I've been a regular contributor on Royals Review for over twelve years now hiding behind the name of my failed hobby business Thunder Street Workshop. Since that time, I have been writing two novels in my spare time away from working as a software developer.

The first book is called 'Four Seasons in Kane's Landing.' This is a story about a group of friends in a small town trying to decide what future they want. The book celebrates teachers, parents, and mentors who give of themselves so that others can achieve their dreams. This story contains several baseball related scenes including a young girl throwing an Immaculate Inning to cap off a Little League no-hitter, a touching moment that just might bring a tear to your eyes.

The second book is called 'A Killer First Inning.' This is a murder mystery set at a baseball game in which the owner is murdered during the first inning. The story follows the murder mystery formula that made Agatha Christie famous - you won't be able to guess who did it until the very end.

Writing a novel was a very interesting process. The process that I started with was not the process that I ended up with. It was a case of learn-by-doing. For any writer comfortable with writing news articles or blog posts, I wholeheartedly recommend trying to write a long form story. It is a challenge that is rewarding by simply finishing with something you are proud of regardless of what other people think of it.

The books are available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback formats.

You can search for the books by their titles.

The following is the marketing blurb about the Baseball Murder Mystery.

The Slammers scored nine runs in the first inning.
The team's owner didn't live to see it.

The excitement on the field wasn't the half of it.
The real drama was unfolding off the field.

Who killed the owner?
Why was the owner killed?
How did the killer escape detection?

Detective Smith questioned every person with opportunity.
And then questioned them again.

It took the slightest of clues that only Detective Smith could have found to identify the killer and his motive for murder.

It was indeed a killer first inning.

A note about the cover:

The photo shows my Royals-branded baseball glove from Little League in the 1970s with about fifty applications of neatsfoot oil. The balls are just beat up ones that I thought would add character to the story. The old bats (which probably are softball bats) have such an interesting company logo on one. I searched for this company and couldn't find any online presence.

And the cover finally reveals my real name.