99¢ Baseball Romance Blog Hop

I am so happy to be part of this amazing blog hop with some of my favorite fellow baseball romance authors. We're all celebrating Opening Day by putting our books on sale for 99¢ for the whole week! My name is Jen Doyle. My CALLING IT series starts off when professional baseball player Nate Hawkins, escapes to his hometown of Inspiration, Iowa, after a car accident nearly ends his career. But when he finds his old apartment occupied by a half-naked woman wielding a baseball bat, he’s not sure what to think…except that maybe his luck has finally changed for the better.

Check out the rest of the other blogs (links below) and then scroll on down to see more about CALLING IT.

Lyssa Kay AdamsBooks, booze, and the long ball

Jennifer BernardDouble the romance, double the fun

Debra EliseLove Always Finds A Way

Jean Joachim Stories to warm your heart and soul.

Kate KissetA second chance to play for keeps

Mindy KlaskyFun. Passion. Fantasy. More.

CALLING IT is available at:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2pNkxeP Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/CallingItBN iBooks: http://bit.ly/CallingItDoyle Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/calling-it-1

About CALLING IT:

Baseball player Nathan Hawkins needs to get away from Chicago. After a near career-ending car accident and with paparazzi surrounding his penthouse, Nate can only think of one place to go: home. But when he finds his old apartment occupied by a half-naked woman wielding a baseball bat, he's not sure what to think...except that maybe his luck has finally changed for the better.

Librarian Dorie Donelli never thought she'd get to meet her fantasy man in person--much less while she's wearing her bathrobe. To her surprise, her nearly naked run-in with Nate leads to more unclothed encounters. But Dorie is sure their fling is only temporary. As long as she remembers he'll be gone once his life gets back on track, she won't get hurt. In the meantime, she throws herself into enjoying their three weeks together before he has to report for spring training and go back to his old life.

For Nate, being with Dorie is the only time in months that he finds himself smiling. Laughing. And he has no intention of letting that go. He might even befalling in love...if only Dorie will let him say the words. What they have isn't just a dream, but the start of a dream come true.

An excerpt:

They were crucifying him on sports radio. Again. Tonight’s theme was NateGate: Is Baseball’s Hawkins Out For Good? and, considering that he was the Nate Hawkins they were talking about, he was an idiot for listening in the first place.

“So the team’s doctors have just come out and said he’ll be fine to play in the spring, but I have to be honest, Jim. We’re supposed to believe that he’ll be good to go when pitchers and catchers report in less than a month? He’s not a twenty-two-year-old kid anymore. Bones that old don’t heal the way they used to.”

That old? He was thirty-three, for fuck’s sake.

“Marco, I’m not too worried about his knee…”

Exactly. His knee was freaking fine.

“What’s bothering me are the rumors I’m starting to hear about the Breathalyzer test results being faked.”

“Are you shitting me?”

And now he was yelling at the radio.

Perfect. Good thing it was practically the middle of the night and his was the only car on the highway. It would be just his luck to have someone snap a picture of him as he was yelling at his dashboard.

“I mean, the guy’s SUV rolled, what, seven times? That doesn’t just happen. And we’re getting nothing from team management despite the fact that they’ve invested a bucketload of money in him, plus nothing from the man himself… Things are not adding up. Let’s go to the phones.”

Listening to guys who were paid to stir up shit was bad enough. But the callers? Hell, no. He had to shut it off.

And yet he let it go on for another fifteen minutes. It was like driving by a wreck on the highway: nearly impossible to turn your head away.

So much for his adoring public. Christ. He was actually grateful to see the red-and-blue lights of a police car flashing behind him. He’d clearly sunk to a new low.

Do you like spoilers? Then take a look at the FREE bonus epilogue for CALLING IT.

Play ball!

#OneClick: Your one-stop shopping for Holiday HEAs

With the holidays upon us (HOW DID THAT HAPPEN???), we know that the next six weeks will be anything but peaceful. How better to reward yourself than stocking up on some holiday HEAs, all listed here for those easy one-clicks. One lucky winner will receive 10 books--one from each of the participating authors PLUS a $25 Amazon gift certificate. To enter, go to: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c00761f51/?

And in the meantime, you can shop for ALL of these novellas right here on this page. We hope you enjoy them--and happy holidays!

By author: Kelly Bowen | Jen Doyle | Bronwen Evans | Anna Harrington | Carolyn Hector | Sheryl Lister | Farrah Rochon | Reese Ryan | Shannon Stacey | Tara Wyatt

By title: A Match Made in Heather | A Tiara Under the Tree | Christmas In Quilts | His Holiday Gift | Hold Her Again | Holiday House Call | Holiday Spice | Holiday Temptation | It's You That I Need | The Lady in Red | Never Christmas Without You | When Snowflakes Fall

Kelly Bowen'sThe Lady in Red: Amazon US ~ Amazon CDN ~ B&N ~ Chapters/Indigo ~ iBooks

Jen Doyle'sHoliday House Call: Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~ Kobo

Bronwen Evans's Christmas in Quilts: Amazon US ~ Amazon CDN ~ Amazon UK ~ iBooks ~ Nook ~ Kobo ~ Google Play

Anna Harrington'sA Match Made in Heather: Google Play ~ BAM! ~ eBooks ~ Kindle ~ Kobo ~ Nook

Carolyn Hector'sA Tiara Under the Tree: Amazon ~ B&N ~ BAM! ~ Kobo ~ Harlequin ~ Google Play ~ iTunes ~ Walmart ~ IndieBound ~ Target

Sheryl Lister'sIt's You That I Need: Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~ Kobo

Farrah Rochon'sHoliday Spice in Holiday Temptation:Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks

Reese Ryan'sHis Holiday Gift in Never Christmas Without You: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ B&N ~ iTunes ~ BAM! ~ Google Play

Shannon Stacey'sHold Her Again: Kindle ~ iBooks ~ Kobo ~ Nook ~ Google ~ Carina Press ~ Audible

Tara Wyatt'sWhen Snowflakes Fall: Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~ Kobo ~ Google Play ~ BAM!

#WorldSeries Trivia - Day 6

And here is my last #WorldSeries Trivia post for 2017. (As I write this, it's the bottom of the 8th, and the Dodgers are giving the Astros a run for their money. If there is a 7th game, you'll be able to check out one more night of Trivia on Jean Joachim's blog.) First, my final few questions. My answers to the questions from the other night will appear below.

Tonight's trivia questions stem from a line CALLED UP, book #2 of my Calling It series:

"So, with all the theatrics of a coach whose Little League team consisted of seventeen overly enthusiastic six- and seven-year-olds, Deke Babe Ruthed it, raising his hand and pointing up the third base line. “Coming at you, Portia!”

1) Babe Ruth's "Called Shot" (hmmm... could have used that as one of my book titles, although it might have been a little too James Patterson, and not in a good way :) ) occurred during the World Series. In what year and in what game?

2) Who broke Babe Ruth's World Series scoreless innings streak? In what year and what team did he play for?

3) And in deference to Deke's little league players, who was the youngest player to appear in the world series? How old was he? And as long as we're at it, who was the oldest?

While you're pondering those questions, here are the answers to my previous set of questions:

Question: The Dodgers weren’t originally based in L.A. What year were they established and where? When did they move to L.A.?

As my entire family is well aware (it's a thing), the Dodgers were originally based in Brooklyn. (A big thing.) According to the timeline on the L.A. Dodgers website, they were established in 1890 and moved to California in 1958. Or, to be more specific:

On October 8, 1957, O'Malley announced that after 68 seasons in Brooklyn, the Dodgers would be moving to Los Angeles. In a move to bring baseball to all parts of the country, the Giants also decided to relocate from New York to San Francisco. On April 18, 1958, the Dodgers played their first game in Los Angeles, defeating the Giants, 6-5, before 78,672 fans at the Coliseum.  (See http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/la/history/timeline.jsp)

Question: Did Vin Scully actually throw out the first pitch before Game 2 of the 2017 World Series? Who caught the first pitch?

Nope. Vin Scully conducted the ceremony, but he brought in a couple of famous Dodgers -- Steve Yeager, who caught for 14 years for the Dodgers, and Fernando Valenzuela, the 1981 NL Cy Young winner and Rookie of the Year. (You can see the full clip at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOCNjaxYCIw)

Question: In CALLED OUT, book #3 in my Calling It series, Vin Scully is mentioned along with Harry Caray, Red Barber, and Bob Uecker. Of those three, who was famous for saying: “It could be, it might be… It is—a home run!”

Sorry. that was way too easy, I know. That would be one of Harry Caray's signature phrases. I can't find a recording of him saying it, but the Bleacher Report did a really cool collection of what they consider the 25 greatest home run catch phrases of all time. Something to listen to in those long baseball-less months from November - February. (And, yes, I meant February. Please refer to the picture if you don't know why.)

Listen up: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/795866-mlb-power-rankings-the-25-greatest-home-run-catch-phrases-of-all-time

As long as we're talking about that baseball feeling, here's a bit more from the scene in CALLED OUT that I mention above.

“Okay,” Nate said, once the kids had all been settled down. “Everyone ready?” He nodded to Deke, who, with a smile, raised his arm and pointed a remote at a spot toward right field, as Nate said, “Welcome to The Show.”

There was the sound of jets flying overhead—just like on Opening Day. And then, as lights began to come on one spotlight at a time, Harry Caray’s voice could be heard, shouting, “It could be, it might be… It is—a home run!” That faded into recordings of Red Barber, Vin Scully and Bob Uecker, just to name a few, as more lights came on, highlighting that it wasn’t just your typical indoor practice facility, but instead a mini stadium, bleachers included.

No, not just an indoor stadium. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jack muttered as banks of lights came up first in center field, and its reproduction of the scoreboard at the old Comiskey Park, then in right field…

“Is that real ivy?” Wash asked.

“Gifted by the Wrigley grounds crew,” Nate answered, his smile so wide it could be heard in his voice.

But it wasn’t just Chicago that was represented, as was evident when the lights came on in left field. “Oh, my God,” Dorie gasped as a smaller version of Fenway’s Green Monster, complete with a reproduction Coke bottle towering over it, got top billing.

Whether you were a baseball fan or not, standing here amidst these iconic sights and listening to the familiar sounds, it was such a visceral thing that—

“It’s not just me, right?” Lola said from next to him, briskly wiping a tear from her eye. “This is pretty freaking amazing.”

He wanted desperately to hold her. To put his arms around her and settle his chin on her shoulder and just let the magic overwhelm them. He settled for a quick duck of his head and an even quicker brush of his lips against her hair while he briefly took hold of her hand. His eyes caught hers. “Yeah,” he said, gruffly. “It kind of is.”

CALLED OUT is available at Amazon as well as all other major e-retailers.

Whether there's a Game 7 or not, I'll be posting the final set of answers here on this page in a few days. Don't forget to check back in! (And if there is a Game 7, you'll get one more night's worth of trivia, check out Jean Joachim's blog for a few more trivia questions.)

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#WorldSeries Trivia - Day 4

And we're back! If you've been following along, my fellow baseball romance author Jean Jochim and I have been posting World Series trivia each of the last few nights. If you'd like to check out our previous posts, please go to:

1) Jean's blog 2) My previous post

Before I post the answers to the questions in my previous post, let's add a couple more questions.

1) The Dodgers weren't originally based in L.A. What year were they established and where? When did they move to L.A.?

2) Did Vin Scully actually throw out the first pitch before Game 2 of the 2017 World Series? Who caught the first pitch?

And, 3) In CALLED OUT, book #3 in my Calling It series, Vin Scully is mentioned along with Harry Caray, Red Barber, and Bob Uecker. Of those three, who was famous for saying: “It could be, it might be… It is—a home run!”

Now that you have those questions to ponder, here are the answers to the questions I posted the other night.

Question: How many teams have come back to win the World Series after being down 0-3 in the League Championship Series?

Answer: 34

Question: How many times has the winner of the World Series been decided in the 7th game?

Answer: Just once. As they said on SB Nation: "It’s the 2004 Red Sox, and then it’s everyone else."

See https://www.sbnation.com/2016/10/17/13313812/baseball-teams-down-0-3-in-a-postseason-series-history for the full rundown.

QUESTION: The trivia question that seals Dorie’s fate in CALLING IT -- “This player led the Yankees in RBIs in every season from 1949-1955. Name the player and, as a bonus, name his claim to fame from the 1956 World Series.”

And here is the complete passage from CALLING IT, with the answer included:

But it was the last question that was a knife to Nate’s gut. The one that he knew was coming, but hoped against hope would prove his doubts wrong. His heart came to a slow, painful stop as the words came out of Lola’s mouth. “This player led the Yankees in RBIs in every season from 1949-1955. Name the player and, as a bonus, name his claim to fame from the 1956 World Series.”

He wanted her to bungle it. To give an answer just about anyone else in the world would give hearing those words. Mickey Mantle. Joe DiMaggio, hell, even Babe Ruth, although the timing was off by about twenty years. So many famous Yankees that even a Red Sox fan knew them all; so many names that someone could throw out and think they had a shot of getting it right. But what most people didn’t realize was that the man whose quotes provided laughs on a regular basis was also one of—if not the—greatest catchers of all time.

“Yogi Berra,” Dorie answered quietly. “He caught Don Larsen’s perfect game.”

Once again cheers erupted around her, but all Nate could do was close his eyes and breathe.

If you're interested in finding out why this was such a turning point for Dorie and Nate, well, you'll need to read the book. ;) You can get it and the rest of the CALLING IT series on Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo.

I’ll post the answers to the next set of questions in a few days. In the meantime, check out Jean’s posts at http://jeanjoachim.blogspot.com.

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#WorldSeries Trivia - Day 2

So Jean Joachim and I were recently chatting--us both being baseball romance authors, as you know--about the World Series coming up and doing some posts to go along with it. Since one of the key scenes in CALLING IT (book #1 in my Calling It series) takes place during an epic Trivia Night bout at the local bar and grille, I am happy to follow up Jean's post last night with some Trivia of my own. This happens to be a personal favorite of mine, for reasons that I'll elaborate on in my Friday night post. But for now, here goes: how many teams have come back to win the World Series after being down 0-3 in the League Championship Series?

And as long as we're at it: how many times has the winner of the World Series been decided in the 7th game?

Let's do one more, this one being the trivia question that seals Dorie's fate in CALLING IT:

“This player led the Yankees in RBIs in every season from 1949-1955. Name the player and, as a bonus, name his claim to fame from the 1956 World Series.”

I'll post the answers on Friday. In the meantime, check out Jean's post from last night at http://jeanjoachim.blogspot.com. And she'll be posting round 3 of trivia tomorrow night.

To learn more about CALLING IT, see http://www.jendoyleink.com/books/calling-it-calling-it-1/.

One Heck of A Week (aka The Cover Reveal/99¢ Sale/Baseball Giveaway/Breast Cancer Awareness Month/Free Romance Edition)

You know that saying, "It never rains, it pours?" Well, this week is kind of like a monsoon. It's a *good* monsoon--don't get me wrong! (If monsoons can be good, of course. And I should probably stop the analogy right there.) But, well, let me list what's going on...

1) This week's HUGE news is that my novella, CRUSH, which is part of the launch for Marina Adair's St. Helena's Vineyard Kindle World is going live on Wednesday. I just now finished up my cover reveal over in the FB Group (you can see my Cover Reveal/Giveaway 1 and Excerpt/Giveaway 2 posts by clicking on the links in this post--they should be live at least until the end of the day on Monday, 10/3). The novella itself--as well as the 17 other novellas launching the world--will go live on WEDNESDAY 10/5. And then we're all joining in to watch the airing of Autumn in the Vineyard, Marina's book-turned-into-a-movie, on Saturday night. Join us at the What'cha Watching Live party here: https://www.facebook.com/events/878387495627610/).

2) The ALSO HUGE second item of news is that CALLING IT is on sale for 99¢ through Monday 10/10. Isn't that awesome???? You can go directly to this link to buy it on Amazon, or head on over to the Carina Press website for a full list of retailers offering the deal price.

3) Another big thing going on is that I'm part of a Baseball Romance Giveaway. You can enter to win 30--yes, you read that number right--baseball romances plus a Kindle Fire. Crazy, right? Good luck!

4) I am also happy to be one of the donating authors with the Send A Little Love campaign in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Check it out at: http://www.romancehasaheart.org/

5) And finally (for this week at least), LAST CALL, my free short story, is one of 21 romances that are all being offered for free. Can I say that one more time? Sure -- FREE! That's actually being hosted right here on my website, so all you need to do is pop on over to the Fall In Love page.

Oh, fine, should we have a bonus what's-going-on post? In two weeks, I'll be part of the Hearts & Sparks Blogger/Reader Appreciation Brunch at the NJ RWA chapter's meeting in a couple of weeks. On Sunday, 10/16, in fact. Want to join us? We would love to have you! Head on over to http://www.njromancewriters.org/hearts--sparks.html to sign up.

Phew! Thanks for reading -- I hope you'll be clicking on some of these links, too! And then maybe we can all go find a hammock somewhere to collapse into. Although that's probably as bad of an idea as the monsoon analogy. But, hey, it's pouring right now so I can't think straight. Luckily, I enjoy the rain.

FB Party: The Lineup

Have you RSVP'd yet for Monday night's Sweet & Sexy Release Day Facebook Party that Rachel Lacey, Lisa Marie Perry and I are hosting in celebration of our books coming out this week? If not, join in now at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1614567405521101/ There will be great prizes, including the grand prize of a $75 Amazon gift card. And the lineup is incredible. Check it out:

7:00pm - Welcome (Rachel, Lisa and myself) 7:10pm - Debbie Mason 7:30pm - Rachel Lacey 7:50pm - Shannon Stacey 8:10pm - Maisey Yates 8:30pm - Nicole Helm 8:50pm - Me! 9:10pm - Molly O'Keefe 9:30pm - Elizabeth Hayley 9:50pm - Jessica Linden 10:10pm - Lisa Marie Perry

There's also an "Invite a Guest" pre-party giveaway on the Discussion tab (direct link here: http://bit.ly/2aqNwyP) where we have three $5 gift cards up for grabs.

Need that RSVP link again? Here you go: https://www.facebook.com/events/1614567405521101/

August Release Blitz & Giveaway

I'm so happy to be in the great company of some amazing  authors who all have new books coming out in August. Rachel Lacey, Jessica Linden, and Lisa Marie Perry are all beginning new series, while Bronwen Evans, Codi Gary, Annie Rains and myself have new installments in currently running series. And in honor of this release blitz, we're giving away a $50 gift certificate to the e-retailer of your choice. All you need to do is head on over to Rafflecopter to enter. Good luck, and happy reading!

August 2: Rock With You, by Rachel Lacey Amazon | B&N | More info and links...

Welcoming the Bad Boy, by Annie Rains Amazon | B&N | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo

August 16: Hero of Mine, by Codi Gary Amazon

A Taste of Seduction, by Bronwen Evans Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | Amazon Aust | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

August 29: Called Up, by Jen Doyle Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

August 30: Fight for Me, by Jessica Linden Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Meant to be Mine, by Lisa Marie Perry Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Run to You, by Rachel Lacey Amazon | B&N | More info & links...

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Author Spotlight on Anna Harrington's Blog

My very dear friend Anna Harrington is an author of historical romance, with three books out at the moment: Dukes are Forever, Along Came A Rogue, and How I Married A Marquess. I was so honored to be the first in her "Author Spotlight" series (I'm the featured author for May).

The interview starts off with:

Anna: What would readers be surprised to find out about you?

Jen: That I can’t talk about sex. I can write the hell out of it, but to actually talk about it with anyone? Nope.

...And it goes from there. ;)

Read the rest on her website!