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Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Sportsman heroes - Kandy Shepherd



 What are your thoughts about heroes as sportsman? (Or heroines as sportswomen, for that matter.) Sports stars are physically at their peak, often young and handsome, disciplined and, for those at the top, often very wealthy. That should surely tick a few boxes for a romance hero.

Yet for a long time, it seemed sports heroes were not a good thing in romance novels. When I proposed a soccer star hero to my Harlequin Romance editor, I wondered would it fly. To my relief, she loved the idea.

A recent browse of the bookstore shows football, baseball and hockey heroes—the sportsman hero is alive and kicking (sorry!) in romance. There are also wonderful rock star heroes—another no-no in the past—but that’s a different story.

My gorgeous soccer star hero just might have been inspired by David Beckham!

 Mitch Bailey, the hero of my June release From Paradise to…Pregnant! is an international soccer star with all the fame, adulation and incredible pressure to stay on top of his game that entails. There’s no room in his life for a committed romance—he can’t afford to be distracted.

Maybe that’s why sports-star heroes were seen as difficult in days gone by. There’s all that training and travel and beautiful women throwing themselves at their idols. But when Mitch meets up again with his high-school friend Zoe Summers he begins to wonder if he’s missing out. Zoe, however, couldn’t think of anything worse than being in the constant media spotlight that Mitch lives under.

Needless to say Zoe and Mitch have a few problems to sort out before they reach that happy-ever-after ending!

Do you like/dislike a sports playing hero? I’d love to know—please share your thoughts with a comment!

I’m giving away one signed paperback copy (or an e-book if you’d prefer) of From Paradise to…Pregnant! Make a comment to be in the draw. Please include your email address if you want to be included in the draw.

North America cover


From Paradise to…Pregnant! is my June 2015 release for Harlequin Romance and is available now in print and e-book.

UK cover



Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the
Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.


Visit Kandy at her website



Connect with Kandy on Facebook and Twitter

Photo of David Beckham by Regular Daddy from Wikimedia Commons

8 comments:

Lynn B said...

I think they make interesting love interests in a book plot. I've read a couple about ice hockey, and I remember a baseball player and race car driver or two and they were all HOT! I have bought your book already and looking forward to enjoying your soccer player! ��

Kandy Shepherd said...

Hi Lynn, how nice to see you here. I'm glad to see you've enjoyed sports heroes in the past. I agree they can be hot! I hope you enjoy reading my soccer player hero.

jcp said...

I like sports heroes.

alysap AT yahoo DOT com

dstoutholcomb said...

I like sports heros and heroines--Go Team USA!

Kandy Shepherd said...

I'm glad to hear that, jcp!

Kandy Shepherd said...

Glad to hear you like both sports heros and heroines, dstouthlcomb!

Emily B. said...

I love reading books with sports heroes and heroines, your book sounds wonderful and I love the cover, so beautiful.

emilybaucom at yahoo dot com.

Laurie G said...

I too enjoy athletic heroines and heroes. I like their competitive edge in sports and life. Very challenging to deal with their egos.

I'd love to read your book!

Laurie

johns lake at usa dot com