BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – Pete Sebastian, Coach
SERIES – First & Ten
AUTHOR – Jean Joachim
GENRE – Sports Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – June, 2015
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 66,000 words – 220 pages
PUBLISHER – Secret Cravings Publishing
COVER ARTIST – Dawne Dominique
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Pete Sebastian, Coach Bass to his team, thought he had his life under control until smart, alluring Jo Parker sashayed into a front office job with the Connecticut Kings. He locks horns with the beautiful female when she implements new ideas to clean-up the team’s rep. Was she there just to push him around or was she the one woman he’s been seeking?
Struggling toward success in the man’s-man world of the NFL, Jo Parker has relied on her brains and determination to get ahead. But her new job at the Kings has one hurdle she hadn’t counted on – a sexy coach standing in her way. How can she kept her mind on her job when all she wants is to get closer, much closer, to the coach?
Can Coach Bass handle a woman in the boardroom and bedroom? Can he keep his heart safe or will the revelation of a secret destroy his dreams, leaving him alone once more?
Caution: Locker room language.
BUY & TBR LINKS
EXCERPT
Pete stripped down to boxers and donned his running shorts. Not bothering with a shirt, he headed for the beach. There was no way he could get to sleep after his steamy encounter with Jo Parker. Running would clear his mind and calm his body.
He pulled an elastic with his house key on it over his wrist and left. As he walked down the path to the sand, he thought about Jo. Christ, I can’t stop thinking about her! Chilled by the night air, he started to run. He’d known she was sexy, but the way she had surrendered in his arms, well, surprised wasn’t the word. He never thought she’d fall without a major seduction. Flowers, candy, dinners out—now he could forget that. Next date would end in his bed.
CHARACTER BIOS
PETE SEBASTIAN - Winning the Super Bowl is just the beginning for Coach Bass, as his team calls him. He walks on water, until his world gets turned upside down by a feisty female. When the new V.P. of Publicity turns out to be a gorgeous blonde, Pete is stopped in his tracks.
Raising twin daughters alone after his wife took a powder, Pete has been too busy to be lonely. But now that his girls are off to college, loneliness has become his constant companion. Bed partners are easy to find, but the right woman, one who loves football almost as much as she loves him isn’t easy. So far, he has come up empty.
With a beautiful woman in the office next door, Pete can hardly concentrate on preparing for training camp. All he wants to do is kiss Jo Parker, but she’s tucked away behind a professional demeanor and not going to play his game.
Never one to throw in the towel, Pete has a strategy to win this woman who keeps one step ahead of him. Can the charming, sexy coach win the affections of the elusive Ms. Parker? Or his he destined to continue on playing a solo game?
JO PARKER - Jo Parker is a woman who knows what she wants, right? She thinks she does. A successful woman in the man’s world of NFL front office, Jo has worked hard and taken lots of guff to rise to the level of vice president of publicity.
Her new job at The Connecticut Kings presents a challenge. Not only does she have to clean up the reputation of a team that fired two players for domestic violence, but she has to resist the practically irresistible charms of the coach, Pete Sebastian.
With her pug, Daisy, tucked under her arm, Jo takes Monroe and the Kings by storm. She rolls in, determined to send the players to anger management, to avoid further bad behavior. But they roadblock her at every step. And leading the resistance is the devastatingly handsome, Coach Bass.
Chemistry and mutual attraction short-circuit Ms. Parker’s plans. She finds herself in unfamiliar waters, falling in love. But love is not in her plans. She doesn’t believe in Prince Charming and she’s not about to give up her independence for a roll in the hay.
But loneliness and a hunger for love, born from a sterile childhood, draw her to the warmth and charm of Pete Sebastian. Will she be able to control her emotions, fight through their mutual attraction to focus on the job and only the job?
AUTHOR BIO
Jean Joachim is a best-selling romance fiction author, with books hitting the Amazon Top 100 list since 2012. The Renovated Heart won Best Novel of the Year from Love Romances Café. Lovers & Liars was a RomCon finalist in 2013. And The Marriage List tied for third place as Best Contemporary Romance from the Gulf Coast RWA. She was chosen Author of the Year in 2012 by the New York City chapter of Romance Writers of America.
Married and the mother of two sons, Jean lives in New York City. Early in the morning, you’ll find her at her computer, writing, with a cup of tea, her rescued put, Homer, by her side and a secret stash of black licorice.
Interview:
Interview:
Where are you from? I was born in New York City and raised mostly
in nearby Westchester county – city of Rye, to be exact.
Tell us your latest news? I’ve just finished the fourth book in
the First & Ten series, Devon Drake, Cornerback. I’ll be beginning the
fifth book soon. I have had a book translated into Chinese and it will be
selling in China soon.
When and why did you begin writing? I have been a nonfiction writer for a long time. I began writing fiction about five years ago. I began because two characters landed in my head and wouldn’t leave. They insisted on telling me their story. I sat in my kitchen and typed up their book. It was my first, Now and Forever, a Love Story.
When did you first consider yourself a writer? I’ve considered myself a writer for the last 15 years or so. Writing nonfiction got me started. I worked in advertising and had a syndicated movie review column called “Movie Choices for Kids.”
What inspired you to write your first book? My first book was nonfiction. “Beyond the Bake Sale, the Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book” was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2003. It was inspired by the 15 years I spent working as a volunteer in my sons’ schools, doing fundraising that was vital to keep the school running.
Do you have a specific writing style? I suppose I do. Not quite sure what it is. I do write my books like movies, in three acts. That’s not intentional. Probably comes from the 12 years I spent doing the movie column. I saw two new movies every week. I guess they just seeped into my brain and influenced my writing.
How did you come up with the title? Titles can either be fun, or hell. I like to brainstorm titles, mostly based on the theme of the love story in the book. In this series, First & Ten, it was just easier to use the name and position of the player who was the hero in the title. That way readers will know which books they’ve read and which they haven’t. And those titles lend themselves to amazing covers.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Not exactly a message, but I do write about an issue that appears to be recurring in the world of football – violence taken from the gridiron to the home. I address this in my book by having the heroine start an anger management program for the team and the staff. I guess the message I’m sending is not so much for my readers, but for the world of football. Perhaps they should stop ignoring the fact that some of the men who play the sport can’t seem to curb their aggression off the field.
How much of the book is realistic? All the football scenes, and there are football scenes in each book, are realistic. Any injuries are, too. I’m a huge fan, but I also research the game and injuries and how they are dealt with. I research everything I can find, including the planes the teams fly on to away games. I feel realism in this series is essential to give the story more power.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Not in this series, though I have used events in the lives of friends on occasion. Most of my writing is from my imagination, very little from real life. But who’s to say that my imagination isn’t influenced by real life happenings? That wouldn’t surprise me. None of my characters are based on real people. I have put some of myself into two of my heroines. But that will remain a secret.
What books have most influenced your life most? I’d have to say Jane Austen. I know that’s boring, but true. Also Sinclair Lewis, a prolific, 20th century, American writer, and the Nancy Drew books. My first obsessive reading choice.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? Debbie Macomber comes to mind. Her characters are so real. I loved her Dakota series. It encouraged me to write a complicated book with three love stories happening at the same time. That was quite a venture! It was hard, but with the help of Ariana Gaynor, my editor on the project, we managed to pull it off in 90,000 words.
When and why did you begin writing? I have been a nonfiction writer for a long time. I began writing fiction about five years ago. I began because two characters landed in my head and wouldn’t leave. They insisted on telling me their story. I sat in my kitchen and typed up their book. It was my first, Now and Forever, a Love Story.
When did you first consider yourself a writer? I’ve considered myself a writer for the last 15 years or so. Writing nonfiction got me started. I worked in advertising and had a syndicated movie review column called “Movie Choices for Kids.”
What inspired you to write your first book? My first book was nonfiction. “Beyond the Bake Sale, the Ultimate School Fund-Raising Book” was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2003. It was inspired by the 15 years I spent working as a volunteer in my sons’ schools, doing fundraising that was vital to keep the school running.
Do you have a specific writing style? I suppose I do. Not quite sure what it is. I do write my books like movies, in three acts. That’s not intentional. Probably comes from the 12 years I spent doing the movie column. I saw two new movies every week. I guess they just seeped into my brain and influenced my writing.
How did you come up with the title? Titles can either be fun, or hell. I like to brainstorm titles, mostly based on the theme of the love story in the book. In this series, First & Ten, it was just easier to use the name and position of the player who was the hero in the title. That way readers will know which books they’ve read and which they haven’t. And those titles lend themselves to amazing covers.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Not exactly a message, but I do write about an issue that appears to be recurring in the world of football – violence taken from the gridiron to the home. I address this in my book by having the heroine start an anger management program for the team and the staff. I guess the message I’m sending is not so much for my readers, but for the world of football. Perhaps they should stop ignoring the fact that some of the men who play the sport can’t seem to curb their aggression off the field.
How much of the book is realistic? All the football scenes, and there are football scenes in each book, are realistic. Any injuries are, too. I’m a huge fan, but I also research the game and injuries and how they are dealt with. I research everything I can find, including the planes the teams fly on to away games. I feel realism in this series is essential to give the story more power.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Not in this series, though I have used events in the lives of friends on occasion. Most of my writing is from my imagination, very little from real life. But who’s to say that my imagination isn’t influenced by real life happenings? That wouldn’t surprise me. None of my characters are based on real people. I have put some of myself into two of my heroines. But that will remain a secret.
What books have most influenced your life most? I’d have to say Jane Austen. I know that’s boring, but true. Also Sinclair Lewis, a prolific, 20th century, American writer, and the Nancy Drew books. My first obsessive reading choice.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? Debbie Macomber comes to mind. Her characters are so real. I loved her Dakota series. It encouraged me to write a complicated book with three love stories happening at the same time. That was quite a venture! It was hard, but with the help of Ariana Gaynor, my editor on the project, we managed to pull it off in 90,000 words.
What would you like my readers to know? I want readers to know
that my books aren’t cookie-cutter romances. I don’t write to a trope. I write
stories that come to me. Also, that I write with the reader in mind. I want to
tell a story that engages their minds as well as their hearts. I want them to
feel warm, fuzzy and good when they finish one of my books. I hope to create
books to take the reader out of her life, away from the bad news on TV, and into another world where she will laugh,
cry and care what happens to the characters. If I can do that, then I’ve done
my job.
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Thank you for having me on your blog and for the great interview!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful interview and for participating in the Tour. Victoria at My Family's Heart.
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