When I start a new novel, there are usually some scenes I’m basing the whole book on. Those “canon moments” that I build everything else around. Those are usually the scenes that I most love writing (or sometimes dread, because they’re so pivotal to the story that I want to get them just right). I always wonder when I’m reading a book what the author most enjoyed writing and if it stands out in some way I as the reader can pick up on.
So here are my favorite scenes from my hockey novels 🙂 The one I enjoyed the most writing or looked forward to the most or that I’m most likely to actually re-read. Lock in your guesses now for what you think my fav moments were 😉
Warning for potential spoilers! If you haven’t read a book, it might be a good idea to skip that section.
Hockey Bois
I’m years and years removed from writing this book, but there are a few moments that still stand out to me that I enjoy. Smaller scale things are Brady miraculously growing a beard over night, Brady falling when Nick says his name for the first time, and the Jagr bobblehead.
But the MOST fun (and maybe most pivotal) were Nick getting a concussion and There’s Only One Bed.
Concussed Nick is just so sweet, and there’s something about Brady defending him and taking care of him that gets me every time. When I go through the book for whatever reason, whether it’s edits or looking for a particular thing, if I land on the concussion scene, that’s always one that I read through completely and just enjoy.
There’s Only One Bed was just fun! I love that trope, and I actually got to write it! And it’s such a relief to be able to stop the slow burn and get them started on actually being a couple after about a year of angst. It’s the build up, the payoff, and I can’t deny I enjoyed the nsfw additions I wrote that didn’t make it into the book proper.
Bonus: My least favorite part to write was the PA tournament and the direct aftermath of that. It hurt me to hurt them, even if it was a necessary evil.
The Trade Deadline
Lars and Ryan are such sweethearts ❤ They are still one of my easiest projects to work on to date. They cooperated at all stages of the process, from brainstorming/outlining to writing. The only dread I ever felt in writing their scenes was making sure I got the moments just right.
My actual favorite moments came later in the book.
The air hockey table. I didn’t know going into the scene who would win that game lol but I knew how it would end. I’d had that one in the back of my head since I started the outline. While Nick and Brady’s relationship has a lot of angst and buildup, and their first time is a release, Lars and Ryan deserved a sweeter, more fun first moment.
Lars and Anders. I love writing them. My poor Anders, always dealing with his annoying little brother. Anything with those two I love, but I especially enjoyed writing Lars breaking his nose. Just the tension of that, the years and years of frustration overflowing in one moment of weakness… and Anders being so whatever-whatever about it!
And my other major scene that I waited and waited (and waited) for: the final Crabs/Prowlers game. Lars just in his feelings about Ryan and then having to deal with that bullshit on top of it. His outburst because the guy cannot control his temper when he’s wound up…but he needed to get that off his chest, for himself, but also to open the door for him and Ryan to be more (and for others in the league to maybe reap the benefits of Lars not knowing how to shut up).
Bonus: Another necessary evil I didn’t necessarily *enjoy* writing (but would do it again in a heartbeat) was writing the trade deadline. Hated to do it to Ryan, but my hands were tied.
Vampires Don’t Play Hockey
This is probably the only time I’ve set out to write a novella and actually succeeded with the length. Johnny and Dima weren’t necessarily as cooperative as Lars and Ryan, but they didn’t fight me or anything. The whole process was fun and enjoyable, and I really enjoyed sprinkling in little vampire moments and references throughout.
My favorite scene, though, was Halloween when Johnny showed up at the rink dressed as a vampire. Everyone’s “what the actual fuck” and “you’ve got to be shitting me” along with Dima’s “I’m done” were just sooo fun.
Second place goes to Dima licking blood off his knuckles. Sorry not sorry, I 100% agree with Johnny that it’s both hot and gross.
Drop the Gloves
Oh Evan, my difficult son. He fought me every step of the way writing this one. There were a lot of chapters where I struggled to nudge him forward in the plot. Probably everything from the Toronto trip on was like pulling teeth. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy moments throughout, and I have several favorites.
The sex scenes are definitely up there lol – the fighting practice especially. One of my old kinks from shipping Shakirian shining through. The whole book exists just so I could indulge myself in sparing practice between hockey players. It was fun to put that on the page as something other than fic for the first time.
I also enjoyed writing the confrontation scenes between Evan and Riley, both the initial one and after Riley gets hurt and they make up. It was basically the first time all book that Evan was forced to actually communicate and not only was it important to the story, it was a huge relief to me as the author because he’d been avoiding it for so long. Obviously the first one was Riley driven, but it was satisfying that the final one was Evan’s idea.
Last but not least, I liked writing Riley’s brief POV sections because Riley is uncomplicated compared to Evan…but my favorite was when he was drunk at the holiday party, missing Evan. Shoutout to Sophia the cat. Love a boy who loves his cat ❤
No Line Change
This book isn’t out yet, so I won’t go too much into spoilers. Henri and Dylan were a delight to write, much like Lars and Ryan. Neither of them fought me, and they were so eager to just have someone they could connect with and be safe with. I can’t remember any sections that were particularly difficult to write.
Some surprised me – I didn’t know Dylan liked to cook or had a language kink, and there was a moment during playoffs I hadn’t seen coming – but it was the polar opposite of writing Evan.
That being said, I did have some favorites. Henri’s childhood bedroom. The first time they kiss. Getting to write Vanessa and Novak supporting Dylan (aka giving him shit. supportively).
My absolute favorite is the ending. No pressure, right? But I had that scene in my head from the very first moments of outlining the book. Everything was building towards that, and it didn’t matter what changes I made to other parts of the story, *that* was where it was heading, always.
(Minor note: I mean the last scene of the last chapter. There is an epilogue, but that came together as I was writing it. Always fun to write an epilogue and work in that HEA a few months down the line, but that’s more icing on the cake.)
Were you able to guess my favorite scenes? Do they match any of your fav moments?
A.L. Heard 
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