Linda O'Connor

It’s Day 5, and we’re counting down the release of Between the Pipes ~ Book One of the In the Game Hockey Romance series! Woohoo!!

Sarah and her friends make a point of getting once a month to bowl. It’s a fun way to exercise and get caught up with all the news. Bowling is a game played indoors or outdoors where a ball is thrown toward pins in an effort to knock them down and score points. Sounds fun, eh? Here are 5 facts about bowling you can use to impress your friends.

Special bowling shoes are needed because they protect the bowler. They have a sole that allows the slide that is needed at the end of the shot when the bowling ball is released.

Bowling started with 9 pins but when 9-pin bowling was outlawed because of its association with gambling, crafty bowlers started 10-pin bowling. In Canada, we have 5-pin bowling and 10-pin bowling. There are a few differences. In 5-pin bowling, a player has three shots per frame instead of two. In 10-pin, each pin is worth one point so each strike is worth 10 points. With 5-pin, the pins are worth 5, 3, and 2 points so each strike is worth 15 points. But the difference I like the most – five-pin bowling has smaller bowling balls, which are easier to hold!

Back in the day, a pinsetter was a person who manually reset the bowling pins to their positions, cleared the fallen pins, and returned the bowling balls to the players. I remember my cousin doing this for a summer job! Now it’s all automated.

There’s a science behind bowling balls! Until 1905 they were made out of wood and didn’t have finger holes. Now, they are made out of a rubber composite or plastic, weigh a maximum of 16 pounds for 10-pin bowling, and have 3 or 4 finger holes.

Toppling all the pins with one ball is called a strike. A perfect game requires 12 consecutive strikes. Three strikes in a row is called a “turkey”. Four strikes in a row is a “ham bone”, six is a “wild turkey”, and nine strikes in a row is a “golden turkey”.

Make your next party a bowling party – and get out and have some fun!

Between the Pipes (In the Game Hockey Romance, Book 1)

Sarah Jain is a family doctor in a hockey-crazy town. She hates hockey. She hasn’t gone anywhere near a rink in years, until her friend, the team doctor, calls in a favour. Mike Wallace is the starting goalie for the Clarington Quakes, the local professional hockey team. He’s not about to let an injury slow him down or a rookie doctor call the shots.

Sarah and Mike don’t respect each other’s jobs, and when they have to work together, sparks fly and ice melts. Can they play a game they both can win?

Love on the ice doesn’t always go smoothly.

Release day is January 28, 2018. It’s up for preorder now and it’s only 99cents! I can’t wait to share it with you. 😀 Preorder links: amazon.ca | amazon.com

It’s Day 6, and we’re counting down the release of Between the Pipes ~ Book One of the In the Game Hockey Romance series! Woohoo!!

In Between the Pipes, both Sarah and Mike love to cycle. In fact, their first “date” is a bicycle ride and picnic.

Here are six tips for safe cycling!

Always wear a helmet. Here’s a picture of a helmet of a cyclist who went head over handlebars when his tire caught a rut in the road of a city street. He hadn’t been travelling that fast, and if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet this would have been his skull. Don’t risk it!!

Most cycling deaths occur between 6pm and 9pm. If you expect to cycle in low-light conditions, wear brightly coloured, reflective clothing, and use lights in the front and rear of your bike. A strong headlight and a blinking red tail-light might save your life!

Scan the rear windows of parked cars and give a wide berth in case someone suddenly opens a door. Watch out for potholes and storm grates. Yield to pedestrians and cars and use hand signals so drivers are aware of your intentions.

Buy the right bike: mountain bike, city bike, hybrid, or road bike. Simply put, a mountain bike is built for rougher terrain and has wider tires and lower gear ratios for steeper terrain and better traction. A city bike is lighter with narrower tires and is designed for city streets and harder forest floors. A hybrid bike is a combination of a mountain bike and a city bike – with wider tires and a lighter frame. A road bike is usually the most expensive and designed to be ridden only on tarmac – the high-end bike for competitive cycling.

Keep the tires inflated and the chain lubed. Makes it easier to pedal.

Make sure the bike fits you. There are different ways to find the right frame size for your body, and a reputable dealer will help you out, but generally, when you straddle the bike and stand flat-footed, there should be one to two inches of clearance between your groin and the top tube. Your handlebars should be one inch lower than your seat top. Position the seat so that your knee is only slightly bent at the bottom of each rotation. If it’s bent too much, the seat is too low: if the knee locks when extended or it’s hard to reach the pedal, the seat is too high. You’ll enjoy cycling so much more if the fit is right!

Cycling is a great way to be active! You might meet Sarah and Mike on the bike trails. 😀

Enjoy Between the Pipes on January 28! It’s up for preorder now and it’s only 99cents! I can’t wait to share it with you. 😀 Preorder links: amazon.ca | amazon.com

It’s Day 8 and we’re counting down the release of Between the Pipes ~ Book One of the In the Game Hockey Romance series! Woohoo!!

Hey, Mike here. Pleased to meet you. I’m the goalie of the Clarington Quakes hockey team. I’ve played hockey pretty much my entire life, and I feel very lucky to be the starting goalie for the team. I studied law in the D-1 college I attended, but I’d rather be in the rink between the pipes of a hockey net than anywhere else. If you’re anywhere near Clarington, give me a shout, and I’ll see what I can do to get you tickets to a game. They’re usually pretty hard to come by – we have amazing fan support. Feels like the whole town comes out to cheer us on and that’s the best feeling in the world. Not surprising, I guess. How can you not love hockey? Thanks for dropping by and see you around!

Between the Pipes (In the Game Hockey Romance, Book 1)

Sarah Jain is a family doctor in a hockey-crazy town. She hates hockey. She hasn’t gone anywhere near a rink in years, until her friend, the team doctor, calls in a favour. Mike Wallace is the starting goalie for the Clarington Quakes, the local professional hockey team. He’s not about to let an injury slow him down or a rookie doctor call the shots.

Sarah and Mike don’t respect each other’s jobs, and when they have to work together, sparks fly and ice melts. Can they play a game they both can win?

Love on the ice doesn’t always go smoothly.

Release day is January 28, 2018. It’s up for preorder now and it’s only 99cents! I can’t wait to share it with you. 😀 Preorder links: amazon.ca | amazon.com