Fast-Pitch Loveby 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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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
EXCERPT from Chapter Twenty
“Come on, Phoebe,” Jace urged. “Get us a run.”
His sister
looked small standing by home plate, her head engulfed by her helmet. She gazed at Jace and grimaced before
holding her bat aloft.
The first pitch
went inside. The second was a call
strike. Another inside pitch and
then a swing and a miss.
“Strike her out! She can’t hit!
Strike her out!” the Dragon players cried out to their pitcher.
“Protect the plate,” Martha urged her
daughter. “Just try to put the ball in play.”
Jace didn’t want
to watch as the next pitch came homeward.
But he did anyway, and what he saw was Phoebe swinging away and making
enough contact to send the ball bouncing slowly toward the gap between the
pitcher’s mound and first base. As Phoebe took off down the baseline, Corey
made a mad dash toward home, and the other two runners also tried to advance.
“Come on, Phoebe, you can beat it out,” Jace
shouted.
With arms and
legs churning, Phoebe tried to comply.
Realizing her
pitcher would not reach the ball soon enough, the Dragon’s first baseman ran
forward and scooped it up. Then she pivoted around and ran back toward her
base, trying to get there before Phoebe.
When both girls closed to within a few feet of the bag, the first
baseman lunged at Phoebe, trying to tag her out.
“Dive for it!” Jace cried.
Phoebe lowered
her head and flung herself horizontally with arms outstretched toward the
base. This caused the first
baseman to miss the tag, but the girl had enough sense to thrust her foot
toward the base in the hope of still getting the force out. To Jace’s not-unbiased eye, Phoebe’s
hand reached the base a split second ahead of the Dragon infielder’s foot. The umpire, who had moved from behind
home plate to within a few feet of where Jace stood, saw it that way, too.
“Safe!” he shouted, crossing his arms two or
three times.
The cry of joy
from the Valkyries’ side matched the roar of dismay from the Dragons and their
fans. Jace signaled time out and
reached down to help Phoebe to her feet.
As he did, the Dragons’ assistant coach brushed by him, charging like an
angry rhinoceros toward the umpire.
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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