Signing for New Baseball Novel from Area Author

Area resident Mike Vance will be selling and signing copies of his new novel, “Wingo: The Remarkable Life of an Unremarkable Man,” on the afternoon of Sunday, March 10 at Round Top Brewing & Kitchen. The event starts at 4 p.m. that day and will continue until 6 p.m.. Round Top Brewing is located in downtown Round Top at 101 West Austin Street.

Wingo is released under the Dos Dogs Press imprint, and it is Vance’s first published novel after numerous non-fiction books. He has written extensively on Texas history and sports. He recently released the book Brenham in the fall of 2022 when he was serving as executive director of the Brenham Heritage Museum. That book was followed in March 2023 by Stand-Up Story: Tales from Behind the Microphone During Comedy’s Golden Age. His career as a published author began in 1994. Vance is now writing full time.

This historical fiction title takes place in the world of baseball from the start of the 20th century until the midst of WWII. Wingo is the first part of a duology, and the conclusion of the story, entitled Wingo’s Redemption, will be released in early summer of this year.

The jacket blurb for Wingo reads as follows: “When 116-year old Rube Wingo reflects back on the start of his life, he remembers a dirt-poor Southern boy who lived baseball and dreamed of future diamond greatness. His positivity landed him in the game all right, but not in the role he envisioned. When happenstance then brings Rube to the Polo Grounds in New York City in 1922, he jumps at the chance for a piece of the big leagues. One of his first assignments is the daunting task of keeping the great Babe Ruth on the straight and narrow.

Outside the confines of rowdy, odiferous locker rooms, Rube and his friends make the world their oyster despite Prohibition and motheaten pocketbooks. As he valiantly tries to hang on to his dream job while simultaneously coming to grips with the broad injustice of America, Rube struggles to find his own place beyond the game he loves.

Mike Vance has won numerous awards for his writing, film making, history work and humor. He toured much of the English-speaking world doing stand-up comedy and original music before spending time in television and radio. Wingo is his 11th book, the first ten of which were non-fiction. Vance lives in the community of Shelby and serves on the Astros Hall of Fame Committee and the Austin County Historical Commission.

For more information about Mike Vance or the book Wingo, contact Mike at mike@mikevancewriter.com or please visit the website at www.mikevancewriter.com.