I can’t stop writing because I’m in my spicy romance era.
Here’s what’s coming up over the next few years and what to expect.
News
Stalling in Love Tropes
Do you love a good trope?
Maybe you prefer to know what sort of book you’re getting into before you get too involved, or maybe you’re a sucker for a sports romance with added friends to lovers.
I got you.
Stalling in Love is a rugby romance with a grumpy man player and a female main character whose attitude jumps off the page and slaps you in the face?
What’s your favourite trope and have I included it here?
Here’s the blurb:
Evie is the woman your parents warned you about; dangerous, rebellious, and unable to keep her mouth shut. She hides a kind heart, her passion for dancing, and a past she’s desperate to forget. But the past won’t stop feeding her insecurities, and to make it worse, she has another secret; she’s in love with her best friend, Josh, and he’s her ex-boyfriend’s teammate too.
Josh is sexy, bearded and a mess. He has a painful secret and a lifetime of pressure. His dad demands he toes the line while excelling as a rugby star, but his heart directs him to Evie, the only woman who makes him happy and the one who risks it all. His rugby career is failing, he’s getting into fights, and his life is falling apart, but is it because of his dad or the woman he can’t resist?
The last time Evie and Josh were alone, they ended up with passionate regrets on his bedroom floor. Faced with each other again, their lives unravel as they keep their desires at bay. But destiny is coming for them, and they can only fight their scorching chemistry for so long. Their secrets are getting harder to hide, and their reputations are in tatters. Does the complicated friendship stand a chance of love, or will passion consume them before they can find out?
Content warning: Some content within Stalling in Love may be disturbing or triggering for some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Subjects include death (off and on page), adult grooming (off page/past) and some family emotional abuse (on page/not aggressive).
Head Over Feels – Less than three weeks to go!
My Rugby Romance
I can’t tell you how much I love this book. Head Over Feels is a contemporary romance with humour and mouth-watering sex. But why do I love it so much?
Is it because it’s my debut novel? That’s right I’ve never released a novel before. You may have read my short stories or purchased my anthologies, but this is my novel, and no matter what happens next with my writing, this was my first. You never forget your first.
Because I’ve been writing Head Over Feels for years? It took me six months to write the first draft and then four years to develop, edit, and perfect. I’ve cried over this story, screamed at it, and improved my writing skills along the way. If not for incredible Twitter writers like Stefanie Simpson and Sarah Smith, who held my hand and helped me believe, I wouldn’t have got this far.
It’s about rugby and is unapologetically British. I’ve read excellent sports romance books before. There are racy ones about ice hockey by Helena Hunting, novels focusing on American football and horse racing but rugby union is rare. From the first match I attended I’ve loved rugby. The power and strength emanating from the players are palpable. They are at their peak, in a dangerous battle that could destroy their bodies as they fight for survival. And for those who don’t know, rugby is as sexy as hell. And the British thing? It features the seaside, a curry house filled with lads on stag weekends and a very English cathedral. What more could you want?
The start is inspired by an evening I’ll never forget; the night I met a rugby playing artist. Little did I know that one cold evening in Winter the hot guy flirting with me as I offered him a canapé was a national rugby player. Sadly, there was no illicit romance in the cathedral’s cloisters, and the rugby player in my story bears no resemblance to the man I met, but that one night inspired something significant.
It displays that real life gets in the way of romance. My years of online dating showed me how much baggage people have. While I never met anyone with a medical history or grief like Aidan’s, I have met people who are temporarily damaged because of friends and ex-partners. I know what it’s like to date when you have secrets that you’re scared to share, and I brought that fear and vulnerability into this book.
Best of all, the sex in Head Over Feels is hot and plentiful.
Want to find out for yourself?
Head Over Feels comes out on Friday 12th February. Whether you need something to perk you up during the pandemic or the six nations has inspired you to read about hot rugby guys, or you want a man you can rely on to please you at Valentine’s make sure you download a story you’ve never read before.
You can pre-order the e-book here or wait until 12th February for the paperback.
Here’s an excerpt where Sophia and Aidan meet for the second time in his swimming pool. Is Aidan really who he seems and what is scaring Sophia about taking the plunge?
An Excerpt from Head Over Feels
She’s here. Aidan’s eyes stung with chlorine, and his deep breaths hurt his chest, but still, he sensed her.
It was as if the heat from her stare seared his flesh, even as the cold water created a protective layer around his body. I haven’t swum this hard in years. But he wanted to show her how well he performed. When her eyes fluttered closed at night, he had to be the man she dreamt of.
His confidence faltered as he noticed she was leaving. Was she disappointed? Aidan wasn’t a big rugby player, but he was strong and muscular, and women adored his agile form.
“Wait!” he shouted, water rushed into his mouth, the ensuing coughs hiding the desperation in his voice. The waterline peaked above his pecs as he stood on the tiles of the bottom of the pool. Droplets of water trickled off his shoulders before joining the rest of the pool with a drip-drip noise. Sophia stopped, her shoulders sagging.
His pulse raced as she turned. He’d memorised everything about her and yet now she was finally in front of him, she took his breath away. Aidan’s gaze followed her curves, pausing at the hips he remembered holding, his hands twitched in anticipation. With deep sighs, Sophia’s breasts moved slowly up and down. The familiar sensation of his jolting cock stole blood from his brain.
“Why were you were leaving?”
Sophia faltered. Her gaze flitted around the room, looking at everything but him.
“I didn’t want to disturb you, I mean, disturb your swimming,” she said quickly.
“You weren’t disturbing anything.” His palms went to the edge of the pool directly in front of her feet. He fixed her with a stare as he pulled himself up and out, but her face reddened, and she quickly broke eye contact. Water slid down his naked body. He stood in front of her, not close enough to touch. His muscles continued to burn from the swim, but they competed for his attention against his growing erection.
Her eyes struggled to meet his. They repeatedly dipped, trying to see more of his body, almost as if controlled by an unwavering force. He grinned when her eyes finally lingered on his. He hoped she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
“You look tired. Didn’t you sleep well last night?” Aidan asked, causing Sophia to flinch. He’d hit a nerve.
“Aren’t you cold? Maybe you should get dressed,” she replied.
“I can’t get naked in front of you.” He stated. Her dark brown eyes widened. He caught her looking at his crotch before looking away. Aidan nearly pumped his fist triumphantly into the air.
They stared wordlessly at each other. Sophia’s teeth tugged at her plump lower lip, which made him craved a kiss from her. Would she taste sweet? How would the rest of her taste? Sophia was a mystery he was aching to uncover.
His old Irish team swim shorts couldn’t hide his erection much longer. The green material clung to his thighs. They were roomy, but soon he’d be straining if she carried on staring at him like that.
“Don’t you have a towel you could put on? You might get cold or something?” Sophia responded hesitantly, fiddling with her blouse, pulling the bottom of it down. All she succeeded in doing was pulling it tighter against her breasts and giving him a view that made his body hum.
“There’s one over there.” A lone finger casually pointed to the corner of the room, eyes never leaving hers. “You can get it for me seeing as you’re concerned.”
Golden flecks appeared to crackle inside her eyes.
“I couldn’t care less to be honest,” she replied with a cheeky smile. “But I thought that you’d want to give your best performance tomorrow, seeing as you’re playing Bath. Aren’t the Bulls and Bath meant to be massive rivals?”
“Did you Google me?” She rolled her eyes, but the grin didn’t waver. “I’m flattered you’re so concerned about my “performance”.”
She huffed at him but continued to stand her ground. He stepped closer, and she met him head-on.
Dreams can come true
This week I achieved one of my dreams. It’s one I’ve had since I was 6 years old.
When I was younger there was a national four day farming type show near where we lived. Every year they would attempt to send up hot air balloons. If we were lucky, and the wind was blowing the right way, we’d see the balloons, sometimes they’d even go over our house. I would wait for hours outside my house each night in case I got the chance to see these balloons.
Being young and not so full of wisdom I thought these trips would only be for professionals and that normal people would never go in a hot air balloon. Although I hoped it might be different at the time I never imagined that one day I might have the opportunity to go in one myself.
But dreams can and do come true.
And this week they did.
As the basket lifted and drifted into the sky I confess I got quite teary. But they were happy tears. Yes, you have strangers chatting and the burner going occasionally but if you can ignore that then you are in your own world in the blue of the sky. No one can get to you, no work calls or social media madness getting to you. It is only you and the world around you.
The experience was one worth waiting for. It was not only mesmerising, it gave me the opportunity to reflect on how beautiful and calming it is when you’re up in the skies. It was what I’ve always wanted.
As we were heading to the skies lots of children waved us off. They jumped around excitedly, wearing their school uniforms. I’d like to think that as they watched us go they were having their own dreams and thinking of what their lives may be like in the future.
You may have your own dreams. Writing is another dream of mine. I confess I was thinking about characters who could have a balloon ride in one of their stories. Have you found yourself doing an activity and during it have attempted to remember what all your senses are experiencing so that you can use it in your writing?
For me all these things help my writing; whether it’s sitting in a coffee shop, going to a sports event or having a night in a club. I’ve written about all these things. Don’t underestimate the power of living as a writer rather than focusing everything on getting those words down.
Don’t forget to dream either; whether it’s about writing or other things in your life.
I’m going to go and whisper in the ear of six year old me now and tell her that it’s okay to dream big because 30-something Rebecca is making sure they come true. She’s going to be so happy.
Tell me your dreams too, either here or via my Facebook page or Twitter page.
Camp Nano Winner 2018 – Things I Learnt
I did it! I completed Camp Nanowrimo, I’m officially a winner.
You can find out more about Camp Nanowrimo here. Reaching my goal, i.e. writing 50k words in one month, was one of the most difficult things I’ve taken part in as a writer.
Let me tell you why:
- I haven’t written more than 10,000 words on one project for nearly two years.
- I chose to write a YA genre novel – I’ve never written a YA piece before
- I had a ridiculously busy month in my day job, launching a project I’ve been leading on for 6 months
- 6 months ago (i.e. when the day job changed) I lost my creativity
Why am I telling you this? Because I’ve learnt some things from my first camp experience, things that may help you too:
I can’t write every day
That’s not to say I didn’t but I found it difficult, nearly pushing myself to illness to make sure I was writing my set amount. I’ve read on twitter about how writers should write every day as it helps you create something. It doesn’t help me! I need time to think out the next section I’m going to write. By constantly writing I can’t find the space to think, tease out and then solve the problems. Which brings me to another point.
I need more than writing in my life
Shock, horror, did I say that out loud? I like to formulate plot, work out points, meet up with friends and discuss writing but I also like having a life that isn’t about writing. That’s not to say writing doesn’t filter through to the other parts of my day but the last month I ditched a lot of things to get the novel written; exercise, socialising, sleep. I’ll be spending the next month trying to lose the weight I gained during the month!
I can write more than I thought I could
I asked my boyfriend for his thoughts on what I might have learnt and this was his contribution. It’s easy for me to see the negatives but he’s right. After the first week I didn’t believe I could achieve the 50k goal, after the second week I didn’t believe I could achieve it, even up until a couple of days before I finished I knew it was touch and go. As a writer you might get negative reviews and lack of interest from publishers but ultimately for me no one brings my writing down like I do and I need to remind myself of my strengths and what I’ve achieved instead of what I haven’t.
Never underestimate the importance of chatting with other writers
There was one particular moment when I was sitting on a train, knowing that was my best time to write and yet the motivation had disappeared. I chatted with another writer on twitter, Anne Pyle, about needing to write and she gave me the energy and focus I needed. Within 10 minutes I was back on it. I wrote another 2,000 words that day. I don’t think I would have written another word if it hadn’t been for her.
I love writing
In the last year when my creativity left me I was unsure whether I should focus on my day job rather than writing. But this month reminded me that I do adore writing, even when it’s a struggle to get pen to paper. I love channelling things I see and imagine into writing. It’s a great place to work through my frustrations too.
And a last thing I want to share. The day after I finished my 50k novel an email popped into my inbox. A short story I wrote last year has been accepted into an anthology. What a way to end the month!
What did you learn from either this or a previous Nanowrimo? Leave your comments here or on my Facebook page or Twitter page.
One Year Anniversary
The Boyfriend Gets a Mention
I’ve blogged about past dates on and off for the last year but have always tried to refrain from mentioning my boyfriend.
But today I’m changing that.
For one blog post only
Today is our year anniversary and that is a big deal for us. I’d never had a proper boyfriend before him. He’d never had a relationship longer than a couple of months before me and neither of us are young enough for that to be “normal”. For the two years I was online dating he was the first guy to get beyond three dates. Every guy on my blog has a nickname. On the rare times I tweeted about him he was Snake Man.
These days I call him Banjo.
Banjo
Tonight we’re recreating our first date, only this time we’re getting the bus together, going to the bar where I changed into my date shoes together and we’ll go back to mine together too.
Sometimes you read people’s relationship beginnings and they talk about an instant spark, a heady romance, how they were inseparable from the first hello.
It wasn’t like that with Banjo.
But before I get into that I’ll tell you about before our dinner date. Dating, especially online dating, can be soul destroying. You get hurt, jaded, confidence drops and sometimes you have to take a break – which never seems to last as long as you thought it would.
I’d been through it all but a year ago I was in a good place. I’d had my dating break and I knew that whatever happened it would be okay. I liked me again.
On the date we chatted and he was nice but there was no major spark. But there was no reason not to meet again either. In the past I would have said after one, maybe two dates, if it wasn’t setting me alight then it wasn’t worth continuing but I gave him a chance.
He asked me out again.
Second date. The bad date.
I wanted him to give me those accidental touches that made me feel something. None of that. In fact, during the date, he took me to a cookware shop because he needed a new oven dish!
I joke now that I got a better response from the cute stranger who passed me at the end of the date than I did from Banjo. But it’s no joke. He seemed to have no attraction to me and I walked back to my car disheartened.
Had Banjo texted me that day asking me out again it would have been a no. But he didn’t. He sent me general texts and being polite I replied. When he asked me out for a third date two days later I couldn’t say no, I’d texted myself into a corner.
The third date happened and still no spark but there was still no reason not to date. As it happens he was feeling the same. The best thing about that date was I caught my first Pikachu on the way home.
Fourth Date
I have no reason why we went on a fourth date, except he asked me. I wanted to do something different and he was on board. We started with pudding then went to a comedy show, then went out for poppadoms.
This date changed everything for him. Suddenly he felt that spark. He put his arm around me during the comedy show and I felt something but I wasn’t sure it was enough. But it wasn’t enough to stop dating either. I’d never given any guy this many chances.
I remember that my friends, family and even twitter were crucial for me in those days. I was regularly expressing my confusion and getting a variety of advice back. Thank you to all who listened to my ramblings during this time. I owe you.
Date 4.5 happened. I was writing in a coffee shop and he asked if he could join me for half an hour. He was keen but I was still struggling with mixed feelings.
Date Five
It was suddenly upon us and it was during this date that I decided I had to tell him it wasn’t working. During the date he said he didn’t like to be teased. I love to be teased. Clearly we weren’t right for each other.
He was lovely and caring but I couldn’t keep this endless round of dates going. It was time to say goodbye.
In the car, outside my house, we talked for an hour. I explained how I felt and for the first time I saw a very different Banjo. He was funny, sexy and relaxed. The tension had gone. The Banjo in front of me was a guy I’d be happy to get to know better.
And so I did.
Within a fortnight he’d cooked me a roast – that’s a big deal for someone who never saw her dad cook for her mum! I stayed over at his house because he wanted me there and I didn’t want to go home. He even gave me my own toothbrush head!
He met my best friend. We spent my birthday together, we took our first selfie. He tolerated me shouting the pisstake “relationship goals” at him at random opportunities.
But also I’d never been in a relationship before and I was terrified. We worked through it and all the other issues. Life has moved on and somehow we’ve made it to a year.
Banjo isn’t my obvious type but he’s not the opposite of it either. He’s the man I want to be with and he has something that I always said I needed in a guy but never believed I’d find.
He’s patient.
I can be annoying, grumpy, hard work and exhausting. I also think I’m funny as f***. He puts up with everything and he revels in it too, albeit with a bit of a sigh at times.
Is he perfect? Hell no. Am I? Ummmm.
He even puts up with my incessant need to spank him on the bum whenever he bends even slightly. A “No,” might roar from his mouth, between chuckles, as he quickly tries to get from under his desk because he’s heard my footsteps sprinting across the wooden floor.
We’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve learnt what a relationship means to us. At the moment we’re debating moving in together. In some ways it’s a no-brainer but we’re also protective of our space. I believe it will happen before the end of the year but who knows? We may not be together in a year, I’m clueless about this stuff.
What has this relationship taught me?
That a lot of what happens in the dating world is luck. I know we’d never have met each other in real life. At any point we could have said in our early days of dating that it wasn’t working. And if I’d met him three years earlier I probably would have given up before 4/5 dates. When it comes to dating we can be quick to find the faults and not the good points, even in a profile.
There are no hard and fast rules in dating. Every situation is different. I’m glad we gave each other a chance when not many had given either of us chances before. I got lucky and so did he.
Honestly, I never expected to find a boyfriend that I liked. I went on a lot of dates but I’m genuinely surprised I ended up with someone. I got lucky.
Sorry if you found this post soppy, annoying or a waste of time.
But for once I wanted to talk about my boyfriend Banjo. If you want to share your own dating stories or thoughts then you can do it via the comments section or via my Facebook page or Twitter page.
Sunshine Blogger Award
Gracie Mae DeLunac asked me a few questions for the Sunshine Blogger Award.
Per Gracie Mae’s blogpost: “The Sunshine Blogger Award is a “get to know the writer better” type of blogging exercise, with a couple of rules attached:
- Answer all 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
- Nominate eleven bloggers in return and write eleven (possibly fiendish) questions for them to answer.”
Sunshine Blogger Award Answers
Here are my answers to Grace Mae’s questions:
1. What is your favorite movie/tv show quote? What is it from? Why is it your favorite?
I love the television show Psych and they have some excellent but random quotes, including the title of one of their episodes, “Poker? I Barely Know Her.” But they don’t tend to translate well on paper. However, I do love “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off” from the film The Italian Job. I love that the film is full of charm, good British fun and the escape scenes are incredible. That said nothing beats a night in the pub spent quoting Anchorman quotes. Those nights are endless.
“I’m very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.”
One day I’ll be able to tell people this.
2. What do you like to think about most when plotting (Characters, plotline, plot twists, villainous acts, etc.)?
Plotlines and the secrets that go with them. Why do people do what they do, what is their background and how will that affect the plot.
3. What is your preference of “apocalyptic” groups: zombies, aliens, or mutants?
It may sound foolish but I think the biggest apocalyptic group are humans with all their weird forms and dastardly minds. After that…maybe aliens.
4. What kind of food do you eat to feel decent enough to write?
I tend to binge bad food like chocolate and crisps when writing. But they’re not good for my energy levels and I think I need to find better foods.
5. Do you bring your own personal views (especially political and religious) into your tales?
I tend not to get political in my writing, it’s not the right place for it. However, my knowledge of Christianity, and my experiences of it, falls into my stories in ways even I don’t expect.
6. Would you say you “commune” better with nature when gardening [hands on], lounging outside [kinda near], or viewing it from inside your place [far away]?
I respect nature the most when I’m walking or sitting in it. Nothing like summer rain hitting your bare skin as you smell freshly wet grass, love it.
7. What is the strangest/rudest thing you have ever heard your written characters say?
One of my characters is crude to the point of vomit inducing, she says whatever she wants and mostly she wants to say dirty, liquid based, stomach churning things.
8. Paper or plastic or re-usable?
Re-usable. A close friend is an environmentalist and I’m scared of incurring her wrath.
9. What movie/book/show would you say has made the most impression on you? When? Why/how?
I’m not sure I’m proud to say this but Dawson’s Creek had a profound effect on me. It was the first time I cried at love and unrequited love. I learnt that bad boys aren’t necessarily bad (yep, I fell in love with Pacey) and their imperfections are what make them interesting. It showed me the power of humour in drama too and it helped me to believe that in the end you can “ride” off into the sunset. Sometimes the right guy isn’t the obvious guy, at first anyway, this has impacted my writing too. That was in my mid to late teens.
I also enjoyed things like Cagney and Lacey and X-Files as a child. Strong female leads are inspiring to a young girl.
The most significant books for my writing were those written by Karen Rose. Through her I learnt about building sexual tension. I also saw that sex in books doesn’t limit the characters but opens them up to explore the impact of their past while finding a new future. Also, they can have sex and fall in love, it doesn’t have to be sex just for the sake of it. I started reading these about five years ago and have now read every book she’s written.
10. What is your favorite color? [Monty Python reference? ? ]
Blue. I swear 80% of my clothes seem to be blue without any planning on my part.
11. If you were able to publish one of your tales and go somewhere to showcase it (author tour, opening night for the movie, etc.), where would you go? Why?
If it was my Trying Every Angle series (a sports erotic romance) then I would love to take it to the next location of the Rugby World Cup. In 2019 it will be Japan. Alternatively to America, maybe California, to an erotic writing event.
My Nominations
I nominate bloggers:
R.B. O’Brien Author
CK
Candace Khun, CandyKaBoom
John Dupree
Paul Jameson, Modquokka
R K Hawthorne
Sarah Correia, sarahguestperry
Lady Writer, Eva Deverell
Elia Winters
Kelly Sedinger, Jaquandor
Molly, Mollysdailykiss
My eleven questions are:
- What is your favourite song? Do you have a significant memory attached to a time you listened to it?
- Where do you love to blog/write the most?
- If you could make up a fear of something what would it be of and what would it be called?
- Italian or French? (in whatever context you decide)
- What do you think killed the dinosaurs? (can be as creative an answer as you like)
- What is the strangest thing you’ve ever had to research for your writing/blogging?
- What can you hear right now? What would you prefer to be listening to?
- What do you do when you feel you should be writing but are lacking in inspiration?
- What is your greatest achievement?
- If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be?
- Who is your favourite author and why?