The bright stadium lights illuminate the crisp, fall Friday night. The high school’s star quarterback launches the ball downfield, where it lands magnetically into his wide receiver’s hands.

The crowd gets to its feet, roaring.

It’s a great night for football. It’s a great night to fall in love.

It’s also the setting for local author Isabelle Kane’s new romance novel, Eagle River, which takes place in the small, northern Wisconsin town of the same name.

The novel – published by Satin Romance, an imprint of Melange Press – centers on two rival quarterbacks who fall in love with the same girl, and attempts to discover whether young love can survive betrayal.

This is the third romance novel by Kane (the name is a pseudonym), an Eau Claire author who has also written several children’s books. After growing up reading them, she said she’s always enjoyed them and thinks many people can relate.

And who doesn’t remember their first high school love?

“That first dance, first kiss, there’s a special magic to that and it’s a very common human experience, it’s so fun to capture. Love is one of the most exciting aspects of the human experience.” – Isabelle Kane, on her new romance novel, Eagle River

“That first dance, first kiss, there’s a special magic to that, and it’s a very common human experience. It’s so fun to capture,” Kane said. “Love is one of the most exciting aspects of the human experience, that human emotion, which is really what’s in a romance novel that people find appealing.”

For Kane, inspiration for a story typically is a setting or moment, hearing a conversation or seeing something that she wants to turn into a story.

After going to several hockey tournaments in Eagle River, Kane said she thought the town had “a really cool name,” and it had a northwoods-y, small-town feeling she couldn’t help but be drawn to.

“It really captures the feeling of small town Wisconsin, very woodsy,” she said. “And high school football games, there’s a special magic to that kind of evening.”

She classifies the genre of the book as new adult, an emerging genre featuring protagonists in the 18-30 age bracket, and contemporary romance.

She’s still waiting for reviews on her novel to come in, but has stepped away from romance novels for a while because she’s working on two new children’s books, the first of which will be released in February.

Because she said she can get easily distracted, she’ll start an idea, work on it for awhile, and then put it away several years. She usually has several works going on at once.

And while she enjoys writing for both genres, her passion for writing romance novels is what drives her.

“I think they’re fun, and I think many people like to relate to their memories, and that’s really why people enjoy romance,” Kane said. “There is a certain special joy to romance and that’s why I think it’s such a popular genre.”

To learn more about Kane’s books and to find out how to purchase them, visit kaneandtremaine.com.