A week after posting the first Defenseman 4 chapter, I want to thank you for the emails and comments. As a new author who foolishly tried to emulate Cold Creek’s iconic style and storytelling, I’ve come to realize something important: I am no Cold Creek. Your feedback has helped me understand that Defenseman 4 must be told in my own voice—though hopefully still carrying echoes of Cold Creek’s tone.
I also need to acknowledge the obvious: the first chapters were rough, filled with grammar errors, tense shifts, and confusion between first and third person. That’s on me. Once an editor is assigned, I expect the quality will improve. Until then, I trust you’ll keep letting me know when something falls short.
Writing fan fiction has been both fascinating and humbling. To be transparent, I use ChatGPT and Dreampress to generate drafts from my outlines. AI is both helpful and frustrating: it produces a draft, but the real work begins in rewriting, polishing, and refining—often multiple times—because the AI gets it wrong. I’m not asking for sympathy, only sharing the process. If the use of AI diminishes your interest, I understand.
Now, about the characters, tone, and direction of the story.
At the end of DMan 3, Michael is alone, trying to rebuild his relationships. Asuka, Willow, and Elizabeth have all left him. From my perspective, yes—Michael was foolish not to fight harder for them. But I also understand his motivations. The punishments levied against Mr. Carroll and Calvin Klein felt wildly disproportionate. In corporate America, business is rarely “fair.” People smile while stabbing you in the back. It isn’t personal—it’s business. As the saying goes: Good things happen for bad people, and vice versa.
That said, framing Carroll for abuse and trying to bankrupt Klein through a hostile takeover are not remotely equivalent to Michael walking a runway with old girlfriends. Carroll and Klein tried to trap him with contracts, but he saw through it and refused to sign. Forcing Klein to spend millions defending a takeover—supposedly in Michael’s name—was gratuitous, and it hurt thousands of innocent employees. That was Cold Creek’s choice, and those are the facts I must work with.
As for Elizabeth, Willow, and Asuka: Elizabeth began as a loving girlfriend, trusted advisor, and fierce advocate. By the end of DMan 3, her refusal to even consider Michael’s feelings—combined with her family’s disdain for him (yes, they warmed up eventually) and their avarice for his AI—cast her as, at best, an unwilling collaborator and, at worst, a calculating Machiavellian. Let’s not forget she stormed out, contributed to Asuka and Willow breaking up with Michael, and left one of the coldest notes imaginable under his door. These are not the actions of a neutral party. Can she be redeemed, or will she become a true antagonist? That remains to be seen.
Willow and Asuka puzzle me. They listened to Elizabeth’s accusations and broke up with Michael without ever hearing his side. How likely is that, really? Their actions raise questions of maturity and loyalty. Michael protected Asuka from an assassin. Asuka is tied deeply to the Matsuda clan, just as Michael is, so they will inevitably cross paths. Michael also jump-started Willow’s career, and she lives one floor below him in Ann Arbor. They are bound to interact. Surely Michael deserved at least a conversation. This makes both Willow and Asuka open questions.
For the hockey fans: I like Hockey, grew up watching the Broad Street Bullies, but I am not a fanatic; which makes my love for this story kind of strange. DMan 3 placed the Olympics in February 2010. I have patterned the 2010–2011 Wolverines season on Michigan’s real schedule. By April, that season ends; the next begins in late August/September 2010.
When I started writing, my goal was to emulate Cold Creek and finish the Defenseman series. That’s still the plan—but now in my own voice, with Cold Creek as inspiration. My interests lean toward passion, intrigue, and action. There will be hockey, yes, but also sex, international intrigue, and larger set pieces. For readers who want a purely hockey-centric story, you may not get enough of it from me—and that’s fair. Cold Creek’s originals were about hockey, but they were also much more.
Thank you again for your feedback and encouragement. I hope this helps explain the shift in tone and direction.
—CCTW