A local sports writer and self-proclaimed hockey fanatic has released his third novel, this time in the form of an internet book, or e-book.
Written in the first person perspective, Pucks On The Net is the title of this new book, which is a collection of stories from hockey history, including sections on hockey heroes, international ice, crashing the crease and personal stories from Joe Pelletier himself.
The title of the novel is a bit of a play on words, as Pelletier decided to publish novel on the ‘net’.
He made the choice to publish as an e-book because he wanted to retain full control of the editing process – something that ended up as a bit of a family affair as his mother helped proofread and his brother designed the cover art.
“I really feel the book has stories that will appeal to and entertain everyone from the novice fan to the hardcore hockey enthusiast,” Pelletier said, adding he guarantees that even the biggest hockey fanatics will learn something new from these stories about the zany world of hockey.
“I’m really proud of it,” Pelletier said.
The book covers a wide range of material, peppered with interesting and quirky facts.
Facts like the 1924 Olympic Winter Games, where Team Canada outscored the competition by 110 – 3 in just five games, or the hockey player who almost missed his own wedding to play in a Stanley Cup.
The short story format allows readers to flip from page to page and read what catches their eye.
The book begins with stories about Pelletier’s personal experiences, and the road that led him to become the hockey history buff he is today.
“[I’m] able to be personal,” he explaining this is similar to his website Greatest Hockey Legends and something he liked best about the novel.
Pelletier is a Terrace native, who has become deeply entrenched in the world of hockey. His work and commentary has been featured in everything from Sports Illustrated to TSN, and he is a standard go-to guy in western Canada for news sources seeking hockey knowledge and opinion.
Pelletier’s website draws in a daily average readership of about 12,000 people during hockey season. It features more than 1,650 profiles of retired hockey players along with special features and personal commentary on things such as the Vancouver Canucks – where Pelletier admits his NHL loyalties lie.
He published his first book, The World Cup of Hockey in 2002, and followed it with his second, Legends of Team Canada in 2005.
The foreward for Pucks On The Net was written by Kirstie McLellan Day, the best selling hockey author in Canada in the past five years.
In her foreward, McLellan Day said ‘reading Pucks On The Net was like poring over the most interesting parts of a very special collection.’
The book has been available since Sept. 15, and information on how to purchase the book will be available on his website.
Once purchased online, Pucks On The Net can be viewed in a variety of ways such as e-readers, iPads, cell phones or computers.