Ralph Bland's fourth novel, ACE, follows the flights, fancies, and comic pratfalls of John (Ace) Hardaway as he navigates eight months of life in 2005 Nashville, Tennessee. Ace, former pitching phenom and athlete extraordinaire, is now 55 years old and attempting to weather the midlife crisis threatening to envelop him - sexual temptations, ghostly visitations, Burmese Pythons beneath his porch, even a mysterious stalker who wants him dead - but through it all, Ace, oft-poetic and unflappable, continues to seek answers for the overwhelming questions swirling about him, while also learning a few things about baseball, women, and why sometimes a fellow's talents refuse to stay buried in the ground.