OK, I had nobody.
As blogging has evolved, book blogging in particular, more and more promo has crept in. I haven't done a whole lot of this sort of thing. Mostly because 1) I have a full time job 2) I have a full time life and 3) I'm self-absorbed and think this blog should be all about me. I have absolutely nothing against blog tours or guest posts, it's more like I just think they're not always a good fit for my blog. Well, unless a great idea falls into my lap.
I first "met" Jami Davenport through a fantastic e-mail she wrote me in 2011. She stumbled across a comment I made over at Dear Author about how I pretty much refuse to read sports-themed romances. I like sports and I like romance - the problem is I hate romance authors who do little to zero research on the sports they feature in their books. I get this image in my head of Barbara Cartland in a bubble bath, manically laughing and saying "Women don't care about football/baseball/rugby/Quiddich so long as the hero is hot and hunky those silly girls will lap it up!"Yeah, no. Not this girl. This girl gets all Hulk-smash when an author has an AFC team meeting an NFC team in a playoff game - before the Super Bowl.
Months went by, and Jami e-mailed me again. She was self-publishing a print version of F&G and wanted to know if she could blurb my review on the book cover. This led to a discussion on her writing book two in the series, finding a publishing home for it, and voila! Before you can say "smack Wendy simple," I'm telling her that I want to host Jami Davenport Week here at the Bat Cave. Now that she has found a home for book two? Here we are.
So sit back, and enjoy!
Contest is open to both US and international readers. Winners will be announced Monday, September 10.
26 comments:
A sports romance that gets your stamp of approval? And we happen to be in week 1 of FOOTBALL SEASON! (BTW, woo-freakin-hoooooo!)
I'm on board! And also, why don't I remember you talking about this book before? Sheesh.
Wendy, Thanks so much for hosting me and for supporting my writing and my football addiction. I'll be dropping in and out all week to answer questions (if there are any) and say hi to everyone. My hubbie and I are vacationing later this week in the San Juan Islands with no cell service or internet, but I'll make sure I get online a few times a day from a local cafe. The San Juans are also the setting for Book 2 of this series.
I'll admit it. I get excited for football season because I know I can plan my own Sundays (and Monday nights, and sometimes, later in the season, Thursday nights(. My retired husband will be in front of the telly watching games, so that's when I get the most done.
I don't pick up sports stories as a rule, but this one caught and held my attention. Okay, so maybe it was the hot, hot, hot that made me pick it up. But I stuck around for the sports and am glad I did.
Go, Lumberjacks!
I'm not the biggest sports fan in the world, but even I know enough about football, baseball & hockey to roll my eyes at most books that feature those sports. I'd love to try a football book that doesn't prompt me to say, "Even I know that's not how that works."
Congrats to Jami! Woo-hoo!
I am a FAN of Jami Davenport (actually went through 12 years of school with her as a friend!) would love to win her book :-) glad to see a week devoted to her ... she was ALWAYS creative with her writing skills
Four years at a Big 8 school didn't get me into football (although I attended nearly all the games), but Jami just might!
I remember that review of Fourth and Goal. As a result I added it to my "to be read" list. I've never read a Jami Davenport novel before, so I'm looking forward to this week and learning more about her books!
I remember that review, too! I added the book to my wish list, but I always forget to go look at my wish list, doh! I'd love to win a copy. So excited for it to be football season again.
I'm a fan of Jami's and Fourth and Goal is my favorite. I don't pick up sports stories on purpose but when an author writes like Jami I don't worry about sub-genre and Fourth and Goal didn't disappoint. I'm looking forward to this week. It's a busy one but I'll sneak in time to pop in.
By the way Wendy love your blog.
While I'm not typically a sports nut - give me a good mystery or romance and I'm hooked - Fourth and Goal might just change that.
Add in the hot romance and it was a definite keeper.
Loved it, and looking for the next one! Keep 'em coming Jami!
Wonderful post! I'm not a sports fan, but I think sports figures make appealing heroes. This sounds like a great story.
Margaret
Must admit I showed up to meet a super librarian, being an-ex super-hero (OK, that's a lie) an ex-librarian myself. Wish I could have worn your costume, Wendy. Altho the parents of my K-5 students might have looked askance.
But I stayed to read about football romance, and I'm so glad I did!
best,
Cathryn Cade
As an avid football fan who knows way more about the game, the teams, the rules, and etc., than my husband, I am THRILLED to find a romance novel with a heroine who actually knows and enjoys the game. I've read sports-related romance novels in the past and always came away frustrated with the vapid heroine's complete disregard for the sport depicted in the book, particularly when it was football, my all-time favorite.
Keep them coming, Jami!
:)
Chantilly White
I love sports-themed romances but good ones are hard to find. I have not read Jami's book yet but it is definitely going on my list.
Thanks to everyone for dropping by. I hope you'll take the time to check in all week.
Sports girl here too! I love sports--esp. baseball and football. I always shock groups of guys when I can speak intelligently with them about either season! LOL My hubby doesn't know how lucky he is!
Watching the Milwaukee Brewers game as I type this! ;o)
Popping in to congratulate Jamie on a job well-done. Obvioulsy, you have a good grasp of the sport and it stands out because you got it right instead of using it as a background.
I have to say I'm so disappointed to see so many turn up their noses at sports books because authors don't get it right. As a football fan and a writer, I guess I don't get why a writer would chose something they know little about as a subject for a book merely because a man looks good in those shiny, laced up pants. If you're husband has to tell you about football for you to write the book, you really shouldn't write the book. However, I'm glad to see you blazing paths for the rest of us who do love and understand football. Cheers and congrats on having people love your books :) Thanks, Wendy, for featuring a writer who gets it right.
I bought this book and adore it. Jamie's descriptions are a hoot! I can't wait to hear more from her about the new book.
Lori: You mean you don't hang on every word that I type over here? For shame! LOL And yeah, we kinda thought a week of Jami to coincide with Week #1 of the NFL season was a good fit :)
Jami: No cell, no Internet - sounds like a week at my in-laws!
Laurie: I took up football just so My Man and I would have something (ANYTHING) in common - and now I'm hooked. But yeah, before my life got super busy - Saturdays meant college football for him, and used bookstore hunting for me :)
LoriK: The sports romances that have worked best for me (before I read Jami's!) were ones where the hero had essentially "retired" from the game - so the author didn't include a lot of sports chatter. Nothing yanks me out of a story more than when the sports stuff doesn't feel right or is just plain wrong.
Cecy & Deanna: Stick around - we have a whole week of Jami left!
Gail: After four years of sitting at every high school football game (I was in the marching band!) - it wasn't until college when I "got" football. My Dad sat with me at a homecoming game and explained the rules to me! LOL
Booklover & Phyl: And I'm rerunning that same review today :) I really ended up loving that story. An erotic romance with some wonderful moments of emotional depth to it.
Lavada: Yeah, a busy week for me too! Hence I'm just now replying to comments....
Wendy: I wish I wasn't a sports nut. It would mean less TV, more reading LOL
Margaret: It's a very good read. I loved that it had the sizzle of a fun erotic romance, but also had serious elements as well. Also, great characters. I really got sucked into their fictional lives!
Cathryn: Don't lie - the superhero costume is just tucked in the back of your closet, right?
Chantilly: It was so nice to read a book where the football stuff wasn't an afterthought, but it also didn't overshadow the romance. Jami hit a really nice balance with this story!
Stacie: Be sure to stick around all week! For every comment you'll have a chance to win one of three print copies we're giving away.
Tracy: Go Brew Crew! I can say that because my Tigers are in the AL :)
Liz: I can't tell you how many times I've had the "Isn't there a sports bar in your neighborhood?!?!?" reaction to a book that didn't get it right. Dang, at the very least there's got to be a coach at the local high school.
Pearl: We have an excerpt of Tyler's book going live on the blog on Saturday. OMG - SO GOOD!
All right, I don't remember your review for this book, Wendy. But it seems like something I definitively have to add to my TBR pile :) And it's not the frequency at which you hold events, but how interesting they are that matters :P
I love sports themed romances and Jami has created realistic, lovable, flawed, intensely human characters whose range of emotions bleed off the page. Tyler is by far one of my all time favorite reluctant heroes..a man who sees what the public wants, becomes the person they demand and yet in spite of it all still tries to release the heart that has been battered and broken. Thank you Jami for sharing your gift of prose.
Nath: LOL - good answer! Hopefully people will find the entire series of posts interesting.....
Italia: I'm really, really looking forward to Tyler's story!
Wendy - Soory I'm late getting back to this. But, yeah, if you're going to write a hero/heroine of any sport, you really need to do some intensive research, and especially if it's a sport you haven't played (and for most women, they haven't played football - powder puff doesn't count)
I actually just wrote a football book, but it's about recruiting in college, and the only problem I had is I got so into my research I went a little overboard. I was so proud though. I read an exerpt to my husband, and he said, "It that a romance book or a recruiting guide?" Oops. So I had to do a little trimming of the "facts". It's all about balance :)
I enjoyed looking into this author and her book(s) this week. Thanks!
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