I was excited to receive an advance copy of Finley Ball from my friend Nancy Finley, the niece of controversial A's owner Charlie Finley, whom I had profiled a couple years back in SCD. The book is her recounting of the time she spent as a front office insider during the A's dynasty of the 70s. Basically, Nancy's dad, Carl Finley, who was Charlie's cousin, was plucked from his existence as a high school administrator and put in charge of a MLB franchise by the mercurial owner, himself an insurance salesman in the Midwest. Together, on what what can be generously be called a shoestring, these men built and maintained one of the great teams of all time; and Nancy, ever at her dad's side, filled a variety of roles... while still a high-schooler! The story is as fast moving as it is improbable. Considering that the Moneyball regime, though much ballyhooed, has yet to produce a championship, this story is even more compelling. I highly recommend it. You just might come to the conclusion that crazy Charlie Finley wasn't so crazy after all. The publisher is Regnery History, and you can find the book on Amazon.
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On Friday, February 19th, we had the pleasure of appearing at the Baldwin Center before the Stratford Senior Men's Club, and the subject was Baseball!
It was fun speaking about my longtime association with Sports Collectors Digest, the writing of Roberto's Return, and a preview of our new book to be announced VERY shortly. (I think you can probably guess the theme!) Thanks to Mr. Nate Barsky for the invitation, and for the beautifully framed certificate of appreciation we were given. We sold some books, made some friends, and officially ushered in a new baseball season. Play Ball! Because of all our loyal T.J. Jackson fans, Curse of the Fairfield Witch is this week's winner of Cover Wars at Author Shout.com. It wasn't even close! Artist Stephanie Flint's cover was, indeed, a winner. Thanks to all who voted.
Hi Everybody, it's T.J. On behalf of Bortnicker and LouAnne, I'd just like to thank everyone for their support in 2015. Whether it was writing an Amazon review (and PLEASE keep them coming, especially for Curse of the Fairfield Witch), "liking" the T.J. Jackson Mysteries on Facebook, purchasing the books, or attending one of our many promotional events, your interest in the series gives Paul the motivation to keep it going. This past year we've come in contact with so many people who have a connection to the stories, from Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson, to baseball greats Ozzie Smith and Bobby Valentine, and other supporters such as politicians, historians, librarians, teachers, students, and anyone else who has become a T.J. Jackson fan.
A special thanks goes out to Nancy Schumacher, CEO of Melange/Fire & Ice Books, Paul's publisher; his wonderful editor, Denise Devine Meinstad, and the talented staff who bring it all together for us, including Caroline Andrus and Stephanie Flint, who create those great T.J. Jackson book cover designs. Of course, without Paul's personal support team, including his wife/agent/business manager Maria Simoes; daughter Carrie, who creates the promo videos; and sister Carol Young, who designs his bookmarks and promo cards; our stories wouldn't be half as successful. Rumor has it that Paul is planning to tell you about another of our adventures in the future, but until then, I want to let you in on a secret: Look for an ADULT genre book from Paul in the spring of 2016, his first in that category. Until we see each other again, have a happy and healthy New Year! Today we had the pleasure of doing an event at R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT with some other authors to promote Independent Bookstores. What a great place! It's just what you picture a classic bookstore to be. We sold some books and introduced some new fans to the T.J. Jackson Mysteries series. We hope to return in the future to this outstanding venue. This Saturday we made another appearance at the Fairfield U. Bookstore, and as always it was a lot of fun. Among the T.J. fans we met was Cristin McCarthy Vahey, State Representative, photo below. Thanks to Nancy Quinn and Craig Kennedy for arranging the event and for carrying the T.J. Jackson Mysteries in their inventory. If you are in town shopping for the Holiday Season, make the Fairfield U. Bookstore a part of your excursion!
Last weekend my daughter Caroline, valued promotional director for the T.J. Jackson Mysteries series, met up with Jason Hawes and Steve Gonsalves, hosts of Ghost Hunters, the longest-running (and still the best) of the many paranormal investigation series on TV. From what she tells me the guys were really great, and truly dedicated to paranormal investigating; happily, she was able to spread the word about T.J. and the gang, who employ many of the techniques/gadgets featured on Ghost Hunters. If you've never seen the show, check out the SYFY Channel listings. We hope to meet Jason and Steve again down the road...maybe they'll run into the Junior Gonzo Ghost Chasers on the same case!!
Halloween brought to an end our 10-stop tour for Curse of the Fairfield Witch, that began back in June and continued throughout the summer, with an action-packed final two weeks. Now that we are finally able to catch our breath, please enjoy some photos from those last hectic haunting days! This past weekend we took a break from witchy activities and made our annual pilgrimage to Cooperstown, and it was even more special than usual! First, we met with the President of the Hall, Jeff Idelson (he has a very cool office) to discuss the success of Roberto's Return in the Museum Bookstore, and maybe some future ventures. But then it got even better when we learned the great Ozzie Smith was in the building. Since he makes a cameo appearance in Roberto's Return it was only fitting that we present the Hall of Famer with his own personalized copy. And, gentleman that he is, "The Wizard" was genuinely excited to learn he's in the book! Throw in a very cool ghost walk (Cooperstown Candlelight Ghost Tours) that actually touched on some of the legends used in Roberto's Return, and you can see why the weekend was a home run. See you next year! Hi everybody, it's T.J. On behalf of LouAnne and Bortnicker, I'd like to thank all our supporters for a great year. Because of your interest Paul was able to bring our stories to many new fans, both young and old. We met so many great people, and made a memorable appearance at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for Roberto's Return. Paul will keep you posted on where we'll turn up next, and when you might see our next adventure. Hope to see you in 2015!
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