The Story Behind Love Comes Home

Love Comes Home started when sports reporters were talking about baseball.  I rarely listen to baseball, but I was on an extended trip and had NPR on the car’s satellite radio.  Of course NPR has a sports reporter who was doing a color story around baseball.  But being NPR, he chose something different.  That was the day I heard about Beepball for the first time.  They were at a game and mostly it sounded like any other baseball game, coaches giving instruction, parents yelling encouragement.  Then it got silent and all that came through was a moving beeping sound.  As soon as a pitch was about to be thrown, everyone quieted.  The ball beeped, the bat cracked, and bases buzzed.  People yelled they were off.

I wished I could be there to see it.  The reporter explained that some of the players were sighted and wore blindfolds to round out the team.  They also explained that there were sighted volunteers to help ensure player safety.  There were other changes as well including the number of bases, the way a runner is gotten out, and so on.  I found it fascinating.  Dominic and I looked at each other and I knew what he was telling me.  Here was a story idea.  And it was a good one.  I had to finish One Good Deed before I could start Love Comes Home, but by then Greg, Tom, and Davey were ready to tell me their story.

Nothing warms my heart like story, real of fiction, that demonstrates that there is nothing in life that cannot be overcome if someone puts in a little effort, time and imagination.  And that includes allowing the blind to play baseball.  There has only been one caught hit in beepball and just a few home runs.  I really hope my story hits one for you.

When architect Gregory Hampton’s son, Davey, starts having trouble in Little League, Greg takes him to an eye doctor. The diagnosis hits them hard. Davey’s sight is degenerating rapidly, and eventually he’ll go blind.

Tom Spangler is used to getting what he wants. When Greg captures his attention, he asks Greg for a date. They have a good time until Greg gets a call from the friends watching his son, telling him Davey has fallen. Greg and Tom return to find the worst has happened—Davey can no longer see.

With so much going on in his life, Greg doubts he’ll see Tom again. But Tom has researched beep baseball, where balls and bases make sounds to enable the visually impaired to participate in Little League. Tom spearheads an effort to form a team so Davey can continue to play the game he loves. But when Greg’s ex-wife shows up with her doctor boyfriend, offering a possible cure through a radical procedure, Greg must decide how far he’ll go to give Davey a chance at getting his sight back.

Purchase link:  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4760&osCsid=hdupbk495f538q0kk141vudh07