Hi Guys, Olivia here.
My mom gave me a book about baseball a few weeks ago. I’m not a big reader, but I guess I can make an exception for a book on sports, especially when the main character’s a girl who’s really good at baseball. The book is about a girl named Sam who goes away to boys baseball camp and all the scrapes she gets into while trying to prove herself as good as the boys.
We were discussing it over dinner one night and I told my mom how much I enjoyed The Sweet Spot and it turns out she knows the author and asked me if I’d like to ask her a few questions. I’m not big on interviewing people, but I figured it might be fun.
The author’s name is Stacy Mozer and she is a third grade teacher (we love third grade teachers in this house) and has been teaching for over sixteen years. She grew up in Long Island and now lives in Connecticut and has two children, who both play soccer.
The first thing I asked Ms. Mozer was how long it took to write The Sweet Spot. I can barely write an essay without getting bored, so I figured a whole book must take years. It turns out Stacy re-wrote the story from start to finish five times! FIVE!!!! So even though it didn’t take too long to write the book, her revisions took years. This is why I’m going to race dog sleds in Alaska, folks!
Author: Stacy Mozer
Then I asked her what types of sports she likes. Turns out Stacy is a terrific kickball pitcher, but now spends most of her time attending her kids soccer games and was lucky enough to be in Montreal during the Women’s World Cup last summer. Pretty cool! Stacy also loves to go to the US Open tennis competition each year and is a big NY Mets fan! Hmph! Well I guess you can’t have everything! Go Sox!
Here is the rest of the interview:
OP. I am sure this book is popular with a lot of girls who are good enough to play on the boys team but aren’t given the opportunity. Did you or anyone you know have any personal experience with this?
SM. As a teacher I often see girls at recess who want to play sports with the boys and have a varying amount of success (without teacher intervention). Those are the girls that were in my head when I wrote this character.
OP. What advice would you give girls trying to break into a male dominated sport?
SM. I would give the same advice I write in the book at book signings, “Never let anyone stop you from following your dreams.” This advice is true for anyone who is being told you can’t, whether it is in sports or in other areas of life. I just saw Zootopia with my daughter over the weekend and was pleased to see that same message reinforced in that movie. The only one who can tell you you can’t is you. If you work hard, even if you don’t achieve your dream, at least you know you tried your best and gave it your best shot.
OP. What are you writing next?
SM. I am currently working on three projects. Book 2 for The Sweet Spot, which will release from Spellbound River this time next year, a middle grade fantasy story which was the first novel I ever wrote, and a fun project about a girl whose parents might be letting their own interests stand in the way of their daughter’s happiness. Fortunately I have a school vacation coming up soon so I can get to back to work on all of these.
OP. Thanks for answering my questions, Ms. Mozer. I think this is a perfect book for both girls and boys interested in sports or for a parent wanting their child to read a book that teaches about the importance of not giving up. Congrats on the new release of The Sweet Spot and I’ll be looking forward to hearing what Sam is up to in The Sweet Spot II.
www.StacyMozer.com www.SpellboundRiver.com
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