Common Goal, a sequel for Shane and Ilya, and more!
So, how’s everyone’s year going? Haha, just kidding. It’s a nightmare.
But even in these, um, challenging times, I have news to share about my smutty hockey books.
Just today it was announced that there will indeed be a sequel to Heated Rivalry! The Long Game will be book #6 in the Game Changers series. Just to be clear, this will be a full-length Shane and Ilya novel that will give them a more definite happy ending. More of a ‘happily ever after’ than a ‘happy for now’. I am very excited to have the opportunity to write them again, and to continue their story. Huge thanks to Kerri Buckley at Carina, and my agent, Deidre Knight, for making this happen!
I am overwhelmed by the response I’ve gotten to Heated Rivalry, and to the announcement of the sequel. Shane and Ilya are so fun to write and I am really happy that so many readers enjoy them. I promise that Shane and Ilya being in a somewhat stable relationship won’t mean that they will stop being antagonistic shitheads to each other.
In other news, I have a new book coming out in September! Book #4 in the series, Common Goal, is out Sept 21 in both ebook and audiobook format. You can preorder both now. I absolutely love the cover. So sexy! The audiobook narrator for Common Goal will be Cooper North, and I can’t wait to hear it! I’ve enjoyed his work on other books, like Annabeth Albert’s Arctic Sun and At Attention, and Layla Reyne’s Dine with Me.
Common Goal is a quasi-sequel to Game Changer. The main characters are Kyle Swift and Eric Bennett, both of whom appeared in the first book in the series. Kyle was the bartender that flirted heavily with Kip before becoming friends with him, and Eric was the goaltender for the New York Admirals, and one of Scott Hunter’s best friends. The book is very light and, I hope, funny and sexy. Eric is an uptight, clean-living, recently-divorced 41-year-old who is interested in exploring his sexuality. Kyle is a grad student/bartender in his mid-twenties who is determined to stop making bad choices when it comes to men. He is happy to help Eric out, however, as long as it’s completely casual and, um, educational.
Of course things don’t stay casual for long.
I saw the very first review of Common Goal today and it was a starred review in Publishers Weekly! I am so relieved/thrilled. For various reasons, this silly little love story was very difficult for me to write. I struggled with it far more than my other books, so seeing even one good review has lifted an enormous weight off my shoulders. Once again my amazing editor, Mackenzie Walton, was extremely helpful and encouraging and made this book so much better.
For fans of the series, you will see characters from the other books make appearances in Common Goal, including Scott Hunter, Kip Grady, Carter Vaughan, Matti Jalo, Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander, Wyatt Hayes and Maria Villanueva.
And also...Troy Barrett. Who is Troy Barrett? He was one half of the duo, along with Dallas Kent, of Ryan Price’s asshole teammates in Tough Guy. Why is he important? Because I am writing a whole damn book about him right now! “What?” you might be saying. “Why?” Fair question. One reason: I love a redemption arc. Another, he just won’t leave my imagination. Dallas Kent is an irredeemable creep, but Troy has depth. In his upcoming book, Role Model, Troy has been freshly traded to Ottawa after calling out Dallas Kent during a team practice. He wants to be a better person, and the weird, scrappy energy of the struggling Ottawa team seems like the place to...well. It seems like the only place that will have Troy right now.
Fortunately the Ottawa team includes Ilya Rozanov and Wyatt Hayes, and also includes an adorable social media manager, Harris Drover. Harris is the opposite of Troy in every way: friendly, cheerful, chatty, and goofy with a booming voice, a startlingly loud laugh, and Pride pins all over his denim jacket. Definitely not the sort of person Troy would normally associate with, and yet…
I am planning to dive into some of the darker parts of hockey culture with this book, but it will still mostly be a comedy and keep the same level of heat and romance as the rest of the series. And it will set up Shane and Ilya’s sequel. I’m enjoying reimagining Ottawa as the fun hockey team to play for. Definitely a departure from reality. Much like Common Goal is a quasi-sequel to Game Changer, Role Model will be a quasi-sequel to Tough Guy. Ryan and Fabian will make an apperance.
Just a reminder that Game Changer is on sale until the end of July for $1.99 (North America only). Oh! And you can now buy the first three books as an ebook box set, if you like.
Ok, well, I’m going to get back to writing about Troy and Harris. Or listening to the audiobook of Alexis Hall’s Boyfriend Material because it’s so good I can’t stop.
