Ray of Light

I was out having drinks with my literary agent friend (Christopher) and our book editor pal (David) last night when I received an e-mail from a former colleague of mine from The New York Times, asking me if I'd read "45-Love," the new book by our former slot editor Ray Krueger. Not only have I not read it, he hadn't even mentioned it. (It seems some people don't blab every detail of their life on the Internet!) Ray, who is still at The Times, was one of my closest confidantes there as well as an occasional opponent on the court. (He's waaaaay better than I am, despite a service motion that makes Zina Garrison's look fluid.) In addition to all things tennis, we have long-departed alcoholic fathers in common, as well as a shared obsession with body fat, media and cargo pants. So proud of him for writing this. Check out the inspirational summary below. Now if only I can figure out how to get a copy -- it's an eBook and I'm still turning pages!

Order yours HERE.

Description: Ray Krueger, an editor at the New York Times, spends a year on a quest for the best possible ranking on the 45-and over national tennis circuit while balancing a career in jeopardy and a life spent looking for validation in a sport that may have saved his life. The journey starts as an overweight 17-year-old obsessed with watching and chronicling sports in notebooks as a wannabe sportswriter/editor. Krueger decides to get into the game. His sport: tennis. Separating for the first time from his broken home and his long departed alcoholic father and emotionally damaged mother, Krueger begins a quest that leads him through the lowest levels of recreational tennis to training as a serious athlete and competing in tournaments all over the country. Along the way, the sport gives him structure, a support system and even a wife.