Exciting New Book Tells Story of a Baseball Fan's Revenge
Stafford, VA (PRWEB) May 30, 2007 -- Kevin Francis is a refreshingly new writer. His first effort is biting and filled with an energy that is lost among many of today's authors. "Autograph" is his take on athletes written in a character-driven style so vivid, it suggests more truth than fiction. Francis shows the lengths that a fan will go to when he's had enough. Once his athlete-hero gives him the cold shoulder, he snaps into a revenge mindset, but is still handcuffed by his everyman banality.
"Autograph" centers around Kenny, a man in the middle of life who has never been sure of his choices. He wanders around in a daze (and in the nights too) traveling from one disappointment to the next to which he generally responds with an "oh well" smile. His friends and his family are his lone success in life, and he imagines that athletic glory must be the zenith of life. In the middle of his wandering, he takes a trip from Humdrum, New Mexico to Phoenix -- for, what else -- a baseball vacation. It was to be a simple game between the LA Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Along the way, Kenny reaches his life's breaking point in the form of a ball player in the twilight of his career, a career that never amounted to much. As the two men meet, they realize there's a connection, then things go wrong when the ballplayer lets loose in a tirade that simultaneously berates the man and makes the reader snicker with a brilliant use of conversation. Things go from bad to worse for Kenny when the ballplayer then accosts his friends. Kenny is able to get revenge though, by taking the ballplayer's spot for one game. What follows is a typical Memorial Day Weekend baseball game that is so bizarre in its outcome, it could only be the result of the gods finally smiling on Kenny and his friends. That is, until he and his captive must switch places again.
"Autograph" touches on several interesting ideas throughout the journey. Francis makes a wide use of sarcasm in the conversations, and he has no problem giving his wry and tortured take on several issues including spoiled athletes (obviously), the War in Iraq, the HMO industry, the sports industry, rock stars, and the fiery interplay between husbands and wives. "Autograph" has its share of sexy moments as well including an unexpected twist involving several ballplayers (no pun intended here). "Autograph" takes a normal Memorial Day Weekend trip and tells a story that is anything but normal. Francis balances the tension that is prevalent in the story by contrasting it against the vulnerabilities of all the characters involved. Everyone has flaws in this story, as in life. Francis shows us that we all have demons to exorcise, but the question is, "Do we really want to face our problems when it is easier sometimes to let them torture us?"
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