Tote Bags 'n' Blogs: soccer star

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.