L – Elizabeth Lee

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah MichelleLeave a comment

Allow me to introduce you to Elizabeth Lee. L

 

1.     What is it about the sport in your romance that inspired you to write about it?  I think there’s something very sexy about a man (or a woman) that uses their bodies and minds to achieve success. Add in the unique settings that sports arenas provide and I think it’s a no-brainer. For the Wild Riders series, in particular, the adrenaline that accompanies the job and the high stakes drew me in.

2.     Is your sports hero based on a real sports figure? If so, who and why?  There are always some elements of real life in my writing. My husband used to race motocross and we are avid fans of today’s riders. I follow a lot of them on social media, along with their spouses, which gave me a small glimpse into their lives off the track. There are a lot of people who contributed to my heroes and heroines.

3.     What kind of research did you do for the sport in your romance? Google is a girl’s best friend! I spent a lot of time watching videos and reading articles about the sport and riders. Nothing beats heading out to the track to watch a race, though!

4.     Best advice for other authors who want to write sports romance? I think you have to really love a sport to write about it, especially when it’s for a series. If you’re going to write about something for an extended amount of time, you should be a fan.

5.     What sports romance are you working on next? I have a lot of irons in the fire at the moment. My next planned release isn’t a sports romance, but there is an element of adventure that I think will satisfy all of the Wild Riders fans.

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Keep up with Elizabeth Lee on her website.

Have a motocross questions, leave it in the comments. I’ll pick a comment at random to win a copy of the Wild Riders Novel set. 

 

J – J. Sterling

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle1 Comment

J. Sterling writes about baseball and characters with emotion and heart.I love this book. J

1.     What is it about the sport in your romance that inspired you to write about it?
Baseball has been in my life for as long as I can remember. I was born and raised on Dodger baseball and I played softball for 12 years. But mostly,  this story is based on some very real things that happened to me, so I kept it real with the sport as well.

2.     Is your sports hero based on a real sports figure? If so, who and why?
There is a very real Jack F’n Carter. I don’t know what to say about him that I haven’t already said before… he’s just…  he’s a loveable screw-up.

3.     What kind of research did you do for the sport in your romance?
I did minimal research since I knew that majority of what I wanted to write about already.  I did reach out to a couple of baseball wives to make sure a couple things that I was writing were accurate (for The Perfect Game, but for The Game Changer especially) and they did not disappoint.

4.     Best advice for other authors who want to write sports romance?
Know what you’re talking about. This goes for anything that you’re referencing- do your research and make it accurate.

5.     What sports romance are you working on next?
I’m not writing a sports romance at the moment-  but Jack & Cassie did have a couple of kids, so…….

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J. is giving away an ecopy of The Perfect Game to start your Jack and Cassie journey. In the comments, name your favorite sports romance. 

Stalk J. Sterling:

Hipmunk Hotels: Movie and Television Sets in Bar Harbor, Atlantic City, Albany, Ithaca and Stamford

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle3 Comments

I love it when I find items I want to scratch off my bucket list. Even better when they are located in amazing places I’ve never been. Going to the settings of some of my favorite movies and television shows is a bonus when they’re located in great cities, like these.

Bar Harbor, Maine

I had to watch the psychological thriller “Shutter Island” three times to understand all the nuances of this story set in Bar Harbor, Maine. Once I figured out what was real and what was in Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s imagination, this movie scared me even more. I look forward to staying in the small seaside port and exploring where Leo lost his mind. The city and its weather are prevalent in the plot; in fact, I might consider visiting in the winter. The city offers several great hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, and none, as far as I can see, are like the place they stayed at in the movie, thank goodness.

Image provided by Gizmo Goes West via Trover.com

Atlantic City, New Jersey

I’ve been to Atlantic City, and I liked it. The boardwalk, casinos, and hotels on the Atlantic Ocean were great. I enjoyed it mostly because it was closer than Las Vegas and gave you a hint of the Vegas vibe. After watching it come to life during the Prohibition era in the HBO show “Boardwalk Empire,” I see Atlantic City in a whole new light. The show made the boardwalk, hotels, and nightclubs seem like an adult version of Disney Land. They had so much fun, in between the killing, illegal activity, and other bad stuff.

Image provided by Jackie Grenier via Trover.com

Ithaca, New York

Ithaca, New York, is a great college town. It has beautiful scenery and what you think of when you picture upstate New York. Besides Cornell University, Ithaca was the setting for the 1986 movie “The Manhattan Project.” The movie was about a kid who built an atomic bomb in his garage for a science fair to expose a plutonium plant in the city. I’m sure it is safe to stay in the many hotels and explore the countryside, free from plutonium, now. The unassuming city was the perfect backdrop to this thriller.

Albany, New York

Albany, the capital of New York, is a beautiful place to visit if you have a thing for state capitals, which I do. I plan to visit when the weather is nice. Find a great hotel, get some hiking in to check out the scenery, and then drive up and down Interstate 787 and relive the car chase made famous by Angelina Jolie in the movie “Salt.”

Image provided by Linda via Trover.com

Stamford, New York

I admit, before my research, I thought Stamford was located in Connecticut. It turns out there are two Stamfords. Stamford, New York, is a little village three hours north of New York City that sits between Cooperstown and Albany. It’s part of the Catskills area where movies like “Dirty Dancing,” “War of the Worlds,” “The Bourne Legacy” were shot. Several quaint hotels and B&Bs occupy the area. It’s known for having great hiking, jogging, and scenic walking trails.

Is there a movie set you would love to visit? 

H -Humor

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle2 Comments

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I am not sure, but I think I might be funny. I mean, I have a sense of humor and my characters say funny things and I think it comes across on the page. Heck, I might be fooling myself, but you decide.

Excerpt from Anxious Love: 

“Will you step back? My neck’s getting sore looking up at you.”

He stepped back and gave me the sternest look. I couldn’t help it; I laughed. To his credit, he tried to maintain the seriousness the situation called for, but he laughed, too. I marched up three steps on my neighbor’s stoop.

“There.” I placed my hands on my hip. “Now, I can talk to you face-to-face. Freakin’ giant.” That last part, I whispered under my breath.

Ryan smirked and shook his head.

“Come here.”

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I concentrated on the nature so much that I didn’t hear Leah walked back into the bedroom. She came up behind me, her hand underneath my t-shirt, pushing it up.

“What are you doing?” I looked over my shoulder.

“Trying to get you naked.” She pushed my shirt up and laid small little kisses on my back. They tickled. “Are you going to help me or am I going to have to get a stepladder?”

I laughed as I spun around and grabbed her behind the legs and tossed her over my shoulder.

“Ryan put me down.” She giggled and squirmed as I stalked over to the king-size bed and tossed her down. She blew the hair out of her face and blinked.

“If you want me to take my clothes off, all you had to do was ask, little one.” I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it at her. It covered her eye. She pulled it off her and discarded it on the floor. I reached in my back pocket and fished out a condom and threw on the bed.

“Way to be prepared, big guy,” she said and giggled.

Do you think you are funny? 

G – The Game

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle2 Comments

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I say I’m a sports romance writers, but up until now, I’ve only written about football. That is my GAME. I love it. Every aspect of it, the stories on and off the field. I love the drama, triumph, tragedy, and emotion of it all. It is such a microcosm of our society, but every scandal draws attention because they are in the spotlight.

Football has it bad guys (Rice, Hardy, A. Smith) and its good guys (Aikman, E. Smith, Johnston) – I’m a Cowboy fan if you can’t tell. 

It has its characters and its all about second chances, or third or sometimes four.

In most occupations, there is a separation between work life and personal life, but I think to be a good professional athlete, to be a good football player, the game has to be your life.

I think that’s why I write about these complex characters because to be good, the game has to be their life, but if something is above the game, it’s love.

Love will throw anyone off their game.

Excerpt from Anxious Love: 

I wasn’t sure how she did it; she didn’t offer advice, she listened and asked questions and I didn’t feel weird about telling her my insecurities.

“Nothing is going to make him feel good about you taking his job.” Her little face scrunched up as she thought about how to help me.

My bad mood was gone. The killer blowjob helped, but what sealed it was lying in bed next to this beautiful woman. She might be cute and little, but she was wise and she understood me.

“Yeah, I could learn right tackle if I have to, but I am always looking at what’s best for the team. In three practices, it’s a little disillusioning to find out not everyone feels the same.”

“It’s weird when you all of sudden discover the world is different than you would like it to be.”

I smirked.

See what I mean about wise.

What is your favorite GAME and why?