With: Maggie Wells
Congratulations to "Colleen C.", the winner in Maggie's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
I have five older brothers. They didn’t always want to
let me play with them, so they used their superior size and strength to try to
muscle me out.
With five boys and little hope of ever growing grass, my
father covered our backyard in asphalt, installed a regulation basketball hoop,
and marked the free-throw and three-point lines with spray paint. The ‘no
blood, no foul’ rule was instituted. I was never big enough to mix it up in the
games, but they would let me play H-O-R-S-E with them. Of course, they
could stand behind either of those spray-painted lines and knock me out of the
game in five quick rounds.
Nevertheless, I persisted.
Being a small girl, I had little hope of developing the arm
strength for shots from field goal range. I needed to develop another weapon.
And so, I became the queen of the backwards bucket shot.
With a bit of practice, I could (and still can) sink a
basket from anywhere within the arc by turning my back on the basket,
spot-checking my alignment with the goal, then hurling the ball up over my
head from between my knees.
I did what I had to do. I persisted until I found a way to
give myself a chance to win.

It’s no wonder she’s lightly peeved when the university
signs a scandal-tainted football coach to a multi-million dollar contract.
Excerpt:
Kate dropped the pen
she’d been clicking manically and glanced toward the window. Intruding on Coach
Hotshot’s press conference wasn’t the most mature way to introduce herself, but
damn it, this was her turf. She’d spent her entire adult life representing
Wolcott University athletics, and she wasn’t about to be brushed aside for some
smarmy has-been with a shoulder pad fetish.
Her phone rang, and she reached for it
without looking. “Kate Snyder.”
“That was gold, Katie! Gold! Check the
website.”
Twisting in her seat, Kate smirked as the
Wolcott Athletics home page loaded on her computer screen. It hadn’t taken
Millie long to get a snapshot of Kate nose-to-nose with Danny McMillan posted
and released to the press. The university’s media maven was as industrious as
she was insidious. Once Millie wrapped her arms around an idea, it was almost
impossible to pry it from her grasp.
Kate fell back in her chair. “Does Jerry
Seinfeld know you’re stealing his lines?”
“It’s Kenny Bania’s line.” The older
woman’s raspy voice might have indicated a three-pack-a-day habit, but Kate
knew for a fact Millie had never taken a puff. The woman ran marathons as often
as others ran errands.
Heaving a sigh, Kate tucked the receiver
under her chin. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Enjoyed it? NSN called. They’re sending
the crew in to talk to you this week. Not Brittany, the documentary crew.” Kate’s
eyebrows shot up. “They want to shine their Sports Spotlight on you ASAP,
Coach.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “I bet they do.” It
was hard to keep the edge of bitterness out of her voice. The network had
already pitched the documentary idea, and she signed the papers nearly two
years earlier. Somehow, there was always a bigger story to be told. A man-sized
story. She tapped her mouse to minimize the screen. “Tell them to bring it on.”
“Done.” She heard the click of Millie’s
pen. “And Kate?”
“Yeah?”
“Avery said to remind you that you built
this athletic program. Don’t let them marginalize you. Keep giving him hell.”
Kate smiled, seeing straight through the
moment of sisterly solidarity to the media circus that was sure to blossom at
the center of this hiring fiasco. “Will do.”
“Good girl. Your contract’s almost up and
you can’t buy this kind of publicity.”
Giveaway:
How about you? Tell me about a time when your persistence paid off, and I’ll gift you with a digital copy of the first book in my single dads series, PLAY DATES (Play Dates #1).
LOVE GAME is available
now in eBook and mass market paperback at your favorite retailer.
Amazon ~
Apple
~ B&N
~ Google Play
~ Kobo ~ Powell's
~ Books-A-Million ~
The Ripped Bodice
About Maggie:
By
day, Maggie Wells is buried in spreadsheets. At night, she pens tales of people
tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt,
you only have to scratch the surface of this mild-mannered married lady to find
a naughty streak a mile wide. Maggie has a passion for college football,
processed cheese foods, and happy endings. Not necessarily in that order.
More Maggie:
Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Feb. 13th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Feb. 13th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
Well, I think resigned from my old job, where I worked as mid-level manager, to pursue my master education is an example where my persistence paid off :). Because I got to do what I enjoyed, I got some GREAT new friends too from those two years.
ReplyDeleteamie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
Good for you! Some friends and I were talking about how we'd all downsized and shifted gears out of our hamster wheel corporate careers so we can focus on things that are important to us. Best decision ever. Good luck to you, Ami!
ReplyDeleteIf it is something I really want, I will put a lot of time and effort into it... one time to help my sister out, my dad and I put in all new flooring... boy did it turn out great!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I refinished one room of hardwood flooring 15 years ago and vowed never again. You have my utmost respect!
Deleteexercise
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Ugh. I am the worst about exercise. Good for you!
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