Many years ago I wrote the first incarnation of Fourth and Goal. I was new to romance writing and RWA in particular. It didn't take long for me to hear all the negative remarks about sports heroes and book sales. I put F&G away and worked on other books.
Last year after a particularly long bout of writer's disinterest (I wasn't blocked, just not interested in anything I was writing), I pulled the book back out of mothballs. I'd written it so long ago, all I used was the idea and the characters, but none of the actual writing. After finishing it, I sent it to three NY editors and received three very nice rejections. Each one said: "Love the story, but sports heroes don't sell." Okay, no surprise there. I'd heard that for years.
But why don't they sell? Could it be the the authors who write about them don't really know or care about the sports they write about? Is it possible many readers are knowledgeable enough about sports that most of these books fall short and don't capture their interest? I know I've been frustrated by the huge amount of football hero romances in which the hero gives up his career for the heroine or the heroine is completely ignorant of or hates football. It's pretty much the norm for sports hero books. Yet, according to the NFL, over 45 percent of their fans are women. Certainly these women read. Maybe sports hero romances fill a niche market, rather than being the type of story which fits the mass market?
I really don't know the correct answers to the above questions. What I do know is that I wanted to write a different kind of sports hero romance in which my heroine, Rachel, not only knows football but wants a career as a pro football scout. Derek, my hero, is a struggling wide receiver on the verge of being washed up. Not only only does the book follow their romance, but it follows the team's transformation from basement dweller to Super Bowl contender.
I'm very excited about this book and am halfway through the second book in my Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series featuring Derek's bad boy cousin, Tyler, who's met his match in the form of an animal communicator heroine and an spoiled orange tabby cat.
Since Fourth and Goal is still in the final editing stage, I'm not able to post an excerpt here, but I do have a treat for you with an adult excerpt of Cassandra Carr's Talk to Me, due out next month from LI and featuring a hockey hero:
The elevator doors opened, and Drew hurried to unlock his apartment and punch his code into the security pad before continuing straight to his bedroom. He spun and picked Jamie up as she neared the door, and she let out a squeak of protest.
“Drew!”
“What? I’m trying to be romantic. Efficient too.” He grinned at her when she struggled to get out of his grip. The way she fought against him both amused and aroused him. “Not so fast,” he warned her. “I’m not planning to let you get away until I’m good and finished with you.”
Jamie cocked an eyebrow. “Good and finished? Be still my heart! Such dreamy talk from a man like you! I had no idea.”
Drew laughed and dropped Jamie on the king-size bed with enough force to make her bounce, then climbed on top of her. Before she could protest again, he’d pressed his erection into her belly and taken her lips in another deep kiss. Jamie melted beneath him, snaking her hands around his neck while his found her hips, pulling her closer. “You need to get naked,” he declared, rolling off her.
“Just me? That’s hardly fair. If I’m getting naked, then this time, so are you.” Her beautiful, full lips pouted at him.
He stood up, and in seconds, his pants and boxer briefs landed in a heap on the floor. He pulled his shirt over his head and added it to the pile. “Your turn.”
Jamie rose up on her elbows and stared at him in disbelief. “How did you do that so fast? And may I add, very nice.” She smiled and waggled her eyebrows, giving him a quick once-over.
“When I want something, I don’t waste time. And I want you naked. Now.”
He reached over and started yanking her top over her head, but she batted his hands away.
“Hey -- stop that. You’re going to dislocate my shoulder with your beastlike strength.”
Drew laughed but allowed Jamie to gently pull her blouse over her head. He took it and tossed it on the chair near the window. Next she tugged her jeans off, leaving her in only her bra and panties, which Drew made short work of.
He groaned when she was fully nude. “God, you’re fucking gorgeous, you know that? And I’m gonna put my hands and my tongue and my mouth and my cock everywhere on and in your beautiful body, so you better be ready.”
Jamie shivered, and he covered her body with his, kissing her briefly before moving down her jawline, sucking and licking. This is gonna be good.
From Talk to Me by Cassandra Carr, due out in March at Loose Id.
Jami currently has three published books. You can find out more at http://www.jamidavenport.com/.
