My first novel, “Running for Home,” will be published in April by Bottom Dog Press. Set in the 1980s, it’s the story of Kevin Ward, a track and cross-country star at a high school across the street from the auto plant where his father works. When the plant closes down, his father has to decide whether to take a transfer to Tennessee, and Kevin steps up his training in an attempt to win a scholarship to the state university.

“Running for Home” is a fictional sequel to “Midnight in Vehicle City,” taking place at a time when the half century of prosperity created by the Sit Down Strike was ending. As many first novels are, it’s also autobiographical. I ran track at Lansing Sexton High School, across the street from a Fisher Body plant, which has since been demolished. I didn’t run the mile in close to four minutes, as Kevin does, but as the saying goes, “If you can’t have it in real life, you can have it on paper.”