Monday, 11 January 2016

Excerpt Reveal: The Baller by Vi Keeland




(A standalone novel)
Release date 1/18/2016
A Contemporary Romance novel
New York Times & USA Today Bestseller
Vi Keeland


“You ready?” Nick slung his bag over his shoulder and lifted his camera. The reporter in front of us wrapped up his interview and shook hands with Easton.
As I’ll ever be. “Sure.”
I stepped forward and extended my hand. “I’m Delilah Maddox with WMBC Sports News.”
A slow grin spread across Easton’s face. He surprised me by leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. “Pleasure to meet you.”
I wasn’t sure if he was baiting me into an argument—expecting me to lash out at him for kissing me when he’d just shaken the last male reporter’s hand—or if he was trying to use his blatant sexuality to throw me off. Either way, I wasn’t playing his game. I cleared my throat and stood straighter, even though my knees felt a little wobbly.
“Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”
“Why else would you be in here?”
I ignored his sarcasm. He was still smiling at me. Actually, it was more like a smirk, and it made me feel like a toy he was about to play with. “You ready, Nick?” My cameraman finished setting up the lighting, then lifted the camera into position and gave me a hand signal.
“Congratulations on the win today, Brody. How is your knee feeling after your first game back?” I lifted my microphone high, knowing Nick was filming in close.
“I feel . . . ” He nonchalantly reached to the towel wrapped around his waist and tugged at the corner. The towel fell to the ground. “Great. I feel great. And how about you? It’s your first trip into the locker room, isn’t it? Do you like what you see so far?” His lips curled up into a full-blown wicked smile.
Before I could catch myself, my eyes dropped to his naked lower half. Shit. He was dangling in the wind. I totally got distracted by just how low the thing dangled. It was probably a full minute before I responded to his question. A full minute of dead air time. Great. “Yes. Umm . . . the locker room is . . . ummm . . . nice.”
I sounded like a total ditz. On air.
The jackass continued interviewing me. “Is it as big as you thought it would be?”
“Ummm . . . it’s much bigger than I imagined.”
His smile grew even wider.
Ugh.
I needed to get back on track or my first locker room interview would become a laughingstock blooper. Viewers had no idea he was naked from the waist down. “Do you think you were at one hundred percent today?”
His eyebrows jumped. “If you’re referring to today’s game, definitely. I had one hundred percent out there on the field. There’re some other areas where I have a lot of growth potential, but my knee felt one hundred percent today.”

His pale green eyes darkened, and I watched his long lashes lower. I followed his line of sight, and suddenly I was staring at his naked package. Again. Damn it. My eyes darted back up, but I felt my cheeks heating. I had to end this, or I was going to be beet red on air.
“Well, welcome back. And congratulations on today’s win.”
I waited until Nick lowered his camera and turned off the light. Then I looked right at Brody Easton’s smug face. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”
His eyes sparkled. “I do.”
I heard the chuckles and high fives at my back as I stormed out of the locker room.


★★★★
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The first time I met Brody Easton was in the men’s locker room.
It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster.
The famed quarterback decided to bare all.
And by all, I don’t mean he told me any of his secrets.
No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera.
The Super Bowl MVP quickly adopted a new hobby—screwing with me.
When I pushed back, he shifted from wanting to screw with me, to wanting to screw me.
But I don’t date players.
And it’s not because I’m one of the few women working in the world of professional football.
I’d date an athlete.
It’s the other kind of player I don’t date.
You know the type. Good looking, strong, cocky, always looking to get laid.

Brody Easton was the ultimate player.
Every woman wanted to be the one to change him.
But the truth was, all he needed was a girl worth changing for.
Turned out, I was that girl.
Simple right?
Let’s face it. It never is.
There’s a story between once upon a time and happily ever after…
And this one is ours.



Vi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn't change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!


Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Pinterest


Additional Books by Vi Keeland

Life on Stage series (2 standalone books)
Beat


Throb
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1zk882K


MMA Fighter series (3 standalone books)
Worth the Fight (MMA Fighter Series, Book One)
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1alpVES
Smashwords - http://bit.ly/1is0zNX

Worth The Chance (MMA Fighter Series, Book Two)

Worth Forgiving (MMA Fighter Series, Book Three)


The Cole Series (2 book serial)

Belong to You (Cole Series, Book One)
Made for You (Cole Series, Book Two)

Standalone novels
Left Behind (A Young Adult Novel)
First Thing I See

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1JWFo21




New Release Spotlight: Fighting Dirty by Sidney Halston.


Enter to Win a $50.00 Amazon eGift Card


FIGHTING DIRTY
Worth the Fight #5
Sidney Halston
Releasing Jan 5th, 2016
Loveswept



If you love the MMA romances of Vi Kreeland and Kendall Ryan, Sidney Halston’s Worth the Fight series will knock your socks off! In Fighting Dirty, a geek-chic cage fighter proves that appearances can be deceiving . . . and oh-so-tempting.

With his preppy clothes and horn-rimmed glasses, Enzo Silva is the last dude anyone expects to find in a mixed martial arts gym. A wealthy Brazilian banker who never had to fight for anything, Enzo’s stuck in the amateur circuit—but he burns to make the pros. Maybe that explains the heat he feels whenever he’s around Jamie Lynn Calhoun. The pint-size, magenta-haired bartender with the Texas drawl is everything he’s not . . . and everything he craves.

Tough as nails and independent to a fault, Jamie Lynn—JL to her friends—works hard to pay her bills and keep life simple. Enzo is doing his best to complicate that.  Even though she likes to bust his balls, he’s got some kind of a nerdy-hot vibe that makes JL wonder if she might finally be able to let her guard down. It might do the boy some good to spend some time in her world, where blood, sweat,
and victory are as sweet as the first taste of real love.


Amazon | B& N | Google Play | iTunesKobo

 What made you change your mind about going out with me?” he asked as they crossed the parking lot. “Not that I’m complaining. But you’ve been saying no for almost a year.”
Truth?”
Always.”
You always seem so predictable, but you doing this . . .” She shook her head. “I guess it made me see you in a different light.”
He held her car door open for her as she tucked the canvas facedown in the backseat and then got in the car. “I’m glad it took me completely humiliating myself to get you to go out with me. Maybe I won’t kill your brother for this ridiculous bet, after all,” he said. “I’ll make reservations at the Tackle Box and pick you up at eight tomorrow.” When she looked at him for a moment too long, he said, “You don’t like the Tackle Box?”
Do you work tomorrow?” she asked as she got back out of the car.
Yes.”
That was a dumb question. You’re always working. Let me rephrase the question. Can you take the day off tomorrow?”
Enzo quickly thought about all the teleconferences he had scheduled and all the reports he had to do. “I can.”
Okay, so I’ll pick you up at eight.”
Uh . . . I don’t understand.”
Eight in the morning,” she clarified. “I asked you out, so I pick. That’s the deal, okay? It’s my treat. I pick where we go and what we do.”
I don’t think—”
You hate giving up control, don’t you?” she asked wryly, already knowing the answer. “Don’t worry so much. Just be ready. It’ll be fun—spontaneous. You’ll like it. I promise.”
He let out a breath. “Fun and spontaneous isn’t something I’m very comfortable with,” he admitted. But then he decided, What the hell? He’d already survived taking the biggest leap of faith of his life by moving from Brazil to Florida, something that was so completely out of character his parents thought he was still mourning the end of his marriage. So, going on a date with a beautiful woman and letting her take the lead . . . what could possibly go wrong?
Okay, fine. I’ll text you my address,” he said as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. She folded herself into her crappy fifteen-year-old Honda Civic, which was mostly red, except for some patches where the paint had chipped off. The bumper was held together with a hot-pink bungee cord, and there were bumper stickers plastered everywhere. He couldn’t picture her with any other car but this one; somehow it suited her perfectly. But she was absolutely out of her mind if she thought he’d be going anywhere with her in that clunker tomorrow.





Sidney Halston lives her life by one simple rule: “Just do it.” And that’s exactly what she did. At the age of thirty, having never written anything other than a legal brief, she picked up a pen for the first time to pursue her dream of becoming an author. That first stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Halston lives in South Florida with her husband and children.