Tag Archives: USA Today bestselling author

Release Day!

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The Puck Bunny – a hockey rom-com by Stephanie Queen

PLUS A BONUS HOCKEY ROMANCE!

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from the Some Girls Like It Cold series

What made me so self-conscious?

It was my name. Not Sara–my last name–Bellagamba. (I knew you’d understand.)

When I was young I couldn’t say it right and when I tried, the kids made fun of me.

Handy Hint: explaining the meaning of your name–Bellagamba means beautiful leg in Italian–to a bunch of five-year-olds won’t stop their teasing. In fact, I think it’s like some kind of trigger for escalation.

And I’m pretty sure if I didn’t run, they would have stoned me for being crazy. (only slightly exaggerating)

Fast forward

to my current post college career and nothing much has changed. I’m still self conscious and still have a tendency to say ridiculous things at inopportune moments.

Except now I’m working for the Boston Brawlers NHL organization, my dream job–because I’m a massive hockey fan and a particular fan of one player–Quinn James.

The Brawlers just signed him and I almost passed out with excitement over the unexpected news.

I won’t lie–I want him. (Yes, that way.) Bad.

Fat chance of that happening

Even if I weren’t so self conscious, I’m not in his league. He dates starlets and models and was last seen with a princess on his arm…

Quinn

Why did I sign a deal with the Boston Brawlers?

I was a f**ing NHL super star in L.A.. My life was perfectly scripted with fame, fortune and all kinds of women throwing themselves at me.

But a hushed up incident with a certain princess caused me to miss seeing my dad on his death bed. Now my family is pissed at me. And I need to deal with them–and the loss of my dad.

So I signed with the Brawlers, moved from L.A. to come back east and return to my roots.

Between hockey and dealing with the need to square things with my family and get real about relationships, I have plenty to concentrate on.

So why do I find Sara, the awkward little puck bunny and big f-ing distraction, so irresistible?

Why do I let Sara Bellagamba of all people, sidetrack me from what’s most important in my life, family and hockey?

The Puck Bunny, a Boston Brawlers Hockey Spin-off, is the first in the Some Girls Like It Cold Series, a funny and poignant romp where the awkward girl gets her dream guy against all the odds, scoring big for her team which includes every secret Puck Bunny everywhere. And the dream guy gets the deeply satisfying life with the dream girl he never knew he desperately wanted. HEA Ending! (duh!)

(Warning: language and sex for a mature audience.)

GET IT NOW WITH A BONUS!

*********Early Bird Bonus!*********

When you buy it or read on Kindle Unlimited, you get a link to a FREE BONUS BOOK, Hockey Heartthrob by Kat Obie.

You need to get the book by 3/31, because after that, the bonus disappears.

In the meantime, check out the blurb for Hockey Heartthrob. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

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Hockey Heartthrob

Second chances don’t happen every day. I was too focused on trying to break through with my hockey career to really make a move on Nastia Schmetinova when we were at the U together. Imagine my surprise when I learned that she was going to ref our Saint Patrick’s Day game.

I couldn’t make the same mistake twice. I had to give it a shot.

Hopefully I didn’t wait too long to make a move and I won’t sacrifice team unity by following my heart. But I can’t ignore my feelings for her.

Hockey Heartthrob is a second chance romance filled with sexy hockey players who give it their all when it comes to romance. Grab the fifth novella in the Loving the Puckers Series which makes you go “Awww.”

*****READ NOW*****

Traveling for the month of January

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January was a whirlwind, and I spent more time away than home, but for two great reasons!

My new year started with an exciting trip to Disney World in Florida to spend a week with my husband, daughter, son, daughter-in-law, and two grandkids. We all had a wonderful trip to celebrate family and my husband’s 50th birthday.

Many of you know that Disney is my happy place, and my husband, daughter, and I go about once a year. My son and his wife have never been, and while he was leery about going to an amusement park with lots of people, he quickly changed his mind. I kept telling him that Disney wasn’t just an amusement park but a world of adventures and excitement.

He realized that Disney does things right, and after his first visit, his attitude changed. When we got home, he asked me when we could all go again. I see many visits in our future as a big group.

I was only home for four days before I was packed to head off to California for eleven days for work. Myself and another fourteen trainers had the opportunity to train an entire school district in the Visalia area on how to help your odds of survival in an active shooter situation. It was a whirlwind of training, and we met many wonderful people.

We also got to spend a long weekend adventuring around the area. Sadly, we didn’t get to go see the famous redwoods because of the weather, but we did get up into the mountains, and then we even drove out to the west coast. I have been to California a few times but have never seen the Pacific Ocean from shore. Our day trip to Cayucos was fun and exciting, and we had a great lunch at a little cafe with brown butter cookies for dessert from a local shop.

I did find it very amazing that thirty minutes one way from Visalia, you were in the mountains. Go in the other direction and pass orange groves, fields of walnut trees, the coastal wine region, rolling mountains, and more before you hit the coast.

It has given me many ideas for books, and now that I’m home, I’m jotting notes down to proceed with some new stories!

I’m also super excited to announce a new book on audio. Wesley, Loving a Young Series, book 1, is now on audio. I am working closely with my narrator as she works to produce the second book, which we hope to have done in a few weeks.

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Wesley-Audiobook/B0BTV2H2BR?asin=B0BTV2H2BR

Charlotte Bennett is not a fan of strangers. When she sees a man touching her daughter at the park, she reacts without listening. It’s only later, when her daughter is rushed to the hospital that Charlotte realizes how wrong she had been to accuse the stranger of inappropriate behavior.

Doctor Wesley Young only wanted to help the tender-aged girl he witnessed fall, but when her mother attacks him at the park, he’s left stunned. When little Marisol arrives in the emergency department, the mother makes more of an impression on him than the cut she left on his face.

Things heat up quickly when Marisol is no longer Wes’s patient, but when traumatic things from Charlotte’s past are revealed, Wes isn’t sure that Charlotte is the woman for him. Can Charlotte find a way to explain it all so that Wes will accept both her and her daughter?

Just released… why I wrote Special Agent Walker.

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Ask yourself this. What would you do if you saw a kid on a bus acting weird… and carrying what you believed to be a rifle in his backpack?

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Author’s note:

This was one of my favorite books to write.

Like everyone else, I’ve been watching the unceasing horror of school shootings. Especially in Uvalde, Texas where 22 people died (mostly children) and many more were wounded – all by an eighteen-year-old filled with hatred and carrying an AK-15.

From my perspective, I had to decide what could possibly make a teenager be filled with so much animosity that he/she could take a high-powered rifle and kill their peers or worse – little innocent humans.

I know one of the various reasons is for infamy. Yet I couldn’t deal with that properly because I could never delve into the mind of someone who would use that as a motive.

Therefore, I had to come up with a different theme that would drive someone to such lengths. Obviously, a psychopath would be able to do such destruction because they have no guilt. But then, what if that same sicko decided to manipulate others, weaklings, as possible tools to carry out their sick fantasies. How powerful would that be?

And so, Agent Walker’s story began.

As usual, I tend to deal with these awful subjects in a more lighthearted way and so there’s humor and heartwarming portions to the story.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved creating these two characters – Special Agent Beau Walker and profiler, Special Agent Lori Page.

Click on “Free Preview” above for a chance to read the beginning of the story.

THE AMAZON UNIVERSAL LINK IS: https://mybook.to/specialagentwalker

***This book was released Jan 20th, 2023 – and is always available at no cost on Kindle Unlimited

Word of Wisdom

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“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.” ~ Timothy Leary

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

“Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal.” ~ Mike Ditka

“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?” ~ Jean Cocteau

“Courage is the price that life expects for granting peace.” ~ Amelia Earhart

“It’s choice — not chance — that determines your destiny.” ~ Jean Nidetch

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel — not a destination.” ~ Roy M. Goodman

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” ~ Bill Cosby

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” ~ e. e. cummings

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.” ~ Denis Diderot

“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” ~ Lord Byron

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” ~Anonymous

Here are two recently released novels that will take your breath away and have you read the whole book in one sitting.

Healing Plans

Love Plans Series, book 8

Amazon

Melissa Blake, a bright young surgeon, worked long hours to gain a remarkable experience. Fed up with her controlling mentor, she interviews for a better position.
After his wife left him, Dr. Jason Randal raises their two small kids on his own. Although he’s carefully avoided dating, he’s attracted to the lovely Dr. Blake he’s just hired. He gives her a tour of the city and a taste of the passion she’s missed.
When her mentor needs open-heart surgery, Melissa leads a team of surgeons, including Jason, all through the delicate operation. Life gets complicated when she becomes dizzy during the surgery, but Jason discretely takes over and saves their famous patient.
Will this unforgivable weakness cost her a medical career and Jason’s love?

No Vacation Plans

Love Plans Series, book 9

Amazon

Denise Lambert fell in love at first sight with Damien Booker, a biracial law student. They danced the night away, and she welcomed his passionate kiss. But then he disappeared.
Five years later, she can’t believe her eyes when the pizza delivery boy sporting a long frizzy mane and a bushy beard is none other than Damien. He kisses her and runs away. She manages to get his phone number and reconnect with him. For weeks, they chat on the phone, until she bumps into Zorro, the exotic male dancer, at her friend’s bachelorette party—Damien again who kisses her senseless. But Denise is fed up with the jack of all trades, working long hours at three low-paying jobs. She’ll have to break it off with him unless…
Determined to be worthy of her love, Damian set aside his resentment against discriminating lawyers. Clean cut and well-groomed, he applies to various firms, until he garners several interviews and finally lands the right position in the right firm. Will his effort pay off? Or will he have to fight her friends and relatives to bring Denise into his arms?