Hosting author Darlene Fredette on Write Despite was a no-brainer. The woman has written a novel about an ice cream entrepreneur who finds true love. I wouldn’t mind hanging out in this world for a while.
Darlene’s new novel, Cherry Red debuted earlier this month, published by The Wild Rose Press. With a strong female protagonist and a cool leading man, you almost don’t need the ice cream backdrop. But then again, ice cream does make everything better. Or as Darlene puts it, “Who doesn’t love ice cream?”

As you may have guessed, Darlene is something of an ice cream connoisseur herself. Her top-ten flavors:
1. Cherry Red … of course!
2. French Vanilla
3. Strawberry
4. Coconut
5. Butter Pecan
6. Pineapple
7. Strawberry Cheesecake
8. Peanut Butter Cup
9. Maple Nut
10. Pina Colada
This summer, ice cream entrepreneur Carly Redd’s only focus is expanding her business—until she’s coerced into attending her ex’s engagement party. Showing up without a date is unthinkable. She reluctantly agrees to be escorted by her brother’s co-worker, although doing so breaks her rule of not dating firefighters.
The daughter of the town’s fire chief should wear a Do Not Touch sign, but firefighter Noah Harding’s interest blazed the moment he saw Carly. Agreeing to be her fake boyfriend is a no-brainer, but convincing Carly to trust him with her heart is harder than extinguishing a fire.
Overstepping the platonic-only rule is as dangerous as fire and ice swirling into a tempting combustion.