[I asked Jeff Savage, the author of many of our Amazing Athletes titles, to be this week’s Lerner guest blogger. Be gentle with him! It’s his first blog ever. He lives in California, not far from where I grew up.]

My father came for a visit last weekend. As he was watching TV, our telephone rang. I couldn’t hear it ring because my dad had the TV volume set at “earsplitting,” but I could see it ring. Incoming calls at our house appear on the TV. “Good Gawd, what is that?!” he shouted. I love watching my dad react to new technology. He is 85 years old and lives in a cabin in the Sierra Nevada.

My dad is not hip, but he does have some good qualities. For one, he’s alive. For another, he likes to read. Not on the Internet or Kindle2. Good Gawd, what is that?! I’m talking about books. My dad is one of the smartest people I know, and I think it’s because he reads so many books. My dad’s love of books somehow got channeled to me. I am not keeping count, but I have written 176 children’s books. My mission is to provide to kids everywhere massive amounts of fun and interesting recreational reading about sports figures.

While I am proud to be like my father in certain ways, I take careful measures to avoid other traits, such as unpleasant ear hair. Or being no longer hip. To that end, I am writing this blog. It’s my first! I am becoming evermore globally wired. I don’t actually have my own social-networking accounts yet, but I have been invited more than three times to join one as someone’s friend! I am one of the most popular people I know.

Just today, for instance, I received an email [this is true] from a school librarian in Texas where I will be visiting next month. She wrote, “My 6^th grade son so wants to meet you. Is there any chance I could pay you to come to my house one afternoon while you are in town to talk to my 3 boys?” While I mull over a reasonable fee for such an appearance, the truth is, I visit schools where I show students how cool my job is, meeting and writing about famous athletes. By extension, the kids think my books are cool, and that’s the critical point. Because then they buy them, and this, in turn, helps me afford our ridiculous mortgage. And now, once this blog posts, I can call myself a blogger. It’s another important step in my progressively crazy world.