Great News

Lots of good news! Hockey Is My Boyfriend, Part Three is finally done. It’s in copy-editing right now and unless there are drastic changes or formatting issues, I am planning to release the book on June 1. There will be no presales so I can get the book to you the soonest—after all, it’s only four months later then I said it would be.

I have been working and reworking this book for the last seven months, no lie. Part Three went through a lot of different iterations, but I believe it’s a lot stronger now and has some interesting structural quirks. I’m really excited to hear your reactions.

I am currently writing the bridge story, so I will send it out in my newsletter next week. And if you’re not like me—completely immersed in the life of Kelly Tanaka—it may be time to reread Parts One and Two. If you’re not on the email list yet, you can sign up right over there -----> 

And I have new covers too. I’ve been working with a fantastic cover designer and I’m redoing all my covers. I now have a marketing mentor, author Zoe York. Her first directive was to get my books looking more like other hockey romances. So I have done that, and I will do a full relaunch of my books on June 1st as well. Party! Confetti! Just in time for the Stanley Cup Finals too.

I want to thank everyone who took a chance on me when my covers were different. I like to think that you are all people who put writing first, which is what I do when I choose books. I think my book sales have been great and I’ve been been in touch so many lovely readers. However, Zoe thinks I can reach a wider audience. And that’s what all authors want, right?

I will reveal all the new covers soon, but here’s a sneak peek!

Yup, full wrap covers. That means real, live books too.

Coming soon... really!

Hello to all my patient readers!

If you’ve been holding your breath, waiting for Part Two of Hockey Is My Boyfriend, then you’ve probably passed out by now. And I’m really sorry about that. I know I promised this book for October, and I was aiming for the start of the hockey season. However, now it’s going to be closer to that other momentous October date, Hallowe’en. Still, it’s better than my first two books, which were both months behind schedule—something to do with that toxic mix of editing and perfectionism.

But enough of my psychological issues, I will have an official launch date and online presales later this week. In the next two weeks, I'll tell you lots more about the book. I have a special offer. And the blog will have a deleted scene from the book which will update you on everyone from Part One. And newsletter readers will get another deleted scene as well—so sign up on the right, if you haven't already.

And what’s the book about? Well, it takes place two years after the first book. Kelly has completed two years at McGill, and she’s come home for the summer. But she’s not staying in Vancouver for very long. She’s winging her way cross-country to a town in the Maritimes, called Fredericton. Do you know Fredericton? A quick poll of my on-line writing group found all the Americans scratching their heads and a few Canadians giving guarded “Yes, but don’t make me find it on a map” answers. One woman answered, “Of course,” but she lives there.

So if you don’t know it, Fredericton is a very pretty town and the capital of New Brunswick. Don’t make me explain New Brunswick. Let’s just say it’s in Eastern Canada. Take a left from Sidney Crosby’s house, drive five hours and you’re there. And Kelly’s there too. Well, she's nearby at the wholly fictional Lake Carswell, working at a hockey camp. And she’s going to meet someone there, because it’s a romance, right?

I don’t like to brag, but I genuinely feel that after all the writing, editing, and sweaty effort, this is my best book yet! I really hope you’ll enjoy it. 

Kisses For Everyone

Well, it’s been a month since Hockey Is My Boyfriend, Part One was born. So far, it’s been a fantastic launch. On the first day, the book got an amazing review from book blogger and hockey lover, Diane Subsits Lynch. You can read it here. I also did a fun interview about the book on the blog of my friend and fellow author, Jaymee Jacobs. Check it out here if you want to find out what I said when a hockey player proposed to me.

Most of all, I want to say thank you to all my readers. Book sales and borrows—yes, if you’re on Kindle Unlimited you can borrow all three of my books—have been amazing! After I did my taxes this year, I made a bet that in 2014 I would double my book sales from 2013. Now that the July numbers are out from Amazon, I’m elated to say that I’ve already done this. And I still have another book coming out this year. I guess I should have made the stakes on my bet higher, but I’m still getting a free lunch!

Speaking of the next book, I figured I’d have Part Two edited by now. Ha ha. But I am working hard on the revisions and the book is taking shape nicely. I’m pretty excited about it. Can there possibly be someone better suited to Kelly Tanaka than Phil Davidson? You’ll have to read HIMB, Part Two, to find out. I’ve said that it will be out in the fall, and I’m sticking to that very vague launch date.

So, what to do in the meantime? If you haven’t done so already, I am shamelessly pleading for reviews. Being raised on serials (not Rice Crispies, the story kind) I am hooked on feedback. I crave it like a hockey fan craves the beginning of the season, which is Wednesday, October 8th for anyone else who’s keeping track. Anyway, reviews on Amazon or Goodreads are much appreciated. Honest reviews, because I can take criticism. Whimper, whimper, really I can. Although if you hated my book, why are you reading my blog?

And to show how grateful I am to everyone, I have finished the short story, French Kiss, that goes in between Parts One and Two. To get this story, absolutely free, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar. I will post an excerpt on my blog very soon, it’s a fun little tale about Montréal and cathartic violence. There’s also sex and hockey. Because that’s how we roll around here.

Friday Night Romance

Where's that recipe?

Today, my book is featured on Friday Night Romance. This site has one of the sexiest landing pages I’ve seen on a book blog. I’d like to imagine myself reading a book that way: dressed in a sequinned dress with an icy martini on a Persian rug. There’s undoubtedly a guy or multiple guys admiring me as I read, because I don’t put on those false eyelashes for nothing. Am I right?

The reality would be me, lying on the couch in yoga pants and a t-shirt, reading a book. I am being admired by a cat, who is actually wondering when I might feed him, or failing that, die so he can eat my corpse like that episode of C.S.I. I once saw.

Okay, enough morbid digressions. You may be wondering how I got my book on a sexy book blog. Especially one that usually reviews paranormal and fantasy romances.

Easy peasy, the blog is written by a woman named Kelly Matsuura. See the parallels to the heroine of Hockey Is My Boyfriend? Kelly first-name, Japanese last name? Coincidence? I think not. Kelly (the real person) jokingly thanked me for naming my heroine after her! Truth was I found Friday Night Romance ages ago, noticed the similarities and decided that when I finally published this book, I would approach her.

So although Kelly Matsuura does not read hockey romances, she does like multicultural heroines, and here we are. I confess that my heroine isn’t really that Japanese—much to the disappointment of Dave Vanderhauf. (That’s an in-joke. You have to read the book to get it. Chapter 35? Anyone? Anyone?)

So, promotional lesson learned: make sure your book heroine has a similar name to a cool blogger. Check out Friday Night Romance here.