How do I write about a book when I can’t reveal the cover, the blurb, or even the release date? Well, I could wait, but I’m so excited about finishing Snowballed for Sarina Bowen’s World of True North that I want to tell you all about it. So, I thought I’d introduce you to some of my inspirations for the book.
What I can tell you is that Snowballed is part of the Moo U hockey series which details the lives and loves of the men’s hockey team at the fictional Burlington University in Burlington, Vermont. I wrote about the first Moo U books here.
Snowballed is the story of Californian Noah Goodwin. He spontaneously decides to transfer to Moo U in Vermont for his last year of hockey. Noah has many gifts: wealthy and famous parents, good looks, intelligence, and athletic skills. He’s a top college hockey player, but not an NHL prospect. But of course, he doesn’t have love… yet.
There were different inspirations for Noah—a half-Japanese, Californian hockey star. First of all, Paul Kariya, who is the best hockey player of Japanese ancestry—so far— ever to play in the NHL. His career ended much too early due to concussions, and Sportsnet did a where-is-he-now update on Kariya. What he’s doing now is surfing. He’s in his forties and looking incredibly fit. Check out the story and pictures here. Or just check out the pictures, because—wow. Did I mention incredibly fit?
Another half-Asian surfer inspiration is Keanu Reeves in Point Break. I visualized Noah as a surfer with long hair and Californian attitudes. His whole life, he’s played hockey in nontraditional sunbelt markets like California and Arizona. Naturally, when he’s plunked onto a farm in Vermont, there’s going to be some culture shock.
Noah’s parents, Gary Goodwin and Candy Sugimoto, were partly inspired by the marriage of Brett Hedican and Kristi Yamaguchi. Brett Hedican was a smooth-skating defenceman for the Canucks, among other teams. He’s now a colour analyst for the San Jose Sharks. And Kristi Yamaguchi is an Olympic gold medalist and world champion figure skater. I read a hilarious story about how they met at the Olympics. While he was very impressed, she hardly noticed him. When they met again, he had to reintroduce himself. This time, she was more interested, and the rest is history.
Zoe Meyers, the hard-working farmer/student/hockey player heroine, who hosts Noah on his farm stay is also a combination of people. Zoe’s quirkiest characteristic—she can’t stop talking to Noah when she’s nervous—came to me from two sources. First, a girlfriend who confessed that she could never talk to really good-looking men because they made her nervous. Second, my own experiences when I had to take steroids for a skin rash. I had zero concentration and I talked non-stop—even when I could see people were backing slowly away from me. I also wanted Zoe to have a sunny exterior, while she’s dealing with some bigger issues below the surface. So, I decided she would have a corny sense of humour, much like my friend, author Elle Rush.
And where did I get the Vermont farm setting? Well, I’ve visited Vermont and I’ve visited farms, but never a Vermont farm. So to get all my farm information, I spent many hours reading books on farming and watching instructional farm videos. (If you’re interested in reading about the highs and lows of starting an organic farm business, I highly recommend The New Farm.) I now know way too much about milking goats, caring for chickens, organic gardening, and pig butchering—none of which will help with my own 3’x 3’ raised bed of vegetables. I also learned that farming is a political activity and small organic farms are closely linked to the best restaurants. In the book, Zoe is an awesome cook, but she has the advantage of using her own produce and dairy products. Fresh, local, organic foods are the foundation of her delicious meals.
Those are my big inspirations for Snowballed. I can’t wait to show you the cover (It’s sizzling!) and tell you more details about the book.