Interview with Ida Muorie on The Sportsmavericks Show

Ida Muorie’s Sportsmavericks Show

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Click here: you can hear it live

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Hear the author talk about

Through the Flames

Buy from the Gypsy ShadowPublishing website and receive an autographed copy!

Synopsis of Through the Flames

(with nods to Dawn Colclasure Wilson’s review)

     “Your home life is a mess.” This is The Understatement of the Year. Larry’s senior year, things go from bad to worse for the dysfunctional Allen family. The story begins with the homecoming game for Bobby Layne High School and a harsh slam to the star quarterback’s world - a tough hit during the second quarter of the football game.

     Larry and his two brothers are not loners, but they are essentially alone. Their dad, Robert Allen, is away playing for the NFL half the year and their mother, Suzanne, has moved out and gotten a job at a local bar; the grief of losing her daughter overpowering her ability to manage three teenage sons and a household on her own. Alcoholism raises its ugly head, capturing the oldest son, Craig, and Suzanne in its clutches.

     Athletes in Texas and throughout the world hear No Pain No Gain, Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit and so many other mantras of carrying on through adversity. Larry is the quintessential suffering hero, he plays through injuries like a Pro. His focus is on leading his team, doing his job, winning.

But head injuries do not respond to playing through. The brain needs inactivity to recover. Injuries slow Larry down, but a concussion brings him to a halt - a coma - a new life without football.

What could those around him have done to prevent it?

Through the Flames is an inspirational story of how one family plays through tragedy and troubles, the bonds of love emerge as stronger than any other. This book is a stand-alone work, but The Fire Series began with Book One: Into the Fire and will continue in Book Three.

If you’d like a signed copy of Through the Flames, please order through GypsyShadow Publishing. I’ll autograph it and get it into the mail to you as soon as I can!

Do Not Give Up

Good morning!

It's a morning of introspection around my home.  I found this video last evening and it reminds me of so many people around the world who have incredible challenges right now.

Some of us meet those challenges head on and do something about the nay-sayers!



Have you proved the doctors or experts wrong in a way that really made a difference in your life?
What advice to you have for people who are going through that challenge in their lives right now - today?

I put a hairline fracture in every vertebrae in my back in 1975. Over the years, I've had doctors tell me lots of negative stuff. They can quote statistics at me all day, but my back is just fine. It takes a lot of work to rehab any break or injury. My advice is to stick with it, whatever IT is for your life exercise, daily treatments, imagination, faith... whatever it is Do Not Give Up on coming out the other side. As they say, If you're going through hell, just keep on going!

Merry Christmas!

Interview with Larry, his junior year

More than a year passes between Into the Fire, the first book of The Fire Series and Through the Fire. Here is an interview with Larry Allen the winter after Into the Fire ends.

This is Todd Tyler, welcome to my Friday morning sports show. This morning, I'm interviewing Junior Larry Allen. This is his second year at the helm as quarterback and captain of the  Bobby Layne High School Rams.
Good morning, Larry. It's my pleasure to interview you before your second trip to the Texas State Title game in Austin tomorrow.
Q: How do you feel about the game?
Larry Allen: This time of the season, it's fun to get out there and play. We're ready.
Q: What is your game plan?
Larry: The overall game plan is up to Coach Parker and his staff. He sets up the squads and feeds us the plays. My personal plan is to make the connections I need to win the game.
Q: Exactly who do you plan to use?
Larry: [Clay] Beckmeyer and I have moved up the ranks together and he's there when I need him, has been all season. Jeff Shaw's a senior this year and his running yardage has been amazing.  He's moving on to OU next fall. If Clay and Jeff are not available, we have a few more runners hanging around. I'm sure I'll have the protection I need to move it down the field.
Q: So you may be carrying the ball yourself?
Larry: Whatever it takes to win, Todd.
Q: We wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing Layne win tomorrow.
Larry: Thank you, sir. We are looking forward to winning for the school.

They won that game, clinching the second State Championship for Layne.

Through the Flames

Welcome to my blog and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, all those good feeling things...

Through the Flames by Denise Bartlett

*Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress) It's so recently NOT a WIP, I have nothing else in process but the sequel, Burning Embers.

*Tag up to five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them. It’s that simple.

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:
What is the working title of your book? The working title for Through the Flames was Larry.

Where did the idea come from for the book? Athletes are dedicated to their teams and to the game. They grow up with No Pain No Gain drilled into them. Football players and others are 'dinged' or 'have their bell rung' with horrifying consistency. The public needs to think about this phenomena, especially those who are the parents or family members of athletes at the high school and middle school age.
I recently listened to a video online which shows a 40-year veteran football coach at the high school level saying (and I paraphrase): Football is not a contact sport - dancing is a contact sport. Football is a collision sport.
My novel is about a high school football player with multiple concussions and a huge chip on his shoulder to want to 'show them how it's done' - to become the best quarterback the game has ever seen.

What genre does your book fall under? Young adult, sports novels, mainstream fiction

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? I have no idea!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Football - the Allen family plays it - who would image a series of average hits could change everything for quarterback Larry Allen, his family, and his girlfriend?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? My book was published by Gypsy Shadow Publishing late last week.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? More than a year.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? I haven't found any like it - as a high school young adult novel, it has lots of interaction between brothers, team members and the family.

Who or What inspired you to write this book? Traumatic Brain Injury survivors and athletes  who have suffered injuries which changed their lives forever. My sports related back injury changed my future and preserving your brain is even more vital than being able to walk and function normally physically.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Athletes hear No Pain No Gain - Tough it Out - Suck it Up - they don't want to be seen as wimps. Head injuries are being lumped in the same category as a broken leg. We have to wake up and teach them differently. It's a story about growing up as an athlete, a family member, a boyfriend, a team member.

 

Through the Flames

Through the Flames is a novel about a promising high school quarterback with a bright future in football. He has the adoration of his team, his school and his girl. Who could ask for more? True, Larry Allen's family is a shade on the dysfunctional side, but who has a perfect home life these days, right? His dad is away playing pro ball and training half of the year, his mother is a basket case since his older sister died (Book One: Into the Fire) and his older brother has lost his drive to go anywhere in life. But Larry has it all together and is determined to be a success and take his team to the championships one more time before he graduates and signs with the college of his choice.

Things are just great . . . until Dad gets badly injured in play and Larry gets taken out by a member of the opposing team who has it in for him. The plot thickens from there and Larry finds himself suddenly uncertain what the future will hold for him.

Denise Bartlett has worked with folks with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) over the years and has seen some of the devastating effects of TBI. Her experience with TBI survivors is what fueled this story, and she has done her homework to make this tale a realistic, gripping glimpse of the sports arena. The hope is that Through the Flames can help raise awareness about concussion in contact sports, particularly for young athletes, and the consequences of the No Pain No Gain attitude—not taking head injuries seriously enough.

This blog entry was written by Charlotte Holley of Gypsy Shadow Publishing.