A few years ago, arguably my most important book was published. BIG IN JAPAN.
It tells the story of Buck Cooper, a hapless fat guy in Texas, who goes to Japan and inadvertently becomes the first blond sumo wrestler. A sports underdog/ fish out of water tale, t’s Beverly Hills Ninja goes sumo, and Buck has to face down serious enemies and danger — to get the girl. (Of course he has to get the girl. Even in the world of sumo, I write romance.)
This week I got a call from a high school teacher in Michigan who wants to use it for his class. Then yesterday, a friend posted on Facebook that it is in the curriculum of her English lit class at Arizona State University.
What!! That’s amazing. It makes me really happy–not just because of the obvious YAY of it all, but because of the lessons Buck learns by immersing in a different culture, facing down enemies, and maintaining his integrity. Students and readers can come away with a desire to find their own “sumo” — the thing that makes them into the champion that waits within each one of us.
I know a local English teacher who has developed a whole curriculum around the book. If you are interested in it, please contact me. I can put you in touch with him. He said he is happy to share it.
This morning I remembered that while I was researching for BIG IN JAPAN, I did a blog on the content of what I found over the two+ years of writing that novel.
I looked at it for the first time in … a while, and guess what. There are over 50 posts with actually some fascinating stuff I learned back then about the sport. I called it “Sumo Beautiful.” Here’s the link: http://sumobeautiful.blogspot.com/
