Contemporary Romance/Sports Romance/ 2nd Chance Romance/Mature Characters
SPOTLIGHT ON
Desiree Holt &
Liz Crowe
CONNECT WITH DESIREE HOLT
CONNECT WITH LIZ CROWE
All About Desiree
USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and contemporary on a variety of heat levels up to erotic, a genre in which she is the oldest living author. She has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.
All About Liz
Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville living in Central Illinois. She’s spent her time as a three-continent expat trailing spouse, mom of three, real estate agent, brewery owner and bar manager, and is currently a social media consultant and humane society development director, in addition to being an award-winning author. With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, inside fictional television stations and successful real estate offices, and even in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are compelling and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, at times frustrate, and always linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.
Release Date:
April 20, 2021
Publisher:
The Wild Rose Press
Cover Design:
Diana Carille
Welcome Desiree & Liz to Jeny's TattleTales
For the first time ever, I welcome two authors on this episode of Jeny's TattleTales to talk about their book, the Number's Game!
Questions for Olivia Grant:
How did you get into sports journalism?
I played varsity soccer during my years at Lakeview while I was getting my journalism degree. While I always saw myself as the next Christianne Amanpour, a hard hitting, internationally known and respected reporter, I’ve also always loved sports my whole life. So when a reporting job opened up on our school paper when I was a Junior I jumped at it and really, never looked back. I will say I love the process of live tv and video production a lot more than print which is something I never thought I’d say.
What’s the hardest thing about your job?
Being the lone woman in so many rooms. I’m not uncomfortable around men, I never have been. But there is a culture that demands that the women in the room have on super high heels, revealing clothing, perfect hair and makeup, the works while the men don’t have to work that hard to look good and, as a result, be taken seriously. I know this is changing, but it’s not changing fast enough.
Do you think that having women calling football and basketball games is a good idea?
I think that anyone who is qualified to “call” a game should do so, regardless of their gender.
What’s your favorite thing about Duncan?
Lol. That he refuses to let me call him Duncan, or Jerome?
Actually, I love that he’s so completely dedicated to the team on an individual basis. He knows these kid’s lives and does everything he can to make sure they succeed. I also love that I can beat him at soccer, and my golf handicap is better. Plus that he has a very cute butt.
Ice cream (favorite flavor)? Mint chocolate chip
Coffee or tea or wine? Coffee and wine but at either ends of the day.
What does your desk look like? A total disaster, but somehow I always manage to know where everything is.
Beach, lake, or mountains? I’m a Michigan girl so…lake!
Morning rooster, night owl, or midday lark? I’m at my best at night. That puts us at opposite ends of the day, sometimes but we make it work.
Favorite book of all time? I really love the book Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom but it’s a tie with The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
Where is your favorite place you’ve visited (or wish to visit)? I’ve never been to Italy and would really love to go there someday (hint hint, elbows Hatch).
Questions for Coach Hatcher:
What is your dream job?
I am most definitely in my dream job right now. Being a player at the pro level was something I worked for almost my entire life but I really enjoy coaching, and there is something so invigorating about coaching at the college level, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Also, I got to meet her. (elbows her back).
What was the hardest thing about being a pro football player?
The constant scrutiny of the press and the public. You were never, ever, ever allowed to have a bad week, regardless of the reason. That was hard. But honestly now that I think about it, starting out as a rookie, practicing, lifting, running, and getting your butt kicked in practice because that’s what rookies are for and never knowing when you’d actually hit the field in a game—that is definitely the hardest thing.
- How do you feel about female coaches of male teams?
Men have been coaching women’s teams forever, so I don’t see a difference. I am 100% for coaches of any gender as long as they know their stuff and can lead properly.
- What is your favorite thing about Olivia?
Oh, is this a rated PG thing? Okay, then, let’s see…I love her eggplant parmesan, her terrible singing in the shower, her taste in men, the way she cheers me on no matter what, that she puts up with my obsession to be the best coach ever, and her tits. (Sorry, had to say it. They are very nice.)
Ice cream (favorite flavor)? Peanut Butter (is that a flavor? If not, then chocolate with peanut butter in it)
Coffee or tea or wine? I hate tea, and drink too much coffee, but Olivia has made me into a wine appreciator.
What does your desk look like? Pretty tidy actually. I’m kind of a neat freak when it comes to my work space. I try not to look at hers too much it makes me twitchy.
Beach, lake, or mountains? Lake, full stop.
Morning rooster, night owl, or midday lark? Morning Glory, that’s me.
Favorite book of all time? Into Thin Air, John Krakauer. I’ve read it something like a dozen times.
Where is your favorite place you’ve visited (or wish to visit)? Looks like I’d better book a trip to Italy, doesn’t it?
Numbers Game Blurb & Excerpts
Former pro football player and coach Duncan “Hatch” Hatcher fumbled his career and marriage. Now divorced and ready to tackle his future, he has an opportunity to redeem himself as coach of his college alma mater’s football team. But how can he turn the team’s losing streak around and keep the secret of his downfall buried when the school agrees to a documentary that will allow a lovely journalist to dig her way into his past…and into his heart?
Olivia Grant’s ex-husband almost wrecked her journalism career while he definitely did a number on her self-esteem. The documentary on Duncan Hatcher is the perfect way to rebuild both. As a freshman in college, she’d had a crush on the senior football hero, but he hadn’t known she existed. She never expects the sparks that fly between them as they work on the project nor the struggles they must face if they both want to win.
Excerpt 1
Every move after that, to her, seemed to have some kind of sexual connotation.
The air between them vibrated with the electricity sparking back and forth. By the time he paid the check and they left the restaurant, every pulse in her body pounded, her breasts ached, and her teeny tiny thong was soaked. She wanted to hurry home and take a cold shower before she did something really stupid.
In the truck, he turned on the radio and found a station playing oldies rock music that he tuned low. They rode in a silence that was more electric than uncomfortable, especially when he reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. When they reached her townhouse, he again lifted her from the cab and walked her to the door, holding her hand. When she had the door open, he turned her to face him and studied her face for a long time.
She waited, wondering if she had the willpower not to cross that line from professional to personal and how much damage she’d do if she did.
“You have to be the sexiest sports reporter I’ve ever met. I would really like to kiss you. Would that be okay with you?”
She should have turned away, but she couldn’t find the willpower. The kiss was soft and gentle, a mere brush of lips, a touch of flesh. Then it was over, but she wanted more. A lot more. She could feel this spinning out of control, and she was powerless to stop it.
“If you invite me in, I’m not going to turn you down.”
Excerpt 2
Hatch winced at the memory of how goofy he must have sounded to the lovely woman he was going to be having a fair bit of contact with this season. Olivia Grant was, without a doubt, beautiful, not to mention sexy as hell. She was a natural reporter, putting him at ease, even in the face of his high-school-ish reaction to her at first. But dear Lord, the crap he’d said? That shit about her being “better than she thought” at the race? And “looking for a foot in the door”? He’d sounded about as slick as the grandpas he’d been named for.
He groaned and pressed his forehead to the leather blotter on his new desk. After his divorce, he’d made a point not to notice women, something that was a bit of a self-imposed penalty. But there was no not noticing Olivia. Her soft, dark blonde hair that kept dropping over one of her deep green eyes as she’d look down at her notes, then back up at him. That smile, and those full, barely lip-sticked lips. And there was no denying she had a body that would be hard to shake out of his brain. Scott had told him she used to play soccer here, a few years behind him as an undergrad. How he’d not known her… Granted, he hadn’t been a big partier then, kept mostly to himself and his close group of friends and, as always, focused on the game.
But damn. He’d missed out on something then, without a doubt. He felt his face flush red and his entire body begin to react in ways that didn’t really serve him well as a fully grown man, with plenty of experience under his belt, so to speak.
Thankfully, she’d left before he could embarrass himself any more.
Home. Shower. Beer. Stare at a string of old movies on the giant television screen. Anything to get the lovely Olivia Grant and all her many attributes out of his head. She was, after all, the media. And everyone knew how he felt about the media.
It was get-a-grip time—on all parts of himself.
This was his chance at redemption. The opportunity was a godsend, considering the sorry state he’d left his life in on the west coast, and he didn’t intend to do anything to screw it up. He couldn’t afford to get distracted by a single thing. But how the hell was he going to do that when Olivia Grant might prove to be the biggest distraction of all?
Why Write Together?
Liz Crowe
On behalf of Desiree Holt, co-authors of NUMBERS GAME
We all have our heroes.
And when I say “hero” I’m talking about my personal ones, not the 40 or male ones I’ve created during the course of my writing career. I have lifestyle heroes, sports heroes, parenting heroes, my kids are even my heroes sometimes. My list of writing heroes is short, and in some cases more like hero worship from afar since a couple of them are super stars that I can only be a stan for on social media.
However, luckily for this writer, one of mine is a writer named Desiree Holt. When I think back on our earliest conversations, it was mainly me, a lowly stars-in-my-eyes romance author, wowed by the fact that she was so approachable and cool. She’s also one of Those Authors who give advice, tips, and inside scoops to those of us coming up behind her, learning the ropes of what can be a bit of a brutal industry at times.
When she figured out that I lived in Ann Arbor (at the time) we got to talking sports—a mutually favorite topic of ours. When she told me that she and some of her family were coming into town for a football game a few years ago, I made sure we met at the brewery I owned (at the time) and our friendship was sealed. Since then, I’ve approached her with ideas for books, questions about publishers, and all sorts of author-related stuff, but in 2016, I helped organize, promote, and run a massive fundraiser for my kids’ high school’s athletic department that featured John and Jim Harbaugh, returning to the high school that John graduated from to honor them. It was a roaring success. We raised $50,000 for the athletic fund in one night, and I got to give Desiree a present. A few of the commemorative 2016 Pioneer High Hall of Fame footballs we had made were signed by both brothers so I made sure I got one and sent it to her.
All in the name of bribing her just a little bit because I had a project in mind that I wanted us to tackle together.
It worked! But because we’re both busy, it took us a few years to get to the point of actually talking through the concept that became the novel: NUMBERS GAME, that is releasing April 20 from The Wild Rose Press. We wrote in the sort of back-and-forth manner that was fun but also frustrating at times for both of us. I know I learned a lot about my process and habits as I crafted the point of view for Duncan “Hatch” Hatcher, a former pro player and coach who’s hiding the secret of his downfall in the pros, but has landed at his fictional Michigan alma mater as head coach. When we finally got the book exactly the way we wanted it, then came the challenge of finding it a publishing home. That was a task Desiree took on with a vengeance and landed us at The Wild Rose Press, a new-to-me publisher. It’s been great working with them and we’re proud to present this sports romance, featuring characters that are both divorced, both a tad jaded, but once they meet….well, those sparks catch fire quick and burn hot!
