Words by Sooz

As a baseball fan, I'm pretty much a sucker for anything to do with my favorite sport. But at the same time, I'm also very critical. Game 7: Deadball by Allen Schatz is a mystery thriller with the 2008 World Series as a backdrop. For the record, I was at that World Series, so it was interesting to see how certain things would be incorporated into an event I attended. The first thing I noticed was how well the book was written. As an indie author, Schatz's writing is very polished. It was a refreshing start because it meant there would be no cringing throughout the book from poor grammar or something else that a good editor could have helped. It allowed me to just enjoy the book, which I did. Marshall Connors, a Major League Baseball umpire, is at the center of the book. Connors has to cut his vacation short as he's asked to become crew chief for the 2008 World Series. Not a bad gig, but mysterious and dangerous messages start popping up around Conno...

A little less than a year ago, Allen Schatz published his first book on Smashwords. Going the self-publishing route didn't come easy to him. He had an agent and when that didn't work out, Schatz took advantage of the growing industry. Since then he's become his own PR agent as well. In this Q&A, I talk to Schatz about marketing himself while trying to maintain his writing lifestyle and not letting his "real" job get in the way. Read the interview after the jump:

I finally finished “ A Feast for Crows .” I stayed up until 4 a.m. to ensure I got it done. I couldn't go any longer without finishing. The only problem is I need to know what happens next. However, I'm going to wait on reading the fifth books in George R.R. Martin's series to get back into reading/reviewing. Also, I want to talk a little more about the self-published world as it exploded in 2011. The next book on the list is “ Game 7:Dead Ball ” by Allen Schatz . It's the first of three books in the Marshall Connors Series. The books follow a Major League Baseball umpire as he's engulfed in murders and mysteries. I learned about Schatz's books through Twitter . When I first started following him, he probably had around 1,500 followers. In a short time, he's has more than 10,000. While he spends his time writing, he also does a lot when it comes to promoting his books. That's one of the pitfalls of self-publishing, you're also a self...