Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Candee Fick Blog Post and Giveaway

Candee is graciously giving away a copy of Catch of a Lifetime to one lucky winner. To enter answer Candee's question below and include contact information. If we don't know how to contact you or who you are, you will be disqualified. 


Why I Wrote About Football

There’s a saying among authors to write what you know. This means to start with a subject or emotion you know well enough to communicate clearly to readers. Personally, I know about a lot of things and one of them is football.

Not only did I grow up playing football with the boys at recess and then my dad and brothers while waiting for the Thanksgiving turkey to finish roasting, I am married to a high school coach and our oldest son plays the game.

So when I first felt God’s nudge to write a book, football and faith were my top two ideas. I immediately saw a number of parallels between life and the game of football including two teams in a struggle, wearing armor-like protection from life’s hits, and following a playbook. Originally published in 2007,  Pigskin Parables: Exploring Faith and Football  (http://candeefick.com/books/pigskin-parables-exploring-faith-and-football/) has since been re-formatted and republished as an 11-week devotional journey along with a shorter collection of devotional blog posts to complement the  non-fiction side of writing about football.

But my dream was to write fiction.

I wanted to craft the types of stories that captured my own imagination and create characters that lived beyond the pages. In the collection of story ideas flitting around in my head and on scraps of paper for years, the characters ranged from a Regency kitchen servant to a pioneer school teacher to a formerly Amish young woman to a diner waitress to a dinner theater actress … to a college student who hated football but had to work with the athletes.

Some of these ideas grew into full length manuscripts while others fell to the wayside (at least for now). But the story nugget revolving around football kept niggling at the corners of my mind until I finally figured out why someone would hate football. Not just apathy or confusion. Hatred. Loathing. Disgust. Rooted in deep pain.

Then, what reason would be big enough to keep them locked into a situation where they had to be around football players every day?

And better still, what kind of a hero would it take to change her mind?

As I thought about these two characters, they had to be in a college football setting. Beyond the intense on-field preparation, conflicts, and pressure to win, my hero was so passionate about football that his players pitied the hypothetical girl would have to compete with a game. When I added in the athletic stereotypes (only so I could bust them to pieces!), what other sport is known for self-absorbed, I’m-king-of-the-mountain-because-I-play-football egos? And what about the whole fraternization between staff and students angle? Built in conflict to make this writer’s job easier!

Yes, there are quite a few football-related scenes in Catch Of A Lifetime and not just because of the setting and the secondary characters. My hero is a coach and football is all he thinks about. It wouldn’t have been realistic to have his mind consumed with sappy, romantic thoughts about the heroine when surrounded by game action with his future job on the line. And while I toned down the technical stuff I hear over dinner conversations nightly, I couldn’t have the hero describe a slot receiver as “that guy who catches the ball” and still maintain credibility.

But in case you’re worried there might be too much football, several of my endorsers and beta readers are NOT football fans and loved the story. In fact the amazing Laura Hilton said Catch Of A Lifetime “is sure to score a touchdown with football fans and romance readers alike.”
Just what I wanted to hear when I set out to write a story about football.

What about you? Do you know about football or not? Would reading a story set around a college football team excite you or turn you off? Why? If you were to write a book, what do you know that would find its way onto the pages?

As a bonus, I recorded this fun video a few weeks ago for my book launch party in order to explain the basics of the game from a woman’s perspective.
Football Explained Video: https://youtu.be/CVrzXdYv520



6 comments:

Caryl Kane said...

I love watching the Oklahoma Sooners! Football is big in Texas. ;)

psalm103and138 at gmail dot com

Annie B. Stronge AKA Diane Theiler said...

I've never liked sports but because my family does I have to admit that our tv picks up a lot of games. Also when we go to a movie, my son always picks one about some type of sport. And you know what. Even though I don't enjoy watching the games, I've actually enjoyed some of the movies even though I know nothing about football. I'm not sure I would ever purposely pick up a book about football but I imagine it would probably be the same. I mean that if I read it, I might even enjoy it.

If I was to write a book, it would be filled with mystery and suspense.

Neecykay said...

Sounds like a great read!
Denise
neecykay@gmail.com

Marie Bast said...

Hi Candee. I've never played football, but my brother and husband are avid fans, and my grandson plays varsity football for Naperville North. I love to watch football, put on my favorite team's spirit-wear and cheer with the crowd. I'd love to read a novel about a football story set around the game/team. It sounds like great fun, excitement and could make for a fast-paced story. If I'd write a football story, it might have a rival team, a hero that loves the game and a girlfriend that doesn't understand the love of the sport. Great concept, Candee. Can't wait to read your book. Marie Bast crossofhope@mchsi.com

HeidiDruKortman said...

My favorite part of a football game is the marching band at halftime.

lollipops said...

Congratulations to Marie Bast!

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