Kids & Family

Newton Author Q&A: Major League Baseball Meets the Hardy Boys

West Newton resident David Kelly, author of the "Ballpark Mysteries" will be appearing at Newtonville Books tomorrow at 2 p.m. Recently, Patch had a chance to ask Kelly a few questions about his sports-themed mystery series.

 

Patch: Tell us about the books you've written and your audience.

David Kelly: Each Ballpark Mysteries book is set in a different major league ballpark and while it usually involves a baseball game (book five is set during the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game!), baseball is more of a backdrop to the action, adventure, and mystery that drives each story forward. 

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In the Ballpark Mysteries, boys and girls can expect to discover something new (did you know that astronauts don't eat pizza or that there's a hidden message in Fenway Park's scoreboard?) as well as be absorbed by an interesting "whodunit" that takes the main characters, Mike and Kate, into some interesting situations. The Ballpark Mysteries are simply mystery and adventure books set in baseball stadiums. 

Readers certainly don’t have to know anything about baseball (or other sports) to enjoy them. And because each baseball park and team is so unique there are great opportunities for even the biggest sports fan to learn something new. In each book, Mike and Kate visit a ballpark to take a tour or see a game, but lots of the action may also happen outside the ballpark.

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P: When were the books first published?

D.K.: Random House released the first three volumes (Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers) in 2011. They’re releasing two this year and in following years. Right now, the series is scheduled to go to nine books, but if the children like them, I think we have a good shot at getting to all 30 major league teams!

Books four and five will be released this year (2012). Book four, The Astro Outlaw, is set in Houston, at the Houston Astros’ stadium. In addition to a massive, steam locomotive (located in the stadium!) the book includes an astronaut and a missing moon rock (and, of course, baseball). Book five, The All-Star Joker is set in Kansas City and revolves around the Home Run Derby and All Star Games (which will be played in Kansas City this summer). 

 

P: Why did you choose to write about baseball, and baseball mysteries?

D.K.: The Ballpark Mysteries were inspired by my love of reading and the level of excitement my two sons found from playing baseball. When I was younger, I used to love mystery stories—from the Hardy Boys to Encyclopedia Brown, and even to the Partridge Family mystery stories (try to find those now!)

As I was reading books to my boys, the excitement and fun of mysteries came back to me. But my sons, like lots of boys and girls, were interested in sports and physical activities. They were so interested in playing baseball or watching baseball games that it opened my eyes to the power of sports and activities like baseball to fire the imagination of boys and girls.

At the time, I was writing technical and business papers, so the opportunity to explore more creative writing and to focus on baseball and children was a real pleasure. I looked around for children’s books that featured both sports and mysteries, but didn’t find many that fit the bill. That's when I realized that there was something missing in the market—adventure/mysteries that were set in the dozens of really cool cities and ballparks around North America.

 

P: What got you into writing?

D.K.: I became inspired to write a children’s book back in 2005, when I was spending a lot of time reading early chapter books to my sons, who were in elementary school. It certainly helped that I’d always loved reading and was looking for an alternative to the business, technology and travel writing that I did for my job.

I spent a lot of time analyzing successful children's books—looking at how the chapters were put together, how the sentences were written, and the mechanics of the chapters. Overall, it’s been a fair amount of work, but it’s really fun to be working on something creative. In one sense, writing a children's book turned out to be the easy part. Getting a children’s book published is a bit harder. It takes dedication, some good writing, and lots of patience and persistence. It’s not something that happened quickly for me, but with luck and persistence, it did.

 

P: What do you do to prepare for a new book? How do you learn about all these parks?

D.K.: I think it’s important for me to visit each of the ballparks that I’ll be writing about. I usually spend about five to six days onsite in each city, researching the city, team, and ballpark. I try to attend two to three games (day and night, if possible), and take a ballpark tour. But then I also spent a good deal of time really taking in the local sites and looking for interesting situations, locales, and historical facts that might fit into the story or drive the mystery plot.

The research part of the process is fun (how great is it to have a job where you HAVE to go to baseball stadiums?) but it’s also a lot of work. I usually spend all day on the go, taking lots of pictures, writing notes, and pushing to make sure I get to see all the sites before I have to head home. It’s definitely not relaxing!

 

P: What has the feedback been since you started?

D.K.: The feedback has been great. Of course, the initial feedback from publishers and my editor on my first manuscript was brutal. The plot wasn’t good, the story wasn’t suspenseful, there was not enough action. But they gave me great feedback and I was able, over time, to completely rewrite the story in way that was compelling and interesting.  

Since the books were released last year, the feedback from parents, teachers, and reluctant boy readers has been great! I get emails each week from second and third graders who love the books, or want me to write about their team. One mother even wrote to say that her son cried when he came home from school on Friday and realized he’d left his Ballpark Mysteries book at school for the weekend. The books seem to strike a chord with both boys and girls who are looking for interesting adventure/mystery stories.

 

P: Do you have any events coming up to promote the book? What have been some memorable events you've done?

D.K.: I’ll be reading from my latest book, The Astro Outlaw, at new Newton Centre location on Sunday, April 29 at 2 p.m. I’m sure I’ll be doing some other readings in the area as well, when the next book, The All-Star Joker, comes out in June.

Since the books have come out, I’ve done a wide number of events, including a community day in Waban, talks at local libraries, and visits to a large number of elementary schools. One of the most memorable events I did was last July, when I appeared in Cooperstown, New York, to sign books on the day they induct new players into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

P: What's next?

D.K. I’m working on a few books, actually. Book five, The All-Star Joker, comes out in June, along with an audio book collection of the first five books. The All-Star Joker is set in Kansas City, during this summer’s All-Star game (also in Kansas City). Next year, Random House will release books six and seven, set at the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field, and at the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark. Those books are both completed. But I’m still working on books eight and nine, one of which will be set at the Miami Marlins brand new stadium.

 

P: Advice for aspiring authors?

D.K.: My advice to aspiring authors is to always continue to look for ways to learn. Learn about the market, learn how to understand different levels and reading requirements, learn how to develop a creative social network that can help nurture you, learn how to revise, revise, revise, and learn how adjust your goals and expectations to what's possible.


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