Blog Hopping, Shoes and Water Bottles

I'm so excited to be part of Cassandra Carr's Sports Romance Blog Hop. On The Surface, my first sports romance novel isn't coming out until April 14, but I wasn't about to let that stop me!

For this blog hop, I thought I would touch on an event in hockey history that ignited my imagination when I was just starting to write On The Surface. I had in my mind that I wanted my hero to have been recently traded from his old team amid a flurry of bad press. I turned to the internet for help.

Lo and behold, I found Mike Milbury's shoe incident. There was a fight. A fan started whacking the players with a hockey stick and Mike Milbury ended up going up into the stands and hitting a fan on the leg with his own shoe.

Here's a video if you're interested in seeing what actually transpired.

Inspired by this true event, I changed the item from a shoe to a water bottle and gave my hero, Tim Hollander, a strong reason to act the way he did. Here's an excerpt in which the incident is first mentioned in Chapter Two. Tim was traded to the San Diego Barracudas a couple of weeks earlier and is on his way to the car dealership to pick up his new Escalade. In the taxi, he has a conversation with the driver.

“What’s your name, man? People sometimes ask what famous people I’ve driven and I’d like to add your name to the list.”

“Tim Hollander. I play right wing. I’m a forward.”

“That’s offense, right?”

Tim laughed. So did Garcia.

“Hell, I told you baseball’s my game.”

“Yeah, forwards are offense.”

They continued on the 163 through a large interchange. The signs said they were in Mission Valley now. Tim relaxed, knowing this guy wasn’t going to hassle him about his performance last season or ask about Bottlegate. They talked some more. Garcia was easy to talk to. Part of the job, Tim figured. Cabbies were probably a lot like bartenders, but with wheels. Oddly, the more they talked, the more Tim felt like unloading and he ended up telling Garcia about Bottlegate anyway.

“Wait a second,” Garcia said. “Let me get this straight. The guy actually said that your daughter was better off dead than having a father like you?”

“Yes,” Tim said. The Philly fan had actually said much more than that while Tim had sat in the penalty box. He hadn’t shut up for a full minute, criticizing Tim’s play, or lack thereof, and eventually getting personal.

“What an asshole.”

“Thing is, my daughter had died only a few weeks before that.”

Silence.

“She died?”

“Yeah. Leukemia.”

“Shit, man.” Garcia met Tim’s gaze briefly in the rearview mirror. “I’m sorry to hear that. Really sorry. That’s fucked.”

“Thanks.” Tim gave him the tight-lipped smile he always did when people offered their sympathy.
           A few moments passed. “You know what, man? I admire your restraint. I probably would have done a lot more than hit him with a water bottle. I’d probably have killed the guy.”

So, I owe a debt of gratitude to Mike Milbury for inspiring Tim's tragic backstory, even if I don't care for his hockey commentary on NBCSN.

Like I said, On The Surface doesn't come out until April 14, but I want to give away an Advanced Reader Copy to one lucky person. There are many ways to enter. Make sure you leave your email address in the comment section so I can notify you if you win.


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Here are links to the rest of the authors participating in the blog hop. Please visit them to win more fun stuff!

1. Cassandra Carr

2. Jami Davenport

3. N Kuhn

4. Liz Matis

5. VL Locey

6. Laurie Peterson writing as Laurie Terson

7. Michel Prince

8. Jean Joachim

9. Kate Willoughby

10. Lily Harlem

11. Donna Gallagher

12. Normandie Alleman

13. Keira Andrews

14. Melanie Ting

15. Raw Talent Series

16. Bianca Sommerland

17. Suzan Butler

18. Megan Linden