NBTM Virtual Tour + #Giveaway: Memoir of a Hockey Nobody by Jerry Hack @GoddessFish

Memoir of a Hockey Nobody

by Jerry Hack

GENRE: Biography and Autobiography, Sports

BLURB:

Memoir of a Hockey Nobody is the unlikely true story of an average Canadian kid who grew up playing street hockey. Although he didn't learn how to skate until his late teens, he took a shot at entering the world of professional ice hockey with, shall we say, haphazard results.

This is an "against all odds" tale of one man's journey from Vancouver, to all over Western Canada, California, The Yukon, and Alaska. Seemingly blocked at every turn, from managers who believed that someone who came from such humble beginnings couldn't be any good, to coaches who would rather see big names with bigger reputations. It's a story of tragedy, triumph and determination. A roller coaster ride with hilarious anecdotes of all the characters he met along the way.

This is a tale for those who dare to live their dream!

Excerpt:

“In the spring of 1980, the New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup, beating the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games. Bob Nystrom scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime. I was happy, because finally someone other than the Montreal Canadiens won the cup. Despite rooting for the Canadiens when I was nine, I had grown to hate them. I was a diehard Vancouver Canucks fan by then. The Canadiens just kept on winning and winning. I was so tired of watching them win all the time. four straight years they won the cup without breaking a sweat. Little did I know that the Islanders were now on their way to doing the exact same thing. I would grow to hate them too. It was about a month after the Islanders had their first parade that I was over at the Aitken’s house. John and I still hung out, but not as often as in the past. At this time, I was eighteen and had my own vehicle, (a 1969 Datsun pickup). We were discussing how happy we both were that the Montreal dynasty was seemingly over, when the topic of his hockey team came up. He was always playing in one beer league or another. (At one time he played in the N.H.L. The “Natural Hockey League”) At this time he was playing on a team called the Burnaby Kings, and they were playing at the Columbian 4 Rinks. At one time, this was the largest indoor hockey arena in the world, and was even in the Guinness Book of World Records. As it turned out, the Kings were renting one of the rinks once a week, all summer long. Summer hockey was a new thing, all the other rinks became lacrosse rinks for the summer. John was telling me how terrible their goalie was. The guy’s name was Lonnie. I don’t remember his last name. John was telling me that the guy was the worst goalie he had ever played with. They had nicknamed him “Red Light Lonnie,” because he would let in so many goals. He said that Lonnie was so short that shots would regularly hit him in the head and deflect into the net. One time John said that the puck had been shot into the corner and Lonnie went to go get it, fell down, and while he was trying to get up, the puck went up on edge and had such spin on it after it hit the boards, that it reversed itself and curved right into the net. John said Lonnie was like “Bad Luck Schleprock” of the Flintstones.”

Interview with Jerry Hack

For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?

First off, let me thank you for having me on your blog. I am absolutely thrilled to be here. To answer your question, if anyone is interested in exploring the theme of my book (the subject is really like having a one-sided conversation with me about me) there are endless resources for doing so. Hockey has been played, in one form or another, for hundreds of years and there have been what seem like thousands of books written on the subject. I just hope that everyone will buy mine. Snicker.

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

My book, Memoir of a Hockey Nobody, is about my hockey journey with a few life lessons thrown in. When a child starts to play hockey at the age of 5 or 6, he or she has a less than 0.1% chance of making it to the NHL. I started playing ice hockey at the age of 18 so my chances were far less than that. But I took a shot anyway and got to live the adventure of a lifetime.

What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?  

Originally, my goal was just to write my story for posterity. So that, if my daughter ever wished to know about my life before she met me, she would be able to do that. Also, I wanted just to write a good book. As I got more and more into writing it, the more I thought that it would be something that people might find interesting, for the simple reason that I don’t think anyone has ever done what I did. The overwhelmingly positive response my book has gotten has definitely exceeded my expectations. My goal now is to get it into bookstores, as it is only available online at the moment. And my ultimate goal would be to sell 10,000 copies. I know its a lofty goal, but I always believe on setting your sights high.

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Just a big THANK YOU for all the support and great reviews and to please keep spreading the word and stay safe! I would also like to thank Katie and Alison at Tellwell Publishing for all the great work they have done on my behalf.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

That it didn’t cause blisters. Sorry, bad joke. What I enjoyed most was that it was very cathartic. I basically had to re-live my life all over again. The good, the bad, and the ugly. There is so much stuff that I had totally forgotten about. I ran the gamut of emotions, joy, sadness, grief, a lot of cringeworthy embarrassment and everything in between. When I finished the book, I felt like I had purged some demons, and my mental outlook on life is way better and I am a happy guy.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

When I was writing Memoir of a Hockey Nobody, I was convinced that it would be the only book I would ever write. I tell people that yes, I am an author, but I’m not a writer, I’m a forklift driver. But, like I said before, the book has gotten such a great response and people seem to enjoy not only what I write, but the way I write, that I would have to consider doing it again. I have started to write a novel and I’m very excited about it. I have a very twisted sense of humour and a friend of mine said that I have a “conversationalist” style of writing that translates well. I don’t know if my novel will ever be published. This writing thing is still all new to me, but it seems to be flowing fairly easily from my brain into my fingertips. I will let my wife read it after the first draft is completed and if she gives me the thumbs up, I will submit it for publishing.

How long have you been writing?

Great question. What time is it? Seriously though, a year ago writing a book was not even an idea. I was just posting stories about my hockey days on Facebook and a few people replied that I should write a book. I thought about it and decided to give it a shot. Now look at me, a published author with a best selling book. If you want an exact answer, I started writing on November 1^st, 2019 so as of today, it would be 8 months and 26 days. Crazy huh?

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I was born and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia. My sisters and I were raised by hard-working blue collar parents. We were and are a tight knit family. I grew up loving sports but hockey most of all. In fact, it was my passion. I read about it, watched it and played it. I was an average student and a good athlete. I could play most sports without looking out of place. But I was born to be a goalie. I graduated from high school in 1979 and a year later began my journey playing ice hockey. 40 years later, I am happily married with a 12 year old daughter and loving life more than ever.

Website ~ Facebook

BUY LINKS:

Amazon ~ Indigo/Chapters ~ Barnes and Noble

Giveaway:

$20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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