Kate Willoughby

USA Today Bestselling Author

Other

Carina Press Sports Week (plus a giveaway!)

My publisher, Carina Press, is releasing six sports romance titles on April 14 during their very first Sports Week! On the Surface, book one in my hockey romance series is one of the titles and I’m so excited that my book will be released with five other amazing sports romances.

The other Sports Week authors are extremely talented, generous, organized, creative and fun. I would work again with them in a heartbeat. It’s been a wonderful experience and I hope Sports Week becomes an annual event at Carina.

So as not to play favorites, I’m going to list the books in alphabetical order according to the sport. If you’re looking for romance and sexy athletes, check out these titles! And don’t forget to check out how you can win a copy of all six books, plus a $20 gift certificate.

Baseball
The Ace by Rhonda Shaw


The Men of the Show series, written by Rhonda Shaw, follows the sexy and irresistible men on the Detroit Rockets baseball team. In the second book, THE ACE, a friends-with-bennies agreement quickly turns into long, romantic evenings. But denial is the name of the game…until a line drive to the forehead threatens to erase all that’s happened.

Meet Jerry’s teammate Chase Patton in The Changeup!

Follow Rhonda: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Meet gorgeous NFL linebacker Abraham Krasner in IMAGINARY LINES by Allison Parr. Tamar fell hopelessly in love with Abe at age twelve but knew he’d never see her as more than the girl-next-door. Years later she gets a sports journalist job covering Abe’s team and the sparks fly.

Read more about the New York Leopards in Rush Me and Running Back!

Follow Allison: Twitter | Facebook | Blog

Mixed Martial Arts 
Tap Out by Michele Mannon

Michele Mannon’s second book, TAP OUT, in the Worth the Fight series, features an underwear model turned MMA superstar, and a reporter who just won’t take no for an answer.

Don’t miss book one, Knock Out!

Rugby
Playing It Close by Kat Latham

Kat Latham writes the London Legends series about the world’s hottest rugby team. Book two, PLAYING IT CLOSE, features the team captain and a scandalous woman with whom he spent one passionate night and never thought he’d see again—until she turns out to be his team’s newest sponsor.

Meet Liam’s teammate Spencer Bailey in Knowing the Score!

Tennis

Love in Straight Sets by Rebecca Crowley

In Rebecca Crowley’s LOVE IN STRAIGHT SETS, love and ambition go head-to-head. Professional tennis player Regan Hunter’s temper is almost as notorious as her unstoppable serve, but her anger when player-turned-coach Ben Percy attempts to wrest control from her grasp is nothing compared to the sizzling attraction that instantly blazes between them.

Follow Rebecca: Twitter | Blog

As promised, here’s the giveaway. Good luck!
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Other

The Big Heart of Hockey

Recently, during a game between the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench. He just fell over only six minutes into the game. Thankfully, every team in the NHL has a protocol for emergency medical situations like this. Their crew sprang into action and rushed him to the hospital. The game stopped for quite a while as everyone waited for news. The entire stadium was quiet.

As soon as I heard, I turned to Twitter. The game had been postponed. Fans of opposing teams, the opposing teams themselves, members of the media…it seemed as if everyone who loved the sport of hockey was praying for him, his family and his team. For the next few days, the hockey world worried about Peverley, and when we found out he would be okay, the collective sigh of relief was widespread and heartfelt.
I love hockey. Sure, it’s a rough game. There are fierce rivalries and harsh words uttered in the heat of the moment. Players beat each other bloody at times. (There’s a reason behind the fights, but that’s a whole other blog post.) But as much as we idolize the players, they are people, and when real life interferes with the game, the game is dismissed without a thought. It’s just a game. Rich Peverley is a person with infinitely more importance than a couple of points in the standings.

Here’s an excellent article by Mike Heika about Peverley and hockey players in general that says this far more eloquently than I did.

Other

In Which I Flirt with an NHL Player

Dustin Penner used to be an LA King. I was sad when he was traded to Anaheim. I was still sadder when he went to the Washington Capitals a couple of weeks ago. This means he won’t be playing against the Kings as often as he used to, now that he’s in another conference.

However, I can still enjoy his tweets. He’s well loved, and despised, as often happens, on Twitter. Recently he shared this with his followers, all 104,400 of them.

Want 2 tickets to my first @washcaps home game.Come pick me up at the grocery store & help me bring my bags into my new place tonight ??

(I see the emoticons don’t show up. There was a car and a sad face after the word “no.”)

The guy was so new in town, he didn’t have wheels. So, I tweeted something slightly inappropriate.

Dude, if I lived there, I’d take you on my back. 
Wait. 
That didn’t come out right.

Now, Penner’s a funny guy. I thought he might appreciate the humor, but I doubted he’d even see it. His Twitter feed must be insane.

Then, lo and behold, THIS:

That’s right; he marked my tweet as a favorite. That made my day. So I posted a photo as proof on Instagram. Same deal. I figured my followers would see it, they’d share in my delight and then it’d be over.

But look at THIS. It’s a screenshot of that Instagram post.

See the heart symbol with “dd2527” next to it? That’s Dustin on Instagram. I was sitting on my computer when I got the notification–bing!–that someone had liked my photo. That someone was him! It’s silly that I get a thrill from such a distant, mostly impersonal action, but I do. That’s the nature of being a fan and I don’t care. You have to grab happiness where you can, I say!

Are you on Twitter? Do you follow any celebrities? Have they ever responded to you?

Postscript: There is a happy ending. He did end up getting a ride from someone. Here’s the news article.

Other

Congratulations, Deb!

The contest is over and Deb won the ARC of On the Surface!

But don’t worry if you didn’t win. You can pre-order your own copy for less than a grande Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks.

If you need convincing, the first review is up on Goodreads by Jane of Dear Author. She gave it 4 stars. Here’s an excerpt:

Totally enjoyed this book…definitely recommend. It’s sexy and sweet and author was able to deliver a funny, caring hero.

I’m floored! I’ve always been afraid to send any of my books to Dear Author, and I still didn’t. Jane got a copy on her own. Carina Press might have sent it to her. The reviewers at Dear Author do not pull their punches. So it’s probably a good thing that I did not know she was reading On the Surface. Otherwise, I may have gotten an ulcer.

Anyway, she says the comprehensive review will go up on her site in April when the book comes out. I cannot wait!

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