The Ultimate Blindside is now available!
Jake’s silver-medal life is movie-worthy.
Sophie’s role is about to be sabotaged.
Their sleepy Colorado town is overrun by a Hollywood film crew as the two teens, now high school seniors, find their private lives exposed to the world. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman and her daughter seek the couple’s help running from a powerful, dangerous man. In this tale of twists, whom can Sophie and Jake truly trust?
To celebrate, I’m running a giveaway for a book-themed prize pack! Click HERE to sign up. A random winner will be drawn on February 23rd.
BOOK TRAILER STORY SNIPPET
Behind the Scenes:
This series has been a labor of love ever since I first received the idea of The Perfect Blindside so many years ago. I have always felt it was a call from God to bring Jake and Sophie’s story to light. Each story of this series took prayer and perseverance. From having to learn the craft of writing, sending out nearly 100 query letters before finding a publisher who shared my vision, to patiently waiting for the inspiration for Jake and Sophie’s continued story.
Back in 2019, when book two in the series, eXtreme Blindside, was published, I wrote a very rough draft for this 3rd story, The Ultimate Blindside. I knew the story wasn’t ready to pursue, so other novels and commitments, as well as the death of my parents, pushed the manuscript to the back burner. In the fall of 2024, when I finally felt ready to proceed, a few more stumbling blocks came my way. I was informed that my original publisher had decided to no longer carry my Blindside books. At the same time, the publisher of my other novels closed down, weeks before a new novel was to be released. This meant that right before the Christmas buying season, my novels were suddenly no longer available for purchase.
After the initial shock, I took some time to contemplate the situation and pray about these setbacks. The answer came in the form of a new publishing house, Perpetual Light Publishing, that welcomed all my books while offering me more input—a true partnership. Since then, just one year ago, my homeless novels have been re-released, two new stories were published, and The Ultimate Blindside will, at last, be available for readers to enjoy.
Leslea Wahl
Early Reviews:
Set in the beautiful, rugged state of Colorado, the Ultimate Blindside opens with a scene that gave me—a fan of the series—a bit of nostalgia. Jake has an introspective moment, grappling with fame and contemplating the changes in his life, while a crew is filming a scene for a movie that tells his story. Then suddenly—wham!—the action takes off in a new direction.
A car accident and a courageous rescue leads to Jake and Sophie trying to help a mysterious woman and her daughter. As events unfold, they find themselves having to make choices with more severe and personal consequences.
Story pacing and the unfolding mystery make this a real page turner. Surprising twists had me rethinking characters and motives and left me guessing until the end. The enjoyable dynamics between characters, high stakes that keep increasing, and well-done theme of forgiveness make this an exceptional YA mystery. Fans of the series and readers new to the series will love it.
Theresa Linden author of West Brothers series and Chasing Liberty dystopian trilogy
Art imitates life, and life imitates art for Jake and Sophie as they fall victim to sabotage and become involved in their biggest mystery ever.
Cynthia T. Toney, author of the Bird Face series and The Other Side of Freedom
The Ultimate Blindside, the third book in the riveting Blindside series, reunites us with budding journalist Sophie and Olympic snowboarder medalist Jake while they are on the set of a movie being filmed about Jake’s life. Intrigue, mystery, danger, and sweet romance are sure to captivate readers of all ages as they follow the adventures of one of America’s favorite teen couples. The pair must face the consequences of past actions and their impact on current relationships, friendships, and how the public views them. Find a cozy spot to settle down and read The Ultimate Blindside –you won’t be able to put it down!
Andrea Jo Rodgers author of Saint Michael the Archangel Academy series
Story Q&A’s:
How did you get the idea for this new adventure?
I’d always known I’d wanted at least three books in the Blindside series. So, while I was working on the second story, I thought it might be a good idea to jot down a quick rough draft for a third story. I asked my son if he had any ideas, and he provided an exciting thought that became the opening scene of the book. After jotting down a few scenes and plot ideas, I put it on the back burner for a few years as other projects drew my attention. When I finally decided to focus on The Ultimate Blindside, I knew something wasn’t quite right, so I asked a few author friends for their feedback. That is when the story really took shape.
What is the hardest part of writing a sequel?
Since I’d always believed that the idea for The Perfect Blindside was divinely inspired, creating the other stories felt like a daunting task. After all, how do you compete with God?! When I was inspired enough to write the second story, eXtreme Blindside, I was surprised how difficult it was to get back into the characters’ minds after working on other projects—especially Jake. That is why I tried to write at least some of the third book before I jumped into other projects.
Do you see more adventures in the future for Jake and Sophie?
I’m not sure what the future holds for these characters. I have one more idea for when they are older, but I’m not sure yet what will happen in those intervening years. We’ll just see if inspiration strikes.
If readers want more from these characters, where could they go?
There are four short stories that feature Jake and Sophie, as well as, Sophie’s cousin Ryan, and his girlfriend, Josie. Ryan and Josie are the main characters in my novel Into the Spotlight. My husband gave me the initial idea to have the characters of my first two novels intertwine in some way. Writing the short stories has been a lot of fun. Between Sophie and Ryan’s prank wars, Jake and Ryan’s competitiveness, and the clumsiness of Josie, a lot of chaos occurs when these four characters get together. The stories can be found in my all for One series which is available on Amazon.
The first story of that series, One Blessing at a Time is actually a prequel to The Perfect Blindside and shows how Jake and Sophie had a connection before they even met each other. And More Precious Than Gold was originally published in the Catholic Teen Books anthology, Secrets: Visible & Invisible.
In addition to the short stories, I have additional content on my website, including fun facts and playlists featuring songs that inspired my characters and stories.
Tell us more about Catholic Teen Books?
CTB is a joint website that features numerous authors who all write fictional books for Catholic teens. I am one of the co-founders. We have grouped together to provide a place where families can find edifying fiction for their teens, all in one place. The site features many books across different genres and age groups. We also offer bookpacks, giveaways, book clubs in a box, catalogs for schools and bookstores, a blog, and a newsletter. Working with these authors has been such a fun and rewarding experience in my writing career.
What is the underlying theme of this book?
There are always a few themes running through my stories. One of the main themes in The Ultimate Blindside is the healing power and importance of forgiveness. Interestingly, that theme was not one I initially planned to include but developed alongside the story.
As with most authors, music inspires my writing. I draw on certain songs when I’m creating scenes and characters. There was one song in particular that I listened to over and over when writing this story, Only Jesus by Casting Crowns. The song is about realizing that the accolades of this life are not what truly matter. Our relationship with Christ is all that is important. Amid Jake’s fame, this concept was something that I really wanted him to understand. As I continued to listen to that song, I realized that in order to get to that point, Jake needed to deal with his past and the broken friendships that had caused him so much pain. This led to some of my favorite and, I think, most meaningful scenes in the story.
Until next time – Happy Reading!
Leave a Reply