Rhonda Shaw – Guest Blog

Book two of Men of the Show

 

“Love ’em and leave ’em” has been real estate agent Karen Bently’s motto for as long as she can remember. She doesn’t need a man, except to make her toes curl. Or so she thought, until her longtime crush, Ace pitcher Jerry Smutton, sets his sights on her.

 

After signing one of the largest baseball contracts in history with the Detroit Rockets, Jerry enlists Karen to help him find the house of his dreams. Their connection is instant and electric, but neither of them is the relationship type. When Jerry proposes a friends-with-benefits arrangement, that suits Karen just fine.

 

Passionate sleepovers soon turn into long, romantic evenings… Still, Karen and Jerry refuse to acknowledge they’re a couple. Karen insists that she’s immune to Jerry’s heart-melting charm. Jerry’s not ready to settle down. Denial is the name of the game, until one pitch changes everything…

 

Meet Jerry’s teammate Chase Patton in The Changeup!

 

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Excerpt

 

Jerry pulled into a small parking lot that sat next to a dark brick, nondescript building and shut off his car. Since there was no sign or any markings on the squat structure, Karen thought that she could have easily passed it on a daily basis without ever noticing it. Cars packed the lot, however, so it was obviously popular.

“Is this some private gang hangout or something?” she asked.

He gave her a look that said she was out of her mind to question where they were. “What? This is Hannigan’s.”

“Hannigan’s,” she repeated and looked out the window, searching for anything that might help her recall if she’d ever heard of the place. He’d said it like everyone knew what Hannigan’s was. “And I should know what that is?”

He looked at her in shock and sat back in his seat, which was already reclined as far as it could go to accommodate his long legs inside the small confines of his Porsche. “How do you live and work in Royal Oak and not know Hannigan’s?”

“I don’t know Hannigan’s, so sue me or something.” A thought suddenly occurred to her and Karen turned back to him. “Is this a boob joint?”

He laughed as he opened his door and climbed out. “Let’s go. Make sure you bring your singles.”

 

 

The Makings of The Ace

 

When I set out to write The Changeup (book one of Men of the Show), I had an inkling about a second story, but it wasn’t until Karen and Jerry’s personalities fully flushed themselves out, did I think, “Now these two would create fireworks together!” Their story eluded me, however.

 

One day while watching ESPN, they happened to be talking baseball contracts for pitchers. The amounts of money discussed were staggering. It got me thinking. If my day job ever offered to pay me a salary of that magnitude (Ha!), what kind of pressure would I feel? Definitely the need to be perfect all of the time, never able to make ONE mistake, no matter how small, for fear of the repercussions. The stress would be staggering. Add in the media and thousands of fans watching your every move, and I had Jerry’s story.

 

Karen, however, was trickier. She’s not a fragile flower; she knows her mind and she’s going to go for what she wants regardless of what anyone else says. She also had to have a believable softer side. I couldn’t have her set in her ways of never being in a relationship again only to turn to mush and roll over once Jerry entered into the picture, despite the fact she’d been crushing on him. No, she needed to stick to her guns and the change within her had to be gradual.

 

Since the two of them were commitment-phobes, they had to come together in a way they would both agree to, which ended up being a friend-with-benefits scenario. They could get what they want while keeping their distance…but as we all know, and it was no different for Karen and Jerry, things get sticky and surprise! You’re in a relationship.

 

What’s your favorite romance trope?

 

Author Bio

 

After writing one mind numbing technical document after another, Rhonda Shaw decided to combine her love of writing with her love of reading romance. Born in California, but transplanted to the Midwest, Rhonda is a warm weather girl to the bone. She works in the software development industry and was a lifelong dancer until her body told her it was time to come down off her toes. For more information about Rhonda and her books, please visit her website at http://www.rhondashaw.com.

 

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