Have you read these yet?

Falling for Flynn and Crazy for Cole are two of my favorite books and I finally have an idea for Slater's story! He's going to go to his 20th high school reunion and discover that someone there is pretending he's her boyfriend. Just for kicks, he plays along, because he's curious as to what kind of woman does that and why?

I'll have to admit I'm curious too. LOL (Obviously, I haven't gotten too far in the plotting yet.)

Anyway, there are two books already written about the two buddies/ex-teammates he opened a bistro pub with and they're complete standalones, so don't be afraid to read them now before book three is even written yet.

Amazon 

All other retailers

Amazon

All other retailers 

In the Zone #5 Coming this Summer!

Meet Dustin DeVries, defenseman for the San Diego Barracudas. He goes by Dev. He's a bit of a player. He also has a secret in his past that haunts him. But he'll have to come to terms with what happened if he wants to find true happiness with Reese, the young single mom he falls for, who also happens to be his housekeeper.

Disclaimer: This is not the official blurb. LOL I coughed this up last night before I went to bed.

Black Friday (sort of) Sale!

What people are saying about WHATEVER IT TAKES--an NHL goalie, plus-sized woman, second chance romance--now just 99 cents...

“If you’re a fan of the movie Grease…then you definitely have to try this one!”

"You need to do 'Whatever It Takes' to read this book!"

"This book was everything. It was fun and sassy, romantic and entertaining."

While you're at it, pick up some (or all!) of the other Camp Firefly Falls books. Sale ends Monday.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2zq5lXN 
All other retailers: http://bit.ly/2sHnLQG

Will I Make the Cut?

I'm very excited to announce that the excerpt I sent in from Falling for Flynn is a finalist in the Best Banter Contest! Now it goes to the final judge. Cross your fingers for me!

Woof!

In honor of National Dog Day, here's a short video of my little rescue pooch, Mochi. He's about 12 now. When we met him at the animal shelter, we witnessed him staring down a much bigger dog and I liked his style! This little guy loves to burrow under the covers, sun himself on the pavement, and munch on fresh veggies like broccoli and cauliflower. (Zucchini, not so much.) 

I'd love to see your poochie pictures in the comments.

Meet Kate in October

I'm going to be in Seattle at the Emerald City Writers Conference and would love to meet some of you readers. My good friend and amazing sports romance author, Jami Davenport, and I will be hosting a little get-together, Friday, October 13.

OMG FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH! LMAO.

I'll have details for you soon, but mark the date for now.

I find it very appropriate that Jason wore a hockey mask.

Winner!

I'm proud to announce that Across the Line won the Best Contemporary Romance 2016 award from the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition. I won this award before for a different category, but never received the trophy. This is my very first trophy ever.

Square Six

So, remember that team plane story?

It's gone.

She's now a high-end matchmaker. I'm 10K in with about 70K to go. Unfortunately, I need to get another novella finished. I committed to participate in a Silver Fox boxed set in which the characters are all forty or above. It's going to be fun, but it's due soon and I have to get going on it.

Square One

On Tuesday, I got my assignment from The Most Amazing Editor In the World, Kerri. Send her In the Zone book 5 by mid-May. The next day, I begin to plot. I know I want it to be Booth MacDonald's story. I decide Elliot Fleming is going to buy the team a plane, so I think, why not have Booth fall in love with one of the flight crew? It'll be a "forbidden love" story. Here are the initial notes I made.

Then, I started with the Post-its. I write scene descriptions down and move them around as needed. I got about half the book plotted, but hit a bit of a wall, so I decided to just start writing.

I wrote about 700 words. It was fun. Then around nine o'clock, I thought, "This story sucks." I also thought, "Kate, this is the end of your hockey series. You have no more ideas." I rarely get these self-doubt attacks, but there it was.

Enter Jennifer Lazaris, a fellow hockey romance writer and friend. With her help, I find some tropes that sound interesting and all apply to the heroine.

• She's the sister of one of Booth's teammates.
• She's a virgin.
• She's a big, beautiful woman, but with shaky self-confidence.

Together, we start brainstorming what Booth's heroine is like. Why is she a virgin? Who's sister is she? When we finally said good night (or when Jen finally said, "I must go make pancakes now"), I was excited about the new heroine. I had also killed off Phoebe Sugarman and her daughter Sam. Booth's physically handicapped dad might also have gotten cut. That remains to be seen.

Today, I am revitalized. I jotted down two pages of notes about the new heroine.She doesn't have a name yet, but she will soon because I can't write unless there are names. I got a bit more nailed down about who Booth is and what happened to him before he became a Barracuda.

This book is taking off and I'm really excited.

In Which I Do a Truncated David Letterman Impression

I'm guest blogging at the Carina Press blog today about my Top 5 Reasons to Read Sports Romance. Check it out if you get the chance!

The Return of the Blog

No, it's not an internet horror movie, it's merely that I decided I did have a few things I wanted to say in a blog format. Stay tuned.

What blog?

Because I've been so busy writing and embracing Facebook as an inevitable if confusing marketing tool, I've severely neglected my blog. But I've been wondering if my blog is gradually being replaced by Facebook and the other social media I'm on. (Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram.)

I may retire the blog soon. Fair warning. :)

Tweet tweet!

What do hockey players and birds have in common? They both chirp! Come learn about chirping, read a fun excerpt from OUT OF THE GAME and maybe win copies of my first two hockey romances at Contemporary Romance Cafe today.

Join the Team

I attended a writer's conference last weekend and because of a workshop I attended, I decided to form a street team. I had thought about forming a street team before, but had been under the impression that street teams were aggressive marketing groups, mobilized by authors who acted more like military masterminds than writers. I have no problem with other authors incentivizing their street teams with swag and such, but that didn't feel right for me.

But in this workshop, I learned that street teams can be more about fun and connecting readers with authors whose books they love, with only a tiny bit of (very optional) promoting, and that's more like what I want to do.

So my street team is called The Body Checkers. I kind of liked the dual meaning of that name. Hockey players body check. For those of you not familiar with this term, basically, it's when one player crashes into or uses his body to force another player off the puck. Members of my street team will likely be doing another sort of body check, in the form of ogling man candy of the hockey kind. This is Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars.

Although I have no objections to ogling non-hockey playing man candy.

So, there will be an issue of the newsletter coming soon that will give a lot more detail, so be on the lookout. If you're not a subscriber, there's a tab up top where you can sign up. Or, if you already know you want to be a Body Checker, you can go here.

Release Day!

Out of the Game is finally available! I'm really excited. Early reviews have been fantastic.

"Out Of The Game has been my favourite in the series so far, just as I hoped it would be."
--Romance Between the Sheets










"Out of the Game is one of those romances that is sweet, funny, and sexy and sometimes all at the same time and for me it was a winner. I loved this book, this couple and their journey and it is my favorite in the series to date."
--Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews





"Even while my heart was breaking I was loving the twists to the story line. Just really good, heart-wrenching writing."
--Smitten with Reading

I Love Hockey! (Not a Surprise)

I am an avid hockey fan. (Sometimes it's interesting to remember that "fan" is short for "fanatic.") I may not understand all the ins and outs of the game orwhat all the stats mean, but I love watching the game. I love reading about players. Most of all, I love following "my" team, the two time Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.

I thought I would share my "Because...Hockey!" Pinterest board because there's a lot of great stuff there. If you're not a hockey fan, you could probably stand to skip it.

On the other hand, there are more studly men there.

With puppies.

Books 'N Exercise

I don't think I was a dog in a former life because I don't like walking, however, it is my main form of exercise. I make it go fast by listening to books. Music doesn't really do it for me. It doesn't engage my brain enough to make me forget I'm exercising. Books do.

So, a couple of years ago, I subscribed to Audible. Used to be that to listen to audiobooks, you bought a shit ton of cassette tapes, and then CDs, and they were really expensive. Now, not so much if you have an Audible subscription. And there's no clutter. It's all in a cloud or on your phone.

But here's a bit of advice, listen to the free sample. Some narrators are better than others. I have had some terrific narrators. They can really make a good book fantastic. My favorite listen so far is Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, narrated by Will Patton. RIVETING. An amazing 14 hours of five star entertainment. Listening to the sample really helps you make a decision on whether to buy.

The Audible app is very easy to use and one cool thing is, you can speed up the narration. I have bought my share of dud books. John Grisham, I'm looking at you for Sycamore Row. Good Lord, that book was boring. But because I had to find out what happened, I played it at two times the speed. Heh heh. Sometimes a narrator is very good, but too slow. That's when I up it to 1.5 the speed.

Anyway, if your as addicted to fiction as I am (too many books, too little time), then multi-task your "reading" with your exercise.

You can try Audible and get two free audiobooks right now, and I highly recommend it, especially since my first two hockey romances, On the Surface and Across the Line are going to be Audible books this year. Get your subscription now so you're all ready for them!

Introducing Alex Sullivan

No words are necessary.

To pre-order Out of the Game:

 Amazon | iTunes | Kobo | Barnes and Noble

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Great news!

I recently found out that On the Surface and Across the Line are going to made into audio books. I am so excited.

Sign up for my newsletter here for all the details and for other news as I get it. Like, the cover art for Out of the Game is coming any day now.

Official Back Cover Copy for Out of the Game

Here we go, hockey romance fans. If you've been wondering what Alex's story is about, here is the amazingly perfect back cover copy. (I did not write it, in case you were wondering.)

Alex Sullivan may be the San Diego Barracudas' resident playboy, but he hasn't been able to forget the woman who kissed him like her life depended on it ten months ago. When he sees her again at a teammate's wedding, he can't think of anything but spending more time with her. Preferably naked.

Claire Marzano lost years catering to an overbearing husband, and she's not going to answer to anyone ever again. A hot fling is just what she needs to get back in the game, and that's exactly what sexy Alex offers—one wild long weekend away, with no promises or obligations.

But that one weekend changes everything. Despite knowing full well Alex isn't the kind to ever commit, Claire is falling for him. And Alex secretly imagines a future with his strong, smart "accidental girlfriend." Until a surprise announcement and an on-ice accident threaten to derail everything…or cause Alex to finally ditch his old ways and become the man Claire needs him to be.

Those of you who read On the Surface (In The Zone Book 1), Tim and Erin's story, you may remember Erin's older sister, Claire. Claire helped Tim decorate his apartment. She also had an encounter of the sexy kind with Alex Sullivan at the team's unofficial watering hole, Moe's. I hadn't really intended for Claire to have her own book. I really only put her through the marriage wringer because I needed for Erin to miss the hockey game. Funny how little things like that can turn into big things, like an entire novel.

Anyway, mark the date. Out of the Game comes out March 16. That's when you'll get to see Alex and Claire make their way past all the obstacles I put in their way, and I put some doozies.