Under the Spotlight (In the Zone #4) by Kate Willoughby: Character Interview

Under the Spotlight
(In the Zone #4)
by Kate Willoughby

Stage actress Christine Caspary couldn't care less about hockey, but when she first sees Joe Rutherford playing in a Barracudas game her mind goes to all sorts of dirty places. By happy chance, her work with Grant A Wish gives her an opportunity to meet him in the flesh.

Right winger Joe Rutherford saw Christine perform when the team went to see Chicago and was so taken with her, he secretly saw the show a second time, alone. When the gorgeous actress with spectacular legs contacts him out of the blue asking for a favor, it's a no-brainer.

Their chemistry is off the charts. Things heat up quickly and they can't keep their hands off each other. Soon they're hooking up whenever their busy schedules allow and having hot phone sex every night at midnight when they don't. But Joe's time in the hockey spotlight is fading, just as Christine's star begins to rise. When she gets her big break into a TV career, how will Joe take to being the arm candy for a change?

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Author Bio

Kate is in love with the sport of hockey. And the entire Los Angeles Kings team. Having lived most of her life completely uninterested in professional sports, she is surprised at the intensity of her enthusiasm and her growing collection of Kings merchandise:

• a Dustin Brown jersey (signed by Jordan Nolan, Dwight King, Jake Muzzin, Willie Mitchell, Slava Voynov, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Jim Fox, Andy Andreoff, Tanner Pearson, Martin Jones, Kyle Clifford, and Luc Robitaille.)
• an iPhone case
• four T-shirts
• three lapel pins
• a wristwatch 
• a floating charm pendant
• four hats (two beanies, one cap, one Santa hat)
• several play-off towels from 2012, 2013, 2014
• a purple sequined jacket
• replica Stanley Cup Champions banners, 2011-2012 and 2013-2014
• a car windshield sticker and license plate frame
• a fuzzy blanket

and the pièce de résistance... 

• an autographed collector card with a swatch of Justin William’s game-worn jersey.

Yeah. Don’t judge her. 

She has held a variety of jobs—podiatrist's assistant, telemarketer, typist, gift wrapper, painter, illustrator's assistant, paste-up artist, calligrapher, teacher, transcriptionist and barista—but her favorite by far is author. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband, their two sons, and a Chihuahua named Mochi.

She is also a member of the Romance Writers of America and Los Angeles Romance Authors and winner of the 2009 EPPIE Award for Best Fantasy/Paranormal Erotic Romance. 

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Character Interview  

Please welcome Joe from Kate Willoughby's Under the Spotlight  to Diane’s Book Blog. 

Diane: What is your favorite thing about hockey?

Joe: Um, everything? I love the fast pace, the slide and scrape of the blades on the ice. I love the fans, especially the kids. I can’t resist the kids. But most of all, I love the team. The Barracudas are like my family. They know all my secrets. They’re there for me when it counts. I love them all like brothers. Not all teams are like this. Believe me, I know. The Barracudas are special.

Diane: What’s in your refrigerator right now?

Joe: (chuckling) Sports drinks, water, beer, eggs, some leftover pizza. Fruit and milk, for protein shakes. Oh, and a lot of tortillas and cheese. CJ—that’s the rookie I’m mentoring this year—likes to make quesadillas. We took him to his first Mexican restaurant and he’s crazy about quesadillas. He’s a good kid. Really fast hands.

Diane: Fast hands, huh? So he’s a ladies man.

Joe: Ha! No. He’s not a ladies man, not at all. Fast hands in hockey means he can score. He handles his stick well.

Diane: I’ll just let that one go. What’s your biggest fear?

Joe: You save the doozies for last? Jeez. My biggest fear…I don’t know. Maybe a career ending injury. That’s always in the back of my mind. No one wants to leave the sport like that, suddenly, with no warning.

Diane: You look thoughtful.

Joe: Yeah. Ex-teammate of mine got hit with the puck and never played another game. Thankfully, he’s good now. He’s the TV analyst for the team. But a lot of guys aren’t as lucky. Life after hockey can be a scary prospect. It’s something most guys don’t want to think about, including me. It’s not like when most people retire. Hockey players quit when they’re in the thirties. There a lot of life left to be lived and you wonder what you’re going to do with all that time.

Diane: All right, enough serious stuff. Tell me what your most treasured possession is.

Joe: (blushing) Well, I’d have to say one of the things I treasure most is the old Playbill that my girlfriend signed for me. Christine wasn’t my girlfriend back then. She didn’t know me from Adam, but I went with the team to see that musical Chicago and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The next time we were in New York, I went to see the play again by myself, and after it was over, I, ah, stood by the stage door to get her autograph.

Diane: That’s a switch, you getting someone else’s autograph…

Joe: Yeah, it was kind of weird. I waited a long time, but it was worth it. She was so gracious and beautiful, and when she smiled at me…? Sh*t. I was a goner.