Romance x Women's Sports Book Event w/Anita Kelly & Samantha Saldivar
About this Event
Endless Wonders Books is excited to welcome local Romance authors, Anita Kelly and Samantha Saldivar for this very special event in celebration of Bookstore Romance Day and The Epicenter of Women's Sports Week happening this month in Portland!
This event includes:
- Author panel with Anita Kelly and Samantha Saldivar to chat about writing sports romance books, being a fan of women's sports, and what it is like being in the Portland literary community and the Portland women's sports communities.
- Trivia! Anita and Samantha will both "captain" a team for a chill, fun round of trivia with questions pulling from their books, women's sports in general, and more.
- Anita and Samantha will both be available to sign their books.
Whether you're new to reading Romance books, a new fan of Women's Sports, or a veteran of both, this event is sure to be a great time for everyone.
masks are required for this event
More about the authors and their books:
How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly
When smart-mouthed Vanessa Lerner joins the high school basketball team Julie Parker coaches, Julie’s ready for the challenge. What she’s not ready for is Vanessa’s new foster parent, Elle Cochrane—former University of Tennessee basketball star. While star-struck at first, soon Julie persuades Elle to step into the unfilled position of assistant coach for the year.
Even though Elle has stayed out of the basketball world since an injury ended her short-lived WNBA career, the gig might be a way to become closer to Vanessa—and to spend more time with Julie, who makes Elle laugh. As the coaches grow closer, Elle has a hard time understanding how Julie is single. When Julie reveals her lifelong insecurity about dating and how she wishes it was more like sports—being able to practice first—it sparks an intriguing idea. While Elle still doubts her abilities as a basketball coach, helping Julie figure out dating is definitely something she can do. But as the basketball season progresses, and lines grow increasingly blurred, Julie and Elle must decide to join the game—or retreat to the sidelines.
Anita Kelly
Originally from a small town in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, Anita Kelly now lives in the Pacific Northwest with their family. An educator by day, they write romance that celebrates queer love in all its infinite possibilities. Whenever not reading or writing, they’re drinking too much tea, taking pictures, and dreaming of their next walk in the woods. They hope you get to pet a dog today.
Running Home to You by Samantha Saldivar
When Abby Cruz transfers to Insley University and joins the softball team, it seems the only thing she and Kate Hutchins have in common is their love of the game. Abby’s raw talent and reckless behavior threaten Kate’s carefully controlled world, especially when their coach assigns Kate the unwelcome task of tutoring her rival.
As they learn to work together, they discover their differences are exactly what they’ve been missing off the field. Kate provides Abby with a sense of home after loss and grief. Abby, meanwhile, helps Kate embrace a freedom she’s never known because of her strict religious upbringing. As they chase a national title, it’s not long before the same love they have for the game grows for each other.
But much like on the diamond, their relationship requires perfect timing. While they try and fail to get it right over the next decade, the game keeps bringing them back together—from Puerto Rico to Tokyo, through courtrooms, churches, and Las Vegas casinos—as they fight to shake the weight of generational curses. But when an alumni game returns them to their college field, they must decide if it’s really the love of the game calling them home, or the one in their hearts that they’ve never been able to let go.
Samantha "Sam" Saldivar
Samantha “Sam” Saldivar was born and raised in Portland, OR. She earned degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Oregon, where she was heavily involved with sports broadcasting for campus television and radio. She covered Duck football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, and track and field, and interned with the now-defunct Comcast Sportsnet Northwest and the U.S. Army’s Public Affairs Office.
After college, she worked as a television news producer for the NBC affiliates KMTR in Eugene and KGW in Portland. In 2015, she won a regional Emmy award for Best Evening Newscast for her coverage of the school shooting at Umpqua Community College.
She now writes sapphic romance novels, featuring ambitious women navigating careers and love, often inspired by her own experiences. In addition to writing, Sam works in corporate broadcast production at a large tech company. When she’s not writing, she enjoys running, camping, hiking, watching sports, drinking good whiskey, and spending time with her wife and their dog, Cruz.
Agenda
🕑: 07:00 PM - 07:30 PM
In conversation with Anita Kelly & Samantha Saldivar
🕑: 07:30 PM - 08:00 PM
Trivia
🕑: 08:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Signing
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 21.99
