We’re excited to share an excerpt from DOLCE by Rachel Blaufeld, releasing on January 21st! Make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win signed copies of Vérité and Dolce!
“Who just stole my thunder across the Hafton airwaves, you ask? Right now, right this very second, listeners, I have Hafton’s one-and-only, the main man with the ball in hand, Blane Steele is in the studio. Mark my words—he’ll not only steal the ball, but your lady’s heart too. Watch out, gentlemen, the Stealer is in the house!”
— Sonny Be Knocking Boots,
Hafton Radio 96.9Coed antics.
Chaos.
Angst-ridden twists in fate.Caterina is an intern. Sonny is her shock-jock boss. And Blane is a good-hearted baller…except when he steps on the court. Between on-air dares, an evil feminist professor, a straight-shooter of a coach, and rumors from the league surrounding Steele, these three are destined to screw it all up.
Rather than a love triangle, this is a friends-to-lovers story where the disc jockey acts as the catalyst, and a basketball player finds his life transformed when center court intersects with love.
Exclusive Excerpt:
Trekking across campus toward College Avenue and the serenity of my apartment, I felt Coach’s words weighing me down. Like a thousand-pound elephant, they sat on my spine, bouncing up and down, each syllable worming its way through my nervous system. Although we’d talked behind closed doors earlier that morning, I knew rumors would circulate about our conversation later in the locker room.
“I get you were having fun with your buddy, Sonny Boots,” Coach Conley had said, pushing out Sonny’s name on an angry growl. Apparently the shock jock didn’t have as many fans as he thought.
“But if you made a promise on the air, son, you better follow through. I don’t care how silly it is. You’re in your last year, and may I remind you—we do want to win a championship. So, there’s no room for error. I agree, I can’t babysit you punks when you’re hanging out and partying, but I will punish you if things get out of hand and negatively impact this program.”
“I didn’t know Sonny was going to do what he did, sir,” I’d stupidly answered.
“Well, he did, and you did something to lead him there, so now you’re one hundred percent committed, and one hundred percent focused. Think of it that way. Now, get out and go work out or something. I’m counting on you, Blane. You were my go-to man all last season, and now I’ve got to let you move up to the big dogs after this year. Give me something to remember you by. And close the door on your way out.”
That’s all he’d said, but he was right. I owed the school a championship, and I did agree to an on-air interview with Sonny, so this was all on me.
Shit.
In my head, I could see it. National champions. The NBA. Parties, girls, basketball every day/all day—that would be my life for as long as I was healthy. It was floating in front of my face, and I wanted to reach out and grab it like a three-dimensional movie.
About the Author:
Rachel Blaufeld is a bestselling author of Coming of Age, Romantic Suspense, and Sports Romance fiction. She recently asked her readers to describe her, and the adjectives they came up with included: insightful, generous, articulate, and spunky. Originally a social worker, Rachel creates broken yet redeeming characters. She’s been known to turn up the angst like cranking the heat up in the dead of winter.
Turning her focus on her sometimes wild-and-crazy creative side, it only took Rachel two decades to do exactly what she wanted to do—write a fiction novel. Now she spends way too many hours in local coffee shops, downing muffins and plotting her ideas. Her tales may all come with a side of angst and naughtiness, but end deliciously.
Blaufeld, also an entrepreneur/blogger, is fearless about sharing her opinion. Before turning her pen to fiction, she captured the ear of stay-at-home and working moms on her blog, BacknGrooveMom, chronicling her adventures in parenting tweens and inventing a product, often at the same time. She has also blogged for the Huffington Post and Modern Mom.
Most recently, she shares conversations from being “In Bed with a Romance Author” and reading recommendations over at “Happy Ever After”on USA TODAY.
Rachel lives around the corner from her childhood home in Pennsylvania with her family and two beagles. Her obsessions include running, coffee, basketball, icing-filled doughnuts, antiheroes, and mighty fine epilogues.
Giveaway:
Rachel is giving away a coffee mug (perfect for sports romance lovers) filled with swag, along with signed copies of Vérité and Dolce!