The New Thing: Writing About Baseball (And Love. And Death.)

It’s quite a combination, I know. Taking the subject of baseball and rolling it into a novel women will want to read. Women’s fiction…contemporary romance…and baseball? Who is she kidding? one might ask.

Here’s the thing: I’m finally up for the challenge.

At about 35,000 words already written for the novel (BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE was 59,000 words), I am making some serious headway with the main character I like, but who has some issues to overcome. Incidentally, she works in professional baseball.

And that’s about all I’ll say right now.

It’s taken me years to write a novel with baseball as one of its “characters,” just as New York was one of the characters in “Sex and the City.” With my background working in the sport—and for a major league team—I’m hoping to bring realism to this fictitious story.

Besides, I can’t watch “Field of Dreams” or “Bull Durham” or “League of Her Own” one more time. I’m about to read “The Art of Fielding” and “Calico Joe.” But here’s my thought: it’s time for something new and different, something contemporary and fun and poignant. And from a woman’s perspective.

I’m excited for and committed to this challenge. And I’ve got some stories to tell.

Here’s hoping I can hit it out of the park.