Today on my Friends Friday, I would ordinarily introduce Mark Stevens as a mystery author. Today he puts on a different hat and talks about The Fireballer, which, released just this January, is the #1 bestseller in Sports Fiction and meeting with rave reviews. Please welcome Mark Stevens ~ Donnell
The How and Why Behind The Fireballer
By: Mark Stevens
Author Mark Stevens
A friend handed me a Patricia Highsmith novel in 1983. It might have been The Talented Mr. Ripley. It might have been A Suspension of Mercy. Either way, I was hooked. The book kick started my interest in crime fiction, both reading and writing. I spent the next 24 years writing crime fiction. I wrote four novels in all. All were mysteries. I had three excellent literary agents over that stretch. But, no sale.
Book number three of those four, however, was picked up by a small press. That novel became the first of five mysteries in the Allison Coil Mystery Series. As the series rolled out, I got more and more involved in Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America. I served on the national board of MWA, too. And one year I judged the Edgar Awards and got to announce “Best Novel” at the big annual banquet in New York City. I made friends with crime fiction writers. Some were marquee names! Many were more like me. But we all talked the same language—mysteries. I attended Bouchercon year after year—Long Beach, Raleigh, Toronto, and others. I attended Left Coast Crime—Phoenix, Portland, Vancouver, and others.
And then, sitting in a park in Denver one summer day in 2018, a friend gave me an idea for a novel that was not crime fiction. And it was a good one. Gulp. It was a story set in the world of major league baseball. My writer brain said “good” because I love baseball. But there was no murder, no murder mystery, no crime to solve. My writer brain said “bad” because how do you write a novel without a murder to investigate?
The idea was somewhat simple: write a novel about a pitcher who is ruining the game of baseball because he can throw a ball so fast that the batter has no time to swing a bat. The other part of the story is that this same pitcher, however, also once threw a pitch in a Little League game that accidentally took the life of an opposing batter.
From the day the idea came together, I knew I liked it. There was something about the concept I could feel. But I would have to get out of my “who done it?” murder mystery mode. I knew, somewhat instinctively, two essential things:
First, that this book would be about character. The main character, that incredible pitcher with the huge weight around his shoulders, would be the key to carrying the story. The sheer paradox of his life—that the very thing that is bringing him fame and fortune also once ended a life—would be a complex burden to carry. I knew I would have my work cut out for me trying to capture it.
Second, that this pitcher would have to endure a significant test. Why? Because we all want our protagonists pushed to their limits. We want them stressed. Of course. But what would that test entail?
And could I leap from the comfort of my mystery structure to write a regular old novel? I thought if I could get
the character up and running that the “test” would reveal itself. (I’ve never outlined.) So I dove in. I figured it couldn’t hurt to write a scene and see how it felt. And then one scene followed the next and soon I was watching the story come together.
I followed two basic tenets—seek maximum tension and conflict, strive to reveal my main character’s core internal conflicts as clearly as possible. And then the “test” for my main character became apparent. The test went to the heart of the sport and one of its unwritten rules. It was right there all along, waiting for me to find it. And then the rest of the book flowed and I gave my main character a big choice. Or was it really a choice at all, given who he is?
Mysteries put the main character’s world back together. Order is restored. Wounds are healed. Justice is served. Writing a non-mystery, I realized that I needed something along the same lines. But instead of putting the world back together, I just needed to put one man back together. And settle his soul.
About the Book: A poignant story about hopes, dreams, and how far one man’s talent takes him before he realizes it’s about what you do―and how you do it. Frank Ryder is unstoppable on the baseball field―his pitches arrive faster than a batter can swing, giving his opponents no chance. He’s being heralded as a game-changing pitcher.
But within the maelstrom of press, adulation, and wild speculation, Frank is a man alone. Haunted by a tragic incident from years past, he yearns to be the best but cannot reconcile the guilt he carries with the man everyone believes him to be. Frank’s path to redemption leads him on a journey back to where his life changed forever, to visit his family, his high school coach, and his brother. Through reconnection and reconciliation with those also deeply affected by the devastating event of Frank’s youth, he finds peace and his place in the world both in and outside the game.
The Fireballer is a lyrical, moving story of undeniable talent and the life-changing power of forgiveness and a subtly romantic ode to America’s favorite pastime.
About the Author: The son of two librarians, Mark Stevens was raised in Lincoln, Massachusetts and has worked as a reporter, television news producer, and in public relations. He’s the author of The Fireballer (2023, Lake Union). He’s also the author of The Allison COil Mystery Series including Antler Dust, Buried by the Roan, Trapline, Lake of Fire, and The Melancholy Howl. Buried by the Roan, Trapline, and Lake of Fire were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award (2012, 2015 and 2016 respectively). Trapline won. In September of 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 also writes book reviews; follow them at the blog link.
Mark, thanks for joining me! I’m one of those readers who is raving about your creation of Frank Ryder!
Thanks for having me, Donnell!
Your book sounds incredibly interesting. Thanks for sharing!
It is, Vicki. Of course I love baseball!!
Thank you Vicki!
Thanks Donnell for posting this great piece by Mark Stevens. As a long-time baseball fan, and fan of Mark’s work, I’m looking forward to reading this.
Fantastic characterization and his setting, description of pitcher leglifts and wind-ups, animosity between competing pitchers, conflict and emotion, I can see why this book is soaring, ZJ. Thanks for dropping by:)
Thanks ZJ!!
And it all worked! Love this book, and I’m so happy to see the outcome of that seed of an idea from a few years ago. Congratulations on a very fine work! Thanks for the interesting post, Mark and Donnell!
Margaret, this restores my faith in germs of ideas:) So proud of Mark.
Some germs are good germs!! Lucky to pick one up.
Thanks all!
Wow, what a great story, Mark! I am buying a copy for myself, but also my son who LOVES baseball and has played since he could hold a bat and currently plays in the Denver NABA league. He’s also a reader. I’m sure he’ll enjoy your novel.
And thank you, Donnell, for having Mark on your blog giving us the behind the scenes on this story. Glad I stopped by! 🙂
My pleasure, Francelia!!
I’m looking forward to reading this book even though I’m not a baseball fan. Mark, you are a beautiful writer and I’m weirdly happy to hear you don’t outline because I don’t either!