Australian bestselling author Kandy Shepherd joins Samantha Tennant for a wide-ranging conversation on writing, life, and what it means to stay in love with your characters for twenty-five books. Kandy — a former editor in chief who once ran a magazine with three million readers — talks about the career pivot that brought her to Harlequin Mills & Boon, the craft lessons journalism never let her forget, and the philosophy behind her fiction: characters aren't characters, they're people. She also dives into her latest release, Stuck With Her Impossible Ex (Book Three of the Outback Kings series), the magic of reunion romance, and why she will never, ever end a book on a cliffhanger.

Marc Cameron is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with three major thriller series and thirty years in law enforcement behind him. In this conversation with Samantha Tennant, Marc talks about the rejection letter from Random House that forced him to go "over the top" — and accidentally created Jericho Quinn. He shares what it was really like to write seven Tom Clancy Jack Ryan novels, why the Arliss Cutter series is powered by his own experiences as a deputy marshal, and what's coming next: a long-awaited Jericho Quinn return and a potential screen adaptation of the Cutter series.

NYT and USA Today bestselling author Michelle M. Pillow joins Samantha Tennant to talk about the re-release of The King of the Unblessed (Book 1 of the Realm Immortal series) through Tor Bramble — a lush, epic dark romantasy that Michelle wrote long before "romantasy" was even a coined term. They dig into the Labyrinth-inspired origins of the Goblin King story, Michelle's massive world-building across 100+ books and eight series, and what it's like to revisit older stories with fresh eyes. Plus: the Fresh Fiction Facts Q&A gets into zombie aspirations, campy horror DVDs, Darcy's botched proposal, and why Sarah absolutely should have stayed in the Labyrinth.

Bestselling historical romance author Cathy Maxwell joins Fresh Fiction to talk about her first indie release, Curves for the Rakish Duke, and her first-ever author collaboration with the Busty Bodice Club series. Cathy opens up about the surprising generosity of indie readers, the creative freedom of publishing without gatekeepers, and why she is finally revisiting an old favorite novella with fresh eyes.

Before Christine Gunderson became an Amazon bestselling author, she was a TV reporter, a Capitol Hill press secretary, and a stay-at-home mom who wrote her first novel in stolen minutes at school pickup. In this Fresh Fiction Video Book Club conversation with host Samantha Tennant, Christine talks about the long, twisty road to publication, the real women who inspired the 1965 storyline in her new novel Behind White Picket Fences, and why she believes the pressure on mothers to do it all is as unrealistic now as it was sixty years ago. Plus, a rapid-fire round covering her go-to gas station snack, her Jane Austen obsession, and the cult she would absolutely start.

This episode centers on the Fresh Fiction team's weekend at Kiss and Tell, a local romance author book signing event in Grapevine, Texas. The team attended alongside book club members, meeting favorite authors, discovering new-to-them authors, and connecting with fellow readers.

Bestselling author Jayne Castle joins Fresh Fiction's Podcast to talk about ENTER THE NIGHTMARE, book nineteen in her Harmony series. She traces the real government psychic research that inspired her world building, introduces Sebastian, the reader-made dust bunny that inspired her mascot, and shares stories from a Cotswolds hiking trip with fellow authors Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Christina Dodd. Jayne also talks about writing under three names, why she never reuses the same hero and heroine, and what is coming next in her Psychic Dog series.

Romance author Amy Award joins Samantha Tennant to talk about THE COCKY KINGMANS, her football-playing family of brothers, and why every heroine, no matter her size, deserves a happy ending.

Four award-winning authors — Nina Crespo, Misty Urban, Carrie Schaffer, and Debra Parmley — join host Samantha Tennant to pick their best summer reads, talk travel tropes, and reveal what makes their characters impossible to put down.

USA Today bestselling author Sheila Roberts joins Fresh Fiction's Samantha Tennant to talk about her latest novel, Love on the Shelf — a bookshop-set enemies-to-lovers story that's anything but your typical rom-com. Sheila opens up about the real cultural moment that inspired Parker Black (yes, the man everyone loves to hate), why she believes love always wins, and how the romance genre is finally getting the respect it deserves. Plus, Fresh Fiction Facts — from bug collecting to designer purse opinions to the book that made her feel like a rock star. If you love women's fiction, booktok, and romance that makes you think, this one's for you.