Writing a Stocking Stuffer
When I was asked to write a holiday short for my publisher’s Stocking Stuffer series, I was a bit flummoxed. Most of the holiday shorts I had read were romantic bits of fantasy, usually revolving around a wedding or having a wish for true love granted. Since I write short stories and flash fiction about lawyers in love, with a dash of kink, I struggled to find a holiday connection.
I found it in football. Admittedly, I am a football fanatic. I was born and will die a Packers fan. I am a proud armchair quarterback who is planted in front of the TV for every game. And football is played during the holiday season, right? Often on the holidays themselves. So I had the elements of a story: Lawyers, football, romance. Now I just had to work that into a credible story. But something was missing. I needed a thread to weave it all together. So I pondered and I waited, and then I pondered some more.
One day, as I was scrolling through the news online, a story about the NFL’s concussion protocol caught my eye. And suddenly, I had my story. How about a romance between a lawyer and a football player? No make that a football player with a concussion. Better yet, a football player who was a part-time law student who was forced to make a choice–between football and the law, and yes, between football and a woman?
The story that evolved focused on the risks football players take while entertaining millions. Sure the rewards—the money, the adulation and fame—are great. But multiple concussions have been proven to have a long-term impact and it’s a negative one. And for a lawyer, that impact could effectively destroy a career before it even got off the ground. That’s the dilemma that faces NFL running back Tim Wheezer Douglas. While on leave from the game, recovering from his second concussion, he meets young lawyer Laura Adler and falls in love. Suddenly, the decisions he must make take on even greater weight.
I am going to stop there, because I don’t want to reveal the end of the story. Suffice to say that falling in love changes your outlook on a lot of things, especially your future and the path you choose to get there. I do hope you enjoy my holiday short story, A Touchdown To Remember, coming December 7 from eXtasy Books.
Best wishes for a joyful holiday season!
A Touchdown To Remember
It takes more than a hard knock on the head to keep running back Tim Wheezer Douglas down. When life pelts him with the proverbial lemon—a career-threatening concussion—he simply runs the other way, right into the arms of litigator Laura Adler.
When a second concussion sidelines Milwaukee Greyhound running back Tim Douglas, the rest of his life continues full-speed ahead. A some-time law student, Tim is faced with a classic Catch 22: Whether to continue to play football and risk a third and possibly life-altering concussion or quit the game altogether to pursue a career as a sports agent. He loves the game, but his priorities change when he meets Laura Adler, a sassy, sexy young attorney and rabid Greys fan. Their sizzling romp of a romance turns serious and Laura demands that he make a decision about football before she accepts his marriage proposal. Will Tim choose football or the law, and what role will Laura play in his future?
Excerpt:
When the band played its last song, Laura and Tim stopped dancing and Tim kissed her forehead, leaning into her. “Not sure where we are headed from here, babe, but I am quite sure we are going somewhere.” He smiled at her, his eyes lit with what appeared to be lust. “I think I’m falling…”
Laura interrupted him. “Tim, I really don’t have time for a relationship and neither do you. You’re right in the middle of the season. And I don’t do one-nighters.”
Tim pulled Laura toward him and settled his lips over hers. His kiss was gentle at first, then became more urgent. He cupped her chin and pulled her more firmly against him, his tongue probing, then dancing in her mouth.
As Laura was pulled into the passionate kiss, she felt her resistance melting away. Her loins were heating and her heart was pounding. I want this man, naked and primed to please. Wait. No way. I am not going there. Abruptly, she pulled away.
Still holding her in his arms, Tim studied her. “You don’t wait until the time is right for relationships, Laura. You make the time when the right relationship presents itself. I am willing to make time for you. Are you willing to make time for me?”
Available December 7 from www.extasybooks.com and all major booksellers.
About Seelie Kay
Seelie Kay writes about lawyers in love, with a dash of kink.
The writer, editor, and author has more than 30 years of experience in law, journalism, marketing, and public relations. Writing under a nom de plume, Ms. Kay’s wicked pen and overly inquisitive mind has resulted in six works of fiction, five of which are scheduled for release in 2017, including Kinky Briefs (2/24), Kinky Briefs, Too (6/2), The Garage Dweller (7/8), Kinky Briefs, Thrice (9/8), and a to-be-published holiday short, A Touchdown to Remember. This year, Kay also contributed to a romance anthology, Pieces of Us (11/24), which was released by The Nu Romantics. Kinky Briefs, Quatro will be released early next year.
When not spinning her kinky tales, Ms. Kay ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. She has also written for such publications as the Minneapolis Star, Kenosha News, Twin Cities Magazine, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Illinois Legal Times, Wisconsin Opinions and the Wisconsin Law Journal.
A graduate of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and St. Louis University School of Law, Ms. Kay also attended Northwestern University. She has been admitted to the bar in Wisconsin and Missouri.
Ms. Kay resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she shares a home with her son and enjoys opera, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.
She is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!
Links:
www.seeliekay.com
www.seeliekay.blogspot.com
Twitter: @SeelieKay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seelie.kay.77
