Featured Interview With William R. Douglas
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Debut author at 63! I was born in Evergreen Park, IL, and raised in Oak Lawn, IL until after my freshman year of High School. Our family relocated to Arlington Heights, IL and I remained in that area until 1992 when I moved to McHenry, IL. (about an hour northwest of Chicago).
My wife and I are empty nesters (six kids, 8 grandkids) and have pet cat named Peaches.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Grammar school. Loved Schi-Fi and History books. I started righting when I was in grammar school and loved it.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I really don't have favorites. I just enjoy a good story. I love history, alternative history, and fiction.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Several ingredients went into my debut novel, The Death and Resurrection of Baseball: Echoes from a Distant Past
1.) An article I read several years ago about games kids used to play before the Civil War of the 1860s. These games are now extinct and are unknown to today's kids.
2.) David Aickman's novel: When the Almond Tree Blossoms. First published in 1993, re-released in 2016, and considered by many to be prescient. It tells the tale of a Second American Civil War fought along ideological lines, i.e. Socialists vs Capitalists/Constitutionalists. In the novel, Socialists now run the country.
3.) William Forstchen's Novel: One Second After. Tells the story of an EMP attack upon the US and its devastating aftermath with three massive 'die-offs' of the population.
4.) Numerous stories about the waning popularity of baseball, especially at the youth level.
A storyline developed in my mind based upon several 'what-ifs'. What if 40 years from now, baseball died as a sport? What if the trajectory of our current national divisions continues unaltered to their logical outcome, a second civil war on American soil? Besides losing popularity, what could be a final crises that seals the fate of the sport of baseball?
It all came together in 2016. I began writing in September and finished the draft in September of 2020. After many edits and revisions, finally was published in May of 2022.
The early results have been very encouraging. The Death and Resurrection of Baseball: Echoes from a Distant Past, is getting great reviews for its unique storyline.
The Death and Resurrection of Baseball takes those what-if propositions and transports the reader 140 years from now into the futuristic United States of America to the year 2166. A United States that is far from our current recognition.
A post-Second Civil War United States of America is finally back on its feet. Among the countless personal and cultural casualties of the war, the sport of baseball has been dead for over a hundred years.
12-year-old Joe Scott lives in the northern Illinois city of McHenry and goes exploring in the woods one day in a no man's land that a hundred years earlier was the site of the bloodiest battle of the Second Civil War. While there, he discovers a relic from the distant past, from before the war. It sparks a search for its meaning. Little does he know that the wheels of Providence have been unwittingly set in motion, leading to a stunning discovery in Dyersville, Iowa.
This second discovery has a direct connection with the relic found in McHenry. As events unfold, Joe finds himself at the center of the rediscovery of the sport of baseball, long lost and forgotten by the ravages of time and the lingering aftereffects of the Second Civil War. With no living person having any first-hand knowledge of the game, can he figure out the pieces of the puzzle to resurrect the game of baseball? Will his friends take to the game? What will the adults think?
The Death and Resurrection of Baseball will take you back to the happy days of your youth and your coming of age. The story will thrill you, move you, and make you think long and hard about where The United States of America is currently at, and where we could be headed.
Baseball has always been a metaphor for America and has always brought Americans together. In The Death and Resurrection of Baseball, you will find its greatest strength, hope!
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
William R. Douglas Facebook Page
William R. Douglas Twitter Account
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