Interview with Deirdre Martin, author of Icebreaker

Please join me in welcoming one of my favorite authors - Deirdre Martin! I love her NY Blades hockey series and her latest book in the series, Icebreaker, is out this month:



Before I get started, I have to fangirl gush for a moment: Your books have turned me into a lover of all things hockey, although I’ve never seen a game (in real life or TV). I’ve added “seeing a live hockey game” to my Bucket List! (Hopefully hubs is reading this, lol)

Book Addict: First, the obvious question: Are you a fan of hockey? If so, do you have a favorite team?

Deirdre Martin: Oh yeah, I’m a hockey fan!I wasn’t a fan of any kind of sport (unless you count tangling with others at a Used Book Sale) until 1993 or so, which is when Mark Messier came in as Captain of the New York Rangers. My husband was so riveted (He’d been a Mess fan for a long time) I started to watch hockey with him, and I was soon hooked. And continue to be. My favorite team is still the Rangers.

Book Addict: Do you base any of your characters on real players? Do you have a favorite character in this series?

Deirdre Martin: Ty Gallagher, the hero of BODY CHECK, is an amalgam of Messier and the former Captain of the New Jersey Devils, Scott Stevens. If you stretched it a bit, you could probably say Quinn O’Brien in WITH A TWIST is based on a real beat reporter for a tabloid in New York.

As for my favorite character in the series, I’d have to say it’s Michael Dante from FAIR PLAY. He’s emotional, he’s determined, he’s romantic..and he’s also quite funny. I love writing scenes between him and his brother, Anthony (who’s the hero of JUST A TASTE). They both have quick tempers that flare up when they’re together, but you’re never in doubt that the love is there between them.

Book Addict: I love picking up one of your new books and revisiting with familiar favorites as well as meeting new characters. After 10 books, how do you keep all your characters straight?

Deirdre Martin: I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me that! I often don’t keep them straight. I should probably make a big family type tree and pin it to the wall by my desk, but somehow I just haven’t gotten around to it. As a result, I do wind up spending time going through the books, often to double check the dates on things. I once had MONICA from POWER PLAY with the wrong Mitchell brother throughout the second half of the book. Thank God I caught it before I handed the manuscript in! I also have to go back a lot to double check what positions I have various heroes’ playing on the ice, what years the Blades won the Cup and what years they didn’t, and the names and ages of Michael and TY’s kids, which obviously progresses as the books go on. Again, a chart would be handy, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.

Book Addict: I really enjoyed Icebreaker. Sinead and Adam are both private people and watching them open up and get closer to each other was engaging. As their relationship progresses, they struggle with real life issues regarding male and female stereotypes. Did you draw from personal experiences while writing Icebreaker?

Deirdre Martin: I did. I put a lot of myself in Sinead: the workaholism, the migraines..when my younger sister had her first child, I didn’t handle it very well. I was envious, and a wreck whenever I babysat my niece. I was convinced I would do something wrong: overfeed her, underfeed her, drop her on her head, you name it. Thankfully no harm came to her while in my care!

A long time ago I was a copywriter in an office that was predominantly male, and always felt I had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. Obviously it didn’t work: the day one of the head honchos said, “Can you go get me some coffee, hon?” was the day I was outta there.

Book Addict: Is it difficult coming up with new stories and keeping the series fresh? What do you do for inspiration?

Deirdre Martin: I do have a hard time coming up with new stories. I’m always envious of writers who say they have tons of ideas in their head, and they can’t write their books fast enough to keep up with them.

For inspiration, I try to keep it close to home and see what happens. For example: the inspiration for Gemma from TOTAL RUSH sprang from the fact I was learning to read tarot cards. Monica in POWER PLAY was inspired by the lack of respect for romance writers in the world of fiction. We’re often called hacks, as are soap actors. Quinn emerged as the hero for WITH A TWIST because there’s a beat reporter at the Daily News in New York who I think is amazing, and I thought it might be interesting to build a world set in the newspaper office of a tabloid at a time when newspapers are disappearing.

Book Addict: I like the Irish storyline that weaves through your books – have you been to Ireland?

Deirdre Martin: I’ve been there, and I love it. If someone offered me a job in Dublin, I’d be on a plane within an hour. I hate to stereotype, but I’ve never encountered any rudeness in Ireland, either in Dublin or in the country. Unless you count sheep; they’re very rude, spilling onto the country roads and making you wait for them to clear.

Book Addict: Do you see a definite end to the NY Blades series or will you keep writing as long as you have stories to tell? (Please say you’ll keep writing, lol)

Deirdre Martin: I don’t see an end to the Blades series at all! As long as I have stories to tell that will keep readers interested, I’ll keep writing them.

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions and congratulations on Icebreaker’s release!

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: February 1, 2011
ISBN-10: 0425239799
ISBN-13: 978-0425239797

Good thing high-powered attorney Sinead O'Brien has a rule about never dating clients. Because Adam Perry, the newest star of the New York Blades—and her newest client—has her headed for the penalty box. If only she could prove he's just another jock...

Adam's 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 tries not to get distracted by Adam's dazzling good looks or strong work ethic, but she quickly discovers that there's a wounded man under that jersey, and she's starting to fall for him—hard.

Now Adam's having trouble focusing on the goal with Sinead in his sights. And Sinead is tempted to break her "no dating clients" rule. Can they play on their new found feelings without penalties?

Review: Icebreaker by Deirdre Martin (Yay for hockey!)

Icebreaker
~Deirdre Martin

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: February 1, 2011
ISBN-10: 0425239799
ISBN-13: 978-0425239797




From the author's website:
Good thing high-powered attorney Sinead O'Brien has a rule about never dating clients. Because Adam Perry, the newest star of the New York Blades—and her newest client—has her headed for the penalty box. If only she could prove he's just another jock...

Adam's 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 tries not to get distracted by Adam's dazzling good looks or strong work ethic, but she quickly discovers that there's a wounded man under that jersey, and she's starting to fall for him—hard.

Now Adam's having trouble focusing on the goal with Sinead in his sights. And Sinead is tempted to break her "no dating clients" rule. Can they play on their new found feelings without penalties?

I think my love of hockey romance is well documented here. And here. And here. And I love the New York Blades!

Icebreaker is the story between Sinead O'Brien, a workaholic attorney, and Adam Perry, the new captain of the NY Blades. Adam is being sued for assault after he knocked out another player on the ice and his "hockey people" have asked Sinead to defend him. Sinead doesn't know anything about hockey but agrees to take the case.

Part of Sinead's research is to get to know everything there is to know about Adam. He's a very close person; he doesn't have much to say and is very succinct when he does. Sinead is frustrated by his lack of forthcoming information. She runs into him at her parents bar and they have an interesting conversation - she learns more about him here than she has in the office, so she decides to try meeting in a less "businesslike" atmosphere to see if he'll open up a bit more. Adam wants to know more about Sinead, so he won't give without her telling him something about herself too.

They begin dating, but even though the male members of the firm often "entertain" their female clients, Sinead is called to carpet about her relationship with Adam, but Adam doesn't understand why it's such a big deal for Sinead, and Sinead is upset that Adam doesn't understand how difficult it is for her.

I really enjoyed this latest installment of Ms. Martin's NY Blades series. Sinead is a woman working in a predominantly man's world (law), and she's worked hard to get where she is. She was married, but eventually disagreement about raising kids ended the marriage - raising children, not having children. Although she really wants children, Sinead knows her career will falter and die if she takes time off to raise a family. She's very driven and is constantly thinking ahead about the repercussions of her actions at all times. Adam is focused on his career too - he knows he only has a year or two left on the ice and he wants to win the Stanley Cup. The lawsuit is hoey and he knows it, but it could end his career and change the way hockey is played if it succeeds.

I love the way Adam's history is slowly revealed to Sinead. There are some surprises in his background that she (we) did not expect. Reading them getting to know each other in tiny increments, Sindad debating with herself and her co-worker Oliver about her attraction to Adam, and Adam's interest in Sinead growing each time they meet set a nice pace. Sinead and Adam's romance slowly boiled into an inferno - once they let it ignite, their chemistry was hot.

If you're a fan of the series, you'll be happy to know we see a lot of familiar faces in Icebreaker: Ty Gallagher, Michael Dante, Quinn O'Brien, Sinead's parents and the Wild Hart Bar, Anthony and Vivi Dante and Dante's Restaurant, and a few of the players. We see a lot of Anthony Dante, the hero from Just A Taste, and I still like him - he was integral in helping Adam see that Sinead was not making up worst-case scenarios but that her workplace issues were real. We're also introduced to Sinead's best friend, co-worker, and resident horn-dog, Oliver - he steals the show! I love him - he's the kind of wingman every girl should have.

I identified with Icebreaker in that Sinead had real-life career issues that Adam, as a man, didn't understand. I find this to be true in Real Life too. Because they were both so private, sometimes they didn't communicate well and it took a friend (Anthony in Adam's case and Oliver in Sinead's case) to see the other side of the story.

I'll say this about the ending: At first I was disappointed, it didn't work for me, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Then, I realized that was my problem - it didn't work for ME - but it worked just fine for Sinead and Adam. Once I sat back and thought about it, I realized it was actually a very happy ending ;)

I thoroughly enjoyed Icebreaker, Ms. Martin, and will keep reading your NY Blades stories as long as you keep writing them!

My Rating:

This book was provided to me by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.