There is something magical about writing a book that is hard to fathom for most non-writers. Our characters come alive and take on their own personalities. They are capable of making their own decisions and changing our plots. They become so real, they can be interviewed, just like any other person in the world. 

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to the Aussie skating heroine from Love on Ice by Caroline Miller, Holly Travers. Before we meet officially, let me introduce you to her story:

Love on Ice by Carolyn Miller

She’s focused on winning gold. He wants to lose the player tag. Can a fake relationship become something real?

Aussie short-track skater Holly Travers has one goal – make the Vancouver Games, no matter what it takes. She has no time for distractions, even if they come in the handsome form of her Canadian best friend’s twin brother. This hockey player may say he’s not a player, but can she trust him?

Brent Karlsson has one goal – make his sister’s best friend realize he’s a changed man and she should give him a chance. When a set-up in Hawaii helps these two opposites realize they have more in common than they thought, what happens when he wants to turn their fake relationship into something real? And how can a relationship work when these two elite athletes never see each other and live on opposite sides of the world?

Love on Ice is the second book in the Original Six hockey romance series, a sweet, slightly sporty, contemporary romance series.

CC: Hi Holly! We’re so excited to have you. So, how do you think others view you?

HT: I think others see me as busy, committed and focused, someone who loves God and who tries to be a good daughter and a good friend. But I know that sometimes between my university studies and my training I can forget there’s more to life. Why? Because I want to win gold at the next Winter Olympics!

CC: Wow! To go to the Winter Olympics must be amazing. Who is your least favorite person to deal with? Why?

HT: Honestly, I find Brent Karlsson a bit of a pain. Sure, he might be my best friend’s twin brother, and some might say he’s handsome (well, that’s what all the girls in Detroit seem to think anyway) but he’s arrogant, or at least he’s acted that way to me in the past, plus he’s way too tall. And while he might say he’s changed from being a ladies’ man, I’m not sure I can trust him. (Can you ever really trust a charming man?) He keeps trying to prove my assumptions about him are wrong – he’s part of this Bible study group for pro hockey players, and he even has favourite Bible verses! – but because of his past I’m never really able to relax around him. Not that I want to. Not that I should. My coach just wants me to focus, focus, focus on my training – so even if I liked him (which I don’t) then I wouldn’t have time for a relationship with him anyway. How could that even work, when I live in Australia and he’s there in Michigan? It couldn’t. It shouldn’t. So it won’t. 

CC: Oh those charmers. What a challenge they can be. What is your biggest fear?

HT: My biggest fear is not making the Olympics, or if I did make it, hurting myself beforehand so I couldn’t actually compete. The Olympics is all I’ve dreamed about for so long, and proving myself there is all I want to do. Short track speed skating is who I am – there’s nothing like the feeling of flying on the ice. So I guess my biggest fear is not being able to show that, or finding out I’m not good enough. Because if I couldn’t skate, then who am I? And what would that say about what I’ve spent years training for? And what would I do for the rest of my life?

CC: Do you enjoy family gatherings? Why/why not?

HT: I LOVE family gatherings, especially because I live 1000 kms away from my family (I live and train in Brisbane, Queensland, and they’re 11+ hours drive away in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia). My family is really small – just my mum and dad, brother, uncle, granddad and me – so we try to make the most of our time together when we catch up. My parents have always been my biggest supporters – they encouraged me to go on a student exchange program when I finished school, which ultimately gave me the opportunity to learn to skate when I was staying with Bree Karlsson’s family (she’s now been my best friend for years), and then supported me to follow my dreams when I returned to Australia. I love them, and I miss seeing them for months at a time when I’m training away from home or travelling for competitions around the world. So when we gather for things like Christmas or Easter it’s the best! (And not just because I can get my boogie board out and go have a surf with my brother!) 

CC: Your family sounds amazing! If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?

HT: You mean apart from a gold medal? Two things: I’d like to see my Granddad get better (we think he’s getting Alzheimers ☹) and I’d like to see people like my friend Jess come to know God as their savior and best friend. I try to share with her about Jesus, but she wasn’t lucky enough to grow up in a Christian family like I was, so I think she’s struggled with believing like I do. But I keep praying for her. And for Kate (my other training partner, who I’m pretty sure hates me). I’d love to see her get zapped by God – in a good way, of course! Oh, and I’d LOVE to spend more time with Bree. But she’s a newlywed and living in Calgary, so that’s not possible at the moment. But who know? One day in the future God might do a miracle and I could go live there where they have the BEST short track speed skating training facilities in the world. Now that’d be a real answer to prayer!

Wow, Holly. It has been an absolute joy to talk to you today and I look forward to seeing what Love on Ice has in store for you! Friends, you can find out to by picking up Love on Ice at any of the following links.

In the comments below, what questions would YOU ask of Holly Travers?

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Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked as a high school English and Learning and Support teacher. 

A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and LM Montgomery, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her contemporary romance series includes the Original Six hockey romance series, and the Independence Islands series, and her historical series include the Regency Brides and Regency Wallflowers series.

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