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The Ghost, the Eggheads, and Babe Ruth’s Piano, Larry Sweitzer – Author Guest Post

It's the summer of 2004 and Freddie Holtzman can't wait to get to Camp Mason, a summer camp for eggheads or rather, gifted teens. He hopes to reconnect with Ginny Haig, a girl he met at camp last year. Freddie's old friends, Logan and Monty, are there along with some new faces. He tries to win Ginny's affection, but every time he tries to talk to her, he says-and does-nerdy things.

At Camp Mason, a science fair pits the eggheads against one another for the top prize of a five thousand dollar scholarship. But, when the projects go missing, friendships are put to the test, relationships get put on hold, and everyone's a suspect. To make matters worse, the camp is haunted by young Billy Mason who died there decades ago. The boys are determined to solve the mystery of the ghost and the missing science projects.

Freddie's quest to win the scholarship—add the girl of his dreams—are constantly in jeopardy. There are complications at every turn: the ghost, a creepy caretaker, Freddie's high school nemesis, a cantankerous camp manager, and a saboteur all threaten his chance to win the prize and Ginny's heart.

AUTHOR GUEST POST...Writing for Young Adults

I love writing for teens and young adults. It’s fun and rewarding. I was once a young adult, after all, even though my daughters may find it hard to believe.

The fun part comes when I draw from my own childhood memories and turn them into scenes or characters for my books. I don’t know about you, but the most awkward and embarrassing moments of my life came between the ages of twelve and eighteen. There were far more good memories from that time, but the awkward and embarrassing incidents always seem to make it into my stories. Somehow those uncomfortable moments, from so many years ago, are now good memories as well. It helps if you can laugh at yourself.

Times have certainly changed since I was a kid. We didn’t have cell phones, Xbox, or laptops back then. We actually entertained ourselves. We didn’t need or rely on people or things to entertain us. Needless to say, my friends and I got into a lot of things—things, meaning trouble. Some of the situations we got into were unbelievably funny, scary, or embarrassing. You name it; we probably did it, climbed it, broke it, disassembled it and reassembled it (mostly), jumped it with our bikes, or had to explain it to the principal. Still, the trouble we got into was harmless by today’s standards.

The bottom line is that I’ve been through a lot of the things they have yet to experience. Sharing those experiences with them through my stories—and providing them a few cautionary tales—is the rewarding part. At their age, anything is possible. Their world is bigger and emotions are as strong as ever. They’re experiencing so many things for the first time. This is fertile stuff to write about.

There are other reasons that I enjoy writing for teens and young adults. They are insightful and an enthusiastic audience. Talking to them about their experiences and sharing some of my own, keeps my childhood memories alive.

They ask questions that no one else would think of. Like the time one of my daughters, who was about six years old at the time, asked: “Why don’t they make mouse flavored cat food?” I honestly had never thought of that.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR...Larry Sweitzer is a writer, musician, and avid baseball fan. He was born and raised in western Maryland and now lives in Virginia with his wife and two daughters. The Ghost, the Eggheads, and Babe Ruth’s Piano is his first novel. Visit him at www.larrysweitzer.com.

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About The Book Faery

Farrah is from the Raleigh, North Carolina area and married to her high school sweetheart. She's a 30-something mom to 3 crazy yet loveable kids who keep her constantly on her toes. Books can be found in every room in the house and bags as well. Reading is done every moment she gets the chance and a typical afternoon of fun would often find her and the 3 kiddos at a local bookstore or library hunting for the next book. She's currently working towards her goal to one day owning a cafe/bookstore in a historic downtown area where it's all about the reader's experience...community, atmosphere and the love of books.