Guest Post and Giveaway: Relay by Layla Reyne

Welcome to the Relay Blog Tour, presented by Layla Reyne and Riptide Publishing! Relay is Book One in the Changing Lanes sports romance series, featuring Olympic swimmers. It’s an enemies-to-lovers, second chance romance between Alex, the team captain, and his closeted ex, Dane, swimming’s biggest star. Read on to learn more about Relay, Changing Lanes, and Layla Reyne, and don’t forget to check out the Giveaway details at the end!

What Would I Talk About with Alex and Dane?

Relay, book one of my Changing Lanes sports romance duology features Olympic swimmers, and follows the second chance romance between team captain and backstroker, Alex Cantu, and swimming’s biggest star, freestyler Dane Ellis. Ex-lovers who parted on sour terms a decade ago, Alex and Dane find themselves on the same Olympic Swim Team, and after an injury sidelines the team’s medley relay anchor, working together on the four-man relay squad. Passions are rekindled, and the former lovers, turned enemies, find their way back to love.

If Alex and I sat down for an interview, I suspect we’d end up talking about one of two things—coffee or work schedules. We’re both addicted to coffee, and spoiler for Medley, book two, we have a particular love of high-octane Turkish coffee. We need strong coffee to keep running on all cylinders for multiple jobs, neither of which we’re the best at balancing. I’d ask him for some tips, he’d ask me for the same, and we’d walk away knowing we need more coffee.

As for Dane, I think our interview would quickly devolve into a hometown conversation, as we’re both Tar Heels from North Carolina. In fact, Dane “grew up” in a neighborhood about five minutes from my own, and swims at the Club where several of my friends did. He’s been there more recently than me (who relocated to the Bay Area ten years ago), so I’d have to ask him about all the changes in my hometown. Hopefully, this interview would go down over one of Dane’s home-cooked Southern breakfasts, because, truth be told, Dane far outpaces my talent level in the kitchen!

Captain is not a title Alejandro “Alex” Cantu takes lightly. Elected by his teammates to helm the US Men’s Swim Team, he proudly accepts the role, despite juggling endless training, team administrative work, and helping out on the family farm. And despite his ex-lover, Dane Ellis—swimming’s biggest star—also making the Olympic Team.

Dane has been a pawn in his celebrity parents’ empire from crib to pool, flashing his camera-ready smile on demand and staying deeply in the closet. Only once did he drop the act—the summer he fell in love with Alex. Ten years later, Dane longs to cut his parents’ strings, drop his too-bright smile, and beg Alex for another chance.

Alex, though, isn’t ready to forgive and forget, and Dane is a distraction he doesn’t need on his team, until an injury forces Alex to accept Dane as his medley relay anchor. Working together, their passion reignites. When Dane’s parents threaten reprisal and Alex is accused of doping, the two must risk everything to prove Alex’s innocence, to love one another, and to win back their spots on the team, together.

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About Changing Lanes

A chance at gold or a chance at love? Members of the US Men’s Swim Team fight for both in this sports romance duology following two couples on one medley relay team as they train and compete in the world’s biggest sporting event: the Olympics. To reach the top of the podium, they’ll need to depend on one another and be willing to change lanes—in their lives and hearts, and in the biggest race of their athletic careers.

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About the Author

2016 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist Layla Reyne was raised in North Carolina and now calls San Francisco home. She enjoys weaving her bicoastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart-pounding romance. When she’s not writing stories to excite her readers, she downloads too many books, watches too much television, and cooks too much food with her scientist husband, much to the delight of their smushed-face, leftover-loving dogs.

Connect with Layla: Website || Twitter || FB Profile || FB Fan Page || FB Reader Group || Tumblr || Pinterest || Goodreads || Amazon || Newsletter

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Relay, one lucky winner will receive a signed paperback copy of the book and a $25 Amazon gift card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 13, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!