Writing the Rules: A Fake Dating Standalone by Mariah Dietz is LIVE & she’s our guest poster + we’re having a giveaway!

FAKE RELATIONSHIP ALERT!!! Writing the Rules: A Fake Dating Standalone just went live and sounds like SO MUCH ANGSTY FUN!! Mariah Dietz is our Friday newsletter sponsor, and we are celebrating with an amazing guest post that she wrote, plus she’s giving away a signed copy (open to International)!!

So what’s it about?

Poppy Anderson was nailing her sophomore year at Brighton University. She liked her classes, had the greatest best friend, and was finally ready to start dating again. Or she was … until her ex, Mike, transferred to Brighton and started exchanging long stares and inside jokes that Poppy thought he’d forgotten.

Paxton Lawson was long ago labeled ‘The Golden Boy.’ Starting quarterback and team captain at Brighton University, his future was brighter than the sun until a short path of indiscretions tarnished his name and potentially his future. When he learns that his sister’s best friend, Poppy, has backed herself into a corner and is facing as many doubts and uncertainties as he is, Paxton suggests the biggest ruse of the year: a fake relationship.

Writing the rules was supposed to make things clear, defined, and definite. Only, their relationship becomes increasingly complex as the lines are blurred, days become weeks, and kisses for show begin to feel like confessions.
Can lies lead to truths? And what happens when the rules they wrote begin to expire?

One lie,
Two hearts,
And fifteen years of friendship are about to be put to the ultimate test.

And now, Mariah Dietz lets us into her writing world and her sports romance series 😀 :

Bookworm + Romance Writer + COVID= The Dating Playbook Series

It sounds strange that something so tragic and ugly led me to rediscovering my love of writing, but this past year, I found my solace in writing this series about football, family, friendship, and lots of toe-curling heat.

I had written the first book, Bending the Rules, and was only halfway through writing the second book, Breaking the Rules, last February when the first trickles of COVID started to make their way into our daily lives. Then March arrived and our world took a massive turn of events and we all began living an unfamiliar routine. As someone who has struggled with anxiety for my entire life, this was really difficult for me, and I truly found my peace while writing and finishing the second book.

As a type one diabetic, I was in one of the highest risk categories and have a son who is also in a high-risk group, so we were hunkered down in our house along with my husband who normally travels a lot for work. Things were so different—painfully different for too many, and I thought maybe I could help in some tiny way by publishing the duet early and putting them for sale to offer others an escape from our strange new world. So without promotion or any kind of preparation aside from editing and proofreading, I published them six months earlier than planned.

Generally after I complete a book, I take a break because I have a book hangover that makes it difficult for me to delve into a new story, but that wasn’t the case for this series. I was halfway done writing the third book, Defining the Rules, before Breaking the Rules published. I was so obsessed with these characters and this world that it became real to me. I spent every free second in the series, infatuated with their stories that woke me up early and kept me up late to write. Before I knew it Exploring the Rules and Forgetting the Rules took their rightful place in this New Adult Sports Romance series.

That brings us to the finale in the series …Writing the Rules!

This book follows Paxton Lawson, Brighton University’s stellar and noteworthy quarterback who readers have loved since he was introduced in the first book. I knew Paxton had a story worth telling, and readers did too. He’s appeared in every book in the series, but you really get to SEE him in this book. The anticipation and excitement for this final book left me incredibly nervous and also ridiculously motivated because I’ve been working on this book little by little since early last year when I realized he HAD to have his own book. Paxton is without a doubt one of the most loyal and amazing heroes I’ve written, but I was also nervous because like every book in this series I’ve been trying to make a completely new, memorable, and amazing experience for readers. I wanted to ensure that each book could stand alone and be read and enjoyed as a true standalone and that for those who had been with me through this series, they would receive an entirely new story with new plots and struggles and accomplishments, while still getting the comfort and familiarity through glimpses at the previous couples.

Writing this book took nothing less than putting my heart on the pages. You see, I thought each person (and character) needed to have very specific and clear goals and my heroine, Poppy, largely reflects me because I have always been an introvert and have never been fully certain of what I wanted to do or be or accomplish and that’s led me to pushing myself out of my shell on multiple occasion, and while those have been beneficial learning experiences, and I’ve gained a lot of friends and realizations from these experiences (mostly) I’ve also learned that being comfortable with who I am is sometimes the best achievement, and this is reflected in this story.

This story ended up being so much more than just a love story, and I hope everyone loves Writing the Rules as much as I do.

XO,

Mariah

Snippet of Writing the Rules:

“My heart is trembling, shaking like I’ve just jumped from the hot tub into the swimming pool and can’t get warm. “I don’t want to be your rebound,” I tell him honestly. “I’m not … I thought I could do no strings attached, but I can’t. I’m a knitter, or a stitcher, or I don’t know what, but I come with strings. I like consistency and loyalty and dependability, and I can’t do a one-night stand, especially not with you. You mean too much, and Rae means too much.”

His blue eyes are a contradiction of lust and humor as he reaches forward and places his hand on my waist. “Stitch, baby, stitch.”

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7JNK6uHGr0L93yJw6pgfQX?si=c4537178470d4180

Now for the giveaway!

The author is giving away a signed copy of Writing the Rules: A Fake Dating Standalone

How to enter for a chance to win it?

Just leave a comment below, and by 10pm EST, Sunday May 2nd, 2021, I will randomly select one lucky commenter as the winner.

The winner will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond confirming their mailing address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. The signed book will be sent to the winner by the author.

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!! 😀