First base: kissing. Second base: above the waist. Third base: below the waist. Home run: no explanation needed.

Every baseball player knows to keep their eye on the ball and swing for the fences. Each base counts, but a home run is the goal. No one wants to strike out. This is true both on and off the field.

Ellie Teller had been my best friend since we were born, and we had a plan—get out of the tiny Alabama town we’d grown up in and go to college…together. But even life’s best-laid plans could throw a powerful curveball. Rather than attend classes, I was now the starting pitcher for a Major League team.

While my game-day stats were impressive, my record with women was less desirable. I was the professional baseball player who hadn’t been able to make it past third base since the one and only night I’d played hardball with my best friend.

But when the bottom of the ninth came to a close on my career, I had to decide if our friendship was worth more than a few extra innings.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36212645-third-base

US: http://amzn.to/2ycZ0Td UK: http://amzn.to/2zVTq4J CA: http://amzn.to/2xxWfYa AU: http://amzn.to/2zYoxwL

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Best Selling Author Leddy Harper and Stephie Walls met on a street corner in Savannah, Georgia in 2015, where they quickly formed a bond over book boyfriends and cheap wine.

After discovering the two best friends shared a brain, their alter ego, Stella was born. After all, when you put two romance authors together…you’re gonna get something Stella!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStella

Website: https://www.authorstella.com

Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped.

She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.

She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females.

The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. Most importantly Leddy wanted to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorleddyharper

Twitter: https://twitter.com/leddyharper

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.leddy.harper

Stephie Walls is a literary whore – she loves words in all forms and will read anything put in front of her. She has an affinity for British Literature and Romance novels and an overall love of writing. She currently has six novels out, four short stories, and two collections; all provocatively written to elicit your imagination and spice up your world.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephiewalls2014

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephiewalls

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

First base: kissing. Second base: above the waist. Third base: below the waist. Home run: no explanation needed.

Every baseball player knows to keep their eye on the ball and swing for the fences. Each base counts, but a home run is the goal. No one wants to strike out. This is true both on and off the field.

Ellie Teller had been my best friend since we were born, and we had a plan—get out of the tiny Alabama town we’d grown up in and go to college…together. But even life’s best-laid plans could throw a powerful curveball. Rather than attend classes, I was now the starting pitcher for a Major League team.

While my game-day stats were impressive, my record with women was less desirable. I was the professional baseball player who hadn’t been able to make it past third base since the one and only night I’d played hardball with my best friend.

But when the bottom of the ninth came to a close on my career, I had to decide if our friendship was worth more than a few extra innings.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36212645-third-base

US: http://amzn.to/2ycZ0Td UK: http://amzn.to/2zVTq4J CA: http://amzn.to/2xxWfYa AU: http://amzn.to/2zYoxwL

Free in Kindle Unlimited

“Third Base” is a story completely different from the romances I’m used to read. It’s a story of deep friendship, an indissoluble bond, important and vital for Coby and Ellie. It’s sweet, almost platonic, like a burning fire, always there, ready to warm them up, when they need it, but also always ready to inflame. Coby and Ellie have really grown together since they were in the bands, after the death of Cody’s mother. They always faced everything together. Every moment that counted, every significant step in their life (first kiss, loss of virginity, etc …) are memories of moments they shared and then packed and put away without going any further. Even the fact of being kind of nerd type during the school period, has joined them even more, starting their view of life as “the two of us against the world”. In fact, reading the story, I realize they always were side by side, but never really together. They understood how important is their bond, but they didn’t understand all the ramifications of what they feel, or they don’t want to acknowledge it. They joked on it, saying they were soul-mates  and didn’t understand how true is it. But other people who enter in their lives could see that. They couldn’t get through the “bubble” that separates Coby and Ellie from the rest of the world, turning out to be just as thieves of their time. Boys and girls, women who have never been so important to push Ellie and Coby to put their friendship in second place. Coby seemed to me the most fragile and insecure among them. Despite the chance to realize his dream to become a professional baseball player, with all things it involves – money, women, media attention, etc … – he is the one to show the most his need for Ellie by his side, and Ellie is always ready to push him, or the one who could take away his worry even with her silent presence. This book is like the diary of a trip these two boys needed, to grow and put aside their fears, so they could call with its true name their bond. It wasn’t all pink and flowers, indeed, it was sometimes frustrating to see what they were combining or how they behaved. The point of break of their balances and the habits was certainly Gage (happy dance!!!). This exuberant boy, quite the ladies’ man, and disarming with his charm, gave a touch of cheer and color to this story. Gage and Ellie’s back and forth are fun, their teasing made me laugh a lot. In short Gage is a force of nature and without his presence I think Coby and Ellie would still be there to turn around. I’d love to read Gage in another story dedicated to him, although “Third Base” is a standalone novel. Just saying…

Best Selling Author Leddy Harper and Stephie Walls met on a street corner in Savannah, Georgia in 2015, where they quickly formed a bond over book boyfriends and cheap wine.

After discovering the two best friends shared a brain, their alter ego, Stella was born. After all, when you put two romance authors together…you’re gonna get something Stella!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStella

Website: https://www.authorstella.com

Leddy Harper had to use her imagination often as a child. She grew up the only girl in a house full of boys. At the age of fourteen, she decided to use that imagination and wrote her first book, and never stopped.

She often calls writing her therapy, using it as a way to deal with issues through the eyes of her characters.

She is now a mother of three girls, leaving her husband as the only man in a house full of females.

The decision to publish her first book was made as a way of showing her children to go after whatever it is they want to. Love what you do and do it well. Most importantly Leddy wanted to teach them what it means to overcome their fears.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorleddyharper

Twitter: https://twitter.com/leddyharper

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.leddy.harper

Stephie Walls is a literary whore – she loves words in all forms and will read anything put in front of her. She has an affinity for British Literature and Romance novels and an overall love of writing. She currently has six novels out, four short stories, and two collections; all provocatively written to elicit your imagination and spice up your world.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephiewalls2014

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephiewalls

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

Prima base: baciare. Seconda base: sopra la vita. Terza base: sotto la vita. Fuori campo: non occorrono spiegazioni.

Ogni giocatore di baseball sa di dover tenere gli occhi sulla palla e battere con tutta la propria forza. Ogni base conta, ma l’obiettivo finale è il fuoricampo. Nessuno vuole essere eliminato. Questo è vero sia fuori che dentro al campo. Ellie è stata la mia migliore amica sin dalla nascita e abbiamo un piano: andarcene dalla cittadina dell’Alabama dove siamo cresciuti e andare al college… insieme. Ma anche i piani meglio programmati possono tirare una palla curva. Al posto di frequentare le lezioni, adesso ero il lanciatore titolare di una squadra della Major League. Mentre le statistiche delle mie partite erano notevoli, il mio ruolino di marcia con le donne era meno promettente. Ero il giocatore professionista di baseball incapace di andare oltre la terza base sin dalla prima e unica notte in cui avevo raggiunto quell’obiettivo con la mia migliore amica. Quando arrivò un momento cruciale per la mia carriera, mi trovai a dover decidere se la nostra amicizia fosse più importante che solo qualche extra inning.

“Third Base” è una storia assolutamente diversa dai romance che sono abituata a leggere di solito. È la storia di una profonda amicizia, di un legame indissolubile, importante e vitale per Coby ed Ellie. È un racconto dolce, quasi platonico, un fuoco che brucia piano, ma sempre lì presente e pronto a riscaldarli nel momento del bisogno, ma anche sempre pronto a divampare. Coby ed Ellie sono veramente cresciuti insieme fin da quando erano in fasce, dopo la morte della madre di Coby. Hanno sempre affrontato e vissuto tutto insieme. Ogni momento che contava, ogni tappa significativa della loro vita (il primo bacio, la perdita della verginità, ecc…) sono ricordi di momenti che hanno condiviso e che poi come tali sono stati impacchettati e messi via, senza andare oltre. Anche il fatto di essere un po’ due nerd, durante il periodo della scuola, li ha uniti ancora di più, facendo affrontare loro le cose nell’ottica “noi due soli contro il mondo”. In realtà, leggendo questa storia, ci si accorge che sono sempre stati l’uno al fianco dell’altra, ma mai veramente insieme. Capiscono quanto sia importante e profondo il loro rapporto, ma non comprendono tutte le ramificazioni di quello che provano, o non vogliono comprenderlo. Ci scherzano sopra, dicendo di essere soul-mate (compagni predestinati) e non capiscono quanto sia vero invece. Se ne rendono benissimo conto però le persone che entrano nelle loro vite, ragazzi e ragazze che non sono mai così importanti da spingere Ellie e Coby a mettere al secondo posto la loro amicizia. Provano lo stesso a insinuarsi nella “bolla” che separa i nostri protagonisti dal resto del mondo, ma poi si rivelano essere solo dei ladri di tempo. Coby mi è sembrato il più fragile e insicuro tra i due. Nonostante gli sia capitata l’occasione della sua vita – realizzare il sogno di diventare un giocatore professionista di baseball, con tutto quello che comporta, soldi, donne, attenzione dei media, ecc. ecc. – è lui quello che mostra in modo più evidente il bisogno di avere sempre al suo fianco Ellie, ed è sempre lei quella pronta a spronarlo, incitarlo o a renderlo sereno anche solo con la sua presenza silenziosa. Questo libro è un po’ come il diario di un viaggio, che questi due ragazzi hanno dovuto compiere per crescere e per mettere da parte le loro paure, per riuscire poi a chiamare con il loro vero nome i sentimenti che provano. Non è stato un percorso tutto rosa e fiori, anzi, a volte è stato davvero frustrante vedere quello che combinavano o come si comportavano. Il punto di rottura di questi equilibri e delle consuetudini di Ellie e Coby è stato senz’altro Gage (e meno male!!!). Questo ragazzo esuberante, un po’ donnaiolo, ma dal fascino disarmante, ha dato un tocco di allegria e colore a questa storia. Lui ed Ellie si stuzzicano sempre e i loro scambi di battute mi hanno fatto morire dal ridere. Insomma Gage è una forza della natura e senza la sua presenza credo proprio che Coby ed Ellie sarebbero ancora lì, a girarsi intorno. Mi piacerebbe rivedere Gage in un altro racconto dedicato a lui, anche se “Third Base” è un romanzo autoconclusivo. Io la butto lì…