Kate Willoughby

USA Today Bestselling Author

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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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

3. N Kuhn

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Following Orders

My muse decided I needed to be writing. She gave me an idea for a hockey romance shortie I hope to whip out before the end of the calendar year. Ideally, I’d like to self-pub this in the summer.

Hero: Dustin DeVries – defenseman.

He’s a bit of a blank canvas. On my Evernote about him it says, “Defenseman. 4 years in NHL.” I know he likes dogs. I’ll find out more about him as I go.

Heroine: Maggie Hudson. Her Evernote says, “graduated high school 2007, 25 years old.” She likes dogs too, because I wanted a lost dog to bring them together. She works at the San Diego Zoo managing their largest gift shop. That’s all I know about her so far.

My best friend, Dee J. Adams (also a writer), helped me flesh out the conflict for these two. I was thinking about something meaty. I toyed with the idea of her having a boyfriend who was a pro baseball player or a failed hockey player. But Dee helped me to see that because this story will be short, I can’t have someone get over some large emotional issue. So, I’m actively applying the tenet Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS.) I am really happiest when I have a story in the works.

Photo by jmcmichael (cc)

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Happy Thanksgiving

I feel pretty in control, considering I’ll have fourteen at my house for dinner tomorrow. I did a lot of the work today. I made an apple pecan cheesecake, some cranberry shortbread cookies, and the candied yams. Tomorrow it’ll be the turkey, gravy and getting the house ready. It’s still in a shambles from the carpet cleaning.

In other news, the Kings lost in OT to the Sharks in an eight-round shoot-out. I’m a nervous wreck.

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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

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