But my greatest passion is writing thrillers. If I can get you, my readers, emotionally involved with the characters in my books, I hope maybe I can get you to join me in thinking about our critical societal issues. Stories are safe, after all, simply hearing a tale. And our world needs all the help it can get right now.

If you really want to know about my life, the short version is I was born in New York City, grew up on Long Island, and was transplanted to Texas the day after I graduated from Freeport High School. I majored in humanities at the University of Texas at Austin in the Plan II program and then started a Ph.D. in comparative religion at Temple University. Then I went back to Texas… That’s a story not fit for a website, but I graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1987 and then came home to New York to “find my roots.”

I started writing novels in 2017 when urgent care medicine became just too oppressive and I needed a creative outlet—and I guess, a platform. So CODE BLUE: The Other End of the Stethoscope, was born (but crafted into a medical thriller to avoid repercussions) and it graphically exposes the effects of corporate greed on the American healthcare system—within a fictional plot involving mysterious serial murders. 

As our culture in America became increasingly polarized with extremism now passing for the norm, I was looking for a way to explain the inexplicable behavior of rising hatred between neighbor and neighbor, relatives to each other, and was leading friends to become enemies. So I wrote my second thriller, Undue Influences, which postulates intentional, chemical brainwashing of the American population by the two political parties, and one man’s struggle to resist and enlighten others. Even when his life is threatened.

When I sadly realized I couldn’t solve our society’s problems in one book (shocker), and since I was enjoying writing, I wrote a sequel, Beyond the Pillars of Salt. It follows directly from the previous book and is a representation of what our world might look like by the 2030s if we do not make fundamental changes. Not just to how we behave, but ultimately, to who we are.

If we do not learn to become better, more decent human beings, I fear we will engineer our own extinction. But that’s what all science fiction says, right?

The series continues on a distant planet as our heroes fervently try not to recreate the problems of Earth. The Meraki Effect is their story, and its sequel is coming in 2024.

With medicine on its present course, after a while, it wasn’t enough for me to continue to work even with such a satisfying hobby. But leaving medicine, a profession that took so many years to train for, so much sweat and tears to achieve, was a terrifying prospect. For me, anyway, and I heard the same from other docs. As my demand for personal authenticity caused me to drift further away from what was supposed to be my “calling,” I wanted to help others who were struggling to do the same.

In 2020, I became a professional coach and a Certified Master Trainer through FIA Coaching. I’m also certified to train other coaches through the same organization. And in early 2023, I launched a new career as a freelance writer.

I also learned to self-publish my books, and now I can hardly imagine why I ever used a commercial publisher. I make myself available to help authors at all stages of their writing journey, including helping them format and upload their books for distribution.

I love animals— often more than some humans, and I’ve even been known to take in a stray off the street—much to the chagrin of my kitty of 14 years. My happy place is when I’m outdoors in nature, and I find that life goes full circle. I’m finally doing what I always wanted to do, maybe what I was meant to do—if that’s a thing. I live on Long Island where my life began, and seek any and all opportunities to see my brand-new grandson, who lives out of state.