Randall Platt

THE 1898 BASEBALL FE-AS-KO

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At the turn of the 20th century, baseball out West was still very much a frontier. Barnstorming was the principal way cowboys and farmers discovered the game.

In Randall Beth Platt's seventh novel, The 1898 Base-Ball Fe-As-Ko, all it takes for Leviticus to become obsessed with The Game is watching two boys play catch with a baseball. But having inherited a ranch, Levi can do more than the average newcomer to America's pastime: not only can he join a team, he can be wrangled into buying a team for himself.

The team Leviticus brings back with him to the Four Arrows Ranch, the Bowery Bulldogs, is every bit as down on its luck as its name proclaims. The Bulldogs have come down professionally as far as they've come geographically: from the center of the universe (or so they think) to the middle of nowhere, that is, the northeast corner of Oregon. And they've gotten there through the seductive connivings of one Augusta Gallucci Chumsky Wainwright Carter, the "sister-half-in-law" of Royal Leckner, Four Arrows foreman and charming, word-coining narrator of this and two earlier Fe-As-Kos by Randi Platt.

Fat, drunk, and lacking in self-confidence as the Bulldogs are, Royal and his wife, E.M., believe they can be put back on the road to success. And the team does rise through increasing victories against local yokels to finally taking on, and even beating, city teams.

But the opponents are sometimes the least of their troubles, because there are lots of other obstacles along the steep path the Bulldogs have to climb, principally a past baseball scandal involving the team's coach, the inability of the pitcher (none other than Levi himself) to get the ball over the plate without his wife's presence, and, of course, Augusta. Thank goodness for the unusual statistical-predicting skills of Levi's wife, Lou(ella)!

This baseball fe-as-ko culminates in a confrontation with the pennant-winning Eastern team, the Boston Beaneaters. All the plot lines converge on home plate, and Royal is right there taking the brunt of the collision.

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Reviews

"Once again, Platt keeps the plot moving, the bases loaded, and the pages turning. You know they are going to run around the field a few times before all is said and done, but it all comes out to another home run for us, the readers of these fe-as-kos."
--Mostly Fiction

"Only in America: this loopy hybrid of old-time baseball and home on the range, filled with characters who put the 'fun' back in dysfunctional, and told in a leisurely, vernacular style that will probably do wonders for your blood pressure."
--- Barbara McMichel
Bremerton Sun
The Olympian

"It’s a classic Jack and the Beanstalk story. Hilarious high jinks."
--Baltimore Sun

"A rambunctious tale that sets records for vernacular stamina with Platt’s infectiour dialect.
--The Tacoma News Tribune

TEN CHANGES I'VE MADE TO BOOST MY CREATIVITY

STOPPED LISTENING TO AUDIO BOOKS - I love being read to, but I can't think about MY stories while listening to someone else's story. So, unless it's a long, boring drive or flight, I no longer listen to audio books. Instead, I think about my current project.
CREATE MY OWN SOUNDTRACK - I create IPod "soundtracks" for my own work in progress. I create a playlist of the tunes which inspire my story and characters.
CUT BACK ON THE FREE ADVICE - I am the sort who will stop and talk to anyone, anywhere about anything. So I don't answer letters or phone calls, but will zap a quick email instead.
SET REALISTIC GOALS - Just because I CAN write fast, does not mean I should, so I no longer try to get it written in two months.
FEWER GROUPS AND FORUMS - I used to belong to several writers forums, clubs and newsgroups, but now only belong to a few and I open my yap only when I have something important to add.
PICK MY BATTLES - Too many things far outside of my control were taking control of my time and mental energies. So, I write fewer letters, join fewer campaigns and stick to the business at hand - being a writer.
TOOK COMPUTER GAMES OFF MY COMPUTER - A minute here and a minute there adds up to vanished hours. I now play only ONE game a day - and that is a crossword puzzle the first thing in the morning to make my head come to life.
CUT BACK ON INTERNETING - Well, if you have read this far, maybe you need to do the same thing. Nah, just joking. Keep Reading. Number 10 scores!
TAKE WORK AND MUSIC EVERYWHERE - I am never without my work-bag. The time we spend waiting adds up. So, even if there is a ghost of a chance that I will be kept waiting wherever I go, I know I will fill that time with work.
TAKE SUNDAYS OFF - Okay, as you can see from the above nine items, I am a workaholic and it's taken me many, many years to realize I need one day to recharge, rethink and reset. Sunday is for family, food, reflection, and many times, sipping champagne. So when 4 am Monday rolls in, I am set for another week.... providing there hasn't been too much of that champagne thing.