Holla!! It’s Tori. I’m so pleased that I am here with Deirdre Martin to talk about life, books, hockey, smexy men, and her newest release-Icebreaker-#9 in her New York Blades series.
Hi Deirdre! (insert fangirl SQUEEE) Thanks so much for being here with me today at Smexybooks. I LOVE hockey and smexy men so your New York Blades series excites me in many ways I really can’t say aloud on here. Your newest release, Icebreaker comes out today. Will you tell us about it?
The heroine, Sinead O’ Brien, is a high powered Manhattan attorney (She’s one of the siblings featured in the WILD HART saga) who has a rule about never dating clients—that is, until she meets Adam Perry, the newest star of the New York Blades who is also her newest client.
Adam has been charged with assault after a borderline hit on another star player. But off the ice he’s a private, no-nonsense guy who knows the Blades are his last shot at Stanley Cup glory. Assembling her case, Sinead at first assumes he’s some bone headed jock. But as things progress, she quickly discovers that there’s a wounded man under that jersey, and she’s starting to fall for him hard—so hard, in fact, that she’s tempted to break her ‘no dating clients’ rule. As for Adam, he’s having trouble focusing on the goal with Sinead in his sights. But true love prevails…
Adam and Sinead were interesting to write, because they’re both highly driven and highly guarded, but inside, they’re completely vulnerable. I enjoyed taking them on the journey from cautious regard to love, trust, and passion. And of course, it was great to be back in the Blades locker room with the guys.
I saw on your bio that hockey is the only sport you like to watch on TV. What drew to this particular sport? Besides the smexy men.
I have to confess, it pretty much WAS the smexy men that drew me. No, what happened was that I started watching hockey with my husband, and I realized very quickly that not only was the game itself exciting, but that the players made perfect romantic heroes. They’re warriors on a quest: the quest for the Stanley Cup. They’re willing to sacrifice, whether it’s physical, mental, or spiritually, to achieve their goal. These guys are tough. And let’s not forget, they have fabulous bodies.
What type of research is involved in writing this series? Do you base your characters on any real hockey players?
I LOVE doing research. It’s really, really important to me that the details in my stories are as real as possible, whether it’s for the Blades books or the others I’ve written. For BODY CHECK, I spent time with the New York Ranger’s (then) head of PR. I checked out the team’s locker room. (when it was empty, unfortunately). For CHASING STANLEY, I followed a Manhattan dog walker around for a few days, since that’s what the heroine does for a living.
The hero of my first book, BODY CHECK, Ty Gallagher, was an amalgam of the New Jersey Devils’ Scott Stevens and the New York Rangers Mark Messier, both of whom are now retired. Both were extremely tough, as well inspirational to their teammates.
The rest of my hockey heroes pretty much spring from my imagination.
A lot of people ask me who my favorite hockey hero in the series is. So far, It’s Michael Dante from FAIR PLAY.
I see you are on #9 of this series. How many more do you have planned all together?
The door is open on that. As long as readers keep buying the books and telling me they want more, I’ll keep writing them
Let’s talk about you now. I see you lead a very interesting life. Have you always had stories to tell?
Yes. I’m sure there a lot of my teachers along the way got sick of reading what I wrote. For example, my fourth grade teacher was subjected to an ongoing, G-rated romance between me and George Harrison. Another gem was one about a kid who scrawls a curse word on the inside door of a confessional. I got in trouble for that one, though looking back, I can’t understand why.
What drew you to the romance genre? What other genres interest you?
Romance is like comfort food; you read a romance and you know it’s always going to end happily. It’s a great escape.
As for other genres, I like fantasy. I think the Gormenghast books are great as well as the Golden Compass Trilogy. I also just finished an amazing book called “The Hounds of the Morrigan.” It was written before the Harry Potter books, and how film rights for it weren’t snapped up immediately mystifies me.
Do you ever see yourself ever writing a non romance book?
I actually did write one, called Investing for Retirement. I took it off my husband’s hands because he had too much to do. Stupid move: it was like being tortured. My main memory is of me clutching my head at the keyboard, whining, “I have never been this bored in my LIFE!” But we needed the money.
What are your “must have” things to write?
Coffee. Quiet. My husband mocks me because I have three reporters’ notebooks on my desk, as well as four or five pens. I love jotting thoughts down longhand. Actually, I prefer to write longhand, but that’s not feasible, since I only type with two fingers and it would take me ages to transcribe.
Where do you picture yourself 5 years from now?
On a yacht in the Mediterranean. I wish! It’s hard for me to say. I just hope I’m still working at home, writing fiction.
I see your husband’s an author also. Do you bounce ideas off each other?
I wouldn’t say we bounce ideas off each other as much as offer suggestions to each other, and edit. My husband enjoys editing—maybe too much. He likes his prose very lean and spare, and there have been times when he’s edited entire paragraphs out of my books that I have to put back in. When I first started writing romance, he was really good at helping me get a handle on the way guys’ really think and speak. Were it not for Mark, the heroes of my first couple of books would have sounded like Russell Brand: overly erudite and mildly insane. Mark helped fixed that.
What authors have a permanent spot on your bookshelf?
Nora, of course, Diana Holquist. David Sedaris. Nick Hornby. Janet Evanovich. P.G. Wodehouse. Stephen Fry. SMP.
What big thing do you want to do that you haven’t done yet?
I’d really like to live in Glasgow. And when I’m older, I’d like to serve in the Peace Corps.
Now for the quick responses:
Coke or coffee?
Coffee, direct from an IV drip if possible.
Big breakfast or a donut on the run?
Donut
Do you agree that Starbucks is THE evil empire that must be destroyed?
It depends. There’s a Starbucks here, and there’s a Gimme! Coffee, too. Service is fast at Starbucks. Gimme! Coffee, not so much. There have been times at Gimme! where I SWEAR they send someone to Columbia to pick the coffee beans while you wait. The service is excruciatingly slow, and the college kids working behind the counter all have names like Obsidian Girl and Yurgo ,who glare at “worker bees” with contempt. At least at Starbuck’s they pretend not to hate you.
Wait, what was the question again? No, I don’t think Starbucks is the evil empire that must be destroyed. Their coffee is good and I get served quickly, which is important to me.
Dead tree books or e books?
Both. Some books, for whatever reason, I want to be able to cradle in my hands, and others I’m perfectly happy to download.
Mac or Windows?
Mac. Always.
Where can we find you on the web?
www.deirdremartin.com. I’m also on facebook.
Is there anything you?d like to say to our readers?
Thank you!
Thanks Deirdre! Today, Deirdre is giving away one copy of Icebreaker! To enter, just leave a comment. Open to US/Canada through February 4th.
Blodeuedd says
Just stopping by to read this interview :=)
Hockey players here are sure not that sexy ;)
Theresa @ Fade Into Fantasy says
I'm not entering the contest, but wanted to stop by and let you know that I gave you an award today that gets you into Gini Koch's contest! Check out my blog post for more information: http://fadeintofantasy.blogspot.com/2011/02/woot-check-out-award-i-got-today.html
winnie says
Thanks for the interview and giveaway! I'd love to read this, so please count me in!
chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
wishes4me says
Looks like a great read. I have always been a fan of Deiredre Martin novels!
Thanks for entering me in the giveaway:)
~Felicia
fchien16@gmail.com
tetewa says
Enjoyed the interview, sounds good! tWarner419@aol.com
Julie says
What a fun interview Tori. Nice job to the both of you! This series is on my 'to check out' list. Ever since I've starting looking into it, I'm noticing that many of my bloggy friends enjoy it too! :)
Monica says
I'm a huge sports fan. So, I appreciate when an author takes time to research and make sure the lingo is accurate. It drives me crazy when terms are misused.
I'm interested in this series as I'm hesitant to try out sports related books.
Monica – mono03(at)hotmail(dot)com
Christine says
I just wanted to say that I really like Deirdre's books and have read all of them (minus the Investing one – LOL). I already have Icebreaker on my to-be-read shelf and am looking forward to reading it! Thanks Deirdre and keep up the good work!
D.L. says
I love hockey, so I'd love to get a copy of this book. Thanks for the interview and giveaway!
the[dot]distant[dot]light[at]gmail[dot]com
LSUReader says
Sounds like another good sports romance. Thanks for the interview and for sponsoring the giveaway. (Email in profile.)
RubyCRNA says
Gosh, I love Hockey. Bought my grandson a Mike Modano shirt. I haven't read this book, but I sure would love to. If I don't win it I'll be so disappointed.
lamlovestoread says
I love this series came late to it but caught up quickly. I may not enjoy ice hockey but the romance shines through thanks for a great giveaway.
lamlovestoread says
I love this series came late to it but caught up quickly. I may not enjoy ice hockey but the romance shines through thanks for a great giveaway.
lamlovestoread says
I love this series came late to it but caught up quickly. I may not enjoy ice hockey but the romance shines through thanks for a great giveaway.
Jane says
Congrats on the upcoming release, Deirdre. I love the combo of hockey and romance.
janie1215 AT excite DOT com
Estella says
Why have I not heard of this series before? It sounds great.
kissinoak at frontier dot com
Linda Henderson says
I enjoyed the interview and would love to read the book. I enjoy your hockey books and can't wait to read this one.
seriousreader at live dot com
Mary G says
Awesome interview!
Deirdre, I've read and loved all your books. To this day, Aislinn from Straight Up is still, hands down, one of my fave heroines. I even emailed you, I loved her so much LOL. Aislinn is the most wonderful, funny, smart mouth, kickass heroine. Then again, I haven't read Icebreaker yet. I bet Sinead is right up there.
Keep writing your stories
(athlete or otherwise) & I'll keep buying.
orannia says
Thank you Deidre and Tori!
Please don't include me in the contest :)
greenduckie13 says
Nice interview. Do the books need to be read in order?
greenduckie13 at gmail dot com
nath says
Another great interview :)
I've heard a lot of great comments for this book :) Looking forward to reading it! :)
natuschan{at}gmail{dot}com
Maria (pronounced Mariah) I blame my mother... says
This is why I love blogs like this…I find so many great new authors and great new books!
Thank you! mmafsmith@gmail.com
CrystalGB says
Great interview. Icebreaker sounds good.
Crystal816[at]hotmail[dot}com
Laura says
Hockey!! Awesome!!!!
weebeenoid(at)cox(dot)net
Patti (Book Addict) says
Not entering, just stopping by to say awesome interview! I love this series!
Jordan says
I haven't tried this series yet, but it looks funny and interesting enough to start.
jbrink83 at hotmail dot com
ASHLEY says
I would like to win a copy of this book!
Bonnie says
This sounds like a great read!
intrepid9923(at)yahoo(dot)com
Meredith says
I haven't read any of this series yet either! Please enter me!
meredithfl at gmail dot com
Valerie says
Nice interview!! Can't wait to read more of this series.
varuca25 at gmail dot com
Scorpio M. says
Sports & romance. In one book. My perfect combo. Icebreaker sounds fab!
jenma76 at hotmail dot com
JenM says
I've always enjoyed hockey. I was a Philadelphia Flyers fan way back in the '70s when they won a couple of Stanley Cups in a row. I loved that they were always missing their front teeth, LOL. I haven't read any of Deirdre's books but I've heard good things about them.
jen at delux dot com
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