THE END GAME

By Michael Scott Clifton

Contemporary Sports Romance

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: August 8, 2025

SYNOPSIS

Eager to put his past behind him, Chris Cooper takes the head basketball job at Mayfield High School in Northeast Texas. Haunted by a history of rocky relationships, he’s surprised by the sparks his landlady, single mom, Jennie Sloan, ignites in him.

Despite trust issues from her own tumultuous past, something about the tall coach with emerald-green eyes makes Jennie believe in second chances. When her young son bonds with Cooper, the barriers Jennie built around her heart begin to crumble.

Excited about the raw potential of his team, Cooper is blindsided by Rocco Rawlings, the arrogant Head Football Coach and Athletic Director. The AD demands Cooper’s entire team play football. When Cooper refuses, Rawlings works to undermine the basketball program, and Cooper is forced to find inventive ways to succeed.

As the stakes rise on and off the court, Cooper and Jennie must contend with the demons of their past to protect the fragile flame they’ve lit, while Cooper’s scrappy team—fueled by grit, heart and a shared dream—might just defy the odds and reach the ultimate end game.

A state championship.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Journey into realms of magic and mystery

Michael Scott Clifton is a rapacious reader, gardener, and movie junkie. A resident of East Texas, he lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife, Melanie. A multi-award winning author, his books include The Treasure Hunt Club, The Janus Witch, and the Conquest of the Veil Series—The Open Portal, Escape From Wheel, A Witch’s Brew, and Cavern of the Veil Queen, and the award-wining Teen/YA novel, Edison Jones and the Anti-Grav Elevator. Pringle Prawn, an urban fantasy novel, is a 2024 Reader’s Favorite Book Award winner. Google him @authormsclifton, or visit his website at www.michaealscottclifton.com

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REVIEW

Texas-style Hoosiers meets a Hallmark movie, in book form. With its small-town, underdog-basketball-team-goes-to-the-state-championship feel-good story, paired with a sweet romance, The End Game checks all my boxes for an incredibly satisfying read.

… our lives aren’t blank pages in a book … We can’t skip the parts we don’t like and flip ahead to the parts we do.”

Michael Scott Clifton’s writing shows a cinematic quality that makes his work a great candidate for film adaptation. His deft use of classic storytelling elements—characters, setting, back story, conflict, and action—yielded a book that a wide range of readers would find engaging. Sports, romance, drama, faith. There’s something in it for everyone to enjoy.

From the first dribble of the ball, always look where you’re going, not where you’ve been.”

The large cast of characters includes a sympathetic hero in basketball coach Chris Cooper, a fascinating love-interest in Jennie, an obstructive antagonist in Rawlings, a wise mentor in Julius, and a wonderful group of young athletes who are easy to root for. The romance between Cooper and Jennie, although fast-paced, was seamlessly integrated into the story and enhanced the overall theme rather than distracting from it. Jennie and her son Josh were essential parts of Cooper’s personal endgame.

Individual players don’t win games. Teams do.”

The basketball scenes are where this book shines the most. Mr. Clifton’s descriptions of the players’ moves in the games and Cooper’s strategic coaching instructions made the book come alive. There were several heart-in-throat moments as well as fist-pump celebrations. It was as if I was watching the action on TV without the added cursing-at-the-referees part of the normal viewing experience.

In essence, The End Game is a slam dunk of a story. Swish.