Bal Khabra talks friendship, recovery, and finding connection in Revolve
With her Off the Ice series, Bal Khabra has built a world where ice hockey, friendship, and romance collide.
With her Off the Ice series, Bal Khabra has built a world where ice hockey, friendship, and romance collide. In Revolve, the latest installment, she turns the spotlight on Dylan, a hockey player, and Sierra, a figure skater. Together, their story delves into the pressures of athletic life, the ache of recovery, and the healing power of connection. In this Q&A, we spoke with Khabra about balancing competition with compassion, writing authentic portrayals of mental health, and why found family remains at the heart of her work.
Having Sierra be an ice skater adds something special to the series. Do you think her figure skating background makes it easier to allow for interactions with Dylan? (e.g, shared common interest and knowledge, etc.)
Absolutely! There’s this built-in connection that just clicks because they both know the gruelling training, the pressure, the aches and bruises no one talks about. It gave them these “I get it” moments, where they didn’t have to explain themselves, they just knew. And that’s where the magic happens. They’re reflections of each other, and it’s that mirror image, that sparks the tension and heat between them. Beyond the medals and competition, they also share this deeper understanding: that skating and hockey isn’t just about winning or losing. It’s about belief, redemption, and proving something to yourself. And while they chase that in different ways, it’s the very thing that ties them together.
We loved seeing Dylan, a hockey player, do figure skating, but what is it actually like to switch between those ice-disciplines in real life?
Dylan is a natural figure skater, but while Sierra swears hockey is easy, it’s gruelling. Growing up, I played hockey with friends, and at school. Figure skating was always a fun outlet, but flipping between the two is not simple.
Hockey and figure skating look similar on the surface, but they ask totally different things from your body. Hockey skates are built for speed, quick stops, and power, while figure skates are all about precision, flow, and control. So, when you switch between them, the balance changes, how you push off changes, even the muscles you activate are different.
Dylan has appeared in the earlier books, and now he finally gets his own story in Revolve. What was it like shifting him from side character to main character? Did anything about his arc surprise you once you put him center stage?
He has always been a main character in my head. I had his story mapped out as far back as Collide, and I even dropped little hints about him right from the very beginning. Some of those easter eggs come back around in Spiral, so by the time it was his turn, I already knew exactly who Dylan was. The surprising part was putting Sierra and Dylan together. I knew them both so well individually but finding the right rhythm for their chemistry was tricky. I think them being so similar had made it difficult to put them together, since I mostly write characters who are opposites. But then when I recognized how all their old wounds were connected, it made their connection so sweet and simple to navigate. By the time I reached the final draft, it all clicked, and somehow, they came together exactly how I had pictured in my head since the very beginning.
Speaking of character appearances, we love that we get to see our favourites from Collide and Spiral. How do you decide how the characters contribute to Dylan and Sierra’s story?
I’m a sucker for found family, so adding those elements is my favourite part. There’s always one or two characters a lead is especially close to, and I love digging into those bonds to make them feel authentic to the story. With Dylan, having Aiden show up just felt right. He’s Dylan’s captain, their foundation has been built over years, so of course they deserved that moment together.
In fact, the found family element is very strong in the whole series. Can you tell us about why having a community is so important for these characters?
It’s so important to me in my own life. I know if I didn’t have my friends, I wouldn’t be doing half the things I do. They keep my world spinning, and even the hardest days get lighter when there’s laughter involved. So bringing that into these stories feels natural. It’s like giving the characters a chance to exhale, a moment to breathe between everything they’re facing. No matter the things they go through in their personal lives, they always have their friends there to make the load feel lighter.
Each character in the series has their own challenges and development but we especially appreciate Revolve‘s conversation on trauma and mental health around sports injury, which is not something that is explored enough. How did you approach writing those struggles in a way that felt both authentic and hopeful? (e.g., any research on the therapy that athletes do etc)
Mental health has been important in both my life and my writing. While I researched for this book, I took help from my sister who is a psychotherapist, and one of my university professors who is a sports psychologist. I wanted to show that emotions, even the ones that don’t make us feel great, are just as important as the happy ones. They all have value, and they all shape us. For me, writing those moments was about giving the characters space to feel fully human, and hopefully letting readers see a little bit of themselves in that, too.
Finally, without giving too much away, what can readers expect next from the Off the Ice series?
I am so excited for the fourth and final book from the off the ice series to get into the hands of readers. It’s of those most beloved character in the series, and I hope they are just as loved as the others.
