It started with K-Pop by Laura Hunsaker

Hi Everyone! I wanted to write about physical media today. I have gotten back into CDs, and if you follow me on Threads or Twitter, you'll already know that. I definitely need a shelf or CD holder now! 

It started with K-Pop...

My daughters have been fans for years, but one of the coolest things about K-Pop has been seeing the physical albums make a comeback. I didn't quite get it, at first but the same CD/Album will have many different versions. I kept thinking, "Why does she need two of the same CD?" Readers, it's not just about the actual CD. It's about all the fun things that come inside the album. The photo cards, the posters, the stickers, the post cards, the extras. Each one is a different experience. It's so fun and cute! And now that I'm a huge fan, I've joined in.

What that has done for me, is now I want more CDs. I come from the time we had CD holders on our car visor, however, in this time of Apple Car Play, my car no longer has a CD player. So I bought one for my Nightstand.

I think I really enjoy just popping in a CD and hearing the album. No worrying about my phone battery life, or the AirPods not connecting, or whatever other "back in my day" type of complaint I can make. I think I'm going to go low-tech with Blu Rays again too. I think I want to own my media again. Which, this of course brought me back to books. 

I love ebooks. I don't have to store them, I get instant gratification when I want the books, and a Kindle or my phone are just easier on my hands than a physical copy. But not all ebooks have a paperback option, either. That being said, I don't love how now when I purchase an ebook, it tells me that I'm only purchasing the license to read the book, I don't own it.

But also, I don't have the space for a full library (isn't that the dream?). So how do you decide which books you buy the physical copies of, and which books you don't? And how do you feel about movies/music/books? Does it matter to you which format you own?

My cute little CD player-it lights up, connects to Blue Tooth, headphones, all that jazz. And it has a good speaker! link here, in case you want to twin with me! 

And while many of my books do not have physical copies, the Hockey series I write as Kenzie MacLir does! Here's a link to all 3 of the books we've written so far (new one coming out soon!)

Kenzie MacLir The New York Empires

The Book Signing Was A Success! by Laura Hunsaker

 My local library held a book signing last weekend and it was a roaring success! 

I've attended a few of these Local Author Showcases and they are always so well done.

I have such a supportive library here in town, and I couldn't ask for a better community!

I sat next to a friend of mine, author Katie Salidas, who writes Urban Fantasy with a hint of Romance. The two of us always try to sit together because our books complement each other pretty well.

Here we are being cute :)

One thing I focused on with this event was my Hockey Romance written under the pen name Kenzie MacLir. While my team (Go Knights Go!) may be out of the running for the Stanley Cup, we can still enjoy hockey! If you haven't read The New York Empires series, you really should. It's slightly paranormal, fully romantic, and so much fun!

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There are 3 authors per book, and I'm Kenzie MacLir in this collection. I have a co-writer (Heather Lire) for all things Empires, and we are deep in the middle of a new anthology. Heather's and my story is called Breaking The Ice and it starts with a charity bachelor auction. You guys, this series is so fun! Each author has a story that surrounds this charity auction, and while you can read each as a stand-alone story, it definitely is more fun to get the whole event through each of our characters' points of view.

Hopefully you'll check out our hockey team The New York Empires, and I hope to see you at my next book signing!

Spring Fever, Hay Fever...Werewolf Fever? by Laura Hunsaker

 I have an urgent matter that must be brought to our attention! 

Spring has sprung and if you're like me, that means you're suffering from hay fever. I'm also suffering from spring fever after coming off spring break where I live. With all of that in mind, I have to know your thoughts:

 If you're allergic to dogs, would you be allergic to werewolves?

I saw an Instagram reel (linked here) and it was a woman asking an allergist if people can be allergic to werewolves in their human form. He's such a good sport and takes it seriously and professionally stating that yes, you'd probably be allergic to his human form. He goes into the whys and I loved his response. 

When we read fiction, especially Paranormal Romance, we suspend belief. So obviously our heroine isn't going to be allergic to our hero...but I kind of want to write a book where the heroine sneezes every time she's around him and can't figure out why because werewolves don't exist, of course. But how fun would that plot be? And when they finally realize that he's a werewolf, and she's allergic to dogs, so apparently she's also allergic to wolves, and therefore werewolves, they buy him special shampoo and she takes her Zyrtec and they can live happily ever after!

Obviously I'm being a bit dramatic, but I do think it could work. I co-write a hockey romance series with Heather Lire. Together we are Kenzie MacLir. We write a slightly paranormal hockey series, and our latest hero is a werewolf. Maybe his love interest needs to have a wolf allergy? ;)

So tell me your thoughts! Do you think you'd be allergic to werewolves if they existed? Or should be suspend belief and pretend that wouldn't happen? 

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The New York Empires hockey team is ready for you!

Each book has 3 novellas inside, and they all take place on the same team and during the same main event.

In the latest book, ROUGHING IT, my story is called AGAINST THE BOARDS, and well look at that. Werewolves. ;)

Against the Boards by Kenzie MacLir

Kyle Sandberg is living his best life. He’s one of the top hockey players in the world. Has two amazing best friends and all the sarcastic hockey t-shirts he could wear. After his own family turns their backs on him, he’s happy playing for the Empires and hanging out with his own found family. What he doesn’t want is his pain in the ass twin brother back in his life or a mate.

When paramedic Faith Church left Puerto Rico for New York, she had zero intentions of getting involved in the local pack. Having had her fill of pack politics, she was ready to go lone wolf. But being left alone was too much to ask when her cousin was the Alpha’s mate.

What neither was counting on was Fate, having her own plans for them. A chance encounter at a traffic accident changes everything. Kyle and his wolf are willing to go with Fate’s plans. But Faith, having finally broken away from her pack’s expectations wants nothing to do with Fate, or Kyle. Too bad her wolf disagrees…

Hockey, Romance, and Werewolves by Laura Hunsaker

 A few years ago, a friend of mine had a fun book idea, but it wasn't her normal genre, it was more in my wheelhouse. She proposed that we write it together. I had just had a baby and my writing mojo was gone. There was zero room in my brain for anything other than babies and keeping the other children alive. I mean, my brain was in mommy mode, not writer mode. And yet...the ideas started percolating.

Middle of the night feedings...story ideas. Kids were at school and baby was napping...plot bunnies bounced around in my mind. So I called her back, and we plotted. Neither of us really thought it would go anywhere, but we wanted it on paper anyway. It's a Scottish Time Travel and we named ourselves Kenzie MacLir. We got about halfway through a novel when another project fell into our laps. And it was nothing like what we were writing with the exception of the fact that it had paranormal elements.

But this was hockey, how paranormal could we get? Oh reader, this series is amazing. The New York Empires hockey team has some pretty interesting players on it. There are werewolves, psychics, ice gods, and so many other fun magical hockey players. But it's very "paranormal lite" as in the world is our world, the magic and "para" part of the paranormal aren't overpowering. I really feel like if you love Paranormal Romance, you'll love this, and if you don't love Paranormal Romance, that this series is not super intense with the PNR world-building so you can still enjoy it, even if PNR isn't your jam.

With all of that being said, the Stanley Cup has been won, not by my team (Go Knights!), and sadly not by the New York Empires...yet. So if you're already having hockey withdrawal after a couple of days without hockey, might I suggest a Hockey Romance? And if you've never read a Hockey Romance, I'd highly recommend the New York Empires series. Each book is an anthology. It has 3 stories, and each can be read alone, or binged as a fun novella series. Trust me, even if you aren't a hockey fan, this series is just really fun. My Laura Hunsaker books tend to be a bit more serious and even a bit darker. The New York Empires is where I get to have fun.

We are all hard at work writing something new and exciting, and based off of something that one of our hockey teams did this year. It's gonna be great! In the meantime, here are the current New York Empires books:

Amazon

Dive Into Romance Recs by Laura Hunsaker

 As I was trying to think of what to write this month, my daughter came in to bug me and as I tried to shoo her away because I'm trying to be creative, but she cured my writer's block! 

Some background information: my kids are swimmers, and this particular child of mine actually coaches swim and teaches swim lessons. One thing she brought up for a post idea was that she would love to read a swim romance.

And it got me to thinking. I know hockey romance is huge right now, and I know football and baseball have been huge in the past. Even rugby has had some time in the sun. But swim? I can't think of a single swimmer romance. I can think of one where the hero was a swimmer in high school (a Julie Garwood novel), but it's not much more than that. 

Obviously, my brain couldn't leave it alone, and I started going through sports romances (that is one very large subgenre!) on Goodreads. Well, I found a list, but not very many of them involved swimmers. Mermaids, surfers, and beaches, yes. Olympic swimmers, not so much.

So, for my daughter's sake, can anyone think of any swim romances out there? Give me all of your recommendations!

And if you'd love some great hockey romance, don't forget that I also write hockey romance as Kenzie MacLir. The New York Empires is a unique series where each book is an anthology with 3 stories that overlap. It's also slightly paranormal. Except for my latest one. Werewolves playing hockey are the best, and Roughing It definitely has werewolves playing hockey.

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This Week Is For Me by Laura Hunsaker

 With the Christmas Season still in full swing, I have noticed that I feel guilty when I take time for myself. I work full time, and the second school was out last Friday, I have spent this week making it as enjoyable and magical for my children as possible. I did read a book at night when everyone was in bed, but for the most part, I spent last week running around and adding finishing touches to everything.

I don't regret any of it. The kids were happy, the family had a great time, and as of now, everyone seems to have had a lovely Christmas Day. 

But I finally finished the book I was reading! I'm assuming if you are reading this blog, you are a reader. You enjoy the stories, you eat up the tropes, you devour the books...you are definitely my kind of people! And when I added the book I just finished to Goodreads, I realized that while I did hit my goal of 100 books this year, I didn't go over. Usually I do. It's not the end of the world or anything, but it does make me look back at how I spent my time this year, and of course with the New Year right around the corner, it makes me think of how I want to spend my time going forward.

I may not have the time to spare to be selfish with my time, however, I do have this week off. And you'd better believe this week is for me. I plan to read, to watch shows, to hang out and play with my kiddos, and if possible to finish writing a short story I can't wait for you all to enjoy!

So for me, this week may be full of re-reads/comfort reads, or it may be full of playing video games with my kids, but whatever the cards hold, I plan to enjoy every single moment. 

So how about you? If you have the week off, what are your plans? If not, what would you do if you did have the week free from obligations?

I'm going to for sure re-read the Ilona Andrews Innkeeper series since the newest one just came out.

If you're in the mood for something fun, has both Hanukkah and Christmas in it, you should check out my book Roughing It. I write as one half of Kenzie MacLir, and while our book features Christmas, one of the other stories in the anthology showcases Hanukkah. 

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Caught in the Crossfire by Stacey Agdern

Bryce Emerson only agreed to draw an account of the Empires Goalie Tryouts to humor his brother. But when a vision convinces him the woman who saved his prized pen from a snowy grave is in danger of being injured by a faulty mask, he takes it upon himself to make her a new one.

Goaltender Carly Fein is trying out for the New York Empires, and the last thing she needs is the complication of an artist. But when she agrees to let him make her a new mask, Bryce Emerson finds his way under her skin.

Can Bryce and Carly figure out what happens when they’re caught in the crossfire of love and hockey? Or will the stress of new love and competition drive them apart.

Crashing the Net by Isabo Kelly

Billionaire Connor Evans needs a challenge. Trying out for the New York Empires’ hockey team fits the bill, even if it is just a publicity stunt and a way to shut his twin brother up. Running into the woman who left him six years earlier, a woman he’s never gotten over, is not part of the plan. Once he sees Matty, though, Connor knows he can’t let her go again. But he’s got secrets he can’t risk sharing. And Matty is the one person who could uncover those secrets if he lets her get too close.

After traveling the world, Matilda Thomson is ready for a real job and a more stable life. Her internship with the New York Empires will give her the experience she needs to move into that future. But first, she has to face Connor again, and one of the most painful losses she’s ever experienced. The only way she can move forward is to confront her feelings and risk her heart one more time.

Heat and passion spark as hot as ever between them. But trust doesn’t come easy. And if Connor can’t open up and let Matty in this time, he’ll lose her forever.

Against the Boards by Kenzie MacLir

Kyle Sandberg is living his best life. He’s one of the top hockey players in the world. Has two amazing best friends and all the sarcastic hockey t-shirts he could wear. After his own family turns their backs on him, he’s happy playing for the Empires and hanging out with his own found family. What he doesn’t want is his pain in the ass twin brother back in his life or a mate.

When paramedic Faith Church left Puerto Rico for New York, she had zero intentions of getting involved in the local pack. Having had her fill of pack politics, she was ready to go lone wolf. But being left alone was too much to ask when her cousin was the Alpha’s mate.

What neither was counting on was Fate, having her own plans for them. A chance encounter at a traffic accident changes everything. Kyle and his wolf are willing to go with Fate’s plans. But Faith, having finally broken away from her pack’s expectations wants nothing to do with Fate, or Kyle. Too bad her wolf disagrees…

Bad Jokes by Laura Hunsaker

 I love bad jokes. Like the kind you groan after hearing. You know, stuff like "Do you think the ocean is salty because the beach never waves back?" Those sort of dad jokes, if you will. I also think I'm the only person in my whole family who likes those groaners. Well, obviously I'm like the best mom ever, and since we've already established that I'm super funny, I of course continue to force my humor upon share my sense of whimsy with my children.

So I played a funny joke on my kids.

One day, the milk went bad. I made sure to let the kids know. See? I'm so helpful!

I thought it was funny, anyway. I grabbed a fresh gallon after work and I was kind enough to let the kids know that the milk was good. Again, me being helpful.

Apparently my kiddos didn't appreciate my jokes, but that's all right. It brings me joy to be this goofy and I don't mind that they don't think I'm funny. Hopefully one day they'll look back fondly, and maybe even use my corny jokes amazing material with their own children.

I don't write Rom Coms, but I do try to have my sense of humor show through in my books, even the Romantic Suspense books. Hopefully the jokes are better than the ones I use in my household.

However, I do write under the pen name Kenzie MacLir for paranormal hockey romance...and I'd like to think those are successfully fun and funny. There may even be a fart joke in there (I regret nothing! It's a hockey locker room, people!). So while my Romantic Suspense may have some fun moments, it's the Hockey Romance that really allows my frivolity to shine! Donut eating contests, Nerf gun battles, swear jars, I think you'll really enjoy it! 

And if you're up to the challenge, drop your best (or worst!) dad joke in the comments!

Amazon

Caught in the Crossfire by Stacey Agdern

Bryce Emerson only agreed to draw an account of the Empires Goalie Tryouts to humor his brother. But when a vision convinces him the woman who saved his prized pen from a snowy grave is in danger of being injured by a faulty mask, he takes it upon himself to make her a new one.

Goaltender Carly Fein is trying out for the New York Empires, and the last thing she needs is the complication of an artist. But when she agrees to let him make her a new mask, Bryce Emerson finds his way under her skin.

Can Bryce and Carly figure out what happens when they’re caught in the crossfire of love and hockey? Or will the stress of new love and competition drive them apart.

Crashing the Net by Isabo Kelly

Billionaire Connor Evans needs a challenge. Trying out for the New York Empires’ hockey team fits the bill, even if it is just a publicity stunt and a way to shut his twin brother up. Running into the woman who left him six years earlier, a woman he’s never gotten over, is not part of the plan. Once he sees Matty, though, Connor knows he can’t let her go again. But he’s got secrets he can’t risk sharing. And Matty is the one person who could uncover those secrets if he lets her get too close.

After traveling the world, Matilda Thomson is ready for a real job and a more stable life. Her internship with the New York Empires will give her the experience she needs to move into that future. But first, she has to face Connor again, and one of the most painful losses she’s ever experienced. The only way she can move forward is to confront her feelings and risk her heart one more time.

Heat and passion spark as hot as ever between them. But trust doesn’t come easy. And if Connor can’t open up and let Matty in this time, he’ll lose her forever.

Against the Boards by Kenzie MacLir

Kyle Sandberg is living his best life. He’s one of the top hockey players in the world. Has two amazing best friends and all the sarcastic hockey t-shirts he could wear. After his own family turns their backs on him, he’s happy playing for the Empires and hanging out with his own found family. What he doesn’t want is his pain in the ass twin brother back in his life or a mate.

When paramedic Faith Church left Puerto Rico for New York, she had zero intentions of getting involved in the local pack. Having had her fill of pack politics, she was ready to go lone wolf. But being left alone was too much to ask when her cousin was the Alpha’s mate.

What neither was counting on was Fate, having her own plans for them. A chance encounter at a traffic accident changes everything. Kyle and his wolf are willing to go with Fate’s plans. But Faith, having finally broken away from her pack’s expectations wants nothing to do with Fate, or Kyle. Too bad her wolf disagrees…

Author Sightings In the Wild by Laura Hunsaker

 In my day job, I work at an elementary school. Every now and then, I've had parents recognize me, or ask if I'm that Laura Hunsaker a la Romancing the Stone.

But the other day, I had a parent stop by the front office and ask if I would sign her book. You guys. That was the coolest feeling in the world! Sometimes I feel a bit like I'm signing someone's yearbook Stay sweet and have a fun summer! But for the most part, I try really hard to make it personal for them. I've had book signings, and I've been to conventions, and signing a book never gets old. But, having someone spot you in the wild, so to speak, is just another level of awesome that I don't think I was prepared for.

Have you ever spotted an author in the wild? 

And in case you were curious, the book she asked me to sign was this one:

Roughing It  and I'm Kenzie MacLir in this book.

Caught in the Crossfire by Stacey Agdern

Bryce Emerson only agreed to draw an account of the Empires Goalie Tryouts to humor his brother. But when a vision convinces him the woman who saved his prized pen from a snowy grave is in danger of being injured by a faulty mask, he takes it upon himself to make her a new one.

Goaltender Carly Fein is trying out for the New York Empires, and the last thing she needs is the complication of an artist. But when she agrees to let him make her a new mask, Bryce Emerson finds his way under her skin.

Can Bryce and Carly figure out what happens when they’re caught in the crossfire of love and hockey? Or will the stress of new love and competition drive them apart.

Crashing the Net by Isabo Kelly

Billionaire Connor Evans needs a challenge. Trying out for the New York Empires’ hockey team fits the bill, even if it is just a publicity stunt and a way to shut his twin brother up. Running into the woman who left him six years earlier, a woman he’s never gotten over, is not part of the plan. Once he sees Matty, though, Connor knows he can’t let her go again. But he’s got secrets he can’t risk sharing. And Matty is the one person who could uncover those secrets if he lets her get too close.

After traveling the world, Matilda Thomson is ready for a real job and a more stable life. Her internship with the New York Empires will give her the experience she needs to move into that future. But first, she has to face Connor again, and one of the most painful losses she’s ever experienced. The only way she can move forward is to confront her feelings and risk her heart one more time.

Heat and passion spark as hot as ever between them. But trust doesn’t come easy. And if Connor can’t open up and let Matty in this time, he’ll lose her forever.

Against the Boards by Kenzie MacLir

Kyle Sandberg is living his best life. He’s one of the top hockey players in the world. Has two amazing best friends and all the sarcastic hockey t-shirts he could wear. After his own family turns their backs on him, he’s happy playing for the Empires and hanging out with his own found family. What he doesn’t want is his pain in the ass twin brother back in his life or a mate.

When paramedic Faith Church left Puerto Rico for New York, she had zero intentions of getting involved in the local pack. Having had her fill of pack politics, she was ready to go lone wolf. But being left alone was too much to ask when her cousin was the Alpha’s mate.

What neither was counting on was Fate, having her own plans for them. A chance encounter at a traffic accident changes everything. Kyle and his wolf are willing to go with Fate’s plans. But Faith, having finally broken away from her pack’s expectations wants nothing to do with Fate, or Kyle. Too bad her wolf disagrees…