YA Sports Romance Author L.M. Ransom joins us today for a fun interview!

YA Sports Romance Author L.M. Ransom joins us today for a fun interview!

Tell us about your book.

Summer Sweetheart is a slow-burn, YA contemporary sports romance. Logan is a left defensive end for the Montblanca Bobcats varsity football team, and has been in love with Kayla Marsh, a cheerleader and friend, since forever. When she needs help at the local grocery story, Logan
gladly steps up to help her out and they begin a fake relationship.

What inspired you to write it?

I wanted to write about two teens from a smaller country school falling in love over the summer, and I knew he would already be in love with her.

I love the fake dating trope, too. Why did you decide to do fake dating for this book?

I didn’t specifically set out to do a fake dating book with Summer Sweetheart. It was the way the characters came to me. I have a notebook for each couple that I write, and while working out scenes (which don’t usually make it to the novel, they’re just a good way to get to know the
couple) with Logan and Kayla, they told me they were going to fake date.

What’s a book you loved as a teen?

I am a horse girl, through and through. I grew up with them, trail riding, showing, and even participating in rodeo for a couple of years. My favorite books back then were all horse ones. My absolute fave? That’s a hard one. The Black Stallion’s Filly, by Walter Farley, is at the top, as
well as Summer Pony, by Jean Doty. I didn’t start reading YA contemporary romance until 2021
or so.

Did anything specific inspire you while working on this?

I’m a horse girl like Kayla, and live out in the country. My husband (who does all of my book artwork) grew up a few towns away and is a country boy who loves big, loud trucks like Logan.
And we have an old Jeep Wrangler like Kayla’s, too, that we use all summer for trail riding. My hubby also wears a lot of flannel like Logan. The school they attend, Montblanca High, is mirrored after my husband’s high school.

What’s the biggest life lesson you’ve learned?

Nothing should be taken for granted. Not people, jobs, even the things that make you happy day-to-day, like reading and writing.
As for writing, it’s to write for yourself first. You won’t please everyone with your books, and you shouldn’t try to, but you should be happy with them.

Top 5 favorite songs and why?

Oh man, this is hard, lol. I’m eclectic, and listen to a lot of older music. And the top 5 changed all the time. But here’s my top 5 as of right now, because they’re the ones that make me the happiest to listen to.

After All the Bars are Closed Thomas Rhett
Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma Luke Combs
You Can’t Sit Down The Dovells
Lucille Little Richard
Stay Country or Die Tryin’ Blake Shelton

Top 5 favorite shows/movies and why?

This changes too, but not as much as my song preferences.
The Big Bang Theory will always be number one. It’s my comfort show. I love and adore all the characters. My husband and I are big geeks and love comic books and Star Wars. I love the growth the characters all go through, and that they’re a found family.

Brooklyn 99 is second because the show is funny but the police work is solid. Jake Peralta and crew make me laugh but they’re no joke when doing police business. Plus, once Jake and Amy got together (sorry, SPOILER ALERT), there was no third act breakup (I dislike those
immensely).

Top Gun, the original 1986 movie. Why? Because I love aircraft, specifically from World War II and the Vietnam era (the F-14 Tomcat made its combat debut in April 1975, during the evacuation of American citizens from Saigon, in Operation Frequent Wind). I love the antics of
the pilots (the MMC in my forthcoming YA hockey romance, Finding Her Heart, is named Maverick, in honor of this movie) and the flying. The F-14 is my favorite fighter jet. I got to climb
up the pilot’s ladder on an F-14 at an airshow when I was a teen and look at the cockpit, and it’s one of my favorite experiences. The Tomcat pilot and RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) were really cute and fun.

The Empire Strikes Back is the BEST of all the Star Wars movies, and the best of the OT (Original Trilogy). Well, in my not-so-humble opinion, lol. I am a HUGE fan of the AT-AT Imperial Walkers (I’m actually more of an Empire girl, really). I collect them. Seeing those Walkers for the
first time solidified TESB as my fave Star Wars movie and the franchise as my overall favorite. And Boba Fett, my favorite character, is in it.

The Replacements is my favorite sports movie, because I love the camaraderie of the makeshift team. The romance between quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves’ character) and head cheerleader Annabelle Farrell (Brooke Langton’s character) is sweet. Their bar scene together
is one of my all-time favorite romance scenes. I named the MMC in The Tackle’s Crush, my first Sullivan Cougars book (YA football romance series) Shayne in honor of Shane Falco, actually. The football scenes are great and it’s just an overall fun movie.

And if I can add one more, the TV show The Middle, because it’s about a family in the midwest just doing their best to get by. Reminds me so much of my own family (only with three girls and no boys), and I just really relate to all the characters.

Top 5 favorite books

This one is a toughie, too, because it does tend to change with what I’m reading. So, I’ll give you my top 5 YA series instead!

Forever Love, by Jordan Ford. There are seven in this series, all very much interconnected (I wouldn’t read them out of order). They are set in New Zealand, and she has written two of my top MMCs in this series: Tane and Cam. Hands down, this series is one of the most amazing YA romance ones I’ve ever read. It does have more language and some more adult situations, but nothing most high schoolers haven’t already read about or watched on Netflix, lol.

Nelson High Raiders, by Jordan Ford. Again, a bit more adult with its language and situations, but it’s SO GOOD. If you love YA football romances, read this series. Colt, Mack, Finn, and Tyler are awesome MMCs.

Rumors and Lies at Evermore High, by Emily Lowry. Super fun, kind of lighter and fluffier reads, five books. Fun fact, the first book, Chase Jones is My Fake Boyfriend, is one of the books that got me really into YA contemporary romance. I don’t own all of them yet in paperback.

Most Likely To, by Sarah Sutton. Love this series! There are five books in this one, as well.
Sarah’s MMCs are terrific guys, and I really enjoyed them all. Fun fact, she just released them all with new covers and I bought all five! They will be reread at some point.

Covington Prep: the Girls We Love, by Kylie Key. There are eight in this series, and all of them are fantastic. I own two of them (the football romances). Kylie’s stories move pretty fast but the
romance is sweet and swoony.

Bio:
L. M. Ransom lives in a place called Blooming Valley, located not too far from the shores of Lake Michigan. She is married to her best friend, and they have two adult children. Her family shares their home with an older black merle Jackshund, who always keeps things interesting. L.M. works at the library in her hometown, mostly behind the scenes in the back room. She would love to have a real-life AT-AT from Star Wars, but is settling for her collection of Walkers in her home office (for now). She enjoys watching TV and movies with her family and reading young
adult romances. She adores The Big Bang Theory , The Middle, and Brooklyn 99. She absolutely loves writing young adult sports romances, especially with protective boys and independent girls. You can find L. M. on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok at @lmransomwrites.
She is also on Facebook — her reader group is called Sullivan Sweethearts and she has an author page under L. M. Ransom.

Blurb: Summer Sweetheart, Montblanca Bobcats #1

All Kayla Marsh wants is one last carefree summer before senior year. Having a boyfriend is definitely not part of her plan, but that all changes when a little white lie turns into a big, big problem.

To get rid of a boy who has been relentlessly asking her out, Kayla asks her long-time friend, Logan, to be her pretend boyfriend. Now she and Logan have to keep fake dating until summer is over!

She doesn't know it yet, but Logan couldn't be happier about their situation. He's had a crush on Kayla since they were kids. Fake dating or not, this is his chance to win her heart.

Can a lie turn into love? If so, is that love strong enough to weather the tragedy that Kayla is about to face?


Summer Sweetheart: https://a.co/d/d1REVug
The Tackle’s Crush: https://a.co/d/haLUW3b
The Wide Receiver’s Catch: https://a.co/d/aFtTlm3
The Linebacker’s Squeeze: https://a.co/d/fzmhb5E
Fall Fervor: https://a.co/d/7gup0dE
The Quarterback’s Keeper: https://a.co/d/dUsa41d
Cemetery Crawl: https://a.co/d/9Oz3dQS
The Cornerback’s Chase: https://a.co/d/d2CwcWC
Turkey Trot: https://a.co/d/26Gt86u


Social media links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lmransomwrites/

Linktree:
linktr.ee/LMRansom?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=a482dd6d-7cfc-4dbf-8081-9c0f9e25c04d