I was born on Stephen King's birthday, and like millions of others I was drawn to Mr. King's novels, devouring one after another.  My other favorite authors are Ken Follett, Nelson DeMille, and Richard Brautigan.  And of course, I was completely enchanted by the phenominally imaginitive tales spun by Ms. J.K. Rowling.   After graduating college, I worked for just over twenty years on the New York Stock Exchange.  I enjoyed the excitement and the creativity of the stock trading industry, but that world has changed so much that I felt called to switch gears.  I voluntarily left the business to pursue writing fiction, an activity I had thoroughly enjoyed since I was in the first grade.   My first book is called "Professor Atlas and the Summoning Dagger".  It is a middle-grade action/adventure novel, self-published through Dog Ear Publishing.  It is the story of two seventh graders who are chosen to accompany their hero, famed explorer and scholar Professor Fielding Atlas, on an archaeological excavation.  When the trio uncovers the legendary Summoning Dagger of Mercastus, an adventure of the most unexpected.... and breathtaking kind unfolds.   I hope to turn this book into a series, sending Atlas and the boys on a variety of adventures.  I have other projects in mind as well, including a beginning readers' chapter book I have in progress right now. Watch the book trailer for "Professor Atlas and the Summoning Dagger" now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrHmbZA01F0  

I consider the completion of a novel to be a pretty good achievement... But I'm too "green" to have any certifications or awards!