I'm excited to announce Coal & Iron is set for a summer of 2027 release. Coal & Iron: Baseball Brutality and Brotherhood is set in the volatile 1920s coalfields of Yatesboro, Pennsylvania. The story captures the gritty reality of immigarnt patch-town life, company store monopolies, and the intense labor struggles that shaped our Appalachian communities.  When a union strike threatens to shut down the mine, the company paid Coal & Iron Police set out to enforce order and restore production, by any means necssary. Frank Marken must decide if he should risk voting to strike with his brother immigrants, or play it safe to protect his nine children. 

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This isn't just a novel I made up, it's my family. While the story is fictional, the main characters and the setting are real. My actual Great Grandfather, my Grandmother, and her eight siblings along with some real characters of that era tell the story. All of my great-uncles mined the Yatesboro pits and four of them played for the Yatesboro baseball team. Coalfield baseball became a crucial tool for worker solidarity and survival as the ultimate psychological battlefield between the miners and company bosses.

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As a former Pinkerton Detective, Municipal Police Officer, and Career Undercover Narcotics Investigator, along with my family history, I am uniquely qualified to tell this story. Come back and check on my progress, the dates of my KICKSTARTER launch campaign, and more!