Delayed Steal and On Falcon's Wings by Marshall Umpleby

Tommie (forthcoming)

The author's third book and second novel is a work in progress. The protagonist is a 15 year-old girl named Thomasina, "Tommie" for short. She has two passions. The first is baseball, which she learned from her father, a former professional, and from her older brother, 18, who hopes to earn a baseball scholarship at some Division I college.

Tommie's second passion is art. She creates pencil drawings: baseball scenes, portraits of friends and family, and some bizarre, surrealistic pictures that suggest a dark side to her young life.

The narrator Nate, 17, also a talented baseball player, falls hopelessly in love with Tommie. His love for Tommie and his misinterpretation of some of her drawings, which he shares with others, have a tragic outcome.

The setting is a small town in contemporary America. The war plays a role in this story of love, secrets, and redemption.