Baseball Season Opens Today - My Favorite Time of Year Returns

The Major League Baseball Season opens today, and, of course, I am super excited. This is my favorite time of year.

Tyler Lyons warms up ©Mary Montague Sikes

We returned from spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida in mid-March. This is a time of enthusiasm for all because each team has a chance as the players prepare for the new season.

We attended six games and had seats in our favorite location in Roger Dean Stadium, six rows behind the bull pen. From there we have a perfect view as each pitcher gets ready to enter the game. It is an ideal location to photograph not only the pitchers but also the other players as they stretch and get ready prior to the game.

"Alex Reyes, Phenom" ©Mary Montague Sikes

 During one of the games, our young phenom, Alex Reyes, showed up wearing a shirt with 97 on it. I don't think anyone else in the seats behind the bull pen realized who he was. I knew he wasn't no. 97 because that no. was listed for a young non-roster pitcher I had watched earlier. After throwing about 15 pitches, he smiled, spoke to a bull-pen coach and left. Normally, the bull pen warm-up area is reserved for the next pitcher coming into the game. Reyes won't start pitching in games until May. Seeing something special is one of the benefits of spring training.

I'm excited about the new season and have high hopes for my teach, the St. Louis Cardinals. It is a special time of year.

"Pichers Gather to Watch Adam Wainwright (50)" ©Mary Montague Sikes

If I Never Had to Market My Work Again, I'd Be Happy

If I never had to market my work again, I would be very happy. This is for week 11 of Marketing for Romance Writers 52-week blog challenge.

Don't get me wrong. There are some marketing tasks that I like.

For one thing, I enjoy meeting new people, but sometimes I feel intimidated, especially at book signings. The type of book makes a lot of difference, I've decided. Novels are a hard sell for me. I'm told often that the person only reads non-fiction. Not much hope there.

My new children's book, An Artful Animal Alphabet, gets a more positive response. It is colorful, illustrated with my own original paintings, and a lot of people have purchased copies for their grandchildren. I enjoy seeing their enthusiastic smiles.

If I didn't need to market, I could use all my time writing books and creating art. That would be more fun. I don't mind writing a few press releases, but if I never have to do a lot of marketing I would enjoy the creative process much more.