Words by Sooz

If you missed the review for Jessica Quiroli's first published fiction piece, check it out here . You'll see that I enjoyed the 24-page (according to my Nook) short story about a female minor league baseball reporter. We wondered if the main character of The Beat was modeled after Quiroli and, in part, it was. But she also used other women from the sports world to add different characteristics to Lauren Day. We got a moment with Quiroli to ask her more questions about the book and the process. You can find her short story on Smashwords . Also if you have any other question for Quiroli, email WordsbySooz@gmail.com or leave them in the comments. Q. Where did you get the inspiration to write the book? A. It started with a desire to write a screenplay about a young female reporter and base it in 1979, just after the decision that allowed women equal access to the clubhouse. I toyed around with that for a long time, but it remained unwritten. Then as the years went...

The Beat Do you ever have a moment when reading a story and the plot makes you pause? That's what happened when reading “ The Beat: A Baseball Short Story ” written by Jessica Quiroli. Initially, I didn't know where the story was headed. Was it going to be about about a pitcher and the excitement/nervousness of his upcoming Major League debut? Or how a female reporter has to cope with being in a male-dominated environment? These are the two main characters introduced in the beginning of the story, but while the story is centralized around the female journalist, the decisions by the baseball player move the book forward. The story seemed to be more about how we never really know people even when cameras and photographers are all around them. When reporters throw out questions, they never really ask the right ones. I won't give away the twist because getting to the surprise is part of the fun.