Talking hockey with Cassandra Carr

I had the chance to ask some hockey questions to romance author Cassandra Carr, who has a series of hockey romance books published, one of which was reviewed here, and knows a thing or two about the sport.   Here is that interview:

1.      How did you become interested in hockey?    

     
 I’ve been watching hockey from an early age, but really became a fan when I moved to the Western New York area in 1994. I started following the Buffalo Sabres, and have been a fan for twenty years now. Try me in bar trivia, especially about the Sabres, but generally the NHL works too. A couple of guys have found out the hard way that it’s not a good idea to challenge me. ;-)

2.      What methods of research have you done to be able to write such detailed passages about the game?  Not just the on-ice action but also about topics such as front office dealing and player accommodations.

      

      If you watch the game long enough you pick up enough. I’ve also watched a lot of specials and behind-the-scenes stuff. Oh, and read a lot of newspaper and magazine articles. Those “getting to know” the players interviews yield a lot of information too.

3.      From our earlier email conversation, I know that when your favorite player  Jason Pominville, was traded from your favorite team, the Buffalo Sabres, to my favorite team, the Minnesota Wild, you made this story a bit of revenge for that trade.  Do you base your fictional team, the Buffalo Storm, off of the real-life Sabres?  If so, what similarities do you use to bring that reality to the game?

I would guess they’re loosely based on the Sabres, but not really anything specific. I know a fair amount about the arena where the Sabres play, so I’ve used some of that info. Other than that, there’s no real specificities. But yes, that was a bit of my own revenge.

4.      Okay, I can’t resist this question.  In my review, I noted that Mikael could not find places to enjoy water activities in Minnesota.  Was this a tongue-in-cheek humorous passage or was this part of the above-mentioned “revenge”?

Eh, probably a little bit of both. I like to inject humor into my stories. Sometimes just to do it, sometimes to lighten up the overall mood a little.

5.      What marketing or selling technique do you have to attract readers who may not be interested in romance or erotica but love to read good sports stories?

I don’t think I use anything specific. Most authors use similar marketing techniques. I always think I should do something different, but I haven’t sat down and done any brainstorming.

6.      How do you see the upcoming season shaping up for the sport in general and the Sabres in particular?

The Sabres will not finish well, but the silver lining may be Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. As far as the sport in general, some of the old powerhouse teams are going down and others are finally rising. But who will win the Stanley Cup? No idea.

7.      Are you currently working on any other projects and are there any other books that will soon come out with hockey-based themes?   There is your Buffalo Storm series, of which this book is a part, but are there others?  Feel free to shamelessly plug your works here! 

I have a male/male series of hockey books – the Safe Harbor series, which includes See the Light and Hiding In Plain Sight; and more on the way. I’m in the midst of putting all the books that I have audio rights to on audio, through iTunes, Audible, and Amazon.