Rednecks and Romance: Guest Post: Avon Gale

Avon Gale, what literary character is most like you?

The character most like me is probably Avery Hextall, from Let the Wrong In. Avery and I both are extroverted, talkative and friendly – but I also have the same problem of acting impulsively, using humor as a defense mechanism, and needing to shut up and listen on occasion ;) Avery is a lot more of a morning person than I am and way tidier, and I definitely am not organized or good enough at math to be an architect. I see a lot more of myself as-I-was when I wrote that book, as I’ve calmed down and grown up a bit since then (as, I hope, has Avery). But that’s definitely the character I connect with the most, and when I read it now I can see exactly what I was working through when I wrote it. In some ways I had a lot of issues similar to Malin’s, and I think sometimes that book was my way of reconciling two parts of myself. Which sounds sort of cheesy, and I don’t think I was aware of it at the time, but hey…again, that’s why I’m a lot like Avery!

Author Name: Avon Gale
Book Name: Power Play
Series: Scoring ChancesBook: Three
This book can be read as a standalone
Release Date: May 9, 2016

Blurb: A freak accident during the Stanley Cup Playoffs put an end to Max Ashford’s hockey career. Despite everything, Max gets back into the game he loves—only this time, behind the bench as an assistant coach of the Spartanburg Spitfires, the worst team in the entire league. But nothing prepares him for the shock when he learns the new head coach is Misha Samarin, the man who caused Max’s accident.

After spending guilt-ridden years for his part in Max’s accident, Russian native Misha Samarin has no idea what to do when he’s confronted with Max’s presence. Max’s optimism plays havoc with Misha’s equilibrium—as does the fierce attraction that springs up between them.

Not only must they navigate Misha’s remorse and a past he’s spent a lifetime to forget, but also a sleazy GM determined to use their history as a marketing hook. But when an unwelcome visitor targets the team, Misha revisits his darkest days, which might cost him and Max the beginning they’ve worked so hard to build.

Pages or Words: 240 pages
Categories: Bisexual, Contemporary, Fiction

Excerpt:

“I’d never watched this, you know.”

“The YouTube video?” Misha had seen that too. It was filed with angry commenters yelling that he should be deported back to Russia.

“The hit.”

Misha blinked. “You’ve seen the commercial, though. Yes?”

“Yeah, I wish I could say I haven’t seen that. But I meant, I didn’t watch this until a few months ago. They played that game on the NHL channel, so I watched it.”

It never occurred to Misha that Max wouldn’t have seen it, but then he remembered that Max was the hero, not the villain of the story. Misha watched the hit play out on the screen. What must that feel like, to watch the moment it all ended? When Max hit the ice, did he know that game was his last? Did Misha know it was his? How had he felt? He couldn’t remember.

The scene switched to the replay. Misha watched dispassionately, retreated into the blinding pain of his migraine, and told himself that it was all right to suffer, that he should, that he deserved it.

Max paused the video. “Look. See what I have there?”

Misha blinked. He had not expected questions. “I—what?”

“The puck, Misha. The puck. Your hit wasn’t late.”

Oh. “Yes. I know.”

Max stared at him. On the television screen, their younger selves were suspended at the moment everything changed.

Buy the book:

DSP: http://bit.ly/1VjEEfq

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1SkBHp8

All Romance E-Books: http://bit.ly/1QmTMk9

B&N: http://bit.ly/26f0m85

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/power-play/id1109203148?mt=11

Meet the author:

Avon Gale was once the mayor on Foursquare of Jazzercise and Lollicup, which should tell you all you need to know about her as a person. She likes road trips, rock concerts, drinking Kentucky bourbon and yelling at hockey. She’s a displaced southerner living in a liberal midwestern college town, and when she’s not writing you can find her at the salon, making her clients look and feel fabulous. She never gets tired of people and their stories -- either real or the ones she makes up in her head.

Where to find the author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avongalewrites
acebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authoravongale
Twitter: @avongalewrites
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/avongalewrites/
Join my mailing list http://eepurl.com/bGLSrD
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29361143

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson

Tour Dates & Stops: