Rachel Reid swears she’s finally ready to finish the seventh book in her Game Changers hockey romance series.
After a whirlwind year that included the breakout success of the Crave TV series “Heated Rivalry,” the Halifax author says her visit to Toronto over the weekend for the Canadian Screen Awards is the last stop before she heads home to complete “Unrivaled.”
“I’m going to focus on nothing but writing until I get the book done,” she told the Star on the red carpet of the CSAs.
“I’m giving myself the summer to stay home and write, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Earlier this year, Reid announced that “Unrivaled” would be delayed, saying her symptoms related to Parkinson’s disease had made writing more difficult. She also acknowledged that the sudden success of “Heated Rivalry” had pulled her attention in unexpected directions.
“Unrivaled” was originally expected to hit bookstores on Sept. 29, 2026, but has since been pushed to June 1, 2027.
Reid says she’s soliciting feedback on how to better focus. So far, she’s recruited friend and Ottawa author Ruby Barrett, who also writes queer romance novels, to participate in virtual work sessions.
“We FaceTime each other a lot to do writing sprints,” Reid said.
“We’ll be like, ‘OK, 45 minutes!’ and we’ll leave our cameras on, microphones off, and watch each other work. You can’t use your phone. Then you check back and will be like, ‘How many words?’ Things like that are really helpful.”
Also on the horizon is the second season of “Heated Rivalry,” which starts filming this summer. Reid says she learned production will begin just as she turns in the book to her publisher.
“My deadline is the day they start shooting,” she said. “A total coincidence. I found that out last night. So it kind of works out.”
Reid says the runaway success of the TV series still hasn’t sunk in. At this year’s CSAs, “Heated Rivalry” broke the record for the most wins ever, taking home 16 awards and besting the claim previously held by the 2023 movie comedy “BlackBerry.”
“It was just surreal,” Reid said.
“Watching people give acceptance speeches for these awards, these characters and these stories, I cannot believe this is based on the books I wrote. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Reid says she’s also looking forward to eventually wrapping up the Game Changers series and dabbling in other genres.
“I really want to write something that’s not about hockey, and you know, someday I will,” she said.
“I feel like something that’s not even romance. I’d love to try something different — a thriller or a dark comedy?
“I have a friend who writes horror movies,” she added, “and we were talking about doing something maybe.”
