This is very much a figure skating book for figure skating readers. If you are a casual fan who tunes in to watch figure skating in the Olympics once every four years, this probably isn’t the book for you.
Ryan Stevens – 3 September 2024
The Back Flap
Sequins, Scandals and Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980s is an extraordinary history of a decade when figure skating was the talk of the town and its stars were household names.
This one-of-a-kind book expands far beyond iconic moments like Torvill and Dean’s Bolero and The Battle of The Brians, exploring intriguing connections between figure skating and real-world events that shaped the decade, including The AIDS Pandemic, The Cold War, and The Fall of The Berlin Wall.
Brimming with fascinating facts and eye-opening insights, the book chronologically highlights the competitions, shows and skaters that made figure skating everyone’s favourite winter sport.
A must-have collector’s edition for any knowledgeable fan of the sport who came of age in the 80s – or wishes they did.
About the book
What is the book about?
Sequins, Scandals & Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980s is a comprehensive history of figure skating in the 80s, featuring dozens of beautiful black and white photographs. It chronicles all of the major competitions and skaters of the decade but also features many fascinating facts about the period that are overlooked, like judging scandals and the sport’s first doping case. I also look at skating’s connections to pop culture and how real-world events like The Cold War and The Fall of The Berlin Wall affected the skating world. I’m an LGBTQ+ author and I wrote the book from an LGBTQ+ lens. In the book, I breach some difficult topics that a lot of people don’t want to acknowledge – the homophobia that was so prominent in the sport at the time and the truth about how The AIDS Pandemic affected the sport – how many incredible skaters and coaches that were lost and who broke that story and when.
When did you start writing the book?
That’s an interesting story! In 2021, I devoted several months to interviewing people and doing research for a digital project called Forever Young, which highlighted the stories of dozens of skaters, coaches and judges who passed away during The AIDS Epidemic. The project got put on the back burner as I worked on other books. In January, I decided to put together this book, which ties elements of the research I did for Forever Young into the big picture.
Writing a book takes a lot of time and effort and if I was going to put the time in, I wanted to put a book out there that people would get behind and support… and that meant writing a book with Scandals in the title.
How long did it take you to write it?
From start to finish, the research and writing process took over 1500 hours.
Where did you get the idea from?
The idea for Forever Young came about after I binge-watched the Netflix series It’s A Sin during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The idea for a full book highlighting every aspect of figure skating in the 80s – and the way the book is designed – was largely inspired by Lynn Copley-Graves’ wonderful book Figure Skating History: The Evolution of Dance on Ice. Lynn’s book did a wonderful job of highlighting the history of ice dance over the years, but there wasn’t anything comparable covering singles or pairs, so I decided to take on the task of weaving everything there was to know about all four disciplines during the 80s into one book.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Oh my goodness, yes. One of my main goals with this book was to generalize on many topics rather than go on ad nauseam about aspects of skating history that people already know a great deal about. A lot of material ultimately got cut for the sake of space and deciding who and what would make it in the book and what wouldn’t was difficult at times. I think the biggest struggle had nothing to do with the writing and research. The book was designed as a coffee-table book, full of photographs and columns of text. The format typically used for e-readers, the .Epub, is incredibly basic and limited in terms of design. Trying to redevelop the book’s design so that there was an eBook version was incredibly challenging and time-consuming. The eBook version honestly really doesn’t do the book justice, but it was important to me to have some sort of a digital alternative out there so that people who prefer eBooks over print have access to the information in the book. It’s not pretty, but it’s something.
What came easily?
The actual writing of the first draft. It just flowed right out of me, for the most part. The most time-consuming part was the research, editing and design.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Absolutely. I’m a voracious reader when it comes to figure skating history and I think my writing style is very much inspired by the people who have such wonderful work chronicling the sport’s history over the years. T.D. Richardson, Howard Bass, Dennis L. Bird, Beverley Smith, Sandra Stevenson and Benjamin T. Wright are some of the journalists and writers that I most admire.
Do you have a target reader?
I do! This is very much a figure skating book for figure skating readers. If you are a casual fan who tunes in to watch figure skating in the Olympics once every four years, this probably isn’t the book for you. It’s a book written for figure skating’s knowledgeable and supportive life-long fans – the thousands of people who already know a lot about skating and are curious to learn more.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Before I even start writing, I put together an outline of everything that might be included in each chapter and where I need to look to find that information. I compile a ton of information and material in each outline and then start writing, whittling down the material as I go.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Both. I do some editing as I go when I write the first draft, but I try not to go overboard because it’s just so easy to get sidetracked when you’re on a roll. As soon as I have a first draft, I order a proof copy, sit down and go through it with a highlighter and a pen and make my first round of edits to the original manuscript. After round one, I go back through it with a fine-tooth comb, looking for spelling and grammar mistakes and editing line-by-line. There’s always inevitably going to be the odd thing you miss, but I try to do the best I can. Nonfiction editing is quite different than fiction. I find with the kind of writing I do, a lot of the errors I catch come about because of the copying and pasting of text and moving it around.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Most of the time I do, but it has to be instrumental and on the mellow side. I wrote much of this one with my headphones in, listening to a beautiful playlist that included Jules Massenet’s Méditation from Thaïs, The Swan by Saint-Saëns, Michael Nyman’s soundtrack from The Piano and Erik Satie’s Gnossiennes.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Certainly not. I’m very real about the writing I do and how niche it is. There’s 100% a market for figure skating books but agents want something profitable they can market to the masses. This isn’t a book for the masses. It’s a nonfiction sports book written for a very specific audience, not something that you can stick at a newsstand alongside romance novels.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
It was a no-brainer for me. A lot of authors start blogs or newsletters to market their books. I’d been an indie blogger for 10 years before I published my first one. I love the freedom of self-publishing because, for better or worse, I’m the one deciding what I write about and how I present each topic.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
With my first four books, it was DIY but this time around, I worked with Stefan Prodanovic, a wonderful graphic designer from Bosnia. I wanted the book’s cover to mimic the design of figure skating programs and posters from the 80s. Stefan was the designer I migrated to because he’d done some wonderful work that captured that 70s/80s style in the past and I’m so happy with what he came up with! People do judge a book by its cover. I think this one screams the 80s, which is exactly what I wanted.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
So here’s the funny thing… when I published my first book, I had zero clue what I was doing and it looked like the amateur hour because it was. I had zero knowledge of how book marketing worked at the time and for whatever reason, even though the presentation was not there, the book sold quite well. I studied marketing and came up with a comprehensive plan for marketing my last book Jackson Haines: The Skating King. I did everything by the letter, but the book didn’t sell because it wasn’t written to market. I’ve learned what was worth my time and what wasn’t and this time around I’m again approaching my launch with a comprehensive plan. This time I think it’s a bit smarter though. Rather than trying to target history readers, I’m only really marketing to skating readers – because that’s who the book is really for.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
The best advice I’d give to an indie author would be to understand your niche and market to them. If you write 1920s murder mystery novels, there are absolutely readers out there who only read science fiction who, for whatever reason, will pick up your book and complain there were no aliens. Your book isn’t for everyone, it’s for your ideal reader and them alone.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Chester, a beautiful small village on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. I skated at the local skating club and performed in community theatre there. It’s an absolutely beautiful community and a hidden gem most people overlook when they visit the province.
Where do you live now?
I live in Nova Scotia’s capital, Halifax. I moved out West to British Columbia for a time. It was stunning there, but I’m so happy to be home.
What would you like readers to know about you?
When I’m not writing about figure skating history, I love cooking and reading. I love a good period drama and I’m a huge Survivor fan. I’m all about smelling fabulous and have a bit of a Lush Cosmetics problem.
What are you working on now?
I’ve taken off my writing hat and put on my marketing one. I have zero plans to rush out and start working on a 90s book. I’m all in for #TheSk80s and I want to do everything I can to try to get people to support this book in the months leading up to my launch before I even start thinking about what’s next. I think it’s such a fascinating and important history. I hope people will enjoy reading about it and learning something new.
End of Interview:
Get your copy of Sequins, Scandals & Salchows from Amazon US or Amazon UK.