Ch-ch-ch-changes

It's so weird how things keep happening that go against what we've written in our book, OR that we in effect predicted in our book--but since they happened before the book actually hit shelves, may appear as if we were influenced by them. Does that make sense? I just really want the baseball side of our book to feel authentic. So every time something in the Red Sox world changes, I feel like it takes away from the authenticity. I just have to keep telling myself: Our book is based on (a mythical version of) the 2007 season. But I just fear that people will see something in 2008, having just read our book, and say, "That book was wrong!"

I wish I'd been keeping a list of things that have changed or that happened after we "made" them happen. But here are a few examples:

1. In our book, we had Papi shooting a commercial in Portland. In real life, since then, Papi has both shot a commercial (which was a bit controversial at the time, as people felt he shouldn't have been doing that and that it somehow caused his early-season slump--people are stupid) AND gone to Portland, in this case to play for the minor league team as part of his rehab.

2. In our book, we mention the Red Sox' alternate red jerseys--the "Sunday" jerseys. This season, they have broken them out on a Saturday.

3. Okay, here's one for the book jacket--we have a blurb from Jeff Goldberg of the Hartford Courant. Jeff, along with almost everybody else at the Courant, was forced to leave the paper the other day. So when our book hits shelves, it'll show Jeff working for the Courant, when in reality he'll be somewhere else.

4. We have Papelbon's wife rocking a baby in our book, thinking about being a mom. Now, she's pregnant.

5. There's one big one. It has to do with the plot, so I can't say what it is. Let's just say something at Fenway that's been constant since I was born has changed, months before our book comes out describing things in what's now the "old" way.

There are a lot more. It seems like every day something changes or something happens and I say, "We thought of that first!" It's like how my mom, in one of her books, gave the president a dog named Buddy. And then Bill Clinton came along with his dog--named Buddy. (Something like that.)

The key is, our book is about the '07 championship Red Sox. So everything will always be accurate to that season--though we moved the schedule around a little to fit the plot. Hey, if you're gonna complain about that, complain about the fact that there never really was a baby found in the clubhouse--again, it's a "mythical" 2007. Players are naturally gonna come and go. The only way we could've kept the players current for all-time would've been to not refer to them by name: "The shortstop said to the right fielder...." And you can see how dumb that would've been...

Reviews

We're already starting to see reviews posted online--check out the new section at right.

Update

Book available for pre-order at Barnes & Noble. Click here.

Also, we supposedly got "great reviews" from two major publications. More on those when they're released.

Quote From Stewart O'Nan

"Dirty Water takes us inside the Sox clubhouse and out into the neighborhood around baseball's little green chapel. Having spent far too many hours pacing that pavement, I can verify that Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and Jere Smith know the territory. This one's fun for mystery fans and Sox fans, and even more so if you're both."

--Stewart O'Nan, Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season (written in collaboration with Stephen King)

Thanks, Stewart!

Another Quote

Melinda Boroson, author, 86 Years: The Legend of the Boston Red Sox on Dirty Water:

"These authors know Boston, they know baseball, and they definitely know the Red Sox. Real-life Red Sox players walk out of the clubhouse and right onto the pages of this murder mystery--along with bloggers, bad guys, and Boston's finest. An essential addition to any true fan's bookshelf."