I was raised in Upstate New York and learned to skate when I
was two years old. I loved the freedom that gliding over the ice gave me. Though
I never had any formal training, I can skate backwards, and I used to be able
to do some simple jumps. When I received the contract for Rocking Thin
Ice I announced it while skating.
Origin story of my Olympic skater Blaze Parker:
A few years ago, two wonderful friends on Facebook kept
tagging me in ice-skating videos. The talent, the grace… those asses! The plot
bunny for Rocking Thin Ice hopped in my bunny hutch while I
watched Johnny Weir doing an exhibition skate on YouTube to a Lady Gaga song.
His presentation and artistry forced my hand, and I started taking notes on
Blaze Parker—who would become the main character in Rocking Thin Ice.
Blaze was talented and sexy, but he’d been betrayed by
another skater he had a crush on. He responded by working harder and longer
than any other skater. Blaze only had time in his life for his brother, his
dog, and skating. There were phone apps if he needed to get laid, relationships
were not necessary.
Olympian Blaze Parker doesn't do
relationship longer than twenty minutes until he brings home rock star Drake
Keys….
I was on a roll with him and just as I figured out who the
other main character would be the anime Yuri On Ice came out.
Sigh…
Don’t get me wrong I adore Yuri On Ice. Yurio is my
angry little potato chip and he rocks! I also respect how Yuri On Ice
changed anime forever. Though I didn’t want it to seem like I was copying so I
put my badass skater on hold for about two years.
Finally, I couldn’t wait to write Blaze and Drake any longer
and the story poured out of me.
When Adam Rippon came out as the first openly gay figure skater
going to the Olympics, I applauded him and I was well into my third draft. Nothing
was going to stop me from sharing this story.
There was some worry that I had embellished the homophobia
too much. How could a sport like men’s ice skating be homophobic? (I
guess to some it feels welcoming with the sequins and pastel? Stereotype much?)
But then Adam Rippon shared his story of how he was afraid of
being “too gay” to skate. His coaches told him to butch it up. So
unfortunately, Blaze’s experiences in Rocking Thin Ice echoes
what skaters have experienced in real life. Maybe that will start changing but
for right now, the fact that Adam Rippon was the first openly gay skater to be
out during Olympic competition tells us we have much further to go on the road
equality and acceptance.
Here’s an excerpt during Blaze’s competition:
He
stepped onto the ice and felt everything start to change.
Across
the rink, Blaze felt emboldened by his fury, which funneled into determination,
and he inhaled the brisk air laced with popcorn, soda, and the smell of
possibility. This was destiny.
He
stretched his arms out and did a slow circle on the ice. Luke and Anna always teased
him that he marked his territory the same way his puppy did. In a way, he did.
He swayed his hips to skate to the middle of the ice, giving the crowd languid
movements to refocus all their attention onto him.
Once in
the center, he spun to a stop and went into a stance with hands behind his
back. The audience hushed.
Every
second he was on the ice had been a fight, and everything boiled down to these
moments of battle. Like all athletes, he fought his body to push past
limitations, and he usually won the daily battle. The fight against
expectations wasn’t always an easy win.
Not even
“butching it up,” as his first coach recommended, had worked, because his
delicate, more feminine, features weren’t something he could change. The fact
misogyny is one of the factors that contribute to homophobia hadn’t been lost
on him, but instead of addressing it head-on, he fought the ugliness by not
giving people the opportunity to invalidate him.
The
throbbing guitar of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” blared over the ice, filling
him. Pat Benatar’s song had become his theme song through the years, and a dare
to the Skating Federation. However, when you issued this kind of invitation,
you had to back that with skill and perfection.
He might
look breakable, but he’d show the audience his core had been forged of titanium
from the hell he’d gone through. The song got everyone clapping while he danced
into his first quad and then his second. The driving ’80s backbeat fit his
jump-heavy program.
The
lyrics of the song fed his intentions. He’d dealt with feeling like a loser for
too long, and he was done. The time had come to retrieve what Trent had taken
from him.
Hard-rocking
lyrics demanded he take back his power as he soared over the ice and into a
triple. So, unless Trent had left every bit of himself on the ice… this
competition would be Blaze’s. No one and nothing would take this away from him.
He lost
himself in the music, moving his body and allowing muscle memory to take over.
The culmination of years filled with hurt and anger morphed into triple axels
and lutzes that would ensure his victory.
Winning
this competition and dealing with Trent would finally allow him to break free
of the chains that had kept him bound to his past mortification and feelings of
unworthiness. He’d be able to move beyond Trent and stupid decisions—although
Anna would point out, not if Blaze kept making dumbass decisions.
What
was I thinking with this bet?
Focus!
At the
halfway point, Benatar’s fighting words transmuted into the slower “We Are the
Champions” by Queen. Blaze needed to live the music. The transition worked and
allowed him a few seconds to breathe. He skated by the judges mentally, singing
how he had paid his dues….
Fuck. He gave more than his fair share.
The judges, in turn, lowered his score whenever they could get away with the
travesty, even the ones not from openly homophobic countries. It was the reason
he’d worked incredibly hard to seek perfection, because anything else wouldn’t
count.
The
pinging keys of the piano echoed through the rink, paving the way for some
intricate footwork. Queen’s music allowed him to use his more feminine
movements as a foil, making his next set of jumps seem that much more
unexpected and powerful. He’d fuck expectations of the feminine being weak as often
as he could.
Freddie
Mercury sang how he’d committed no crime. Blaze gained speed, thinking about
his biggest mistake. How many times would he be punished for simply giving head
to someone he’d liked?
Fury at
needing to prove he wasn’t the hurt kid they’d tried to shame out of
competition attempted to invade him. He crushed the emotions and accessed the
control that drove him forward.
The
music ramped to a climax, and all the way, Blaze did lutzes, salchows, toe
loops, triple axels, and ended in a motherfucking quad. All in the second half
of the program… because he could.
The
crowd lost their minds and screamed for him. When Freddie sang about taking
bows, Blaze glided past the judges, showing them more respect than most of them
ever showed him.
If the
closed-circuit TV got a close-up of his face, surely the irony at the lyrics he
skated to could easily be read in his expression. But like the song, he would
keep fighting well past the end.
Exhaustion
caught him, but he nailed the last two jumps ’cause he was a goddamnned fucking
champion and no one would take that from him.
Final
spin, ending in Freddie Mercury’s victorious pose with fist raised, and done.
A sea of
dragons rained down on the ice around him as he desperately sought air.
Familiar tears slipped down his face as the plushies made the loss of his
parents surface. His mom and dad hadn’t been there when he’d claimed his silver
medal at the Olympics, and they wouldn’t be there in physical body this time
either when he hopefully took home the gold. He scooped up one of the plush
dragons closest to him and hugged the little plushie. Once again, he was
reminded that death didn’t end a relationship… death only changed it.
He took
a lap to blow kisses to the audience and clapped for their appreciation and
support of him. Gratitude for them being there for him—even if the skating
community wasn’t always in his corner—never failed to close his throat with
emotion.
Blaze Parker had a tough time but his fans and his love for
the sport got him through. I thank you for reading romance, and those who
gifted me with the plot bunny that did a backflip into Rocking Thin Ice.
Here’s Rocking Thin Ice’s Blurb:
Can a sexy rock star show a
relationship-phobic ice skater that there’s more to life than gold
medals?
When ice-skating’s bad boy Blaze first
glimpses Drake, every fantasy he’s ever had flares to life. Not only is rock
star Drake sexy as sin, his songs awaken a longing in Blaze that he’s denied
for years. But Blaze Parker doesn’t believe in relationships—at least not those
that last more than twenty minutes.
Drake Keys has dreamed about the sensual
ice skater for years. When Drake is kicked out of his band because of his
bisexuality, he drives across the country to finally see the man he’s had a
crush on skate live.
Though the attraction is instant and
intense, both Blaze and Drake have baggage that puts any relationship on thin
ice. Blaze is driven by a long-ago betrayal to prove himself a champion, and
Drake, uncertain about the future, hopes to resurrect his music career. As they
take a road trip together, Drake romances Blaze, hoping to melt his heart and
show him that love is possible… but not without some tough decisions.
BUY LINKS
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Big hugs, Z.
Make sure you check me out!
Facebook:
Z Allora Allora and join Z.’s Yaoified Love group (for fun, character chatters,
giveaways, and silliness)
Website:
www.zallorabooks.com
Blog:
zallora.blogspot.com
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