Guest Post and Giveaway: The Quarterback by Mackenzie Blair

We’re so pleased to welcome author Mackenzie Blair to TNA today on the tour for her new novel, The Quarterback. Mackenzie’s talking love scenes today, and there’s also a fab giveaway for you to check out below.

Welcome, Mackenzie!

How Do I Write a Love Scene?

This is one of the toughest parts for me. I love writing the dialogue and story, but for love scenes, I sometimes skip over them and come back later when inspiration strikes.  It’s hard to think of lots of synonyms for, well, hard and firm and stroke and touch. To keep it interesting and hot. I also hate when romance novels end a scene before the good bits – I want the beginning, middle, and end (especially the pillow talk) for each of my sex scenes!

I like my sexy bits to be very specific and feel true to the characters.  There’s a role-play scene in this book that hit me one day.  I kept thinking about Trevor’s dorm room and based it off my freshman dorm room. A simple square room, each side a mirror image of the other. A wardrobe, then a bed, then a dresser, then a desk on each side. The door is on one wall and the windows opposite it. Underneath the windows sits a dinky brown mini-fridge that they rented for the year. We always used the dresser as extra office space, so I realized if Trevor and Matt were in bed, the footboard would be right next to the desk. Making it very easy to reach for a ruler…

Matt’s dorm room I based off of a quad that four guys I knew shared. A common room in the center with disgusting frayed brown carpet. On either side of the common room are bedrooms with bunk beds. I was pretty impressed that athletes actually get slightly wider and longer beds, but it would still be pretty crowded for tall football players.

And then, all the characters have the joys of communal bathrooms. Which makes sexy shower scenes complicated. For the fictional college of Bodine, most students live on-campus. The town is so small there aren’t a lot of rentals. But it’s a beautiful campus with brick buildings and verdant green trees and a college main street that caters to the younger, hipper crowd.

Past the small campus town, the area gets a bit seedier, the buildings older and more rundown as the interstate miles tick by. But for Bodine students, they have a tiny enclave all their own with a diverse mix of students.

About the Book

Matt Lancaster is the star quarterback at Bodine College, a small Southern Division II school with an ultra-conservative Dean of Athletics. Matt is also very much in the closet, and he thinks he’s kept his secret well hidden. Until his best friends take him to a happy endings massage parlor and request a male masseuse for him.

In walks Trevor Kim, a gorgeous, pierced, tattooed fellow Bodine student who does massages—without happy endings—to pay for school after his family kicked him out for being gay. Trevor takes one look at Matt and breaks all his own rules about mixing business with pleasure.

Matt needs to keep his scholarship, win the National Championship, and survive his asshole father. Instead, he falls in love. Trevor needs to accept that the football god is meant to end up with him rather than a perky cheerleader. It’s time for a happy ever after for both of them.

[zilla_button url=”http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/the-quarterback” style=”blue” size=”large” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Now Available From Riptide Publishing [/zilla_button]

About the Author

Mackenzie Blair is an award-winning screenwriter in Los Angeles who’s written for shows and films you’ve probably heard of.  Mackenzie grew up in the South but fled the humidity for earthquakes, university, and a brief stint in finance. As a cynical idealist, she prefers to write happy endings whenever possible.

Follow Mackenzie on Amazon and Goodreads.

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of The Quarterback, one lucky winner will receive a $30 Riptide gift card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 16, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!