Summer adventure calls in FIRE PEAK

Summertime in the mountains in Alaska, when the days are long, the mosquitoes are busy, and adventure calls! Experience it for yourself (without the mosquitoes) in FIRE PEAK, the next romantic suspense novel in the Firelight Ridge series.

““Wow! I absolutely loved this well written riveting suspense romance novel. It captivated me at every twist and turn with the mystery, danger and suspense. The characters are exceptional with lots of banter and humor and on top of that Charlie and Nick’s chemistry is off the charts.” ”
— Leslie/Goodreads

From USA TODAY Bestselling Author Jennifer Bernard comes a new sizzling suspense romance set in the Alaskan wilderness.

Charlie Santa Lucia knows all about trouble; that’s what happens when you’re a secret Robin Hood targeting corporate greed. For Charlie, being able to spring her father from prison for a crime he didn’t commit was worth all the trouble in the world. But it appears she’s gotten sloppy; a handsome PI is on her tail, and he chases her all the way to the only place she can find safe harbor—with her friends in Firelight Ridge, Alaska. When she takes a job at stunning Fire Peak Lodge, she’s promptly plunged into a mystery that finds her embroiled in even more trouble that she’s used to.

Nick Perini never leaves a job unfinished, but Charlie has so far bested him at every turn. The brainy beauty gave him the slip in Alaska…which is a place his newfound teen daughter happens to want to visit. Chasing Charlie, getting to know his daughter, and solving mini-mysteries for the locals makes for a pretty hectic “vacation.” When Charlie gets him tangled in a case involving the area’s most majestic mountain, his holiday goes from hectic to downright hazardous.

The deeper Nick and Charlie dive into the mysteries of Fire Peak, the closer they come to unearthing forty-year-old secrets that some will do anything to protect—and one secret that others will kill to claim.

READ the first chapter of FIRE PEAK here and get a taste of Charlie’s adventure as she races for the safe haven of Firelight Ridge. I hope you love this book; I had so much fun writing it! xoxxoxo

Time to try something new

If you’ve read any of my books, you probably know that I often have a bit of suspense in my stories. There’s a reason for that—romantic suspense was one of my gateways into romance (Nora Roberts, for one), and I’ve always loved the co-existence of an action/mystery/danger plotline along with the romantic one. Falling in love while investigating a crime or navigating peril? Totally my jam! But in my own books, I’ve focused more on the romance, the sizzle, the banter.

So when it was time to write a new series, I started toying with the idea of writing a suspense series. I was nervous. Could I do it? Or should I make it just slight more suspense-ish than my other books? I called up my editor. Her advice? Lean in. Go full romantic suspense. Just do it—in your voice. (In other words: Don’t lose the sizzle or the banter.)

And that was how Firelight Ridge came to be! This series has so many elements I love. To balance out the rugged remote wilderness of the setting, it focuses on four very close friends, who will each experience their own romantic adventure in Alaska. It might be suspense, but it’s still romance—expect a happy ending for each of these intrepid heroines.

The first book, ICE FALLS, is out now, so you can take your first journey into the wilds of Alaska with Molly Evans and the pilot Sam Coburn!

From USA TODAY Bestselling Author Jennifer Bernard comes a new sizzling suspense series set in the Alaskan wilderness.

From childhood misfit to successful attorney, Molly Evans wouldn’t be the strong, independent force of nature she is today without the support of her three best friends—and one of them is missing. On a mission to find answers, she tracks Lila all the way to Firelight Ridge, Alaska, a wild outpost where Molly sticks out like a sore thumb in her designer duds and desperate search for Wi-Fi. Regardless, just days after arriving, she can’t resist getting sucked into the mystery surrounding a local’s death, a group of reclusive settlers…and a surly but undeniably attractive pilot.

Sam Coburn has carefully cultivated a lone-wolf persona since moving to Firelight Ridge, necessary for a job he’s reluctantly agreed to take on. Then Molly Evans steps onto his plane, and he just knows the gorgeous redhead is about to make his life interesting. She’s as fierce as she is feisty…and it’s not long before she inadvertently provides him access to an isolated wilderness family he’s tried and failed to get close to for over a year. But it turns out they are excessively interested in Molly…a potentially dangerous turn of events Sam didn’t see coming.

Throw in a teen runaway, a shooting, sexual attraction as dazzling as the endless Alaska sky, and a potentially catastrophic event, and Sam and Molly’s breathtaking adventure could end up either life-altering…or life-ending.

Pizza, true love, and a local legend

This is how the story goes—although I’ve heard a few different versions. A young couple had a dream: to bring the best possible pizza to their tiny town in Alaska. The husband traveled to Italy to learn how to make pizza the original old-country way. The secret, he discovered, was to use a wood-fired oven. But those aren’t exactly growing on trees in Alaska.

So the couple researched and hunted and finally located the perfect oven—in New Jersey. Being intrepid Alaskans, they were not deterred by the distance. The husband and his father got in their truck, hitched a trailer to it, and drove the many thousands of miles to the east coast—and back again, with the oven strapped tight on that trailer. Is it the only time a pizza oven has traveled the Alaska-Canada Highway on a trailer? Possibly.

With the wood-fired pizza oven safely installed in a little shack-like building overlooking spectacular Kachemak Bay, they opened their restaurant and named it after their baby son. It was a wild success and still serves pizza to this day, although that baby is now about to graduate from high school. It’s our own family’s favorite place to celebrate birthdays.

Finn’s Pizza is a well-loved local establishment here—so well-loved that it provided the inspiration for Last Chance Pizza in YOURS SINCE YESTERDAY. Of course most of the backstory details are different—in my book, the shop is run by the Bellini family and their six kids, of which Zoe, the heroine, is one. She takes it over after the death of her father. By the time the story starts, she’s running the pizza shop while wrangling her twin teenage sisters.

That’s when her long-lost best friend Padric Jeffers—now a famous rock star—returns to town. You’ll have to read the book to see what happens next!

And while you’re reading, if you’d like to picture the real-life inspiration of Last Chance Pizza, here are a few shots.

From the beach at sunset … the view from inside … and the view from the road!

From the beach at sunset … the view from inside … and the view from the road!

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Can you blame me for being inspired by this romantic setting for a pizza shop? Are you hungry yet? I hope you enjoy YOURS SINCE YESTERDAY even more than a pepperoni and mushroom pizza! (Or whatever your fave is.)

Yours Since Yesterday

Once they were best friends. Now they’re from two different worlds. 

Zoe Bellini’s world exploded the second she kissed her best friend…and not in a good way. Every teen dream came crashing down when Padric was whisked away from Alaska, and her luck hasn’t improved in the last fifteen years. In fact, the pizza shop owner’s terrible track record with men has become a local legend. She doesn’t expect it to change when Padric—now a world-famous rock star—sails back intotown. It’s not like they can just pick up where they left off…but her traitorous body sure wants to try.

Padric Jeffers never expected to return to his hometown of Lost Harbor, Alaska—not after the scandal that sent his family fleeing. But a mysterious letter with a warning about his childhood friend Zoe? Thathas him postponing his tour and hopping on the next flight north. Zoe’sbeen on his mind and in his lyrics since he left her behind, and once he sets eyes on the stunning grown-up version of his best friend, his mission is clear: do whatever it takes to have her—and keep her—this time around.

Easier said than done, since not everyone in town is excited about Padric’s return. And someone will do anything it takes to get rid of him. Can a pizza maker and a rock star overcome their history—not to mention scandals, angsty fans and unexpected danger—and find their way back to love? 

A standalone novel in the Lost Harbor, Alaska series.

 

Why my new series is set in Alaska

If you know me at all, you know I live in the biggest, most Northern state, the one with most miles of coastline by a factor of six, the one with the lowest population density (barely more than one person per square mile), the one most likely to appear on bucket lists.

Yes, I live in a small town in the great and wild state of Alaska. And yet—I’ve never set a series here. UNTIL NOW!

Welcome to Lost Harbor, Alaska, a fictional small harbor town perched at the edge of the wilderness. The first book of this series is out today ~ MINE UNTIL MOONRISE. It features Lucas Holt, a boat captain, and Megan Miller, a sassy scientist and newcomer to town, and their ongoing feud that ignites into a passionate affair.

So why did I finally decide to set a series here? Alaska is a funny state. There’s a clear distinction between longtime residents — “sourdoughs” —and newcomers —”cheechakos.” What’s unclear is how long it takes to graduate from cheechako status! I’ve lived here for twelve years and yet I still feel like a newbie. I honestly doubt that I’ll ever claim the title of “sourdough.” For one thing (true confession) I’ve never spent an entire winter here. We always skip out for a sanity-saving trip to Hawaii for a couple months.

However, I have spent twelve years soaking in the fascinating way of life that exists here. Fishing for salmon on a summer night that never ends. Racing the frost to pick the currants. Long underwear. Headlamps. ice cleats. It’s taken me over a decade, but I finally feel qualified to offer my take on living here. In my experience, it’s rugged, but magical. Slow-paced, but dramatic. And above all, for me—romantic. Something about the magnificent landscape and the close-to-the-elements survival mode makes everything more vivid and rich.

I hope you give this new series a chance and that you love Lost Harbor, Alaska! Click here to read an excerpt. And don’t forget to enter my giveaway of a Lost Harbor Gift Basket!

It’s a fine line between feuding and flirting... 

 

Ever since Megan Miller arrived in stunning Lost Harbor, Alaska, she’s been at odds with boat captain Lucas Holt. They’re opposites in every way. She’s a city girl, he’s from an Alaska homestead. She runs nature tours, he’s all about big-money charters. He’s also arrogant, annoying and oh yeah, wildly attractive. Lost Harbor would be the perfect escape from the tragedy that sent her running--except for her feud with the hottie captain.

Lucas Holt came home for one thing—settle his father’s affairs then hightail it back to Colorado. So why is he still here? Is it because there’s something fishy about his father’s death? Is it the endearingly eccentric locals and enchanting scenery? Or could it be Lost Harbor’s newest resident, a sassy scientist who’s as sexy as she is stubborn? Arguing with Megan is the best foreplay he’s had in years. 

Until one of Lost Harbor’s dangerous storms tosses everything up in the air, and a feud turns to a passionate affair--with stakes higher than Megan ever imagined.