Category: Uncategorized

If there are any Kris Rutherford fans out there, you can catch me writing on a variety of subject every two weeks in The Roxton Progress. If you’re interested in supporting a small-town newspaper, one many call “the best little newspaper in Texas,” please visit www.theroxtonprogress.com for more information.

I’m in the middle of a fun and exciting project, helping someone write their autobiography/memoirs. It’s a real adventure taking the notes and comments the subject offers, researching a little of the background, then turning the events into a narrative. Be on lookout for it later this year!

On September 26, I’ll be signing books all day at the annual Roxton Saturday Night celebration. Stop by the Roxton Progress table, and I’ll be happy to sign your copy of “The Galveston Buccaneers.” While your at it, pick up a subscription to the Roxton Progress!

Last month’s trip to Galveston for the signing of my latest book, “The Galveston Buccaneers: Shearn Moody and the Texas League Championship,” was a rousing success. The first night I attended a reception at the Moody Mansion, signing nearly 80 books for over 100 people attending. It was a great experience to sign books on the very floors that Shearn Moody once walked. Special thanks to Doug McLeod and the Moody Mansion staff for making this happen!

The next night, I was off to the Galveston Bookshop, the island’s only bookstore. Although the crowd was smaller, they were extremely interest in both the new book and my previous title, “Baseball on the Prairie.” I enjoyed talking baseball and signed a dozen or so books as well. Thank you to the Galveston Bookshop. If you’re ever on the island, it is a must-see!

Here is the cover for my new release. Be looking for it in August.

Children’s Literature

Short chapters, sports, mostly for boys-that pretty much sums up the “A Champion Sports Story” series. In this book, written in the first person, sixth-grader Chad Griffin is a great fielder on his local baseball team (we learn that Brightsport is a seaside tourist town, though not on which coast), but he absolutely cannot hit a ball. When Mark Wilcox, a professional player on leave with an injury, volunteers to coach the Rangers’ batters, Chad is thrilled. As he starts to improve, he’s amazed to hear his father say that Mark was the very player who deliberately injured him years ago, ruining his chance at a major league career. Can that really be true? The plot benefits from a touch of mystery about Mark’s past, while the team surges ahead under his outstanding coaching. Their chief foe is the intimidating Zach Neal, wicked pitcher of the Red Sox, now pitted for the championship against Chad and his teammates-enthusiastic Jose, feisty ace pitcher Danielle (yes, she’s a girl), reliable hitter Jimmy Lee. For Chad, everything seems to fall apart when he discovers Mark shooting steroids. Surprisingly, problems between the two adult males are solved much too easily to be believable, especially the sudden and unexpected appearance of two local baseball jobs for Chad’s father and his former enemy. But that’s not the point here! Mark’s admission of wrongdoing and his reform become the lesson of the of wrongdoing and his reform become the lesson of the tale: playing by the rules makes for the utmost satisfaction. Meanwhile, baseball enthusiasts (especially Little League players) can revel in the details of the championship game as the Rangers battle for the trophy.

Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft

Library Media Connection Journal

Young sports fans will be excited about this series. Each book presents either a moral dilemma, a challenge, or is a traditional underdog story. The main character must overcome an obstacle in stories that focus on hard work, dedication, and the importance of believing in one’s self. The characters are believable, and although some of the dialog is weak, the formulaic plots, short chapters, and random sports trivia will appeal to reluctant readers… the series as a whole will appeal to young readers and should be considered for libraries that want to spruce up their sports and hi/lo fiction collections.

Reviewer: Karen M. Smith, Teen Librarian, Allen Park (Michigan) Public Library

Recommended

Milb.com

The yin to The Texas League Almanac‘s yang, Baseball on the Prairie, offers a deep exploration of the league’s early history. The emergence of widespread train service led to the establishment of professional baseball teams in previously isolated towns, and Rutherford explains how these rustic locations (Sherman, Denison, Paris, Corsicana, Cleburne, Greenville and Temple) nurtured some of the league’s — and, in some cases, Major League Baseball’s — greatest players. As an added bonus, the book provides a detailed account of the most lopsided contest in professional baseball history: Corsicana Oil Citys’ 51-3 romp over the Texarkana Casketmakers.

Reviewer: Ben Hill (Ben’s Biz)

April 14, 2014