Zoe has two kids and a great talent. But pursuing that talent will mean making tough choices, leaving behind her old life and entering a strange new world. The world of professional sportswomen ...
KISSING THE PINK was my comic debut sports novel, set in the intriguing world of professional women snooker players (where I once lived and breathed snooker and nothing but snooker, rising to 24th in the world). First published in paperback by Sceptre back in 1999.
Here, I read an extract that came out of an inspired diary piece I wrote for the London Review of Books, entitled DIARY OF A HUSTLER.
The LRB essay, by the way, was later collected in an LRB sports essay book entitled 'Anyone for gulli-danda?' \"Here are ten of the best from the archives of the LRB, about tennis, football, snooker, speedboat racing, cricket, swimming, horse racing, basketball, cycling and surfing – but also so much else besides. Featuring: Tariq Ali, Gabrielle Annan, Terry Castle, Marjorie Garber, Jane Holland, Benjamin Markovits, Karl Miller, David Runciman, Amia Srinivasan and Heathcote Williams.\"
Now for the inevitable questions ...
No, I don't play snooker anymore, though I do occasionally pick up a pool cue.
Yes, if you've done your research, I really did get banned for life for bringing the game into disrepute.
And no, I never tell anyone why. Though perhaps if you read the novel ...
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