Will Leitch has a new novel that arrives for public consumption this week, but a number of people have already preview of “Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride.”
“People who have read it, seem to like it so far,” the Athens author and sports journalist said recently.
And it has certainly impressed some. So much so, that Lionsgate, a major motion picture producer, has already purchased the movie rights. Lionsgate has produced such movies as the “Hunger Games” series and “John Wick”.
Leitch was also bestowed the title of executive producer for the movie.
People can hear Leitch read from the book and discuss its contents at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at the Athens-Clarke County Library on Baxter Street. The library and the University of Georgia Library are both hosting the book signing.
Leitch has made his mark in the sporting world as the editor of the sports website Deadspin, and he writes for such national publications as The Washington Post, The Atlantic and The New York Times.
But outside his passion for baseball, he has written several novels.
Readers will find action and drama in this newest work about a police officer named Lloyd McNeil, who unfortunately learns in the first chapter that he has a deadly disease and only three months to live.
The book, Leitch said, is in a lot of ways about parenthood. McNeil has a teenage son. And he grapples with the fear of what kind of world will he be leaving for his son.
Leitch, who has two sons himself, has experienced such unexpected death in his extended family. He knows the toil on the emotions in facing such a fate, but in the book he wanted a story that meshes action, intrigue and fun.
The core of the lead character’s motivation is sparked by the fact that McNeil learns that his law enforcement pension will pay much more to his survivors if he dies in the line of action.
McNeil is not a gung-ho action hero. Instead, he’s mild mannered and sees himself as a representative of his community, Leitch said. But this officer on patrol under the cloud of death slings himself into dangerous situations.
“Not dying makes him a civic hero, because he is seen as someone stopping crime and helping people,” his creator said.
The book, he says, may have appealed to movie studios because it was written in a fast, cinematic fashion.
“I think a lot of actors and movie people are looking for a part like Lloyd, where you basically have this sadness and emotions, but also action,” he said.
Now that another novel has worked itself into the Leitch resume, he continues with his daily pursuit of writing and talking about the game of summer with its homeruns, stolen bases and dusty slides.
“I love writing about sports,” he said.
