September 13, 2017 (Winston-Salem, NC) – Winston-Salem author Frank McNair recently learned that his new novel Life on the Line: Football, Rage and Redemption has been named Best Book in the Young Adult category for the Spring 2017 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards.
"This is a great book for anyone who loves football or loves someone who loves football,” the author said. “I have been surprised by the number of young women who have bought the book -- both to give to their male friends and for insight into the mind of football fanatics."
Presented by the National Association of Book Entrepreneurs (NABE) to its members, the Pinnacle Awards recognize excellence in book content and quality, writing style, presentation, and cover design. NABE members include a wide variety of publishing houses, small presses, independent publishers, print-on-demand titles, and self-publishers.
Life on the Line is the story of two middle-school boys struggling to understand themselves and the world around them as they guide their football team towards what may be an undefeated season. As a former football player himself, McNair gives readers -- teens and adults -- a front row seat to authentic gridiron action along with the struggles and joys of adolescence, and the redemptive power of love and faith.
Since it was released by Bagpiper Press in June, Life on the Line: Football, Rage and Redemption has received steady praise from Amazon readers, especially parents of boys. One mom writes, “Frank did a grand job with his realistic portrayal of two young men coming of age…. I wish Frank had written the book 10 years earlier when my son and his friends were this age.”
Another offers, “As a mother of three grown sons, reading Life on the Line allowed me to revisit memories from the past… Playing and watching sports and repeatedly discussing the details dominate many male conversations, serving as a platform for forming relationships, instilling discipline, and gaining acceptance. Revealing the underlying emotions behind each character’s actions provided insight into the masculine thinking process.”
One reader simply states, “Outstanding! Don't let your sons (or daughters) miss this gripping story of boys growing up in the world of football.”
Life on the Line: Football, Rage and Redemption is available in hardcover ($23.27), paperback ($14.99) and as a Kindle e-book ($9.95) on Amazon. Media review copies are available by emailing publicist Kim Weiss of Blueplate PR: blueplatepr@gmail.com.
For more information on the book, including sample chapters and a Reader’s Guide, visit www.lifeonethelinebook.com.
Just in time for summer football camps, a new sports novel for middle- and high-school sports fans will give camp-goers something to do during downtime. For all football fans who love the game whether they play/played or not, Life on the Line: Football, Rage, and Redemption could go to the top of their summer reading lists.
Adult readers have also expressed enthusiasm about the book, especially the realistic treatment of the football scenes.
“It took me back to my days as a player,” said Shaw Smith, a charter member of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Club Football program. “I could taste the dirt in my mouth, feel the sting of sweat in my eyes, rejoice in the beauty and violence of the game."
The Battle of the Century
As a football book written to appeal primarily to teenage boys and girls, including teenagers who don’t usually like to read, Life on the Line is full of play-by-play action during grueling practices and often bloody games. It follows the lives of two teenage boys in 1965 after they meet on the football practice field: Bart Wagram, who struggles in school, hates his stepmother, and has a body made for the violence of football; and Franklin Gibson, who is smart, polite, and the son of a local banker. Franklin is just beginning to mature, but under Bart’s verbal and physical abuse, he gets tough very quickly.
The conflict between Franklin and Bart simmers while they lead their team towards an undefeated season for the first time in a generation. Following a concussion for one boy and a death in the family for the other, their hatred finally explodes in The Battle of the Century.
“Football Is a Great Game”
North Carolina-based author Frank McNair played football in high school (and was “lightly recruited” by universities, he notes). An alumnus of both UNC-Chapel Hill (undergraduate) and Wake Forest University (grad school), he has always been passionate about the game.
“Football is a great game for learning many lessons,” McNair says on the book’s website, www.lifeonthelinebook.com. “It taught me -- a weepy, chunky, clumsy, poet of a kid -- to get up when life knocks you down. And it teaches teamwork in a way that most games can’t. Where else do 11 people have to do exactly what they are supposed to do, at exactly the same time, to have success? But it is violent, and the potential for injury is very real.
“The story is built around football,” he continues, “but it encompasses family and faith, loss and love, and the ultimate reconciliation of two teenage boys who, on the face of it, have very little in common.”
Speaking to parents and teachers, McNair stresses, “This is the sort of sports book that will resonate with teenagers – especially teenage boys -- who love football but think they hate to read. If you can get them into the first chapter, I think they'll be hooked.”
Life on the Line: Football, Rage, and Redemption, published by Bagpiper Press (May 18, 2017), is now available on Amazon in paperback for $14.99. The hardback and Kindle versions will be available soon. The book is also on Facebook and Goodreads.
For more information, visit www.lifeonthelinebook.com.
