A Conversation with Hannah Grace, Author of Icebreaker and Wildfire

Hockey? Yes please.

Sexy men? Yes please.

Strong women? Yes please.

Spice? YES PLEASEEE!!!!

In January this year, I was introduced to one of my favourite author's. When I saw the whole of BookTok talking about Hannah Grace and the first book in the Maple Hills series, I had to know what the hype was about. I had only read a handful of hockey romance books, and when I saw the front cover of Icebreaker, I thought that it was going to be a cutesy, romance book.

BOOOOOYYYY WAS I WRONG. It was a spicy, angsty, spicy, forced proximity, spicy, enemies to lovers, SPICYYY, found family romance book with the best characters and plot. Icebreaker is a story of the relationship between the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins, and olympic-hound figure skater, Anastasia Allen. One of my favourite tropes to read about is reverse grumpy x sunshine. Anatasia has a hard exterior, whilst Nate is a ball of sunshine - goofy, fun, bubbly. Watching them interact and seeing their relationship develop throughout the book was one of the best parts. Both Nate and Anastasia grew as people each chapter, and I loved their layers slowly peeling away chapter by chapter. Their chemistry and tension

was PERFECT, and when they finally get together... I mean... maaaaybe don't read this in public when there's people around you!! The spicy scenes are honestly immaculate, and it's one of the best spicy books I've ever read.

The newest edition to the BookTok favourites list is the second book in the Maple Hills series, Wildfire, which was published by Simon and Schuster on October 3rd 2023. When you thought the series couldn't get better, Hannah writes a combination of Camp Rock and Parent Trap, with forced proximity, a one night stand and the forbidden romance trope - ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. After hooking up at a college party, Russ and Aurora don’t expect to cross paths again. When they both turn up on their first day of work at the Honey Acres summer camp, neither of them know how to react to being thrown into a close-proximity situation. The books in the Maple Hills series are interconnected standalones, so you could read Wildfire without reading Icebreaker.... but don't do that! Characters from Icebreaker show up in Wildfire, and that's honestly one of the best things to happen when reading a book! I just love Hannah's writing so much. Her characters are also so complex and vulnerable when they let their guard down, following stories of love, life, friendship, emotion, taking chances, a summer of fun and love, and self discovery.

I had the absolute pleasure of getting to ask the woman behind the novels herself, Hannah Grace, some questions about her career as an author, her characters, stories and more. I'm so excited for you to read this interview, as it's one of my favourite ones yet!

---

How did you get into writing? Was it something you always knew you wanted to do?

Definitely not. As a kid I always wanted to be a lawyer and while I did change my mind on that as I got older, I had never even considered writing until a few years ago when I started as a hobby. I realised how much I loved what I was doing and it just grew from there.

When you were writing Icebreaker, did you know who the next books in the Maple Hills series were going to follow, or was it something that fell into place as you were writing?

I think it’s been a little bit of both. Before I published Icebreaker, I had it all mapped out. Literally like 20 books. While writing Icebreaker I knew what I wanted each character’s story to look like, when it would come, how everything would tie together. However I’ve since found that as soon as I start writing everything changes. The characters start to come to life on the page, the idea I had originally needs to evolve and develop too, or maybe I find it isn’t the best spot for it in the series and everything would work better if X happened first or we got to know Y a little better before their book. In Wildfire, Russ and Rory were meant to be childhood friends to lovers, but when I started writing it just wasn’t working. Sometimes the finished product is completely different to the idea, and I have learnt to be okay with that as it is often for the best!

Did you ever imagine that you’d be one of BookTok’s favourite authors? How does it feel for your books to be loved by so many people?

It’s still incredibly surreal for me and a little overwhelming sometimes, but BookTok is an amazing community and I am so grateful for all the support I have received. It means a lot that there are so many people who love and root for Nate and Stassie (and now Russ and Rory) as much as I do.

What was it about Anastasia and Nate’s character’s that you think your readers love so much? Same for Aurora and Russ!

When I was writing Icebreaker, it was important for me that Nate and Anastasia were really healthy communicators and I think a lot of people love that about their relationship. They overcome any problems together and I think that teamwork draws readers to them. Aurora and Russ aren’t always the greatest communicators in the world but they’re also a team and they support each other so much as they work through their challenging familial relationships.

Wildfire was such a different vibe to Icebreaker (in the best way!), what drew you to Aurora and Russ’s story? Was there a specific element of their story that you enjoyed writing the most?

I think I really enjoyed writing about a slightly awkward guy. Nate just had it all together, and Russ, as much as he’d like to be, just isn’t the same kind of easy confident person. I think when you understand Russ’s background it’s really hard not to root for him, and giving him a person who ultimately became his biggest fan was the bit I enjoyed writing the most. Plus, I really loved the summer camp and small town setting.

What is your favourite trope and why? Do you have a least favourite trope to write about/that you try to avoid?

Marriage of convenience will always hold a special place in my heart. When writing I try not to limit myself to writing or avoiding specific tropes. Like I said, the stories take on a mind of their own on paper and I don’t like to restrict myself to a trope if it isn’t working.

And last but not least, the 3rd book in the Maple Hills is going to follow Henry, who we all know and love, and bookworm Halle. What are you most excited about for about this book? What can we expect to see in book 3?

I can’t give too much away about book 3, but I am really excited to tell Henry’s story and to give a new insight into him and his personality. So far we’ve only ever seen Henry through the POV of other people, and frankly, they all treat him like their baby brother and not the adult that he is. I’m excited for you to all get inside his head and see what’s really going on in there. Halle is a sweetheart and definitely different from Anastasia and Aurora when it comes to all things romance. I’m not sure what people are expecting, but I hope it lives up to their expectations.

Quick fire character “most likely to” questions:

• Who is most likely to start listening to Christmas music in October? Anastasia as soon as she becomes a mom.
  

• Who is most likely to answer the phone if you call in the middle of a night? Nate.
  

• Who is most likely to forget to return a borrowed item? Definitely Henry.
  

• Who is most likely to set the best Zoom call background, and what would the background be? JJ and it would be him sitting in a Mojo Dojo Casa House.
  

• Who is most likely to nail a presentation, and what would be presentation be for? Aurora and the presentation would be about why she and Russ need to adopt more animals.

---

Feeling a liiiiittle starstruck, I'm not going to lie! What an absolute honour. If you haven't already delved into the Maple Hills series, now is the perfect time to do it before book 3 releases next year. Have you read the series? Which book was your favourite: Icebreaker or Wildfire?

Instagram: @itsmadshope

TikTok: @itsmadshope

*disclaimer

some product links may be affiliate links, meaning that I earn a small commission if you purchase the product through my link, but your shopping experience won't be any different. thank you for supporting me!