Co-authors Desiree Holt and Liz Crowe are here with me today sharing about their book Numbers Game. I am a sucker for learning more about characters and I find character interviews fun! Let’s chat with Olivia Grant and Coach Duncan Hatcher:
Hi, Olivia!
How did you get into sports journalism?
I played varsity soccer during my years at Lakeview while I was getting my journalism degree. While I always saw myself as the next Christianne Amanpour, a hard hitting, internationally known and respected reporter, I’ve also always loved sports my whole life. So when a reporting job opened up on our school paper when I was a Junior I jumped at it and really, never looked back. I will say I love the process of live tv and video production a lot more than print which is something I never thought I’d say.
What’s the hardest thing about your job?
Being the lone woman in so many rooms. I’m not uncomfortable around men, I never have been. But there is a culture that demands that the women in the room have on super high heels, revealing clothing, perfect hair and makeup, the works while the men don’t have to work that hard to look good and, as a result, be taken seriously. I know this is changing, but it’s not changing fast enough.
Do you think that having women calling football and basketball games is a good idea?
I think that anyone who is qualified to “call” a game should do so, regardless of their gender.
What’s your favorite thing about Duncan?
Lol. That he refuses to let me call him Duncan, or Jerome?
Actually, I love that he’s so completely dedicated to the team on an individual basis. He knows these kid’s lives and does everything he can to make sure they succeed. I also love that I can beat him at soccer, and my golf handicap is better. Plus that he has a very cute butt.
Hey, Coach Hatcher. Now it’s your turn!
Just call me Hatch.
What is your dream job?
I am most definitely in my dream job right now. Being a player at the pro level was something I worked for almost my entire life but I really enjoy coaching, and there is something so invigorating about coaching at the college level, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Also, I got to meet her. (elbows her back).
What was the hardest thing about being a pro football player?
The constant scrutiny of the press and the public. You were never, ever, ever allowed to have a bad week, regardless of the reason. That was hard. But honestly now that I think about it, starting out as a rookie, practicing, lifting, running, and getting your butt kicked in practice because that’s what rookies are for and never knowing when you’d actually hit the field in a game—that is definitely the hardest thing.
How do you feel about female coaches of male teams?
Men have been coaching women’s teams forever, so I don’t see a difference. I am 100% for coaches of any gender as long as they know their stuff and can lead properly.
What is your favorite thing about Olivia?
Oh, is this a rated PG thing? Okay, then, let’s see…I love her eggplant parmesan, her terrible singing in the shower, her taste in men, the way she cheers me on no matter what, that she puts up with my obsession to be the best coach ever, and her tits. (Sorry, had to say it. They are very nice.)
USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and contemporary on a variety of heat levels up to erotic, a genre in which she is the oldest living author. She has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.
Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville living in Central Illinois. She's spent her time as a three-continent expat trailing spouse, mom of three, real estate agent, brewery owner and bar manager, and is currently a social media consultant and humane society development director, in addition to being an award-winning author. With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, inside fictional television stations and successful real estate offices, and even in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are compelling and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, at times frustrate, and always linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.