The Frontrunner was the winner in the Sports/Fitness/Recreation category in the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Brad Fawley.
“Thank you to my publisher – Dede Cummings, owner of Green Writers Press.
Thank you to my wife, Anne Marie Howard, – love of my life and trusted reader. Without her, I am certain The Frontrunner would not exist.
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Like me, when I started writing the novel at age 67, my 20 something protagonist – Russ – was uncertain about what he should do with his life. He sought help
from Dot – one of my favorite characters. This is what Dot told him:
“Beat back them voices tellin’ you that you ain’t worthy of it, that you ain’t good enough to have it. And promise yourself that when anything rises up to drag you down, you gonna tell it to go to hell.”
Russ followed Dot’s advice.
I did too. I finished The Frontrunner and now, am 150 pages into my second novel.”
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The Frontrunner; April, 2024
What’s the book’s first line?
“Russ Clayton stands, balanced on the edge of the very top of the quarry, the cold rock beneath his bare feet, long boned and white.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
It is not the pain we are in that holds us back, it is the fear of the pain that lies ahead.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
The Frontrunner began as a screenplay with the goal of making an epic movie about the struggles involved in running and racing at a top level. When I realized that the chances having a movie made were far less than getting a book published, I turned my screenplay into a novel.
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, Russ Clayton, keeps losing the important people in his life and is on a quest to fill or reconcile who he is with that void. On his journey, with all odds stacked against him, his dogged determination and hard work pay off. Russ, his father Chuck, and his coach Brad Coy are an amalgamation of me.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The story is a celebration of human resilience, honor, sacrifice, and triumph over loss. One does not need to be a runner to enjoy or find meaning in it.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
Brad Coy – Christian Bale or Tom Hardy
Chuck Clayton – Sean Penn
Mollie Gardner – Anne Marie Howard
Buck Flanagan – Ed Harris
Yuri Grimlov – Ben Kingsley
Dot – Viola Davis
Lauren Michaels – an international class high jumper
Russ Clayton, the Pushkin Twins, Al Meeker and all other runners must be national or international class distance runners. Fake athletes would kill the movie.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I have been writing my whole life. I decided to be an author at age 67.
Is this the first book that you’ve written?
Yes.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
Attorney – litigator
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I try to write at least 2-4 hours a day. Sometimes it stretches to 6-7 hours.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is working directly with my amazing indie publisher – Dede Cummings, owner of Green Writers Press. The hardest part is getting your book into bookstores and reviewed by national media outlets.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
It would depend on their enthusiasm for the work, and what they could offer.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Neither fame nor fortune motivate me. Rather, I love writing because it affords me the freedom to disappear into the story and the minds of my characters.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Cormac McCarthy.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Suttree, by Cormac McCarthy.