Rogues Angels Present: Mickey Tussler

Please welcome Frank Nappi  author of Mickey Tussler and Sophmore Campaign.

Frank will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT!

THE LEGEND OF MICKEY TUSSLER / SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN

By

Frank Nappi

1.    What or who inspired you to start writing?

I have a vague recollection of when I began writing. I can remember writing a story when I was very young - maybe five or six years old. It was about a king who rescues a girl and makes her his queen. Not really sure where the idea came from, or even how good it was. I just remember my mom typing it for me when I was finished and that image always makes me smile. Professionally? I published my first novel with St. Martin’s Press in 2005 and have had the good fortune of publishing three more since then.

2.    What elements are necessary components for this genre.

Certainly having an understanding of the sport as well as some background knowledge of how a teenager with autism would possibly function given the circumstances. My passion for baseball and my work with groups like Best Buddies certainly helped to inform those aspects of the book. Since the novel is also a crossover with regard to audience – I had to be sure to balance my prose and my plot in a way that would equally appeal to a younger audience as well as more mature readers.

3.    How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

I wanted to tell a baseball story -- the genesis of the endeavor is my pure love for the game of baseball. I always thought that to combine my first love, which is baseball, with my passion for writing, would be a wonderful creative amalgamation. However, I did not want to re-tell the classic, trite tale that has been told before -- you know, the young talented nobody who is discovered and then makes good on the diamond. So that was a real impediment. However, I soon had the epiphany that if my character were unique -- special in another way too -- that would add a compelling wrinkle to the tale that has never been attempted. Conceiving Mickey Tussler as an Asperger’s kid was what unlocked the whole story.

4.    What expertise did you bring to your writing?

A genuine interest in the human condition -- more specifically, what makes us act and react in the manner that we do. Human beings are so very complex and are often immersed in situations that result in a struggle of sorts. This sort of drama exists all around us. Whenever I observe a facet of this condition or struggle, I am intrigued and ultimately compelled to explore it further through fiction.

Again, this has caused me to become very versatile in my literary endeavors. While many writers remain faithful to one genre, mostly because they possess an affinity for that type of writing, my inspiration comes from a true penchant for exploring that about which I am most passionate. Consequently, I have traveled down a rather eclectic path, ranging from the horrors of WWII and the insidious residue of war that destroyed so many veterans and their families, to a 17 year old autistic baseball player in the 1940's who inspires others around him to become more tolerant and understanding, to a young teacher whose indiscretions lead him down a dark and self-destructive path. Clearly these stories are all unique in their own way, and fall into very different genres. However, what binds them together is that same basic element that really defines who I am as a writer - someone who is moved by the human struggle.

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5.    What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

I have an awful phobia of milk and milk products! I’m also a huge sports fan – Mets, Jets, and Islanders!!  So clearly, I am a suffering fan as well.

6.    As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I just released my first thriller, NOBODY HAS TO KNOW, which received a glowing endorsement from NY Times #1 best-selling author Nelson DeMille. Now that that is complete, I have begun work on the final installment

of my Mickey Tussler series, Welcome To The Show. This final work in the series

features Mickey Tussler’s rise to the professional baseball ranks and all the

challenges that come with such notoriety. I am also playing with another idea for a thriller

7.    Can you give us a sneak peak into this book?

The Legend of Mickey Tussler is the story of a 17 year old autistic kid who is mired in the obscurity of a small farm in Indiana in 1948. In addition to his condition, which of course has no name at the time, Mickey possesses the remarkable ability to throw objects (most notably apples) with extraordinary velocity and precision. It appears that his life will never amount to anything more than the day to day toiling on the family farm under the cruel and watchful eye of his cantankerous father Clarence when a most fortuitous encounter with baseball manager Arthur Murphy, a man who himself is struggling with his own demons, alters the trajectory of each of the character's lives forever.

8.    Do you outline your books or just start writing?

Typically I just start writing. The outline lives in my head. I haven’t found the outline routine always helpful to my process.

9.    How do you maintain your creativity?

I think teaching English and also Creative Writing to high school students helps me to be constantly exploring writers’ craft. Students year after year also contribute ideas that spark some of my own. I think my “day job” has certainly informed by second job as an author.

10. Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?

Mickey Tussler -- of course! The young man is the embodiment of resiliency in the face of adversity. He is a great role model for all people, not just those with special needs.

11. Anything else you might want to add?

Yes. I love interacting with my readers. Please feel free to send an email and tell me about yourself and your response to what you have read. This repartee with readers is the best part of the whole experience.

THE LEGEND OF MICKEY TUSSLER

In the late 1940s, the minor league Milwaukee Brewers are foundering yet again and manager Arthur Murphy is desperate. When he sees seventeen-year old Mickey Tussler throwing apples into a barrel, he knows he has found the next pitching phenom. But not everyone is so hopeful. Mickey’s autism—a disorder still not truly understood even today—has alienated the boy from the world, and he is berated by other players and fans. Mickey faces immense trials in the harsh and competitive world of baseball while coping with the challenges inherent to his disorder. An honest and knowledgeable book about overcoming adversity, and the basis for the television movie A Mile in His Shoes, Mickey’s powerful story shows that with support and determination anyone can be triumphant, even when the odds are stacked against him.

SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN

It’s 1949 and eighteen-year-old pitching phenom Mickey Tussler is back with the rejuvenated minor league Brewers in the sequel to The Legend of Mickey Tussler (the basis for the television movie  A Mile in His Shoes). Despite Mickey’s proclamation that he will never play baseball again after last season’s violent conclusion, his manager—and now surrogate father—Arthur Murphy cajoles the emotionally fragile, socially awkward boy with autism into giving it another shot. Mickey reluctantly returns to the field and must once again cope with the violence and hatred around him. When a young African American player joins the team, the entire team is subjected to racial threats and episodes of violence, one of which Mickey witnesses firsthand. Struggling to understand such ugliness and hatred, and fearful of reprisal should he tell anyone about what he has seen, the boy’s performance on the field suffers. Mickey now must deal with a side of human nature he scarcely comprehends.

Excerpt of The Legend of Mickey Tussler

http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/297342-excerpt-from-the-legend-of-mickey-tussler

Excerpt of Sophomore Campaign

http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/296423-excerpt-from-sophomore-campaign

Frank Nappi has taught high school English and Creative Writing for over twenty years. His debut novel,  Echoes From The Infantry, received national attention, including MWSA's silver medal for outstanding fiction. His follow-up novel, The Legend of Mickey Tussler, garnered rave reviews as well, including a movie adaptation of the touching story "A Mile in His Shoes" starring Dean Cain and Luke Schroder. Frank continues to produce quality work, including Sophomore Campaign, the intriguing sequel to the much heralded original story and the just released thriller, NOBODY HAS TO KNOW, which received an endorsement from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille. Frank is presently at work on a third installment of his Mickey Tussler series and his next thriller. He lives on Long Island with his wife Julia and their two sons, Nicholas and Anthony.

LINKS:

The Legend of Mickey Tussler/Sophomore Campaign book trailers:

http://youtu.be/dnE-DB_cpUc

http://youtu.be/mo8ec-UOjJA

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/FrankNappi

author website  http://www.franknappi.com/

author facebook  https://www.facebook.com/authorfranknappi

author goodreads   http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/589342.Frank_Nappi