Xio Axelrod's Blog, page 7

FoX Friday with Stuart Reardon!

My lovelies! Do I have a special treat for you this week.

Last Friday, we revealed the cover of my upcoming novel Camden, which features my lovely, new friend, Stuart Reardon.

Camden is unlike anything I’ve written before, and I am so excited to bring it to you next month. Stuart is a recently retired, professional rugby player-turned model and all-around fitness guru. And I think he’s just as excited about Camden as I am!

I invited him to stop by and tell us a little more about himself.

Hi, Stu!  Thanks for popping by. Tell me, how did you get started in rugby?

I started very young. I was ten years old in my first season. My friends got me into it.

Wow, really?

I was a very fast runner. On sports day, I raced my classmate Leon and I won. He asked me to come play for his team, as his dad was the coach, so I did.

That’s so cool!

Me and Leon are still friends to this day. We played for Queensbury for six years, and then turned professional for our hometown of Bradford.

Wow, it must have been so awesome to play for the hometown crowd.

We had great success and won many trophies during our time at Bradford, and then we both went on to play international level for England and Great Britain. So rugby all started for me with that one race!

Amazing the path that life takes sometimes.  Was rugby what was led you into fitness, or were you always a fitness enthusiast?

I was always an enthusiast, I’m addicted to fitness, I love it!

Haha! I noticed.  How did you end up modeling?

I stumbled into it, if i’m being honest, but I’m glad I did. I have met some really cool people and friends through it, and I’m enjoying the journey.

That’s great. What do you like about where you are now in your life?

I like the man I have grown into both physically and mentally. Spiritually as well. I’m grateful for where I am, and for what I have, while I continue to push for progress. After all, life is progress.

Absolutely! If you’re not moving forward, you’re standing still. I’m sure my readers are curious about w hat do you do in your downtime.

I spend time with my fiance, my friends, my family, and my son.

Awww.

Attack the Block (Romance Writer’s Weekly)

Hello!

It’s been a little while since I joined my friends at RWW for a blog hop. This week’s topic from Jenna Da Sie speaks to me all to well, though, so I had to jump on-board.

How Do You Deal With Writer’s Block?

Writer’s block. Some people think it’s a myth, an excuse to procrastinate. I confess, I was once one of those people. I’m fortunate in that the block doesn’t attack me very often. I suffer more from writer’s atrophy. If I stop writing, it’s insanely hard to start up again. And when I do, the words just aren’t good.

To combat this, I do a number of things. Sometimes, I write drabbles of around 100 words on any topic that happens to be in my head at the time.

I’ll do one now about, what else? Writer’s Block:

I type and delete the words fifteen times before I find the phrase that sticks with me. The one that has the right tone, rhythm, and punch to carry me forward into the next sentence. With any luck, it’ll be the trickle that turns into a gush of ideas. A story falling from my fingertips as easy as April rain. Or. Or it’ll be a struggle to translate the scenes in my head into lines on a page that anyone, anywhere, would ever want to read. Myself included. I will push, pull, cajole, beg, borrow, and steal (no, not really) to breathe life into a character. I will take an axe to the block, a chisel, and carve my way to a finished book.

Word count: 124

Time: < 3 minutes

That’s one way I deal with the dreaded stoppage. I feel energized now! I’m itching to write more, but I stopped myself. Best to save that energy for the actual book. Other methods include listening to music that inspires me, watching a favourite scene from a film or TV show, or re-reading a passage in a book that has stayed with me. If I get stuck on one project, I pick up the next one. That method is particularly effective for a pantser like me.

Thanks to you, Hot On Ice is a best-seller!

Amazing news, my lovelies. Hot On Ice is a USA Today best-seller!!

We are all so grateful to you for your support. You’ve helped us raise over $500 for Homes For Our Troops.

If you haven’t grabbed your copy of this super sexy anthology yet, it’s still available for purchase Remember, 20% of royalties will still go to Homes For Our Troops. Be sure to share these links with your friends!

 Amazon

 Nook

 Kobo

 iBooks

Also, I’ll be hanging out at Night Owl Reviews tonight with Avery Flynn, Kimberly Kincaid, Susan Scott Shelley, Katie Kenyhercz, and Desiree Holt. Come chat with us about Hot On Ice, and romance in general, and you’ll be eligible to win a $25 gift card.

When: TONIGHT – March 30 Time: 5pm Pacific / 6pm Mountain / 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern


Where: https://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Chats


RSVP: https://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Chats#EntryForm (register ahead of time!)

Hot On Ice is only 99 cents, plus enter to win a $25 gift card!

The puck has finally dropped!

It’s game on, folks. Hot On Ice is here. If you haven’t picked up this fabulous collection of eighteen all-new stories, you still have time to get it for only 99 cents. Soon, the price will rise and, not long after that, the entire collection will melt away in the spring thaw. Grab it while you can!

The Puck Drops in Seven Days!

Have you pre-ordered your copy of Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology? The collection is only 99 cents (for a limited time) and features EIGHTEEN brand new, super sexy stories from myself and 17 other fabulous writers!

Little did they know that winning the Cup would just be the start of the hottest summer of their lives. . .

The New Orleans Cajun Rage professional hockey team just won The Cup. No one thought they’d do it: they were a team of shoulda beens, never coulda beens and a star or two. They’d only been in the Crescent City for three years before this year’s Cinderella run that had them skating off the ice with the championship.

Over the following summer, each player gets to keep the Cup for a day. Nobody knows why, but whoever has the Cup falls in love.

USA Today Bestsellers Robin Covington, Kimberly Kincaid, Hether Long, Nana Malone and Virginia Nelson, and Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller, Angi Morgan, join me, Christi Barth, Andie J. Christopher, Avery Flynn, Kim Golden, Lena Hart, Desiree Holt, Robin Kaye, Katie Kenyhercz, Heather Long, Kate Meader, Susan Scott Shelley, and Misty D. Waters to bring you 18 romances with smoking hot heroes—both on and off the ice.

Plus, 20% of all royalties earned from the sale of Hot on Ice will go to Homes for Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially modified homes for severely injured veterans.

Meet the men of Hot On Ice!

 

FREE AGENT by USA Today Bestseller Robin Covington – Defenseman James “DC” Washington has had a big year: winning “The Cup” and coming out to his team and the entire world were events that changed his life. Now a free agent, he thought he had his next step all planned out . . . until the man he might not be able to resist puts a sexy offer on the table.

 

BODY CHECK by USA Today Bestseller Desiree Holt – Matt Vorchak always dreamed of playing professional hockey and winning The Cup. Then he would marry the woman of his heart and live happily ever after. But Lizzie Andrews wanted him to stay in Tampa with her and build a life there. Their split was agonizing for both. Ten years later he has realized one dream. Now he wants to recapture the other, and he’s using his day with the Stanley Cup to win her back. But he has a secret that may change everything for both of them.

 

 

DEEP CHECK by USA Today Bestseller Kimberly Kincaid – Hotshot hockey center Finn Donnelly wants nothing more than to take The Cup to his best friend’s grave after the Rage’s big win. The problem is, that also means going back to his hometown and seeing January Sinclair, a.k.a., the woman he left behind. Will Finn and January learn to build new trust—or will their ghosts keep them from falling in deep?

 

RANSOM by USA Today Bestseller Nana Malone, Money, power, prestige…reject. Ransom Cox is —The Player. His whole life, hockey player, Ransom Cox, has watched the people he loves the most reject and leave him. He’s learned it’s better to be on his own. After the scandal of his wife walking out on him right before the championships, citing his bedroom “over” prowess as the reason, he can’t seem to escape the spotlight. The last thing he wants is to be stranded in a cabin with the one girl he’s always wanted. The one girl who could destroy him.

 

 

CAGED by USA Today Bestseller Virginia Nelson, Oliver Tremblay, right winger for the Ragin’ Cajuns, plans to visit his parent’s graves and give his hometown a little good attention, but instead finds himself embroiled in Maisie’s constant escapades.  Maisie has other plans—she intends prove to him that she’s just the girl to go skate to skate with him, whether he likes it or not.

 

 

 

BREAKAWAY BROOKE by Publishers Weekly Bestseller Angi Morgan – When hockey phenom Deacon Sanders mistakes Brooke Henderson for a puck bunny, he’s set on scoring the ultimate goal with the fiercely sexy bodyguard. Keeping watch from a distance is impossible when everywhere she turns Deacon’s there like a loose puck in front of the net. Despite his annoyance that his family thinks he can’t keep himself out of trouble, can he convince this Amazon beauty to stop fighting her erotic powers long enough to play his game?

 

 

THE WARM UP by Xio Axelrod – Subzero. That’s what folks around the league call Constantine Zimin, hockey’s best defenseman. He’s unflappable. Stoic, even. No cracks in all that ice, not until he meets Suji Meriwhether. The pediatric nurse has no time for bad-boy jocks who want to use her patients as props. But as soon as they meet, temperatures rise and their defenses fall.

 

 

 

CHECK MY HEART by Christi Barth – Kurt Lundquist can’t resist the beautiful & compassionate nurse who eased his brother’s last days, despite knowing she doesn’t want any reminders of her ‘death duty’. Lisette does want the hot but oh-so-sad hockey star. Can she lift him out of his grief – and will she want to once she learns his terrible secret?

 

 

 

FULL CONTACT by Andie J. Christopher, Leftwinger Anders Sorenson has never met the perfect woman before breaking up a fight at Dahlia Clarno’s bar. Dahlia’s  hot, she doesn’t care about his fame, and she has no idea about the bounty his teammates have on his virginity–she’s the total package for a vacation fling.

 

 

 

 

BLADE by Avery Flynn – Bad girl Gillie Pike has gone straight, but someone with a lot of money wants to bring her out of retirement to steal the Cup and make sure it’s found in star goalie Flynn Kazakov’s possession. They call him Crazy-kov for a reason and nothing makes him more nuts than his best friend’s sexy little sister who swears she’s the only one who can keep him out of jail and on the ice.

 

 

 

UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN by Kim Golden – Jonas Magnussen’s icy blue stare has earned him the nickname the Iceman. On and off the ice, he’s cool, collected and hard to handle. When an injury threatens to end his career, Jonas is faced with a choice he thought he’d never have to make. Mariam Kidane is the only woman who ever made Jonas lose his cool. A chance encounter with her melts Jonas’s icy facade and leaves him wondering if life away from the league is such a bad thing, especially when it means a second chance at scoring the ultimate goal: love.

 

 

 

COURAGE by Lena Hart – Newly appointed head coach Mason “The Rage” Courage is in for the fight of his life. What should have been the biggest night of his career turns into the worst moment in his life when his wife Jules serves him with divorce papers. But this former bad boy isn’t about to let anyone—or anything—breakup his family. For his wife, his children, his players…Mason is prepared to fight for them all.

 

 

 

PENALTY BOX BLUES by Robin Kaye – Stryker Gyllenhaal, enforcer on the Ragin’ Cajun’s, knows that once he hits Boise, his time spent in the penalty box is nothing compared to the payback Karma Kincaid has in store for him. When he finds out she has hired a handler, Trish Reynolds, his old college tutor, he’s not sure who the real enforcer is. Karma, because she owns him for an entire week, or Trish, the only woman who knows his secret, and can slam his heart against the boards with a sideways glance. He is so pucked.

 

 

 

BEAR NAKED by Katie Kenyhercz, First Nations defenceman Bear Thompson wants to spend his day with the Cup back home on the reserve, but first he has to convince his childhood sweetheart and current band chief Aria Paul to give him another chance andthat letting the media in won’t be the end of the world. The last thing Aria wants to do is fall back in love with the man who broke her heart and left her in the dust, but old feelings spark new ones, and when Bear sets his sights on a goal, it’s only a matter of time.

 

 

 

BLOCKED by Heather Long – Archer Durham’s career has been defined by his badass attitude both on and off the ice, unfortunately it’s biting him in the ass. After one too many unfortunate videos of him turned up on social media, both his fans and the press have turned against him. The win shines spotlight on the whole team and he needs to clean up his act…but what the hell does he know about being a knight in shining armor?

 

 

 

 

IN SKATES TROUBLE by Kate Meader, Right winger Ford “Killer” Callaghan can’t believe he let the anonymous woman who blew his mind slip away into the night. He’ll track her down because once could never be enough—even if discovering Addison Williams’s identity places her strictly out of bounds. Stolen kisses. Secret hook-ups. Deliciously forbidden in every way. Can a passion that started in the dark find a lifetime of love in the light?

 

 

 

 

MAKING HIS MOVE by Susan Scott Shelley, Backup goaltender Rod Fraser is a free agent in every sense. He’s ready for a new team, and hoping for another shot with his best friend’s sister. But Arielle Charton thinks Rod’s interest is fleeting, and she doesn’t need the distraction. She’s on a mission to rebuild her life. Rod’s made his living making impossible saves, but it will take the impossible to convince the shy artist that she’s captured his heart.

 

 

 

 

CHECKING YES by Misty D. Waters – Family secrets drove star left-winger Cooper Banks away from the love of his life, but hot off a championship win he’s no longer satisfied with second place. Except the daddy’s girl he left behind is now a woman no longer impressed by his charming smile. So when Savannah Jane Scott decides to put Cooper in the penalty box, she aims to keep him there…for good this time.

 

 

 

Hot On Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology will be released on March 21st, and includes all 18 of these fun, sexy stories! Add it to Goodreads and pre-order your copy now for only 99 cents on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo,  and B&N.

Lovie and Duff Are Coming Back!

Hello, my lovelies! So many of you have asked “when will we find out what happened with Lovie and Duff?” The answer is: any day now!

Calum Me Maybe is set to go live soon, and we will pick up right where we left off so, don’t worry. You haven’t missed any of the action. And if you haven’t read The Calum, here’s your chance to get caught up on all the fun!

Duff and Lovie have been trying to navigate the tricky waters of their attraction. Not easy when there’s thousands of miles, and often two continents, between them. ‘Friends’ isn’t a bad thing unless you’ve had a taste of more. But is their connection strong enough to bridge the distance? We shall see. In the mean time, here’s chapter one to hold you over.

FoX Friday with Brenda Margriet!

Hello, my lovelies! Please help me welcome Brenda Margriet back to FoX Friday. She’s here with her brand new release, No Life But This.

I’ve been waiting for Brenda to share this book with the rest of the world. It’s such a lovely story. So refreshing, and set in one of my favourite places on earth.

Abigail Garsson feels trapped in her safe, boring, conventional life. Desperate to escape, she signs up for an adventure vacation on the Portuguese island of São Miguel.

Santos Carregado enjoys introducing tourists to his tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic. At first he barely notices the unassuming Abigail. He soon finds her meek exterior hides a vibrant woman who teases his senses and ignites his passion.

Abigail is stunned to discover the handsome, confident Santos is attracted to her, but his fiery kisses and searing caresses convince her to accept a sensuous invitation.

Will the realities of life shatter Abigail’s holiday daydream? Or can the shifting sands of a short-term fling become the rock on which a life-long relationship is built?

Brenda was sweet enough to bring us an excerpt! Read on…

They set off single file, and Santos found his eyes drawn to Abigail’s trim hips, snug in her black shorts. She was the exact opposite of the bold, curvaceous, confident women he normally flirted with, but the way she attacked the hill with grit and determination struck a chord in him. And he was fascinated with her voice, the rasp of it, the way it seeped into his blood.

She raised herself on the pedals for more leverage. Santos swallowed a groan at the tight, wiggly little ass directly in his line of vision. A bike was not the most comfortable place to have an erection. He swung to the outside and pulled up next to her, away from the distraction.

“Are you sure you don’t want to walk for a bit?”

“I can do this.” She leaned over the handlebars, wobbling slightly with each determined push on the pedals, but kept her balance. “I’m going to do this.”

He dropped back again, keeping his eyes scrupulously on the road.

A few moments later she careened to the left, well into the lane of traffic, over corrected, and teetered back to the right. Before he could react, her handlebars caught on the high earthen berm through which the road ran and she stumbled to a stop, almost tumbling to the ground. He braked behind her.

She panted with effort, head bent, chest heaving, and he watched with rising frustration. Stubborn woman. “That’s enough.” He swung his leg over his seat. “We’re walking.”

She dismounted slowly and he could see the tremors in the muscles of her thighs. “Damn it,” she rasped as she pushed the bike up the hill. “Damn it, I wanted to ride it, ride it all the way.”

She was silent except for the hiss of her breath, and defeat dragged at her shoulders, but her eyes were dry. “Get back on,” he said abruptly. She looked at him in surprise and he softened his tone. “Get back on, and I’ll help you.”

She settled back in the saddle and he placed his hand in the small of her back. Moist heat seeped through the thin material of her shirt into his palm. “One, two, three, go.” They pushed off together and he could feel her muscles flexing with effort.

“That’s it, keep going.” Her foot bobbled off the pedal but she quickly recovered. He concentrated grimly on pushing her up the hill. The sooner they reached the top, the sooner he could stop touching her, and the sooner he could forget his odd, irritating reaction to this wisp of a woman.

***

You love it, right? So go grab a copy now on:

Amazon US: http://a.co/iQ2np2C

Amazon CA: http://a.co/907Etjw

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/blAQh9C

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/no-life-but-this-2

Nook: http://bit.ly/2fGjENo

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1175920486

Brenda Margriet write contemporary romances with heroes you’d meet at the grocery store. And by that she means real-life men – sexy, smart and looking for the love of their life. Her heroines are bold, savvy and determined to accept nothing less than the man they deserve.

A voracious reader since she was old enough to hold a book, Brenda’s idea of the perfect holiday involves a comfortable chair near the water (ocean, lake or pool will do), a glass of wine, and a full-loaded e-reader.

She lives in Northern British Columbia with her husband (as well as various finny and furry pets) and has three adult children.

Catch up with Brenda on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and on her Amazon Author Page.

FoX Friday with debut author, Wendy Goldberry!

Hey, my lovelies! It’s Friday, the 13th, and for you that’s a very lucky thing. Today we have another debut author, Wendy Goldberry. Wendy is part of my local writing group in Philadelphia, so I’m super excited for her very first release, For I Have Sinned. (Love that title!)

Before we get to the book, which is sizzling hot, I asked Wendy a few questions.

How long have you been writing?

I wrote my first poem when I was eight years old and haven’t looked back. I’ve gone through the bad teenage poetry phase, the awkward and pretentious college literary magazine period, and now I’m a published author. Writing is my addiction. If I’m not doing it, I’m thinking about it.

How excited were you to hit “publish” on your first release?

I was terrified! Writing exposes you to so many people, so many opinions. Hitting “publish” let the world see through a weird prism, and although it was exciting to have people read my first story, it was scarier than I thought it would be.

I know what you mean! I couldn’t eat or sleep for the first few days, lol. Name three authors (living or dead) who you’d like to sit down to dinner with and pick their brains.

One of them would have to be Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. I wrote my senior thesis of her most famous book (she wrote others) and she led such an incredible, literary life. The second would be Stephen King. “On Writing” changed the way I write and how I read. It’s inspirational, a must-read for all writers, and Mr. King seems like an interesting character.

Great choice, there. That book has changed the lives of many writers.

My last pick would be Lin-Manuel Miranda. He’s been praised as the Shakespeare of our time and it seems like everything he touches turns to gold. I want to know his secrets!

He is amazeballs! Have you seen Hamilton yet? I’m still kicking myself for not going when RWA was in New York, right above the theatre. *cries* If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?

Paris! I went there when I was sixteen and fell in love with the city. Now if only I spoke French.

I love Paris. I need to go back, it’s been far too long. Which TV show(s) can you absolutely not miss every week?

I’m guilty of binge watching Netflix, especially when I should be writing. I just finished season one of Daredevil. Once that’s finished, I think I’m going to start Stranger Things. I’ve heard great reviews!

Stranger Things is awesome, I think you’ll love it. I enjoy Daredevil too, and all of the Marvel shows. So, how do you relax at the end of a long day?

Well, the PG-13 answer to that would be watching a movie with Mr. Always Right and our cats while eating pizza. Or a warm bubble bath while listening to the radio.

Nice! What can readers expect from you next?

XXX rating. My books are erotic. Explicit. I don’t do sweet, closed door romances. Expect sex and lots of it. I tell people I like to break rules and push a reader’s limits and I think that shows in my debut story. It’s short but packs a punch.

And now, a bit more about Wendy’s first release.

Sister Claire lives a simple, sheltered life as a Sister of the Little Heart. After being forced out onto the streets as a teenager, she joined the convent seeking food, shelter and a home. She was content and thought she found some sliver of happiness. She creates a job at the local Catholic school and is ready to begin her first year as a middle school music teacher. All is going well until David walks into her life at a PTA meeting. This sexy, middle-aged school teacher turns her world on its head.

As a widower, David never thought he could feel love for another woman after he lost his wife six years ago. But this new, young nun catches his eye, and their chemistry is undeniable. As professional colleagues, they keep a distance from one another for weeks, until their slow, steady buildup of attraction can’t be denied any longer. How are they going to keep their affair hidden from the watchful eyes of the teachers, parents, and other nuns? How does the fourteen year age difference affect their relationship? And how can they find happiness together if Sister Claire is just that… a nun?

Whew! This is a steamy read, trust me. Grab your copy of For I Have Sinned at Amazon and on Kobo.

Wendy Goldberry is a caffeine addict who caught the love bug before she was even old enough to drink coffee. She blames her mother for her love of all things romance related, especially after forbidding Wendy not to read the romance novels in their house. By age fifteen she’d read half of the books her mother owned.

Wendy moonlights as a legal secretary for an insurance defense firm, surrounded by quirky people and stacks of paperwork by day. At night, she has her head buried in a book, her nose stuck in a glass of wine, and her feet tucked under a warm blanket next to a couple of sleepy kitties.

She loves all things romantic, kinky, and taboo and enjoys combining all three to push her readers’ limits. In her imagination, nothing and no one is off limits. The heart wants what the heart wants.

She loves going on life’s roller coaster ride with her amazing husband, who she snagged at age fifteen as her first and only boyfriend. Jackpot! They live with their two cats, Ripley and Dutch (a.k.a. Alien and Predator) in their little hobbit hole in Philadelphia. You can reach out to Wendy on Twitter and Facebook.

Have you pre-ordered your copy of Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology? The collection features brand new, super sexy stories from myself and 17 other  fabulous writers!

Little did they know that winning the Cup would just be the start of the hottest summer of their lives. . .

The New Orleans Cajun Rage professional hockey team just won The Cup. No one thought they’d do it: they were a team of shoulda beens, never coulda beens and a star or two. They’d only been in the Crescent City for three years before this year’s Cinderella run that had them skating off the ice with the championship.

Over the following summer, each player gets to keep the Cup for a day. Nobody knows why, but whoever has the Cup falls in love.

USA Today Bestsellers Robin Covington, Desiree Holt, Kimberly Kincaid, Nana Malone and Virginia Nelson, Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller Angi Morgan, along with myself, Christi Barth, Andie J. Christopher, Avery Flynn, Kim Golden, Lena Hart, Robin Kaye, Katie Kenyhercz, Heather Long, Kate Meader, Susan Scott Shelley, and Misty D. Waters bring you 18 romances with smoking hot heroes—both on and off the ice.

Hot On Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology will be released on March 21st. I’m beyond thrilled to be a part of this project! You can add it to Goodreads and pre-order your copy now on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo,  and B&N.

FoX Friday: Bring it on, 2017!

Hello my lovelies!

As 2016 comes to a close, I think we can all agree that it’s been one of the more challenging years in recent memory. We lost so many influential people, including so many that influenced me personally, that it often seemed like the universe was playing a cruel joke. The beauty is that they left behind legacies and works of art that will continue to inspire generations to come.

As for me, I intend to make 2017 the year of love. What better way to do that than with lots of romance. Right?

Coming January 27th, the long-awaited follow-up to The Calum. Lovie and Duff are navigating the tricky waves of a long-distance relationship in Calum Me Maybe. And, let me tell you, those waters are choppy as hell. LOL!

Also coming this winter is Crossing Paths, a collaboration between myself and my dear friend Kim Golden. And I might have a little surprise for you around Valentine’s Day, so stay tuned for that.

March will bring Hot on Ice, a hockey romance anthology featuring myself and 17 of my FoXes, bringing you 18 super sexy stories.

Little did they know that winning the Cup would just be the start of the hottest summer of their lives. . .

The New Orleans Cajun Rage professional hockey team just won The Cup. No one thought they’d do it: they were a team of shoulda beens, never coulda beens and a star or two. They’d only been in the Crescent City for three years before this year’s Cinderella run that had them skating off the ice with the championship.

Over the following summer, each player gets to keep the Cup for a day. Nobody knows why, but whoever has the Cup falls in love.

USA Today Bestsellers Robin Covington, Desiree Holt, Kimberly Kincaid, Nana Malone and Virginia Nelson, Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller Angi Morgan, along with myself, Christi Barth, Andie J. Christopher, Avery Flynn, Kim Golden, Lena Hart, Robin Kaye, Katie Kenyhercz, Heather Long, Kate Meader, Susan Scott Shelley, and Misty D. Waters bring you 18 romances with smoking hot heroes—both on and off the ice.

Hot On Ice will be released on March 21st. I’m beyond thrilled to be a part of this project! You can add it to Goodreads and pre-order your copy now on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo,  and B&N.

In April, I’ll debut a brand new series. As we get closer, I’ll tell you more about it. But it’s pretty exciting stuff!

Here’s hoping the new year brings you lots of love, lots of smiles, and lots of opportunities to create lasting memories.

FoX Friday with Sarah Hegger and a Big Giveaway!

It’s the FoX Friday before Christmas and, all through Xio’s house, the Kindles are charged and quiet as a mouse.

And that’s about as much butchering of that classic poem as I am going to do, lol.

Today, my sweet friend (and the Other Half of My Brain) Sarah Hegger is back with the fourth installment in her Sir Arthur’s Legacy series. If you haven’t checked out the first three books, do it now.

In addition to bringing us the FIRST THREE CHAPTERS (!) from the book, Sarah also has a big giveaway going on! The Roger’s Bride Blog Tour giveaway “Curl Up with a Book” Grand Prize includes: a mermaid blanket, sweater mug full of treats, copies of all four Sir Arthur’s Legacy books, dragon bookmark, tote bag and more!

Before we get to that, let’s take a look at the Roger’s Bride.

A battle of wills . . .

As the oldest son and heir to Anglesea, it is Roger’s duty to stand tall and strong. But his tough exterior belies the heart of a true romantic, a devoted son who yearns for the deep love he has witnessed between his parents and his sisters and their husbands. However, with the Anglesea family jockeying for a more advantageous position, Roger must marry judiciously.

A fight for the heart . . .

Having spent her childhood watching her mother suffer, Kathryn of Mandeville is determined never to marry. To be as a Viking shield maiden of old is her heart’s only desire. But when her sister Matty runs away to escape Roger’s sensible proposal, Kathryn is forced to help Roger find a more suitable bride. Bound by duty, Roger and Kathryn soon discover they are facing a much tougher fight—the one that is within their hearts . . .

Whew! This is going to be an epic tale, you can just tell. Grab a copy on: Amazon, iBooks, Nook, or Kobo.

As I said, Sarah brought along the first three chapters of Roger’s Bride! Enjoy.