R M Clark – författare

What do you get when you mix two baseball buffs— April and Darren—with a minor league team and a major league adventure? A grand-slam summer!Twelve-year-old April O''Day''s summer has gotten off to a flying start. As the new bat retriever for the Harpoons, her hometown''s minor-league team, she''s fetching bats and doling out great advice to players and coaches alike. In a word, she''s becoming indispensable. But mysterious things are happening at Haney Field, which April and her best friend—and fellow baseball enthusiast—Darren Plummer are determined to uncover. As they quickly learn, this is no ordinary season. In fact, it''s a whole new ballgame!From the back cover: October 2014Last summer was going to be a quiet one. Unlike most of my friends from school, I wasn‛t packing up for camp, and I had no plans to travel to an exotic location, like Paris or Rome—or even Cape Cod. Life was going to be simple: eat, ride my bike, read (history, for school; mysteries, for fun), sleep, grow (hopefully), and watch baseball.But then, something extraordinary happened. I won first place in a contest sponsored by our local minor-league baseball team. And suddenly, things were looking up! While I didn‛t know it then, my vacation was going tobe an incredible adventure—full of mystery, history, and friendship. Believe me, I never imagined I would ever be involved in something so improbable and wonderful. But I was. And lucky me, I got to share it all with my best friend, Darren Plummer.It was a summer full of people and events that will stay with me forever. And I‛ll never be the same.April O‛Day

Winner Stays On journeys into the heart of English football using FA Cup fixtures to plan the route.This unique adventure takes us across the entire spectrum of the English game, from Tuffley Rovers to Burton Albion, Luton Town to Manchester City, revealing the people and places that make football tick. With original research and rich, thought-provoking prose, the book blends elements of travel writing with football culture and barstool sociology. It's also funny.A frank account of the state of modern football as well as a heartfelt celebration, the book uncovers where the game is going wrong. Amateur footballers are afforded the same curiosity as Premier League stars; faltering industrial towns are treated with the same respect as upmarket villages and prosperous, world-leading cities.Over 14 matches and 14 locations, Winner Stays On brings us a fascinating first-hand take on modern England and the sport its inhabitants turn to for escapism.