Spotlight & Giveaway: Lucky 22 by Ashley Eckstein and Samantha Chase

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Ashley Eckstein and Samantha Chase to HJ!

Hi Ashley and Samantha and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Lucky 22!

Thank you so much for having us! We’re so excited to be here today!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Samantha: Lucky 22 is such a unique and sweet romance. Ella Rose has been following her dream of being an actress since she was a young girl. She’s living her best life in L.A. and gets set up on a not-so-blind date with baseball player Christian Lucas. The two feel the connection immediately, but falling in love was the easy part. Figuring out how to balance two very different careers offers it’s own set of challenges.
 
Ashley: Lucky 22 is inspired by the true love story of how I met my husband, former Major League Baseball player David Eckstein, and how we fell in love. While this is a fictionalized retelling, it’s about 90% true! Ella Rose is an actress living in Los Angeles, and Christian is a professional baseball player nearby in Anaheim, CA. You could say that Ella’s lucky number 22 brought them together in the most magical way. With the global fascination of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s love story, Lucky 22 gives a real-life glimpse into what it’s like to be a WAG, while also having a career of your own.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Samantha: I manage to survive what will forever be known as the worst Easter ever.
– You’ll read more about this further down.

But this quote/scene, is probably my favorite because it’s so real and I think we can all relate to it. Plus, it’s a little swoony. I know it’s long, but…I love it. Ella’s at a baseball game and it’s before she and Christian ever meet. But his number is 22 – her favorite number – so naturally, she’s a little drawn to him.

Anaheim just scored a home run, and one of the players comes out of the dugout to congratulate the hitter. His back is to us, so we can clearly see the twenty-two, but then he turns toward the stands.

My heart races a little because I’m wildly curious to put a face with the name and number. To my surprise, he looks right at me—almost as if he knew I was there. He looks familiar, but with his hat on, I can’t be too sure. All I know is that our eyes lock and hold for like five seconds, and it feels as if everything else around me just fades away. No noise. No cheering. No chattering.

I blink and he’s gone, and I seriously wonder if it even happened at all, or did I just imagine it? But…I feel a little flustered, so it had to be real, right? I want to ask if my friends noticed, but as I glance around, no one’s paying any attention to me, they’re just enjoying the game. And I guess I should too.

 
Ashley

“Sometimes you have to claim what’s yours.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

Co-authoring this book with Ashley Eckstein was such an amazing experience. I knew her as an actress, and her husband, David, as a Major League baseball player. But turning them into fictionalized versions/inspirations of themselves, wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be!

Samantha

• It is CRAZY how much the number 22 legitimately came up in their lives. Like…it was everywhere!
• I learned that there is so much more to being an actress and professional athlete that I don’t think most people realize. It’s not nearly as glamorous as you’d think!
• Ashley is seriously a Disney princess. Or she should be! Without any spoiler alerts, I will say that I found out she has talked to birds who landed on her windowsill!
• When we had our first plotting session with our publisher, it was really just like a day and a half of talking non-stop! There was a lot of good food, and so many great stories that I am so thankful for Ashley being so open to sharing, but we only met in person for that day and a half! After that, everything was either over the phone interviews or a few video chats.
• I think it was after the second day that we were all kind of singing Taylor Swift’s “22” – because, I mean, how fitting is that? So we knew 22 had to be in the title.
•  I am not a fan of any sports. Like any. I know nothing about the rules or the positions, but I knew just enough about baseball (from high school PE class!) that I wasn’t completely lost.
• Ashley is seriously the friend everyone wants. The upbeat/can-do attitude that Ella Rose has, is 100% Ashley!

 
Ashley

• Ella is constantly having tea parties in the book, and that’s because I love tea parties! I have tea parties when I’m happy, I have “pi-tea” parties when I’m sad, I’ll have tea parties by myself, and I had the most magical tea party with David right after we got engaged. Be prepared to be hungry after reading this book because Ella is a foodie! Ella and Christian are always eating pizza and drinking Slurpees… It’s kind of their thing!

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Samantha: Christian and Ella are really a case of instalove. And it’s incredibly sweet because that’s exactly how it was for Ashley and David in real life. But since the book is pretty much completely in Ella’s POV, we know she first finds him attractive after seeing him at a baseball game (from the quote above), and when he calls her for the first time, she really likes the sound of his voice. And by the time they go out on their first date, they find out that they have a lot in common – including very busy lives with very unconventional schedules.
 
Ashley: Ella and Christian were set up in a very Hollywood way. However, there were chance encounters prior to their first date that proved they were destined to meet. Looks were definitely a factor. Ella thinks Christian looks really sexy in a baseball uniform, but it was all of the things they had in common that really attracted them to each other. They’re both from the same hometown, and they share many similarities. They’re just two ordinary people living extraordinary lives, and they bond over their shared foundation.
 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Samantha: I think this scene had me laughing and crying. And I think Ashley probably would agree!
This was from Easter Sunday – Ella’s favorite holiday – and things don’t go as planned. Christian has to be at the stadium early and all of her plans for an Easter brunch go out the window.

I drive around the city with no actual destination in mind. When I see something I want, I’ll stop. However, as I drive, I see families pouring out of church in their Easter Sunday best. Laughing, smiling and taking pictures. They’re probably heading to Easter Brunch and I cannot be the party of one eating by herself in the corner.

Cue the waterworks again. It’s now 9:30 in the morning, so my options are limited, but then I see it. Like a black, white, and red beacon in the distance.

Steak ‘n Shake.

Yeah, not a traditional breakfast, but that doesn’t even matter. Nothing does. Not right now. Traditional doesn’t exist in my world. Not in my career, my marriage, none of it.

I pull up to that drive-thru, and order the most ridiculous thing I can even imagine for breakfast: a chili 5-way, French-fries and a cookies and cream milkshake. I can’t even make eye contact with the cashier because I’m a mess, and I’m sure I’ll see pity in her eyes. Instead, I pay, grab my food and then pull over to the edge of the parking lot and park.

And eat the saddest Easter Sunday breakfast ever.

 
Ashley: This scene had me laughing out loud because this is exactly what happened. I was so sad at the time, but now, it’s so ridiculous and funny to me. Being a baseball wife can be really lonely, and this was one of the first moments when I realized that what I had pictured in my head was not the reality:

“Cue the waterworks again. It’s now 9:30, so my options are limited, but then I see it. Like a black, white, and red beacon in the distance.
Steak ‘n’ Shake.
Yeah, not a traditional breakfast, but that doesn’t even matter. Nothing does. Not right now. Traditional doesn’t exist in my world. Not in my career, my marriage, none of it.
I pull up to that drive-thru and order the most ridiculous thing I can even imagine for breakfast: a Chili 5-way, French fries, and a cookies-and-cream milkshake. I can’t even make eye contact with the cashier because I’m a mess, and I’m sure I’ll see pity in her eyes. Instead, I pay, grab my food, and then pull over to the edge of the parking lot.
And eat the saddest Easter Sunday breakfast ever.”

Readers should read this book….

Samantha: Because it’s amazing! And while, yes, that is 100% accurate, LUCKY 22 is probably one of the most inspiring and uplifting love stories I’ve ever written or read. This isn’t a sugar-coated celebrity story, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly. The struggles are real and prove that true love really can conquer all.
 
Ashley: because it’s a reminder that magic and true love really exist. I was destined to meet my husband, David, who is my soulmate. I don’t want to ruin the story, which is true, but Ella has been waiting her entire life for her Golden Birthday because her 4th grade teach said that something special would happen on that day. Her Golden Birthday is September 22; she turns 22, and something very special happens.
 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

Samantha: Right now I am currently working on my holiday romance that will come out in November. The working title is A MERRY LITTLE MESS. A fun story about housesitting for the holidays gone wrong!
As for releases, I have #RESORT KISS (book 5 in my Lakeview Harbor series) coming out July 28th, LUCKY 22 on September 8th, and then A MERRY LITTLE MESS coming out November 3rd.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Five ebook copies of #RESORT KISS – my July release!

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Excerpt from Lucky 22:

This scene is when they are just dating for under two weeks and she goes to Arizona to see him while he’s doing physical therapy with the team trainers. Everything’s still new and exciting, and it’s a scene that makes me smile 🙂

“Ella Rose?” he says in that deep, masculine voice that I’m getting very accustomed to. “You’re rambling.” I can hear the amusement in his voice, but he’s right. I’m definitely rambling.

“This is just…” Pausing, I sigh. Loudly. “This is just so much more than I was expecting, and I guess I’m nervous.”

“The last thing in the world that I want is for you to be uncomfortable.”

“I’m not. I swear. This is all new to me.” The nervous laugh is out before I can stop it. “I’m fine. Really. By the time you get here, I promise to be like my normal self.”

“As long as it’s how you feel,” he says, and I can already feel myself calming. “You don’t need to pretend with me. It’s okay if you’re nervous. I am too.”

For some reason, that thrills me.

“Really? You’re not just saying that?”

He laughs. “I believe in being truthful at all times. Even when it might not make me look great. The thing is, this is all new to me too. All I know is that I’m glad you’re here, and I can’t wait to see your face. It’s been too long.”

“It’s been four days. Barely,” I tease.

“Still too long.”

Aww…this man…

“My ride’s here. I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Do you need anything?”

Just you.

“I’m good. But thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, you will.”

We hang up and I spring into action. I unpack a few things and quickly freshen up. The flight wasn’t long, but I still dressed casually, though I’d like to look a little more put together. Especially if we’re going to dinner at the rooftop restaurant.

I change out of my leggings and sweatshirt and put on a pair of black jeans and a turquoise sweater. My hair had been up in a ponytail, so I remove the scrunchy and shake my head and brush it all out. Studying my reflection, I touch up my makeup a bit and re-apply my lipstick, and by the time Christian knocks on the door, I’m ready.

More than that, I’m both excited and relaxed.

This is it.
The start of everything.

And when I open the door and see his handsome face, my heart tells me I have nothing to worry about. I made the right decision.

Our future starts right here, right now.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Twenty-two was just a lucky number. Until it wasn’t.

Ella Rose Holt believes in magic. Not always the fairy-tale kind, but the quiet kind that shows up when you least expect it. On the brink of her golden birthday, chasing acting dreams in Los Angeles, Ella’s life feels full of possibility…and just a little unfinished.

Christian Lucas has built his world on discipline, dedication, and the game he loves. As a professional baseball player, his life is carefully scheduled, a bit guarded, and rarely spontaneous.

When a chance encounter, a lucky number, and a not-so-blind blind date bring them together, neither is prepared for the connection that follows.

What starts as an unexpected meeting quickly becomes something deeper—an easy friendship, a steady trust, and a romance that grows quietly but undeniably. As their worlds collide under bright stadium lights and red-carpet flashes, Ella and Christian must decide whether love has a place in lives already full of ambition, sacrifice, and dreams in motion.

Because sometimes, the most extraordinary love stories aren’t loud or dramatic.

They’re built on faith.

On timing.

On believing that when the moment comes, you’ll be brave enough to say yes.

And a little bit of luck.
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance that’s hotter than sweet, sweeter than hot. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than eighty titles under her belt – including THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE which was a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2017 and THE WEDDING SEASON which was a Hallmark wedding movie in 2023! She’s a Disney enthusiast who still happily listens to 80’s rock. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Solitaire when she should be writing, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 32 years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |

Ashley Eckstein is an actress, author, entrepreneur, executive producer, fashion designer, inspirational speaker, mental health advocate, podcaster, and a dynamic force in the entertainment and fandom worlds. Best known as the voice of the iconic Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars—a character she originated in 2008—she also revolutionized fandom culture in 2010 when she founded Her Universe, a trailblazing fashion and lifestyle brand. Ashley’s designs can currently be found at Disney parks and stores around the world.

A leading authority and tastemaker in fandom, Ashley has been featured on CNN, Forbes, Fortune, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, among many others. She was honored by Good Housekeeping as one of its “25 Awesome Women,” invited to speak at Fortune magazine’s Next Gen Most Powerful Women Summit, and named one of CNET’s “Women Who Inspire.” Ashley also serves on the national advisory council for the Kids Mental Health Foundation.

She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, former Major League Baseball player and World Series MVP, David Eckstein. Together, they love traveling the world in search of the best pizza.
 
 
 

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