Tuesday 4 February 2014

Book Spotlight: Love and Other Games

The Olympics are just around the corner and to celebrate I caught up with Kara Leigh Miller, one of the authors of the Love and Other Games (A Very Sexy Short Story Collection). Want to know what it is like to co-author a collection or what the best part of writing a sultry Olympic read is? Scroll down to find out!








BP: Could you briefly tell us about your story?

KLM: Love and Other Games is a collection of four short, sexy novellas written by me (Kara Leigh Miller), Ana Blaze, Melinda Dozier, and Aria Kane. My story specifically, Ice Gold, is about a US Olympic hockey player (Colton “Cole” Campbell) and the photographer (Brenna Jessup) who won’t give him the time of day. There are a lot high jinks, pranks, laughs, and a ton of sexy stuff, too. It was a blast to write.   

BP: What inspired you to write this? Why did you choose to write about the Olympics?

KLM: Credit for this idea goes to Aria Kane. She’d read an article about the ridiculous amount of condoms used during the last Olympic games, and the wheels starting spinning in her mind. She contacted the rest of us and presented the idea. After hundreds of emails back and forth, we pinned down the idea of each of us writing a short novella that would be tied together by a few common threads: the winter games, Switzerland, and the superstition of a lucky torch. Then we all started calling dibs on which sport we wanted to write about. Lol. I knew from earlier on I wanted to write a hockey player.

BP: Ha! Aria and I must have read the same article then, because one of my characters in PODIUM FINISH makes a joke about the massive number of condoms used at the previous Olympics.


BP: Did you have to do any research? If yes, how did you approach it?

KLM: Yes, we did do quite a bit of research about the Olympics in general and each of our sports in particular. We created a Google doc that we all had access to and in that we would share links to helpful articles including pictures of hot athletes. Hey, we all needed a bit of inspiration ;) I did some basic research online about hockey, but then went to a reliable source. Jen Talty, a member of my local RWA group is a hockey mom, so she was really great about answering all of my questions no matter how ridiculous they may have seemed to her. And I also contacted my close friend, Chris, of Christina Wallace Photography to help with all my technical camera questions. 

BP: Which scene was your favorite to write?

KLM: The airplane scene! It’s the first time Cole and Brenna meet face to face, and he’s such a jackass to her, but he’s also very loveable. Here it is:

"It's Cole, ma'am," he said with a slight incline of his head.
Was that a southern accent she heard? It was faint, but unmistakable. Ma'am, a subtle nod … yup, Colton Campbell was a southern boy. Huh, who knew? "Right, Cole." She cleared her throat. She was so totally screwed. There was only one type of man on this earth that made Brenna weak in the knees—a southern man.
"So, you've heard of me, huh?" Cole said with a smirk. "Wish I could say the same about you." His gaze lingered on hers for a moment before lowering.
Brenna rolled her eyes. "Well, you do have quite the reputation." She stood.
"Going somewhere?"
"Yes, I'd like to go use the restroom. Now, if you'll please excuse me."
"Don't let me stop you." Cole remained seated, his long legs bent at the knees, touching the seat in front of him, making it impossible for Brenna to get by him—unless she were to climb over him, and she refused to do that.
Brenna crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Do you mind?"
"No, not at all." He laced his fingers together and rested them on his stomach, settling deeper into his seat. "I'm used to women staring at me. Go ahead, get your fill."
"Uh!" she huffed. Brenna knew Cole had a playboy reputation, rivaled only by his arrogance, but for the love of God, was he serious right now? One look at his handsome features and she knew he was teasing her. Well, she'd be damned if she let him get the better of her. "For your information, Mr. Campbell, I'm staring at you because I can't wrap my mind around your complete lack of manners." Brenna cautiously stepped over him.
"A complete lack of manners would be doing this." Cole lifted his knee and bumped her ass, causing her to lose her balance and fall forward.
It happened so fast all she could do was put her hands out and grip the back of Cole's seat. Her hands were on either side of his head, her legs straddling his, and their faces were inches apart. Christ, did he have to smell so good? She started to push herself away, but Cole shifted his legs just enough so she couldn't move. Damn him and those tantalizing lips—they were so close, she could almost taste them.
"I don't find this amusing," she said.
The corners of his mouth twitched, and he cocked a brow. "Arousing?"
"Annoying."
Cole leaned forward and put his mouth to her ear. "Five minutes says I can change your mind."

BP: Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

KLM: All of the authors can be found on their websites and on Twitter:




 

Thank you so much, Kara, for sharing an excerpt and telling up about the writing process! Be sure to add Love and Other Games on goodreads and check it out on kindle! And check back later this week for another Winter Olympics author interview with Jennifer Comeaux, author of the Edge series.

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