Well, it’s come to this, y’all. THROWN BY A CURVE is the last Riley book. Alicia Riley is the final Riley in the Play by Play series. It’s not the last book in my Play by Play series, though. There are many more to come.
But when I got to Alicia’s book, I realized I had done two Riley brothers, one Riley sister, and two Riley cousins. To be as realistic as possible, there was no way I could drag up a few more Rileys who played or were somehow involved with professional sports. If I did that, there would be talk of the series jumping the shark, and we wouldn’t want that. So it was time to move on from the Rileys and into new territory.
So in THROWN BY A CURVE, you’re going to meet Garrett Scott, Alicia’s love interest. You’ll also meet Garrett’s college roommates, Gray Preston, Drew Hogan and Trevor Shay. And yes, they all play professional sports. I’m already crazy in love with all of them, and I hope you will be, too. I know everyone loves the Rileys—I do, too. I love them all madly and if I could continue writing Rileys until I ended the series, I would. But I wanted my series to make sense. I wanted it to be realistic. Okay, as realistic as a fictional series about hot sports stars could be. And that meant no more Rileys. It was time to branch out and introduce new guys. And I think you’re going to love them, starting with Garrett.
Garrett has a giant problem on his hands. Or, rather, a giant problem with his shoulder. He’s a star pitcher for the St. Louis Rivers baseball team, but he has a torn rotator cuff that’s keeping him out of the game. Alicia Riley is a sports medicine specialist for the Rivers, and since Garrett isn’t making progress in his therapy, Alicia is called on to take over.
This is a major rehab assignment for Alicia, and while she’s determined and focused, she also knows how important Garrett is to the team. And how much he hasn’t been working on his own rehab. So she’s less inclined to let him just slide by like he’s been doing, and more inclined to want to kick his ass. Garrett is used to getting into the good graces with his therapists, kicking back and laughing his way into not getting the work done. He hasn’t worked with Alicia yet, though, and her style of therapy is a lot of work and pain equals gain. So the two of them clash immediately, and the sparks fly between them, both workwise and personally.
But as soon as Garrett’s convinced Alicia is out to kill him, she shows him tenderness, and an understanding of what he’s going through. She knows what’s at stake for him, and he realizes she wants the same thing for him that he does—a return to the pitcher’s mound.
While we’ll all love the Rileys first and foremost, I hope you give the new guys a chance. I think you’re all going to fall in love with Garrett, and with the new guys I’m introducing in THROWN BY A CURVE.
But as a bonus, there’ll be a Riley holiday novella releasing in November. You know, I just can’t let them go quite yet. More on that one coming up later this year. 😉
So tell me about some of your favorite series that have ongoing family members or integrated characters. I really love Jill Shalvis’ Lucky Harbor series. She does such a great job of rotating characters and introducing new characters in that series. I also love Shannon Stacey’s Kowalski series, and she’s done a wonderful job of working with the extended Kowalski family. What are some of your favorites?
I’m giving away winner’s choice of any book in my backlist, print or digital. International entries welcome. Geographical restrictions may apply on the digital copy if it’s not available to the winner in your area.
Jaci
Website: http://www.jaciburton.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jaciburton
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