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A hockey crush in 8th grade and a lifelong love of the game set A.C. Wonderland on an unexpected path: slow-burn romances that feel as tense and electric as a tied third period. We pull up a chair with A.C. to talk about her books One Shot and Summer Shot, why golden retriever male leads deserve their flowers, and how to write intimacy that actually moves the story forward. If your heart wants authentic hockey details with just-right spice, you’re in the right locker room.

A.C. opens up about the spark behind her characters, the personal Easter eggs she hides in names and moments, and the art of pacing tension so readers keep whispering one more page. We trade recs across romance and fantasy, dig into the joy of traveling book clubs with annotated copies, and explore how mental health themes in popular titles shaped her approach to empathy on the page. She also explains why she mostly avoids reading hockey romance while drafting — protecting voice and honoring accuracy — without losing the delight of a great love story.

The road to indie publishing gets real here. A.C. breaks down building a trusted team, working with editors and cover artists found online, navigating PR, and partnering with indie bookstores. We get practical about writing routines: outlines as guardrails, chapter-based goals over rigid word counts, non-linear drafting when a scene stalls, and the surprising effectiveness of moving tough chapters to a brewery. Through it all runs a steady message to aspiring authors: keep going, find your people and let the work change you first.

One Shot is now available on Kindle Unlimited, while paperbacks and special editions live on her site and at major retailers. If you love hockey romance with heartfelt stakes, character-driven spice and the promise of a true HEA, queue this one up. Subscribe, share with a romance-loving friend, and leave a quick review — your support helps more readers find the stories they’ll cheer for.

Featured Cocktail for the Episode: The Hat Trick

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Credits:
Theme Music Created by Adam Wroblewski
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