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Tell us about your most recent release.
A Pitch for Justice is a morality tale about the line between what is acceptable violence in sports and when it crosses the line into a criminal justice matter. The context is a major league baseball game, a rookie pitcher, an old school manager and the unwritten code of baseball. Together they combine for a dramatic courtroom legal battle over what to label a fatal bean ball. Is it homicide, or merely a risk of the game.
What else do you have coming out?
This is my first novel.
Is there anything you want to make sure potential readers know?
Although the risk in baseball of death or serious injury is very slight, it is not unprecedented. If it did occur, would someone be accountable in the courts?
What’s the most blatant lie you’ve ever told?
I’ve only told white lies, and then only to protect someone’s feelings.
What is the most demeaning thing said about you as a writer?
Some of my dialogue was stilted
How do you react to a bad review of one of your books?
I am not thick-skinned. If it is a legitimate criticism, I can live with it and try to learn from it. For example, some readers were disappointed with the initial ending of my novel. I rethought, rewrote, and came up with a different subplot and ending.The result has been more satisfying for the reader. If the reader just doesn’t like the book because of the subject matter, I can’t help you.
When are you going to write your autobiography?
I don’t know how interested it would be for a commercial success, but I would have fun writing one. I have had three careers, lost 80 pounds in my early 20′s, and changed my personality because of the weight loss. It might give someone else an incentive.
Are the names of the characters in your novels important?
Not at all. But some of the names are people I have known and that was fun for me to get them into the book.
What about the titles of your novels?
The title combines a metaphor for the game of baseball and the effort to achieve justice. The latter is a two-edged sword in this book.
Are there any occupational hazards to being a novelist?
I’m a novice so I haven’t encountered any hazards yet.
What’s your favorite fruit?
I like cantaloupe because it’s sweet and low in calories so I don’t feel guilty when I eat it.
How many people have you done away with over the course of your career?
I only have one novel and I don’t want to give away too much of the story with a spoiler.
Have you ever been in trouble with the police?
I was a career county prosecutor for 30 years. The only trouble I had with the police was when I had to dismiss a case of theirs.
So when were you last involved in a real-life punch-up?
My last fight was in junior year of high school. Fortunately neither one of us was too hip on the idea so no injuries of consequence were sustained.
If you were going to commit the perfect murder, how would you go about it?
That’s my next novel.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Self-reliant.
What is your favorite bedtime drink?
At my age, drinking anything at night leads to too many bathroom visits.
Do you ever wish that you had an entirely uncreative job, like data entry or working in a factory?
I don’t wish for anything other than a retirement that allows me to dabble in writing at my own pace.
Harold Kasselman spent his adolescent years in Philadelphia where he became a Phillies fan and saw his first game with his dad at the age of six. That green infield has mesmerized him ever since. He moved to New Jersey and attended Delaware Township High (now Cherry Hill West). He got his B.A. at Rutgers College and a Master’s degree in 1968 from Farleigh Dickinson University.
He taught one year at Glen Ridge High School (Alma Mater of Tom Cruise) and then two years at Cherry Hill East, where he taught Human Behavioral Patterns. After attending Rutgers Law, he joined the Camden County Prosecutors’ Office in New Jersey.
He prosecuted thousands of criminal cases including 25 homicide trials for thirty years in Camden County. One of his cases, which was one of the first trials in the country for the attempted use of HIV-infected blood as a weapon, was covered on Court TV. He continued his love of teaching by mentoring police at the police academy about police procedure.He became a partner in the defense firm of Helmer, Paul, Conley, and Kasselman in 2005. He understands and appreciates the roles of both the prosecution and the defense in the legal process.
Harold resides in Sarasota, Florida, with his wife, Robin, who shares his passion for the Phillies ball club and the beach. They also maintain a town-home in Voorhees, NJ, near their children.
A Pitch for Justice is Harold’s first novel, which combines his passions for baseball and the law
Author: of The End of the World Playlist, Bitten, Cerulean Dreams, and The Journey
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“Be the change you want to see in this world.” -Mahatma Ghandi
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