Moonfire Publishing to Release Game Day on June 1, 2022

Written by Hardy Coleman and illustrated by Kurt Sloop, “Game Day” is a new twist on haunted magical realism for the young and young at heart.

Minneapolis — April 2022 The Kid did have a name, though no one ever used it. Hardy Coleman’s new novel “Game Day” is the story of how The Kid uses his wits to get a lost baseball back from the magical creatures lurking underground.

The Kid is a scrawny member of the Credible Hulks baseball team. The Hulks only have The Professor’s handmade ball to play with – a cobbled-together creation of a rock that he coated with melted down bicycle tires, olive oil, and some hair from his baby brother’s head.

Until one day, Leg’s little sister Tag-Along shows up, bringing a REAL baseball. This ball belonged to Tag-Along’s grandfather, the home run king of San Juan, who played in the big time Puerto Rican Leagues.

The very first time they use the real baseball in a match against the Spit Vipers though, disaster strikes! One of the Vipers gets a hit, and the ball goes straight into a sewer grating where the street used to be. The grating is narrow, and The Kid is the only kid small enough to go down into the sewer to retrieve the ball.

Once he enters the sewer, The Kid meets magical and menacing creatures who’ve been living below the streets. Some are helpful – and some are very, very hungry. He must use all his wits to evade a crew of famished sewer dwellers, to bring back Tag-Along’s grandfather’s baseball and avoid being eaten in the process.

Complete with a dictionary, Hardy also includes helpful hints on the best way to enjoy “Game Day,”

“Here is what you gotta do: If you’re a grown-up, read this out loud to some kids. You can read it to your own kids, or you can borrow somebody else’s kids and read it to them.

“If you’re a kid, then corner your little brother or sister or, take out a loan on some neighbors’ kids. But for sure read it out loud to somebody and if they say, ‘No way!’ just tell them that there certainly IS a way and if they’ll pipe down and listen, they just might discover how things turn out.”

“Game Day,” a haunted magical realist tale, will be available for sale June 1, 2022, through booksellers and online. To find your local independent bookstore, check out Indiebound online at www.indiebound.org. You can also buy a copy of “Game Day” online at www.bookshop.org.

About Hardy Coleman, Author

Hardy Coleman is a poet, playwright, and storyteller. Born in Texas, his family moved to Iowa when he was in his teens. He made his way further north, and now makes his home in Minneapolis. He pals around with racoons, fireflies, and garlic plants in the bountiful urban lands of Minnesota. Game Day is his first novel.

About Kurt Sloop, Illustrator

Kurt Sloop is a barely domesticated backwoods country boy who somehow managed to infiltrate the public school system and now spends his days teaching art and molding young, impressionable minds with wild stories of his misbegotten youth. He lives in western Iowa.

About Moonfire Publishing

Founded in 2016, Moonfire Publishing is dedicated to releasing works of mystery and imagination for readers of all ages. We are an independent press specializing in speculative titles ranging from fantasy and science fiction stories to humorous works that touch upon paranormal themes. We seek out the strange, the unusual, the macabre, and the unconventional, and our titles reflect that vision. Check out our website at http://www.moonfire-publishing.com

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For more information:

Michele Montserrat, Managing Editor

612-607-2724

michele@moonfirepublishing.com