Remember Footballers’ Wives? That show used to be my not-so-secret guilty pleasure. Pure escapism. All the glamour, glitz, scandal – I loved it! It never really was about the football, was it?
However, I am actually quite a big football fan, as it happens. I always have been. One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the sofa with my dad watching Match of the Day. I guess I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy, at heart. I was never one for Barbie dolls when I was growing up, and I’m still upset I got a ‘girly’ bike that Christmas all those years ago rather than the Chopper I really wanted. But football, yeah – it’s always been a part of my life. For a good chunk of the 80s I was a season ticket holder at Newcastle United, spending a fair few Saturday afternoons (and the odd mid-week evening) sporting that ever-glamorous look of two hats and a nice thick anorak as I clutched a cup of Bovril between my gloved hands to keep the cold at bay… yes, I paid money for that experience. And when England got knocked out of the World Cup semi-finals in Italy back in 1990, I cried. I actually sat there and cried, I kid you not. I was devastated! Going into college the next day you’d have thought the world had ended. But the memory of those missed penalties… for a football fan they never go away, because England have never come that close to a World Cup final since. And no, I’m not holding my breath for Brazil 2014, before you ask.
Anyway, deciding to base a romance novel around football was probably always going to be a risky thing to do, because you only have to mention the word to some women (football, that is, not romance) and their eyes glaze over. But when I decided to write the ‘Striker’ series of books, I knew exactly the kind of books I wanted them to be. Blending my love of Jackie Collins and her own wonderful brand of escapism with the glitz, glamour and scandalous drama that Footballers’ Wives used to throw up week after week when it was on the air, I wanted these books to be fun, sexy and HOT! I even jokingly labelled them “Fifty Shades of Football” at one point, because the kind of action in there isn’t really anything you’re going to see on Football Focus. It’s more about the sex than the soccer, let’s put it that way. The world of football is just the backdrop.
But, for some reason, the world of the professional footballer, and the people who share their lives, has always fascinated me. So creating characters that were believable was really important. And to be told in a recent review of ‘Striker’, by someone who works within the world of football, that I have the character of fictional footballer Ryan Fisher just right, that was good to hear. Because Ryan really is your stereotypical footballer – a bad boy with attitude; a player in every sense of the word. He’s hot, handsome, talented, with a slightly over-inflated ego. But after reading a book called ‘I Am The Secret Footballer’ – written by a top-flight player, and a book that lifted the lid on his life within the world of football – I realised that nothing I made Ryan do would be far fetched. That book was invaluable research for me, not to mention a real eye-opener as far as what life as a footballer can be like. It certainly isn’t all glamour, believe me.
But for me, writing these books was really a labour of love. I got to look around a real-life football stadium as part of my research; I got to stand in the tunnel at Sunderland AFC’s Stadium of Light and look out onto that pitch. They even played the music the team run out to at every home game for me, which actually gave me goose bumps! I got to stand on that pitch, look around the dressing rooms – they were all devoid of footballers at the time, unfortunately, although I have been in a dressing room that was full of them, once, at Everton’s ground, Goodison Park. I can still remember talking to Gary Lineker when he was wearing nothing but a towel… anyway, during my personal tour of Sunderland’s stadium I got to go into the manager’s office, have a look around the Players’ Lounge and Press Lounge, and thanks to that visit I got more information than I could ever possibly have gathered just through Googling alone. I got the feel of a real-life football club; I got to hear how things worked and just what goes on during match days. It was a brilliant afternoon, and a huge help to me. I’m so grateful to everyone at Sunderland AFC for their help.
So, just what is ‘Striker’ all about? Well, let’s see… hot footballers, sexy sports reporters, a manager that makes Jose Mourinho look dull and boring… mix all of that with a bit of glamour, a fair dose of scandal, sprinkle it with some pretty racy scenes, and you’ve got ‘Striker’. Inspired by my love of football, and a show that epitomised glamorous, escapist TV. So, are you ready to meet Ryan Fisher? Because this summer, it’s time to play dirty…
Thanks Michelle! Striker is out tomorrow!