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Home , Bobby Jones (golfer), Eddie Lowery, Mark Frost

FROM STEVE AUSTIN TO AND BACK TO SCI-FI

Mark Frost By Lesley Francis Visits the saVannah Book FestiVal

Golfing enthusiasts who love to “lose themselves in books” when they are not on the green will be in heaven this President’s Day weekend. The multi-talented is one of nearly 40 presenting authors at the sixth annual Savannah Book Festival on Saturday, February 16, in Telfair Square.

Frost was famous before he turned his considerable skills to becoming an author. He had established a successful career in TV writing, working on “The Six Million Dollar Man” and award- winning “,” before collaborating with director in 1986 to create the legendary “.” However, Frost describes writing as his “first love.”

Frost says, “I began writing at a very early nym, Eric Bowman, the turn of the 21st in. I love , so diving into the early his - age and this discipline has created a type of century took his writing in a completely tory of the game was fascinating. I was ‘muscle memory.’ I get up in the morning different direction. delighted with the interest generated by and I start to write…every single day. In ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played,’ and fact I don’t believe in writer’s block. You Frost’s first non-fiction work, “The enjoyed collaborating with Disney to cre - have to call on inspiration to come to you Greatest Game Ever Played,” was pub - ate the feature film version in 2006. sometimes.” lished in 2002. This is the inspirational However, I felt there were more stories to story of the first amateur golfer to win the tell about the early years of amateur golf in With respect to his latest career, Frost com - U.S. Open in 1913, and his 10-year-old America. The idea of rounding out the ments, “The wonderful thing about writ - caddie, . It received wonder - story of seemed like a natural ing books is that you have much more free ful reviews and enjoyed great success. progression and led to the publication of will than in TV or movies, which have to Frost says, “My grandfather was a promi - ‘The .’ Jones was a 28-year-old be more collaborative.” nent obstetrician of Scottish descent living who mounted a campaign against the in upstate and he often told his record books in 1930 and won the British In addition to his TV work, important grandchildren the story of Francis Amateur Championship, the British components of his career have also been Ouimet’s surprising success at the U.S. Open, the U.S. Open and, finally, the U.S. documentary and movie-making. This guy Open. The story just stuck in my mind for Amateur Championship – an extraordi - knows his creative pursuits. years and I realized over time that the sub - nary achievement – or, indeed, a grand ject of amateur golf had been ignored by slam. Frost began his publishing career in the authors everywhere.” ‘90s with the international best-selling The last in Frost’s non-fiction golf trilogy, novel, “The List of Seven” and its sequel, Expanding on this theme, Frost explains, “The Match,” returns to the subject of “The Six Messiahs.” Followed by the “I have a great curiosity about life, and I Eddie Lowery, Ouimet’s once-child caddie thriller, “Before I Wake” under the pseudo - want to write about what I am interested

16 VOL 11: ISSUE 2 TheSkinnie www.theskinnie.com who is a wealthy man nearly four decades later. It’s the story of how, So I have one big project in the oven, some in preparation, some in 1956, Lowery came to compete in “the greatest private match simmering and some on high boil!” ever played.” Frost has never visited Savannah before, so when asked what he is So why no more golf books after writing one of the bestselling golf most looking forward to during his few days here in February, he books of all time? “I just felt I had said everything there was to say answers, “I am a history buff so looking at all the wonderful histo - about amateur golf,” Frost explains. “I never want to become like a ry and architecture in what I understand is a beautiful Southern city production line – when a subject threatens to become stale or bor - will be amazing for me.” He pauses, then adds, “And of course I ing to me then I am on to the next thing.” hope to be able to play some golf on one of the Landings Club’s six great courses. I have heard a lot about them, and my host is a mem - How important are sports in Frost’s life? “Some people believe that ber there.” sports are the toy department of life, but I believe it can be much more than that,” he opines. “I have learned a lot about life from sport – discipline, self-control, how to play by the rules, and what For information about the Savannah Book Festival, it takes to win.” please visit www.savannahbookfestival.org

Frost is a lifelong Lakers fan and long-suffering fan of the Vikings (born in , but raised in and ). Naturally, Frost is also a talented golfer, “My per - sonal best was a handicap of 4 – but I used to play a lot more golf. I have always been quite athletic. Now we have a nine-year-old son, so it’s hard to carve out five or six hours at a time to play, and while I would not trade the time I spend with him for anything, I do miss the game.” Frost lives in L.A. with his wife and son, as well as three dogs (two Havanese and a Chihuahua).

Frost’s son gave him the inspiration for the most recent phase of his writing career – young adult books. “A couple of years ago, he just asked me why I don’t ever write a book for kids,” Frost says of his young son. This led to the publication of “The Paladin Prophecy,” the first of a fantasy sci-fi trilogy for the young-adult audience.

“One of the key challenges of writing for this audience is getting the tone right, not only the language, to ensure that the young readers can relate to the characters in the book,” Frost observes about his latest endeavor.

So what is next? The author says, “I am working on the sequel to ‘The Paladin Prophecy’ for publication in 2014, but I always have a number of ideas on the go which I liken to cooking, which I enjoy. www.theskinnie.com