Today my guest author is Contemporary Romance writer, Heather Peters. Heather is with me today to talk about her new sports anthology which features heroes who are jocks extraordinaire.
Heather and I met through a mutual author friend and hit it off immediately. Lately, she and I have been talking hockey and comparing notes because I’m working on a hockey-playing hero for an upcoming book this fall.
Let’s get to the interview now so you get to know her too.
NOTE: Her answers should all be read while imagining a sexy New York accent. She sounds like that--I swear. LOL
Donna: Hey Heather! Welcome! Tell my blog readers a little about yourself.
Heather: Thanks so much for having me, Donna! Can you believe its been two months since we met in Salem, MA? Such a wonderful event and great fun meeting you for the first time.
I've been writing romance for over 20 years. I live in New York and this is my first "Indie" book. By day, I'm a receptionist for a chiropractor, but by night, I write, lol.
Reading and writing romance are my two favorite things, followed closely by classic romance movies, Italian cooking, gardening and spending time with my 2 incredibly gorgeous grandchildren.
Donna: Why the fascination with sports heroes?
Heather: I grew up an only child whose dad, uncles and boy cousins all were baseball fans. When I started dating, my first boyfriend (later my husband) took me to my first NHL hockey game, and I fell in love. I consider myself pretty well versed in both sports.
I deeply admire the manner in which athletes take care of themselves, their fitness regimens and their talent, not to mention, their respect and love of the game. And for me, of course, their fit, toned bodies certainly keep my mind fertile for writing about them!
Donna: What should readers know about reading your books?
Heather: My readers should know that I enjoy telling a simple, heartfelt love story between two adults who have a deep attraction for each other, and a healthy, hot, sex life. I love alpha heroes who have a tender spot for the women they love and I write strong heroines who are not afraid to cry.
Donna: Was there a real life inspiration for the story line? If not, where did you get the idea for the stories?
Heather: My first husband (now ex) actually played roller hockey when we were teens. I remember carrying his sports bag and stick to the rink (Okay, I was 15 and in love). Later he became a junior varsity coach for a local high school team. My son began playing hockey at the age of 9, and when he broke his wrist right in front of me and I survived, I knew I was an honest to goodness hockey mom! Now my 5 year old grandson plays, and no, I can't bear to watch him – yet.
As far as baseball is concerned, my late husband Mike was a baseball fanatic. Once I started asking him questions about the pitchers (how do they get that ball over the plate?), a story just evolved. I modeled Nick Dante (my pitcher) after a hunky, handsome pitcher for an American League MLB team. Quinn is based heavily after the GQ cover worthy, award winning goaltender for a major league NHL team.
It seemed now was the time to dust both stories off, update them, and try for an indie release. And here they are!
Donna: Why an anthology? What other books do you have?
Heather: I already had sequels in my mind when I wrote Playing for Keeps and Body Check, so I decided to label the series Rules of the Game. My sequels (due for release in September/October) are tentatively named Face-Off and Grand Slam.
Donna: What’s next for you creatively? Are you working on something else?
Heather: Besides the next 2 novellas in Book Two of the Rules of the Game series, I've just outlined a contemporary Phantom of the Opera romance tentatively named Phantom Temptation. A cruise ship love affair called Sea Me is also in the works. I'm very excited about them.
Donna: How can readers contact you?
Heather: Readers can contact at the any or all of the following.
(I'm on FaceBook the majority of the time, anyone can reach me there 24/7 -- lol)
Thanks Donna for having me. Just want to say kudos to you for your Never Too Late series. I absolutely love the older characters who share intense love for each other, and enjoy healthy sex lives. At my age (50+) I welcome the change from the younger characters.
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Excerpt from PLAYING FOR KEEPS
While thinking about which specials to list for the first night of their debut, Jenna was brought out of her musings by a couple of crew members.
Nearly choking on her wine, she nearly fell off the stool as she heard a name that rendered her breathless.
Nick Dante.
"Did you see that last inning?" one crew member exclaimed. "Dante pitches a three hitter, then strikes out the last guy to win the Series. Un-friggin-believable."
The other young man nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but see how he collapsed after he won the game? Ah, he's all done with that bum shoulder of his. How old is Dante, anyway, thirty- five, thirty- six?"
Jenna swallowed hard, and answered without thinking. "He's thirty-three."
The two crew members turned to her with eyebrows raised. "Hey Ms. Valentine, you a baseball fan?"
Jenna felt her cheeks blush. "In a manner of speaking."
The other man nodded. "Oh, then you must be a Nick Dante fan."
"Hardly." She frowned.
"Then how. . ."
Jenna needed to end this conversation, but didn’t want to be rude. "I knew him in college." She sighed and hoped she appeared disinterested.
Yeah, there's an understatement. You've known him longer than that. And have loved him all your life.
"You dated Nick Dante?" one of the guys asked wide-eyed, interest obvious now.
Jenna nodded weakly. Wouldn’t these two young men be interested to know that not only did she go to college with Nick, but that she also knew his family, the way he kissed, that his hair was thick and felt like silk when you drew your fingers through it.
Jenna knew his eyes were the color of espresso, and grew darker when he was aroused. He was six foot three inches, had a small scar on his chin from being hit with a baseball when he was in college.
His voice lowered when aroused, and she used to call him Nico.
And the way he made love as though his life depended on it.
It was all a long time ago. But she could still taste his bone melting kisses, his strong arms wrapped around her.
Shaking herself out of her reverie, Jenna slid from the stool, and hurriedly gathered papers and her bag together. She had to get out of here. After twelve years, the mention of his name still possessed the power to screw up her mind, and affect her body.
Yeah, she knew a lot about Nick Dante.
After all, he was her ex-husband.
What does this mean? It means I desperately need two pieces of information that I don’t have time to re-read all four books again to get. I was using the “find and search” in my writing software when I realized that it would give me back important writing time if I could ask readers who loved the series and who might already know. So after the head smack for not writing all this down, I decided to offer a free copy of the ebook to the following 3 winners (the third is just because it would nice to see if anything "good" exists): 
