I Lost My Podcast Virginity

The Royal Half and All the Kings Men are two powerhouses in the Los Angeles Kings community and I have long been a fan of their work. They are masters of GIFs and graphics and their wit is well-known to LA Kings fans like me.

In fact, if you heard the TV announcers talk about "That 70s Line"--Jeff Carter (#77), Tyler Toffoli (#73), and Tanner Pearson (#70)--that nickname was coined by The Royal Half on their blog.

See what I mean about their graphics? Hilarious.

Anyway, recently they asked if I would agree to an interview on their podcast. I was terrified to do it. What if they made fun of me, my books and/or the romance genre? Hockey fans are hardcore. I envisioned myself being a babbling, incoherent mess and condemned to knowing that anyone could download my meltdown from iTunes and have themselves a laugh riot.

However, I knew that this was a fantastic opportunity for promotion. I hoped that any embarrassment I felt would be offset by a few sales. Surely there were some readers amongst those combined 17,000 Twitter followers who might enjoy reading an escapist hockey romance.

It turned out to be totally fun. I did stumble some and ramble a lot. At one point I forgot my point and had to admit I had no idea where I was going, but while I didn't ace it by any long shot of the imagination, I didn't crash and burn. The guys--there were three of them, so my first foursome!--were gentlemen and very respectful. I actually adored their nervous laughter when we started talking about the sex scenes. And my sales got a very respectable bump that week.

Thank you, The Royal Half and All the Kings Men. You guys rock.

Without further ado, here is Episode 381, Kate Willoughby.

A Real Life Bottlegate!

Look at the bottom left of the photo

I'm taking recent events in the NHL as a sign from God that I'm on the right track. My first hockey novel, On the Surface, features a former Blackhawk who is traded to the San Diego Barracudas because of an incident with a fan involving a water bottle.

Now, keep that in mind as I tell you that this spring, the water bottle has been the weapon of choice for NHL players.

Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks sprayed water into the glove of one of "My Guys", Jeff Carter.

Shawn Thornton of the Boston Bruins sprayed the visor of Montreal Canadien PK Subban.

And finally Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers gave Pittsburgh Penguin Sidney Crosby a little mid-game shower.

It's like an epidemic. It's harmless really. It doesn't hurt anyone (except wimps, as you'll see below). It's just annoying. However, so far the hydro-taunting has been player vs. player. A few days ago, that changed.

Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks got fed up with a heckler--JUST LIKE IN MY BOOK--and sprayed water into the face of the heckler--JUST LIKE IN MY BOOK!

Well, that last part isn't quite accurate. The back cover copy, over which I had only minimal input, says Tim threw the water bottle at a fan. In reality, I never fully describe what Tim Hollander does to the fan with his water bottle.

But still!

What are the chances that real life incidents almost completely mirror what I wrote a year ago? Like I said, I take it as a sign from God that my time has come and I'm on the right track. I also bask in the knowledge that what I wrote is utterly believable and possible in the real NHL.

It feels pretty damn good.

The LA fan (yes, he was rooting for LA. ) claims his eyes were irritated by the saliva backwash--from the type of bottle that squirts from a spout. He's filed a police report. What do you think about that? Feel free to comment.

Photo credit: Paul Sakuma, AP