Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid shares how to cure your Heated Rivalry hangover

Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid shares how to cure your Heated Rivalry hangover She joined The Next Chapter to talk about the Crave television adaptation of her novel When Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid published her Game Changers hockey romance series, she never could have imagined it would be optioned for television. Heated Rivalry is the second book in the Game Changers series by Rachel Reid.(Carina Press, Carina Adores) A screenshot from Heated Rivalry, a TV series based on Halifax author Rachel Reid’s novel of the same name, which follows the love affair between two professional hockey players.(Bell Media) In Heated Rivalry, Hudson Williams (left) stars as Shane Hollander and Connor Storrie (right) stars as Ilya Rozanov, two hockey players who are pitted against each other on the ice, but have a secret relationship outside the rink.(Bell Media) Crash Test is a novel by Amy James.(Avon/HarperCollins) “When you write the kind of books that I do, you don't really expect anyone to even think about adapting them,” she told Antonio Michael Downing on The Next Chapter . “It's not the sort of thing that gets adapted and it's certainly not the sort of thing that gets adapted faithfully.” That all changed five years after the first book of the series came out, when she got an Instagram DM from Montreal director Jacob Tierney, best known for Letterkenny . In the message, he let her know that he’s a fan of her writing and asked if she’d be open to having her books optioned for the screen. “I said I'd be very open to that, especially with him,” said Reid. “We had a great talk the next day, and he laid out an amazing idea for the show, which is exactly what people are seeing now.” The Crave television show Heated Rivalry, based on the second novel in the series, has been a smash hit. In fact, Crave said the show's debut was the most successful of all Crave Original Series to date . Starring B.C.’s own Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander and American Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov, it’s an adaptation of Reid’s book about what happens when hockey’s best rivalry has a different kind of heat off the ice. Shane, representing team Canada and captain of the Montreal team, is serious and no-nonsense, while Ilya, representing Russia and captain of the Boston team, is cocky and talented. They’re both at the top of their game, but their secret romance, once casual, is starting to feel like something more. With the pressures of the public eye and the league, in a sport where there’s no gay male representation in the professional ranks, the two feel like they must choose between their love of the game and love of each other. No spoilers - but because it’s part of the romance genre, we can expect that things work out in the end, bringing queer joy to our screens in a trying time. “Things are very, very difficult for a lot of...

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