Hi Everybody! PJ here. I'm excited to share an excerpt from Lights Out Lucy: Roller Derby 101 today. I'm about two-thirds of the way through an advanced copy of this first book in Elicia Hyder's new Music City Rollers series that releases April 24 and it is so much fun. Filled with humor, likeable characters, strong female friendships, a sweet romance, and women challenging themselves to discover what they're made of, Lights Out Lucy kept me smiling from the get-go. I don't know how many books Hyder has planned for this series but I'll be buying them all. I'm totally invested in these characters and can't wait to read all their stories!
Elicia Hyder played women’s flat track roller derby with
the Nashville Rollergirls under the skater name, eL’s Bells. After a black eye,
a broken finger, a severely pulled groin, and two serious knee injuries, Elicia
hung up her skates to focus on a safer hobby—writing. She has fictionalized her
experience in her latest novel, Lights Out Lucy: Roller Derby 101.
More novels are to come in the Music City Rollers series. For more information about Elicia and her books, visit her website. For series specific information about the Music City Rollers, including appearances, visit the series website.
Lucy
Cooper isn’t looking for love when she finds it—or slams into it, rather—during
rush hour traffic. But her heart, like her car, is a total loss the moment West
Adler steps out of his truck to inspect the damage.
West
truly is the perfect guy: handsome, funny, rich. The benefactor of not one, but
two children’s hospitals. And he’s the main sponsor of the Music City Rollers,
Nashville’s championship roller derby team.
When Lucy discovers the Rollers are actively
recruiting “Fresh Meat,” she puts her life on the line to catch West Adler’s
attention. But will accident-prone Lucy skate off with the heart of
Nashville’s Most Eligible Bachelor? Or will she get herself killed in a sport
that promises, “It’s not a matter of if you’ll get hurt—but of how bad and
when.”
Excerpt from LIGHTS OUT LUCY
There was less violence
for the rest of the first half. The bout was so intense, I almost forgot the
whole reason we were there. But five minutes into the second half, I saw an arm
waving in the stands across the arena.
An arm that belonged to
West Adler.
I looked at Olivia.
"It's him."
Her mouth gaped.
"Huh?"
"West Adler,"
I said, pointing.
She followed my finger
and strained her eyes. "The guy waving, I assume?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to
go talk to him?"
I pressed my lips
together and shook my head.
"No?"
"No. He can come
here. I'm a lady."
She laughed and almost spit
out her beer. "We're only here because you're an online creeper. You lost
your lady card yesterday."
When I looked again,
West was gone. My eyes scanned the crowd till I saw him walking down the stairs
to the floor of the arena. He slapped hands with a few people as he walked the perimeter
of the room.
I dug my nails into
Olivia's arm. "Oh gosh, I think he's on his way over here."
"You need
Xanax," she said, draining the last of her beer.
"What do I
do?" My voice jumped up an octave.
She laughed. "I would
say 'be cool' but that ain't happening."
West walked up to the
team bench in front of our bleachers and shook hands with a few of the players.
He paused to say something to The Duchess before patting the woman on the back and
turning toward the bleacher steps. Our steps. I worried I might lose my hot
dog.
He took the steps two
at a time until he stopped at the row behind ours and sidestepped his way
across the spectators to the empty seats directly behind us. "What are the
odds, Lucy?" he asked, sitting down.
"Better than you
think," Olivia mumbled beside me.
I elbowed her in the
ribs as I turned toward him. "Hey there, West. What are you doing
here?"
He motioned to the
track. "I come to all the bouts. I love this sport."
"Me too!" I
said with a little too much enthusiasm.
He blinked with
surprise. "Really?"
"Sure! Well, it's
my first time, but so far, I love it."
"How'd you hear
about it?" he asked.
My mouth was open, but
no words came out. Olivia caught my eye and glared as she turned in her seat,
stretching her hand toward West. "It was my idea. I'm Lucy's roommate,
Olivia."
He shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Olivia. West Adler."
"I've heard a lot
about you," she said, causing me to die a little inside. "Thanks for
taking care of her yesterday."
"It was my
pleasure." He looked at me. "How are you feeling?"
"So sore," I
said, grimacing.
The corners of his eyes
crinkled with sympathy. "I was worried about that. The next day is usually
the worst. What did they say about your car?"
My nose wrinkled.
"Nothing good. The car is probably totaled. I should find out for sure on
Monday."
He put his hand on my
shoulder. "That sucks. I'm sorry to hear it. Are you able to get around
without it?"
I nodded. "My
insurance company got me a rental car. How's your bumper?"
"Replaceable."
He glanced at the empty plastic cup in Olivia's hand. "I'm going to get
another drink. Can I buy you ladies a round?"
"Thank you,"
she said.
"What are you
drinking?" he asked.
"Three Leprechauns
Red Ale."
"Diet Coke,"
I answered.
He winked as he stood.
"Coming right up."
When he was gone,
Olivia nodded her head. "I admire a man who buys the booze. He's a
keeper."
"He's cute, too,
huh?"
"Yeah, he's cute.
Is he single?"
I shrugged. "He
doesn't wear a wedding band, and I found him on a list of most eligible
bachelors, so I hope so."
Just then, one of
Nashville's blockers cut sideways toward Richmond's jammer, 6VI6. The same
skater who'd leveled Medusa. With a loud grunt that echoed around the room, the
blocker plowed into 6VI6's rib cage with her shoulder. The jammer lost control
and careened into the crowd sitting on the floor at about a thousand miles per
hour.
Whistles blew, the horn
from the scoreboard blasted, and emergency workers ran across the gym. I
realized I was on my feet with the rest of the crowd and didn't even remember standing.
"And that's why we
call them the suicide seats, folks! They're not for the faint of heart!"
the announcer said in the microphone.
The jammer stood back
up on her skates, aided by the fans she'd just mowed down. When she turned in
our direction, I saw blood pouring from her nose into her mouth. She pulled her
jersey over her head and pressed it to her face before slapping high fives with
the fans around her legs. Everyone cheered, including Medusa and the rest of
Nashville's players, as she skated back to her team's bench in her sports bra.
I exhaled, gripping my
chest. "Thank God no one was hurt."
Olivia held her fists
up. "That was awesome. I want more blood!"
I laughed and smacked
her on the back of the head. Out on the track, 6VI6 was escorted back to the
locker room by two men in khakis and polo shirts.
West returned a few
minutes later balancing three drinks between his two hands. He sidled his way
across the row again and reclaimed his seat at our backs. "Three Leprechauns,"
he said, handing a beer to Olivia.
She held it up like a
toast. "Thanks."
"And a Diet
Coke," he said, passing me the only cup with a lid and straw.
"Thank you,
West."
He leaned toward me.
"Now you owe me a bumper, a ride, and a drink, Lucille."
I silently cursed
myself for not having a witty comeback.
He gestured toward my
cup. "You know, if you're going to hang out on the derby scene, you're
going to have to learn how to drink."
"I'm trying to be
kind to my liver since I'm taking a lot of pain meds. And I've got to drive
home later," I said.
He cringed. "Is
you driving sober supposed to make us feel safer?"
My mouth dropped open.
Olivia burst out laughing and showered the row in front of us with a light
spray of beer from her lips. Thankfully, no one noticed. She slapped my knee.
"Oh, I like him."
I turned my eyes back
to the track, shaking my head, trying not to laugh.
He nudged my shoulder
with his leg. "I'm only teasing."
"You're not
funny," I said with forced indignation.
He held up his index
finger and thumb with a millimeter of space between them. "I'm a little
funny."
I laughed and sipped my
drink.
"Power jam!"
the announcer yelled over the speakers.
The whole crowd
cheered.
Out on the track,
Medusa was flying past every member of her team and Richmond's. Two of
Richmond's players were in the penalty box, including their jammer who'd
replaced 6VI6 in the game. After a fourth pass, everyone was on their feet,
including us, and West was cheering loud over our heads. She passed everyone
again.
"That's
twenty-five!" West yelled.
She passed again.
"Thirty! She's
going to run out of time," someone said.
"Run out of time
for what?" I asked.
The man in front of us
looked back at me. "To break the world record."
"Thirty-five!"
Medusa's knees were
bent as she stepped, right skate over left, pushing her legs out hard around
the corners. The Nashville blockers kept Richmond's blockers out of her way as
she sailed past them again. The crowd began counting down.
"Ten! Nine!
Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four!"
"That's
forty-five!" West shouted.
"Three! Two!
One!"
EARRRRRRNGGGGG! The buzzer and the
crowd were so loud I covered my ears. West made up half the decibels all by himself.
Out on the track,
Medusa's entire upper body was heaving with heavy breaths as she slowed and her
team ran on their skates out from the bench to catch her in their arms.
The announcer turned up
his volume to be heard over the fans. "Forty-five points in that power
jam, and our captain reminds us all why she wears that star! Give it up for
Medusa!"
Even the Richmond team
was standing and clapping as Medusa skated a wide circle around the track,
waving to everyone. She slid to a stop near the home team's bench, and the
coach walked over and hugged her. Someone handed her a bottle of water.
"That was
intense," Olivia said as we sat back down.
"What's the world
record?" I asked.
"Fifty
points," the man in front of us said.
West leaned down.
"Medusa held the record at forty-five points for two years, but she lost
it to a skater in Colorado who got fifty. The fifty-point jam even made it into
the Guinness Book of World Records."
"Ouch," I
said.
"And to make
matters worse," Styx's dad added, "they've changed the rules since
then."
West nodded. "A
power jam is when the opposing jammer is in the penalty box. It used to be that
penalties lasted a full minute. Now they're only thirty seconds."
"So it's even
harder to collect that many points," I said.
"Impossible, if
you ask me," the old man said.
West laughed.
"Tell that to Medusa."
Styx's dad pointed at
West. "She's the only one who's come close. I gotta give her that."
He looked at me and Olivia. "Only a handful of skaters in the whole world
can break forty."
Olivia sipped her beer.
"The whole world? I had no idea this was that big of a sport."
"They're talking
about adding it to the Olympics," West said.
"Really?" I
asked, watching Medusa who was shouting at her players from the bench.
"Yep." He
pointed to the track. "And when it does, Nashville will have a local on
the team."
Just then, the buzzer
blared through the arena again. The bout was over.
Music City had won.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you ever been to a roller derby bout? Watched one on TV? Is it something you would try?
Accident prone Lucy chooses Lights Out Lucy for her derby name...for obvious reasons. What name would you choose for yourself?
Two randomly chosen people who post a comment no later than 11:00 PM (eastern), April 14 will receive a Kindle copy of Lights Out Lucy.
