It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!
I hope you will excuse my enthusiasm. But, you see, today I am launching my first novel, and I have had one cup of coffee too many this morning, and this has all been a long time coming.
My first book, This Racing Pulse (you can find it here) has lived in my head for a long, long time. My boys, Jaime and Ryan, first appeared in a short story maybe a decade ago. It was a very different story, darker and angstier than the resulting novel. Ryan, I believe, had a different name. They were still partners in a rally team, but their dynamic was different. The story captured some things that excited me, but it never felt quite right so I scrapped it.
Still, these characters wouldn’t leave me be. In the summer of 2016, in the midst of US election anxiety, I needed a distraction, and these characters provided it. The first draft of this book was…messy. Like, really messy. My sweet friend J read it, offered some firm and kindhearted feedback…and then the election happened. How could I go back to writing my sweet romance with the world on fire? I couldn’t. So I scrapped it again.
Then last summer, the boys called again. And this time I listened. Readers, I don’t want to speak for you, but I think I got them right? At least, they’re right as they feel in my heart. And these two are the characters of my heart. Competitive rally racers, thoughtful collaborators. Kind and serious, reserved and loyal, aware of their shortcomings and trying to be better—I love them both so much. I want you to love them too.
I have five more books in this series, queued up and ready to go. If you’re interested, you can preorder books two and three right now, for release later this month and next. Book 2, Finding Sideways, follows bold, enthusiastic Matti who you meet in TRP. Matti is too much for most people—but journalist Adam doesn’t see it that way. Book 3, Spinning Out, follows the return of Matti’s brother Levi and a budding romance with a childhood friend. Can they find the balance between loyal friendship and co-dependence?
Thank you for joining me on this journey. See you on the track!
-Mal
Ryan Zeller is a recently graduated engineer, he’s ready to start his post-university life…and he’s found himself exiled to the middle of nowhere. Iron Range, Michigan, to be exact, where he will be spending the summer teaching at a community college much smaller than his dreams had ever been. He can’t wait to get out.
But when his car breaks down on his first night in Iron Range, helpful, handsome mechanic Jaime offers to help him—for a price. He wants to buy Ryan’s rust bucket off of him and fix it up for the local rallycross circuit, and he wants Ryan to help.
Now Ryan has to decide what matters more: following his own rigid plan for his future…or following his heart.
Mal Trevino, romance writer 