DUNNVILLE—Local award-winning author Brad Smith is hoping fans enjoy his 15th novel, Billy Crawford’s Double Play when it’s released this October.
Smith recently won a Spur Award for Best Western Traditional Novel from the Western Writers of America for 2019’s The Return of Kid Cooper, and he’s been shortlisted for a Dashiell Hammett Prize for two other works, One-Eyed Jacks and Copperhead Road. He also previously adapted his own book, All Hat into a feature film starring Keith Carradine and Luke Kirby.
Smith called himself a voracious reader from his earliest memories on.
“My mother would read to me when I was very young and I guess I took my cue from her. I can recall reading Scott Young’s hockey books when I was a kid – Boy On Defense, Scrubs On Skates, etc. From there it was The Hardy Boys and then – in high school – it was Steinbeck, Hemingway, Margaret Laurence and others. I began thinking that I might write at that point, but it took me a lot of years to gain the self-discipline to produce anything.”
Smith called his newest novel a mix between his love of baseball and his addiction to political news.
“I guess the juxtaposition between the two disciplines seemed natural – well, to me at least,” he mused. “I’ve always wanted to write a baseball book and when the issue of the Greenbelt arose a few years ago, I decided the time was right to combine the two. Baseball players and politicians don’t necessarily have a lot in common, so it was fun creating a story that had them infringing upon each other’s worlds. A professional ballplayer can at times live in a somewhat insulated world while politicians – well, as Mark Twain said, ‘Politicians and babies should be changed often … and for the same reason.’”
More recent writers who have inspired Smith to keep writing include Charles Portis, Cormac McCarthy, Elmore Leonard, and Colson Whitehead.
“All are somewhat quirky; all write dialogue very well and none tend to over-write. As Leonard once said, ‘Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.’”
While Smith generally knows the beginning, middle, and end point of his story when he first sits down to write, he said the details in between are still up in the air.
“I’m a planner, but only to an extent,” he said. “I know some writers who create elaborate outlines at the start, sometimes lining their walls with notes on Bristol board. That’s fine – whatever works – but I have always thought that that approach might take away from the spontaneity of the writing. There is always one character in my books who surprises me. That might not happen if I over-plan.”
Smith, who lives on a farmhouse near the shores of Lake Erie, said that living in a blue-collar community often leads him to write blue-collar characters.
“The old adage – write what you know – is true (as are most adages),” said Smith. “I don’t see myself writing about the Russian ballet anytime soon because I don’t know anything about the Russian ballet. I’ve worked at a number of jobs in my life – truck driver, carpenter, farm worker, bartender, insulator, railway signalman, etc. – and all those experiences bleed into my writing.”
Through that diverse work history, Smith relished the opportunity to meet a diverse array of characters, many who became templates for characters in his writing.
Those who may have palled around with Smith on a local job site needn’t worry too much though.
“No – I am not naming any names,” he promised.
He pitched his book to those interested in a “fun book but one with a message. Housing is a huge issue in Canada these days, one that must be addressed but addressed properly. You often only get one chance to do things right.”
‘Billy Crawford’s Double Play’ will be available to purchase on October 14. For more information on purchasing a copy, or links to purchase Smith’s other works, visit his website at bradsmithbooks.com.
