Title: Play On
Author: Michelle Smith
Release Date: April 21, 2015
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Synopsis
In the small town of Lewis Creek,
baseball is everything. Especially for all-star pitcher Austin Braxton, who has
a one-way ticket out of town with his scholarship to a top university. All that
stands between him and a new start is one final season. But when Austin starts
flunking Chemistry, his picture-perfect future is in jeopardy. A failing grade
means zero playing time, and zero playing time means no scholarship.
Enter
Marisa Marlowe, the new girl in town who gets a job at his momma's flower shop.
Not only is Marisa some home-schooled super-genius, she's also a baseball fanatic
and more than willing to help Austin study. As the two grow closer, there's
something about Marisa that makes Austin want more than just baseball and out
of Lewis Creek--he wants a future with her. But Marisa has a past that still
haunts her, one that she ran all the way to South Carolina to escape.
As
Austin starts to peel back the layers of Marisa s pain, it forces him to look
beyond the facade of himself and everyone he thought he knew in his town. What
he sees instead is that in a small town like Lewis Creek, maybe baseball isn t
everything--maybe it is just the thing that ties them all together."
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In this
excerpt, Marisa surprises Austin on the baseball field…in more ways than one.
I pass the bat to her, watching her face light up
like a full moon on a summer night. “Now, it’s a little heavy,” I joke. “Think
you can handle it?”
Her eyes widen. “I don’t know,” she says
breathlessly. “I may need the help of a big, strong, baseball player. Because
we both know that baseball is so superior to softball.”
I shake my head. “That’s not entirely true. Your
balls are bigger.”
We stare at each other. Stare. Stare some more.
She’s the first one who breaks, bursting out laughing. It’s one of the best
sounds I’ve heard in a long time.
“Here,” I say, still laughing. I carefully place
my hands on her hips, helping her square up over the plate. “In case, you know,
you’re too out of practice.”
She bites back a smile. “Yeah. Because I’ve
totally forgotten how to square up for a pitch.”
“Two years is a long time.” Resting my hands on
her shoulders, I remind her, “And relax these. You’re too stiff.”
She hangs her head. “You’re killin’ me, Smalls.”
I walked right into that one. She relaxes her
shoulders. Slowly, my hands move down her arms until they rest on top of hers.
They’re so warm, fit so perfectly in mine that it almost hurts to let them go.
But I do, because, you know, friends.
“There,” I say on an exhale. “Ready?”
Her lips curve up. “Let me have it, Floral
Prince.”
My mouth drops open. “All right. No mercy,
Marlowe.”
I grab the ball and jog out to the mound. I gotta
say, she’s the prettiest batter I’ve ever been up against. Taking a deep
breath, I wind up and let my fastball fly.
That girl smacks the hell out of the ball.
Holy… I turn, watching it sail all
the way back to the fence. When I whirl back around, she grins, pointing the
bat at me.
“And that’s how it’s done,” she calls to me,
setting the bat in the dirt. She wipes her hands on her jeans.
All I can do is gape. Some of the guys on our team
could take a lesson from her. It’s not like I thought she would be bad, but
damn. I pull off my cap as I walk toward her. As soon as I tug it onto her
head, she laughs.
“Are you going to have any of these left?”
“I have an endless supply.” I nudge the brim of
the cap, so I can see her eyes. “And you’ve earned that one.”
She quirks her lips into this little half-smirk
that makes me pure weak in the knees. Takes a step closer. Another. And
another. I swallow hard. My hands ache to touch her, to pull her to me and kiss
the daylights out of her.
But friends, though.
1. Play On
touches on several sensitive topics. What do you hope your readers will take
away from reading it?
I hope they come away knowing that illnesses do
not define us. That setbacks, mistakes, scars, whatever we’ve done in the
past—none of that defines who we are. That yes, you can fall to rock bottom,
and you can still thrive after that
fall. There’s laughter, and happiness, and hope, and love waiting for
you—there’s so much love. And I hope they know that they’re worthy of that
love.
It’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to reach out.
It’s okay to admit that you need help with this crazy life-thing. Because none
of us have all the answers—we’re just doing the best we can. And we’re all in
it together.
2. What
scene do you most regret having to cut?
Not really a scene itself, but one of the lines.
In the original draft, Austin had an ex-girlfriend that was, in a word,
vengeful. One night, Austin told her to leave, and she came back to slash his
truck’s tires. After discovering what happened the next morning, his mom said,
“Your breakup really brought out the redneck in that girl.” That line always
made me giggle.
(There’s no ex-girlfriend in the final version, by
the way. She got the cut in my first round of edits.)
3. On the
flip side, what was your favorite scene that got added during edits?
My favorite scene in the entire book was added
during edits! It takes place toward the
end and involves stars, hand-holding, and Austin and Marisa talking about
what’s to come, rather than the past. It’s a sweet moment that makes me grin
like an idiot.
4. Biggest
writing quirk?
I have to
have something on my feet, whether it’s socks or shoes. Like, I absolutely
cannot write with cold feet.
5. Are you
working on any new projects?
I am! I can’t say too much at the moment, but I will say that we haven’t seen the last
of Lewis Creek. ;)
Author Bio:
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Michelle
Smith was born and raised in North Carolina, where she developed a healthy
appreciation for college football, sweet tea, front porches, and a well-placed
“y’all.” She’s a lover of all things happy, laughs way too much, and fully
believes that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.
Michelle
lives near the Carolina coast with her family.
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