Collette West's Blog, page 12

Listen to an exclusive preview of the audio version of Game On

Listen to an exclusive preview of the audio version of Game On narrated by Todd Mansfield, coming February 2015 :)

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=...

A sexy preview quote from Scott Harper in PERFECT GAME

"You have nothing to feel insecure about. It's a thing of beauty for a man to have a real woman to hold onto. All the models and actresses I've been with are so friggin' thin, I swear their chests are flatter than mine. But you, on the other hand, have one killer body. I can't keep my hands off you, baby, your curves drive me crazy."

Love is a competitive sport…

Have you ever dated an athlete? Then you know how they can be. Super competitive. Focused. All about winning. It takes a certain type of girl to tame that kind of male ego, and keep it in check, especially when it filters into your love life.

In GAME ON, Hailey draws the attention of two stand-out pitchers. Her best friend, Bruce "Jilly" Gillette, who plays for the Loftus Central High baseball team, and Kurt "The Ace" Nelson who pitches for their rival, Mountain Area. Whenever the two teams play each other, things get nasty. Jilly threw at Kurt's head after he asked Hailey to the prom, and Kurt bashed in a water cooler over a blown strike call, breaking his arm.

Jilly doesn't like how Kurt always has a tendency to single Hailey out, when she's sitting in the stands to watch him play, not Kurt. There's so much bad blood between these two that things get pretty painful when Hailey does something stupid and ends up changing the course of all of their lives.

Love isn't a game, and it's not long before they all come to realize that.

Can a high school romance really last?

Ah, young love. That heated glance he gives you from across the room. The first time his fingers touch your skin. Those butterflies you get when he lets you know without a shadow of a doubt that he's into you. I mean, really into you. Those are the memories that get permanently etched onto the surface of your heart. When everything's brand new and you feel invincible, like you're flying and you're never coming back down to Earth again—all because the guy you like likes you back.

Hailey Halpert knows all about that feeling. She was best friends with Bruce "Jilly" Gillette all through high school. But when he was finally ready to take it there, she never anticipated what spending a night in his arms would do to her. With graduation over and the baseball draft on the horizon, it was clear that Jilly wasn't sticking around, so Hailey ended things between them before they could begin.

GAME ON picks up four years later, and no man has been able to stir those kind of emotions in her the way Jilly did. What they had felt so right, that now for Hailey nothing else even comes close. All she knows is that she wants Jilly back, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to make it work this time. Once they're reunited, sparks fly, proving that the level of attraction between them is as strong as ever.

But Jilly is in the major leagues now, leading a completely different lifestyle from hers. It makes Hailey wonder if they can sustain that natural, intimate connection they have. Can a first love be a forever kind of love? Hailey's hoping to find out.

A Gentle Giant of a Man

Jilly is a big guy, no doubt about it. He's 6'8" tall and 225 pounds of solid muscle. Standing next to him, any girl would be intimidated by his sheer size. He looks threatening, but he's not. In fact, he's the complete opposite. I like to refer to him as a gentle giant.

It's hard for a man like Jilly to be intimate. He's afraid that he might accidentally hurt a woman, not knowing his own strength. It holds him back in a lot of ways from pursuing a romantic relationship and taking a friendship to the next level. He's unsure of himself in the bedroom. He's not a cocky athlete with a giant ego who's looking for a little instant gratification. Oh no, Jilly's the kind of guy who takes his time, deliberating his every move.

It doesn't help that the girl he's into is super tiny. Hailey is only 5'2" and Jilly's hand is able to span the width of her shoulders. She's small-boned and delicate. All Jilly wants to do is hold her close and protect her, but she's not about to settle for just cuddling. She doesn't care if she gets pinned underneath the weight of his body. She won't complain that he's so well-endowed that the sight of him leaves her breathless. She's glad that he has a tender side, but she really enjoys when he's able to let loose and be in the moment with her.

There are many sexy scenes between Jilly and Hailey—their kiss in the rain, undressing each other in the library, Jilly climbing into Hailey's bed in the middle of the night—but I think my favorite is the one where he 'teaches' her how to bat because it really shows how small she is—and how big he is. Something about that clear divide between masculinity and femininity is scintillatingly hot. When his hardness combines with her softness—it doesn't get any better than that.

Guys and "Chick Porn"

The recent uptick in popularity of erotic romance novels that came with the whole FIFTY SHADES phenomenon has left a lot of men, wondering what it's all about. The curiosity that guys have for these books varies from man to man. Some are dying to know more, but won't be caught dead reading it. Some muster up the courage to actually peruse a copy, but when they reach the last page they still can't understand what all the fuss is about. While the vast majority seem to find the easiest way of dealing with these books is simply to belittle them as "chick porn," something they wouldn't waste their time on.

So I thought it'd be an interesting twist to have Hailey, a writer of these sexy books herself, to have to deal with the various reactions from a whole baseball team of guys that she's writing about. It's a fun away of examining the double standard gender roles society has in place when it comes to fantasizing about sex. A lot of men see no problem with scrolling through site after site of pics and videos of naked women online, but when it comes to women objectifying men in these hot and heavy romance novels, some guys are okay with their wives and girlfriends reading it and others get all bent out of shape.

That why's it's no surprise that the response of the New York Kings is all over the map. Brooks doesn't approve of being a character in Hailey's books. Even her boyfriend, Jilly, initially thinks they're trashy. Scott, ever the team's ladies' man, is the only one to express how he likes how they make women more adventurous in the bedroom.

The ladies in GAME ON have a more unanimous verdict. Sasha and Grey can't get enough of Hailey's novels, Sasha even carries one around in her handbag. Gayle, the owner of a female-driven web site about the Kings, has no problem understanding why women are obsessed with reading about hot, young players in skintight pants. The only one who's conflicted is Hailey, especially when her mom confesses that she's read them, much to Hailey's chagrin.

But in real life, no one can argue with the chart-topping success of these page turners. Women can't get enough of them. In fact, during an early beta read of GAME ON, readers kept clamoring for more sexy scenes between Hailey and Jilly, so I went back and wrote some more. Because as far as I'm concerned, when it all comes down to it, I'm not one to judge. I'm all about keeping my readers happy.

A female blogger giving other young women an opportunity to shine!

When I created the character of Gayle Rader, I had all of the bloggers who've ever helped me in mind. In my sports romance novels, Gayle runs the female-oriented blog, The Queen of Diamonds, that covers the New York Kings baseball team. It's a popular outlet where women who are fans of the players can gather and discuss their passion for the sport. In GAME ON, Gayle is the one who runs the dream date contest that raffles off a night with Jilly to one lucky winner.

But the thing I like the best about Gayle is that she gives other women characters a chance to make something of themselves, mirroring the support that I've received from book bloggers from day one. In NIGHT GAMES, Gayle gives Grey the chance to leave her department store job and write sports commentary for the site via one-on-one interviews with the players. In GAME ON, Gayle offers Hailey the chance to write some sports fiction for her readers, a new avenue that she'd like to explore for the site. Gayle even plays a critical role in one of the book's final chapters, helping Hailey reach a milestone in her writing career.

Gayle is a woman who's always thinking, pondering how she can use her influence to help others. She's a tough cookie, growing up in the Bronx. She's been around the PR beat for awhile since her days as a broadcaster. She knows that in a sports environment it's not easy for a woman to succeed, and she's going to do everything in her power to give others a helping hand, just like the book blogging world did for me.

Guys who are unsure of themselves when it comes to sex

Guys who are hot, but don't know that they're hot. I don't know about you, but they're my favorite kind to read (and write!) about. That's why I think so many readers were drawn to Jilly from his introduction in GAME CHANGER to starring in his own novel, GAME ON. He's a young, single guy in New York City, a pitcher in the major leagues, but he's not a playboy. He keeps to himself mostly because he's still nursing a broken heart over the one who got away. He's the strong, silent type. When he loves, he loves completely, surrendering himself fully to the one who captured his heart.

That's why when he finally does reconnect with his lost love, Hailey, he acts on instinct, because he's not really sure what he's doing. He doesn't have an arsenal of moves at his disposal. He needs her to help him along. Jilly's not the smooth player type, who's used to bedding women at home and on the road. He's a big guy (6'8", 225 lbs. of solid muscle) and his size causes him to be more hesitant when it comes to getting intimate.

It takes a girl like Hailey to show him that she won't break if he touches her. She's not a porcelain doll that he needs to be careful with. She wants all of him, whenever he touches her. In fact, she demands it. She doesn't want him to hold back. She wants him to go all out with her, every time.

That's because Hailey's known Jilly since they were teenagers, and when they reunite, she realizes just how far he's come since his clumsy first attempt at seducing her. Now he's all man, pinning her up against a wall and kissing her in the rain, sweeping her off her feet and laying one on her in Central Park. Yeah, being around her again has rekindled that spark that's been burning inside him for years.

The minute his lips touch hers, he's a goner. His body is telling him exactly what he needs to do. And now he's finally listening to it.

Wearing his shirt, how sexy is that?

There's a running theme through all of my sports romance novels—the girl wearing her man's shirt, and the guy being majorly turned on by it. But these just aren't any guys, they're players on the New York Kings. These men of the baseball diamond have girls screaming for them every night of the week. They're used to seeing women wearing their number on their backs. But when the right woman wears it, it's a whole different ballgame.

In NIGHT GAMES, Grey wears her Chase Whitfield shirt as a nightie, even on the night he sleeps over. In GAME CHANGER, Brooks is pissed when he finds a Chase tee among Sasha's luggage, wondering why she doesn't have one of his. In GAME ON, Hailey takes a late night selfie wearing nothing but Jilly's shirt before sending it to him as he's stretched out naked in his bed.

These guys are all super jocks and play for one of the world's most recognizable sports teams. But there's still something extremely sexy about the girl they're into wearing their shirt. They each have the same alpha male reaction of wanting to claim what's theirs and let the world know that she's taken, that she belongs to them. No matter how much money or fame or success they have on the field, it really comes down to who's waiting in their bed when they come home at night that makes them feel like a superstar.

Jilly needs to get laid…

That's why he comes off a little gruff in the first chapter of GAME ON. He's being sent on a blind date as part of a promotion for the New York Kings. He's the team's star pitcher, but he's having a bit of an image problem. He doesn't have a wife or a girlfriend like most of the other guys do, and he hardly speaks in locker room interviews. The fans don't really have a sense of who he is off the mound. The head office wants him to open up and share more of his private life so that he can be more relatable, more likable and therefore more marketable.

Since joining the Kings, Jilly hasn't dated much. He's concentrated solely on his job, not letting in any outside distractions. He's all business when he's pitching and he knows that New York is a land of tempting distractions. He tells himself that he doesn't want to get involved with anyone because it'll throw off his game, but the real reason is his lack of confidence.

He's known a lot of rejection when it comes to women. So he's not one for putting himself out there. But he's a guy and he has needs that aren't being met. That burning frustration is churning under the surface, turning him into a real grump. It's not until he lets Hailey into his life that his softer side begins to reemerge.

Turns out, everyone wants to be wanted, and Jilly's no different.