Rounding Third

Rounding Third is a timely tale of teens being bullied. Rob Wardell is a seventeen-year old who feels like he doesn't quite fit in anywhere--not at home, not at school and not on the baseball field. The small, shy boy stays on the high school baseball team only to please his father since he knows he will never get to play. He’s living his life alone until he finds himself drawn into a friendship with the team’s new star pitcher, Josh Schlagel. The two boys hit it off instantly; maybe it's because Josh isn't exactly welcomed by the team either. But as Rob and Josh grow closer and start spending more time together away from the field, Rob realizes that his friend is hiding something. The bruises on Josh's body and his reluctance to let Rob know about certain parts of his life have Rob suspicious. When Josh's secrets are finally revealed and become life threatening, Rob and his family must step up to the plate.

Rob Wardell is a seventeen-year old who feels like he doesn't quite fit in anywhere--not at home, not at school and not on the baseball field. The small, shy boy stays on the high school baseball team only to please his father since he knows he will never get to play. He’s living his life alone until he finds himself drawn into a friendship with the team’s new star pitcher, Josh Schlagel. The two boys hit it off instantly; maybe it's because Josh isn't exactly welcomed by the team either. But as Rob and Josh grow closer and start spending more time together away from the field, Rob realizes that his friend is hiding something. The bruises on Josh's body and his reluctance to let Rob know about certain parts of his life have Rob suspicious. When Josh's secrets are finally revealed and become life threatening, Rob and his family must step up to the plate. Rounding Third was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award & a finalist for a San Diego Book Award.

Walter G. Meyer began his writing career when he won a short-story contest while in elementary school in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He turned pro when he started freelancing for the local newspaper when he was in ninth grade covering topics ranging from the JFK assassination to the high school baseball team while he was a member of that team. He wrote for the Daily Collegian at Penn State and created such a name for himself that some of his work was printed in a book celebrating the first 100 years of the school paper. Shortly after graduating, he was asked back to speak at his alma mater—a rare honor for a 21-year old. He went on to freelance for numerous newspapers and magazines including the Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Magazine, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Orange Coast, Westways and the Orange County Register. After his own coming out story was published in the Los Angeles Times Magazine it was reprinted around the world and he received hundreds of emails from people whose lives it touched. He has written for the national gay magazines Hero and Xodus and he has penned numerous articles for the two largest: The Advocate and Out. His interest in baseball continued and he did a story for San Diego Magazine about college baseball. He has co-written two nonfiction books. Going for the Green: Selling in the21st Century is a business book in the form of a novel which teaches the right way to sell. Day is Ending: a doctor’s love shattered by Alzheimer's disease, was optioned to be a movie based on his script. Meyer has appeared before many Alzheimer’s groups and care facilities to talk about that tragic disease. He has spoken on other serious topics like the environment, but has also done stand-up comedy. A comedy play that he co-wrote, GAM3RS, was produced to rave reviews in New York, received a fantastic reception at MIT and in other performances around the country. It has been optioned to a web/TV series. Several of his screenplays have been optioned. being considered as the basis for a television sitcom. He has volunteered for AIDS Walk San Diego, as well as the GLBT Center and Hillcrest (LGBT) Youth Center in San Diego, Gay Pride and the Marriage Equality Project. His own experiences on his high school’s baseball team and his work as a mentor with gay youth inspired much of the story of Rounding Third. “Rounding Third” powerfully addresses the topics of teen bullying and suicide was published just as those crises started making the news. Mr. Meyer has received many requests to write about the crisis for many publications and web sites including the San Diego Union-Tribune and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and to speak about the topic at colleges, community centers, libraries, and corporations across the country including Arizona State University, San Diego State, Raytheon, the Lemon Grove (CA) Library, the Bethel Park (PA) Library, Penn State, SUNY Jamestown, and the LGBT Center of Cleveland. He has coordinated anti-bullying programs with members of the San Diego School Board and City Council and is certified by the international nonprofit, “No Bully” to conduct their anti-bullying interventions in schools.