As some of you know, I just released my newest novel, Training Ground, from my imprint Second Growth Books. The ebook is currently on sale for $2.99 and has already made Amazon’s bestseller list for lesbian fiction. (Woo hoo!) Amazon is also currently offering the paperback at a discounted price of $9. In a few days, I’ll post information about a Goodreads Giveaway for a chance to win a signed paperback copy.
So here’s the skinny on this book: Training Ground is the first in a series about women’s soccer (football) players, inspired by my ridiculous fangirling over the US women’s national team after last year’s World Cup. Think of the series as USWNT fanfiction with original characters, written by a traditionally- & indie-published lesfic author.
The blurb from the back cover is below. If any reviewers would like a review copy, please contact me at katechristie8 at gmail.com. For an excerpt and purchase options, visit the book page on my website or pop on over to Amazon. Happy reading!
Sometimes a chance meeting can change everything.
At fifteen, Jamie Maxwell’s main goals in life are to make the United States youth national soccer pool, move past the Incident-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named, and maybe—someday—kiss a girl. When she meets Emma Blakeley at a tournament in Southern California, something about the older girl draws her in. And it isn’t that she expects to ever get the chance to kiss Emma. Really.
When Jamie invites her to sneak out on the last night of Surf Cup, Emma doesn’t go because she likes Jamie’s smile. She goes because, as the daughter of a surgeon and a nurse, she has a genetic predisposition to try to heal people. And Jamie, she can tell, is wounded.
Neither girl suspects that this first last night together will form the basis of a bond that will last across years and miles, from SoCal soccer fields and New York hotels to Portuguese beaches and the streets of Vancouver. But that’s how most friendships begin, isn’t it? With a smile and a nod and the courage to ask, “Do you maybe, possibly, want to come with me?”
Homodramatica 
I barely finished reading your post before I ordered up a copy. So good! Despite crying a bit over the ending, the book was totally enjoyable and I’m trying not to read the teaser for book 2 because I don’t want my anticipation to be lessened. I’m just wondering now whom I should buy a paper copy for…
Aw, thanks, Ranger! And thanks for putting reviews online, too. Totally helps others know what they’re getting into. I’m about 60,000 words into book two, so on target for a fall release. Glad you enjoyed book one enough to want to read book two! Seems like a good sign… Happy summer! Hope it’s not too hot down your way. Today is cold and rainy, which is good for the trees at least. And lord knows we have a ton of those around!
Great to see you back in the world of football. I thought “Training Ground” was really really good. Looking forward to Book 2. Sad about the Decade long gap, since I was hoping for a trilogy. Glad to see that our girl ended up at Arsenal, though can’t throw off the grudge that, ridiculously, it’s Arsenal Ladies not Women. Man C are at least Man City Women. Disgracefully, Man U of course doesn’t have a Women’s team at all. Bloody Sir Alex! 😉
BTW: Trivial crit but you wrote early in the book of “the First Division of the Premier League”. The PL is only one Division having been ripped away from the rest of the Football League by the money men for the TV money. The so called “First Division” is now in fact the Third Division with the “Championship” above it. Lunatic!
All the best. Family looks great!
PS
Brexit : Aaaaargh
Trump: Ugh!
Canada Women 2 – Germany 1 : Wow!
Olympic Women Rugby 7s : Brill!
Hi Ron! Thanks for the note. It’s nice to be writing about football/soccer again. It’ll always be my first love even though I recently established (the hard way) that I am no longer up for contact sports myself. I started playing soccer at age four, so permanent retirement from the game seems inevitable at my age. Four decades–not bad! Fortunately, one is never too old to read or write about the beautiful game, obviously. Thanks also for the note r.e. PL divisions. I remember typing that part and thinking to myself, “Need to go back and fact-check that one.” Alas, I failed to write that note down anywhere so it fled my brain. Sigh… Guess I should have asked you to beta read!
By the way, can you believe the Olympic quarter-final results? Craziness… The wife and I are still in shock today. Oh, and I agree–“Ladies” is ridiculous… My high school team’s mascot back in the 1980s was the “Lady Maroon Giants.” Can you even imagine such a thing? Naturally we had nothing but scorn for that idiotic name!
Anyway, happy football viewing/reading! Hope you have a great rest of the summer and are ready for the return of the PL. Arsenal V Liverpool tomorrow morning–woo hoo! Perhaps we’ll have another Leicester City season on our hands…