I think sometimes side characters are overlooked, especially in romance, I think they’re really important to the story. They’re the support system for the love interests, and they help us see who those characters are outside of the romance. It’s also why I try to give the characters hobbies and lives out of the romance (and hockey) — it builds who the character is, to see how they spend their life before the love interest, the type of relationships they have and prioritize, and how they fold the romance into that existing structure.
I don’t usually plan out who my “side characters” will be before I start a book. I generally have the team roster, I know who’s in their family, maybe the coaches, but who will end up standing out in the story evolves with the story. Here are some of my favorite side characters from my books and why I enjoyed writing them 🙂 Warning for spoilers – skip the books you haven’t read!
Hockey Bois
I’m not going to lie – this is probably my least “structured” book. It was my first one, and it’s not as tight as it might’ve been. There’s a lot going on, and that’s part of why there are way more side characters in this one than any book I’ve written. Not only are there a lot, there are way more with on page lines. I liked writing Benns as the ever polite captain being team dad to a group of adults. Young Greg is a delightful mess. Jenna and Gail are important for the plot to help the idiots get their shit together, but…
My favorite is Terry.
Terry is just delightful. He’s so fun and he’s such a sweetie pie. He was mostly just a name in my notes when the book started, but he was there doing his part to help Nick out by giving him a goofy outlet that helps him relax (probably the only one aside from Brady who can actually get Nick to chill the fuck out for five seconds). I hadn’t had any plans for Terry at all when I started Chapter 1, so I was just as surprised as Nick when he and Gail ended up together lol.
The Trade Deadline
This is one where I feel like there aren’t a lot of teammates who really make a splash on the page. Sure, they’re there, but Lars and Ryan are so in their own little bubble that they don’t make a huge impact. We don’t even really get to see their reactions to the trade because Lars is very much in his feelings and couldn’t care less about how anyone else feels about it.
There’s Tanner, who really just exists so Ryan isn’t completely alone in Baltimore (and so that in a later book, Lars won’t be all alone 🤫), is a fun character but he didn’t really stick with me the way other characters have. Mormor is another fun one, because she’s just quietly judging every hockey player. Gotta respect a woman who steps up to raise her grandkids while still grieving the loss of her daughter, and while doing her best not to badmouth her shitty son-in-law while doing so.
Anders is my fav. Love him. He’s made his mistakes, but he’s doing his best to be a good big brother and dad and partner and hockey player and captain. He’s juggling a lot XD It killed me when my beta readers were in early chapters poo-pooing Anders because I looooove him (oldest siblings unite!), but I understand it. He’s messed up with Lars (c’mon guys, COMMUNICATE), but in all these small ways he’s there for his brother even when Lars won’t ever find out. He lets Lars establish his (sometimes excessive) boundaries and doesn’t push, even though the only thing missing in his life is having his annoying kid brother give him a hug.
As I write more in this series, I’m lowkey excited to have Anders lurking in the background, slowly repairing that relationship with Lars (and loving Ryan as his new brother who helped make it happen).
Drop the Gloves
It’s the nature of hockey romance that those side characters end up being teammates a lot of the time. Evan has made so much of his life hockey, that it was doubly true for him: he doesn’t know anyone at all who isn’t connected to hockey. He’s the guy who politely nods to his neighbors but any conversation that he can’t fall back onto hockey is going to be superficial.
That brings us Dalton 🙂 I like having a guy who can both clock and respect Evan’s energy, hobbies, and sexuality.
I just love that he’s up for mini-golf whenever Evan needs to unwind or process things, that he (almost) correctly got Evan’s sexuality and was supportive behind the scenes…while completely understanding that Evan probably didn’t know what his own sexuality was, so bringing it up to him would be useless. And it’s so good for Evan to have a teammate his age (ish) that he can hang out with! I look forward to having some short stories where Dalton and Evan get to talk about the Riley of it all lol.
No Line Change
I’ll be vague-ish since this book has only been read by about five people thus far. My side characters are Alexei (no comment), Dylan’s sister and Henri’s dad (both yays for being supportive to their gay professional athlete family member, even if one of them is louder in their advice than the other), and then there’s my boy Novak.
Novak is a teammate and longtime friend of Dylan, and boy has he had to deal with that man’s BS for a while now. He’s a good friend in helping him captain the team, but he’s also a good friend in trying to offer him support off the ice. And as Henri joins the team, he’s there for him too (and that’s before Dylan/Henri start hooking up). He’s just an all around good guy who has a high level of tolerance for idiots in love and moping hockey players.
I know I have another book to go in Albuquerque, and I can’t wait to torture Novak with more teammates being fools for him to herd through the season.
Who are some of your favorite side characters from romance stories? If you’re an author, how do you go about planning yours?
A.L. Heard 
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