Why is that opening chapter of Samurai Shortstop so graphic? A dozen or so books later, and I had a story about a boy blending bushido with baseball and. 1915! I had no idea Japan was playing baseball that long ago, so I found a book about Japanese baseball. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, and I was thumbing through a travel guide when I saw a picture of a Japanese man in a kimono throwing out the first pitch at a baseball tournament in 1915. Where did you get the idea for Samurai Shortstop? I also really liked The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and mysteries like The Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown. I do wish I’d read more as a kid though, if only so I wouldn’t feel so very behind with all the great books I want to read now! The Books I read a lot of classics, and loved books like Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I read books, yes, but I didn’t always have my nose buried in a book all the time the way some people do. I was more likely to be out building a fort in the woods or inventing a fake country or playing video games. To tell the truth, I didn’t read a lot of books when I was a kid.
Who were your favorite authors/what were your favorite books as a kid? He’s retired now, and works as a commentator for MLB Network. Sean Casey, aka “The Mayor.” He played for a lot of teams, including the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Boston Red Sox. To say that my favorite food is pizza is like saying that my favorite thing to breathe is air. I also like building things, like chicken coops and woodsheds and catapults. I love playing board games and video games and role-playing games. My dream job, outside of writing novels? Game show host. I was an eighth grade English teacher before I was a full-time writer, so I suspect that’s what I would be doing. If you weren’t a writer, what would you be? This is my full-time job! (Pretty awesome, huh?) And despite what my dad thinks, I really am in my office researching, outlining, writing, or taking care of writing business stuff all day. My wife’s name is Wendi, and my daughter’s name is Jo. You can find out where I’ll be and when by subscribing to my e-newsletter here. I often do author tours when a new book comes out. In a little city called Asheville in Western North Carolina. I went to middle school and high school at Webb School in Knoxville, then went to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for both undergraduate and graduate school. Questions are broken down into categories: personal, the books, and writing advice. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions, and his answers. Alan gets a lot of e-mails and letters from fans asking him questions about his books and his life.