Play Ball!

Here's that notable exception I was talking about: Dan Graziano, and his debut novel, "I Think She's Trying to Tell Me Something." The thing about this N.J.-based sportswriter-turned-novelist is his ability to make you feel like you're sitting at a bar, having a beer with his characters. They're that familiar. And that makes his books fun.

December 1, 2005

For sportswriter, dating's no longer a game

By Lylah M. Alphonse, Globe Staff

Jack Byrnes has issues with women. And the biggest issue he has right now is that the ones he never wanted to see again have come back to haunt him.

In the days leading up to his 30th birthday, this New York-based sportswriter has run into not one but five of his former girlfriends in unlikely -- and, therefore, all the more disturbing -- places. As he is forced to revisit each of the failed relationships, he starts to think about what lesson life is trying to teach him and whether he can make the grade before the love of his life passes him by. ... [More]