The following article appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal on Sept. 7 – you can read it by clicking here.

Fans of the Kansas City Royals are quite familiar with the voice of Steve Physioc. He can be heard covering their games on both radio and TV. Older Topekans recall Physioc talking about all things sports when he served at WIBW from 1979-1983. As a young reporter just out of Kansas State, Physioc showed up nearly everywhere a game was being played.

Next Saturday, the veteran sportscaster will be in Topeka to talk about something quite different. You might say it’s his dream come true.

It all started in 2006 when Physioc was vacationing in Italy with his wife. Possibly due to a strange bed, too much pasta or wine, or some divine revelation, Physioc awoke in the middle of the night from a vivid and detailed dream.

“It sounds odd, but I had a dream about a great walled city and a winemaker struggling to (produce his crop) while in the turmoil of World War I. Instead of going back to sleep, I got up and wrote down the outline. And the next day I told my wife what it was about, and she said ‘That sounds really cool.’

“So we go on traveling, and a week later we’re meeting friends in this town called Lucca, Italy. And as I’m driving in, I say to my wife ‘Stacey, oh my gosh, this is it. This is the walled city that was in my dream.’ Well now I’m interested, so I buy a book about the history of Lucca.”

The eventual result of that dream is a very non-sports work of historical fiction, The Walls of Lucca. Physioc, who never considered himself a particularly good writer, will be one of the featured authors at the annual Kansas Book Festival at the state Capitol in Topeka on Sept. 14.

Now in its ninth year, the Kansas Book Festival features author presentations, book signings and vendors, and children’s activities. The festival shines a spotlight on local authors.

“I was expecting to get negative reviews, because I wasn’t a writer,” Physioc said. “So I was surprised when it got good reviews.”

The Walls of Lucca didn’t just get good reviews. It won the 2019 Reader Views Historical Fiction Award and the 2019 Tyler R. Tichelaar Award for Best Historical Fiction. A sequel to The Walls of Lucca entitled Above the Walls is now available.

Physioc may be surprised by the success of his first book, but his fellow sports broadcasters aren’t.

“I’m not surprised, because for the past six or seven years, every time we’ve gotten on a bus, every time we’ve gotten on a plane, his nose has been in his computer, and he’s been typing away furiously,” said fellow Royals broadcaster Joel Goldberg. “I knew he was working on a book, but I didn’t realize the magnitude of it. And now that it’s out, and he’s written a sequel, it makes me think of the amount of effort that he’s put into it. Which really isn’t surprising, because it’s just the same as the way he prepares for a game – 100 percent all in.

“What (those attending the book festival) are going to see is an incredible passion for the history, for the characters that he’s developed. They are going to get a lesson not in just the process (of writing the book), but in the story. They are going to be in for a treat, because he’s so passionate about it.”

A graduate of Kansas State who cut his teeth as a student broadcaster, Physioc worked his way up to WIBW, where, from 1979 to 1983, he filled just about every role imaginable. He worked about 200 events a year, providing play-by-play for high school game, and developing as a newscaster. He said working every job at the station taught him not just a variety of skills but also an appreciation for everyone working behind the scenes.

“That was the perfect job for me,” Physioc recalled. “I loved Topeka and working at WIBW because they let us do every game. I got to know every single coach. I got to know the players. You really felt like you were part of the community.”

Physioc departed in 1983 for a string of opportunities broadcasting major college and professional sports. Apart from his many professional highlights, it was during the lowest point of his career that he began writing.

“Interestingly, I wrote the bulk of The Walls of Lucca when I lost the job with the Los Angeles Angels (in November, 2009). At first my wife said ‘What cool new adventure is ahead for us?’ And one week later she said ‘You’re going to get another job. Another team is going to hire you. But in the meantime, you’ve been writing this book for three years. Now’s your time to finish it.’ And the bulk of the book was written between then and 2012, when I was hired by the Royals.

“Was it good? No it wasn’t. It took me writing it over and over and over to get it to the point where I could get it to a developmental person, who tore it to shreds. But that process got it to where it became a finished product. Because of that process, I’ve become a better writer.”

The experience produced a personal philosophy that Physioc shares with others:

“Don’t be afraid of failure. I’ve been fired before. I’ve been told that I’m not that good. But if it’s your passion, chase it. Don’t chase money, because you’ll always be ultimately disappointed. But if you are investing in your passion, eventually money will follow, because you’ll be energized by doing what you love.”

Physioc brings that same optimism to his coverage of the Royals, a team mired in a difficult rebuild that now includes a change of ownership.

“As a broadcaster, I have to be able to articulate not just what’s happening on the field, but the bigger picture. I can get disappointed, just as any fan would, but as long as they’re trying, that means a lot to me.

“I am very interested in ‘faith lost, faith found.’ I believe in the process. I believe in where we are. And I believe in General Manager Dayton Moore. They have the discipline in the process, and part of that discipline is to go through tough times as you’re building. You’re trying to build in the minor league system a core group of players. And the great thing is we’ve seen it done before.”

So as the rebuild of the Royals inches forward, Physioc continues to write. He said he is working on a baseball-themed book now, with more projects in the offing.