Going, Going, Gone! received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Steve Hermanos.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Going, Going, Gone!; March 8, 2022
What’s the book’s first line?
Kneeling in the on-deck circle, Johnny Blent’s thinking about his brother—and that’s exactly the wrong thing to focus on in the middle of the World Series.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
My quest was to write the most exciting baseball novel ever, and hope that it appeals to marginal baseball fans and non-fans. In those aspects, bingo!
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
As a baseball fan, I’ve been disappointed so very many times by baseball novels. I’ve found the game action scant, written without top-notch baseball expertise, and usually not integral to the plot and story. I’ve always been thrilled by Patrick O’Brian’s “Master and Commander” series of novels about a British sea captain and his buddy, who’s a surgeon on his ships and also a spy for the British. I don’t like being on boats, but I’m absorbed in O’Brian’s tales. So, I figured I could write a baseball novel, or series of baseball novels, that have enough depth, interesting characters, speed, and comedy to also appeal to people who don’t care much about baseball. I tip my baseball cap to Patrick O’Brian.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
1) Baseball fans seeking the most exciting baseball read ever.
2) It also explores what makes America great, or not; so readers who ponder the soul of America.
3) It’s a time-travel-baseball novel, so a reader has to be up for a tale that’s tinged with sci-fi. We dive into San Francisco in the midst of the 1906 earthquake-fire, and spend a lot of time on the Upper West Side of Manhattan (where I grew up, though not when I grew up).
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
The main character is André Velez, a supremely arrogant superstar ballplayer, who gets thrust back in time (with the two other main characters) and loses everything. His dead-pull hitting style does not work in 1906 and he gets cut, washes out, penniless, lost on the Lower East Side of New York for a night (after someone steals his shoes), and has to reinvent himself. Along the way he finds true love.
Sports journalists have told me that André reminds them very much of Barry Bonds, who holds the single-season home run record and the all-time home run record, was a steroids user, and was generally disdained. But the models for the character also include Bryce Harper, another arrogant ballplayer who’s only now maturing as he hits 30 years old, and child actors in Hollywood. People who’ve been cocooned their whole life, constantly surrounded by swarms of parasites and sycophants. It’s a very American type.
When did you first decide to become an author?
A million years ago.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
I’ve written many. My second novel, “Strange Jazz,” is available on Amazon in all formats. Others are on the hard drives of computers in storage bins in three time zones. If any lit mag editor is interested, I wrote a so-far-unequalled 35-page short story about 9/11 that remains unpublished.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I work for a company that buys and sells the equipment that makes the Internet faster.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
As much as possible.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
You are very alone.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
“Going, Going, Gone!” was almost published by a traditional publisher, but no. Then my agent dropped me. My indie publisher is Inkshares, which is a crowdfunding publisher. If you have a big network of friends who can participate in the crowdfunding, check out Inkshares. It’s a fantastic backup plan, and it worked well for me. Their editorial process, cover design and book design can’t be beat. I deeply appreciate their professionalism and hard work. Inkshares is a great option.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
Yup.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I’m addicted to the challenge of writing novels people will enjoy.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
William Shakespeare, the Englishman. And Preston Sturges.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
It’s sort of like asking, “Whose clothes do you wish you could wear?” I’m not interested in wearing anyone else’s clothes. But I learn from every other writer, the great, the mediocre, and the shockingly bad.