Welcome to THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP!

Discover a New Sports Romance

What is a blog hop? It’s a way for readers to discover new authors. With bookstores closing and publishers not promoting new authors as much, blog hops are a way to introduce readers to authors they may not see in the local bookstore.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop is a great chance to find many new authors. Here you’ll find information about what I’m working on now – FINAL SCORE. Also, see links after the questions and answers and find five other authors you might like to check out.

I’d like to thank fellow author LISA HANNAH WELLS for tagging me to participate. Click the link below to find out about her latest book BE STILL MY LOVER’S HEART

In this particular hop, my fellow authors and I, in our respective blogs, have answered 10 questions where you get to learn about our current work in progress as well as some insights into our process, from characters and inspirations to plotting and cover decisions. I hope you enjoy!

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big Thing!

What is the working title of your book?

Final Score

Where did the idea come from for the book?

After attending a Nashville Predators game, Jen had an idea about a hockey player and a chef. I’d been talking about writing a story with a hockey hero – one of my favorites – and we thought, why not? Since I know nothing about cooking (and Jen does), and Jen knows nothing about hockey (and boy, do I), it was pretty easy to delegate writing responsibility. Many fun hours of “what if…” later, we had ourselves a story.

What genre does your book come under?

Contemporary romance, though we’re not averse to the sports romance and hockey romance labels.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

We’ve always envisioned model Ralf Baumgarten for Brody and actress Sarah Drew from Grey’s Anatomy for Anna.

Hockey romance heroine

Hockey romance hero

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When NHL bad boy Brody Clark gets checked by pretty redheaded chef Anna Bloom, his free agent days just might be over.

Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

FINAL SCORE is a work in progress, in the last stages of self-editing before the manuscript is ready for submission, but Jen currently has YA novels published with a small press, and Melissa has a paranormal romance published and another contracted with another small press.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first rough draft took approximately nine months to write, and we’re still going through edits!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

This is comparable to hockey sport romances by Deirdre Martin and Rachel Gibson, although there are other great writers taking on hockey players as heroes—and even heroines!

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Live hockey games, hockey players, and the excitement they generate. Read the story, go to a game. You won’t regret it!

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Conditioned athletes, celebrity, paparazzi, travel. Hockey. Attraction and tension. Set goals, reassessed priorities. Good food, good friends, good times between consenting adults.

Between the two of us, we have intimate knowledge of both the restaurant business and hockey players, so hopefully that adds a fun depth to the story! 😉

Below you will find authors who will be joining me by blog next Wednesday. Be sure to bookmark and add them to your calendars for updates on WIPs and New Releases! Happy Writing and Reading!

Sandi Layne

Ahem…Attention Please

I have some fun news of the book variety, and probably a bit of a surprise for many. For the past nine months or so, Melissa Fox and I have been working on a contemporary romance novel about a fiery chef and a hot hockey player. We were tagged by Lisa Hanna Wells in The Next Big Thing blog hop and thought this would be the perfect time to unveil the book. There was just one small problem.

We had no title.

Never fear! I work with a team of skilled writers who were all too happy to share their inspired suggestions. Thanks to Robert Coles, Jasmine Henry, Richard Foshee, and Jonathan Illig, we had the following possibilities from which to choose:

Trapped In The Penalty Box

Love Between the Blue Lines

Forking and Pucking

Of Pucks and Men

Icing the Cake

Pucks and Prejudice

Crosscheck My Heart

Pucks and Petit Fours

Love in Slippery Places

As brilliant as these titles are, we’re happy to announce the working title is Final Score, and we have a little blurb to share with you.

Chef Anna Bloom studied and sacrificed for years to open her own restaurant. Her dream finally within her grasp, she doesn’t have time to get knocked on her ass by a NHL bad boy, no matter how gorgeous he—and his abs—might be.

Connecticut Clippers star Brody Clark likes his life just fine. He’s put his wild rookie days behind him and has the Stanley Cup in his sights. But when he gets checked by a pretty redheaded cook, his free agent days might be over.

‪Crazy schedules and roaming paparazzi are just part of the deal, until Brody gets mixed up with the wrong publicity-seeker on the biggest night of Anna’s life. Anna’s star rises, while Brody’s takes a hit and crashes the boards.

In the midst of a celebrity machine hungry for scandal, Anna and Brody reach for the most ambitious goal of all: falling in love.

Next week, Melissa and I will be back to answer some questions about Final Score, and we’ll tag some more authors so you can go see what their Next Big Thing is. In the meantime, take a trip over to Melissa’s site and check out her debut, Wraith Redeemed, which will be released in print in just a few short weeks.