ivy is happy to leave the states and distance herself from her ex-husband’s trial for treason. When she is attacked at a party for dignitaries on the island, she escapes with the help of Jack Keaton, an American on vacation in Palau.

Jack Keaton is not who he seems, but he has saved Ivy’s life. When Ivy learns the U.S. government has betrayed her, she must make up her own mind who is the spy, who is the protector and who is the villain.

I love this series! The heroines are accomplished, intelligent women with intriguing jobs whose personal lives become very complicated with heroes that are alpha males and over-achievers in their own right. Ivy has always been socially awkward due to her intelligence and then she suffered the ultimate betrayal from a husband she loved. Her invention is her life until she meets Jack, but he has many identities and Ivy has to trust him with her life even as he could be as bad as her ex. Jack’s backstory and the reasons for the way he lives his life make him a sympathetic character and the author does a great job of keeping him on that fine line between hero or villain. The plot is an intricate, edge-of-your-seat, fast paced spy thriller that leaves the reader questioning the motives of most of the characters right up to the climax. The sex scenes in this book are all smokin’ hot and explicit, but never gratuitous.

I highly recommend this romantic suspense/spy thriller, as well as every other book in this series!

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About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Rachel Grant worked for over a decade as a professional archaeologist and mines her experiences for storylines and settings, which are as diverse as excavating a cemetery underneath an historic art museum in San Francisco, survey and excavation of many prehistoric Native American sites in the Pacific Northwest, researching an historic concrete house in Virginia, and mapping a seventeenth century Spanish and Dutch fort on the island of Sint Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles.

She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and children.

Social Media Links

Website: https://rachel-grant.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelGrantAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rachelsgrant

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: High Meadow by Freya Barker

Book Description

An emergency call to pick up an injured stallion on the side of the road sends Alexandra Hart, the new owner of Hart’s Horse Rescue, into action. A recent addition to the area, she is not impressed when the animal’s taciturn owner shows up. With his less-than-stellar disposition, he’s the kind of man she normally avoids at all costs, unfortunately, he owns the ranch just down the road.

However, when the manhunt for a pair of escaped prisoners gets a little too close for comfort, Jonas turns out to be a better neighbor than she expected.

The Alex who shows up at his ranch to help with his prize stud’s recovery is not exactly who Jonas Harvey expected. This is the same bleeding heart he met on the side of the road. Worried she’s not up for the job, he’d prefer to keep a close eye on her but his High Mountain Trackers team gets called in to track down a group of domestic terrorists.

But the slip of a woman proves him wrong. On all fronts. Alex not only charms his horses but him as well, and when trouble comes calling she proves to be a worthy ally to boot.

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Elise’s Thoughts

High Meadow by Freya Barker has strong independent women facing off against alpha-males. It is a modern-day western suspense with added doses of romance.

The story is set in Libby Montana where Jonas Harvey has the High Meadow Stud Horse Ranch, which neighbors with Hart’s Horse Rescue.  When one of Jonas’ horses goes lame with a leg injury, Alex Hart is asked to help heal him. Jonas did not expect Alex to be a female but finds a woman who is confident in her abilities to heal horses a la the Heartland TV show.

The suspense comes when two escaped convicts begin working with nationalists and homesteaders who are setting bombs. Because Jonas also has a business, the High Mountain Trackers, they are asked to find the domestic terrorists and help to assist the arrogant FBI and DHS agents. After retiring from the Special Forces Jonas had set up the High Mountain Trackers with his ex-military buddies, Fletch, Sully and Bo.  This elite team uses all the special talents and knowledge acquired during their military careers to track and rescue, or recover, the lost, or the hiding.

Alex and her friend Lucy have a business that rescues abandoned and abused horses as well as dogs and a donkey. New to the area, they would have to build the rehabilitation reputation of their farm. But everything is put on hold until the convicts are found because they have decided to set up their terrorism operations on Alex’s land.

The hero and heroine are respectively in their fifties and forties.  While working together both Jonas and Alex realize there is a chemistry between them.  Although they did not seek out a romance it seems to have found them. Now Jonas must use his gruff skills to protect her, while she shows him that nobody will push her around and she will not avert danger. Readers will enjoy learning about the characters while getting a riveting mystery/thriller.  This first in a four-book series is filled with action and great banter between the characters.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why the setting?

Freya Barker: My daughter lives out in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and she does a lot of camping down into Montana. Most of my writing takes place in the Colorado area, but I thought Montana would be interesting to write about, especially since it is a place I always wanted to go. A photographer friend of mine showed me a picture she had taken of a rancher, that became the cover for High Meadow. I decided to write about Lincoln County in Montana. The homesteader idea came from discussions with my son, an avid hunter.

EC:  Why a horse rescue for the female lead, Alex?

FB:  I always dreamed of having one when I was younger.  As a three-year-old growing up in Holland I saw a functioning farm behind us. At that age I was put on a Belgium horse.  I had no fear and loved the experience.  I had been around horses my entire young life. I adore horses.  My dream growing up was to come to Canada to have enough space to own a horse.  I emigrated to Canada when I was twenty-seven with my young children.  LOL, I have lived in Canada for over thirty years and still do not have a horse.

EC:  How would you describe Alex?

FB:  Independent, motivated by idealism, emotional, passionate, strong, determined, big-hearted, and pragmatic. She is a bit of an earth-mother type. She has preconceived ideas which can make her a bit naïve.  She relocated herself to a place where she knew nobody so I would say she is also adventurous. The main drives in her life were to raise her son after her husband was killed and to build up a business.

EC:  How would you describe Jonas?

FB:  He is a traditionalist and old fashioned. He has lived in a male dominated environment, being surrounded by ranchers and having been in Special Forces. He is considerate and can be a charmer when he wants to be. Jonas can also be open-minded.

EC:  What about the relationship?

FB:  It is a mature relationship.  Neither is looking for a partner, yet there was some chemistry both could not ignore.  There is not a lot of angst, emotional situations, in the relationship, but more a cerebral approach. I am not a fairy tale writer and want it to be real.  I hope I reflected that they could talk about misunderstandings and their feelings. I put in my books how others see the relationship before the hero and heroine and will tease them. Because they are slightly older characters people around them can see what is happening first.  In the beginning Alex is guarded but not for long, because she was willing to open to a possibility.

EC:  Ama/Jonas relationship versus Lucy/Alex?

FB:  They both behave as siblings.  With Lucy and Alex there is friendship, a little bit of big sister, and nurturing from Alex to Lucy.  With Ama/Jonas she is the nurturer. Both Lucy and Ama are direct and blunt. Lucy has a defense mechanism because of what happened to her that makes her more abrasive. Ama is also loving, and the directness is part of her personality.  Both control the household.

EC:  Why the military angle?

FB:  I have had military angles before.  I group of my friends are ex-military.  I use the veteran component.  Readers get a certain picture of an alpha male.  It is a quick way for people to identify with the characters.  It is also a way to honor them.  A lot of skills learned in the military can be used, for example tracking. Jonas was in Afghanistan, Alex’s late husband fought in Afghanistan, and Alex’s son is fighting in Iraq.  It made for a credible source since they step up to the plate and would not sit by the sidelines.  I also tried to make it realistic. I asked people who knew and did research to find out information.

EC:  The thriller end has a lot of 3-letter agencies?

FB:  There are jurisdictional issues.  It can be different from state-to-state and county-to-county.  In this case I researched the town and county. I found out how the departments worked.

EC:  Next books?

FB:  The book just out, book two, is High Stakes.  The hero is Fletch who is a broody individual and likes to be in the shadows.  He has spent some time in Canada and was found there by Jonas when assembling his team.  Fletch lives off the grid. Because he is a tracker he was approached by a woman, Nella, whose sister, Fili, is missing. There is a lot of wildernesses involved as with tracking, tracing, adventure, and hiking. Book 3 called High Ground comes out in August.  The hero and heroine are Sully and Fili.  Book 4 will be released in December.  The hero and heroine are Bo and Lucy.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Review: High Stakes by Freya Barker

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

HIGH STAKES (High Mountain Trackers Book #2) by Freya Barker is an action-packed romantic suspense featuring another of the High Mountain Trackers meeting his match in the strong-willed older sister looking for her missing younger sister. This book can be read as a standalone even with the carryover of characters from book one.

Antonella “Nella” Freling is a research librarian for a Canadian university who has not heard from her younger sister Filipa “Fili” who was supposed to be at Nella’s home over a week ago. They are never out of touch, even though Fili wonders the country in her mobile home. When the authorities seem to be ignoring her, she takes matters into her own hands and travels to Montana to hire a tracker her friends have recommended.

Fletcher Boone is a team member on the High Mountain Trackers due to the persistence of Jonas, his ex-military superior. Her prefers his own company and has been known as Mr. Grumpy, but he has his reasons. Fletch and Nella do not hit it off in the beginning of their search, but Nella soon sees Fletch is concerned with her safety and Fletch discovers the determined side of Nella.

As Nella and Fletch search for the missing sister, Fletch has his hands full with the head-strong Nella who will do anything to find her sister even as she places herself in danger.

This book is another exciting romantic suspense in the High Mountain Trackers series. Nella and Fletch have a slow burn romance intertwined in a search and rescue and crime suspense plot that is full of twists. I found Nella and Fletch to be believable in their dance from self-protection to trust and love. All the characters from book one are back to watch Mr. Grumpy fall and provide some entertaining dialogue. This is a cast of characters that pull you right into their stories and I cannot wait for more.

I highly recommend this exciting romantic suspense, this series, and all the books by this author!

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Author Bio

USA Today bestselling author Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories. 

Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; she creates characters who are perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy, but just as deserving of romance, thrills and chills in their lives.

Recipient of the ReadFREE.ly 2019 Best Book We’ve Read All Year Award for “Covering Ollie, the 2015 RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for Best First Book, “Slim To None”, Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, and Finalist for the 2020 Kindle Book Award with “When Hope Ends”, Freya continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

Social Media Links

Facebook: http://bit.ly/FreyaFacebookTwitter: http://bit.ly/FreyaTwitter
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Web: http://bit.ly/FreyaWeb
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/FreyaGoodreads
Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/Freya_Newsletter Bookbub: http://bit.ly/FreyaBookBub