Award-winning movie critic, John Howard Reid, is also the creator of Merryll Manning and Michaela Morris. Merryll Manning is a Miami-based police sergeant who made his debut in "Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island". This book was followed by "Merryll Manning: The Health Farm Murders" and "Merryll Manning: Beachfront Holiday". Next up is "Merryll Manning On the Rim of Heaven."All 12 books in the series were published overseas from 1985 through 2001. All, except "Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island", were runaway bestsellers and ran through many editions, including hardcover, paperback (both trade and mass market) and Large Print.All 12 novels except "Merryll Manning: Beyond Vengeance", on which the critics were divided, attracted highly favorable and indeed overwhelmingly enthusiastic reviews. The author was favorably compared with both Agatha Christie and Graham Greene.JHR's latest detective, Michaela Morris, recently made her debut in "Murder at the River House".Reid's historical novels, especially "In All His Glory" (set in Ancient Egypt), have also won wide acclaim. His short stories and poems have gained many prizes and commendations. Published prose collections include "Mexican Autumn" and "Micaela Morris in Jo's Heaven" (sic). Poetry anthologies include "Anyone for Love?", "Escape to Paradise and Other Poetic Fancies" (originally published under his "Tom Howard" pseudonym) and "Nibbles of Nonsense: Hilarious Comic Verse." Reid is also a widely acknowledged expert on Hollywood movies. His award-winning book in this field is "Mystery, Suspense, Film Noir and Detective Movies on DVD: A Guide to the Best in Cinema Thrills".When he is not writing books or reviewing movies, Reid is acting as Chief Judge for the annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest and the annual Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest. Reid has used his experiences as both a highly successful contestant and a judge to set down some essential guidelines in his highly commended handbook, "Write Ways to WIN WRITING CONTESTS".