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Thursday, July 16, 2020

Memoir of a Hockey Nobody by Jerry Hack - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hi, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Jerry Hack and his new book, “Memoir of a Hockey Nobody”!  For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Jerry and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


Memoir of a Hockey Nobody
by Jerry Hack

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GENRE: Biography & Autobiography / Sports

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BLURB:

Memoir of a Hockey Nobody is the unlikely true story of an average Canadian kid who grew up playing street hockey. Although he didn't learn how to skate until his late teens, he took a shot at entering the world of professional ice hockey with, shall we say, haphazard results.

This is an "against all odds" tale of one man's journey from Vancouver, to all over Western Canada, California, The Yukon, and Alaska. Seemingly blocked at every turn, from managers who believed that someone who came from such humble beginnings couldn't be any good, to coaches who would rather see big names with bigger reputations. It's a story of tragedy, triumph and determination. A roller coaster ride with hilarious anecdotes of all the characters he met along the way.

This is a tale for those who dare to live their dream!

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EXCERPT ONE:

“In the spring of 1980, the New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup, beating the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games. Bob Nystrom scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime. I was happy, because finally someone other than the Montreal Canadiens won the cup. Despite rooting for the Canadiens when I was nine, I had grown to hate them. I was a diehard Vancouver Canucks fan by then. The Canadiens just kept on winning and winning. I was so tired of watching them win all the time. four straight years they won the cup without breaking a sweat. Little did I know that the Islanders were now on their way to doing the exact same thing. I would grow to hate them too. It was about a month after the Islanders had their first parade that I was over at the Aitken’s house. John and I still hung out, but not as often as in the past. At this time, I was eighteen and had my own vehicle, (a 1969 Datsun pickup). We were discussing how happy we both were that the Montreal dynasty was seemingly over, when the topic of his hockey team came up. He was always playing in one beer league or another. (At one time he played in the N.H.L. The “Natural Hockey League”) At this time he was playing on a team called the Burnaby Kings, and they were playing at the Columbian 4 Rinks. At one time, this was the largest indoor hockey arena in the world, and was even in the Guinness Book of World Records. As it turned out, the Kings were renting one of the rinks once a week, all summer long. Summer hockey was a new thing, all the other rinks became lacrosse rinks for the summer. John was telling me how terrible their goalie was. The guy’s name was Lonnie. I don’t remember his last name. John was telling me that the guy was the worst goalie he had ever played with. They had nicknamed him “Red Light Lonnie,” because he would let in so many goals. He said that Lonnie was so short that shots would regularly hit him in the head and deflect into the net. One time John said that the puck had been shot into the corner and Lonnie went to go get it, fell down, and while he was trying to get up, the puck went up on edge and had such spin on it after it hit the boards, that it reversed itself and curved right into the net. John said Lonnie was like “Bad Luck Schleprock” of the Flintstones.”

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GUEST POST:

Five Reasons You Should Read My Book:


1.)  We need the money. LOL! Also, it’s not your typical hockey memoir. If you look at most hockey memoirs, you’ll notice that the vast majority are written by players or coaches who made it to the top of their profession. I didn’t make it to the NHL. In fact, I was so far away I was about as close to making the NHL as a Big Mac is to health food. My story is about having modest dreams and doing whatever it took to attain them.

2.)  The people make the story. During my journey I met so many interesting and crazy characters. Like Brent Castle, who once passed out on an airport baggage carousel. Or Rob Wallace, who had an innate ability to rub people the wrong way. So much so, that his own team once beat him up. You will read about sworn enemies who eventually become teammates and friends. You’ll read about small towns and small town people. Salt of the earth people and the adventures of a city boy totally out of his element.

3.)  It is a completely 100% honest rendering. When writing this book, I was determined not to embellish or make anything up out of whole cloth. Also, I didn’t want to become the hero of my own story. I know that I got some of the details wrong, but I wrote it almost completely from memory. I wanted the people who are in the book to read it and say “yup, I was there, and that’s exactly how it happened.” Writing this book was a joy, and also extremely painful. I basically had to re-live my life over again. The good, the bad, and the embarrassingly cringeworthy.

4.)  This is not just for hockey fans. I have been told by many people who have read the book that anybody should be able to enjoy it and relate to it. One reviewer stated:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt and Hilarious...Story Of The Ages, For All Ages! Hockey and Sports Heaven!
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
What a wonderful story, my goodness!

Witty, smart...and most of all, I think this author is authentic! If you hold sports dear to your heart, or just love an entertaining page-turner, this rollicking ride through the rinks of life is it! Young or old, there is something here anyone can relate to - you will see yourself in the author, or perhaps the many characters you'll come to meet. The author clearly gets it - sports, at their very best, are about the folks, the camaraderie, and the stories. For this, it seems to me Hack lived the sports dream as well as any big league star.

Love an adventure? Must read. Hockey fan? Must read. Couldn't care less about sports? Must read.

This book is proof that the underdog always wins!

5.)  Writing this memoir has changed my life. I have met so many great people through the sale of my book. Authors like George Grimm, who wrote 2 books about the New York Rangers (“We Did Everything But Win” and “Guardians of the Goal”), and Greg Oliver, author or co-author of 13 books who wrote about my book on his “Two Minutes for Reading So Good” column in the Society for International Hockey Research website. Perry Lefko, multiple award winning writer and best-selling author. Bob Duff of The Windsor Star and U.S.A. Today’s Kevin Allen who interviewed me on their HockeyDebates.com podcast. I am not a writer (I am a forklift driver), and it is very humbling to have professional writers praise my work. George Grimm says about it:

Top International Reviews:

George E. Grimm
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
Memoirs of a Hockey Nobody, by Jerry Hack is the kind of book that you can’t stop reading and never want to end. It’s the story of Jerry’s journey from street hockey to the amateur and semi-pro ranks of Western Canada where the difference between success and failure often has more to do with luck, timing and politics than actual ability.

Memoirs of a Hockey Nobody is a well-written, entertaining and often laugh-out-loud funny book that players and fans will enjoy. I highly recommend it!
And here is the link for Greg Oliver’s column:


You will not regret buying my book. It pulls you along like a team of Huskies pulling a sled in the Iditarod!

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AUTHOR BIO:


I was born and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia. My sisters and I were raised by hard-working blue collar parents. We were and are a tight knit family. I grew up loving sports but hockey most of all. In fact, it was my passion. I read about it, watched it and played it. I was an average student and a good athlete. I could play most sports without looking out of place. But I was born to be a goalie. I graduated from high school in 1979 and a year later began my journey playing ice hockey. 40 years later, I am happily married with a 12 year old daughter and loving life more than ever.

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CONNECT WITH JERRY:

Website:

Email:
jerryhack15@gmail.com

Facebook:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

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BOOK BUY LINKS:


Amazon Kindle eBook:

Amazon Paperback:

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

The Book Depository Paperback:

BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:

Indigo CA eBook:

Kobo eBook:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Jerry will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

9 comments:

  1. Jerry ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)

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    1. Thank you Ally! Good morning. I am absolutely thrilled to be here. If anyone has any questions, I am more than happy to answer them. Have a great day everyone and be fabulous today!

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  2. I love the title of the book. Congrats on the release

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  3. Thank you so much for taking time to bring to our attention another great read.   I appreciate it and thank you also for the giveaway. 

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  4. Great excerpt, I enjoyed reading it!

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  5. Love hockey, my favorite sport!

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