Crestmead author Jacquelynn Lear began writing the story that would become her debut novel, Salt and Ice, after an ice skating incident that left her husband with a broken back.
“I thought it would be oh so romantic to come up behind him and give him a hug, except, as I reached him, I lost my balance,” Ms Lear said. “He landed on his back on my plastic rental skate and broke his back.
“Thankfully, he can still walk, but after that, I swore I would get good enough at skating that such an accident wouldn’t happen again, so I started taking lessons.”
As Ms Lear began taking ice skating lessons, she found herself wanting to read figure skating novels.
“Many were poorly researched with obvious errors, the skating often took a back seat to romance, and nearly everything focused on pairs or ice dance,” she said.
“When I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to write it myself.
“A book that takes figure skating seriously, focusing on what happens when two rivals have to work together to save their rink from closing.”
Salt and Ice, which will be released this Sunday, 25 January, is set in Australia’s competitive figure skating scene and follows the characters Mikael Fitzgibbons and Daniil Ivanov, who are rival skaters at a small ice rink on the brink of closure.
“While my characters are elite skaters and I’m not at that level, there are core experiences I’ve drawn on to create authenticity,” Ms Lear said.
“The sensory details like the smells and sounds of the ice rink, that freeing sense of flying across the ice, those come directly from my own time skating.”
“Even though I haven’t competed in figure skating, I have competed in dance, so I was able to tap into those memories of pre-competition nerves and pressure.”
One of the characters in the novel struggles with anxiety and panic attacks, which is something Ms Lear said she had experienced personally.
“I could bring real emotional truth to those moments,” Ms Lear said.
Ms Lear began writing the novel in November 2023 as part of the annual National Novel Writing Month, which challenges writers to put 50,000 words on paper in 30 days.
“I wrote about 40,000 words before burning out; I was working in aged care and trying to force the writing pace, just wasn’t sustainable,” Ms Lear said.
“I picked it back up in September 2025 and finished it at around 108,000 words, which is about 450 pages in a typical paperback.”
In November last year, HBO released the sports romance TV show Heated Rivalry, originally based on a book by the same name, where two professional hockey rivals begin a secret love affair.
The show received widespread critical and commercial success, and was renewed for a second season, executive producers of the show confirmed on social media.
Ms Lear said she had no idea the show would become such a big hit at the same time she was gearing up to release a book in the same genre.
“I’m glad the show is bringing visibility to LGBTQ+ athletes in traditionally hyper-masculine sports,” Ms Lear said.
“Figure skating faces similar challenges, and several skaters have come out publicly to help normalise diverse experiences in the sport.
“Representation really matters, and I hope Salt and Ice can contribute to that conversation in its own way.”
Ms Lear said there were parallels between her novel Salt and Ice and the show, including the high-stakes elite sport setting and characters whose families have immigrated.
“The key difference is that Salt and Ice isn’t a romance; the focus is on their friendship as they work together to save their rink,” she said.
“But if you love the sports intensity, emotional complexity, and layered character backstories in Heated Rivalry, you’ll find a lot to connect with in Salt and Ice.”
Salt and Ice by J D Lear is available to order in paperback via Ms Lear’s website or as an ebook via Amazon.
