Release Tour incl Interview & Excerpt: Your Pace or Mine by Kim Stephenson
True love is a marathon, not a sprint.
What inspired you to write this book?
I was out on a run when the idea first formed. I was training for a marathon, and I’d been reading a lot of sports romance books, and it just sort of struck me that despite the boom in running, we still don’t see a lot of books about runners. I complained about it to my coach a bit and thought that was it, but the idea wouldn’t leave me alone. Then Jamie and Darius just kind of arrived in my head one day when I sat down to write, and it all went from there.
Did one of the characters speak to you louder than the other?
No, actually. I probably have more in common with Jamie as a former actor myself (and very much not a professional athlete), but I wrote Darius first so maybe he was clearer in the initial stages. Honestly, it feels like they’ve both always been very distinctive and loud to me!
If a reader has never tried your work, where do you recommend they start?
I have a prequel novella called Soft Landings that is available for free to newsletter subscribers. I’d probably recommend starting there, as it gives a glimpse into the world of the series, but Your Pace or Mine also works very much as a standalone.
Do you read in the same genre you write? Do you have any favorite series or books?
I do! I read pretty voraciously and across a range of genres, but especially MM romance, and sports romance in particular. It’s incredibly hard to pick a favourite series. I love Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series, Lily Mayne’s Goliaths of Wrestling (and Monstrous, obviously) and Jax Calder’s Unlikely Dilemmas.
My main comfort reads right now are Cat Sebastian’s You Should be so Lucky, Casey McQuiston’s The Pairing and Alexis Hall’s 10 Things That Never Happened.
How do you decide what to read next?
I’m 100% a mood reader, I always have an absurdly long tbr but also love re-reading old favourites. I just go with whatever feels right on the day and often have several books going at once.
Length: 80,000 words Series: Running for the Romance, Book 1 (can be standalone) Prior Reading: n/a Genre: contemporary, sports Tropes: Fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, class difference, sports Trigger/Content Warnings: Reference to coercive sex (not between MCs) Designer: 100Covers
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It wasn’t that Darius was in the closet, per se. Everyone in his life, everyone that mattered, knew. Which, fine, amounted to like three people he actually liked, and his father. He just firmly believed that his personal life shouldn’t have any bearing on his professional life, and he knew it would if he came out.
It was different for Darius, he didn’t just have the usual sporting press to deal with like his contemporaries. His title and the Ethiopian heritage he’d inherited from his grandmother had long made him the aristocracy’s favourite piece of diversity window dressing. Far more approachable than his father, he was easy to parade out when appearances demanded it, making his life fodder for the tabloids—and British tabloids could be fucking vicious. One minute they loved you, the next they would tear you apart for clicks. His family had learned a long time ago that keeping everything under wraps was essential to survival. It was safer for him to keep his private life, well, private.
Liking dick didn’t make him a better or worse runner, so why the fuck should it matter, anyway?
Jackson didn’t understand what it was like to be under the level of scrutiny Darius was under. To carry the weight of expectations Darius had on his shoulders.
Jackson rolled his eyes. “Oh no, someone might realise you’re not an aristocratic clone and have actual human feelings and desires.”
“You’re a terrible friend.”
“I’m a great friend,” Jackson replied. “Which is why I’m going to drag you kicking and screaming to that training clinic.”
“I don’t need to do it. I have the fastest times of anyone. I’m not going to be the one who gets cut. Anders could never justify it.”
Jackson’s grin fell. “Thanks for the reminder, mate.”
“Fuck. You know I didn’t mean to imply…”
“It is what it is. I know I’m at risk, right? Especially with Elliot Owens in contention,” Jackson shrugged.
Darius grimaced. “Yeah, but Owens is a dick.”
“A dick that’s been training with Anders for nearly three years now and can pretty much match me stride-for-stride,” Jackson replied. “I had that DNF too, in Boston,” Jackson reminded him glumly.
Darius winced. He wasn’t wrong. “A DNF just means you’re a smart runner—you know what they say DNF stands for…”
“Did Nothing Foolish,” Jackson finished the sentence in unison with Darius, reciting a line Ellison had drilled into their heads. “You’ve never had one, though,” Jackson groused. “Yes, but I’m a robot, remember?” Darius laughed. “Or sorry, an aristocratic clone.”
Kim Stephenson is a UK based author with a love for running and romance. When not writing you can find them hitting the local pavements and trails chasing PB’s and HEA’s. @runningfortheromance (ig) Kimstephensonauthor.com
