New Figure Skating Novel..."Pairing Off"

mskitty said:

Romance on Ice
By Elizabeth Harmon

A book I started to write but never finished, inspired me to write the book that made me a published author.

I love sports movies and romance novels, and a few years back, decided to write a romance with an ex-baseball player hero. Though that book remains unfinished, I knew if I tried another sports romance, the heroine would be an athlete, competing in one of my favorite sports, figure skating.

I had no idea what would happen to my figure skater heroine until I read about an American basketball player’s decision to compete for Russia in the Summer Olympics.

The controversy surprised me. Athletes competing for other countries isn’t new. This player had established a pro career in Russia, and come on, isn’t the Cold War supposed to be over? But the negative reaction got me thinking, and served as the seed for my story. Because I write romance, there had to be a gorgeous man involved. A coach? The guy she left behind...or another skater? Throw in my love for “The Cutting Edge”... and voila! “Pairing Off” was born.

Though I skated casually as a kid, and take lessons as an adult, I felt unprepared to write convincing figure skater characters, so I did a lot of reading and lurking. My reading list included Christine Brennan’s “Edge of Glory” and “Inside Edge,” as well as Joy Goodwin’s “The Second Mark,” which offered amazing insights into pair skating. The knowledgeable posters on two popular skating fan sites, Figure Skating Universe and Golden Skate, offered a wealth of information as well.

I also turned to some gracious people in the skating community. Several skaters and coaches from my rink were enthusiastic sources and beta readers. Carrie’s skating passages were reviewed by 2014 U.S. Adult National Ladies Championship Level 4 gold medalist Cindy Clay Crouse. Rockne Brubaker, 2012 U.S. Pairs silver medalist, reviewed Anton’s and a number of other passages too.

Even with such great information and expert help, there are still some areas where I took a bit of creative license. In real life, it’s doubtful Carrie’s release to skate for Russia would have come so easily, but to avoid the book becoming a saga of red tape, I resolved it early and quickly. Because IJS can be difficult to understand, I avoided delving into it in great detail, limiting it to reflections on what judges would or would not like in terms of presentation.

Writing "Pairing Off" taught me so much as a writer, skater and fan, and I look forward to adding even more detail and dimension into my next visit to the skating world (men’s singles this time) in “Getting It Back” an upcoming installment in my Red Hot Russians series.

For now, Happy Reading

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