Publishing in Pajamas by Mina V. Esguerra: rugby

Friday, December 26, 2014

PLAYERS sports romance anthology (includes The Harder We Fall)

The PLAYERS Sports Romance Anthology (from Flirt Publishing) is out now, and it includes the following books written during our #flirtsteamyreads class:

Between Heats by Laney Castro
The Princess Finds Her Match by Suzette de Borja
Submission Moves by Camilla Sisco
Tame the Kitten by Bianca Mori
The Harder We Fall by Mina V. Esguerra

The eight-book anthology also features books from bestselling authors Marian Tee, Liliana Rhodes, and Malia Mallory!

Amazon

iTunes

Allromance

From the octagon to the diamond, from bikers in leather jackets to rock-hard MMA fighters to gorgeous swimming champions, there’s just something about bad boy athletes that makes you swoon, knowing they’re the kind of alpha male to fight for the women they love.

This EIGHT STANDALONE SPORTS ROMANCE BOXED SET can be yours for only $.99 for a very limited time.

Curl up on the couch with this hot collection of novels and novellas where athletes bring the steam both in and out of the locker room. And best of all, these stories have no cliffhangers!

Includes three never released stories by NYT and USA Today Bestselling Authors Liliana Rhodes, Marian Tee, and Malia Mallory!

Play With Me by Marian Tee: This is no ordinary love triangle: the ex-bad-boy who had his heart stolen, the foul-mouthed girl who has more Nikes than him, and basketball: the third party.

Playing Games by Liliana Rhodes: Curvy Cassie Monroe moves to Canyon Cove with only one thing in mind--finding a job. But after a close encounter with a sexy MMA fighter in the locker room, maybe she’ll find love too.

Strike to the Heart by Malia Mallory: Tennis star Jo meets MMA fighter Zane at a US Open party, not knowing who he is. Throwing her usual caution to the wind, Jo allows herself one hot night with a stranger…

The Harder We Fall by Mina V. Esguerra: A fast fling is all what media student Daria and rugby player Nicholas have time for. Wanting different things from life means they don’t get to stay together, but it doesn’t mean they can’t have fun – as long as they don’t fall hard.

Between Heats by Laney Castro: Madison never expected for all-American swimming champ Aaron to try getting her fired on her first day. But Madison’s not the type to back down from a challenge, and Aaron has a hard time pretending he’s not attracted to the aspiring model.

The Princess Finds Her Match by Suzette de Borja: When their affair becomes tabloid headlines, proper Princess Lexie and sexy polo player Nic are forced into a pretend relationship and things get awfully complicated from there.

Tame the Kitten by Bianca Mori: Kit Torres' near-collision with a speeding biker sets off a chain reaction that's a bigger rush than anything she's ever experienced before.

Submission Moves by Camilla Sisco: MMA fighter Nick Rossi has never had to work hard for a woman before until a snarky feminist with a huge chip on her shoulder came along. But despite one hot night together, Rose spurns Nick at every turn. Nick may be undefeated in the cage but, in a battle of wills, he will find that Rose can more than hold her own.

Eight sexy, gorgeous alpha male athletes are just waiting to make you theirs so tackle this hot sports romance collection now for only $.99c!

Saturday, November 22, 2014

"Volcano" research: The Harder We Fall and its rugby connection

The first book in my Spotlight New Adult series, The Harder We Fall, features a character who's a rugby player. I'm sure anyone who knows me even a little went What? What do you know about sports? And they would be right.

I like putting little challenges for myself in every book I write though, and psyched myself up for this: write about sports. I wrote this book for flirtsteamyreads and we had agreed to all write a sports-centric romance, so I pretty much got an entire group to leave my comfort zone along with me. I think we enjoyed it though? I hope so!

So, why rugby? Basketball is the big deal here, but that was precisely why I decided not to use it. As we were writing, the World Cup was on, and football was on everyone's minds. Also why I steered clear from it. A few months ago, my friends Kat and Kesh guested on the 5x5podcast and talked about rugby. It's a sport that hasn't gotten as much of a following in this country, and anyone who chooses to play it does so knowing that they're taking on a set of struggles and opportunities.

I took off from that and wrote the book. Along the way, I consulted actual rugby players Jon Morales and Evans Atandi, and the inside info has been just awesome.

Thanks also to my friend Chef Sharwin Tee for letting me tag along when his TV show Curiosity Got the Chef filmed at the training camp of the Philippine Volcanoes, the country's national rugby team. I saw the teams train, got to talk to female players and coaches, checked out what they ate, heard all the yelling. Lots of yelling. And got more help from Lady Volcano Cassie Umali, and the captain of the Volcanoes himself, Jake Letts.

A photo posted by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:45pm PDT

A photo posted by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:09pm PDT

Thanks for the storytelling time, Cassie ♡ #research #SEF

A photo posted by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on Oct 10, 2014 at 12:00am PDT

Thank you @jakeyletts! #research #inappropriatequestions

A photo posted by Mina V. Esguerra (@minavesguerra) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:33am PDT

So what did I learn from this? Research is fun. It's worth it to write more about what you don't know, because spending the time knowing it opens up all these possibilities.

It's also a balancing act of sorts, to keep the book focused on what it's supposed to be (a romance) and resist the urge to info dump everything I learned about rugby. Even just the stories they've shared about going on tournaments and training for them, and the lives they have to live in between, those could fill books. I can't write them though. I may have been sworn to secrecy about some things.

But I am writing a second rugby book, because I felt that another character in The Harder We Fall could have his own story. And he will!