Today we are talking women in Aussie Rules Football, and romance heroines who are professional football players. You ready for this? Harlequin Escape recently published a trilogy of novels with heroines who all play for the Australian Rules Football Women’s League. This is a real thing - the AFLW (Australian Football League Women’s) began in February 2017 and has been a massive success in Australia. A professional football league for women! For the romance series based on the AFLW, Amy Andrews, Catherine Evans and Nicola Marsh created the Women of W.A.R. - Women’s Aussie Rules, a fictional league inspired by the real thing. Their three books, Game On, Long Game, and Fair Game, are on sale now. Each novel features a heroine who plays on the professional level, so naturally we had exactly nothing to talk about.First, y’all, you need to see these covers. Oh my gosh. I have a growing crush on the model pictured on Long Game. I really envy her arms. This interview is in two parts. Due to connection problems, I recorded first with Amy and Nicola, and then later with Catherine. In part one, Amy, Nicola, and I discuss the creation of the series, writing athlete heroines, and, of course, explaining Aussie rules football to audiences unfamiliar with the game. With Catherine, we discuss her joy in seeing a sport she loved to play as a young person become a professional league for women on tv. All three authors share what they’re working on, talk about the development of the series, and explore the differences in writing a heroine who is a pro athlete - one of my favorite kinds of heroines, too.BIG THANKS to Kate Cuthbert for helping me coordinate across so many time zones and for contacting me about this new series, and helping me shape the interview as well. Thank you, Kate! Get bonus content on Patreon
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