Shea Memory, Childhood Illness, and Six Innings
Sunday, December 7th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, New York Mets, Six Innings | 1 Comment »As these photos taken by Joe MacDonald show, the destruction of Shea Stadium continues into winter. Come spring, our attention will turn to the new home of the New York Mets, Citi Field, with its beautiful Jackie Robinson Rotunda, and ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #20
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 Posted in Fan Mail, Six Innings | 3 Comments »And so I find that I've become what I had always feared: Homework. Dear Mr. Preller, My name is Elliott and live in a small town in the suburbs of Chicago. I did a book report on one of your books, Six ...
Deleted Scenes 2: Six Innings
Thursday, November 6th, 2008 Posted in Six Innings, the writing process | No Comments »When revising Six Innings, I eliminated about 25% from the first draft (for more on that topic, click here). One of the plot lines that got axed involved Alex Lionni's relationship with his father, a man utterly disinterested in sports ...
The Reading Zone Reviews Six Innings
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 Posted in Around the Web, Six Innings | No Comments »I've been building and organizing my links lately -- there's so much great stuff out there, and I want my blog to "only connect" -- so I clicked on The Reading Zone to see what's what. And lo! There's a ...
New York Public Library Top 100 of 2008
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 Posted in Six Innings | 4 Comments »Each year, the Office of Children's Services of The New York Public Library announces its list of "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing." Why do we care about that? Because I just got a phone call from Liz Szabla, my editor at ...
Deleted Scenes: Six Innings
Friday, October 3rd, 2008 Posted in Six Innings, the writing process | No Comments »During the revision process for Six Innings, I cut more than 10,000 words. It was a very difficult time for me, filled with doubt and uncertainty. But I trusted my wise & experienced editors, Liz Szabla and Jean Feiwel, and ...
Writing Process: Six Innings
Thursday, September 18th, 2008 Posted in Greatest Hits, Six Innings, the writing process | 1 Comment »I've never had a particularly good memory. Most of the details are lost, but essences remain. As a writer, those essential feelings are what feed my books. However, when it comes to baseball, I do have startlingly vivid recollections. Here's one ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #11
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Posted in Fan Mail, Six Innings | 1 Comment »Wednesday again? My God, where do they come from?! It's like the savage hordes coming over the hill, but instead of sword-wielding huns it's, um, hump days. Well, let's see what's in the old mailbox, shall we? Full disclosure, this is ...
Various & Sundry
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 Posted in Along Came Spider, Six Innings | No Comments »I'm feeling scattered -- first day of school tomorrow! -- and can't quite get focused for much blogging. I'm also trying to help organize Fall Ball for Little Leaguers, where I'll be coaching two teams, so I'm feeling a little ...
Ten Best Sports Books of the Year
Thursday, August 28th, 2008 Posted in Six Innings | 5 Comments »A friend of mine, author Joe Layden, sent along an email last night celebrating the fact that our books were both named by Booklist as "Top 10 Sports Books." Joe's amazing book -- The Last Great Fight -- was named ...