LATEST NEWS & UPDATE:

Happy Thursday, y'all!

It's been a while since I wrote something personal in one of my newsletters. I know a lot of you on my subscriber list actually enjoy tales of embarrassment and hilarity from my everyday life. For those of you who don't, feel free to scroll straight to the book stuff at the bottom, I marked it with 'BOOK STUFF.' The TLDR is that I have a release next week, book 5 in my current hockey series, and you should preorder it today, kthxbai!

This week, however, isn't a tale of either embarrassment or hilarity because my life these past weeks (fine, months) has been something of a stressful time. Most recently, my nephew was rushed into hospital and spent almost two weeks there. For a hot minute they were talking about ECMO, transplant, and all manner of scary things. It was pretty terrifying if I'm honest.

For the new people to my world, AJ was born almost 9 (!) years ago with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and down syndrome, and he wasn't given very long to live. Long story short, he flipped the bird at the doctors, medicine, and his medically frail body, and he fights every freakin' day. He's the most joyful child I've ever met, and spending two weeks with him last month was amazing, I cried so freakin' hard when I said goodbye to him.

It's not all doom and gloom, however! Fear not! My friend Amy started a fun thing for AJ to come home to when he got out of the hospital: a flock of flamingos in his front yard. Now, AJ LOVES flamingos, they're his favorite. His favorite book is a Fiona the flamingo book, and I even got him a flamingo stuffy before I left.

So... we did a thing... and the flock keeps growing. So much so, the local news station did a segment on them, which is super cool!

Anyway, that's what we've been doing, filling my best friend's yard with plastic flamingos (over 150 at this point I think!!) with well wishes and prayers tied around their necks for the wee man. It's such a wholesome thing, and as you can see, he's soooo happy and loves his flock.

Next stages for AJ involve a trip to Boston for a potential procedure. He's not a candidate for his Fontan procedure to repair his own heart, he's not a candidate for a heart transplant. This 'ammendment' of his Glenn procedure is his only shot at getting more time on this earth, and it's a pioneer program only done in Boston Children's. The trip from Iowa to Boston (and the treatment included) aren't covered by insurance, and we all want more time with him.

Anyway, if you're a pray-er, could you please add my nephew to your prayer lists? Send good juju, think good thoughts, because these coming months are going to be tremendously trying on my family, and they need all the good vibes we can get.

If you're so inclined and want to send a flamingo to annoy my best friend and all her neighbors in Keystone, Iowa, well, here's how you can do that.

For those not in the USA (we don't do Venmo) you can also paypal: amy.overby@gmail.com

If you've hung in here this long, thanks so much. It's been a tough month of May, especially with me being in burnout, and my husband got let go from his job the night before I left the USA to return to Ireland. To say I'm stressed and rundown is an understatement!

Anyway, back to: BOOK STUFF

With one week to go, I wanted to slide into your inboxes and remind you that I'm pushing really hard for this book. If Pen and Tate don't do well, I'll have to look at my business plan for 2025 and see about shifting to a new series instead of writing Artemis and Athena (*SOBS*). So if you're someone who generally buys the eBook (not KU readers!!) please consider preordering your copy today!

Here's chapter 3, it's been a while since we heard anything from Tabitha...

Pre-order Dropping the Mitts now!



Chapter 3

Trash Can Tattle with Tabitha

Happy September, Trash Panda fans!

Who’s ready for a new and amazing season with the Cedar Rapids Raccoons?

We only have a couple more weeks to wait before the team take to the ice for their first home game of the season.

I don’t know about you, but I. Am. Psyched. It’s been a loooooooooooooooong and painful off season.

For those of you who are new to TCT, my name is Tabitha Tucker and I am your resident sports-blogger-salacious-newsletter-author extraordinaire, spilling the tea on all things hockey and hotties.

Trash Can Tattle is a regular column that falls somewhere between gossip and game, bringing you all the things in one convenient place – away from the excellent news, features, and opinions and interviews from the rest of the NCAA, right here at UCR (the University of Cedar Rapids).

Speaking of gossip, a little birdie told me they spotted the one-and-only Oliver Lindstrom in Bitches Brew a couple of days ago. Sure, he’s probably here seeing his sister, Penelope, before they both start the new school year at their respective universities, but a girl can dream.

As much as Oli Lindstrom would be an amazing addition to our lineup, I think your favorite sports reporter might have to finally accept he’s not leaving Wisconsin any time soon.

Le sigh.

We did get some fresh meat this season, new blood on the bench in the form of a few rookies eager to prove their worth to the team.

Rico Palffy and Mikko Lindell are two such rookies. Newbies to wearing Cedar Rapids green, but they both come with exceptional records from Benton Community High School. I can’t wait to see what they can do on the ice, and I bet netminder Ares de la Peña can’t either.

Having lost his backup to a school halfway across the world over the summer, we’ve all been waiting with baited breath right alongside de la Peña to see who our new back up would be. Mikko Lindell, you heard it here first. And I’d bet he’s one to watch.

With such a senior-heavy team, it’s nice to see an influx of players to the bench. Yours truly will of course be arranging interviews with various players over the course of the season to help y’all get to know the freshman off the ice.

Seniors this year, the de la Peña twins, Apollo and Artemis, their best friend Scott Raine, Raffi Shaw, and Tate Meyers will likely try to leave their mark on this season, go out with a bang, if you will. They’ll each be graduating at the end of this year and going their separate ways. What will their last season as a team have in store for them?

Let’s find out.

Preorder Dropping the Mitts now!

Blub

Love can blur even the fiercest of rivalries.

Penelope

When I kiss a guy dressed as Pacman at a party, it feels like fate. But fate must have a twisted sense of humor—because falling for the son of the man who ruined my family was never part of the plan.

Tate Myers, star hockey player and my sworn enemy, ignites a hate in me that’s hotter than any slapshot. Yet the heart wants what it wants—even if it means crossing every line I’ve drawn.

Tate

Getting snubbed by a chick dressed as Taco Belle at a party sucked almost as much as taking a slapshot to the face. My jaw and my world shatter, but the tall, curvy goddess next door keeps me afloat with her pranks.

I have no idea why she hates me, but right now, I hate myself, too. This is my second chance at making her fall for me, and I’m determined to win her over.

Can love conquer a bitter rivalry born on frozen ground, or will family feuds tear them apart?

Lace up for a scorching clash of romance and redemption in the rink of second chances.

Preorder Dropping the Mitts now!

Until Thursday,

Have you joined my reader group yet? If not, then head over to: Margaritas, Men and Mischief with Lasairiona. As the name suggests, it's a place for my readers to chat about all things romance - with a healthy dose of sarcasm, sharp wit, conversations comprised entirely of GIFs, sneak peeks, giveaways and a plethora of memes. It's one of my absolute favorite places on the internet and I'm really enjoying getting to know readers that bit better over there. Don't be shy - we don't bite... much! Come on over!

Justin

I thought I’d left my past in Minnesota when I moved to Iowa, but it was right there waiting for me.

Long blonde hair, curves in all the right places, and a death glare that hits harder than a slap shot to the solar plexus. On the ice, I’m a pro at blocking shots, but Savannah Bowen has slipped behind all my defenses and made a home in my heart.

I had no intention of revisiting the past, but when she’s damn near everywhere I go, I’m a goner.

Savannah

Hell freakin’ no.

It doesn’t matter that Justin Ashe is seven feet tall and sexy as sin, or that I’ve had a crush on him for years. He cheated on my best friend in high school, and that makes him off limits.

I can’t be with him, but damn, it’s impossible to stay away from him. Girl Code says uteruses before duderuses.

He’s supposed to be my enemy, but the more I see of him, the blurrier the lines get.

Welcome to UCR hockey, where fierce AF heroines and hot as puck heroes find their hockey ever afters. If you pucking love college hockey romance series, you’ll adore UCR Raccoons hockey.

FREEZING THE PUCK is a delicious slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, ovaries before brovaries sports romance. This interconnected full-length stand-alone is the first in a new series with no cheating or cliffhangers and has a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

Read Freezing the Puck, today!

Bookish. Bold. Beautiful. And entirely out of his league.

On paper, all-American boy next door, Lincoln Scott, has it all. But behind his slap shots, straight-A report card, and easy going charm, Linc hides a secret only his best friend knows.

When he attempts to return a misplaced bra, a wrong number gets him way more than the hook-up he bargained for. No one has ever looked beyond the star hockey player, until the mysterious woman he can’t stop texting sees him for who he really is.

Does Linc have the skills off the ice to keep up with her? Will he follow in his father’s footsteps? Or will he step out from the shadows and chase his dreams?

If you’re pucking obsessed with Helena Hunting, Pippa Grant, and Elle Kennedy, you’ll love this hilarious, hot-as-puck, secret identity, opposites attract, curvy girl sports romance. Two for Interference is a full length standalone with no cheating, cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Welcome to the Minnesota Snow Pirates, where skilled and sexy mother puckers’ lives get turned upside down by strong and badass heroines. Curl up with your next book boyfriend today.

Read Two for Interference, today!