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Rock 'n Fire: A Novel
Acclaim and Praise for ROCK ‘N FIREWinner of the 2021 NIEA African American Fiction AwardWinner of the 2021 Kops-Fetherling Gold Award for Sports BookFinalist of the 2021 IBA Next Generation African American Fiction AwardBronze Medal Winner of the 2021 Ippy Midwest Fiction AwardBronze Medal Winner of the 2021 New York City Book Awards for HistoryTop Five Placement in Historical Fiction for the 2021 Best Indie Book Award (BIBA)Finalist in TaleFlick’s Road to Development Contest“This is a rare gem…the story is amazingly written.” —TaleFlick“A 1960s Hall-of-Fame historian trying to find information on a Major League ballplayer’s race-related taboo relationship occurring decades earlier…the Golden Age of Baseball and its tarnished surface are strongly featured.” —IndieReader“Stallard weaves a tale of discovery (during) a turbulent time period in American history…juxtaposed against the racism of MLB.” —Reader ViewsAn unforgettable story hides in the shadows of America’s national pastime... It’s 1963, and civil unrest simmers in America’s streets. Baseball Hall of Fame Historian Frank Aldridge receives a letter from a woman claiming that Ray Cavanaugh, a talented but forgotten left-handed pitcher, may be her father. Fascinated by her story, Frank sets out to discover the truth. What he finds and uncovers is a lost legacy of forbidden love, fragile dreams, and despicable racism... In the 1930s and ‘40s, Ray Cavanaugh was known as Rock ’n Fire’, an ace pitcher with a stubborn streak a mile wide. After suffering an injury in a game against Negro League All Stars, Ray meets Aulette... a black woman. Together they defy society’s racist taboos and embark on a passionate affair, knowing it could have disastrous consequences for them both. Inspired by his personal need to know the truth, Frank is driven to find the elusive Cavanaugh, who has not been heard from in more than a decade. And as the years go by, Frank fights his own problems as he presses on to uncover the love story buried beneath decades of hatred and oppression. Told against the sprawling canvas of our country’s turbulent past, Rock ’n Fire is a mesmerizing look at the hope of love in the dark side of America’s favorite sport.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2020
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About the author
Mark Stallard
26 books3 followersWhen he decided to be a writer, it was sports that pulled and pushed at Mark Stallard, and eventually, his writing. A native Kansan, Stallard was born in Topeka, but his father's nomadic, wandering blood kept the family on the move, and by the time he was seven, Stallard had lived in five different Kansas communities. Lessons learned--make friends easily, look back with a sense of loss, move forward.
After attending high school in Ralston, Nebraska, he returned to the Sunflower state to study Education and English at the University of Kansas. Stallard also studied journalism at Wichita State University, winning the school's top Journalism Merit Award for magazine writing. Stallard eventually covered sports for the Wichita Eagle, as well as writing for other magazines. In 1993, he received a Master of Liberal Arts from Baker University.
After writing and submitting proposals for several different book ideas, Stallard landed his first book deal almost by accident, and Kansas Royals Facts & Trivia was published--although just barely--in 1999. Since then, Stallard has written and published more than 10 other books, including Kansas City Chiefs Encyclopedia (third edition, August, 2013), AFL to Arrowhead, Wildcats to Powercats, Tales from the Jayhawks Gridiron, Then Landry Said to Staubach...., and Otis Taylor: Football from My Own Heart.
The third edition of Tales from the Jayhawks Locker Room was published in 2012 and received a high-praise, 5-star review on Amazon: "Great book! If you're a Jayhawks fan, I guarantee you'll enjoy this. Very well written and an easy read, I finished it in one day. Highly recommended."
SUPER CHIEFS and Legacy of Blue are Stallard's most recent books.
After attending high school in Ralston, Nebraska, he returned to the Sunflower state to study Education and English at the University of Kansas. Stallard also studied journalism at Wichita State University, winning the school's top Journalism Merit Award for magazine writing. Stallard eventually covered sports for the Wichita Eagle, as well as writing for other magazines. In 1993, he received a Master of Liberal Arts from Baker University.
After writing and submitting proposals for several different book ideas, Stallard landed his first book deal almost by accident, and Kansas Royals Facts & Trivia was published--although just barely--in 1999. Since then, Stallard has written and published more than 10 other books, including Kansas City Chiefs Encyclopedia (third edition, August, 2013), AFL to Arrowhead, Wildcats to Powercats, Tales from the Jayhawks Gridiron, Then Landry Said to Staubach...., and Otis Taylor: Football from My Own Heart.
The third edition of Tales from the Jayhawks Locker Room was published in 2012 and received a high-praise, 5-star review on Amazon: "Great book! If you're a Jayhawks fan, I guarantee you'll enjoy this. Very well written and an easy read, I finished it in one day. Highly recommended."
SUPER CHIEFS and Legacy of Blue are Stallard's most recent books.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2021
If you enjoy reading a sports book which is a little more than a sports book, take a look at “Rock ‘N Fire” by Mark Stallard.
The book starts out as a story about a girl trying to find out if the rumors of her biological father being a notable Negro League and eventual MLB professional left-handed pitcher are true. The girl writes to a Hall of Fame historian and asks him to help her research the possible connection between her and the pitcher. The premise of a child seeking her father held my attention. I’m a bit of a softie for that writing trope.
The baseball story morphs into a mystery novel and I was hooked from the beginning. Love the unwrapping of the details through Stallard’s writing. This first fiction effort reads like a newspaper article at times and that is not a bad thing. The writing plays with a turbulent time period in American history and Hall of Fame historian, Frank Aldridge, finds himself transformed into an amateur baseball detective. The joy of “Rock ‘N Fire” is the character growth of the historian who is trying to find the left-handed pitcher. The driving force of the story is the Hall of Fame Historian, Frank Aldridge. He drives the plot and is the glue which holds the story together. What is nice about “Rock ‘N Fire” is that Frank Aldridge grows and matures in the pursuit of the left-handed pitcher. The HOF historian goes on a journey of discovery as he scratches the surface looking for a left-handed pitcher from years past.
The lost baseball player, based on news clips from the 1940s, is not the best person as the hurler has a reputation for hitting batters. There are no interviews with the pitcher, but Stallard, and the historian launch several inquiries about him. It is telling of the bias of sports journalists in the post-World War II time period.
Simplistic in its delivery, the story holds as Stallard weaves a tale of discovery. It is an interesting story juxtaposed against the racism of MLB, some of the MLB greats and bad boys, a Negro League pitcher, and an MLB plinker who was seen as an intentional hitter, but it is way more than that. The treat of the story comes in one of the pivotal Hall of Fame moments, when Ted Williams is inducted in 1966. The Splendid Splinter’s HOF speech recognized the Negro League and the talent in the Negro League and continued to ask for Negro League players to be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“Rock ‘N Fire” by Mark Stallard begins one way and ends another. The ending is a bit predictable and very Hollywood, but it is still a good read.
The book starts out as a story about a girl trying to find out if the rumors of her biological father being a notable Negro League and eventual MLB professional left-handed pitcher are true. The girl writes to a Hall of Fame historian and asks him to help her research the possible connection between her and the pitcher. The premise of a child seeking her father held my attention. I’m a bit of a softie for that writing trope.
The baseball story morphs into a mystery novel and I was hooked from the beginning. Love the unwrapping of the details through Stallard’s writing. This first fiction effort reads like a newspaper article at times and that is not a bad thing. The writing plays with a turbulent time period in American history and Hall of Fame historian, Frank Aldridge, finds himself transformed into an amateur baseball detective. The joy of “Rock ‘N Fire” is the character growth of the historian who is trying to find the left-handed pitcher. The driving force of the story is the Hall of Fame Historian, Frank Aldridge. He drives the plot and is the glue which holds the story together. What is nice about “Rock ‘N Fire” is that Frank Aldridge grows and matures in the pursuit of the left-handed pitcher. The HOF historian goes on a journey of discovery as he scratches the surface looking for a left-handed pitcher from years past.
The lost baseball player, based on news clips from the 1940s, is not the best person as the hurler has a reputation for hitting batters. There are no interviews with the pitcher, but Stallard, and the historian launch several inquiries about him. It is telling of the bias of sports journalists in the post-World War II time period.
Simplistic in its delivery, the story holds as Stallard weaves a tale of discovery. It is an interesting story juxtaposed against the racism of MLB, some of the MLB greats and bad boys, a Negro League pitcher, and an MLB plinker who was seen as an intentional hitter, but it is way more than that. The treat of the story comes in one of the pivotal Hall of Fame moments, when Ted Williams is inducted in 1966. The Splendid Splinter’s HOF speech recognized the Negro League and the talent in the Negro League and continued to ask for Negro League players to be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“Rock ‘N Fire” by Mark Stallard begins one way and ends another. The ending is a bit predictable and very Hollywood, but it is still a good read.
February 28, 2021
Kind of enjoy reading a sports book which is a little more than a sports book. Rock 'N Fire starts out as a story about a girl trying to find out if the rumors of her biological father being a notable Negro League and eventual MLB professional left-handed pitcher are true. The girl writes to a Hall of Fame historian and asks him to help her research the possible connection between the MLB left-handed pitcher and the girl.The premise of a child seeking her father held my attention. I'm a bit of a softie for that writing trope. The baseball story morphs into a mystery novel. Was hooked from the beginning. Love the unwrapping of the details through Stallard's writing. This first fiction effort reads like a newspaper article at times and that is not a bad thing. Was surprised to find the baseball book to be wrapped in a detective novel. The writing plays with a turbulent time period in American history. Hall of Fame historian, Frank Aldridge, finds himself transformed into an amateur baseball detective. The joy of Rock 'N Fire is the character growth of the historian who is trying to find the left-handed pitcher.The driving force of the story is the Hall of Fame Historian, Frank Aldridge. He drives the story and is the glue which holds the story together. What is nice about Rock 'N Fire is that Frank Aldridge grows and matures in the pursuit of the left-handed pitcher. The HOF historian goes on a self-discovery as he scratches the surface looking for a left-handed pitcher from years past. The lost baseball player, based on news clips from the 1940's, is not the best person. The hurler has a reputation for hitting batters. There are no interviews with the pitcher, but Stallard, and the historian launch several inquiries about the pitcher. It is telling the bias of the sports journalists in the post-World War II time period. The HOF historian learns so much in trying to learn about the time and the left-handed pitcher. The story is simplistic in its delivery, but the story holds as Stallard weaves a tale of discovery. It is an interesting story juxtaposed against the racism of the MLB and some of the MLB greats and bad boys and a Negro League pitcher and MLB plinker who was seen as an intentional hitter, but it is way more than that. The treat of the story comes in one of the pivotal Hall of Fame moments, when Ted Williams is inducted in 1966. The Splendid Splinter's HOF speech recognized the Negro League and the talent in the Negro League and continued to ask for Negro League players to be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rock 'N Fire begins one way and ends another. The ending is a bit predictable and very Hollywood, but it is still a good read.
November 14, 2021
One day, the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame Researcher and Historian receives a letter from a particular Lita Lawson, seeking information about a long-forgotten baseball pitcher, Ray Cavanaugh, claiming to be his daughter. That was the onset of an ambitious investigation held by Mr. Aldridge as he tries to solve the mystery of Ray’s disappearance. Rummaging through the library resources, going through dusty tapes, corresponding over the years with several journalists and radio stations, he tries to locate the old Major Leagues player.
Set against the backdrop of a post-war and disillusioned America that is suffering through the Great Depression during the 1930’s, this novel explores racism and its far-reaching impacts on the lives of people. Stallard’s writing deftly travels back and forth between decades, slowly building up the narrative which spans across generations. It mainly revolves around the lives of three characters, Frank, Ray and Lita, each of whom are reunited by their love of baseball. Despite being a fictional story that traces the history of the sport, it is remarkably engaging in its reflection of American society and also demonstrates excellent storytelling.
What is really interesting to note is the gradual unfurling of the events leading to the discovery of forbidden love, a relationship that was considered taboo and the quest for an identity free of racist bigotry. Both father and daughter ultimately share the same wish to reclaim a sense of self that is not chained down or restrained by societal norms. While Frank looks for clues, even though his conjectures run wild, connecting dots to a possible hushed scandal or worse. Towards the end of his career and life, when he finally gets a response from the left-handed ballplayer, after years of suppressed anticipation, what he finds is an unexpected show of genuine warmth for the daughter Ray had never had the chance of meeting before.
There is some use of crude language and derogatory words, but it is done in a way that sets a tone that is appropriate to the time period. There are also some casual descriptions of Cavanaugh’s sexual exploits. It seemed to me that his affair with Auletta justified and majorly redeemed his character of his past promiscuous behavior. The novel was quite educational in terms of baseball as America’s most popular sport and offers readers an immersive experience.
Rock ‘n Fire is a riveting sports fiction story that follows a compelling and emotional journey that weaves its way through some turbulent times in American history.
Set against the backdrop of a post-war and disillusioned America that is suffering through the Great Depression during the 1930’s, this novel explores racism and its far-reaching impacts on the lives of people. Stallard’s writing deftly travels back and forth between decades, slowly building up the narrative which spans across generations. It mainly revolves around the lives of three characters, Frank, Ray and Lita, each of whom are reunited by their love of baseball. Despite being a fictional story that traces the history of the sport, it is remarkably engaging in its reflection of American society and also demonstrates excellent storytelling.
What is really interesting to note is the gradual unfurling of the events leading to the discovery of forbidden love, a relationship that was considered taboo and the quest for an identity free of racist bigotry. Both father and daughter ultimately share the same wish to reclaim a sense of self that is not chained down or restrained by societal norms. While Frank looks for clues, even though his conjectures run wild, connecting dots to a possible hushed scandal or worse. Towards the end of his career and life, when he finally gets a response from the left-handed ballplayer, after years of suppressed anticipation, what he finds is an unexpected show of genuine warmth for the daughter Ray had never had the chance of meeting before.
There is some use of crude language and derogatory words, but it is done in a way that sets a tone that is appropriate to the time period. There are also some casual descriptions of Cavanaugh’s sexual exploits. It seemed to me that his affair with Auletta justified and majorly redeemed his character of his past promiscuous behavior. The novel was quite educational in terms of baseball as America’s most popular sport and offers readers an immersive experience.
Rock ‘n Fire is a riveting sports fiction story that follows a compelling and emotional journey that weaves its way through some turbulent times in American history.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews