Playing the Game on Sale for $.99!

Dear ,

Welcome to my world this week! It's lovely here in New England and a pleasure and privilege to be able to write to you this morning. 💜

When I last spoke to you I was in the throes of creating a new series, Hockey Boys, and I promised more this week. I went ahead and created the series logo, swag and tried out some cover designs.

Sorry--I'm not ready to reveal any covers yet.

In the meantime, I put one of my all time favorite and bestselling stories on sale, Playing the Game - a steamy sports romance which won the International Digital Award for best Contemporary Romance in 2013.

If you want to get involved in a dramatic world with a cast of an unconventional characters, following the trials of the Scarlet O'Hara-like heroine, who along with the hero, may be morally gray, you'll laugh and cry and swoon and root for the HEA.

What I'm working on this week and super excited about is Hockey Night in Romance Land! I hope you're planning to attend this one-of-a-kind event! It's an online interactive book signing live on Facebook.

I'll be appearing live with Kat Obie on June 6th at 6pm.

You wouldn't believe all the behind the scenes preparations going on to pull this off!!

I want to give a shout-out to the organizers, Pepper Knight and Jenna McCall who are working super hard to make this event spectacular.

They're herdingcajoling managing all the participating authors, making sure they have our gift books ready to send, running us through video practice sessions, preparing tips to entertain you, scheduling each author or pair of authors for their time slots, and managing the technical side of synching zoom to Facebook live for you all.

During the event, in addition to signing books, we'll be answering questions both live and those submitted previously, and we'll be doing our own giveaways.

Plus as a bonus, some of us will have special swag to go with any signed book orders! I ordered my swag and it's scheduled to arrive June 6th--the day of the event--so keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives on time!

You can preview lots of the fun over at Romance Hockey League now.

Right now I'm focused on bringing the slow burn of Lucky Puck to a sizzling, emotionally toe-curling, big-sigh crescendo in time for the release later this month.

Lastly, but not leastly, I appreciate your time and attention to my newsletter, and your support, very much. 💜

Check out NEW SERIES Logo & Swag for Hockey Boys - The Jennings Brothers Below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

PLUS! I have a Special $.99 Sale of the Playing the Game! Check it Out Below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

See Your Invitation to Hockey Night in Romance Land Below! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Also this week I have another banquet of Yummy Featured Authors for you Below!⬇️⬇️⬇️

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At SQ's House

The hole in the back yard has turned into a patio! All it needs now is the retaining wall along the mulch bed. I think it's gorgeous! ➜➜➜➜

My husband and son did a fantastic and very professional job in my humble and possibly biased opinion.

It was a lot of hard heavy work. Not that I did any of the lifting...

Speaking of muscles--or lack thereof--I should update you on my working out progress.

Not bad. But this past week all I did is Yoga one day. I promised myself I would go to the gym today, though.

Immediately after I send you this newsletter... 💜

Who else has their spouse doing projects?

💜

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I'd love you to join my team!

Join the SQ Team on Facebook Here!

You too could be one of my expert series consultants!

Plus it would be fun to get to know you better.

You'll get sneak peaks at draft book covers-and have a say in the final draft, we'll have contests and some behind the scenes writer stuff and of course, talk romance books--and whatever else we want. 💜

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Work-in-Progress

LUCKY PUCK - a hockey rom-com

Word Count Goal: 75,000

Current Word Count: 32,538

Percentage Complete: 43%

Once you lie about a thing like being married and it gets leaked to the public, the biggest problem is figuring how you get out of it.

Brody & Bianca realize this too late.

They never thought about their exit plan...

Pre-Order Lucky Puck for Only $2.99

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for a limited time

PLAYING THE GAME ONLY $.99!

BUY for $.99 or READ FREE ON KU!

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NEW SERIES LOGO REVEAL!

Hockey Boys - the Jennings Brothers

The Details:

Genre: small town hockey romance

Concept:

The Jennings family lives in Rye, NH, as they have for several generations, occupying a large house near the ocean that's expanded into a compound. They come from a long line of fishermen and run a boat called Jennings Brothers. The family is prominent in town and in the fishing business.

But these days, the family's fishing business is slowing down with the changing industry and catch quotas.

The Jennings brothers, aren't banking on fishing to make their living. Talented athletes, all five of them play hockey. Their father coaches the high school team in the winters when fishing shuts down and every one of the brothers would love to break out into the pros to make a bundle of money and save their family's fishing business from sinking into ruin.

⬅️⬅️⬅️ SWAG REVEAL!

Complicating factors (aka Juicy Drama!):

• There's a rival fishing boat in town run by the Longo family with four brothers who also play hockey but they go to private schools and play for rival teams.
• The rival family includes twin sisters who could melt a man's soul.
• The mothers from the two families are secret friends
• The rivalry is fueled by a secret from the past, an incident that's rumored was the cause of Uncle Jack's death.

First Book - projected release November 2025

Patrick: The Jennings Brothers

They call me Trick. I'm a middle son in a family of six extremely ambitious, extremely competitive hockey playing brothers. My trick? Escaping notice.

Playing goalie makes it easy. I wear a mask.

Also, I like to play tricks on my brothers. (read more at stephaniequeen.com)

I don't have the book covers yet, but I anticipate a combo of small town and hockey vibes with a setting like the one pictured here (this guy could be one of the Jennings brothers.) ➜➜➜➜

We'll be working on the concept over at the Stephanie Queen Team and rating different versions. If you have strong ideas about book covers or would love to throw in your opinion for fun, please feel free to join us at Stephanie Queen Team.

Look for more about the Hockey Boy series in future newsletters.

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YOU'RE INVITED! June 6-7th

Hockey Night in Romance Land!

UPDATE: I'll be signing alongside fellow author Kat Obie and we'll have a SPECIAL DEAL for those attending including books and swag! A Hockey Boys vinyl sticker ➜➜➜➜

I'll let you know the details of the special deal next week.

This is an on-line book signing event to celebrate the Stanley Cup and all things hockey and romance.

Here's how it works: You order books from attending authors through their order forms and then you tune in at the event to talk with them while they sign your book! Cool, eh?

I'll be there and I'd be more than thrilled if you joined me--whether you're buying a book or not--we can talk hockey and romance books and hockey romance--you can tell me all your pet-peeves!

I'll also be signing book plates for anyone who already has books.

**HERE'S MY ORDER FORM**

Register for the Event Here!

REGISTER HERE!

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Playing the Game

"Fans of Gone with the Wind will appreciate this updated telling of Rhett and Scarlett's story, not set in the deep South, but on the streets of Boston and the surrounding area. Roxanne Monet is a woman with a whole lot of problems: she's lost her job, she's broke, her ex-mother-in-law is convinced she's a murderer, and the one thing she is truly passionate about, her volunteer fundraising work for a children's hospital, is in jeopardy. Brian Dennis is a superstar basketball player for the Celtics who can think about only one thing: being the absolute best at what he does. There's no room in his life for anyone else, and that includes his daughter, Lindy. Roxanne and Brian's game of seduction will leave you frustrated and angry at times, yet begging for more. If you want cookie-cutter, quasi-perfect heroines, and noble heroes who do the right thing, this is not your book. Like Rhett and Scarlett, Brian and Roxy are flawed characters with real, serious obstacles to overcome on their personal journeys before they can be together in a meaningful way. The book is all the better because of this. The scenes at the Children's Hospital will move you to tears, I promise. There are twists and turns to keep you guessing right up until the end how these two can possibly resolve their personal problems and the conflict between them, and you'll be so relieved when they do! I can't recommend this book highly enough."

--Book Lover J, Amazon reviewer

get for $.99 or read for free on Kindle Unlimited

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Stephanie Queen’s Featured Authors

Makinng Waves - Trinity Wood

What do you get when you cross a cat with a sailor? 

After a very public end to his very public relationship, the last thing Jay needs is more publicity. He gets enough of that on the Team New Zealand sailing team.

But then he rescues a cat.

With a string of disastrous relationships behind her, radio host Sara never expects to be swept off her feet by a handsome stranger. She's had enough of men. But then he rescues her cat from a tree.

It's only a matter of time before their relationship goes public. But when Sara is to blame for sharing private details about their bedroom escapades on air, will Jay forgive her?

Sometimes you have to rock the boat to get what you want.

MAKING WAVES is part of the New Zealand Sailing series and can be read as a stand-alone.

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW!

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Melting the Ice - Stephanie Kay

Micah's new roommate is turning his world upside down. Maybe a little shake up is just what he needs.

Micah Smith loves order. He’s stable. Single-minded. Sure, he has quirks and routines, just like all hockey players. But his focus is on being the best possible defenseman for the Denver Stampede, and everything is going perfectly. Until a purple-haired hurricane blows into his life.

Josie Caine lives by her own rules. Chaos is the spice of life and boredom doesn't exist in her world. Staying put isn’t her thing, but she’s made Denver her home the last few months. So, when her boyfriend-of-the-moment skips town, she’s not ready to leave, she just needs a place to crash.

As luck would have it, her brother's best friend—a man she’s secretly crushed on for years—happens to have a two-bedroom condo. Josie promises she won’t mess up his schedule. Except as soon as she moves in, she’s making him feel things he has no business feeling about his best friend’s little sister. Their heat’s not just melting the ice, it could liquify a glacier.

Can Josie fall hard enough to put down roots? Or is Micah messing up his carefully constructed life—and his heart—for nothing?

READ FOR FREE in Kindle Unlimited

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Tripped Up - Allie Lasky

Who’s ready for the playoffs? Join your favorite indie romance authors and fall in love with eight sexy, sporty, enemies to lovers hockey romance stories.

Austin Aces Hockey Club... where sworn enemies become lovers… on and off the ice.

Wyatt Whitney is an asshole of epic proportions, and not just because I slept with him a decade ago.

I’ve come to Austin for a fresh start after an epically awful breakup. The last thing I want is for my best friend to ask her hockey superstar brother to look out for me. It’s made worse by the fact that she has no idea we hooked up, or that he clearly doesn’t remember me. Whenever we’ve been in the same room, he acts like he has no idea who I am. Guess what my ex said must be true: I’m boring and bad in bed.

The brooding brawler is angry and hurt since being traded days after winning the Cup last season. The last thing he wants is to babysit me, and he’s not shy about keeping it a secret.

When I need a date for the symphony’s fall fundraising gala, I’m surprised when he sweeps in to rescue me, showing off to all of my coworkers. And he doesn’t even make any snarky comments!

Could the Wyatt Whitney I’ve hated all these years actually be a decent human being? Worse — could I actually be falling for him, all over again?

READ FOR FREE ON KU!

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SQ’s Featured Book Deals

BEACHREAD BOOK SALE!

JUNE BOUQUET OF ROMANCE

SUPPORT INDIE AUTHORS SALE!

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Thank you again for reading this newsletter.

Let me know what you think of the new Hockey Boys series when you have a chance. I'd love your feedback. Next week I'll have another EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT from Lucky Puck.

In the meantime, enjoy your reading and know how much I appreciate your support. 💜

Warmest Regards,