🏈🔥 Hometown Legends World Bible

Tagline: Home never felt so hot.

🌟 Concept Overview

What happens when a national sports hero comes home to recover... and discovers the one person they never forgot?

In Hometown Legends, each story centers around a Major League athlete — injured, benched, or newly retired — who returns to their small hometown to heal, reset, or rediscover themselves. But coming home means facing the one line they were never supposed to cross: falling for their best friend’s sibling.

This shared world blends the athletic hometown hero trope with forbidden love, emotional vulnerability, and off-the-charts heat. Every book stands alone but connects through a shared world of small-town charm, community spirit, and smoldering chemistry that only gets hotter when the game is over.

🏡 The Setting: Oak Valley

A picturesque southern town that has produced more than its fair share of sports stars. With rolling fields, a tight-knit community, and Friday night lights that never dim, Oak Valley is where legends begin… and sometimes, where they return to fall apart — or fall in love again.

Town Vibe: Cozy yet passionate. Think Friday Night Lights meets Virgin River with a spicy twist.
Recurring Theme: Everyone in Oak Valley knows everyone — and everyone remembers who broke whose heart.

📍 Key Locations

• The Dugout Bar & Grill: The local sports bar and gossip hub. Every major game — and scandal — gets replayed here.

• Legends Physical Therapy Center: Where most of the athletes come for rehab and “unexpected encounters.”

• The Oak Valley Stadium: The pride of the town, even if most games are high school level now.

• Blake’s Gym & Training Facility: Owned by a retired athlete who’s seen it all — and doesn’t mind stirring the pot.

• Sweet Pea’s Café: The go-to for small-town charm and post-workout coffee dates.

• The Whisper Creek Trail: A hidden nature path perfect for secret meetups, runs, or stolen kisses.

• Oak Valley Lake Cabins: Private hideaways for anyone needing time alone… or not-so-alone.

💞 Shared World Requirements

1. Main Trope: Athletic hometown hero.

   • MC must be a Major League athlete (any of the 8 sports below).

   • MC must be best friends with the other MC’s brother.

2. Status:

   • MC must be off-season, injured and benched, or retired due to injury.

3. Tone:

   • Emotional. Flirty. Raw.

   • Blend small-town warmth with high-stakes attraction.

4. Heat Level:

   • 3.5 🌶️ or higher. Open-door scenes expected.

5. Ending:

   • No cliffhangers. Must be a completed story with either a Happily Ever After (HEA) or Happy For Now (HFN).

6. Standalone titles:

   • Each book has its own title, but all will be part of the Hometown Legends Shared World.

⚾ The Sports to Choose From (8 Options)

Each author selects one professional-level sport for their MC:

1. Baseball (MLB) – The golden boy pitcher who’s lost his throw.

2. Football (NFL) – The hometown hero quarterback with a shattered knee.

3. Basketball (NBA) – The arrogant shooting guard learning humility off the court.

4. Hockey (NHL) – The enforcer with a broken wrist and a soft spot for one person.

5. Soccer (MLS) – The world-traveling striker who never scored at home.

6. Boxing (Professional Circuit) – The champ who’s done fighting in the ring but not in love.

7. Tennis (ATP/WTA) – The prodigy who walked away before their prime.

8. Track & Field (Olympic Level) – The record-holder facing a comeback — and a temptation.

🧡 The Core Dynamic

Each story should highlight the forbidden attraction and emotional tension between the MCs:

• He’s her brother’s best friend.

• He was always around growing up, but now... he’s different.

• She’s off-limits — the one line he swore he’d never cross.

• But after a few weeks in Oak Valley, lines blur and sparks fly.

Add emotional depth through:

• The MC’s struggle with identity after injury or retirement.

• Family loyalty vs. personal desire.

• The small-town eyes that see everything.

🎯 The World’s Tone & Style

This world thrives on emotion, spice, and connection — the warmth of home wrapped in the fire of forbidden attraction.
Blend heartfelt vulnerability with sexy, slow-burn tension that explodes once control snaps.

Think:

• Off-season doesn’t mean off-limits.

• Broken bodies, healing hearts.

• Small town. Big feelings. Scorching chemistry.

🔥 Story Hook Ideas

Hook Idea Trope Mix The star quarterback returns to Oak Valley after a career-ending injury — and the only physical therapist available is his best friend’s sister… who used to have a crush on him. Forbidden Love • Forced Proximity A retired boxer opens a training center in his hometown and hires his best friend’s little sister as manager — but she’s grown up and no longer afraid to play dirty. Brother’s Best Friend • Grumpy/Sunshine A pro hockey player recovering from surgery gets stuck at his teammate’s family lake cabin — where the teammate’s sister is running the place. Close Quarters • Second Chance A baseball star loses his career and his confidence, but when his best friend’s sister helps him coach a local kids’ team, he remembers how to play — and how to love. Redemption • Forbidden Romance An Olympic sprinter returns home to recover and finds the only massage therapist available is the girl he ghosted years ago — his best friend’s kid sister. Second Chance • Forced Proximity

🏟 Recurring Elements (Optional Crossovers)

• Blake’s Gym – where most of the guys train or rehab together.

• The Legends Charity League – a local foundation that keeps the athletes tied to the town.

• Annual “Homecoming Weekend” Festival – perfect event for crossovers, small-town reunions, and gossip.

• Sports talk radio show “Legends Live” – run by a nosy local reporter who knows everyone’s secrets.

💬 Tagline & Hook Suggestions for Authors

• He came home to heal. She made him remember how to feel.

• Off-season. On fire.

• He was her brother’s best friend. Now he’s her biggest temptation.

• In Oak Valley, legends aren’t just made on the field.

• Love doesn’t play fair — especially when the game is forbidden.