The Fireballer is a Poignant Story of Hopes and Dreams and an Ode to Baseball

Charlotte Readers Podcast

In this episode 383, on the cusp of Major League Baseball’s opening day, we feature award-winning author Mark Stevens and his novel, The Fireballer, a poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talents takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do — and how you do it. Named one of the Best Baseball Books of the Year in 2023 by Spitball, the Baseball Literary Magazine, the Denver Post calls The Fireballer a “first-rate novel…an ode to baseball,” and New York Times novelist Stephen Singular says “Mark Stevens has invented a startling ‘what if?’ that stretches the limits of the game.”
Show discussion highlights:
• The inspiration for the baseball novel
• Why the hero played for the Baltimore Orioles
• The designated hitter rule
• The beanball culture in baseball
• Changing rules in sports because athletes excel
• One-liners from the book
• A reading from the book
• The publishing path
• Writing lessons learned
Author bio:
The son of two librarians, Mark Stevens was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and has worked as a reporter, as a national television news producer and in public relations.
His novel, The Fireballer, has received wide praise. His mystery novel Antler Dust was a Denver Post bestseller in 2007 and 2009. Buried by the Roan, Trapline, and Lake of Fire were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award (2012, 2015, and 2016, respectively). Trapline won the Colorado Book Award in 2016 and also received the best genre fiction award from Colorado Authors League.
Stevens has had short stories published by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mystery Tribune, and in Denver Noir (Akashic Books, 2022). In September 2016, Stevens was named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year. Stevens hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and has served as president of the Rocky Mountain chapter for Mystery Writers of America. Stevens is also an avid reader and regularly shares his reviews. Today, Stevens lives in Mancos, Colorado.
Learn more about the author and their books HERE.
https://www.writermarkstevens.com
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