by Clay Cormany
Genre: YA Romance
Release Date: November 4th 2014
Clean Reads
Summary:
What does a high school boy do if he thinks the girl of his dreams will be an assistant for the softball team his mother coaches? Easy! He volunteers to be an assistant, too. That's what Jace Waldron does in Fast-Pitch Love. It might be his only chance to make a move on Stephanie Thornapple while her boyfriend is away. But Jace's plans go awry, and soon he faces the double challenge of coaching a team of mischievous preteen girls and learning there is more to romance than physical attraction.
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Excerpt:
After Lauren ran off, a wild thought entered Jace's mind -- wild enough to make him shake his head and laugh at the same time.
“What’s the joke?” asked Stick.
“Nothing. I just had a crazy idea.”
“You’re going to propose to Stephanie and then elope to Vegas?”
Jace lifted his eyebrows at that suggestion, but shook his head. “Something even crazier.”
“What then?”
“I think I might like to coach this team again next year.”
“You’re not serious,” Stick said, almost sputtering. “I thought you became a coach just so you could meet Stephanie.”
“Yeah, that’s the way it started off, but …I don’t know, it became something more than that after a while, like a calling of some sort. And check this out. The girls even want me back.” He showed the card to Stick, who glanced at the message inside.
“That’s cool, but won’t some of these kids be too old to play on this team next year?”
“A few will be, but most of them will still be in this league.”
Stick chuckled as they walked onto the concrete of the parking lot. “I guess you’ll kind of be like the guy Tom Hanks played in that movie about a women's baseball team."
“Hardly. There’re lots of older guys who coach girls softball. Hey, my car’s just up ahead. Why don’t we drive over to –”
Jace halted in mid-sentence, his attention caught by two large figures that loomed behind his Escort. Stick saw them, too.
“What are those animals doing here?”
Before Jace could say anything, Carson and Ned moved toward them like wolves descending on a herd of sheep.
“Gosh, guys, I’m afraid you missed the game,” Stick chirped in mock cheerfulness. “But it was a great one and –”
“Shut your pie hole, Macklin,” Carson snapped as he fixed his eyes on Jace. He took a few steps in Jace’s direction and then stopped. An arm like a sledge hammer rose from his side, and an accusing finger jumped out from his hand like a switchblade.
“You yellow-bellied scum bag, you’ve been seeing Stephanie behind my back, haven’t you?” The words came slowly out of Carson, as if the anger behind them caused him pain.
“We’ve had a few dates. What of it?”
“What of it?” Carson said through clenched teeth. “Stephanie’s mine, that’s ‘what of it,' and you're bugging her and trying to steal her from me.”
“I’m not bugging her,” Jace retorted. “I’ve taken her out, but nobody twisted her arm to make her go. She went with me because she wanted to. As for ‘stealing’ her from you, she doesn’t belong to you, so how could I steal something that isn’t yours?”
Jace did not know where his courage – or was it stupidity? – came from. Quills of fear poked at his stomach, but he ignored them. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know this showdown was coming. It had to happen somewhere, sometime. So it might as well be here and now.
Praise:
"The
books has some unexpected twists and turns as the likeable but somewhat hapless
Jace grows into a young man who takes responsibility for his life and his
choices. Softball aficionados will have a particular affinity for this book
because its game descriptions are extensive and detailed. Those who don't know
softball will come to like and admire the young protagonist."
Gretchen Hirsch, author and book doctor
"I
enjoyed this young adult novel by Clay Cormany. The story told from a guy's
perspective made it especially interesting. I think a lot of young women would
enjoy seeing romance from a guy's point of view. I also liked that the novel
was innocent without gratuitous sex or swear words."
Paulita Kincer,
author of The Summer of France and Trail Mix
"Like the spin on a fastball, Fast-Pitch Love puts a new spin on the age old
boy meets girl phenomenon. And what a wonderful spin it is. Clay Cormany weaves
together the twin themes of teenage infatuation and a girls’ softball team.
Along the way he does a wonderful job of mixing the excitement of youth sports
with the impending showdown between two suitors of the same pretty girl."
The
Dane
"Fast-Pitch Love is an unusual
coming-of-age story since it's told from the guy's point of view. The
characters are likeable and believable; the action well paced. You don't need
to be a softball player, or even an athlete, to thoroughly enjoy Fast-Pitch
Love." Louise
About the Author
Before writing Fast-Pitch Love, Clay Cormany spent over 20 years as a writer and editor for Ohio's State Board of Education. His creative work has appeared in numerous central Ohio publications, including the Columbus Dispatch and Spring Street, Columbus State Community College's literary magazine. He has also edited numerous books, including a three-volume biography of Christopher Columbus and A Death Prolonged by Dr. Jeff Gordon, which received coverage in the New York Times and on PBS. Fast-Pitch Love reflects the two years Cormany spent interacting with softball players and coaches both in practice and competition. He contributes the earnings from sale of the book to girls softball programs in central Ohio and elsewhere.
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