Terms of Endearment #14

The room - (n.) The locker/dressing room.

Players often talk about the room.

"It's good to have veteran guys like that in the room."

"He's a big presence in the room."

"We don't really talk about that stuff in the room."

The room is referenced a lot in interviews. The room is obviously an important place. It's the inner sanctum for the players. A lot of stuff gets said in there, the real stuff, the gritty stuff, the stuff that's not camera-ready or politically correct.

I really hope I can bring my readers into the room with my players, the San Diego Barracudas. One my goals with the IN THE ZONE series is to zero in on a side of hockey that the fans don't normally see. Sure, it's fiction and I'm taking liberties and probably getting a lot of stuff wrong, but one day I may actually get a look at the Kings' locker room, and at least soak in the non-human details.

Personally, I love when the TV cameras go in "the room." I often ignore the players completely and focus on what's behind him. I'm studying the pads, where the hooks are, all the details.

One time, I saw Anze Kopitar nonchalantly hang his cup up on a hook behind him while a reporter was asking a question. Being a woman, I was like, "Wow, that's what a cup looks like." Being an LA Kings fan, I was like, "OMG. THAT'S ANZE KOPITAR'S CUP!" Being a smutty romance writer, I was like, "Since they're only filming him from the chest up, does that mean he hasn't got pants on?"

Home Stretch

I officially broke 90,000 words on IN THE ZONE Book 2!

I thought my hero and his brother were going to break down in manly tears with each other and was worried about it. I emailed my glorious, all-knowing editor, to ask for her opinion, and she thought it would be fine.

So, armed with "permission," went ahead with the scene, and now the two men don't seem to be going in that direction after all.

Jerks. LOL


Photo by MissMessie

Revisiting the Glory

Yeah. The book I ordered arrived.

It was a dream run.

They can do it again this year.

Stay healthy, boys. Stay strong.

On a side note, my thumb looks young there. Not wrinkly like usual. LOL

Title Finalized

The Powers that Be at Carina Press have decided that the title of my hockey romance will remain ON THE SURFACE. They were afraid that with the word "sniper" in the title, the book might be mistaken for a military romance.

I sort of laughed about that because I assume there will be some sort of imagery on the cover that will indicate to readers that there's hockey lovin' inside. I actually pray that there will be hockey imagery on the cover.

There are women who love hockey out there. I want them to find my book.

Title in Flux and Term of Endearment #13

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez

Sniper (n.) - A player with a powerful, accurate shot skilled at finishing plays. Snipers frequently score more goals than assists. Snipers can be either forwards or defensemen. (Definition lifted from Wikipedia)

This is a photo of Tyler Toffoli, a young King who got some fantastic experience in the 2013 post season. He's only 21, but has a reputation for finishing plays and scoring. A sniper is the guy you want to give the puck to because he's the one who will put it in the net.

The other day I realized that Tim, the hero of my first hockey romance, could be considered a sniper. Now, sniper is a sexy word. I thought it might make a good word in a title. So, I emailed my editor something along the lines of, "It might be too late, but Tim is a sniper, which isn't an official hockey position but maybe we could suggest a new title, if the team still wants a title with a hockey position in it."

To my surprise, she said it wasn't too late and the idea had merit. She encouraged me to think of some titles following these conventions:  Sniper's ____ or ______ the Sniper.

Here's what I came up with.

• The Lovesick Sniper
• The Superstitious Sniper
• Tempting the Sniper
• Resisting the Sniper
• Caring For the Sniper
• Crazy for the Sniper
• In Love with the Sniper
• Snaring the Sniper
• Winning over the Sniper
• Saving the Sniper
• Sniper’s Score
• Sniper’s Salvation
• Sniper’s Superstition
• Sniper’s Comeback
• Sniper’s Return
• Sniper’s Struggle
• Sniper’s Heartbreak
• Sniper’s Heartache
• Sniper’s Destiny
• Sniper’s Choice
• Sniper’s Remedy
• Sniper’s Rebound
• Sniper’s Lucky Kiss

The bold ones are my favorites. Feel free to chime in on which one you like.

LAKings.com and Me

Something cool has been in the works during the past couple of days. It started with a tweet from @LAKings. It was a link. I went there and what I read was very entertaining.

Then as I lay in bed that night, I got an idea. Actually, several ideas. I sent those ideas to @by_DeborahLew.

And now, a few emails later, those ideas may bear fruit, "may" being the operative word.

So, stay tuned!

Terms of Endearment #12

Stick tap - (n.) the hockey equivalent to applause.

The most recent stick-tap I can remember was in Saturday's game where someone got into a fight and the players on the bench tapped their sticks when the refs broke it up. They tapped, not because the fight was over, but because their teammate had stood up for himself and for his teammate, who had suffered what the fighter perceived as a not cool body check.

In a way, fighting could be considered hockey chivalry. You defend the honor of your comrade. It's the code. It's part of why I love hockey. The video is not of a stick tap, but more of the retaliatory fight. Sorry. I couldn't find a video of a stick tap.

KINGS WIN.

Amazing job by my boys.

Carter with a tying goal to get the game into overtime.
A nail-biting overtime.
Then Quick with an AMAZING poke check during the shoot-out.
Carter and Kopi both scoring to win the shoot-out.

 We win the season opener at Minnesota. Go, Kings, Go!

 

Video courtesy of Kings Vision

Brownie Bumped Down

The captain of my beloved Los Angeles Kings, Dustin Brown, is one of the best players in the NHL. Unfortunately, he hurt his hamstring at the start of training camp and is only just now coming back from it. This means he missed a lot of camp and so he is "rusty," according the Darryl Sutter, the head coach.

As a result, Brownie isn't on the first line in the Kings' season opener. He's got a place on the third. I'm 100% certain he'll move back up. He just needs a few games under his belt. They've all just come off three months of no hockey. They were all rusty coming into camp, but everyone but Brownie rid themselves of the rust during camp and during those pre-season games.

And you know what? Brown would be the first person to tell you, that's the way it is and that's the way it should be. In professional hockey, you earn your place on the line.

Man, I love this sport.