How ‘No Limit To Love’ Came To Be
A funny thing happened on the way to a contemporary romance novel: Here’s the story.
I had an idea for a romance with a big-name hockey player, a record-setting forward, as the male protagonist. I named him Beau Scott, called Beau Brummel in the sports press because he was gorgeous and a sharp dresser.
Beau had a best friend, a defenseman, called Bruiser McKay. Bruiser was everything Beau wasn’t: he was big-boned, a gentle giant, not handsome but compelling in his own quiet way.
{Interesting fact: Bruiser was inspired by former hockey player. We’d worked out in the same gym when he was young, and he had the right vibe.}
Beau and Bruiser had a nearly psychic connection on ice. When Beau needed coverage for a shot at the goal, Bruiser was there almost before Beau was. And when Bruiser could make a shot, Beau was right there in case he needed an assist.
But Bruiser was only meant to be second fiddle to the hero, Beau.
When I started the novel, I didn’t have a very clear idea for the heroine. I knew she had to be someone strong in her own way, someone who could challenge Beau and put him through some hoops before she let him win her heart. Maybe a professional women’s hockey player?
I was a member of a mixed critique group at the time I conceived of this story. Some of us were published, some of us weren’t, but all the other women were sharp. They knew the romance genre; they knew character and tension and stakes and romance and all the elements that make a good story.
And every darn time Bruiser appeared in my early draft, they all went, “Awww.”
Every time.
Every single time.
Finally, I got the hint: Scrap Beau, who was too perfect, and make Bruiser the hero.
Easy to say, but… Okay, first I had to get to know him. The more I learned about Bruiser, the difficult times he had growing up, the unfair treatment he suffered from by the press as a young player, the more I liked him. He’d overcome a lot of hardships to become a star, but he had some hidden sensitivities that held him back from finding the right woman to share his life with.
Okay, to put it bluntly, big, strong Bruiser was terrified of petite women. (Long story; you have to read the book to find out why.)
Naturally, the heroine of No Limit to Love, civil engineer Lisa Sutton, had to be petite, beautiful, smart, stubborn, compassionate, and sensitive enough to see that this man who now was the general manager of a National Hockey League team in Vancouver, British Columbia, was injured and emotionally stuck.
Wounded but successful hero? Definitely compelling.
Strong and perceptive, kind and yet determined to pull this gentle giant out of his loneliness? Definitely a modern heroine.
Throw in enforced proximity—a favorite romance trope—because they’re sharing a house while Lisa oversees the construction of Bruiser and Beau’s youth hockey camp and something’s gotta happen!
Now, Bruiser doesn’t make it easy for Lisa, but she doesn’t make it easy for him, either.
Bruiser wants to have limits on their relationship.
Lisa doesn’t.
The title says it all—No Limit to Love—but how they get over all the obstacles to achieve that Happy Ever After Beginning (because romance is just the beginning) is the story.
You can buy No Limit to Love from Book View Café here: https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc_author/kate-freiman/
Other book distributors coming soon!
© 2026 by Kate Freiman
USA-Today Bestselling, Award-Winning Author of emotionally satisfying romances
https://bookviewcafe.com/bvc_author/kate-freiman/