Nicola Reads YA: Release Day Blitz: Center Ice by Cate Cameron (Inc. Interview & Giveaway!)

Title: Center Ice (Corrigan Falls Raiders #1)
Author: Cate Cameron
Release Date: May 19th, 2015
Publisher: Entangled Crush

Summary from Goodreads:

The hometown hockey hero won’t know what hit him…

Karen Webber is in small-town hell. After her mother’s death, she moved to Corrigan Falls to live with strangers—her dad and his perfect, shiny new family—and there doesn’t seem to be room for a city girl with a chip on her shoulder. The only person who makes her feel like a real human being is Tyler MacDonald.

But Karen isn’t interested in starting something with a player. And that’s all she keeps hearing about Tyler.

Corrigan Falls is a hockey town, and Tyler’s the star player. But the viselike pressure from his father and his agent are sending him dangerously close to the edge. All people see is hockey—except Karen. Now they’ve managed to find something in each other that they both desperately need. And for the first time, Tyler is playing for keeps…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23459509-center-ice

Buy Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iBooks

Interview with Cate Cameron:

What one thing should readers know about your hero?
Hmmm… I think readers should know that Tyler is an excellent hockey player! He’s insecure and has good reason to be – he knows he could get injured before he makes the big league, he knows how competitive it is, with people from all over the world coming to play hockey in the NHL. And because half the book is from Tyler’s perspective and he’s insecure, and the other half is from Karen’s perspective and she knows nothing about hockey, it really might seem as if Tyler is a struggling player.

But he gets drafted in the coming June, absolutely. He goes first round – maybe even first pick. He’s a really good player!

What one thing should readers know about your heroine?
I think readers should know that Karen at the start of the book isn’t the Karen who existed a couple weeks earlier. She and her mom were really close, and her mom’s death has left her angry and confused and miserable. So she’s not super-sympathetic at the start of the book, but I think there’s good reason for that!

What authors and/or books have inspired you?
I’m a voracious reader and get inspired by practically every book I pick up, but the stories I know have had lasting impact are the ones I read when I was younger. The Outsiders, with all those tragic boys on their own, trying to solve life’s problems without any guidance… and A Separate Peace, with… all those tragic boys on their own, without any guidance… huh. And now I’m writing about OHL players, taken away from their families at sixteen and trying to make sense of life without any guidance… I think I may be noticing a trend.

What are you working on next?
I’m actually working on the sequel to Centre Ice! This one’s called Playing Defense and it’s about Chris Winslow falling for his tutor, Claudia. I really loved writing Chris in Center Ice, so it’s been totally fun to get to spend a whole book with him. Claudia is really uptight and serious, and Chris has been great for getting her to relax a little and just have some fun.

Speed Round

Love Triangles…Love ‘em or Can’t stand ‘em? They make me anxious. I don’t like them
Peanut M&Ms or Plain? plain
Pizza or chocolate? PIZZA!
The Vampire Diaries or Game of Thrones? Game of Thrones
Matthew Macfadyen Mr. Darcy or Colin Firth Mr. Darcy? Colin Firth. I thought Macfadyen did a good job, but Colin Firth IS Mr. Darcy.

About the Author

Cate Cameron grew up in the city but moved to the country in her mid-twenties and isn't looking back. Most of her writing deals with people living and loving in small towns or right out in the sticks - when there aren't entertainment options on every corner, other people get a lot more interesting!

She likes to write stories about real people struggling with real issues. YA, NA, or contemporary romance, her books are connected by their emphasis on subtle humor and characters who are trying to do the right thing, even when it would be a lot easier to do something wrong.

Author Links