- Greeting Campers! Grab a chair and make yourself comfy. What’s your preference, coffee, tea, cocoa, wine? The camp fridge is like candles on a birthday cake. You speak it, you get it.
LIZ: I’m going for the wine unless you have some bourbon.
DES: I’m with Liz on the bourbon, although special coffee gets second place.
Last year hubby and I took a camping trip to Kentucky. I believe I have a lovely bottle tucked away in here. While I pour can you tell us, have you ever camped, or as I call what I do, Glamp? If you’re not the camping type, tell us about your favorite adventure or vacation. What made it special to you?
LIZ: I like to tell my husband of nearly 30 years that the 30+ years he has spent trying to convince me to camp in any whatsoever might pay off someday. He’s even trying to bribe me with an RV (which I think he only wants because he is a car guy, loves to drive, and wants to drive one of those giant things). I’m not really inclined unless there is, indeed GLAMPING involved. Some of the places on Airbnb that call themselves “glamps” look like the kind of cabin resorts I can get behind. As for vacays, we’ve taken a lot of them, because we’ve been lucky to live all around the world. We did this with our small kids, and so wherever we went, they went. I think my favorite one of these was when we lived in England and drove up through York and to Scotland, where we rented a farmhouse with another family/friends of ours and took day trips from there for 10 solid days. It was an actual farm, and one day one of the horses got out of its paddock and was standing, calmly staring into the kitchen window one morning, which scared the living daylights out of me. It was typical weather those 10 days, a peek of sun every day but mostly grey, so we named the 2 horses Windy & Rainy. It was a blast. The time we got our passports stolen in Spain but still had a great time anyway since it meant an unplanned trip to the U.S. Embassy in Valencia comes in second.
DES: Well, camping isn’t in my genes, BUT I grew up in Maine, and we had a cottage on a lake that we went to over the summer that I loved. I guess that’s close to camping! When I got older, I used to do beach days at Bar Harbor with my friends, and I miss those. But I’ve traveled to a lot of places—Spain, England, lots of places in the Caribbean, South America. All adventurous and interesting. And I’ve traveled to a lot of places in Canada, which I love.
You have an exciting project. What can you tell us about it and what’s on the horizon?
LIZ: We wrote a book together called NUMBERS GAME that is a second chance sports romance about a couple who are a bit older than the usual romance characters, both divorced, both laser-focused on reviving their respective careers—he as a D1 football coach after an ignominious fall from grace in the pros which is part of his secret backstory and she as a sports reporter/documentary producer after her divorce from a powerful bully of a husband who was in charge of a network. When they find each other, he, as the subject of her documentary about their mutual alma mater’s return to football glory, things heat up right away, surprising them. But they both have baggage that has to be unpacked and demons to outrun, which they do, eventually, together.
Do you have a tagline? Life Motto?
LIZ: If life gives you lemons, cut them up and throw them in a glass of vodka & tonic.
DES: the best surprised some when you least expect them.
What was the timeline from conception to publication?
LIZ: Numbers Game was a project that took longer since we had to work around our respective schedules doing our back-and-forth writing thing. I think it was about a year and some change from the start to get it ready for submission. But it was fine since Des and I are both pantsers. We gave each other the time needed to bring each of our characters to life. She wrote in the female perspective, and I wrote in the male one.
Are there any mentors, authors, or books other than yours you would like to give a shout-out to?
LIZ: Well, naturally, I wouldn’t be here talking about this project if one of my mentors/friends/author heroes had not agreed to write with me! I’ve learned a lot through this process, but I also think we learned from each other at every stage, from conception to promotion.
DES: And I really want to give a shout-out to our editor Diana Carlisle, who “gets” the book and helped us turn it from a story into a winner. She is pure editorial gold.
What does literary success look like to you?
LIZ: To me, it’s that moment when I can get up in the morning, have coffee, write for a few hours, talk to my agent and publicist about my next signing or speaking, negotiate the sale of my latest series to Netflix. After that, then take a walk on the beach outside my door before settling in to write more in the evening.
DES: Well, sort of like that. But to me, it’s the moment when a new book of mine releases and people are clamoring to buy it/review it, and I have to weigh the different film/video options. Oh, and if any of them were made into a movie/series and it starred a young Sam Elliott!
Life Hacks from Authors. Tips, tricks, or anything you specialize in that you would share with others. Please try and keep this tight. I’m also interested in how you have been managing your life and writing with COVID-19.
LIZ: I come at this from a unique perspective since I took a huge step away from both writing and promoting (or being on social media generally) for about three years prior to COVID. I wrote with Des during this time which quite literally revived my Muse, prompting me to write 4 books in 2020 alone, all of them in the second half of the year. My secret is not something that I necessarily recommend for writers to do—I write in marathon sessions. Once I wrap my mind around a concept and characters, I will write during every spare minute I have to get it done. And I’ve been known to complete a 60k word book in 2-3 weeks. But then I will go for weeks or more without writing a word.
DES: COVID-19 really only impacted my life marginally because my routine already was to write/edit 6-8 hours a day. I am a disciplined writer, and my routine is: social media for two hours, then write/edit/rewrite until 6:00 PM. While I watch TV at night, I review that day’s pages and make notes for the next day.
Now the fun questions pick at least
If they made a movie about your life, what would the title be, and who would play you?
LIZ: “Beer Wench” is the title, and Alison Janney plays me.
Do you have a special object like a piece of jewelry or keepsake of some sort? Can you tell us what makes it special to you?
DES: A heart bracelet that I always wear. My late husband gave it to me on our first anniversary.
Years ago, there was a commercial that talked about a “Kodak Moment.” It’s a moment in time you catch in a picture. One you never want to forget. What is yours?
The moment I saw my great-granddaughter for the first time.
Teach me something I don’t know in two sentences.
LIZ: The ingredient that makes beer taste bitter or dry is “hops.” They are added to the brew (the “wort”) during three different stages of brewing, depending on what you want them to provide: aroma, flavor, or simply “bitterness.”
Which superhero would you like to be existing or you make up?
DES: Wonder woman. She was my hero ever cine I read the first comic book. Nothing stops her.
What’s your favorite cartoon, and why?
LIZ: I love Big Mouth on Netflix. It’s terrifically vulgar but incredibly realistic about puberty, hormones, and family life in general.
What’s your favorite candy or cookie?
DES: chocolate chip cookies. YUM!
If you could only choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what would it be?
DES: Sweet Caroline
Last movie you saw?
LIZ: the last movie I saw in an actual theater was “Uncut Gems” back in February 2020. It was amazing, including the shocking ending.
What weird talent do you have?
LIZ: I can tell you what beer you might like based on what wine you prefer and vice versa, and am almost always right.
Last thing you googled? Why?
LIZ: How to add my books to one of those book – box subscription things, because we authors are ever-seeking new ways to find new readers.
Ladies, thank you for popping by the fire. I’m amazed at how authors can work together and put out a book. Before you head out can you share a little more about the book and how folkes can find out more?
by Desiree Holt and Liz Crowe
Making a pass could just mean scoring a second chance…
Former pro football player and coach Duncan “Hatch” Hatcher fumbled his career and marriage. Now divorced and ready to tackle his future, he has an opportunity to redeem himself as coach of his college alma mater’s football team. But how can he turn the team’s losing streak around and keep the secret of his downfall buried when the school agrees to a documentary that will allow a lovely journalist to dig her way into his past…and into his heart?
Olivia Grant’s ex-husband almost wrecked her journalism career while he definitely did a number on her self-esteem. The documentary on Duncan Hatcher is the perfect way to rebuild both. As a freshman in college, she’d had a crush on the senior football hero, but he hadn’t known she existed. She never expects the sparks that fly between them as they work on the project nor the struggles they must face if they both want to win.
https://books2read.com/NumbersGame
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57593171-numbers-game
https://www.bookbub.com/books/numbers-game-by-desiree-holt-and-liz-crowe
A bit more
Every move after that, to her, seemed to have some kind of sexual connotation.
The air between them vibrated with the electricity sparking back and forth. By the time he paid the check and they left the restaurant, every pulse in her body pounded, her breasts ached, and her teeny tiny thong was soaked. She wanted to hurry home and take a cold shower before she did something really stupid.
In the truck, he turned on the radio and found a station playing oldies rock music that he tuned low. They rode in a silence that was more electric than uncomfortable, especially when he reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. When they reached her townhouse, he again lifted her from the cab and walked her to the door, holding her hand. When she had the door open, he turned her to face him and studied her face for a long time. She waited, wondering if she had the willpower not to cross that line from professional to personal and how much damage she’d do if she did.
“You have to be the sexiest sports reporter I’ve ever met. I would really like to kiss you. Would that be okay with you?”
She should have turned away, but she couldn’t find the willpower. The kiss was soft and gentle, a mere brush of lips, a touch of flesh. Then it was over, but she wanted more. A lot more. She could feel this spinning out of control, and she was powerless to stop it.
“If you invite me in, I’m not going to turn you down.”
More about the Authors
Desiree Holt bio:
USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and contemporary on a variety of heat levels up to erotic, a genre in which she is the oldest living author. She has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.
Desiree’s links
FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE
www.facebook.com/desireeholtauthor
FACEBOOK PROFILE www.facebook.com/desiree01holt
TWITTER @desireeholt
Pinterest: desiree02holt
Google: https://g.co/kgs/6vgLUu www.desireeholt.com www.desiremeonly.com
Follow me on
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/search?search=Desiree+Holt
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Desiree- Holt/e/B003LD2Q3M/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1505488204&sr=1-2-ent
Signup for my newsletter and receive a free book:
https://desireeholt.com/newsletter/
Liz Crowe bio:
Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville living in Central Illinois. She’s spent her time as a three-continent expat trailing spouse, mom of three, real estate agent, brewery owner and bar manager, and is currently a social media consultant and humane society development director, in addition to being an award-winning author. With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, inside fictional television stations and successful real estate offices, and even in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are compelling and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, at times frustrate, and always linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.
https://twitter.com/LizCroweAuthor
http://www.facebook.com/lizcroweauthor
https://www.instagram.com/etlizcrowe/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-crowe
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4350864.Liz_Crowe
https://www.amazon.com/Liz-Crowe/e/B00573TC7M
http://www.lizcrowe.com
https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/r2a2q5