Alright y'all, hang on to your knickers - we are in for a wiiiild ride this week!

I can't believe everything that's happened over the past two weeks. From cracking the top 500 in the rankings on the Amazon.com store with Two for Interference, to launching a shiny new preorder with my co-author, Melissa Ivers and everything in between. It has been fun and unpredictable.

I've also been suffering with a really bad case of man flu given to me by my nine-year-old son. So if you know me IRL I'm so sorry for being such a whiny bitch for the past three weeks. I think (hope) I'm nearly out the other side of it.

I have a little somethin' somethin' for you. We are just SEVEN weeks away from the release of my reformed playboy stripper goalie, Ares de la Pena in book TWO, Pulling the Goalie, of the Cedar Rapids Raccoons series.

Can the girl who hides in the shadows date a guy who chases the spotlight?

Eloise:

Ares de la Peña: VIP hockey goalie, stripper, bisexual playboy.

He lives for the limelight. He’s everything I should avoid, yet I’m drawn to him in ways I don’t understand. As our worlds collide, I discover he’s more than just the flashy heir to a billion dollar fortune. I’ll never fit into his world. But I want to.

Ares:

What is it about this girl? She hides her scars behind her bright hair, quirky clothing, and striking lipstick, but I see her. She’s the calm that quiets my demons, while running from her own. My reputation precedes me, which is usually a good thing, but in this case her preconceived notions about me aren’t working in my favor.

How can I make her see that what we have is far more than skin deep?

Preorder Pulling the Goalie, NOW!

The original release date was the 18th of May (which it says on the Amazon listing), but due to a publishing collision with one of the huge names in my subgenre, I've decided to release it a week early (Just call me Taylor Swift - she moved her album so she didn't collide with Adele releasing her album!) Keep reading for a little intro to Ares below!

Next, let me tell you about our co-write. It's a contemporary hockey why choose (three men and one woman with crossing swords/MM action). It's called My Brother's Teammates (can you guess the main trope?) and it's slated to come out later this year. I am not exaggerating when I say we are sooooo freakin' excited! It's going to be fab!!

Add it to your Goodreads TBR here.

Preorder it here.

Next up, my lovely friend Teagan Hunter has a new release that is storming the hockey romance charts. If you haven't read the Comets series, consider this your rec. Go forth and read! Glove Save is book six in the series, so if you're starting from the get-go, I suggest going back to Puck Shy.

Last, but by no means least, here's a little sneak peek of what's to come from Ares and Eloise in Pulling the Goalie.

Pulling the Goalie

Ares

(Prologue)

“Gooood morning, Cedar Rapids! This is Marshall Bryant and you’re listening to Rock 108. Summer’s almost over which means we’re on the slippery slope into the new college hockey season and Coach Bales is putting together an interesting roster of Raccoons over at the University of Cedar Rapids.

Speaking of the Trash Pandas, I lured one of them onto the show. You know I like to have interesting guests on the show from time to time, so joining us this morning for a quick Q&A is rookie UCR goaltender, Ares de la Peña. No stranger to the limelight, the youngest of four siblings, Ares already has twin older brothers on the team and he’s suiting up to play between the pipes in the fall. Thanks for joining us today, Ares.”

I shift in my seat. No one can see me since I’m in my apartment on an online call with Marshall, but nervous energy still courses through me. “Thanks for having me, Marshall.”

I hate interviews. Interviewers always go for the jugular, and I always know exactly what they’re going to ask. They know I’m a recovering addict, a stripper, and they want aaaaall the juicy gossip.

When did you first realize you were an addict?

How did you get drugs and alcohol so young?

Are you cured?

What were you drugs of choice?

Did you really break that guy’s orbital socket with your foot?

What do your family think of the fact you’re a stripper?

What made you give up drugs and go clean?

How often do you dance at the strip club?

What was rehab like?

Why are you so blasé about the fact you’re an addict?

It got to the point that I made a list of answers ahead of time, and I just read them off like a damn robot. If Oprah were to call me up right now, I’d have a first class performance ready to go.

Lots of people don’t believe I’m a recovering addict because at only eighteen years old, I’m pretty young. But I’ve been an addict since I was fourteen years old. I started with alcohol and weed, then escalated to Percocet, Vicodin, and eventually cocaine, perico. I might have been young when I started, but I was also rich, and learned quickly that money really can buy just about anything. Including silence.

I always thought the only one being harmed by my addiction was me, but I started to hurt other people, too. Even I got tired of hearing people make excuses for me. Even so, it wasn’t a fear of ending up in jail or the morgue that stopped me, but a fear of not playing the game.

It takes an average of seventeen attempts for someone to find sobriety and someone dies from an opioid overdose every twenty minutes. So I was never optimistic that rehab would save me, or even help me. As far as I was concerned, I was beyond help, but, at the behest of Mamá, Papá’s money bought me access to the best treatment programs available.

And when I got out Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, AlAnon— a support group for the families and friends of alcoholics, especially those of members of Alcoholics Anonymous., and Reddit’s Redditors in Recovery forum got me through.

Ultimately, though, it was hockey that saved me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was old enough to walk and the thought I might never be able to play again by my own doing? It was too much.

Did I play while high?

Sure, I did. And for a while I was even convinced I could do it forever. Full of false confidence, I thought I was the best hockey player to ever skate on ice. But the more I moved away from prescription meds to coke, the more things unraveled.

My heart rate spiked, and stayed there any time I was on the ice. I was out of breath all the fucking time, and my feet wouldn’t work as quickly as my brain.

Shuddering at the recollection, I clear my throat, ready for the onslaught from Mr. Marshall over in Hiawatha. Since this one’s my first interview as a Raccoon, I imagine there’ll be something in there about committing to my team and to the game and to my sobriety.

“First question, Ares. What feels better on your thighs? Goalie pads or dollar bills?”

I can’t help the snort that bursts out of me. “Nothing comes close to the soft flutter of Benjamins against the skin, Marshall.”

“That’s what I thought. So tell me, which one of the de la Peña brothers have scored the most?”

Ha. I like this guy already. Maybe this interview won’t be so bad after all.

Pulling the Goalie - coming May 11th 2023

Until next time,

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.

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.