Still Doing Time
Former minor-league baseball player Jimmy Bailey
About The Book
Book Shorts
Still Doing Time
Former minor-league baseball player Jimmy Bailey spent four years in incarcerated after taking a plea deal for a crime he didn’t commit. He believed freedom awaited him on the day his sister, Debbie, picked him up from Walpole State Prison, a maximum-security facility in Massachusetts and brought him home to live with his mother in North Weymouth, Massachusetts.. Little did he know that both he and Debbie, as well as others they knew and loved, would face stalking, kidnapping, and more from people associated with the prison, and, even though Jimmy was no longer behind bars, he still didn’t feel free. Begun as a sequel to the 2017 novel Empty Seats by this author, Still Doing Time Iis a journey into intrigue, crime, conspiracy, kidnapping, baseball, and even a little romance, set in eastern Massachusetts in 1976. A touch of feminism, introspection, soul-searching, and racism cap off this novel, which also interacts with several celebrities of the time.
🧐What readers say about the book
STILL DOING TIME by Wanda A. Fischer began as a sequel to the author’s earlier book EMPTY SEATS. Jimmy Bailey had a great future pitching in minor league baseball until he was charged and found guilty of manslaughter, then sentenced to four years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. During his incarceration, Jimmy helped his cellmate, Keeshaw Washington, a short, skinny African American, read and pass his GED. They kept to themselves and were considered best friends – often accused of being a gay couple. Jimmy was a big guy who watched over Keeshaw and kept other cellmates looking for trouble at bay. It’s now 1976, and the tale continues in Boston. Jimmy’s gorgeous sister came to prison upon his release to escort him home to live with his mother. When leaving, she confronted a guard for attempting to cop a feel, her dress down embarrassed him in front of his peers. That same night, Keeshaw is brutally beaten - almost to death and transferred to the local hospital. Jimmy visits his friend in the hospital and is later mugged and sent unconscious to a different hospital. Thus, the intrigue begins! Kershaw, Jimmy, his family, friends, and his new girlfriend are stalked, kidnapped, threatened, beaten, and almost killed. Why? Who was behind this? Was this a random coincidence? It turns out to be bigger than any of them thought. This error-free story will keep you riveted to the pages. Bostonians will revel in the author’s city street references and scene descriptions, visualizing them as they read along. This story flowed well, with many of the chapters dedicated to a specific character who continued moving the story along, often ending in a cliffhanger. I was engaged in STILL DOING TIME from the beginning to the end and highly recommend it. My only criticism is that STILL DOING TIME appeared to end suddenly—not that I’m unsatisfied, but the story was still great, and I thought it could have continued for several more chapters. Perhaps there will be a sequel to this one. Notwithstanding, I gave it five stars.
John
About The Author
Wanda Adams Fischer
Wanda Fischer began writing seriously when she was in the second grade.
She has loved baseball since she was nearly eight years old. At one point in her life, she aspired to become a sportswriter; however, in the mid-to-late 1960s, that avenue was difficult for women to pursue. After retiring from a 40-year career in public relations/marketing/media relations, she parlayed her love of America’s pastime into her first novel, “Empty Seats,” which is not necessarily about her favorite team, the Boston Red Sox.
Since that her debut novel appeared, she has released a second book, “A Few Bumps,” along with several short stories, all of which are available on Amazon.
When not writing or watching baseball, she’s listening to folk music for her show, “The Hudson River Sampler,” on WAMC-FM, the Albany, New York National Public Radio affiliate–a program she’s done since September 1982. In February 2019, the Folk Alliance International inducted her into its Folk Music DJ Hall of Fame. The Proctors Collaborative also inducted her into the local Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame in 2023 to recognize the work she has done to promote music in New York’s Capital Region.
In 2012, she auditioned to become the public address announcer for the Red Sox and made the finals for the job, but ultimately wasn’t chosen. On August 5, 2012, she announced a complete game between the Red Sox and Minnesota Twins on “Vermont Day.”
She and her husband Bill, a retired physician, met at a coffeehouse at Boston College in 1966 and were married in 1973. They have two grown children and six grandchildren. They live in Schenectady, New York.