Greetings and thank you for hosting my new release Everything’s Better With You, which is an MM sports romance set at a private college in a small Midwestern town. I wrote the book in the fall of 2021 while the lockdown in most of California was just beginning to lift. For the first time in 27 years, I was not going back to school as an educator. I’d taken leave to continue battling my new diabetes diagnosis and some complications from decades of abuse I’d done to my body. My wonderfully supportive husband wanted me to take some time for me since most of my energy had been going toward keeping the household mentally capable of handling crippling anxiety and depression from the lockdown, so I signed up for my brilliant friend Racheal Herron’s course 90 Days to Done. I wanted the accountability to complete a book, and though I had other projects to work on, Everything’s Better With You became my obsession. I needed the comfort and sanctuary of a writing cohort, and I found it and more with my classmates.
You might be wondering what all of that has to do with Ted Lasso, an AppleTV program about an affable American college football coach who is hired by a British Football Club (yeah, soccer) to be their new head coach. Hired, in fact, by a woman scorned who wants to bring down her ex-husband’s beloved team. Ted knows diddly squat about soccer, hates “hot brown water,” and he can’t quite seem to master the different names for things, all of which makes him a bit of a lovable oaf. I got sucked into watching the show because my husband couldn’t keep it to himself. He belly laughed loudly through every episode and then when he started it over again and kept telling me “watch this part watch this part” while I was trying to work, I finally gave in. I’m so glad I did. Now in it’s third and supposed final season, the show has given me so many warm feelings and laughs and tears. I couldn’t not pour all of these into a new book.
Now here’s where the similarities come into play, and I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers since I think it’s definitely worth paying for AppleTV for a month at the least to marathon-watch the show. Ted Lasso, at its core, is a show about personal growth, empathy, and challenging harmful stereotypes. Ted worms his way into everyone’s hearts and while he seems simple, his brand of coaching involves encouraging his players to think differently, feel broadly, and find love in everything that they do. In EBWY, Leslie Payton is not coaching outside of his expertise, but he’s got a philosophy that has served him well in other settings despite being controversial. He expects a lot from his players, but he chooses them based on the three I’s: Inclusion, Innovation, and Integrity, not their personal statistics. Part of this philosophy leads to discussions of how toxic masculinity has damaged the sport and how to make it better. I think Ted would be proud of Leslie’s approach and would fit right in.
You can’t discuss Ted Lasso without mentioning everyone’s favorite grouch, Roy Kent. Roy is at the later stages of his career and struggling with physical ailments from his many years on the field. He’s faced with the dilemma: what am I if I am not playing football? In EBWY, we meet Joe Judd, a cheerleader-turned-professional dancer who is physically broken and trying to keep that smile up and those dancing shoes on as long as possible. Going to Greenvale College to coach is a huge step for him in finding his purpose for the next stage of life. As a former cheerleader/dancer/gymnast/neighborhood daredevil, I, too, suffer from physical damage I inflicted upon myself so this part of the story is particularly close to home for me.
Family is also a big part of Ted Lasso, whether it be found family or the one you’re born into. EBWY examines both of these as well and brings into focus how physical ailments affect those around you and the people you care about. Leslie’s family has kept a pretty big secret from the world regarding his father’s struggles with TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, and CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. This is a tough subject for families who love football and I wanted to address it in a respectful way. My daughter had a TBI seven years ago and it has profoundly impacted our lives. It’s terribly difficult when you want to play the sport/do the activity you love even though it can have lasting negative effects on your life.
All of these elements are wrapped around a swoony love story between two men who have been pining for each other for fifteen years. Now that they are in the same place for the first time in their careers, will they be able to meet on the relationship fifty-yard line? Or are they destined to live out their days wondering what if? I hope you’ll read and enjoy Everything’s Better With You as much as I loved writing it. I also hope you’ll give Ted Lasso a chance. It’s got somuch going for it, so many threads that are woven into a feel-good fuzzy blanket we all need in our lives! Thanks for coming to my Ted Lasso talk haha and Stay Tuned for more…
Everything’s Better With You is a TED LASSO-inspired sports-themed funny romance featuring two guys who’ve pined for each other for 15 years while their careers soared and their bodies fell apart.
Retired quarterback and “nicest guy in the NFL” Leslie Payton met former college cheerleader-turned-reality-show darling Joe Judd fifteen years ago. They spent one magical night…talking. They’ve been pining for each other via text and phone calls ever since while their careers kept them geographically apart. When their alma mater recruits them to reinvigorate a flagging athletic program, Leslie sees his opportunity to finally have Joe close enough to see if their “what if” can become a reality. And the sooner the better before Leslie’s history of Traumatic Brain Injury catches up to him and he’s unable to be a true partner.
Joe has spent their years apart dancing in every gig offered to him, knowing full well the clock is ticking on his body’s ability to continue taking the abuse. Leslie wants forever to start now, and Joe doesn’t have that luxury, though Leslie makes him want things he’s never allowed himself to dream of with anyone else. But a lifetime of only feeling worthwhile for his performance ability makes him doubt whether he could ever be a good coach or enough of a partner for the best man he’s ever known.
As football and cheer coaches, they’re forced to be rivals in public, but behind closed doors, their chemistry is unstoppable. A wager triggers their competitive sides, but the secrets they keep come to light and present them with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Can they finally meet on the relationship 50-yard line and move forward as a team?
Warnings: discussion of past domestic violence that happens off page, not graphic
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Where am I?
Right. Spring Fling weekend. Greenvale College. Go Jackets!
This was the first year he’d returned to his alma mater for this momentous occasion since graduating in 2005. Joe left Ayre Valley, Iowa in his rear view mirror fifteen years ago and his life had been all glitz and glamour ever since. Okay, the minivan he was currently sitting in wasn’t glamorous. He couldn’t even pretend to be an old Hollywood starlet whose leading man lit his cigarettes for him. He’d quit smoking a long time ago, and the way this car reeked, it was a damn good thing he had. Everything else in Joe’s life was glitz and glamour, though.
And pain.
Ugh, the pain.
He turned off the ignition of the Chrysler and listened for the clunk clunk of the engine shutting down. The airport car rental place had given him their last available vehicle and charged him a premium since he’d wrongly assumed Kansas City, Missouri wouldn’t be so packed that he couldn’t land a nice Mustang for the two-hour drive up to Ayre Valley. The woman working the register let him know in no uncertain terms that his thinking was wrong.
The engine clunked once more and a grinding sound emanated from the other side of the dash as if the thing had given up the ghost.
He could relate. His body felt like that when he stopped moving these days.
At 36 years old, Joe had the appearance of a fit man in his twenties. He liked to think he resembled his beloved Porsche at home in West Hollywood rather than this current hunk of junk. Gleaming chrome and a flashy paint job on the outside gave people the impression that he was all power and sleek lines, when in reality, his engine needed an overhaul under the hood, and his shocks and struts had seen better days. He pushed his Porsche to the same limits he pushed his body and both protested loudly. Just like the minivan.
“Time to move before you freeze up like this piece of shit.”
He gritted his teeth and opened the door, feeling his lower back protest. He had to get his feet planted under him just right and push himself to standing, putting the least amount of pressure on his knees. Once he was upright, he arched his back and felt the L5 bulging disc, the torn tendon in his hip, and the stubborn rib that would not stay in place no matter how hard his chiropractor back in Hollywood pounded on it.
He let out a harsh exhale as everything settled into place and then he swung the door closed. It was a chilly April morning and he was glad he’d brought his wool coat and worn his fleece-lined jeans. He was just about to head up the walkway when he heard the rumble of tailpipes and the screeching of…heavy metal?
A ginormous four-by-four truck complete with a rack of lights and a winch mounted on the front grill kicked up gravel as it pulled into the spot next to Joe’s rental. The windows were tinted but he had a feeling he knew exactly who the monstrosity belonged to.
“Well, if it isn’t fancy-pants, twinkle-toes, Dance Machine’s own Joe Judd! I’ll be damned.”
The six-foot-five, long and not-quite-as-lean these days, blond-mulleted, monster-truck madman currently lowering himself gingerly out of the gas-guzzling giant was none other than Leslie Payton. Three-time Super Bowl-winning—now retired—NFL quarterback, championship university football coach, and fellow alum of Greenvale College.
The tremors running through Joe’s body had nothing to do with the temperature. No, this was a reunion long in the making, and now that he was here, he struggled to keep his snarky demeanor front and center.
“You always did know how to make an entrance,” Joe said, shaking his head. He strolled toward the back of his car to greet Les, who already had his hand out, seemingly just as eager.
“And you’re a sight for sore eyes,” Les said, taking Joe’s hand and pulling him in for a back-pounding bro-hug that made Joe’s teeth smack together. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”
Joe couldn’t either, honestly. He’d told himself he’d never come back here after graduation. The fact that he’d returned to the site of the best and most difficult years of his life was due entirely to the sheer amount of respect he held for Barry Payton—Leslie’s older brother and the new president of Greenvale College—and the complicated feelings he had for the man standing before him.
“I’m glad you could make it out. Barry was thrilled when you agreed to arrive early and meet with him.”
Joe raised an eyebrow. “I agreed to come for Spring Fling and the recognition of the cheer squad…am I missing something? Was there another part to the invitation?”
Les stepped back but didn’t let go of Joe’s hand, nor did he remove his other hand from Joe’s shoulder.
“I’ll let him explain it all to you. I’m just glad you’re here. Man, you look good.”
Joe did not miss the fact that Les’s gaze traveled hungrily over Joe’s body. Joe stood a little taller under the appraisal, glad he wasn’t the only one struggling with propriety.
“You just off a show?”
“Uh, yeah. Just finished choreography for the next season of Dance Machine and I’m headed from here to New York for a limited run of West Side Story.”
“When you’re a jet…doo doo doo doo doo,” Les sang, snapping his fingers. He laughed and pounded on Joe’s shoulder again, hard enough to make him stagger. “Oh, sorry, man. That’s great. I loved watching you on that live broadcast. You’ve still got those moves.”
Les’s smile held more wattage than all the lights in Levi Stadium, and Joe felt a blast of heat being the recipient of one of those smiles.
He had a flash of the first time he’d been the recipient of a Leslie Payton smile and how that night changed his life.
He watched my show. Joe fought to hide a triumphant smile.
Whether she’s writing contemporary romance featuring quirky, queer, and relatable characters or diving deep into the supernatural to give readers a shiver, R.L. Merrill loves creating compelling stories that will stay with readers long after closing the book.
Ro writes inclusive romance for the Happily Ever After collective, contributes paranormal hilarity to Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Universe, and pens horror-inspired tales and music reviews for HorrorAddicts.net.
A mom, wife, daughter, and former educator, you can find her rocking out in her Bronco with Great Dane pup Velma, being terrorized by feline twins Dracula and Frankenstein, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more…
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