An Introduction to the Marshall Arts - Who I Am, and My Future on Substack
Why, hello there!
To begin, I must acknowledge an introduction might be somewhat unnecessary for a number of my readers, as I know some of you are longtime friends and family members. However, I intend on growing my platform and following as a writer dramatically in the coming year and, well, for decades to come. As such, there will be many readers who don’t know me initially on a personal basis, and I figure it’s ideal to give everyone a fresh rundown about me!
First, some background: My name is Marshall Patrick Garvey. I was born on November 21, 1989, during not only one of the greatest years in human history, but specifically during one of the human race's most uplifting moments: the fall of the Berlin Wall. I get that romanticizing the specific time one is born can be downright silly, as it’s really just an arbitrary date that you had no control over, when you think about it.
That said, I like to think that at the very least, that timing augured what has since shaped up to be a resplendent life as a writer, historian, and much more! My love of writing and history was especially instilled in me by my father at a young age, and I parlayed it into a bachelor’s degree in the latter capacity at UC Davis. Just two weeks before I graduated in June 2014, I was enlisted by the Sacramento Historical Society to write a book about the history of baseball in California’s capital. Talk about landing the perfect job right out of college!
In addition to that book, The Hidden History of Sacramento Baseball, my list of credentials as a published writer includes: Dodgers Nation, Teen Ink, The Sacramento Bee, Cygnus X-1, Richard Nixon Foundation, Sacramento Historical Society, Pacific Coast League Historical Society, Screen Rant, 80s Baseball, and more. In June 2013, I co-founded Last Token Gaming with my friend You Wei Randolph, an independent video game blog that has since become a staple in the rich local gaming scene in Sacramento.
My ultimate writing dream came true in May 2019, when I officially became a full-time professional writer and book author with a startup company based (fittingly!) in Davis called History Specialists. For almost two whole years, I literally (and I swear upon my Harry Dean Stanton and M. Emmet Walsh autographs I am not making this up) wrote history books for a living. Our original mission was to write deeply researched books about election history in particular to coincide with the then-upcoming 2020 presidential election and long afterwards.
It was, to put it mildly, a waking dream. Especially after a brutal stretch of humiliating dead-end jobs, to suddenly retreat into the safety of my apartment and write authentic history books 40 hours a week was the sort of personal fulfillment that felt like it could have only happened in my wildest fantasies…which made the reality that much better. Best of all, it paid so well that I could afford not only a single bedroom apartment in California and all expenses, but also an expensive monthly membership for the best boxing gym in Northern California, Jose Morales Boxing Academy.
Like many professional writers and other artists, however, that dream was upended by the godforsaken plague that ravaged the world and economy from 2020 onwards. History Specialists unfortunately closed its doors due to the concomitant recession in March 2021, putting me in the hitherto uncharted waters of being Just Another Unemployed Writer. Despite making headway on two major book projects that year - the first a 1985 World Series history book, the other a historical fiction novel - my determination to find another stable writing gig produced nothing except precarious freelance work.
Dispirited by my fruitless job search, I lost my passion for writing for a spell. Especially since it looked like I wouldn’t be doing it full-time for a living anytime soon, I began to seriously doubt if my lifelong pursuit was worth continuing at all.
Fortunately, that nadir turned out to be a temporary one! If anything, it simply validated the axiom about it being darkest just before dawn. Beginning in September 2022, I have experienced a nonstop upswing in writing - and life altogether - since moving into a new condo in Citrus Heights. My every word and action is so infused with alacrity that I now intend on making it to age 91 just like my ultimate hero, actor Harry Dean Stanton, and I love - and will continue to love - every single day of that marathon journey.
As for what I’m doing in life right now, both writing and all together, there is much excitement to report! In terms of my day job, I work for the most prestigious minor league baseball franchise in the country, the Sacramento River Cats (the AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants). After starting as a food service warehouse worker in September 2022, I was quickly promoted to the control room for the 2023 season, and am now working a dream job as a scoreboard operator. Naturally, I reside in the Sacramento area, in a beautiful condo in a peaceful neighborhood of the Citrus Heights area.
As for writing, I recently published a historical fiction novel I co-authored with my close friend Doug Weaver, Ellwood’s Odyssey. The novel, which starts with protagonist Ellwood Washington undertaking a daring rescue mission during the Korean War, is an exhilarating, utterly humane tale that encapsulates love, loss, grief, redemption, self discovery, and the importance of heritage. You can even buy your copy from Barnes and Noble!
Of course, as many of you know, my main priority right now as a writer (and really, as a human being) is my 1985 World Series book, Interstate ‘85: Whitey’s Cardinals, Howser’s Royals, The Call, and the Battle for the Heart of Missouri Baseball. To date, I have interviewed 25 people from the ‘85 Series for it, including George Brett, Ozzie Smith, Don Denkinger, Bud Black, Mark Gubicza, Andy Van Slyke, Jim Sundberg, Ricky Horton, Jana Howser, Charlie Leibrandt, Chris Browne, Brian Harper, and many more!
Writing the book has been a life-changing experience in ways I couldn’t have originally envisioned. It’s a story within itself, one that requires multiple posts of their own. All told, it has made me the man I am today, and I say that with the utmost love and integrity. I will be finishing it and submitting it for publication this year, more than in time for the 40th anniversary festivities in 2025. I cannot wait for the entire world to read it.
Naturally, my continued thriving in writing and life in general has inspired me to do as much writing as possible. Thus, I naturally gravitated towards Substack. As ideas for new articles, books, and other projects unspooled continuously over the past few months, my original idea was to create a blog on my official writer’s website to publish them.
However, especially given Substack’s widespread recognition and efficiency, I will instead do that here. And boy oh boy, can you expect plenty from me! Especially after I finish Interstate ‘85 in the next few months, thus freeing my schedule even more for any and all freelance and personal pieces.
Among the kinds of articles I plan on regularly writing here on Substack include:
Song of the Day - Short posts where I rave about a specific song I love, including a YouTube link to the song. I am a voracious music fanatic with literally thousands of favorite artists, so I will have many eclectic choices to share with you all!
Baseball Commentary - This is a given! I am as hardcore a baseball fan as possible. My favorite team is the Los Angeles Dodgers, although I am taking a break from this season. (It’s a long story, one I am strongly considering writing an article about here.) Especially since my time at Dodgers Nation was my first ever paid writing gig, I have a natural inclination to write about the Boys in Blue at length, both from a contemporary perspective and a historical one.
More importantly, I’m a baseball historian first and foremost. In addition to updates and reflections about Interstate ‘85, I will post anything about baseball past and present that I feel is worthy of a read. Especially since I just started my first full season as a River Cats scoreboard operator, in which my work is literally dictated by the exactitude and poetry of a game of baseball, inspiration as a baseball scribe will flow even better in 2023!
Classic Album Reviews - One of my most ambitious planned writing projects, and one I envision will likely be paid content when I’ve earned that stature. The array of artists whose classics I intend to review is as diverse as can be, among them Little Feat, Kendrick Lamar, Bruce Springsteen, Fleet Foxes, Elvis Presley, Bonnie Raitt, OutKast, Los Lobos, Marshall Crenshaw, Todd Rundgren, Beyonce, and MANY more.
I also intend on interviewing the actual artists and other personnel involved with each album when it’s plausible. If/when my budget allows, I also want to commission original artwork for each review that captures the essence of the band/artist and the album altogether. Above all, I want my enthusiasm for each album I review to be downright inescapable, and inspire others to experience the joy of listening to it!
Movie Reviews - Self-explanatory but utterly vital. I started my career as a writer as a film critic in middle and high school, and my passion for and understanding of cinema only grows with each passing year. I’ve already done a number of movie reviews and rankings for Last Token Gaming, but if I want to do one I feel isn’t appropriate there (and of course isn’t paid for by another publication), you will see it here.
Personal Reflections - As any close friend and family member will tell you, I am an exceedingly private person, especially on social media. I think that benefits me in countless ways. That said, there are moments and epiphanies in my amazing, deeply layered life that I do feel are worth sharing.
Life is more than just a continuum of personal growth - it’s one whose growth comes in complex, intertwined layers, some of which you might not realize fully for years. When it’s appropriate, and not in an embarrassing or overly revealing way, I will regale stories, lessons, beliefs, etc.
Writing Advice - As a professional writer now with two full decades of experience, I want to start paying it forward and helping other fellow writers out! Having done a lot, from newspaper articles to movie reviews to interviews to blogs to authoring multiple books, I have learned many lessons and developed techniques I think can help others.
Make no mistake: this won’t be anywhere near one of those Master Class sessions with writing legends far, far more talented and experienced than me. That being said, I am eager to help other writers reach their goals as much as I conceivably can muster. I believe writing, and accomplishing your dreams in general, is partly about helping others get to their destinations as well!
Boxing Commentary - This is as important as it gets. I am a hardcore fan of “The Sweet Science,” to the point of even training in boxing myself! I know the sport isn’t nearly as ubiquitous in popularity as it used to be, but it’s still the purest one of all, with layers of intrigue and high stakes unlike any other sport in the world. It also provides a frame of reference that seeps its way into every aspect of my daily life.
In this article series, I will not only write recaps and thoughts about current fights (as well as bits about my own workouts/training), but also chronicle legendary fights of the past. In particular, I am hoping to do a longform piece about the Hagler-Hearns “War” for its 40th anniversary in 2025, and if I can’t find another publishing home for it, then expect to see it right here on Substack!
Canceled! TV Shows That Ended Way Too Early - One of a few “hyper-specific” article categories I’m considering doing. My first, and most passionate, lamentation will be Netflix’s abhorrent cancellation of GLOW, which ultimately (among other reasons) drove me to cancel my subscription. Other likely subjects would be Freaks and Geeks, Twin Peaks, and The Critic, among others!
Especially after I finish Interstate ‘85 this year, you all should definitely expect to see more content from the above list (and other categories I didn’t even mention!) on as regular a basis as I can manage. Paid content will come when I feel I can consistently deliver it and thus truly deserve your hard-earned money.
In the meantime, if you haven’t, check out my Sacramento Kings article that kicked things off here for me, as well as my writer’s site that I linked above. If you want a concise look at some of my best articles to get a further idea of what I’m about, here’s my Clippings portfolio.
Thank you so much for your readership and support, wherever you may be. My journey in life as a writer is a magnificent one, and I am grateful to share it with each and every last one of you!
Love,
Marshall Garvey