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MEET JEFF SAVAGE
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do as a child?

Jeff, Savage

Play with balls. Throw the football, dribble the basketball, hit the golf ball. (I played those sports in high school.) I also liked to read the sports section of the newspaper, solve math problems in class, and, oddly enough, do homework at the green wooden desk my dad built for my bedroom (what kid likes to do homework?!).

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

The books I did not read. We had tall shelves of thick hardcover books in our modest house. My mom and dad read a lot. My dad liked to say, "Put your nose in a book." My mom kept trying to get me interested in books -- adventures, mysteries, science fiction -- but I guess they weren't the right books for me. I didn't want to spend time reading all those pages. There were two books in my elementary school library that excited me: biographies of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. I read those books over and over again. Those were the only two sports books in the library. So, while I wasn't a bookworm, I think the presence of books my parents read from those shelves quietly influenced me.

If you didn't start writing as a child, then when did you start writing and what inspired you to start?

I started writing in college. Since I couldn't be a pro athlete, I wanted to find another way to be connected to sports. I joined the UC San Diego newspaper staff as a sportswriter, just to try it. I loved it. I became sports editor the following year. I also was the sports director of the campus radio station KSDT and the public address announcer for Triton basketball and volleyball. I changed my major (for the third time) to communications and journalism (double major) and found my direction.

What other jobs have you had before you became a writer?

I worked as a baby furniture stock boy, fast-food fry cook, car wash attendant, waiter, caterer, residential appraiser, and disc jockey. I worked at those jobs in high school and college.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

I haven't had a job since graduating college. I got my only "professional" job while still attending college. The San Diego Union-Tribune hired me as a sportswriter. How lucky was that?!? So, for the next eight years, during and after college, I went all around the country attending sporting events and writing about them. The editors let me write stories for other sections of the newspaper, too. Imagine going backstage at concerts -- for free! In 1992 I left the newspaper to focus on writing books that many kids want to read – you know, sports books. I knew from my childhood that we needed more of these books – to cast a wider net. I don't consider this a job. It's an obligation.

Where do you get your ideas?

I have three rules for choosing whom to write about: 1. The athlete must be very talented. Not necessarily the best, but at least an A-player. 2. The athlete needs to have a few years of professional life left. I wouldn't write about somebody who is about to retire. Kids want to read about the people they see on TV. It's hard for many kids to connect with explorers or people on the prairie. They connect with current role models. Which brings me to this: 3. Good role models. The people I write about must have good behavior, a good attitude, make smart choices. There are certain athletes I won't write about. I've had to say no to publishers. That doesn't happen anymore. Mypublishers now are great – we are completely in agreement on this.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

No. I’m the point-A to point-B type. Once I start something, I have to finish it. Maybe I was conditioned by those years of newspaper reporting – checking the clock, meeting the deadline. My second favorite three-word phrase is "Get it Done!"

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

I travel often to visit schools. It's harder to make time to write when I'm on the road. Except on airplanes. I love the four or five hours of uninterrupted write time flying across the country. When I'm home, I have a routine. I get my boys ready for school (my wife is a teacher and she's out the door when I'm making them breakfast), and then I research or write in the office until noon. Then I go to the gym. In the evening, if something is pressing, I'll get back in the chair again for a few hours.

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

Plenty. I want them to see that writing is cool. There are rewards to writing. It isn't just a class assignment. Look at what writing gives me. Free games. Free food in the press box. I get to meet the athletes. I want them to see this. My visits are compound-themed. Confidence. Sportsmanship / anti-bragging, anti-bullying. Perseverance. Being a positive role model. Things kids need to hear. But most important, I want them to see a real value to writing. My “obligation” of writing sports books for students has been supplanted by visiting schools and influencing reluctant readers. That’s what I live for.