Taking a Deep Breath

As you all know I am obsessed with hockey. I’m the lady who sat in front of TSN all day on trade deadline day and sighed in both relief and in frustration at what went on that day. I’m also the person who stopped one of the NHL hockey scouts at my gate and chastised him for taking my Ryan Miller and Steve Ott away from by beloved Sabres. (Yeah I asked him first which team he was from and after his admission that he was from St. Louis I had to rake him over the coals a bit…. he was awesome though and his grin was absolute when he said he is going to love having them in their version of blue and gold)

But this past week has been very tough. HockeyBoy has had a bum rap these playoffs and that hasn’t been very fun. Right now we are waiting to have the final toilet bowl game of his life…. well hopefully it will be. Although he has had a few accolades this year we never expected the hope of going on to OMHAs was stalled because of two bad goal calls by the refs…. but that isn’t what I meant to talk about. I wanted to say a few words about how the tragic end to a search for a young man ended yesterday. I have watched Terry Trafford over the last few seasons when the Saginaw Spirit visited the Sarnia Sting. He was always one of those guys I gritted my teeth at when he came full tilt into our end. A hard guy to play against, I wouldn’t have said no to having his grit and determination on our own team. Hearing the young man had gone missing for more than 6 days left little hope and yesterdays announcement that they found his body in his truck was very sad. Rumors are now swirling that he had had a little bit of distension with the team and had been sent home right before the final games of the season. If this had something to do with his death or not I am not here to speculate but to say that these young men have a lot of pressure and without support it is easy to see if things break down the way they sometimes do that tragedy can follow. Whatever the reasons behind his death there has to be some way to help these guys out when they feel pushed aside and I hope the team, the league and the Canadian Hockey Association help to make changes. As a hockey mom who will have a son playing junior hockey next season I want to see those changes immediately.

Out west another young junior player collapsed and is now fighting for his life after being diagnosed with Meningitis a very deadly and scary disease! My prayers are with Tim Bozon, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, and his family, friends and teammates through this time as he continues to fight while in critical condition from contacting this horrible disease.

More bad news came from the NHL when Rich Peverley of the Dallas Stars collapsed without apparent reason on the Stars bench during first period play the other day. This was beyond scary but thankfully he was attended to by both teams medical personel and apparently wanted to be allowed back in the game which they ultimately cancelled. This along with the recent stroke of the Penguins Kris Letang has made for even more scary situations. Whatever the reasons behind the two very apparently healthy athletes recent scares makes it evident that these men drive themselves so hard to achieve and to stay where they are to continue to play the game they love with a determination that goes beyond many can imagine.

I am hoping the best for all these athletes and pray that everyone continues to send prayers up for those still fighting their own battles and those who have passed on and left demands on the organizations to make changes that these pressures are addressed in a timely and thorough manner so we do not have to hear of another tragedy befalling the young men who drive themselves beyond so they can play our favorite game and entertain the fans in the stands and hopefully reach their dreams.

RIP Terry.

I am a WINNER!

As those who have subscribed to this blog know I am not only an avid reader and reviewer but I have recently took the GIANT leap into writing.  The book that has knocked around my head for over 2 years is MOSTLY out and typed out on a varied number of documents.  Taking advice from friends I saved in word, open office, drop box and google docs.  I think over the month there is over 15 different versions of it saved somewhere. In any case it is there, it is saved and hopefully it is good enough that someday someone will want to pay to read it.

I am not done however.  Sitting at almost 54K words, the story is not finished.  I still have at least one more hurdle for my characters to deal with but I kinda know what is going to happen.  What I didn’t know would happen along the way was the way the characters took control of the story and did what they wanted.  They were a lot more amorous than I thought at first.  Humping like bunnies might come to mind and not always behind closed doors. I have had a lot of support throughout this process and am already thinking of book two and maybe three…. crosses fingers. I found a photo that sums this up but unfortunately I do not have permissions to post but here is the link to where I tumbled  it…. I think it suits my book perfect! http://www.tumblr.com/blog/hockeyvampiress

I am posting the one and only excerpt here now…. please let me know if you like it!  Comment, like…. anything!!!!

Excerpt from Give Blood: Play Hockey

“What do you mean you told her about me? Dammit Larouche, why the hell did you use me as an example?” Xander loudly whispered while kneeling beside the chair that the woman from the hall earlier was currently slumped down in. Her skirt rising above the knee and revealing the tops of a pair of sexy as sin stockings attached to a pair of lacy garters and a glimpse of some equally lacy panties.

Phillipe sighed, shaking Xander out of his daydream, “Don’t worry Nik, I am sure she will come around and accept my offer when she comes to. She was the best candidate for the job so far and I don’t want her to get away.” Phillipe put his hand on Xander’s shoulder, “damn it I thought bringing a human onto the staff would be a bit easier than this.”

Maddie heard the voices arguing as she slowly regained consciousness. One deliciously familiar one with a slight Russian accent with a rasp that was beyond sexy and one that should ring a bell with a distinct French slant to it. What the hell happened? She never fainted. Her mother said it was because of her stout body (mother’s way in saying she was too fat to faint), her best friend said it was because if she ever did faint the fun bags would bounce her back up so fast no one would know she fainted anyway. Yeah they were on the plus side and according to most people in the world so was her waistline but hell in any case that was beside the point. She NEVER fainted. NEVER. So what the hell happened? She had been talking to Mr. Larouche, job interview going well then… Holy Crap! Xander Nikitin was a freeking vampire! OMG OMG OMG! And he was right here in the room with her. With Phillipe. Arguing about her. Cracking her eye open she had to confirm. Yep. He was there in all his sweaty sexiness sitting with his hand beside her knee head turned to argue with his boss. With the angle her head was at she could see he was a little under dressed. Damn he must have been in the middle of changing because all he had on were his hockey pants, socks and shin pads. Wow. The man even had sexy feet! How fair is that! Hold on. He wasn’t a man he was a vampire. You know Maddie. Blood sucking vampire!

“I think she is coming to. Ms. Avon? Are you OK. Can you open both your eyes and look at me?” Xander’s raspy voice begged her to return to face them.

Maddie peeped up at the most handsome man she had ever seen. Eyes that burned into her soul with one look, a colour so amazing she couldn’t even say which described them the best.  Light brown with a green hue and a golden aura washing over them.  “Erm. Is that safe?”

“What do you mean by safe Ms. Avon?” Xander questioned as he stood and handed her yet another of those deliciously cold water bottles.

“You won’t put me under your spell if I look into your eyes will you? I really want to be able to sit up right now and I want it to be under my own will,” Maddie said as she sheepishly smoothed her skirt down, realizing how much thigh she had to have been showing when Xander had been between her knees at her feet. Shit. How many times had she imagined that very thing? She sat upright in the chair she totally wanted to take home with her and calmed herself by rubbing her hands along the leather arms. Dang, a piece of office furniture should not be so comfortable.

“No Ms. Avon I am not in the habit of putting sexy young women under my hypnotic spell despite the way my kind has been perceived over the centuries,” Xander sighed. “I would like to talk to you further about what Phillipe not so smoothly spoke to you about earlier.”

“OK talk,” she said. Maddie had never thought much of the revelation about the paranormals before although in truth, it had explained a lot of questions she had about certain entertainers and a few other celebrities that were definitely not human. Never did she think about them playing sports let alone killing themselves to play her favorite game. Hehe, killing themselves she giggled to herself. She couldn’t give up so easy when it came to her dream though. Growing up with Holly’s brothers and seeing some of the horrors they had to deal with on the police and fire departments she knew that dangers and threats could come from humans just as much as they could come from paranormals. If truth be told, even more so at least in their area of the state. She looked up at Xander who was waiting for an answer and gave him a weak smile. “Tell me everything I need to know.”