Minister and author, John Fairless, talks about writing a sports memoir set in his hometown.

Today I’m happy to welcome author and minister, John Fairless, to my blog. John and my husband were classmates (I won’t tell what year they graduated!), and he has written a non-fiction book about his high school’s most successful football years. Before we talk about your book, John, tell us a little about yourself.

 Thanks, Pam; I grew up in the great town of Martin, Tennessee. I didn’t always appreciate all the benefits of small-town life in those days but have come to cherish my years there the more I have traveled and lived in other places.

I have had a great career as a church musician and minister, and that has taken me, along with my wife, Sheila, to six different states to serve congregations, along with stops in many other states and a couple of foreign countries. We were blessed to rear three great children and now have our first grandchild – my granddaughter, Katie.

 As a minister, I am sure you have written countless sermons. Have you written any other books before this one?

 I stopped to try to count the number of words I have written in sermons and articles the other day. I couldn’t continue, because it sort of blew my mind. Hard to believe I’ve put millions of words down on the page over time.

I have written five books about scripture and preaching, along with my writing partner, Rev. Delmer Chilton, who is a Lutheran pastor. We also have a blog and a podcast (lectionarylab.com) with the unofficial name of Two Bubbas and a Bible.

What is the name of this book, and how is it structured?

 My “fun” project was writing 42-0: The Story of Four Extraordinary Seasons. It’s pretty much what it sounds like, as I seek to tell the history in and around our high school football team that went undefeated for four consecutive seasons from 1967-70. There were some very exciting games in that streak, of course, but one game in particular stands out near the end, with two undefeated teams meeting and a record crowd attending to see who would be victorious. Other schools here in West Tennessee cancelled their games on a Friday night so that people could drive to Martin for what came to be known as The Game.

The fact that the winning streak was set against the backdrop of the late 60s – with racial integration of the schools, the Vietnam War, political assassinations, and civil unrest – came into the picture as I was telling the story. Looking back on that time, I was quite moved.

 What inspired you to write it? Why now, after all these years?

 As your husband and my friend, Barry, can tell you – everybody in town was caught up in the football fever during those years. It was huge! I was in a Facebook group conversation one night with some friends, including Julia White Brundige, whose husband figured prominently in the winning streak. I asked her if anyone had ever written the story of those teams. She said no one had, and I caught a bug that simply would not go away. I wanted to tell the story before all the players from those teams were gone and nobody could remember what happened.

How did you do research for it? How did the writing process work for you? Did you use any particular organizational tools, have a routine, or just write when you found the time?

 I started with my own memories as a kid in elementary and junior high school. I knew from the outset that I wanted personal stories as part of the work – not just a sports fact book with the details of all the games. I began to interview people from those teams whenever I would make a trip back to Martin, and as the stories around the story began to grow, I was able to do phone interviews with players that had moved to various parts of the country.

The sports editor of our local paper, The Weakley County Press, was very helpful and gave me unlimited access to the morgue files at the paper. I spent a lot of time thumbing through crumbling copies of the paper from the 1960s and 70s.

I’m a little old-fashioned in that what I see in my brain as I research first goes through my fingers with pen and paper. I took notes of the interviews and summarized the stats from the games in several composition notebooks. People gave me press clippings and game programs from their scrapbooks. I had a huge pile of research material!

When it came time to write, I had a natural outline in the 42-game schedule that the team followed, and intermingled events from history and the stories of the players and fans I had collected. It really started to write itself once I got rolling on that.

 What was the most difficult part of the process? What was the most surprising part?

 The most difficult part was deciding what I couldn’t fit into the book. There are so many great stories and behind-the-scenes episodes that I heard!

The most surprising thing was how vivid and real the events from that time were for everyone I talked to. The story also features a feeling that is hard to put into words – what it was like to grow up in a special small town like Martin was in those days. I will admit that, when I go back and read the book – which I did again this week to prepare for this interview – I still get goosebumps and a tear in my eye as I turn the pages.

 Is the book self-published, or did you have to query different publishers to find one willing to publish it?

 I self-published on Amazon’s CreateSpace platform, now called Kindle Direct Publishing, I believe. I was more concerned about telling the story than I was about making lots of sales.

I heard that this book is possibly being optioned for film. Can you tell us a little about that?

 Lots of readers have said, “This would make such a great movie. It’s like Remember the Titans or Hoosiers!” Nothing would thrill me more, of course, so I talked to a couple of people I know who have been involved in film production. I have the story listed with TaleFlick, which is a repository for stories and screenplays that is used by lots of independent producers to find projects. Think Netflix, Amazon, and other media outlets that aren’t necessarily the big studios.

As it so happened, I was attending a retreat with my wife in Montana a few weeks ago, and part of the program was a premiere of a new Netflix production, with the producer joining our group to talk about the process. I got into conversation with him, he liked what he heard, and he is currently reading the book and considering the project. Fingers crossed!

 What advice would you give others who wan t to write a book but haven’t yet done so?

Can I borrow Nike? Just do it! When the urge to tell the story becomes more than you can bear, you will pick up your pen or grab your keyboard and start writing. Don’t worry about being perfect. Tell your story!

 Where can readers purchase the book?

 It is available on Amazon.com; search for my name or for 42-0: The Story of Four Extraordinary Seasons.

 Do you have plans for a future book or a work in progress right now?

 I continue writing with my pastor partner. We have a book coming out later this year for those who prepare sermons. It’s a companion to our volume, A Simple Way to Preach. Other than that, for the time being, I keep writing sermons and lessons every week, so my fingers never get too many cobwebs on them!

 Thanks so much, John, for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for the chance to share, Pam!