Elley Arden: It's the year of the fictional female athlete
Elley Arden, author of Running Interference, highlights some romances that feature female athletes and asks the authors to comment on their heroines.
Elley: I'd like to dub 2015 "the year of the female athlete." Women aren't just fans, they're competitors, and the romance novel industry is the perfect place for women in sports to shine. In celebration of strong, fearless females everywhere, I've compiled a list of romance novels that feature athletic heroines, including my latest release, Running Interference, the first book in the Cleveland Clash women's professional football series. Watch out, fellas. After 2015, sports romances may never be the same.
Running Interference (Cleveland Clash No. 1) by Elley Arden
Elley: Tanya Martin not only plays women's professional football, she goes toe-to-toe with any man willing to step into the ring at her father's boxing gym. Being a great competitor is her biggest turn-on … until she reconnects with her high school crush, Cam, who has just been named NFL MVP. Writing a series with female athletes allowed me to explore gender roles that are normally limited to men. It's fun to turn the tables.
Breaking Away (The Assassins Series No. 5) by Toni Aleo
Toni: I wanted my lead character, Reese, to be strong, a force to be reckoned with, and I feel that dance brings that out of people. Dance is not only the way to express yourself in a beautiful art, but also a way to be fit and strong. Have you ever looked at a dancer's thighs and calves? You could bounce a quarter off them! Dance takes strength and I feel that that is the epitome of an athlete, someone that is strong and determined.
Out of Her League (Suspense Series No. 1) by Kaylea Cross
Kaylea: The thing that makes Christa unique as a romance heroine is her drive and commitment to her sport. She's put everything else in her life on the back burner and devoted herself to training, arranging the rest of her life around her softball career. That drive is one of the things I love most about her. Her No. 1 priority is making that team, to the point that she doesn't even have time for dating, which is why she's blindsided by the hero and his interest in her.
Scorin' on the Fourth of July (Storm Book No. 2.5) by Cassandra Carr
Cassandra: Terri is not only a female athlete, she's a star in a sport typically dominated by men — hockey. Yes, she played on a women's team in the Olympics, but she can hold her own even against professional hockey players like Mikael. She's a strong woman who doesn't apologize for who or what she is. That's why I wanted to write a female athlete. A woman can still be beautiful, even when she kicks butt in a rough and tumble sport like hockey.
Points on a Curve by Nya Rawlyns (writing as Diane Nelson)
Nya: Taylor O'Brien has a checkered past — a former darling of the European Women's Basketball circuit, she made a few bad choices along the way, mostly falling for a con man who managed to ruin her career and sent her back home to the States with her tail between her legs. But Tay is no quitter … What Tay never counted on was her best friend setting her up with younger brother Robb, a sports journalist who has the resources to dig into the particulars of her disgrace.
Life on the Edge (Edge Series No. 1) by Jennifer Comeaux
Jennifer: Emily's athleticism makes her a unique romance novel heroine because she has to have a certain amount of strength and discipline in order to succeed as an Olympic figure skater. These qualities also come through in her personal and relationship decisions. She knows what her heart wants, and she's not afraid to go after it. The only problem is her heart wants the one person who is off-limits — her coach, Sergei.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention HEA's own Joyce Lamb, who wrote Cold Midnight, a romantic suspense novel that features a professional tennis player heroine, who is trying to rebuild her life after a brutal assault. (Thanks for the shout-out, Elley!)
While all these books are available now, rumor has it more athlete heroines are in the publishing pipeline. My Cleveland Clash series will have two more books released this year. Do you know of any others?
To find out more about Elley and her books, visit elleyarden.com.