Love By Design

Journalist Samantha Jameson always wanted to be one of the boys, but Ryan Terell won’t let her join the club. Fresh from the battlegrounds of Iraq, reporting on a bunch of overgrown boys playing pro football is just the change of scenery she needs. If trying to be taken seriously in the world of sports writing wasn’t hard enough, Ryan, her college crush, is only making it harder. As a tight-end for the team she’s covering, he is strictly off limits.    
     Ryan Terell is a playmaker on and off the field, but when Samantha uncovers his moves, he throws out the playbook. Just as he claims his sweetest victory, Samantha’s investigation into a steroid scandal involving his team forces him to call a time-out to their off the record trysts. But then a life threatening injury on the field will force them both to decide just how far they’ll go to win the game.      

Winner of the NECRWA First Kiss Contest
 

Pro football player Jake Miller’s game plan for winning back supermodel Hannah Hahn is play action in the bedroom. Once he sees beyond the swimsuits and lingerie, feelings of love blindside him, changing the rules of the game.

Hannah owns the runway, but that success came with a price and a secret that’s kept her from trusting a man until Jake crashes through her defenses.

The paparazzi love the beauty and the beast couple but the tabloid rumors turn ugly and test the fragile trust between them. Then Hannah loses an ad campaign to fashion’s new ‘it’ girl. Her desperate reaction will cause Jake to challenge everything she’s ever believed about herself

Brett Wallace is no average guy. Forced to retire from the NFL after an injury-and suddenly single after being dumped by his status-conscious wife-he's returned to his hometown to coach the varsity football team. Wary of women interested only in his celebrity, Brett finds Chris's indifference to his former career refreshing.

The last thing Chris needs is to get involved with another pro athlete, but she can't deny the sparks that fly between them. So she agrees to a purely physical, no-strings-attached affair. But the rules of the game change when she falls for him…

Baseball reporter Maddie Leclair has spent years chasing her dream job—covering the major league team, the Philadelphia Patriots. Now that she’s landed the assignment she intends to make it big, with feature articles on the front page of every sports section in the country. But to do that, she needs to score an interview with the most private and elusive athlete in baseball, Patriots’ superstar Jake Miller.

On the rebound from a devastating injury that knocked him out of play for a season, Jake has a lot to prove to the suits in the front office. He’s sure he still has what it takes to win, and he’ll be damned if he lets anything get in the way of his climb back to the top.

The last thing Jake needs is a pushy female reporter distracting him. But one look at Maddie and he knows he’s in trouble. He finds himself trying for a different kind of play, one that involves bedrooms and not baseball stats. Sleeping together could damage both their careers, and Maddie is all about saying no. But when it comes to the game of love, Jake is playing to win.

A prequel to Hardball, by VK Sykes

“A story that is well told, characters that are engaging, a novel that is vastly entertaining, and one that is well-worth the time to read. I give it a rating of 4.5 out of 5.” --Desert Island Keepers on Hardball

“This book has kept my attention from the start and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. It was great and I really hope to read more of this writing couple in the near future.”
--Natasja’s Book Blog on Hardball

What plays in Vegas, stays in Vegas. At least Sadie Bligh hopes so. A geeky math professor from Chicago, Sadie is on a mission to change her life. Her career has stalled and her social life is non-existent, so she’s hoping a wild week in Sin City will be just the thing to break her out of her rut.

But Sadie’s first night in Vegas involves an unfortunate run-in with a mojito and a poker table, drawing the attention of the casino’s deputy chief of security. Nick Saxon thinks Sadie’s a problem, but she thinks he’s incredibly sexy. Since she’s come to Vegas to let loose, Nick just might fit the bill.

With a boss who hates his guts, Nick has enough to worry about without the bundle of mayhem and trouble called Sadie Bligh. But Sadie is also funny and smart, and the sexual energy between them could light up the Vegas strip. Unfortunately, when she’s fingered for counting cards at the blackjack table, it’s up to Nick to rein her in or risk losing his job.

Sports journalist Martha Winston loves her career, but her life goes sideways when she inherits a pro soccer team from her father. The team is almost bankrupt and on the skids, but Martha has vowed to save her beloved father’s legacy. But she needs to get a financial infusion fast, or else lose the team to the wolves baying at her door.

Former British soccer hero Tony Branch wants to add Martha’s team to his growing sports empire. But he wants it strictly on his terms—full control, not a partnership. When Martha turns him down flat, he’s determined to change her mind by any means necessary. If that includes using the sexual heat flaring between them, Tony is more than willing to play a game of seduction.

Sportscaster ‘Plain Jane’ Alexander was a late bloomer. Back in the day, she blended into the background, content to watch from the sidelines while Grayson Pierce soaked up the spotlight. Content until he broke her heart. Bitter, hurt and angry Jane did the college thing, came out of her shell, and never looked back.

Grayson loves baseball. It was his pastime in high school, his passion in college, and now … his career. However baseball isn’t the only thing in Grayson’s heart. The problem is that Grayson has the reputation as a bad-boy. He likes fast cars and loose women and expensive liquor. All things that make him deplorable in Jane’s eyes, throw in his hot and cold attitude and she is ready to scream. When the promise of an exclusive interview brings a very reluctant Jane to Grayson’s home, she realizes that not everything is as it appears.

“Author Morgan Kearns does it again … In It To Win It will fast become a ‘keeper book’ for any romance reader.” –Kari Thomas, author of Spell-Kissed

After years of hard work and keeping her nose firmly to the grindstone, Dr. Holly Bell has finally achieved her dream: a position as a pediatric surgeon at a prestigious teaching hospital. Children’s lives rest in her skilled hands. That means total dedication to her work and her patients without letting anything or anyone get in the way. And a hot affair with a superstar athlete is most definitely getting in Holly’s way.

Nate Carter, star pitcher for the Philadelphia Patriots, has the world in the palm of his baseball glove. He’s at the height of his game, a west coast team is about to lure him with even greater riches, and the most gorgeous women in town are in full pursuit. Nate has everything he wants, or at least he thinks he does, until he meets the beautiful and brainy Dr. Holly Bell. He’s totally up for a hot affair, and Holly turns out to be the hottest.

But will Holly be willing to play his game? When the lovely doctor starts changing the rules, Nate realizes he just might be playing for keeps.

Torrey Green once had a promising golf career, now she's stuck caddying for butt-pinching businessmen. She doesn't mind playing dumb while hauling clubs if it means she can get her golf career back on track, and she's going to need an influx of cash to focus on the pro circuit. A booking from video game mogul Julian Grant could be Torrey's cash-flow solution.

In town for a business deal, Julian's partners plan for a little action on the greens. They're looking for some fun with their rent-a-caddy girls and have a lot riding on who can score, on the course and off. This type of gamble isn't Julian's style, but he'll do whatever it takes to keep his partners happy-even if that includes breaking a few hearts along the way.

Julian soon discovers that Torrey is more than just a caddy girl, and they spark an intriguing attraction-but if Torrey discovers the truth behind his foolish wager, all bets are off…

72,000 words