My Thanksgiving Present: Fourth and Goal has a Home

I am VERY happy to announce that I've contracted with Loose Id to publish my football hero romance, Fourth and Goal, the first book in my Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series. Finally, a new Jami book will be out next spring or early summer (tentatively).

While I don't personally believe in "books of my heart" (as every book should be the book of an author's heart if she's putting her soul into the book), but this book comes close to being that book. Fourth and Goal has been floating around in my head for close to fifteen, maybe twenty years. I've written and discarded pieces of it over the years, put it on a back burner when I found out NY pubs believe sports hero romances don't sell, and a few years ago decided to drag it out. To heck with what does or doesn't sell. After all, I also write equestrian romances, and those don't "sell" either.

I love football, and I know other women love football, too. According to statistics, an estimated 45 percent of NFL fans are female. So do NY publishers think these women don't read? And don't read romance novels? I beg to differ.

The few football hero romances currently published annoy me because the heroines usually hate football and/or know nothing about it. I wanted to write a romance novel series for women who love football, have a decent knowledge of the game, and want to read about a heroine who knows her football.

Rachel, my heroine, grew up in a football-crazed family with a coach dad and football player brothers. She has an uncanny eye for evaluating football talent and diagnosing a player's strengths and weaknesses. She aspires to be a pro football scout.

The book follows Derek, an almost washed-up football player, through his and his team's journey from basement dwellers to Super Bowl contenders.

I'm hoping there's a market for a book like mine. Time will tell, but I'm putting my faith in all those female NFL fans.

The Boss

This is Khat. The barn cat who wanted no part of being a barn cat. Now he owns the house. Khat is the star of my latest WIP and Book 2 in my football romance series.

This picture says it all:

New San Juan Romance by Lisa Kleypas

As you probably know, two of my three current novels are set in the San Juan Islands, specifically on Orcas Island, though the characters do venture to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. My fourth book, titled Fourth and Goal, is set in Seattle, but the sequel to Fourth and Goal happens to be set in Friday Harbor.

I was pleased to see that Lisa Kleypas, one of my favorite historical authors, has a new short contemporary novel set in Friday Harbor, called Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor. I purchased it for a Thanksgiving weekend read, but I couldn't hold off that long. I read it yesterday. I loved Lisa's descriptions of San Juan Island and Friday Harbor. I loved her characters in this book also. My only complaint is the book was too short. I hope the remaining books in this series are full-length novels. I wanted more of Mark and Maggie's story!

Lisa is doing a Friday Harbor series on three brothers. I can't wait to read them all.

Coincidentally, my hubbie and I are spending Christmas at Friday Harbor this year. We usually go there for Thanksgiving, but we have other plans so it'll be Christmas.

Football 101 at Seahawks Headquarters (aka VMAC)

Click here to see where I spent last Saturday. Great fun and great book research!!!!

My Weekend

I had the most incredible weekend filled with two of my passions--horses and football. If you know me, you know I love both. I participated in a pilates clinic this weekend. The session on Friday was unmounted, followed by a mounted session on Sunday. Check out Equestrian Ink next Sunday for details on my pilates weekend.

On Saturday, I attended the Seattle Seahawks Football 101 at the Seahawks headquarters in Renton, WA, at Virginia Mason Athletic Center to benefit breast cancer. It was an incredible experience, and my neighbor and I are definitely going next year. I'll post more later, along with pictures on my Facebook.

Emerald City Romance Writers, October 2, 2010

I'll be at the Emerald City Writers Conference Romance Book Fair on Saturday, October 2, from 4 to 6 pm. Drop by, win a Kindle, and buy a few books. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to DAWN (Domestic Abuse Women's Network).
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Update

I've had a semi-productive summer. While I didn't finish many books, I started several.  ;)  I'm finally back in my zone and able to write like I used to be able to write. In other words, truly get into the characters' heads and become my characters.

I've started a new series, Seattle Lumberjacks Football Series. I've been shopping Fourth and Goal around since March. After two tough rejections and some excellent, detailed feedback from an editor, I gutted the plot and started over. I'm within three chapters of finishing my second set of edits. After that, F&G will be back out on the street again, looking for a good home. The Lumberjack series has been in my head for close to fifteen years. As a big football fan, I truly believe there can be a market for football romances. According to statistics, forty to forty-five percent of NFL football fans are women. So some of those women should be interested in romance with a football hero, don't you think?

My book will be different from most sports romances in that one of the subplots involves the team's journey to the championship. Most romances gloss over the sports part of the hero's life. Not me, I LOVE football, and I want the game to be an integral part of my book.

I am so excited to see F&G published, but it's importnat for me to find the right home for it, a task I won't take lightly.

I'm halfway through Book 2 of the series, involving an animal communcator heroine, a bad-boy quarterback, and a spoiled orange tabby cat.