By Bronwyn Evans, for The Children’s Book Review
Published: January 25, 2010
For more than 30 years, Bruce Newbold has been acting professionally on screen and stage, but perhaps nothing has pressed his creative conscience like writing a fantasy for young people. “The Baseball Box Prophecy was originally a screenplay that I wrote many years ago,” Newbold explains. “Some people I worked with said I ought to turn it into a book.” The screenplay was one of the seven finalists in the 1996 Austin Heart of Film Festival. Many years and many rewrites later, Newbold has published the book version in a 550-page volume that is making a “page-turner” impression upon both young and old alike.
The self-published book has enjoyed brisk sales, with the first printing selling out in about five months. Recently Newbold started speaking at elementary schools about The Baseball Box Prophecy, which many teachers have picked up for class reading and assignments.
The story centers around twelve-year-old Cletis Dungarvan who wants to join the sandlot team of his new hometown, Greenberg Junction, Michigan. But first he has to complete an initiation that includes a midnight dare to record the doorbell chimes at the haunted house of a local witch. When the initiation goes awry and Cletis finds himself in the clutches of the horrifying hag, suddenly much more is at stake than simply membership on a baseball team. The unusual discovery of a 900-year-old baseball in Ireland, a Time Traveler and Changeling, and an unfulfilled ancient prophecy all lead Cletis to learn his real identity and battle to the brink of death against a far-superior opponent within the confines of frozen time.
Praise for The Baseball Box Prophecy
• “Bruce Newbold tells a harrowing tale intermixed with some good (and magical) hold-on-to-your-hat baseball.” —Richard H. Cracroft, BYU Magazine
• “The Baseball Box Prophecy is a journey worth taking whether you are a baseball fan, fantasy fan, or both. ” —Amyanne Rigby, Alive! Utah South Area, online magazine
• “I read a lot of children’s books to keep up with what my children are reading. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It just seemed to flow with an original storyline that was so engaging and delightful. I hope Bruce Newbold sticks with this newfound talent and gives us more!” L. Hanson (Amazon.com)
• “The fantasy elements are mature and innovative, and I have found myself thoroughly and joyfully immersed in this intriguing story and cast of characters.” —Arlen Card, attorney, composer (Amazon.com)
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2-2-2 Home Run Book cont’d
About the Author
The Baseball Box Prophecy is Bruce Newbold’s first work of fiction. The author, actor, and full-time producer wrote the historical account of the 1997 Sesquicentennial Mormon Trail Wagon Train titled In Our Father’s Footsteps in 1998. He has guest- or co-starred in many films and television programs, including Bonneville (with Jessica Lange), The Executioner’s Song (with Tommy Lee Jones), A More Perfect Union, Silk Hope (with Farrah Fawcett), and the Disney Channel original movies Pixel Perfect and The Poof Point. Bruce’s television work includes L.A. Law, Touched by an Angel, Highway to Heaven, Tour of Duty, Major Dad, among others. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Utah.
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The Baseball Box Prophecy by Bruce Newbold. Hearthsong. Salt Lake City. Softcover, 550 pages, January 2010, $15.95. Available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Deseret Book. Distributed by Brigham Distributing 1-435-723-6611 or visit www.thebaseballboxprophecy.com
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