Paul Shirley Pt. Deux

“People are constantly trying to impress you with how hard they are working.”

One of our favorite Moonlighters returns to the pod this week to cover the many unique projects he has going on. Many listeners will remember Paul Shirley from his Cyclone playing days in the late 1990s and early 2000s or his travels as a basketball player for 12 separate ball clubs. More recently though, Paul Shirley has made a name for himself as a writer. He released his book Can I Keep My Jersey in 2007 and came on the podcast to talk about his 2017 book Stories I Tell on Dates. He has also written for a few outlets online, including ESPN and a Spanish newspaper. Now he joins the podcast after the recent release of his book Ball Boy and shares about some of his other projects, including a non-Matt Campbell related enterprise called The Process.

“I don’t want to blow my achilles in a rec game.”

Shirley shares that his career as a writer isn’t totally different than his work on the court. His approach relies on routine. Just like a young athlete models his game after a sports hero, Shirley tries to emulate writers that match his style and play to his midwestern strengths. And like his efforts on the court, Shirley has used those strengths to launch a post-basketball career that includes multiple books and the Writer’s Blok in LA. In this conversation Shirley dives deep into his first novel Ball Boy and how he creates not just characters but a world. 

In this wide ranging interview, Tim and Paul Shirley talk about his writing career, his playing career, and so much about the world today. They cover everything up to and including the Cyclones’ black jerseys. This conversation goes so well, that a 2000 ISU vs. Michigan State Elite 8 game watch might be in the near future.

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