Guest Post with Author VK Sykes and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author VK Sykes to RFTC. VK Sykes is celebrating the recent release of Curveball and has stopped by to chat. Please give VK Sykes a warm welcome.

V.K. Sykes is really two people - Vanessa Kelly and Randy Sykes, a husband and wife team who write USA Today Bestselling contemporary romance. The second book in their Philadelphia Patriots Series of sports romances won the Kindle Book Review Best Indie Books of 2012 Contest, in the romance category. Vanessa also writes award-winning, Regency-set historical romance for Kensington Zebra under her own name.

Places to find VK: 

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | 

Hi, Dani! Thanks so much for having “us” on the blog. I think most readers know me first as the Vanessa Kelly who writes Regency-set historical romance, but I also write contemporary romance with my husband under the pen name of VK Sykes. Being part of a married writing duo tends to raise a question or two—such as, how do you write the sex scenes or how do you do work together without killing each other?

I must admit that we do occasionally have rather heated discussions about a particular scene or character, but we’ve also managed to develop a way of working that minimizes conflict.

Here’s what we do: Randy generally comes up with the core idea, we brainstorm the plot together, and then he goes off to research and write the first draft. I know I’m making it sound a lot easier than it is—well, this part is easy for me—but Randy is a first class researcher and he also excels at plotting. And, of course, he’s awesome when it comes to writing male characters.

So where do I come in? Well, there are those pesky little things called emotions, and then there are those infamous sex scenes. When Randy gives me the first draft there tends to be gaps in the manuscript with little notations like: insert sex scene here, or add emotion here. If there’s one thing hubby does not like to do, it’s write a sex scene!

As for how we manage to work together without killing each other, we’re rarely working on the same manuscript at the same time. When he’s writing the first draft of one of the contemporaries, I’m using usually working on one of my historical romances. Basically, each of us has ownership over the manuscript at any given time. That doesn’t mean we don’t consult each other during the process, but it does mean that we’re not competing against each other as we write. We hand the book back and forth until we think it’s where it needs to be, and then we’re good to go.

A lot of women have said to me that they can’t imagine working with their husbands, so I’m very aware of how blessed I am to have Randy as my writing partner. He’s funny, smart, and a great writer. He also lets me win most of our brainstorming arguments, which is yet another reason why I love him!

To thank Dani and her readers, I’d like to give away two digital copies of the latest book in our Philadelphia Patriots series of sports romances, Curveball!

Taylor Page has never wanted anything but a career in major league baseball. Through talent and guts, she's finally landed a position as Assistant General Manager of the Philadelphia Patriots. But she wants the ultimate prize--General Manager. The only problem is that most men in baseball still don't take a woman exec seriously, especially a thirty-year old blonde with no on-field experience. She needs to do something big to convince her bosses she has what it takes to run a team.

Veteran Pittsburgh outfielder Ryan Locke's career is in jeopardy when a suddenly unreliable throwing arm comes on top of rehab from a major injury. He's had a solid run but he's not a star with a mega-contract. A single parent with a troubled daughter and an alcoholic mother to provide for, retirement is out of the question. Ryan's best hope is for a trade to an American League team as a designated hitter, allowing him several more years of play.

When Taylor needs to find a replacement for an injured first baseman, she comes up with an innovative but risky idea: convince her boss to make a trade for Ryan Locke, and then convince the still talented slugger to play first base for the Patriots. With Ryan dead-set against that plan and both their careers on the line, neither Taylor nor Ryan can afford the explosive physical attraction between them. But despite Taylor's best efforts to resist Ryan's campaign of seduction, she's not sure she's got to willpower to keep from playing along.

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Smashwords |

Check out the Philadelphia Patriots series: 

Click for info.

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 2 lucky winners will win an eBook copy of Curveball

To Enter: 

• Please leave a comment/question for VK Sykes.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

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