Welcome to day 5 of my Summer Bash. Today my special guest is K.T. Bishop and he here to tell us about what he calls Sports Romance. So without further ado, here is K.T.DEFINING SPORTS ROMANCE
Sports Romance, in my words, is the art of telling love stories with athletic themes.
What better way to write about sports and love stories?
Mainstream Romance novels have quietly become full of the sports-tinged genre in recent years.
Carly Phillips, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Kate Angell, Pamela Britton, Rachel Gibson are the most well-known authors who have turned sports themes into best-selling and critically-acclaimed books.
Britton, best-known for her NASCAR line at Harlequin, encouraged me to pursue this venue two years ago.
“I’ve always thought someone should write about football,” Britton told me. “About the only thing I can say: persistence pays off.”
Carly Phillips, who wrote a well-read, four book Hot Zone series on Sports Agents, also had along words of encouragement.
Angell, who writes on baseball, sent me an autographed copy and echoed Britton’s words.
A sleeper author is Destiny Blaine, whose series on pro football wives at Bookstrand, blew my mind. Whenever I struggled, she was there to lend a helping hand.
“Keep putting your name out there; you’ll make it,’’ Blaine told me last month.
In the words of Diana Ross, “It’s my turn.”
Thanks to Red Rose Publishing and Virtual Romance and Erotic Book Tour, I get an opportunity to ‘’pimp” my works.
Two of my contracted books at RRP-- Picking Cotton and Curling up —perfectly mix sports and romance.
Curling Up, which was recently released at Red Rose, revolves around a Swedish ice skater and American curler.
I have other sports books in the frying pan: the sequel to Picking Cotton and a series involving Italian Basketball. They should be released sometime in 2011.
I’ve added an interracial flavor, which gives my books another dimension.
All of my stories involve an African-American athlete, something that gets ignored in romance novels. The heroines range from white women to Italian and Asians.
I’ll continue to build my empire of Sports Romantic books at Red Rose and http://www.kenibird.blogspot.com/.
18 comments:
Thank fot inviting me, I enjoyed it!
I agree that it takes more than a little knowledge of a sport to turn it into a fantastic romance novel but it looks like you are well on your way. I tried it to, with my Olympic tennis player-heroine in Secret Love Match. Good luck!
K.T.,
It's long past time that we use athletics for characters in our stories. What better person to write a sports romance than a sports journalist.
Hang in there big guy. Wink!
Nancy:
I look forward to having you on my blog next week. I think sports has its own story to tell.
Thank you, Sandy. I've always valued your help over the years as I pen these stories.
Interesting blog, K.T. I love how you are effusive in praising those that mentored you towards writing, and urged you to incorporate your passion for sports into your new passion for writing romance.
I must admit to being for the most part, sports illiterate, although the ice skating story does intrigue me, since I DO love skating.
I never understood football, not even when I was in school, and my understadning has not increased as my years have moved on; I think I am too far along my own path in life, to develop any understanding now.
But I wish you the best in watching your star rise and set out to soar through our Milky Way Galaxy and beyond.
That's fine, Lin. Go with what you feel is best, I admire that. As Stevie Wonder once sang, "I can Only Be me!"
Telling a great love story and mix it with sports is a great way to tell a story.
I always try to accomodate to mix in both, Sapphire.
Thank you all for your comments today. And thank you for being here K.T.:-)
Love those sports heroes!
Hello K.T. - great post! Susan Elizabeth Phillips and her fabulous Chicago Stars opened the door for romance writers to pen sports heroes. I'm a baseball fan, and enjoyed writing my Richmond Rogues. An athletic hero offers much to the female reader. He's strong, sensitive, hot! I hope more authors produce sports romances.
I love what you do with baseball stories, Joanne.
I always enjoyed reading that Chicago series of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Kate. Carly Phillips, Pamela Britton and yourself did a great job of setting great examples.
Hi K.T.~
Thanks once again for the mention. You're one of a kind!
Hugs,
Destiny :))
Your NFL wives series is breath-taking, Destiny!
Sport and romance are very interesting combination.It's great to have someone like K.T highlighting this.
Thank you Megan.
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