STROKE

Set on the Texas Gulf Coast, STROKE is the story of a young woman's quest to compete in the male-dominated world of professional pool.

Sedonia Forbes was raised by a single-parent father, who fostered her athletic skills and encouraged her competitive nature. After graduating from college, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur Golf Championship and was heralded as an up-and-coming, female Tiger Woods.

   However, shortly before Sedonia was to turn professional, she received    two crushing blows. The first was the death of her father, and the    second was a severe shoulder injury that precluded her ever playing    golf again. These losses brought her life to a standstill.

   As the story opens, however, Sedonia's competitive nature and her    need to excel begin to kindle. And, leaving her country-club life behind,    she enters the green felt, poolroom jungle.

    TO PURCHASE, CLICK ON:           

www.amazon.com                         Hardcover  ISBN 0-9720293-8-9
www.barnesandnoble.com          Soft cover  ISBN 0-9720293-4-6 Other online bookstores

 

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      REVIEWS:

"Stroke is really a fun read.  I love Sedonia's heart, guts and her fearless and ambitious determination to be as good as she can be."
               Ewa Laurance, Women’s Professional Billiard
               Association, BCA Hall of Fame member

"Stroke is amazing, and Miller gets it right.  He knows the game as well as the pain, sacrifice, and beauty of competitive sports.  A wonderful look at pool and at life."
               Jeanette Lee, Women’s Professional Billiard Association
               former WPBA Player of the Year, World Games Gold
               Medalist

 "True lovers of pool will fall in love with Stroke.  With a deft touch and a keen eye, Carlos Ledson Miller has captured the sport in all its nuanced beauty."
              R. A. Dyer, author of Hustler Days—Minnesota Fats, Wimpy
              Lassiter, Jersey Red, and America’s Great Age of Pool

"Stroke stays true to the game.  Inspiring.  Ambitious.  A thoroughly enjoyable book."
               Kim White, Women’s Professional Billiard Association

"Like A River Runs Through It and The Hustler, Stroke transcends the central activity of its characters and emerges, not only as a great pool story, but simply a great story.  As a pool player I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I know it will appeal to anyone who appreciates literature, regardless of any prior exposure to the game."
               Tom Ross, author, Billiards Digest Magazine contributor

"An awesome, original novel.  Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.  Sedonia is my hero!"
               Deanna Henson, Women’s Professional Billiard Association and
               Hunter Classics Amateur Women’s Tour

"Good pool fiction is hard to find.  Hence, it was real treat to find a new billiard novel that is well written and a good read.  Most pool players can identify with Stroke, but it is clearly deserving of a wider audience."
               Sheri Richardson, publisher and editor, Chalk and Cue Magazine.

"An enjoyable book.  I identify with Sedonia’s intense ambition to win an open world championship.
               Jackie Broadhurst, former Billiard Congress of America,
               Women’s Singles Champion

"Stroke is a great book and one of a kind.  Truly a must read for the player in all of us.  It spots other pool stories “the six and the breaks.”
               Michele Thompson, former Valley National 8-ball Association
               Women’s Singles Champion

"Stroke is a big book.  I must confess, however, that I read the entire thing, cover to cover in two sittings, that last one lasting from early evening to 5:37 in the morning, which says a lot about the quality of the story."
               Bob Henning, author, Cornbread Red

"Great Story!  And Sedonia selects the perfect cue stick for her quest."
             Jerry Olivier, cue maker, Jerry Olivier Custom Cues

"A fast-paced, authentic presentation of the world of women's pool.  I feel as if I know Sedonia, Hannah, “French Quarter” Jimmy, and all the other compelling characters in this story."
              Lucille Donahue, director and player, Hunter Classics Women’s
              Tour

"Miller understands the game, and he captures the settings where it’s played."
               Sonny Daughtry, owner and house pro, Breakers Billiards

"Miller, who has shown himself to be a consummate story teller in his past books, proves again that he know a great deal about yet one more subject.  Stroke is a real page turner.  I couldn’t put it down."
               Guida M. Jackson, author of Passing Through and Women Who
               Ruled

"An inspiring novel for all of us hoping to find our way through life’s ups and downs.  Everyone involved in the world of pool will be able to identify with Sedonia and the characters she encounters."
               Anne Mayes, former player, Women’s Professional Billiard
               Association, now cue maker, Annie O’s Custom Cues

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