I'm A Sports Girl!

I've always known I was a sports girl. When I was really little I can remember being in the barn with my grandfather and the radio would be whatever channel had a baseball or football game. My grandfather didn't cheer loudly, mostly he got whatever work he was doing done, but every now and then, when the announcers voices would get wild with excitement, I would see him clutch his tools a little tighter in his fist or nod his head emphatically.

When I was a young teenager, the Royals - who were the closest team to us - made it into the World Series. I remember church letting out early on the Sunday night of the World Series against the Cardinals (our cross-state rival). I remember not being able to sleep until the last pitch of every game, and I remember wishing with all my heart that my grandfather was still alive to watch the games or listen to them. I wished I could still smell is cigarettes-and-sunshine scent, still see him clutching his tools or nodding emphatically while the announcers went wild with their chants of 'Royals win! Royals WIN!'

The excitement of the games are what draw me, but that excitement isn't the only thing there. In our everyday lives it can be hard to strive for something really great. None of us are going to get a World Series or Super Bowl ring because we folded ten loads of laundry and also hit our wordcount for the day. But we can cheer on our favorite players, pump our fists in the air and run around our living rooms as we celebrate the greatness of our favorite athletes and teams. That's why I like this quote from Alcides Escobar (and the others who have said something similar). "I want to do the best I can."

Sitting alone at my computer and typing The End or finishing up a round of revisions or sending a manuscript off to my agent or editor is a great feeling, and I celebrate it. I may celebrate in the quiet of my office in our house, but those celebrations are just as important as the louder celebrations I take part in in my favorite ballparks...and in my living room. They are important because I strive to do the best I can with every paragraph, page and chapter, and those little, personal victories are just as important as the bigger victories of our favorite teams winning a championship.

After that 1985 World Series there were a lot - a LOT - of down years for the Royals. But last year the boys in blue made it back to the World Series, and this year...they're in the hunt, too. They're playing for the ALCS Championship and if they win, they'll have made two World Series in two years. That is something to celebrate. And in heaven, I think my grandfather will be clutching his tools and nodding emphatically.

This week I'm finishing up the revisions for my third Harlequin Superromance - a sports romance that will be out in 2016. I've done the best I can, stretched myself and my writing farther than I have before. And I hope my grandfather is clutching his tools and nodding emphatically as I type The End. Again.