Thinking back to earlier days, it seems I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I just wasn’t sure how to go about it. I remember writing a non-fiction piece, submitting it to a popular magazine, and being rejected. Then, months later, I found an article very similar to mine published in the same magazine! My reaction: frustration. I also didn’t trust popular publishers after that. I wasn’t sure how to deal with the publisher. I certainly didn’t have funds to support a court case challenging their plagiarism!
More recently, I found an article I wrote copied word-for-word (except for the byline) in a respected national newspaper. I complained to the people who purchased my writing. They set me straight. I’d sold them the rights to my writing to be used by their clients in any way they desired. Quite a rude awakening!
The above situations likely explain why I prefer to be an independent author and why I read fine print.
Balancing out the writing cons, I have found my happy place as I ventured into publishing romance writing less than two years ago. Inspiration led me to write four books!
And more are in my head, ready to be written. I had some false starts a few years back. The books followed the proverbial path that romance writers tell about where first efforts wind up in a drawer, never to be seen again.
Funny thing, though. My good friend’s sister read one of the early starts and loved it! It’s her favorite of all my books! Maybe, I’ll review, revamp, and start another series!
Update on my Book 4’s progress
There is some. Progress, I mean. I’ve written a good chunk of the book, so I can see the book self-published in the early fall. Stay tuned for more. If you’ve read the previous books, I’d love to have your input for a title for Book 4. (I’ve had two tentative titles, but neither of them seems quite right.) Book 4 features Louisa and Will as they finish the summer working in the vineyard, get their new home purchased and furnished in Davis, and start their college year. They have personal and academic challenges. If you have a clever title that you think would work, I’m willing to consider it! Send me your idea and, if I like it, I’ll credit you in the acknowledgments! Write to me at: shelley@shelleysommers.com We can discuss it and I’ll share some spoilers if that will help!
ANNOUNCING
I’ve noticed that other authors love to review books they enjoy. In the spirit of sharing, I’m starting a semi-regular section of my blog called, guess what? – “Books I Love.” This time, my friend J Rose Black offered her answers to my questions about how she began writing and her inspiration for her recent book, Chasing Headlines. (My review of Chasing Headlines is after the comments.)
So, what was your inspiration for “Chasing Headlines?”
I wrote a short story back in 2006… I didn’t want to go to this baseball game, but my (now ex) husband was dragging me. He didn’t even like baseball. I liked baseball, but it was 100+ degrees outside and I wanted to be inside in the A/C, writing. He wasn’t taking me to spend time together, either. His friend wanted to go, and my life was supposed to revolve around him. (you noticed the “ex” on the front of that, right?)
So, I went, and I decided that I would cope by coming up with a story. Michael Young (Texas Rangers Hall of Fame class of 2016) was playing third base – #10. Utility infielder with a solid bat. Our team sucked that year, so, really, imagining a story about a rookie baseball player…and who could be beyond that guy’s reach? Daughter of the baseball commissioner, maybe? Ooooh, that sounded like fun. I wrote Off the Record in a few hours, shared it on my live journal at the time…and several of my friends were like: omg, this can’t be the end of it! I won’t speak to you until you write more!
Idle threats, always, but I kept trying to imagine where it would go from there. And I started to continue it, I wanted to continue it. The forbidden romance between a salt of the earth kind of guy who happens to be a super talented baseball player, and the “unofficial princess” of baseball? In 2021, after my world had radically changed and I was back to writing fiction, one of the prompts for our March Madness prompt fest was “all things are difficult before they’re easy.” And that’s when these two popped back into my head. I wrote another short story – loosely based on the flashback in Off the Record (it’s called ‘Curveballs & Ice Cream,” and I will have to rewrite it…again) – where Breslin and Liv were back in college.
farm boy meet and fall for the disobedient “princess”? And how is it that they are so…inexorably linked together? How could two people be so deeply in love that after a couple of years apart, just to be in each other’s orbit, again…could cause this depth of emotion. Her seeking to reach him, contrite, still so in love with him. And he’s…just missed her. Bitter, but couldn’t ever truly give up hope?
And there’s some fun baseball drama mixed in.
How do you know so much about behind the scenes in baseball?
Well, I don’t claim that I do. But, I did play a lot of sports growing up. I played competitive soccer and I played rec-level softball. I did meet my second-and-last husband playing in a coed rec league, btw. He claims I “picked him out of left field”. The truth was, I was asked to guest play for his team (never enough girls for coed sports), and you show up and just start throwing with whoever’s there. So, we were playing catch to warm up – and he was fishing for my number by the time we made it to the dugout. Boys!
But I played soccer and volleyball competitively throughout middle school and high school. I was flat out better at soccer and so I took that on to college. I did try to walk onto my college volleyball team, but it kinda helps if you’re prepared for two-a-days in 100-degree heat in a gym that used to be an airplane hangar – with no A/C. I was not. I was invited back to keep working out with the team, but I opted to stick to my amateur soccer league.
So, I had friends who were athletes – football players, mostly (I do live in Texas). Some soccer players, although they were always a little more standoffish for some reason. Most athletes I knew played multiple sports, so I couldn’t tell you how many were baseball players, as I don’t think any of them were baseball-only. Husband did play in a wood-bat baseball league, where I’d go watch him play…and his friends started calling me “Mrs (his nickname)” before that was even on our roadmap.
I’ve spent my adult life in a male-dominated career field. So, I’ve experienced “locker room talk” more than a few times….
Husband and I did take a trip to Spring Training one year. That was reasonably fun. “Reasonably” because we drove all night to get there since my husband couldn’t take many days off of work. Zzzzz. We were younger then. But, it was cool to see how it all worked. And if there’s a baseball movie, I’ve seen it. From 8 Men Out to Field of Dreams to The Natural, and of course more modern ones like the Major League series (Wild Thing!) and even better: Trouble with the Curve. Sandlot was fun to revisit with my kids (Benny the Jet might have influenced how I see Antonio Jimenez).
I guess it didn’t occur to me that my knowledge was “deep”, really. I did my research on Division 1 (D1) baseball – workouts, schedules, what the current roster sizes are. How that has changed, recently. I had to do some research on how scholarships are awarded and what the deal is / how NIL money works.
Between my own competitive sports experience, my love of baseball & baseball movies, and research, I have heard good things about the authentic feeling of the baseball scenes.
Shelley’s Review of Chasing Headlines:
Baseball is Everything!
Chasing Headlines is that rare sports romance that waxes poetic and mixes it with the profane to create a memorable story of two people who meet, click, refuse to admit it when they fall in love, and explore how they could make their lives work together. It’s also a steamy romance that’s fun.
Author J Rose Black’s knowledge of baseball and the intricacies of how teams operate is dazzling. She has the baseball nuances and jargon well integrated in the story. Capturing elements of real life in her dialogues, she provides some laugh-out-loud moments for the reader.
Olivia Milline declares early, “I fell in love for the first time when I was seven years old. Not with a boy. Boys had cooties and they talked about. . . gross things. No, my first love wasn’t like that.”
She loves baseball, wishes she could spend her life working in baseball, and develops ways to get around the male establishment “no girls allowed” rules.
Breslin Cooper dreams of spending his life in major league baseball, but the death of his mom leads to a nosy journalist’s questions which violate his privacy, and lead to his violent reaction. He winds up in trouble and nearly ruins his chance at his dream.
Liv and Coop are smart, stubborn, and mutually attracted to each other. They don’t believe they could work as a couple. Others can see it, but they thoroughly frustrate and exasperate each other.
Without spoiling the suspense, which spills over to a second book in the series, Liv and Coop have a “happily for now” relationship which promises to be satisfying and even steamier.
The clever banter among the characters, the surprising twists, and the memorable secondary characters provide an entertaining reading experience. Chasing Headlines is an enjoyable read that reminds us that everyone has challenges and seemingly insurmountable hurdles. Baseball is the backdrop that pulls everything together.
(This review appeared in Goodreads. Chasing Headlines is available from major booksellers.)
MY RATING: 5 STAR
Please contact me with any questions, suggestions, or possible book titles for Book 4.
Two ideas I’m considering are:
Fitting In
From the Beginning
Which do you like – or do you have a better idea? Let me know your preference!
Special – Louisa’s Passion, Book 1 of the Louisa’s Vineyard Series, is on sale for 99¢ as a Kindle e-book.
Everyone needs a little romance! If you haven’t read it yet – BUY NOW
Hoping the spring flowers add color to your world and life has sunshine in it (plenty of Vitamin D).
Hugs,
Shelley Sommers
Author of Louisa’s Vineyard Series
www.ShelleySommers.com
shelley@ShelleySommers.com
