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.
