There’s so much that goes into a writing a book. So many revisions and rewrites, so many things I would have liked to include, but that I ended up cutting to make the story more cohesive, or things that I simple know because they were part of my world building but it wasn’t necessary to include them.
Here’s a list of random facts that were part of writing this book.
- I started writing the book on December 17, 2019. I even posted about it on my personal blog. Back then, I started by writing 100 words a day. The goal was to write, no matter how long it took me to finish the book at that rate, but over time I increased my pace and now I usually write around 1000 to 2000 words a day. I finished the first draft of Match to Love on September 17, 2020. So from first draft to publication, it took me almost a year between rewrites, beta reader feedback and having the book edited. The first book is a huge learning process, so hopefully for book number two (already halfway done) things will be faster.
2. Match to Love is the first of a, at least, three-book series focused on athletes. Book number two, Score to Love, is already up for pre-order and is so different from Match to Love. Book number two will focus on soccer (Fútbol!) and will be an enemies to friends-with-benefits to lovers story. Book number three is Swim to Love (name subject to change) and will be a friends to lovers, slow burn story.
3. I choose Tumblr as the website Dani and Ari used to talk because I was a huge Tumblr user since the Glee fandom days and until recently. I’ve met amazing friends there and being part of The Bold Type fandom was part of what inspired me to write a book.
4. I became a tennis fan in 1999 after watching Martina Hingis lose in the Roland Garros final. I learned English by reading and writing messages on Martina Hingis’ fan forums with the help of an English-Spanish dictionary I used to translate word by word.
5. I’ve had several people ask me about the name “Arantxa.” It’s a Spanish name I love and know because of a 90s tennis player called Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario. Please, don’t ask me how it’s pronounced because I suck at describing pronunciations in English. According to google it would be “ur·aan·chuh” and that sounds about right.
6. The book mentions a particular New Year’s tradition of eating twelve grapes at midnight and making a wish for each of them. We have so many traditions in Colombia for that day, like running around the block at midnight with a suitcase to attract travel or using yellow underwear for good luck. You can find out more about our New Year’s traditions by reading this article.
7. In case you’re curious about Colombian empanadas. Here’s a recipe to give you an idea of how this delicious, crunchy, yellow dish is made. As an interesting tidbit, when I was a kid, my mom and aunt sold empanadas in front of my house.
8. I love Mallorca. It has a personal meaning for both me and my fiancée. We’ve vacationed there a couple times, so I took inspiration from our trip to write about Dani and Ari’s time there. There was an additional scene of Dani and Ari visiting the Aquarium because I love aquariums, but I had to cut it because it was slowing down the pace of the book. Here’s a picture from Cap de Formentor I took on our vacation there to illustrate the scene that made it to the book.
9. At the end of the book, we learn Tom got a boyfriend named Mark, but if you pay attention, Mark, or references to him/New York, appear at different points from the start of the book.
10. The speech Andre Agassi gave when he was inducted in the Tennis Hall of Fame regarding his wife, tennis legend Stefanie Graf, inspired Dani’s speech on the book after the US Open.
11. Since I’m a huge tennis fan, my fiancée has taken me on different tennis related trips. Once to the Miami Open and twice to the US Open. In 2015 we got tickets to the women’s final hoping to see Serena Williams win the Grand Slam (all four Grand Slam tournaments in a year) unfortunately, she lost in the semifinals. We also did a guided tour in December 2013 that gave me the chance to visit the locker rooms, the inside of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the press rooms. It also shows you how much of a tennis nerd I am.
12. I purposefully left Dani’s and Ari’s description a little vague, so people could picture who they wanted. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have an image in my head. My Fantasy Cast for Match to Love has Isabela Gomez/Bárbara López for Dani (but with more muscles) and a mix of Nikohl Boosheri/Ariane Mandi for Ari.
I also made a The Sim versions of them.
