I'm the author of 13 published novels. The most recent, originally published as Blackjack by Lee Singer and published in hardcover and audiobook, has just been released from BooksBNimble, as Torch Song, first book in the Blackjack trilogy, by Shelley Singer. It stars Rica Marin, spy, torch singer, and mercenary in the dangerous Balkanized world of 2066.I've recently completed a novelized memoir titled The Pepsi Cola 9th Street Grocery and have started writing the second book in the Blackjack trilogy, as yet untitled. The six earlier books in the Samson series are either available or in production as ebooks. Unlicensed iconoclast Jake Samson and his pal Rosie are PIs in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the four books in my Barrett Lake series, Interview with Mattie, was nominated for a prestigious Shamus award.I've taught fiction writing and worked one on one with writers as a manuscript consultant on nonfiction, literary novels and in every genre from memoir to mystery to science fiction to horror. Several clients and students have gone on to become published authors. I've been cited in the acknowledgments or dedications of several published books, including a number of award-winners. Recently, a student called me "insanely meticulous"--and meant it as a compliment. I think.I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and began my working life as a reporter with UPI in Chicago. During a checkered and mercifully brief journalism career, I met many famous people, at least two of whom were murdered, and many not-so-famous who are still alive.I have done too many things for a living.