Writing/Editing Credits

The following are just a few of the many books I've written under my own name or on which I've collaborated in various capacities over the years.

Dr. Jonathan Javitt, a senior White House health advisor for the past three administrations, has written a rivetting thriller in which the threat of genetically modified food from a leading chain of drop-in coffee stores is suspected of causing a national health crisis. Gwen Maulder, division chief of the Food and Drug Administration, begins the investigation after the sudden death of her good friend, lawyer Marci Newman. The quest for answers to a growing number of unexplained deaths leads to powerful politicians and international intrigue on three continents. I am proud to have been editorial consultant for this novel by Dr. Javitt, who is also a Senior Fellow for the National Security Health Policy Center. "Almost impossible to put down." — NEW YORK POST

Robert J. Flower, PhD, is an investment specialist, scholar, and systems specialist who has traveled the world in search of truth and understanding in multiple disciplines of study. In Decoding Potential, Dr. Flower reveals the pathway to achieving potential in any area of life using his revolutionary system called NATI – Natural Thinking and Intelligence. Using educational psychology, quantum physics, and systems analysis as a foundation for NATI, Dr. Flower explains that we can reach our true potential through understanding thirteen types of innate intelligence shared by every human being. Dr. Flower has lectured on NATI around the world, including the United Nations. It was a privilege to have been editor for Decoding Potential.

Comedian, actor, and author Glenn Rockowitz writes with honesty, and at times dark humor, of his battle with cancer, beginning with his diagnosis that he had "three months at best" to live. Written in a unique narrative voice and form, Rodeo in Joliet describes the panic, fear, and extreme phsyical discomfort Rockowitz endured on his way to a miraculous remission. Rockowitz also narrates stories about the birth of his only child at this time of his life, as well as the sudden ironic death of his father, also from cancer, shortly after Rockowitz breaks the news of his own diagnosis to his dad. As an editorial consultant on this remarkable tale of cancer survival, I found the story to be tragic, heartbreaking, and triumphant.

While most clients prefer confidentiality, some do not mind acknowledging the collaboration. In 2004, I worked on One Hell of a Ride by Lou Federico. Mr. Federico was one of the first men to build luxury resort hotels in Baja, California, constructing his own roads and airstrips in the barren terrain while battling the Mexican government for the necessary licenses and permits. He is an avid fisherman and hunter who entertained people like John Wayne, Fred Astaire, Jayne Mansfield, and other Hollywood notables on their vacations to Mexico. His is an engaging life story, and one that I am proud to have helped shape.

Gary Weart's A Teacher Shoots Back is an engrossing memoir about the author's fight to prevent school violence. Gary lost thirteen students to murder during his teaching career in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg school district of North Carolina. He helped form SAVE – Students Against Violence Everywhere – which has chapters in forty-six states and five foreign countries. Gary worked with U.S. senators, congressmen, governors, and mayors, as well as with two United States presidents. He recently received a letter from Hillary Clinton congratulating him on his book, and I am proud to call him my friend three years after our collaboration.

Kateri Courtney contacted me after a New York City editing company had completely botched her middle reader. The book they'd given her had hundreds of grammatical mistakes and dozens of plot inconsistencies. It was the worst editing job I'd ever seen, and she'd been charged eighteen thousand dollars for the shoddy work. I re-edited this enjoyable tale about Welby Wandernaught who must fight an evil spider-king in the fantasy landscape of an old woman's patchwork quilt. It is a work of great imagination, and I am grateful to Kateri for allowing me to reshape her book into publishable form. It's a great read for children eight to twelve.

John Lennon and the Mercy Street Café – This is the latest novel under my own name. John Winston Lennon was shot outside the Dakota Building on December 8, 1980. In November of 2006, he finds himself standing in Grand Central Station, unaware that he was assassinated. Is he a ghost? Perhaps not. On her way home from work, ad exec Amy Parisi sees the former Beatle sitting alone in the Mercy Street Café in Greenwich Village. There's only one problem – there's no Mercy Street in the Village, and Amy is the only one who can see the café. In the weeks that follow, Amy and Lennon take one of the most incredible road trips in rock-and-roll history, one far stranger than any acid-induced hallucination from the sixties. The novel is the story of a man, the voice of an entire generation, who must face the inner demons that plagued both his childhood and his years as the most recognizable figure in popular music.

The Erotic Manifesto – Dr. Marionette Dish, paleontologist for a university in the western United States, believes she knows the whereabouts of a missing part of the fabled Kama Sutra. Her search for the document leads to a remote monastery in Argentina. The CIA is hot on her heels, however, believing that great sex might be a national security risk. What Marionette and the CIA find, however, is a manifesto that is far from what they expected. The novel is sharp satire on Western Civilization's use of sex to sell products, as well it's use of sex to manipulate cultural mores through the media to increase television ratings. I wrote this fast-paced novel in 2002, and it is still available from the publisher.

Salamander Illusions – I wrote this novel in 2000. It is an experimental novel using the short chapter format of 1970s cultural icon and author, Richard Brautigan. Lamont Bistro is a veteran from the first Gulf War. While attending art school on permanent disability for injuries sustained in the Middle East, he meets lovely nineteen-year-old painter Jaguar Montaigne, who puts herself through college by waiting tables at a Bourbon Street strip club. Lamont and Jaguar marry and move to Honey Island Swamp, where the ghost of Richard Brautigan gives Bistro lessons in writing and life as Jaguar proves to be a promiscuous woman with aspirations to climb the ladder of corrupt Louisiana politics. Several agents called the book one of the most innovative novels they'd read in years. (out of print as of 2005)

Rimsky Rises – Original publisher's jacket blurb for this novel I wrote in 1999: Rimsky Rises is a young adult novel in which a teenager, Rimsky, believes he has received an e-mail from God as he struggles through his parents' divorce. Join Rimsky as he reveals his philosophy of life. Wander through his daily interactions with Pods, Zims, and teachers from hell. Did he really get an email from God? Why was a man wearing a chicken suit playing Rimsky's guitar? Is Uncle Rupert crazy? Most importantly, will he succeed in reuniting his divorced parents? This mostly hilarious, sometimes poignant look at life through the eyes of the young teenager, Rimsky, will leave you wanting more! (out of print)