APOLLYCON 2018 – An Event Recap

Y’all! I am insanely impressed with Apollycon and this was my first year going! I was so nervous to be meeting some of my favorite people on this planet in a new city and with such a large crowd but the staff made it so easy!

Our goal was clear and ready when me and my bestie (BookNerd1107) headed out on Thursday. Y’all I did NOT think I was going to be as excited as I was to be in my nation’s capital but boy… I saw the Pentagon and my mind couldn’t fathom seeing something like that. Now I’m a homebody (ah duh….I READ…A LOT) and having a travel bug is something I’ve wished for but never gotten (#anxietymuch) but having someone explain history and stories of battles that went on when you’re seeing a new city and historical buildings is incredibly humbling.

But on to what you really came here for…the swag, the authors, and the Q&A with Kristen Ashley!

Sponsored by the amazing Tijan, the yellow and grey bags we got not only sported our badge level (Apollyon crew where you at?!) but the donations from publishers was astonishing! With books, and special edition ARC, journals, buttons, bookmarks, and a cute purple beanie I was awed at how MUCH each bag held. Also hello stylish travel bag going forward. Wear that bookgeek merch with pride!

Also included was the queen of Apollycon herself, Jennifer L Armentrout’s latest title The Prophecy with a signed poster for the main character and our model of honor, Mr. Drew Leighty (#swoon).

Also does it make me geeky to love my badge/lanyard and button to an extreme extent? Cause I do! The cute button from LapelYeah is seriously one of my favorite swag items I got the whole time.

Not only did we got the main swag bag, there was a sweet and simple one for the MOVIE PREMIERE (Which I can’t believe existed!) and from the 1001 Dark Nights Sparkler.

Now to those that have never been to a 1001 Dark Nights Sparkler, I must warn you, it is MADNESS! With a handful of their authors waiting at tables, you are handed a card. The goal? Ask each author your question and record the answers. Fully correct cards result in the chance to win a gift card! Not even with the chance to win a gift card, this event was chaotically fun. The mad-dash, shouting of questions, and laughter at outlandish responses put our seemingly idols down to our level of ridiculousness. My questions: Wonder Woman or Catwoman? tough choice, I know, but there were…worse? ones out there. Some poor girl had to ask “hard or soft?”…bless her. My personal fave (and I’m kicking myself for not remembering who answered!) was that someone answered that they wanted Gal Gadot AS Catwoman…..MREOWER! Love it!

Once again our model of honor, Drew, took the opportunity to reveal his horror fan-made movie of Never Hike Alone, a dedication to the Friday the 13th series, to a giggly and hilariously loud crowd of ROMANCE fans on Friday night. Now I, thankfully, am a horror fan and the movie was actually really good. With a small cast, simple plot, and well shot footage, the homage to Jason Voorhees was filled with the right level of jump scares and classic horror-humor (i.e. you’re an idiot…LEAVE THE BACKPACK KYLE!). With an interesting Q&A after the movie about his process and some fun facts about the movie I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this off-topic bonus content.

SATURDAY SIGNING

KRISTEN ASHLEY – The queen of romance in my heart! Ya’ll I originally met her during the 1001 Dark Nights Sparkler (and proceeded to hold back tears witnessing her beauty). Kristen is the living embodiment of loving life, glamorous living, and all around rock chick attitude! With a kick-ass wrap dress and killer cute black pumps, KA graced the floor with her smile and general happiness to be around her fans. I managed to get my Unfinished Hero, Deacon, and our lovely Ollie from the Honey Series signed. So glad my bestie steered me right to her when we walked in cause I was near the front of the line! Can’t wait for the Rock Chick Rendezvous in Cleveland later this year!

Score! I got Ollie and Deacon signed <3 Plus a special ARC I won at the Brunch!

A.L. JACKSON – If you could find the sweetest and most adorable author in the group, Amy would be my first choice! I’m not sure how someone so bright and bubbly can write such deep and heartfelt stories!! I managed to get a few backlist items from her catalog and I can’t wait to add more of her to my reading list. I may be a new fan to Jackson but trust me there is love there!

Sad I didn’t get the title I did want but I’m excited to start some of Jackson’s backlist books!

LAURA KAYE – My gosh..If I could pick one author who I really wanted to pick their brains, it would be Laura. She’s so engaging and makes it a point to let you know she’s listening to you and hears what you say. I love any author who takes the chance to write about characters with disabilities or difficulties that most authors may shy away from. While I didn’t get a chance to thank her for that in person, I KNOW she know show much her fans lover her.

P.S. She did the cutest thing when I walked up offering all of her swag and asking if there where any new titles I needed or missing blacklist books I could buy. I don’t know why that stood out to me but it was like a little shop keeper was talking to me and it was so cute!

Just need the first Raven novella and it’s complete!

One of my TOP reads of 2018!!!

CORINNE MICHAELS – So my dumb butt was so out of sorts that I forgot to ask Corinne for a photo (UGH!) but bonus is I finally got a copy of One Last Time, a 5 star read y’all! Corinne was the smartest author of the bunch as she had a cute table to stand at versus get up and down and she had some of the coolest swag and bookmarks that OF COURSE…AGAIN my dumb butt didn’t grab many of. But at least Corinne is sweet and charming and made it totally worth it!

I now have a complete Hennignton collection signed! I also got an early copy of Cooper’s story…be on the lookout for THAT review!

JAY CROWNOVER – YOU GUYS….I may or may not have been so excited to meet Jay Crownover…whom I love so much that I didn’t gran any swag from her either! Thankfully I DID get selfies with her because what else does one do when you meet Jay…you selfie your life away to the Queen of Bad Boys. Y’all if you think Jay is wacky and crazy and fun on social media, real life Jay is HYSTERICAL. I wish I could be friends with her in real life because I feel like at any moment she could make your day crazy wild fun! I’ll never understand someone who is so fun and lively in person can write such dark and deadly romance. But she says it best…bad boys ARE better. Plus I got Cable early so :p!

My Bad Boy trio! They are always so much more fun.

Hello baby Warner and Cable!

HELENA HUNTING – FINALLY!!!!!!!! Helena is seriously such a badass writer, person, woman #alloftheabove!! The Pucked series upped the game (haha pun!) for me with romances once I found Alex and his teammates. Their outlandish, brazen, RIDICULOUS and sexy! If you haven’t grabbed everything this woman’s written then you need to!

Side Note: Helena…you GAVE me a book….girl….I will cherish Area 51 (pfffftttt that sounds so bad!!!!! #sorrynotsorry)

Choosing which of these to get signed was so hard….but DAMN they thicc!

HH BONUS: I MET RANDY BALLS! Franggy….too cute. So sweet. And he wrote a kiss to me on the cover #SWOON (Sorry to my man…but he understands me and book-boyfriends are unshakeable)

PENNY REID – The Overlord herself! Penny’s style of writing has always stood out to me. There’s not a HUGE focus on the sexy-times (but they are still there my friends). As someone who really enjoys those times I thought that may put me off but NOPE! Her characters are intriguing and her stories are filled with so much imagination. Also, she’s hilarious and quirky and just my type of person. Plus she wins signature of the day with her note to me in MOI.

LIA RILEY – The last author I saw..I of course forgot to get a photo with as well! Lia writes some sweet sports romances that I found through one of my review sites and let me tell you that she won me over with her Hellions! I may be new to her as well but I can’t wait to read more!!!

the haul from B&N Tyson’s Corner!

#BookBeau You know I have to get anything with foxes on it!

The Bookish Box! I won a pin from the wonderful Justine!

Kristen Ashley Q&A Brunch

The AMAZING swag bag from the Brunch featured this beautiful BookBeau and Court of Candles custom candle!

After a wonderful brunch from the hotel (seriously it was DE-LISH!) Jen and Kristen shared their history of romance novel love and dedicated reading from a young age onward. Here as some highlights from Jen’s questions and questions from readers attending:

Kristen’s toughest book to write was Golden Dynasty (part of her Fantasyland series) and she’s so proud of it. Not only the female strength of her character versus the hero’s world but creating a whole language in another world was another challenge for Kristen.

Kristen’s writing process is that she’s an “obsessive pants-er”. She’ll go by the seat of her pants to tell her story and she doesn’t take notes to prep. “The book plays like a movie in my head and its very very hard to shut it down and start tomorrow.” Fun fact: Her cats help her step away from the story and remember to eat.

She LOVES romance. She doesn’t like to watch a television show or read a book that doesn’t have a romantic element. Though she writes contemporary, sometimes danger just happens in her books.

Another Audible exclusive book is coming! The theme will be fantasy!

Chokers. Her heroines wear them for a reason and its a real life experience. Guys, like the Hot Bunch, just like ’em.

She’s been marathoning Altered Carbon (It is SO FRICKIN GOOD TOO!) and Grace and Frankie.

If you haven’t checked out her spread in Eloquii, the brand for curvy women, you should head over to their website and check out their spotlight.

Reader Questions:

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of THE GREATEST RISK <3

What was the inspiration to write Heaven & Hell? Pat Tillman. His story truly affected her.

Have you ever been in a reading rut and what do you do to get out of it? *knocks on wood* She’s never been in one!

How do you do your world building and language creation if you fly by the seat of your pants when you write? She takes notes as she’s writing to remember things and keep track. There’s a separate notebooks “bible” for her fantasy worlds from her contemporary works.

Did you plan to tie in all of your books or did it just happen once and you get doing it? It’s because they are real to her. They carry on living in her head.

You’re a very social author as far as events; have you ever had any interesting or weird reader occurrences? No. She wants everyone to be their own person and she says “Be You” and “Let it all hang out”.

Your characters have a lot more dialogue versus description or plot explanation. Do they talk more to you than show you things? Get ready for there to be more of that. It’s just natural.

Comment from Jen : Kristen has a distinctive voice. SO TRUE!

What did you do in your research for the Honey Series? She had a boyfriend back in the day who was “adventurous”. She saw a whipping at a club like The Honey that transfixed her because it was so beautiful, unbelievably gentle, and intimate. She was fascinated that they had an audience but they completed disappeared for the master and his submissive.

She’s just written an MMF and that was fun to research!

Would you ever consider doing a crossover with anther author? I never say never anymore. Yeah I would; for sure.

How did you pick the small town in Nebraska (for her book Complicated) because that’s where I’m from!? This is gonna seem very weird…I looked up Targets in Nebraska. And found a place close enough where Greta could get to a Target!

Are any of your characters base don real life people? Yes. A lot. Tex from the Rock Chicks Series, she live din Ava’s row house, Jet’s mom is loosely based on her own mother, Bette and Uncle Marsh are her aunt and uncle, Tod and Stevie were he neighbors when she lived in Indy’s house in Denver.

2019 Announcement

Stay updated for next year! Will I see you?

April 13, 2018 0

VIRGIN TERRITORY – A Lia Riley Review, Excerpt Reveal & Giveaway

Lia Riley legit has the cutest twist for a hero I’ve read in a long time. The Hellions Hockey team’s goalie is a hothead. He gruff, tough, and has a short temper to rival most players on the ice. So when it comes time to cool off and find some inner peace, he’s sent to work out his mind alongside Margot with some yoga. But close quarters proves difficult for Patch when the sexy yoga instructor brings out his deepest secret; he’s never scored a goal with a woman.

I loved Patch’s awkward introverted side; he’s not particularly shy but he doesn’t put himself out there for just anyone. The connection between him and Margot sizzles and sparks as her outspoken side pulls at Patch. Add in that Margot is strong female character. She’s not shy about sex or that she has it; nor does she allow others to put her, or women who do enjoy sex, down. I loved that her confidence allowed Patch to feel more and more comfortable with himself and finally taking the chance to experience passion with a woman.

The relationship between the two of them is easy and light. This book is no-nonsense feel good romance. Margot and Patch are sexy and funny all while building a relationship that new and exciting. Where are first couples in the series were love at first sight and love at first hate (hehe!), these two bud beautifully when they finally let go and FEEL with all of their hearts. Add in a touch of mystery from a scumbag in each of their pasts and this quick romance read is an automatic win for romance lovers!

Practice Makes Perfect

Patrick “Patch” Donnelly has what it takes to be the best goalie in the NHL…if only he could learn to control his temper. When Coach orders him to get his head in the game with private yoga classes, Patch isn’t having it. There’s no way this tough Boston guy would be caught dead downward dog-ing his way to inner peace. But if he refuses, he risks his starting position and the dream he sacrificed everything for, including joining the priesthood.

Yoga instructor Margot Kowalski is over men. After yet another toxic relationship, she’s eager to forget love and focus on growing her business. Doing the Hellions head coach a favor by helping out a troubled player can’t hurt, and it might give her career a high-profile boost. But free-spirited Margot is soon charming the pants off Patch. Literally. Her sassy combination of sweet and sexy proves irresistible to the goalie. Before Patch can give into temptation though, he’ll have to confess his biggest secret:

He’s a virgin.

But Patch is hiding more than sexual inexperience, and his dark past soon threatens to destroy his shot at true love.

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Pinspirations!

Check out Lia Riley’s Pinterest board for VIRGIN TERRITORY!

From Virgin Territory by Lia Riley

Margot stood on tiptoe, both hands clutching the front of his t-shirt, and kissed him full on the mouth. Their ragged breaths mingled a moment. He tasted the brown sugar in her lipgloss before she broke free, pressing a quick second kiss to the tip of his nose.

“Go to bed,” she whispered, clearing her throat and stepping back. “And have a great game tomorrow.”

It took every last shred of Patch’s willpower not to close the space again, to consume her. “There’s something else you should know.”

“Shoot.”

“I’m not going to get a lick of sleep if you leave.”

“If I stay, you won’t sleep either,” she shot back, shrugging into her jacket.

“I’ll take those odds.”

She shook her head slowly as if with reluctance. “I’ve got to fold. “Goodnight.”

He took her hand and held it between his own. Her skin was cooler than his. He didn’t like that. He wanted to tuck her against him, warm her up. “Do me a favor and call when you get home. I want to know you got back safe, especially driving on that spare.”

“It’s been a long time since anyone has cared if I got home,” she said with a smile. “Careful, you might be turning into a gentleman.”

“Don’t get carried away. The things that I want to do to you are far from gentlemanly,” he said in a husky tone.

She rocked her head back and unleashed a frustrated moan. “Quit leading me into temptation. I’m trying to respect your virtue here.”

“My virtue can take a long jump off a short fucking bridge.”

“That might be. But . . .if we end up taking that jump. I want it to be special. That’s important. I want you to feel special.”

Blood rushed to his ears. “Funny, I feel the same way about you.”

“Then we’re in agreement and I’m leaving.” A wicked gleam entered her gaze. “But while you wait for my call, slip into something more comfortable.”

“Like?”

“Nothing at all.”

She blew a kiss, pirouetted, and was gone.

From VIRGIN TERRITORY. Used with permission of Avon Impulse. Copyright © 2018 by Lia Riley.

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of VIRGIN TERRITORY, we’re giving away five paperback copies of HEAD COACH by Lia Riley!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. Five winners will each receive a paperback copy of Head Coach by Lia Riley. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 3/18/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

About Lia Riley

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.

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March 6, 2018 0

HEAD COACH – A Lia Riley Review

Oh my. If you’re looking for an irresistibly cute enemies-to-lovers romance read, then Head Coach is your story!

tor has spent months trying to escape the spitfire that is Neve Angel, a sports reporter that gets on his last nerve but also stays on his mind all night. He can’t deny that he’s attracted to her, he just also doesn’t have to like it. Now with Denver hockey in a lockout, he’s got a lot more time on his hands and he can’t get her out of his thoughts.

Neve’s distractingly attracted to Hellions’ coach Tor Gunnar, but being a woman in a male-dominated field has enough issues already. But when push comes to shove and Tor bets her a weekend away, she starts to see beyond the line of professional. He’s disturbingly sweet and now she’s seeing a whole new side to the tough, stone-faced coach. He’s got a sweet spot for his daughter and for making Neve swoon.

As these two have to battle out going from enemies to lovers, they also have to fight their jobs on the line. Can Tor handle the cutthroat world of sports reporting for Neve’s career? Can Neve handle separating her personal life from her work and not risk what could be a future with the hard headed hockey coach? A fast and sexy read for sports romance fans with a perfect tease for the next in the series!

Neve Angel’s life is all work and no play, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. One of Denver’s top sports reporters, she’s fought hard to make it in a male-dominated world, and she won’t back down from a fight with anyone–not even the Hellions’ gruff head coach, Tor Gunnar. Her hostile relationship with the icy Scandinavian is the stuff of local legend.

Tor Gunnar hates dealing with the media; at best, they are a nuisance and at worst, a distraction. And no one distracts him more than the scrappy, sexy reporter who gets him hot under the collar. When he wins a not-so-friendly bet with Neve, he decides it’s high time they either kiss or kill each other, and invites her as a date to an out-of-town wedding.

But what happens when enemies become lovers? Will they be able to smother their sizzling attraction, or is it time to start playing for keeps?

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About Lia Riley

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November 21, 2017 0

MISTER HOCKEY – A Lia Riley Review, Excerpt, Interview, & Giveaway

Breezy lives life in her namesake; running the children’s section of her library and escaping to her romance books was all she needed. But when her sister comes through when her special guest star can’t make it…she walks in with none other than Jed West…Breezy’s all time hockey-star crush. What can only be described as a romantic getaway ensues. And not only can this book win you over but it’ll make your heart burst with pride!

This read went so quickly for me because Jed and Breezy were such a fun duo. Breezy has always been the more introvert of her family except for one area: her hockey team The Hellions. Her love for them knows no bounds and watching her get all flustered around Jed was so stinkin cute! Jed is so sweet and caring with her from the get go and finds himself wanting to have more excuses to spend time with her,

Jed West doesn’t have the typical persona of a professional athlete but alas the life of the captain is hellish. He’s charming and handsome alright but when he meets Breezy he’s able to drop the persona and just be Jed, the man. She’s not in to him for his fame and he’s finally able to let down his guard. And the sparks between them ignite a fire he’s more than ready to burn in.

Ugh…a whirlwind romance filled with passion, humor and some crazy hot hockey players! So sexy! Hope there’s more of these Hellions!

Her biggest fantasy is about to become a reality. . .

Jed West is Mr. Hockey. The captain of the NHL’s latest winning team, the Denver Hellions—and the hottest player on the ice—at least according to every magazine. .and Breezy Angel. Breezy has been drooling over Jed at games for years, and he plays a starring role in her most toe-curling fantasies. But dirty dreams don’t come true, right?

Then Jed saunters through the doors of her library, a last minute special guest for a summer reading event, and not only is he drop dead gorgeous up close, his personality is straight up swoon-worthy. He even comes to the rescue when she has an R-rated “Super Book Worm” costume malfunction. But when he mistakenly assumes she’s more into books than pucks, she’s too flustered to correct his mistake. And then comes a big kiss, followed by a teensy-tiny problem. Jed’s dating policy is simple: Never date a fan.

So what’s a fangirl going to have to do to convince her ultimate crush that he’s become less of a perfect fantasy, and more like the perfect man. . .for her?

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Rafflecopter Giveaway for one of three print copies of MISTER HOCKEY

Jed West’s stomach curdled faster than overheated hollandaise sauce as he squinted at the menu for Zachary’s, Denver’s most popular all-day breakfast hangout. Ghost-like shadows haunted the specials list, blurring the descriptions for peanut butter French toast, country fried steak benedict and sweet potato pancakes. Ah, shit. Not fucking now. There went the prices too–the dollar signs and numbers blurring until barely legible.

No point blinking. He knew the drill. Jaw tight, he reached for his orange juice, took a swig and waited. Short bouts of double vision had dogged him ever since Game Seven, the pattern the same. After a minute or two, his focus would snap back to normal as if nothing had happened. Until then, he needed to follow one of coach’s favorite axioms: “Suck it up, Buttercup.”

Who cared about the damn menu anyway? He pushed it to one side, having already ordered the “Manwich”, chorizo and eggs smashed between a jalapeno cheddar biscuit–the kind of breakfast that wanted to kill you in the best kind of ways–and crunched ice. Too bad the cubes didn’t pass on their chill, because this. . .situation for lack of a better word, was getting under his skin and it shouldn’t.

No–Scratch that. It couldn’t.

Unexplained double vision wasn’t a walk in the park, but facts were facts. And the ugly truth was that if he didn’t quit batting his lashes like Scarlett O’Hara with a fly in her skirt, The Post’s toughest sports columnist would glance up from across the table, mistake his tic for a cheesedick wink, and go Lord of the Flies on his nut sack.

At least for the moment, Neve Angel was occupied. She hunched over her digital voice recorder, dark bangs obscuring her sharp gaze as she fiddled with the control settings. Her lips moved to the upbeat Buddy Holly song piping over the sound system while she plucked a mic from her messenger bag. His vision came back online in time for him to read the orange button pinned to the front.

Had a Ball at The Rock Creek Testicle Festival.

Christ, looked to be an authentic souvenir too.

Slamming his knees together, he forced a grin, the one that had potential endorsements lined up around the block, eager for him to shill everything from vitamin infused coconut water to shaving cream. He unwrapped the paper napkin from around the fork and knife, and began tearing the corner into neat strips.

No doubt the eye thing was fatigue-related, an inevitable toll from the grueling NHL season and subsequent hard-fought playoffs. Everything would be all right in the end. If it wasn’t all right, it wasn’t the end.

“You plan on telling me what’s up with Mount Napkin Shreds?” Neve leaned her elbows on the recycled wood tabletop, a signal they were shifting into interview mode. Her brows arched beneath her thick-cut bangs. “Nervous about being in the hot seat, princess?”

“Yeah, terrified,” he answered laconically, not missing a beat. Hiding his true feelings behind a mask of confidence was a reflex; it came with the territory of having the “C” stitched on the front of his jersey. A good captain never showed fear to an opponent. “A jackal’s bark is worse then it’s bite.”

“Jackal? Don’t tell me you’re using Gunnarisms now.” She rolled her eyes. “And I’d so wanted to enjoy my bagel without gagging.”

The Hellions Head Coach, Tor Gunnar, had a reputation for dismissing the press as “jackals.” He fostered a tense relationship with journalists, in particular, the tiny woman sitting opposite. Neve had run a piece on his divorce a few years ago. He retaliated by refusing to call on her during press conferences. Neve hit back with increasingly critical op-eds. Their mutual enmity had devolved to the stuff of local legend.

A la Twitter style, please describe your book in 140 characters or less.

Curvy, nerdy librarian gets a chance to score with her fantasy crush, the captain of the Denver hockey team.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I really enjoyed two things about writing this book: Breezy Angel and Jed West. I have always loved the trope about the so-called “ordinary” person who falls for a celebrity who in turn views them as nothing short of “extraordinary.” Probably one of the reason that Notting Hill is one of my all-time favorite movies. I wanted Jed to be alpha in the bedroom and obviously an amazingly talented athlete, but I didn’t want to right him as a one-dimensional “bro.” Instead, I wanted him to be a good guy, someone supportive of team mates and his woman. A natural leader who thrives by building up those around him, most importantly his lady. And as for Breezy, I wanted to write a woman who wasn’t drop-dead model perfect. I don’t know women like that in real life, and I want to see people in line around me at the grocery store get a chance to have their own swoony, earth-shattering happy ever after moments too!

Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

I am so excited for readers to get their hands on Book Two in the Hellions Angels series. Head Coach is coming out on November 21^st and features (wait for it) Hellions Head Coach, Tor Gunnar and his enemies-to-lovers relationship with determined sports journalist Neve Campbell. There is hate kissing, a bet over a game of air hockey and a fake date to a wedding. Also, it’s one of the sexiest books I’ve ever written.

And don’t forget about Virgin Territory about the team goalie who is not only an almost-priest who was kicked out of seminary school, but also has a reputation for brawling. Plus he may or may not be a virgin hero.

If you had a theme song, what would it be?

Don’t Stop Believing by Journey…because I’m mostly an optimist, plus I would take immense satisfaction creating ear worms every where I went.

If you had to title your own life what would it be and why?

Did I Leave the Stovetop On?: A Lia Riley Story

Top Five Sexy Hockey Players

By Lia Riley

We all know hockey players are hot as puck. Here are five NHL players I’d love to have a face off with, and by face off I mean stare at and drool over. Who are your favorite hockey gods? Tell me in the comments, bonus point if you link to a pic J

In no particular order because all get two solid thumbs up:

Sidney Crosby, Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Crosby). He has boyish good looks and Tom Hardy lips, can’t ask for more than that!
K Subban, Defenceman for the Nashville Predators (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._K._Subban). His eyes could melt ice, plus he won Olympic gold in 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Joffrey Lupul, Left winger for Toronto Maple Leafs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joffrey_Lupul). He likes to play the guitar too, so not only is he pretty, he can also croon you a love song. Plus that jaw bone could cut glass.
Tyler Seguin, Center for the Dallas Stars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Seguin) Three words: Full. Sleeved. Tattoos. (nuff said)
Darnell Nurse, Defenceman for the Edmonton Oilers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darnell_Nurse). Not only is he 6’3 of pure yum, he also roots for his sister who plays basketball for Team Canada. That makes him a hero in my book!

CONNECT WITH LIA

After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments.