KCCI Sports Director Reister realizes dream with his first book – Newton Daily News

Scott Reister, sports director at KCCI Channel 8, had an idea as a kid: What if Little League was a matter of life and death?

“If I don’t hit the ball, everyone around me dies. That was the idea,” Reister said Wednesday during a book signing at Maytag Pool. “I’ve had this idea in my head since I was a kid. So it’s been there for maybe 30 years.”

The idea Reister had as a child recently became a reality when his first children’s book, “Baseball Spy,” was published and hit the market in late April.

Since then, he has performed in central Iowa and even returned to his home state of Texas.

At Maytag Pool on Wednesday, Reister talked to children during swim breaks, handed out candy and popsicles and sold a few books.

“The book is for all ages, but if you’re under 10, you might find it more difficult,” Reister said. “There’s also a very strong girl character in it.”

The process of building the book from the ground up began in late 2017. That’s when Reister decided to figure out how to do it. He started reading books about story structure and listening to other writers talk about their craft.

It took about two years from the idea to the outline. Reister didn’t want to self publish his book, so he played the long game and was prepared to spend ten years on it if necessary.

Four or five agents eventually requested a manuscript. And one of them signed Reister just before COVID in 2020. He signed a three-book deal with Young Dragons Press in late 2022.

Football Spy and Basketball Spy are the next books in the series. Baseball Spy reached number 1 on Amazon in April.

“It’s a wild dream come true,” said Reister. “It was a crazy idea I had as a kid. The work and patience paid off.”

“My children saw me staying in their rooms for long periods of time working on it, not knowing if it would lead to anything. But when the first box of books was delivered and we were allowed to open it as a family six years later, it was such a joyous time. Everyone screamed.”

Baseball Spy is about 240 pages long, and Reister designed it so that each chapter is super short and ends with a cliffhanger.

“Some kids told me they read it in one day,” Reister said. “And another told me they stayed home during recess to read it.”

“I’ve heard from girls telling me how inspiring the girl character is. Those are good recommendations.”

The main character in Baseball Spy is Zane. He finds out that someone on his little league baseball team is a deadly cyber spy. Zane must find out who the spy is. The stakes keep getting higher and the big twist happens about two-thirds of the way through the book.

Reister has appeared at Barnes and Noble in West Des Moines as well as some minor leagues in central Iowa. He has also visited two schools and Beaverdale Books.

His most memorable appearance, however, may have been a trip back to Dallas, Texas, where he grew up, where he also held a book signing at Barnes and Noble.

“It’s right next to the Little League field I played on,” Reister said. “My old Little League coach and some teammates came to the book signing. I hadn’t seen those guys in 30 years. We brought 60 copies of the book that day and sold 50 of them. Sales have been great so far.”

“Baseball Spy” is available on Amazon.com and at all Barnes and Noble stores in Iowa.

Former MLB player Casey Blake also read it and wrote something for the back cover.

Football Spy is due to be released next year. Reister has already completed a draft of it.

“All three books feature the same characters,” Reister said. “I’m really happy with the beginning and the end of Football Spy. I still need to figure out how to make the middle part entertaining and exciting. I also know where I want the story to go in the third book.”