FEATURED AUTHOR: STEVE MYERS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dreaming .400, like baseball itself, exists outside of time. Its 11 short stories are infused with the magic of the game—in the seductive swing of a girl who turns tinsel into gold; in the passion of an orphan on a quest to reach the Astrodome; in a vision of the future in which players are made, not born.

Dreaming .400 spawns pen pal love between friends that grows into poetry; it shrinks the gap between the head and heart of a Brewers’ fan; provides a way out for a teenager stuck in the shadows; inspires a vagabond to an impossible dream to be lived out between the white lines.

GUEST POST BY STEVE MYERS

Writing fiction is medicine. A window opens. There's access to an often closed, cut off world of dreams, memories, and motivations. The bluesy side of that window opening is that when a story ends, the window shuts. There's an emotional let down. The hunt and feast are finished. The carcass sits like some bony exposure beside the water. 

This is where the title of my recently published collection of short stories -  Dreaming .400 becomes more than a name. It becomes like a raft in water to get me going again, towards more trouble and tranquility, round and round, gathering up debris along the way which became new memories to explore and write about. 

I don't find many absolutes in this process of writing, but the intoxicating effect of a smell is definitely one of them. A smell hijacks and transports me to far away forgotten places in my past. I can see things in ways I've never seen before. I can be courageous. I can be honest and discover my real motives and fears and transform them into the traits of characters I create. 

Let me talk about smells some more. We have so many ways to store data and sounds. So many efficient ways but when it comes to smells, we have perfumes and after shave and cleaning sprays, but is there any way to store the smells we generate? So darn elusive. Like a vapor or water or sand slipping between our fingers and yet so potent and powerful.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking Mr. Clean or Endust. No way at all. I can be walking along and get hit by a spray from one of those bathroom cleaning sprays and well, I'm transported back to being 11-years old, in my friend's attic, playing strat-o-matic simulated baseball. All the wonderful details float through my mind like a slow mo parade – my friend's fat cat in the window sill looking orange from the sun, the cemetery across the street, my fears.  I'm not sure how this happens, olfactory speaking, but the smell is definitely an ol' factory of memories. That's for sure.

It's for this reason I keep anywhere from 20 to 30 stories, maybe more, active in my mind, in notebooks, on the backs of envelopes, as wordpress posts or Word documents, all of 'em waiting to be smelled again and if they are and if I'm lucky, they go epic and my mind and pen gushes. The story picks up speed and behaves like snow melting down a mountainside in spring and other times, it gets snagged and fizzles out of existence.

I think stories definitely have finish lines. It may take 23 years but it's out there somewhere in the fog and this has nothing to do with improving a sentence or adjusting the flow. That could go on forever. I'm talking about a theme. Often times, I am not aware of one during that initial gush, but as I read over what has happened...what I have written, what I have spit out on the page, I begin to see one there. Then I begin fleshing it out, the theme that is and making it clearer to the reader.

Don't get me wrong, I never want the message or whatever to be too obvious. I'm not writing Cliff Notes of crystal clarity here. I want the reader to do some work, to think a little, to connect some dots,  but at the same time, being cryptic is not my style. There's nothing sadder to me than a reader saying, “I didn't get it.” That means I failed them and I don't want that. Then again, I don't write with readers in mind, not when it comes to subject matter and themes. That's the stuff of dreams and subconscious. I can't control that, but I can read and reread and read some more what I've written and make sure it flows so the reader doesn't have to be bobbing for apples while reading what I've written, up and down, gasping for air. I want their experience to be more like sledding down a winter hill or a water slide;  weeeeeeeeeee. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Myers grew up in Milwaukee, walking distance from Lake Michigan. There was no other side, not visible anyway. The water went on and on. The cliffs were savage. The trees left to die. The abandoned boat houses not bothered.

Steve attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earned an honers degree in history. He studied in southern Spain, lived in San Francisco, Brooklyn, and for the last eight years Montreal, Canada.



He recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Journalism. He is the author of two blogs. Brewers Baseball and Things is where Steve experiments with baseball and fiction. Broken Bats is home to his poetry.





Connect with Steve:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook 

Buy the book:
Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: STEVE MYERS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dreaming .400, like baseball itself, exists outside of time. Its 11 short stories are infused with the magic of the game — in the seductive swing of a girl who turns tinsel into gold; in the passion of an orphan on a quest to reach the Astrodome; in a vision of the future in which players are made, not born.

Dreaming .400 spawns pen pal love between friends that grows into poetry; it shrinks the gap between the head and heart of a Brewers’ fan; provides a way out for a teenager stuck in the shadows; inspires a vagabond to an impossible dream to be lived out between the white lines.

INTERVIEW WITH STEVE MYERS

Steve, how did you get started writing and when did you become an “author?” I was a sportswriter in high school, mostly game summaries and a few editorials. I remember a massive letter writing explosion with friends when exiled from my childhood home, to attend University. We asked and discussed the typical existential questions. I kept writing. I traveled. I wrote poetry, short stories and a few reached novel length. I applied for a one year graduate diploma program in journalism. I learned a lot about being precise and focused, but fiction and poetry would not leave me alone. Dreaming .400: Tales of Baseball Redemption is my first book to be published.  

What's your favorite thing about the writing process?
Discovering what I'm trying to say. It's very much a psycho-analytical experience, as my own life and motivations, emotions get splintered into the characters I create, plots weaved and lessons learned.

Can you share some of your marketing strategies with us?

Word of mouth, Amazon, and my wordpress blog.

You have a day job . . . how do you find time to write?
It finds me.

If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?

Hmmmm, good question. A year is a long time. Whatever station offers movies, sports, and historic/music documentaries at different times. Did I just squiggle out of answering your question?

Yes, pretty sure you did! That's okay. 
How often do you tweet?
Never.


How do you feel about Facebook?
I think it's a brillant and wonderful idea, but it makes me paranoid and self-, I avoid it like an old lover, but all of my wordpress posts get automatically uploaded to my Facebook page, and I did announce my book on Facebook, but I treat it like a shop selling little glass and ceramic chotchkies. I get in and out of there in a hurry.

For what would you like to be remembered?
Integrity.

What scares you the most?
The 12 hours leading up to any surgery.

YouTube is . . . Heaven with a few beers.

What five things would you never want to live without?
My girlfriend, my parents, my brother, baseball, music.

Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?
God.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
I think I'm addicted to the moon, so both.

Do you spend more on clothes or food?
Food for sure.

What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
That I tended to be long-winded. I made a conscious effort to be more concise.

Who would you invite to a dinner party if you could invite anyone in the world?
My girlfriend.



What's your relationship with your cell phone?
I don't have one.



Gasp! How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
Six or seven.

What is your favorite movie?
One of them is The Hustler. Such a great redemption story and the absence of color and special effects almost forces the dialogue to be elemental and it is.

Do you have a favorite book?
In order for a book to be my favorite, I would have to read it more than once. That's the only way I would get caught using superlatives. So let's see. I read Aldous Huxley's Island two times as well as Kerouac's Dharma Bums and also George Plimpton's One for the Record. Did I just squiggle out of a question again?


You're a good squiggler. How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I loved both the book and the movie. It seems silly to me to compare books and movies. It's like walking or riding in a car. When I'm in a car, pedestrians have no respect for us drivers and when I'm walking, “Those damn cars!”

Do you sweat the small stuff?
Absolutely, I'm very uptight.


If you had to choose a cliche about life, what would it be?
Sing, dance, scream. Do whatever it takes, but get yourself feeling good and happy.


What are you working on now?
A new set of short stories, a book of poems, and paintings with my girlfriend, and a novel based on a blog I kept in the summer of 2014.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Myers grew up in Milwaukee, walking distance from Lake Michigan. There was no other side, not visible anyway. The water went on and on. The cliffs were savage. The trees left to die. The abandoned boat houses not bothered.



Steve attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earned an honers degree in history. He studied in southern Spain, lived in San Francisco, Brooklyn, and for the last eight years Montreal, Canada.



He recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Journalism. He is the author of two blogs. Brewers Baseball and Things is where Steve experiments with baseball and fiction. Broken Bats is home to his poetry.



Connect with Steve:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  

FEATURED AUTHOR: DIANA STAR HELMER

ABOUT THE BOOK

The complete story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – from its origins during WWII, through its 12 hard-fought seasons, to its resurrection thanks to the 1992 film A League of Their Own, to its current cult status among fans of baseball and Americana. Interviews, rare photos, behind-the-scenes stories from the movie, and great historical detail make this an entertaining and informative read.

INTERVIEW WITH DIANA STAR HELMER

Diana, what’s the story behind the title of your book?
Belles of the Ballpark was the title for my first published book. I thought it was a beautiful play on words. But the title didn’t work the way I hoped it would. Belles was one of the first books ever published about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. At the time I was writing, about 1990, most of America had never heard of the AAGPBL.

However, about the same time my book was published, the film A League of Their Own was released. I hoped that people would learn about the League through the film, then want to read more about it. But my original publisher was a small school/library publisher that had trouble deciding how to market such a “new” topic. Some folks later suggested that the book’s title should have been more “obvious,” something like “Rosie the Riveter Plays Baseball.”
    When I had the opportunity to reissue, with a publisher whose audience includes baseball fans, I wanted to give both the book and its title another chance.  A good subtitle helps!

What do you love about where you live?

   
I love the assertiveness of the four seasons in central Iowa. Amazing life forms, trees and weeds and squirrels and bugs are attracted to the natural cycles. And baseball is one of those constant, comforting wonders.

What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?

That “grown-ups” are still very young themselves. They give you the best advice they can, and they mean well. But we are all so young.

Very true. What’s one of your favorite lines from a book?
 “My life is the poem I would have writ
 But I could not both live and utter it.” -Henry David Thoreau

Is your book based on real events?Absolutely. And though the film, A League of Their Own, is popular, not everyone who sees it knows that it is based on a true story. And those that know may not realize how very, very fictionalized the film is.

Are you like any of your characters?
I like to think I have been like the players in some small ways. Being a young woman in America was often a tricky row to hoe in the Twentieth Century. But the job of being female would not be made easier by anger or resentments. The Girls just tried to do their best, given the situation. I’ve valued that attitude in my life.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
I love the exchange in Belles between an umpire and an All-American player, where he yelled, “Youse are no lady!” and she snapped, “Neither are you!”

My husband Thomas S. Owens (my co-author for the new edition) received a letter of encouragement from Dolly Brumfield, who played in the League from 1947-53. She wrote, “Thanks for your interest in our story! It really did happen and is a part of history – women’s history and sports history.”

Why did you decide to publish with Summer Game Books?
Summer Game Books is a young company, but already has acquired titles by respected baseball authors. I feel honored to be in such a lineup. SGB has reissued past classic baseball titles. Belles is in great company.

What are you working on now?
I have several future Kindle e-book projects brewing. Stay tuned . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diana Star Helmer began considering the role of women in athletics on an elementary school playground. A female teacher interrupted Diana’s tetherball mastery, chiding: “Can’t you let the other girl win sometimes?” When covering a 1980s game at Dodger Stadium, coach Joey Amalfitano apologized to Diana for belching near one of her on-field interviews. Since the first edition of Belles of the Ballpark was published in 1992, Diana has written more than 40 books. Her first two novels include Elsie’s Afghan and A Dog’s Best Friend, available as Kindle e-books.

Thomas S. Owens is author of more than 40 books. He writes the blog “Baseball By The Letters.” Yes, Tom and Diana are married. They live in Iowa, but are taking offers.

Connect with Diana:
Website  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Powell's Books  |  The Book Depository  |  BooksAMillion

Featured Author: Steve Marantz

I'm very happy to welcome Steve Marantz to A Blue Million Books today. Steve is the author of the non-fiction book Next Up At Fenway, just recently published by Inkwater Press.

About the book:

"Through the story of Marcos Baez and Fenway High, Steve Marantz shows the humanity and prospects of Latino student in our nation’s public schools. Next Up at Fenway gives us a window into how social forces and education policy decisions are playing out in real people’s lives -- for better and worse -- within America’s fastest growing demographic. This book is both Americana and a reality check for the 21st century.” - Sonia Chang-Diaz, Massachusetts state senator and former teacher.

Interview with Steve Marantz:

Steve, you've been a reporter, and now you're a researcher at ESPN. How long have you been writing, and how did you start?

For about 40 years now. I got a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and worked as a newspaper reporter. About ten years ago I switched to television, with ESPN, and continued my writing with books. Next Up at Fenway is my third.

Tell us about Next Up At Fenway.

Next Up tells the true story of Marcos Baez, whose public high school next to Fenway Park was his best hope for a college education and a better life. Baez, the son of a single mother of Puerto Rican descent, personifies the struggle and determination of America's fastest-growing demographic.

Recognized as one of two Boston high schools "where Latinos succeed" by the Mauricio Gaston Institute of the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Fenway High teaches critical thinking and community involvement in a familial environment. Through its innovative curriculum and Latino-sensitive culture, the school helps Latino students succeed academically and in personal development.

Inspired by this educational model, his teachers, and the Red Sox Foundation’s Lindos Sueños program that sent him to the Dominican Republic for training and community service, Baez works toward his goal of college.

Few adults want to go back to high school, yet you did, in a manner of speaking, for two years. What was the experience like?

Fun - to be around so much youthful energy. Encouraging - to see how hard these kids worked. Humbling - to see how far education has come since my high school days. My high school, Omaha Central, was considered top-notch in its day, but it offered little of the innovation I saw at Fenway.


What was the toughest aspect of writing Next Up At Fenway?

Focusing the story. There were so many directions I could have taken it, so many strong characters, so many themes. I had to pick, and narrow it down. I’m a firm believer that a story that tries to do too much ends up doing too little.

How did you come up with the title Next Up At Fenway?

It seemed to fit, since the story is about upward mobility. Just under 70 percent of Fenway’s students live at or below the poverty line.

For what age group is this book intended?

High school-aged readers on up.

Tell us about your "day job."

I am a researcher for the ESPN E:60 show. It is a news magazine show with long-form storytelling, human interest and investigative stories. My job is to support the producers in whatever their needs are. It enables me to work at home four days a week, which frees me up to work on books in my spare time.

How would you describe your book in a tweet? (140 characters or less.)

Quick read. Fun. Provocative. Inspirational. Where America is heading - we hope.

Why did you decide to write this book?

I live in the Boston area - it was accessible to me. It was original - nobody had done it. It was relevant - education and Latino culture are on America’s front burner. It was fun - a high school next to Fenway Park. How cool is that?

Very cool. What do you hope others will get from reading Next Up At Fenway?

Pleasure. Hope and inspiration. Empathy. And maybe some ideas to apply to public schools everywhere and anywhere.

Do you outline or write by the seat of your pants?

Outline.  A narrative needs to follow a few effective principles.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

I love the image of Marcos at the ‘Lindos Suenos’ camp in the Domincan Republic, indignant at the behavior of his fellow American non-Latino teenagers, and provoked enough to write the opening lines in his college application essay.

What song would you pick to go with your book?

Marc Anthony’s “Ahora Quien.”



Who are your favorite authors?

Tom Wolfe, Frank Rich, Larry McMurtry, James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Mayer, Elizabeth Kolbert, Malcolm Gladwell.

Which author would you most like to invite to dinner, and what would you fix him?

Tolkien. I would fix him whatever he wanted. And ask him what the heck he was smoking.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (e-book/paperback/hardcover)?

We're with Nobody: Two Insiders Reveal the Dark Side of American Politics by
Alan Huffman and Michael Rejebian. Paperback.


Do you have a routine for writing? Do you work better at night, in the afternoon, or in the morning?

Morning. Before my brain is fried.

You’re given the day off, and you can do anything but write. What would you do?

Golf. 36 holes if possible.

Where’s home for you?

Swampscott, Ma. It’s got Vinnan Square and Red Rock Bistro. Just about everything a person needs.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?

“I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.” - Woody Allen

“Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good.” - Woody Allen

Okay, that's two, but they're both good, so I'll let it slide. What three books have you

read recently and would recommend?

Stieg Larsson’s the Millennium trilogy. Tremendous. Made me want to see Sweden. 

If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go? (Don’t worry about the money. A publisher is paying. )

Omaha would be cool. But I’m happy in Swampscott. Everything is here.

Omaha? Seriously? What are you working on now?

A vegetable and cheese omelet.

Always a wise guy. Thanks for being here, Steve!

More books by Steve Marantz:

About the author:    

Steve Marantz is a researcher/producer for the ESPN E:60 show and a former reporter in government, politics and sports for the Boston Globe and Boston Herald.  His last book, The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central: High School Basketball at the ’68 Racial Divide, won the ForeWord Reviews gold medal for non-fiction sports, and the Nebraska Center for the Book award for non-fiction history.  He also authored Sorcery at Caesars: Sugar Ray’s Marvelous Fight.  Marantz lives in Swampscott, Mass., with his wife, Alison Arnett, and their dog, Arthur.

Connect with Steve:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Publisher |

Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble |