Today I’m delighted to feature debut author Tegan Phillips. Tegan’s book Melting for You was published yesterday. It’s a steamy, second chance hockey romance. As anyone who knows my reading preferences, it will come as no surprise that this went straight on my reading list. I’m a sucker for a hockey player (despite never having seen a game) and a second chance with the one that got away has me eager to read Ellis and Liam’s story. The good news is, it also appears to be the first in series, because having a team of swoony hockey players is never a bad thing!
I am Tegan Phillips and I am 25 turning 26! I was born and raised in Liverpool and my debut novel Melting For You is out in May 2025. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia at 16 and spent a lot of time wondering what they hell I was going to do with my life. Before my diagnosis I wanted to be on stage but I also know my body wouldn’t be able to support me doing eight shows a week.
When Covid hit I had recently lost my job and both my mum and sister were key workers still out of the house a lot of the day. That gave me a lot of time to myself to figure out what I was going to do next. I got back into reading, I had stopped for a few years due to schooling and just a major book slump where nothing sounded good until I started reading romance. After a while I started having these day dreams when I would be lying in bed and I wouldn’t be able to settle until I wrote them down, so I did. For a few weeks every time I had an idea, I would write it down.
Eventually I figured out that I could link them into a story and that is how I wrote my first ever book. Four years later, I wrote the first draft of Melting For You and knew it was something special. Luckily the people at Hera Publishing saw something special in it to and now here we are. I can’t wait for everybody to read it and to introduce myself and an author to the world!
Over to Tegan :
Which five pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?
This is a hard one because I love music! There isn’t a moment where some kind of music wasn’t playing growing up and even now smooth radio is always playing in the back ground. Then there is the musicals angle, I did theatre in high school and fell in love with so many musicals. I think it’s best to break this down into sections…
To represent my working self – 9-5 by Dolly Parton
What I will be blasting in the car – All I Have by Jlo and Ll Cool J
My love life is represented by – I Won’t Say I’m In Love from Disney’s Hercules
My go to karaoke song is – Midnight Train To Georgia by Gladys Knight and The Pips
The song that my friends hear and think of me is – Dilemma by Nelly and Kelly Rowland
What five things (apart from family and friends) would you find it hard to live without.
As cliché as it is my phone would be number 1. I am always scrolling or writing notes down.
A weighted blanket. One of my big problems with my fibromyalgia is restless leg syndrome and I would probably never sleep without one.
He probably counts as family but my dog Reggie. I need a companion and he is my little buddy. He is a shih tzu and chihuahua mix and I love him.
My 2-litre water bottle is always by my side.
Also cliché as an author but something to read, I’d go crazy if I had nothing to read.
Give five pieces of advice to your younger self?
Advocate for yourself. You know what you need and how people can help, so being so scared to step on other people’s toes that you but yourself last.
Dropping out of University isn’t going to ruin your life and I promise it’s worth the anxiety. It’s going to lead to amazing things just trust your gut.
Stop reading fanfiction until 2am when you know you have to be up at 5.30am. Seriously… get some sleep.
He isn’t actually that cute you are just a hormonal teenager.
Don’t be so closed off. Not everyone is out to hurt you, some people just want to open doors for you that you could never have imagined.
Tell us five things that most people don’t know about you
I can say the alphabet backwards… sometimes.
I can do a cartwheel. Every few years my sister is convinced I can no longer do one so I have to whip it out as proof.
I absolutely HATE butter, the only time I like it is melted on toast. I had too many bad sandwiches where my bite was more butter than filling to last me a lifetime.
I was diagnosed with depression when I was 10, I have an amazing family who saw the sights and got me help and therapy. I am so thankful for them.
I am trying to learn Italian and have over a year long streak on Duolingo!
Tell us five things you’d still like to do or achieve.
I want to visit more countries, there is so much culture out there and I want to soak up as much of it as I can.
I would like to build a community of disabled authors and readers online where we can support and uplift each other.
I want to bake more. I love all things sweet but I am always so busy doing other things to spend time making tasty treats.
For people to love my book enough to make fan art of it. That is like a major dream, whenever I see art of someone’s book I am always so blown away and imagining having that experience myself is unthinkable.
But mostly I want to make myself proud. I’m getting there and I want to keep doing it every day.
Many thanks for joining me today, Tegan it was lovely to discover more about you. It’s always good to be able to fly the flag for debut authors and I have to say that Melting for You went straight onto my reading list. I really hope it does well for you. I was interested to read you use a weighted blanket for your legs, it sounds like something I should try. I have peripheral neuropathy and lipoedema so that’s a double whammy for restless legs. I’m sure you’ve already tried magnesium which is something I use. You’re advice about being a hormonal teenager made me laugh. When I look back at who I ‘fancied’ when I was younger – I sometimes cannot began to fathom what I found attractive. Good for you for persevering with Italian. My on and off bouts of learning Spanish leave a lot to be desired! I really hope you get to achieve your dreams. Since I got myself deeper into the online romance world I can see why fan art would be amazing. I’m sadly lacking in the art skills department and I’m in awe of some of the images that are created. I hope you already feel proud, because you made it to publication and that is an amazing achievement!
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Melting for You
In the game of second chances, can they follow the rules?
When Ellis Ainsley runs into her ex, Liam Ruinsky, ten years after they split, she remembers why she fell for him all those years ago. A tall, strong, charming ice hockey player – he really was a dream man. But their lifestyles are now worlds apart, and surely wouldn’t work in reality. But the temptation is too much, and they agree to one last night together.
They thought nothing could go wrong. That was, until Ellis saw the positive result on the pregnancy test.
Already a chronically ill woman struggling to juggle her health and career, Ellis needs to figure out how to tell her NHL-playing ex-boyfriend he is going to be a dad. And despite their decision to coparent, their chemistry is still undeniable.
With turbulent families, over-bearing coaches, and the media wanting a slice of Liam’s life: will he be able to step up? Most of all: will they risk falling in love for a second time?
