Thanks you to Page Princess Blog for a Five Star (Crown) review of The Field!
“I loved this story of discovery. Eric is examining his place in the world, his beliefs, and his emotional connection to friends and his girlfriend. This story has strong messages of unified spiritualism and green energy. Eric and Renee’s star-gazing date was a perfect example of a romantic and sweet alternative to the common.”
When you are writing you always wonder if you are getting the character’s point of view right. Apparently I nailed it on Eric’s teen boy point of view. A male librarian reviewer recently told me that he though I was a man when he was reading The Field and this reviewer agrees that I got it right, too. 🙂
“Richardson did a terrific job of portraying this young male, and it really felt like I was inside a teenage boy’s head for the entire story (which was a little scary at times!). I’d highly recommend this book to any male young adult reader, and all the parents wondering about just WHAT is going on in their child’s head. It was a great read.”
Here are just a few of the cool things happening at the ALAN (Assembly of Literature for Adolescents at the NCTE) Conference in Boston.
1. Hanging out with teachers of english – my people! There are literally stacks of books on the ballroom tables and people giddy with anticipation to read them.
2. Listening to REALLY well known and well respected authors talk about writing, books and how powerful they can be in the lives of young people. Here are a few of those who were here. I was sitting toward the back of the room, so I took pictures of them on the big screen – sorry about the quality.
Chris Crutcher – Note the title of his presentation – “Can We be Fucking Real?”
I say YES! Not only can kids take it, but they need to hear it AND they can spot a phony a mile away.
Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor & Park and Fangirl
Bill Konigsberg, author of Openly Straight
3. Seeing THE FIELD on the “New Teen Fantasy and Adventure ” Shelf at the Barnes & Noble in Boston – facing out!!!.
4. Fantastic sign outside the restrooms. ALAN wholeheartedly supports the LGBTQ community!
Tomorrow it will be my turn up on stage. Can’t wait!
The Young Adult Library Services Assn has teen reviewers make recommendations on YA novels. THE FIELD just received a top ten recommendation! Whoo Hoo!
“It was a really good book and if you really like soccer I recommend this book, its hard to put down. Really good book!!!” ~ Tyler, YALSA Top Ten Teen Reviewer
I am excited to be participating in the ALAN Workshop portion of the NCTE (National Conference for Teachers of English) in Boston this November. ALAN stands for Assembly on Literature for Adolescents at the NCTE conference. There will be over 500 teachers at the conference and they will all receive a copy of THE FIELD.(!) I am on the Sports Panel discussion to talk about THE FIELD – which has a sports theme – and also to talk about being a publisher. The three other authors on the panel are pretty heavy hitters.
Andrew Smith author of WINGER (getting Prinz buzz!)
Carl Deuker author of SWAGGER
David Klass author of SECOND IMPACT
So I am honored and thrilled to participate, but also a bit terrified!! Being selected to be on the panel gives me a feeling legitimacy and validation for my work as an author and a publisher, but I still have that fear – you know what I’m talking about – that they will discover that I’m just a poser, not the real thing. These other three authors have written several YA books apiece and they are all frankly, awesome. I’ve read WINGER by Andrew Smith and loved it, and stayed up until 1am last night finishing SWAGGER by Carl Deuker. They are both such powerful books. And also entertaining. And have such clear and distinct teen voices. YIKES!! (Look for reviews of their books in later posts.)
Next on my list is SECOND IMPACT by David Klass. I haven’t gotten to his book yet because I’ve been reading his “FIRESTORM – Caretakers Trilogy” first. In that series he uses many of the themes that are in THE FIELD. Environmental issues, sports and some science fiction/metaphysical bits, too. I’ve been looking for a book that is similar in part to THE FIELD and I think I found it in the “Firestorm” series.
THE FIELD isn’t actually my first book. INDIAN SUMMER is the story of Eric’s younger sister, Marcie, and is more for middle school readers. I have the beginnings of the next companion book to THE FIELD in outline form, too. So it’s not like I’m a total newbee, but still. These guys have written numerous of books. I sent them all THE FIELD and Carl Deuker sent me a note that he’s looking forward to reading it and that it looks great. 🙂 I’ve been going over and over my six minute ALAN presentation in my mind. Now I just have to get it down on paper. The trick will be not to act like too much of a fangirl at the workshop. Chris Crutcher is giving a presentation and John Green is receiving an award, along with dozens of other well-known and accomplished authors. So you see how it could be overwhelming for a YA lit lover like me.
The most exciting thing, though, is what if it turns out that they don’t think I’m a poser? What if they think I’m the real deal?
The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards were announced last week and THE FIELD won a Bronze Medal! I am thrilled, excited, honored an humbled. Thank you to the Jenkins Group and Independent Publisher!
Last weekend I did a book signing for Independent Booksellers at the Heartland Fall Forum conference. I must have signed 100 books. When I described THE FIELD as being about a high school boy trying out for the soccer team and connecting with the Universal Energy Field, they were very intrigued and said they are always looking for books for boys. I can attest that THE FIELD has been read and critiqued by teen boys and given the seal of approval!
Here’s what Goodreads reviewers have to say about The Field ~ Launch Date October 12th! Launch Party Thursday, October 10th!
“Sports, science, paranormal activity and strong realistic teenage characters, male and female. There is nothing not to like about this book.” ~ Ann Jones – Goodreads
“If you enjoy soccer or any sports and have been through high school it is an overall enjoyable and easy read that opened my eyes to new environmental practices and the mystical and magical energy fields.” ~ Lexie Miller – Goodreads
“The Field” by Tracy Richardson is an amazing combination of a clean cut, coming of age soccer athlete with a hint of a precognition type trait mixed in with educational science, scietific experimentation based in factual past practices mostly during war times, and a little magic and mysticism all rolled into one. Overall, I really liked The Field by Tracy Richardson and enjoyed so many different aspects of the story, even the fact that I can say that the cover on the ARC copy of the book is derived from page 154. That is so awesome.” CJ – Goodreads
“A fun book about soccer and tapping into hidden abilities. You don’t have to be a fan of soccer to like this book. I felt that the characters were credible. I enjoyed the psychic experiments that Eric works on in the lab. I also like the connection between Eric and Renee. I like Eric’s character. He is genuine and really cares about everyone, especially Will, even after he is mean and disrespectful to him. I also really like Renee. She is a down to earth girl who continually supports Eric. I enjoyed this book!” ~ Erin – Goodreads
Buy your copy today!
I grew up not far from the Skokie Lagoons in Northfield, IL. In fact I drove past them several times a week in high school and college on the way to various waitressing jobs in Northfield. I fictionalized them for THE FIELD and they actually play a key part in the story, Earlier this summer I was in Chicago for the ALA (American Library Association) conference. We decided to stay in the suburbs to avoid the traffic and hassle of the city and the hotel my husband found randomly through one of those price-cut websites was right across the street from the lagoons! Mere coincidence? I think not!
A lot of Chicago was swamp and marsh generations ago – the lore of my childhood was that Chicago was an Indian word for ‘smelly onions’ and Winnetka, the town I grew up in, meant ‘beautiful land.’ I research the Skokie Lagoons for my book and discovered another Indian connection. They called them the ‘Chewab Skokie’ which means ‘big, wet prairie.”
It was lovely to see them again!
My YA novel, THE FIELD is really about two fields (actually three, but telling you would be a spoiler and I want to see if anyone even figures it out, Evil laugh.)
The first field is the soccer field ~obvious from the cover. Eric is a soccer goal keeper competing for the starting spot on his high school varsity soccer team. Soccer is like a thread woven through the story, moving the action forward and linking the characters together. The struggle to play and win on the soccer field is a major theme of the book. But it is not the only theme.
The other field is the Universal Energy Field that many scientists believe exists all around us, everwhere in the Universe. What is this Universal Energy Field? I could say that you’ll have to read my novel to find out, but that would be mean. (another evil laugh.) Dr. Auberge, a character in THE FIELD says, “Scientists theorize that there is enough energy in a square inch of space anywhere in the Universe to power all of New York City for a year.” Intrigued? Here are some non-fiction books on the topic that you might find interesting.
The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot
The Field ~The Quest For The Secret Force of the Universe by Lynne McTaggart
The Intention Experiment – Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World by Lynne McTaggart
The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden
The Great Field – Soul at Play in a Conscious Universe by John James, PhD
What the BLEEP Do We Know? ~ Feature Film by William Arntz
I will continue to add books to this reading list and post it to the site. I hope you find THE FIELD entertaining, engaging and perhaps even enlightening. There is more to space than space.
