Check out these gaw-geous covers for the Ignite October releases!! You can join the Ignite Cover Reveal and have a chance to win a $15 Amazon or B&N Gift Card! Just share the covers on your Facebook page from my page, and then enter the Rafflecopter below! Soooo.... 1. Ogle the covers below. 2. Go to my Facebook page and share my post about the covers. 3. Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win the GIVEAWAY!
Today I'm so psyched to have my fellow Southern Sister of of Steam, Kerry Freeman, visiting me! Yaay! *jazz kick and hands* She and three fab-u-lous authors, Shae Connor, Marguerite Labbe, and Kate McMurray have a HAWT new anthology out from Dreamspinner Press entitled, Playing Ball. Pun totally intended. Kerry's here to tell us about the anthology as well as have some fun! :-D Take it away, Kerry!
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Thanks so much to Naima Simone for having me on the blog today - you rock!
Today, more and more athletes are coming out, and more are openly supporting them as allies. For a bit of fun, I thought I’d highlight some sexy and out LGBT athletes.
belle-brockhoff.com
Olympic-bound Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff recently came out publicly in response to Russia’s awful anti-gay laws. She plans to compete in Sochi next year.
Joshua Dixon/Twitter
US gymnast and Olympic hopeful Joshua Dixon came out in 2012. He made the finals for the US team that year, and he hopes to make the team in 2016.
jessicaaguilar.com
Jessica Aguilar is ranked the #3 pound-for-pound female MMA fighter in the world and is openly bisexual. Last year she was the Florida Female MMA Fighter of the Year.
Noah Salzman/Wikipedia
Coming out while playing in Britain earlier this year, Robbie Rogers is the first openly gay man to play in a North American professional league as a winger for the Los Angeles Galaxy. He is currently recovering from a torn hamstring.
Ampatent/Wikipedia
Megan Rapinoe helped the US women’s soccer team win gold in 2012. She is currently playing for the Seattle Reign FC.
Philip Myers/Wikipedia
Australian diver Matthew Mitcham came out in 2008, the same year he won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. He also competed in 2012, and the world was introduced to his adorable YouTube videos.
If you want to find out about more LGBT athletes, check out Wikipedia’s list here!
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This was awesome, Kerry! Thanks so much for hijacking the blog today! Now on to the goodies--the book and GIVEAWAY!!
Book info:
Title:Playing Ball Authors: Shae Connor, Kate McMurray, Kerry Freeman, and Marguerite Labbe
Cover: Aaron Anderson
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press Length: 270 pages Blurb: Baseball—America's favorite pastime—provides a field wide open for romance. A Home Field Advantage may not help when Toby must choose between the team he’s loved all his life and the man he could love for the rest of it. In 1927, Skip hides his sexuality to protect his career until he meets One Man to Remember. Ruben and Alan fell victim to a Wild Pitch, leaving them struggling with heartache and guilt, and now they've met again. And on One Last Road Trip, Jake retires and leaves baseball behind, hoping to reconnect with Mikko and get a second chance at love. The anthology contains the following novellas:
Home Field Advantage by Shae Connor
Toby MacMillan, grandson of Atlanta Braves owner Ray MacMillan, lives for baseball and loves his team. When he meets new team member Caleb Browning, an innocent welcome-to-the-big-leagues dinner leads to a not-so-innocent night together. Toby quickly calls things off, afraid of the ramifications of their tryst, but the two men develop a friendship that soon becomes more. After Caleb takes a fastball to the head, their budding romance hits the news—and Toby’s grandfather hits the roof. When Ray MacMillan demands Toby deny the relationship, Toby must choose between the team he’s loved all his life and the man he could love for the rest of it.
One Man to Remember by Kate McMurray
It's 1927, and in New York City, Babe Ruth and the Yankees’ unstoppable batting lineup, Murderers' Row, is all anyone can talk about. Across town, the Giants' rookie infielder Skip Littlefield racks up hits, creating a streak to rival the Babe’s. Worried his secrets could get out, he avoids the spotlight, but he catches the attention of lauded sports reporter Walter Selby, a notorious dandy whose sexuality is an open secret. Skip reluctantly agrees to an interview, and mutual attraction is sparked. Skip can only hope the more charismatic stars will draw attention away from his romance with Walt. Otherwise, his career and everything he loves is at stake.
Wild Pitch by Marguerite Labbe
Ruben Martell fell in love with Alan Hartner during their years playing baseball. They stepped over the foul line once, but the encounter left them struggling with heartache and guilt, turning away from each other to focus on their families. Now retired from the majors, they run a batting cage together and coach rival Little League teams as they juggle fatherhood and being single again. Though Ruben has never given up hope that Alan might look at him as more than a friend, Alan seems determined to keep things the way they’ve always been. But long-buried feelings and desires have a way of resurfacing, and Ruben can't wait forever.
One Last Road Trip by Kerry Freeman
With the last game of his Major League Baseball career behind him, Jake Wilson hits the road. Years have passed, but he never got over the romance he shared with Mikko Niemi back in college. Finally, he's ready to do something about it. He starts with some crucial visits to his ex-wife in New Mexico, his son in Oklahoma, and his daughter in Tennessee. But his true destination is Mikko's home in Georgia, where he's hoping to get a second chance at love.
Shae Connor lives in Atlanta, where she works for the government by day and reads and writes about people falling in love by night. Shae writes primarily gay contemporary romance and is published with Dreamspinner Press, MLR Press, and Wilde City Press. Shae is active on Twitter @shaeconnor and posts snippets, updates, and thoughts on writing and editing at her web site, www.shaeconnorwrites.com. You can contact her at shaeconnorwrites@gmail.com.
Kate McMurray is an unabashed romance fan. Her first published novel, In Hot Pursuit, came out in February 2010, and she’s been writing feverishly ever since. She likes stories that are brainy, funny, and of course sexy, with regular guy characters and urban sensibilities. When she’s not writing, Kate works a nonfiction editor. She’s currently serving as Vice President of Rainbow Romance Writers, the LGBT romance chapter of Romance Writers of America. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a pesky cat. Visit her at www.katemcmurray.com.
Kerry Freeman was born and raised in Alabama and she grew up swearing she was going to get the hell out of Dodge the instant she could. Turns out Dodge ain’t so bad, and she never left. Alabama’s version of a city girl, she married a country boy, and the couple lives in a small town with their two socially awkward dogs. Kerry loves to write about love, and it turns out most of the voices in her head are men. She also loves to write about the South, so most of her stories end up there, one way or another. You can visit Kerry at http://kerryfreeman.com/
Marguerite Labbe has been accused of being eccentric and a shade neurotic, both of which she freely admits to, but her muse has OCD tendencies, so who can blame her? Marguerite loves to spin tales of stubborn men with smart mouths, working toward a deep and lasting love, no matter what else she throws at them. Visit Marguerite's web site at http://www.margueritelabbe.com.
To celebrate the release of PLAYING BALL, Shae, Marguerite, Kerry, and Kate are giving away two great prizes:
Grand prize: A print copy of PLAYING BALL signed by all four authors, a unisex BBQ apron featuring hot athletes from Originals by Lauren (https://www.etsy.com/shop/OriginalsbyLauren), and swag from all four authors.
Runner-up prize: An ebook copy of PLAYING BALL and swag from all four authors.
The giveaway will run from 12AM Central on September 21, 2013 to 12AM Central on October 11, 2013. To give an opportunity for the authors to get together to sign the book and gather swag, the winners will be picked and the prizes shipped after the end of GayRomLit 2013.
Rules:
You must be a resident of Earth, 18 years or older, who lives in a place where the viewing of adult material is legal. By entering the giveaway, you are indicating your agreement to the rules. Winners must provide a physical mailing address to receive their prizes. If a winner does not respond to the prize notification within 48 hours, the prize will be re-awarded.
