There has never been a novel like Mid-Strut, virtually a genre unto itself Friday, October 1, 1965. Arnie Stats Castig is a fine, upstanding citizen of a dying western Pennsylvania steel town---until he snaps. He dashes onto the field at halftime of a high school football game and throws his arms around a majorette. But their feet get tangled and he falls on top of her. I just wanna hold you, he keeps saying, as she shrieks into the night. He wishes he could let her go, but he cant---for she has become a symbol to him, his only escape from the changes in his life, changes that reflect the larger changes in all of America at this chaotic time. Arnie has lost his job, having been fired for heroic behavior. The repercussions of this incident echo throughout the rest of the book. He has also lost his music, his favorite radio station now playing rock n roll instead of the sweet old tunes of his courtship days. For all he knows, he may be losing his wife, as well as the steel industry that has been the heart of his town since he was born. And so he seeks relief by immersing himself in the exploits of Joe Namath, the son he might have had, another western Pennsylvania steel town boy, who is about to make his debut as a pro football quarterback. What happens to Arnie after his tangling with the majorette is unexpected, heart-wrenching, and in its surprising way, miraculous.
About the Author: Eric Burns has won major awards in three distinct genres. His literary talents, in other words are almost uniquely diverse. His first play captured the Eudora Welty Emerging Playwrights Competition in 2010, and had its World Premiere at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in 2012. He was named one of the best writers in the history of television journalism, joining such luminaries as Edward R. Murrow, Charles Kuralt, Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley. He also took home an Emmy for writing commentary. As an author, his 1920: The Year That Made the Decade Roar was chosen as one of the best non-fiction books of 2015. Two of his other volumes won the highest award given by the American Library Association, being selected as the Best of the Best in 2004 (his history of alcohol) and 2007 (his history of tobacco). Burns does not smoke or drink. Mid-Strut is his first novel.