Clay Cormany
Twitter
ID: @Speechwriter2
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23509776-fast-pitch-love
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fast-Pitch-Love/249475425209772
Writer,
Parent, Husband
Tell us a little about your latest release:
There is no longer anything special about the corner of Fifth Avenue and Olentangy River Road in Columbus, Ohio. In my younger days, however, it was the home of a trucking company that my dad owned and operated with my uncle. Most days for some 30 years, he would go there to his office to dispatch semis and make sure they reached their destinations without mishap. Sometimes there were mishaps. That could mean an early morning call and a lonely trip to a broken down truck on a remote highway.
Today the trucking company is gone. Several
years ago, I traveled to where it once stood and found a fast-food hamburger
stand in its place. There was no sign, marker, or other visible evidence that
my father's trucking company ever existed. Sadness flooded my soul. A hamburger
stand hardly seemed a fitting tribute to his hard work and sacrifice at this
location. Then I began to ask myself some discomforting questions: What
tangible evidence would I leave behind for my time on this planet? What would
future generations, inside and outside of my family, ever know about me? That's
when I remembered that YA novel – then only half finished – that I had laid
aside a month before. Perhaps Fast-Pitch Love could be my legacy, a window
that would allow great-great-grandchildren and perhaps others to understand who
I was and what I valued.
I have no illusions about Fast-Pitch
Love becoming a bestseller or winning any prizes. I originally wrote it to
entertain readers who might like an amusing story that combines sports
competition with some old-but-valuable lessons about romance. Only after
visiting my father's former work site did I think of it as a bridge between me
and future generations. Will anyone be reading Fast-Pitch Love a hundred
or even fifty years from now? I don't know. But if they do, they'll gain some
insight to my beliefs and values. For example, they'll realize that I...
- Took a dim view of adults who let their
egos ruin children's sports.
- Preferred winning to losing, but not at
any cost.
- Believed true romance depends on trust
and friendship – not just physical attraction.
- Believed hostility between two people
usually diminishes as they learn more about each other.
Fellow writers, I encourage you to see your
book in a similar light. Whether you write about pirates, ghosts, spies,
detectives, kings or queens, your book will tell tomorrow's readers – as well
as today's – who you are and what you believe. It will be your legacy; one with
the power to entertain and even inspire those who follow in your footsteps.
Some might argue that there are better legacies than a book, and maybe they are
right. But one thing is certain: A book beats the heck out of a hamburger
stand.
What is your earliest memory?
Leaving
milk and cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. I was about 2 1/2 years
old.
What would you consider the greatest moment in your life?
A
tie between becoming a father and finally finding the woman of my dreams.
What’s the hardest thing in in life you’ve done?
Attend
the funeral of my daughter's boyfriend.
What have you learned in life so far?
Keep your promises and commitments, even if you regret making them.
Leave
something behind -- like a book -- that will enrich the lives of those who
follow in your footsteps.
Everyone’s favourite question: if you could invite five people for
dinner, who would it be?
Jackie Robinson
William Shakespeare
Jeannette Creswick Cormany, my great grandmother
Benjamin Franklin
Chance for our readers - what else would you like to know about Clay Cormany?
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