Choke hold: A novel [Paperback]

"... a damn good read with enough strife, sauciness and the purest plutonium style to justify a second read immediately..." -- The Edmonton Sunday Sun, August 6, 2000

"...breezy, honest and entertaining as hell... a tremendous first novel." -- See Magazine, May 11, 2000

"Kung Fu Writing: babiak is a writer, a fighter, a Canlit exciter." -- Vue Weekly, May 11, 2000

As Bruce Lee once said, "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person."

After suffering a trauma that would eventually shape his outlook on life, jeremy Little finishes high school and leaves for Boston to study drama. He drops out in his first year and becomes obsessed with martial arts training. Eventually he owns his own school, finds a girlfriend, and things seem to be looking up until one of his students kills a gay man. The resulting publicity destroy's Jeremy's business and he returns home to the small Alberta town of Seymour where he is forced to confront his old demons. Jeremy struggles with his fear as he learns to open himself up to his family and the possibilities of love.

Choke Hold is an original, quirky novel that follows the life of a young man who feels torn between the need to defend himself and the desire to stop fighting.

Todd Babiak grew up in Leduc, the town famous for the discovery of oil in Alberta. Todd has a B.A. in Political Science and his M.A. in English Literature/Creative Writing. Todd is currently living and working in Edmonton.