By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
When Larned's Rob Munden is not playing pickleball, he's still thinking about pickleball. Now four-plus years of labor are paying off with Munden's first novel, "Peanut Butter Pickleball and Murder." The established playwright has a logical reason for writing the book.
"The reason I decided to write my first novel is I went on Amazon to look for a novel about pickleball, and I couldn't find one," he said. "I said, ah heck, I'll just write my own. I thought if I can't find a pickleball novel, I'll just write the pickleball novel."
Munden graduated from Hoisington High School, Barton Community College, and Fort Hays State University before settling back in the area in Larned. More than 30 of his plays have been produced or had special readings throughout Kansas, Minnesota, and Florida. Writing a novel, he said, is quite different than writing a play.
"The biggest difference is, with a play, I'm really limited to what I can do on a stage," said Munden. "So what people can see on the stage, and the number of characters, obviously, is limited to what can be put on a stage. Whereas a novel is so expansive, I can put as many characters and people, any place in the world. That's the biggest difference. I thought it would make it easier, but it actually makes it harder. You have a lot more people and places to keep track of during the book."
His first novel is set in Wichita, where a group of pickleball players begins to postulate that a serial killer known as the PB Killer is not actually into peanut butter so much as he is into pickleball.
Munden chose Wichita because of the large number of professional pickleball players there. He enjoys playing himself, competing in tournaments around Kansas. Earlier this year, he finished second in the Wichita River Fest Tournament in the 50-and-over age group. His book is not only a thriller but a way to promote the growing sport.
"Off and on, four and a half years, it took a lot longer to write a novel than I ever dreamed," he said. "It was a lot of fun, and I really feel like I have a pretty high-quality product, and I'm pretty excited about it."
Munden will be signing copies of "Peanut Butter Pickleball and Murder" at a meet and greet at the Great Bend Public Library on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m.