I Did It!

Hey, yo! I am here today to say that I did it! Yep, I finally finished book one in a series that I've been wanting to get off the ground for a long time. It's a series where the MCs are professional wrestlers. Are you wondering what took me so long to get to it? Well pull up a chair my friend, because I've got three reasons for ya.

1) I was scared. You see, there aren't that many romances set in the world of professional wrestling out there. And I wondered, was that for a good reason? I know that professional wrestling is ... ummm let's call it a niche market. Yeah, a niche market that most people in mainstream entertainment don't really understand or respect.  You hear lots of comments like, "Oh, isn't that stuff fake?" And, "I watched that when I was kid, then I outgrew it. It's dumb." To those people I say:











Kidding! I have a tad more class than that. I mostly just ignore it. I've got a lot of stripes that I proudly fly on my freak flag, and being a fan of pro graps is one of them. So that made me realize, if I don't care when people make fun of it in real life, why should I worry about it in my writing life?

2) I was scared. No, I didn't mess up, I meant to list this as a reason twice. You see, not only was I worried that people who don't like wrestling would make fun of it, I was also worried people who do like wrestling would make fun of it. Professional wrestling fans are super duper passionate about it. And I was scared that they'd read it and pick apart every little detail that I got wrong or had to fudge for fiction's sake. Or that the Internet Wrestling Community (of which I'm a card carrying member) would get a hold of it, write mean comments in online forums and send me hate tweets for one, being a woman who dared to write about their boys club and two, writing gay men in wrestling. But I can't live my life worried over what meanies on the internet might say. Those comments won't get me money to buy my girls kibble, so I let that fear go.

3) I was overwhelmed. Shocker, right? The girl who's prone to anxiety attacks and struggles with trying to plan things felt like she was in over her head. Absolute shocker! But yes, I was totes overwhelmed. This is my first time taking on a project so large, where I had to create a world, multiple characters and pairings, and an overarching storyline all before I ever set manicured fingers to keyboard. It was tough, and I scuttled away from it more than a few times. But the series just kept pulling me back and finally I gave in and went for it.
So yeah, those are my three reasons for the ridiculously long time it took me to get anywhere close to publication. But in the end, I ain't no punk. I hulked up, pushed my fears aside and got going. And I'm very happy I did it. I love professional wrestling. I have since I was a kid. Getting the opportunity to pair it with one of my other loves - writing romance novels - is amazing! And now I'm just celebrating like:










I bet now you're wondering when you'll get to set eyes on this story that caused me all this angst. Soon. Very soon! The series title is Champions of Desire. Book one in the series is Showing Him the Ropes , and it releases August 16th. The gorgeous cover (more on that next week!) was created by the ridiculously talented  Jay Aheer. I'll be doing an exclusive cover reveal over on the Two Chicks Obsessed Blog on Tuesday, July 26th. Be sure to stop by, the ladies will have a Q&A as well as a few copies to give away. And while you're at it, add Showing Him the Ropes to your Goodreads TBR HERE.

Thanks for reading! You can check out the blurb for Showing Him the Ropes just below.
Love,
Christa
Chance “The Chancellor” Gerhardt is a mainstay for Frontier Professional Wrestling. He’s won multiple championships and has the respect of the locker room. But after ten years at the top, Chance is looking for a new challenge. The one he gets, mentoring FPW’s young rookie, is both unexpected and unwanted.

Devin Jacobs is a hot new talent signed by Frontier Professional Wrestling. He’s always been a fan of The Chancellor, and not just because of the older man’s skill in the ring. He has it bad for the steely eyed veteran wrestler. Unfortunately for Devin, The Chancellor isn’t looking to get involved with anyone. Or is he? During long nights traveling and working together, Devin catches more than one secretly admiring glance from The Chancellor…

Devin is determined to earn victories and championships in the ring. But he’d also love the opportunity to win Chance’s heart. Can the two of them navigate their way through the hyper masculinity and backstage politics of professional wrestling to the most important victory of all? Or will their shot at love be defeated 1-2-3?

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Kobo August 16th.