This post originally appeared on Read_Love_Blog, March, 2017

Readers love sports romance, and since Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Chicago Stars series kicked off the subgenre in the early 2000s, we have sports romances about all the major ball-chasing sports (yes, I know how that sounds., 😉 ) and just about everything in between.  MMA, pro wrestling, cycling?
There’s a book for that.
Figure skating…not so much. Which in my book, was a shame. One of my all-time favorite movies is The Cutting Edge, and during the Winter Olympics, I watch every figure skating competition I can.  I know I’m not alone in this.  So that inspired me to write a contemporary romance set in this beautiful, exceedingly difficult and often dangerous sport.  And while books and movies about figure skating focus almost exclusively on female skaters, I also wanted my heroes to be figure skaters. The real kind, not hockey players recruited at the last minute. (Sorry, Cutting Edge!)   Because Russia has more than its share of talented (and handsome) male figure skaters, and I think Russian accents are seriously sexy, the Red Hot Russians series was born.
But I also wanted to venture outside the rink, and put my red hot couples in a completely new setting. Since my books are stand alone stories with recurring characters  they can be enjoyed in any order, so if a reader is interested in something not-so-sportsy, like say, a sexy reality TV show or an Antarctica adventure… well, there’s a book for that, too.
I’ve discovered some great series reads because one story’s trope was my personal cat-nip.  Since my series is designed for readers to jump in wherever they like, here’s a trope-tastic run down of the Red Hot Russians series.
Pairing Off– Disgraced American pairs figure skater Carrie Parker moves to Moscow, to pair up with smokin’ hot Russian pairs champion Anton Belikov. Together, they set their sights on the Winter Olympics, in a partnership that tests their loyalty to family, country and each other. Tropes: friends to lovers, fish out of water, disguise, forbidden love, tortured heroine, workplace romance, marriage of convenience, athlete hero and heroine.
Turning It On– When shy book editor Hannah Levinson becomes a contestant on a sexy reality TV show, she discovers that the man she thought she loved isn’t what he seemed, and that the show’s villain, former ice dancer turned stripper Vladimir Shustov, could be the one to help her believe in love again. Tropes: wallflower/bad boy, opposites attract, sex worker with a heart of gold, friends to lovers, tortured hero, fish out of water, show business, workplace romance.
Getting It Back-Athletic trainer Amy Shepherd agrees to help her ex-boyfriend and former Olympic medalist figure skater Misha Zaikov return to competition after a catastrophic injury. Can she help Misha reach for his dream, even though a new injury could not only jeopardize his career and their future, but also his life?   Tropes: athlete hero, second chance romance, redemption, tortured hero, workplace romance, protector.
Heating It Up: A Red Hot Russians Novella– Widowed American artist Nora Bradford and Russian adventurer Alexei Zaikov must work together to save their close-knit Antarctic community, from being shut down. But with the truth about Nora’s role in Amity Bay’s demise doom their romance? Tropes: small-town, fish out of water, workplace, stranded, disguise, friends to lovers, opposites attract.
Purchase Heating It Up: A Red Hot Russians Novella
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