‘Heated Rivalry’ Author on the Toughest Shane & Ilya Scene to Write
‘Heated Rivalry’ Author on the Toughest Shane & Ilya Scene to Write
Morgan PryorSat, September 5, 2026 at 6:30 PM UTC
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Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in 'Heated Rivalry' - Crave / HBO Max
When looking back at Shane and Ilya’s journey so far, there’s one moment between the couple that took more time than the rest. While chatting with Swooon in Boston for Heated Rivalry Night, Heated Rivalry and The Long Game author Rachel Reid opened up about writing a particularly “tough” Hollanov scene.
As she gears up to promote the upcoming Heated Rivalry Deluxe Hardcover Edition, Reid revealed the moment that required the most time to craft — at least so far. The answer may change once Unrivaled comes out. She’s currently working on the third book about Shane and Ilya’s romance.
“A lot with The Long Game,” Reid said as she deliberated. “The Long Game was tough, and [Unrivaled] is like infinitely more… I thought that was a lot of pressure, but this is much worse.”
Reid ultimately landed on the much-talked-about plane scene from The Long Game. A little over halfway through the book, the Ottawa Centaurs are headed to an away game when their plane starts to drop, and everyone — Ilya included — thinks the plane is going down. Ilya’s mind immediately goes to Shane, so he sends his final words via text.
“I knew I needed to nail what Ilya wrote on the plane to Shane,” Reid told Swooon. “I rewrote that so many times because it had to be a combination of romantic, but also believable in the moment that somebody who is panicking, thinks they’re about to die, and also English is their second language is able to text.”
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While reflecting on their relationship, Ilya writes to Shane, “You are the best thing in my life. I love you. Always. Maybe from the first time I saw you. I am only thinking about you right now. A million memories. Thank you for those. Whatever happens, I am with you. Safe in your heart. I believe it.”
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The author recalled that she had to take words out and edit it down, so the end result came after a few tries. “I didn’t want it to be too sappy because, again, he’s not that sappy. He’s not going to turn into a poet. I have Shane kind of tease him for turning into a poet [afterward]. So, it couldn’t be like this long monologue or anything.”
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Reid added, “I even thought about having him write it all in Russian just for speed. But I thought it would be better to just do it in English rather than have poor Shane have to translate.”
Beyond the enormity of it being Ilya’s last words to Shane, there was another reason more time went into the message. Reid explained, “I just really wanted to get it right because I set it up in a Role Model. People knew that Ilya was texting somebody in that moment, so they were waiting for that payoff.”
Are you ready to see Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie bring the plane scene to life on screen in Heated Rivalry, which is adapting The Long Game next? Tell us in the comments below!
Reporting by Avery Thompson
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
