On April 14, Carina Press is publishing six brand-new sports romances. Today Rebecca Crowley is here to tell us about her tennis novel, LOVE IN STRAIGHT SETS. I’ve always been a sucker for the underdog. From cursed losing streaks to teams coming back after bankruptcy to players who are too young or too old, I just don’t have it in me to cheer for the reining champion. Regan Hunter, the tennis-playing heroine of Love in Straight Sets, has been an underdog since the first day she held a racket – which was years after most pro-bound players learn the game. Throughout her career she’s been told she started too late, she has the wrong body type, and the wrong background to play tennis, and she loves nothing more than facing up to all those naysayers and telling them, “yes.” It takes a special kind of hero to see past Regan’s negativity-thickened skin, and it’s not easy for Regan to let him in. But that’s what makes the underdog my favorite – where’s the reward in winning if it was always a sure thing? Do you love an underdog too? Or is it just too hard to resist the winning appeal…

I don’t trust Happy Heroes. They have nowhere to go but down – and guess who is along for the ride? You. Nope, no Heroes brimming with positivity for me, thanks. I’ll keep my broody, slightly introverted thinkers, if you don’t mind. As an author, I have the most fun dissecting those men and figuring out what makes them tick. Very seldom do I have them completely understood when I start writing, so I think the reader takes a ride with me that is authentic. I’ve just been on the same roller coaster ride as them and gotten off with my hair blown back. I like Broody Heroes. A hero who has faced a little adversity in his life, and if he hasn’t, he’s gone out looking for it. Whether it be in law enforcement or on the sports field. Perhaps he’s gone backpacking in Peru or become a Big Brother. Either way, I like a hero who’s seen something in this life and come back from it a different man. He’s not fixed yet, but he thinks he is. He thinks he’s got everything figured out. Then I get to come in and blow that theory to Hell. Shane…

The question I get most often when folks see that like the heroine in my mysteries, I was once a reporter, is “are the stories Nichelle covers in the books based on real life?” Yes and no. I covered murders, fires, child abuse, a serial rapist, and tragedies of every shape and color in the seven years I spent as a full-time journalist before I left the newsroom for full-time motherhood. So far, the books have seen the more fun stories: an abandoned casket, a Houdini catburglar, cowboys and church ladies nearly coming to blows in a girly bar parking lot. Playing in Nichelle’s world is a blast. It has everything I miss, minus the 80-hour weeks away from my family. Bonus: fiction forensics labs can work faster and have bigger budgets, and Nichelle isn’t nearly as afraid of fictional jail as I was of the real thing. Fictional bereaved people are at least a little easier to interview, too. My favorite writing moments are those when shiny ideas pop out of nowhere and braid themselves into a plot. I only love them a little less when they come at 2 a.m. One night last week I woke with a…

It can’t be denied that men who are athletes, in such good shape, surrounded by all of that testosterone, appeal to women. Rough good looks, six-pack abs and bad boy reputations seem to have a universal appeal. So it only follows that readers are going to love sports-themed romance, especially when you add in the magic of an author’s voice, be it humor, suspense, or small town charm! Anyone who reads me knows that I write alpha males. They also know I write nice guys who are independent, smart, capable, and motivated. In a great many cases, that definition fits athletes to a tee. The competitors aren’t just incredible athletes – some of them are truly incredible men. That’s why I enjoy writing them as lead characters in my books. Sure, I fictionalize the fighters, taking them out of the ring and into relationships where an edge of danger allows them to showcase their confidence and athleticism. But then that’s what female readers want – character-driven entertainment! That’s why I’m so happy to be returning to my MMA fighters with a new Ultimate series. Hard Knocks Ultimate August 2014 No Limits Ultimate #1 September 2014 First out is an ePrequel…

I think the wait for ONE BITE PER NIGHT has been even more nail-bitingly tense than it was for my debut novel, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE. Though the pub date for my debut novel was a long 18 months after I signed the contract, everything in preparation for turning a humble word document into a book happened on schedule. This one, on the other hand, was like the proverbial “bratty” child that comes after birthing a “perfect angel.” A marketing decision which caused unexpected changes in the manuscript, coupled with two personal emergencies, and other marketing decisions caused my release date to be delayed twice. The cover even changed. Despite the fact that I just compared this book to a bratty kid, this one is actually my favorite. I’ve never before fallen in love with one of my own heroes. 🙂 Anyway, finally all of the book-making process is complete and ONE BITE PER NIGHT will hit the shelves on August 5th! To celebrate, I finally get to tell you about the book, show off the cover, and give you a teaser excerpt. I’m also going to give away a copy of the first book, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE to…

On April 14, Carina Press is publishing six brand-new sports romances. Today we’re featuring, THE ACE, by Rhonda Shaw, and talking about what is the most exciting play in baseball. What is the most exciting play in baseball? A walk-off, which snatches a last minute win from the jaws of defeat? The sky-reaching, glorious grand slam home run that clears the bases and instantly adds four runs to the board? The nail-biting suicide squeeze, where a runner takes off from third base before the pitch and is at the mercy of the hitter making contact at home plate? Maybe you prefer the crowd-deafening cheers when a pitcher throws a perfect game or perhaps the stunning catch by an outfielder at the precise moment the ball is cresting over the outfield wall. While all of the above are definitely exciting plays, one in particular stands out, the unassisted triple play. A triple play is not commonplace, even though most major leaguers can pull them off, but more so because the stage needs to be perfectly set in order for the play to succeed. The unassisted triple play, however, where one defensive player gets all three outs himself, is arguably the rarest…

Pop quiz: Do authors really imagine complex characters from the ground up, with mysterious backstories and intricately detailed biographies? Or do they just make everything up as they go along? (Or do they create thinly-veiled versions of their friends and family, and torture them vicariously on the page?) The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Every writer has a different method for creating characters, but mine is fairly straightforward: I create characters the same way you meet new people. First, you see what they look like, then you hear how they talk, and you learn a little bit about them. And, of course, the more time you spend around them, the weirder they get. One of my favorite characters in The Spider Thief series is Cleo, the stylish but no-nonsense girl next door — who packs two guns, a forensics kit, and an ironclad agenda. On her own, she can seem a little obsessed with her job. That’s why it’s fun to pair her up with a completely opposite guy and watch the sparks fly. Cleo is a law enforcement officer (I can’t tell you what kind without giving away one of the big plot twists), and therefore she’s…

I know. You’re thinking mud wrestling. Or Spring Break. But believe it or not, these are fighting words. That’s right—sporting terms. Welcome to the world of MMA. When I told my friends about my concept for a sports romance series, they tried to take my glass of wine away. Mixed martial what? They had no idea what I was talking about, nor why I was so excited about writing a series about fighters. And not boxers or professional wrestlers—athletes we’re all used to, but fighters in the fastest growing sport around—mixed martial arts. Because I’m a writer and have a way with words, I explained it to them in three: Tom gorgeous Hardy. My fan-girl crush. A hunk of a British actor, whose movies are always the highlight of my cinematic experience. And my favorite character he’s portrayed? An MMA fighter. I had an oh-my moment, and realized just how sexy—how romantic—this sport was. Romance fans have caught on as well. It seems that not only is MMA the fastest growing sport around but also highly popular in romantic fiction. I am hope you enjoy my latest MMA romance, TAP OUT! TAP OUT, book two in the Worth the Fight…

On April 14, Carina Press is publishing six brand-new sports romances. Today Allison Parr is here to tell us about her football novel, Imaginary Lines. It was a TV show that did me in. The heroine wouldn’t stop mooning over the hero, who never gave her the time of day. For God’s sake, I wanted to shout, get over him. Figure out your own life and he’ll eventually see what he’s missing. That was when the plot bunnies for Imaginary Lines came hopping. It’s not easy to be madly infatuated with a guy, especially not if the crush lasts years and if the feeling remains unrequited. But there’s only so much you can do. After Tamar, heroine of Imaginary Lines, tells Abraham’s Krasner — family friend and boy-next-door — that she likes him, that’s that. He doesn’t return the sentiment, so she’s taking off. So long, and thanks for all the fish. So of course it doesn’t take Abe very long to realize he’s madly in love with her. When they run into each other four years later, they’re professionally at odds: he’s a football star and she reports on his team. And Tamar’s given up unrequited love for good:…

Recently, we were at the house of a friend of a friend. Beautiful building, gorgeous gardens, even a stream running through the bottom of the garden. Inside, they had lovely furniture and interesting stuff in their bookcases, on their shelves and hanging on their walls. But their décor was all white. And I do mean all white. Walls, carpets, sofas, lamps, curtains. Every main room and bedroom was white. White on white. Strangely, their bathrooms were all black and white. Now, it was effective and stunning. I’m sure it photographs beautifully. But, to us, it was cold. We won’t mention that we thought it wasn’t really the place for pets or kids or clumsy adults (yes, I was nervous that I’d spill something or make a mark somewhere!) So, for all that we liked their house, we didn’t feel at home in it because of the lack of colour. We love colour! All the rooms we’ve decorated so far have coloured walls. I will admit that they’re plain colour – no wallpaper – because we have a lot of art and memorabilia hanging on our walls and it would be too busy otherwise. And we haven’t gone nuts – like…