A warm love bytes welcome to author Layla Reyne joining us today to talk about new release “Relay”, book 1 in the Changing Lane series.
Layla talks to us about research and there is a giveaway to participate in!
Welcome Layla 🙂
Researching for Relay
Changing Lanes is a contemporary sports romance duology following four swimmers as they train for and compete in the Olympics. In particular, Relay’s Alex and Dane, and Medley’s Bas and Jacob, make-up the four-man medley-relay squad for USA Swimming.
Researching for Changing Lanes was actually a rather organic and fun process. I’m lucky to have several close friends who swam competitively up through college, so I started with them. We chatted in depth about the story I was planning, hot button issues within the sport, and behind the scenes stuff only swimmers who’d been in the locker room would know. I wanted readers to feel immersed with the team, and some of those bits about hose fights on deck, snapping biceps, and the ever present chlorine smell are from swimmers who have been there.
That foundation laid, I did the more traditional research. Reading up on the issue that’s addressed toward the end of Relay, getting the technical aspects right (stroke order varies between individual medley and medley relay), watching medley-relay footage from past Olympics, and learning about some of the training techniques, especially for a relay in water versus a relay on land.
Finally, for filling out the settings of Relay, I fell down the Pinterest black hole finding pictures of the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and the aquatic facility in San Antonio, which was actually a training site for the 2016 Swim Team. There are lots of pictures out there, of both facilities, so it was pretty easy to block out scenes and get a real sense of place. I hope readers will feel the same!
Welcome to the RELAY Blog Tour, presented by Layla Reyne and Riptide Publishing! RELAY, by Layla Reyne, is Book 1 of the Changing Lanes sports romance series featuring Olympic swimmers. RELAY is 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!
About Relay
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.
Available now from Riptide Publishing!
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.
About Layla Reyne
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.
Social Media:
Website: http://laylareyne.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/laylareyne
FB Profile: www.facebook.com/laylareynebooks
FB Fan Page: www.facebook.com/laylareyne
FB Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216903272072959/
Tumblr: laylareyne.tumblr.com
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/laylareyne
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/laylareyne
Amazon: amazon.com/author/laylareyne
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bN9ncH
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!
Researching for a book sounds like a lot of work, but I am sure the result is worth it. Congratulations on the release, and thank you for the interesting post.
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
Read and loved it! I can’t wait for the next book!
kathleenpower at comcast dot net
Congrats on the new release! I look forward to it.
serena91291@gmail(dot)com
Congrats again and thank you for giving us some insight into the background work for the books.
kragthang AT aim DOT com
Congrats on the book. Doing research sounds like it can be a lot of work but in this case at least you had some friends with first experience.
heath0043 at gmail dot com
Congrats on the new book release!
pippirose59 at gmail dot com
Sounds good!
jlshannon74 at gmail.com
You never fail to write well-researched stories. Great job! *thumbs up*
mushyvince(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you for the post. Research can be fun and/or taxing. I’m glad it was something that benefited the book and was interesting for you.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
sounds like an immersive experience doing all that research!
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
I’m always fascinated by the timing in relay–how in the world do guys not bash into each other coming in and out of the lane?
vitajex(at)Aol(Dot)com
I really enjoyed reading the guest post, thank you!
nikolina1812 @ yahoo.com
Sounds good to me! Thanks!!
LOL – “I fell down the Pinterest black hole…” I have been down that hole many times too. Congrats on the new release! And thanks so much for the giveaway. [email protected]
I would like to read this book.
Kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom
Congrats, Layla, and thanks for the post. I love swimming & diving as well as 2nd chances. It sounds like both were dealt with authentically, making for a good story. – Purple Reader,
TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
Thank you all, and thank you Love Bytes for always being a gracious host <3