I wrote my first Dale Earnhardt book (I Remember Dale Earnhardt) by sheer accident.
When Ed hung up the phone, he looked at me and said, "Why didn't I just hand him to you?"
He explained that Cumberland House Publishing out of Nashville was looking to write a book about Dale Earnhardt, who had died a month or so earlier.
Ed gave me the name and number of the man who had called (Mike Towle), and I quickly called him. I got voice mail and left a message. A few minutes later, he called back.
Mike wanted to see if I could do what I said, so he had me email a bunch of stories I'd written. And he posted me two "I Remember..." books he'd written, including one about Walter Payton.
The next day, we agreed that I'd write the book.
I won't go into details about the book, but there was something that most people didn't know: I was almost deathly ill during the production of the book.
I kept getting weaker and weaker, and we didn't know what was wrong. I'd call people in the morning and write after lunch. When I couldn't think anymore, I'd watch TV.
Long story short, my cardiologist had me do a sleep study, and I learned I had sleep apnea. Once I started using a CPAP machine to help my night breathing, I almost immediately got well.
One other thing: Mulhern wasn't the first person Cumberland House approached. They asked the Nashville racing writer, Larry Woody, if he'd be interested. He didn't have time, so they called Mulhern ... and found me.
Finally, I Remember Dale Earnhardt was re-done as Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.
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