New York Times writer, Edgar Sandoval, (@edjsandoval) today published a beautiful piece on the resilience of the town of Uvalde, TX in the wake of their unspeakable mass shooting tragedy. It's well worth checking out. Here's the complimentary note I sent Ed,
Today’s Perfect Pitch piece resonated deeply. My latest novel, Slider, was released a month or so before the Uvalde tragedy. Unfortunately, it proved all too prophetic. So much of what I put into this book appears in your reporting. From using baseball to bring back the kids and the town in which they live from the depths of their grief. To calling out the names of the victims. I had no idea when I wrote Slider how close to real life this work of fiction would come. I just did my research like any other author. I interviewed healthcare professionals, parents, players, students. I added a touch of editorial license by including the prosecution of a gun-toting teacher who saved the 20 kids in her classroom by “neutralizing” the shooter. She was tried for discharging a fire arm in a gun-free school zone. Imagine.
You did a really nice job on Perfect Pitch. I think we’ve both written about the ugly underside of what such a tragedy creates as well as how resilient people can be when climbing out of their grief. Nicely done, Edgar.
--Chris