Help me welcome Paul Dudley to the blog today!
Q: Welcome, Paul! Running a family-owned minor league baseball team must be a challenge. What’s your favorite thing about being president of the Plainview Thrashers?
It is a challenge, but it’s one I take very seriously. What I love most about it is that the Thrashers organization is in my heritage, in my blood. My grandfather founded the team and wanted me to someday run it. It’s what I was born to do. I’ll run this team the way my grandfather would have wanted me to until the day I die, if I can.
Q: There have been many rumors about tension in the front office of the Thrashers, specifically between you and your father, Walter Dudley. Any truth to those?
Absolutely not. My father and I both want what’s best for the team and for the town of Plainview. Like I said, it’s in our heritage. To fight over that heritage would be cutting off our noses to spite our faces.
Q: So you get along great with your father?
Of course. Why? What have you heard?
Q: Well, unnamed sources have told us that money is often a source of friction. It’s well known that your playing facility, Dudley Field, is in poor condition. Rumor has it that your father won’t loosen his hold on the purse strings enough to let you renovate. Some have even claimed the poor turf is a danger to your players.
A: Let me guess your “unnamed source’s” name: Alex Moreno-Lopez. Yes, Alex does a lot of whining about the field. He’s used to a major league stadium and hasn’t quite accepted that he’s come down in the world since his playing days in the big leagues.
Q: So the reports of friction between you and Alex, your club’s manager, are true?
A: Let’s just say that I take the safety of my guys very seriously. I would never do anything to endanger they’re safety, and whoever says otherwise is a liar.
Q: Oooo-kay. Moving right along. Running a ball club, even in the minors, is incredibly time-consuming. How do you have time to balance a personal life with the 24/7 demands of your career?
A: Career comes first, always. So far, that hasn’t been a problem.
Q: The women in your life haven’t minded your demanding schedule.
A: Because of my demanding schedule, there haven’t been a lot of women in my life. *Laughs* At least, not who have stuck around.
Q: Regrets?
A: No, no regrets. The Thrashers are my priority.
Q: So this year, you agreed to let the Thrashers be shadowed by a sports blogger, Willow Bourne from Screwball.
A: Yeah?
Q: Does it upset you when I ask about her?
A: Of course not. Why would it?
Q: I don’t know. You just seemed–well, never mind.
A: She’s a reporter like any other. She’s trying to do her job, I’m trying to do mine. Nothing special.
Q: Do you think letting her into the organization carries risks?
A: Why? Do you know something I don’t?
Q: No! I just wondered. You seem like such a private guy. I’m surprised you’d let someone have that much access.
A: I trust Willow to be fair.
Q: But I thought she was a reporter like any other?
A: Well, she is, but –I don’t know. I just know my secrets are safe with her. Not that I have secrets, of course.
Of course not…
Linda Morris Bio:
Linda Morris is a writer of contemporary romance, including High Heat, the first book in the Hard Hitters series; Melting the Millionaire’s Heart; The Mason Dixon Line; and Nice Work If You Can Get It. She writes stories with heart and heat, along with a joke or two thrown in. Her years of Cubs fandom prove she has a soft spot for a lost cause.
Links:
Website: www.lindamorrisbooks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindamorrisbooks
Twitter: @LDMorrisWriter
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ldkmorris/
Synopsis:
Passion dominates the diamond in the second novel in this fun and flirty baseball romance series by the author of High Heat.
Paul Dudley, president of the Plainview Thrashers, is spinning out of control. Preserving his family’s baseball legacy in these tough times takes everything he’s got, and constant clashes with his father have left him struggling for authority over the team and even his own future. So when sports reporter Willow Bourne, a one-night-stand from a year ago, walks back into his life, he knows he can’t give into his feelings for her—no matter how strong they are.
Willow never expected to see Paul again, and she’s got her reasons for keeping her distance. Except the more time she spends around Paul, the harder it is to hide her secrets—or stop herself from falling head over heels.
As the sparks between them fly, Paul discovers what Willow has been concealing from him, leaving him with a difficult choice—keep the team his top priority or make his own legacy by following his heart…
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Loved the interview with Paul.
I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Good luck on the giveaway!
I like the format. Quite a different approach.