Byer, Heather

PERSONAL:

Born in Columbus, OH. Education: Brown University, B.A.; Johns Hopkins University, M.A. Hobbies and other interests: Playing pool, salsa dancing.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Brooklyn, NY. Agent—Bonnie Solow, Solow Literary Enterprises, 862 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. #252, San Anselmo, CA 94960. E-mail—heather@heatherbyer.com.

CAREER:

Franklin & Siegal Associates, New York, NY, literary scout; Kopelson Entertainment, New York, NY, vice president of literary acquisitions; Contentville, New York, NY, executive editor. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, fiction and poetry writing instructor; Towson University, Baltimore, English composition instructor.

WRITINGS:

Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey (memoir), Riverhead Books (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Heather Byer was a thirty-year-old executive when she began her search for an escape from her high-powered career, a search that took her into the world of pool, often just as demanding as her former career, but in an entirely different way. Byer documents her quest in Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey, in which she recalls her first foray into a New York pool room and then describes her fascination with the game and its followers. Unusual because most books about pool are written by men, the book reveals how Byer took lessons, bought her own cue, and became part of the world of pool. She writes of the emotional highs and lows she experiences, as well as her affairs with other players. Byer tells how she joined teams and experienced an adventure in a Mexican poolroom.

A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote: ‘Pungent character sketches and lucid accounts of various games constitute Byer's narrative meat, seasoned with a bit of romance and the customary girl-pal.’ ‘This love letter to the game is strictly for pool fans, who will delight in the inside take as well as the validation,’ concluded a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Byer, Heather, Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey, Riverhead Books (New York, NY), 2007.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2007, Keir Graff, review of Sweet, p. 15.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2006, review of Sweet, p. 1251.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, March 25, 2007, Emily Rapp, review of Sweet, p. R5.

New York Times Book Review, March 4, 2007, Danielle Trussoni, review of Sweet, p. 17.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2006, review of Sweet, p. 40.

ONLINE

Heather Byer Home Page,http://heatherbyer.com (September 21, 2007).