* Now hear this: Jane Heller

March 13, 2009

It’s quite a leap from romance novels to baseball non-fiction, but Jane Heller has traversed the expanse surprisingly well.

Heller, author of 13 books including Infernal Affairs and An Ex to Grind, has parlayed her life-long love for the Bronx Bombers into Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees (Rodale). She spent a few minutes with the Bookshelf discussing the origins of the project, the challenges of bringing it to press, dealing with difficult (or protective, depending on your point of view) Yankee officials, and sharing what she learned along the way, including the what it means to be a true fan.

Confessions is a rollicking account of the 2007 season. The Yankees started on such a horrid note that Heller almost gave up on them. She put her dark thoughts into an essay and, on a whim, sent it to sports columnist Harvey Araton of The New York Times, who thought so much of the piece he had it published. The overwhelming response — both positive and negative — was the impetus for Confessions.

In addition to a chronology of the season as Heller and her husband, Michael, live out every fans dream — attending almost every Yankees game literally following the All-Star break) — the author is on a race of her own: trying to follow through on a promise to her publisher of including a player interview. (Wasn’t that the theme of a Brady Bunch episode? Marcia tells every one that she’s friends with Davey Jones of the Monkees?) The team’s rapid improvement and eventual Wild Card slot makes for an exciting ride and a dramatic read. In a way, this is a book about a book and how success in one genre doesn’t guarantee a similar outcome in another.

Hear it here:

You can read Heller’s New York Times‘ essay, which started the ball rolling, here. And you can also check out her blog here.

ys-alds3-2

"I see your true colors..." Author Jane Heller at Yankee Stadium for the 2007 ALDS.

0Shares

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post:

script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-5496371-4']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();