Welcome to my tour stop with JustRead Publicity Tours!
Check out an interview with the author and giveaway below...
Check out an interview with the author and giveaway below...
Spring SplashInspirational Contemporary Romance
ebook, 247 Pages
March 2nd 2020 by Candlelight Romance
Summary
When an injury sidelines college swimmer Anna Callaway, her dreams are crushed. She pours herself into her sports marketing practicum, helping a local special needs organization promote their athletic event. What she doesn’t expect is a swim team ripe for the Special Olympics—and their handsome but stubborn coach.
Craig Holt has dealt with eager and ignorant volunteers before. No matter how determined or persuasive uptight Anna might be about coaching his team to the Special Olympics, he has no intention of allowing her to raise the hopes of his swimmers, his sister, or his guarded heart.
Then Anna herself gets a second chance at becoming a champion. Will she pursue her lifelong goals or make room for a new dream?
Interview
Would you tell us a little more about the main characters from SPRING SPLASH?
Anna Callaway: After living in her older sister’s shadow academically and athletically, she’s finally poised for success as a college senior. She’s a split second from finally qualifying for NCAA Division 1 championships when a shoulder injury sidelines her. Instead, she has to pour her attention into her sports marketing practicum, helping organize an athletic event for a local special needs organization. At first, she’s awkward and nervous, making all the rookie mistakes in the book, and right in front of the swim team’s handsome coach, Craig Holt. But she’s willing to learn even as she begins coaching herself. Now if she can just persuade Craig to stop being so protective and take his team to the Special Olympics …
Craig Holt: Craig gave up his own college dreams as a triathlete to care for his sister with autism, Margo, when their parents died. He’s seen the damage caused by pushing Margo and her teammates too hard. The last thing he’s going to do is allow an entitled athlete to upset the precarious balance in his life. But when he sees past Anna’s perfectionism to her own insecurities, and Margo takes to Anna like a fish to water, he might be in trouble.
Margo Holt: Loves anime, art, attending church, and riding horses. Her ability to emulate perfect technique makes her the best special needs butterflier in the state, if her older brother would only let her practice with the team and compete.
The other relay team members of the OCPiranhas capture Anna’s heart: John (butterfly/freestyle), so encouraging to others even when health concerns related to his Down syndrome get in the way of his swimming; sensitive, eager-to-please Reggie (backstroke); high-strung Mateo (freestyle), whose skill with numbers makes Anna’s head spin; and easy-going DeShondra, who’ll only speed up her perfect breaststroke if she thinks there’s a hairball in the pool. And the parents might drive Anna crazy by poking their noses in all the time, but they give her the support she’s craved all her life.
What one piece of advice would Anna give about balancing life as a college athlete?
Anna: “I’m probably the last person to ask that question, because I struggled so much with that very thing. Trying to please my parents and live up to my sister’s legacy exhausted me. Double swim practices, classes, and assignments left me with no time for friends or dating outside my swim team … until an injury forced me to make room for the unexpected. And suddenly, there was this amazing man in my life who took care of his sister with autism and a whole rec program for special needs athletes. My dreams began to change the day I met them.”
What one piece of advice would Craig give about preparing his team for the Special Olympics?
Craig: “I didn’t want to prepare my team for the Special Olympics. Anna did. Not all of my team members grasped or could thrive under the demands of competition. I wanted to protect them from disappointment. But Anna said that was keeping them from real life, from the satisfaction of dreaming and achieving. Step by step, she persuaded me to open my mind—and my life—to bigger possibilities. Even to love.”
What part or aspect of this story do you love the most?
Everything! LOL. After over 15 years as a swim mom, I put my heart in this book. The heartache, the perseverance, the triumphs that take your breath away, all the root-for-the-underdog moments we love about sports fiction … they’re all in Spring Splash. Even the cover of this book warms my heart. When you read the dedication and Author’s Note, you’ll know why.
Did you find anything especially interesting while researching SPRING SPLASH?
The inspiring accomplishments of real-life special needs swimmers. I watched a documentary on the Jersey Hammerheads, comprised solely of members with autism, which necessitated the use of several tissues. If you don’t want to stand up and cheer after watching something like that …
What’s one of your hobbies or something we might not know about you?
I started my writing career by penning historical romances. I still love to read and write historicals. Early on, I participated in vintage dance and living history to help inspire and authenticate my writing. My husband and I can still dance an elegant mid-1800s American turning waltz and a vigorous polka. 🙂
What book are you currently reading or what three books are on your tbr?
I’m the managing editor for the historical imprints of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, so my TBR pile could be called a TBE (to-be-edited) pile. Most of my reading time is devoted to submissions and then my editing projects. But this past week, I actually won something—an e-book of Winter’s Fury by Tom Threadgill, so I’m enjoying a suspense-filled pleasure read.
What are you working on next?
Right now, I’m concentrating on my editing projects and the marketing for Spring Splash and Traces, my other new release this month. As I mentioned, I also write historical and time slip novels, and my agent is searching for a home for one of each of those this year.
About the Author
Tour Schedule
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Tour-Wide Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a print copy of Spring Splash and Fall Flip by Denise Weimer plus a $25 Amazon gift card!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule shown below. Giveaway will begin at midnight March 2, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on March 9, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US mailing addresses only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
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What did you think about the interview? Will you be reading this?
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