A Debut Romance Set at the US Open You Need to Read | The Open Era by Edward Schmit
About this episode
Eddie Schmit discusses his debut queer tennis romance, The Open Era, and shares insights on mental health and identity.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What happens when the first openly gay man competes in a Grand Slam — and falls for his opponent across the net? Debut author Eddie Schmit joins the show to talk about The Open Era , his queer tennis romance that's equal parts heart-racing competition and sweet slow-burn love story. Eddie shares how a mental health journey led him to tennis, how tennis led him to a book deal with Penguin Random House, and why the US Open — right in his Queens backyard — became the perfect backdrop for a story about identity, anxiety, and falling in love at exactly the wrong time. We also dig into his reading list: the Andre Agassi memoir that gripped him from page one, a practical mental health survival guide, a quirky queer literary novel about a mountain lion in the LA hills, and a cozy paranormal romance that reads like a warm hug. 📚 Books Mentioned The Open Era by Edward Schmit — Buy on Amazon | Queer Romance / Sports Romance | Audio ✅ Open by Andre Agassi — Buy on Amazon | Memoir / Sports Nonfiction | Audio ✅ Where to Start by Mental Health America, illus. Gemma Carrell — Buy on Amazon |…
People in this episode
Host: Laura R Yamin
Guest: Eddie Schmit
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Penguin Random House
Books & works: The Open Era, Open, Where to Start, The Inner Game of Tennis, Dearly Departed
Places: US Open, Queens, LA
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