The Denn Doyle Novels

 

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In 1998 I wrote a book called Stone Cold about a teen named Dennis Doyle who discovered within himself a talent for winning at poker. Now, 1998 was not that long ago, but back then the game of Texas Holdem was as unfamiliar to the average teen as mah-jongg. The book did not sell very well, and in 2001 it went out of print.

That was the same year that poker tournaments hit the small screen. Within a year, millions of young men were watching televised poker tournaments and learning the intricacies of the greatest table game ever invented. It took three more years for me to convince my publisher to reissue the book, and when they finally did, it was with a new title: No Limit.

The reason for the name change was twofold. First, my publisher hoped it would make the book sound more "pokery." Second, I was tired of explaining to teen readers why there was no pro wrestling in the book. (Pro wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was huge back then.)

A few years later I started thinking about a different (for me) approach to telling a story, and I decided to use it to tell Denn Doyle's ongoing story. The result was All-In.