One well known ascerbic New York City critic wrote: "...VIOLENCE...SEX...DRUGS, these are all in this big book. But at its core, Walls of Phantoms is a scathing analysis of the moral dilemmas facing young people in today's complex world...This novel challenges, excites and ultimately consumes...It was only after I picked up the next book, and the next, did I begin to appreciate what a tough act this story is to follow..."

  P. Nicol of Massachusetts raved: "...I only read the classics when I have the time. And frankly I don't read much contemporary literature. But a friend kept insisting that I read Walls of Phantoms and thank goodness I finally did. This writer's style is very old fashioned and the reading was incredibly demanding but in the end rewarding. I was surprised how deeply the characters engaged me. I felt as if I got to know them the way I got to know my friends...I loved this book!..."

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( ( ( CLICK here to view a recent interview on BNN television ) ) )

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From the author

  Walls of Phantoms is a seductive story of two young people - a financial analyst and an aspiring filmmaker - who seek love from each other despite their many differences. Walls of Phantoms is symbolic on so many levels, it is one of the most ambitious novels ever penned.

Some back story

  How the story came to be written, began several years ago aboard a late afternoon Delta flight from Miami to Boston. I was coming home tired from a business trip. I just wanted to sleep but the talkative gentleman in the next seat would not let me and I became annoyed. I really wasn't interested in the Clinton Whitehouse scandal and just wanted him to be quiet. However I love movies and when he mentioned that he was a film producer, he grabbed my interest. I came to relish his industry stories, especially his sharp criticisms of the Hollywood machine and the shallowness of that town. This pepper-haired man who reminded me of a radical but earthy college professor also had an astonishing intellectual range. He'd traveled extensively. He had a sharp sense of humor. He told so many tall tales though that, by the end of a flight made very short because of his company, I believed him to be someone who exaggerated everything he said. We nevertheless exchanged E-mail addresses. I did not expect to see him again.
A few weeks later I was doing some research in the central branch library in Copley Square. In the movie magazine I was reading, I saw a feature about this executive film producer. I discovered that he was an even more successful producer than he'd let on and that two of his recent films had been huge box-office hits. I was even more surprised when he later contacted me to say that he'd be in Boston again to visit his mother, and that he hoped we could meet.
Some people captivate with everything they do and say, and this was such a man. I found him so interesting I joked about tackling his biography one day.   He knew I was a struggling unpublished writer yet he asked to see some of my writings. Perhaps it was because he liked some of what I'd shown him. Perhaps it was because we clicked. Whatever his reasons, somewhere along the line the whole thing became serious and he agreed to do the book with me.
Two problems quickly arose. The first was that, being so well known in the entertainment industry, he absolutely refused to allow me to use his real name or anyone else's. He needed to protect his ability to get financing for future films so he would do no reveal-all book. I argued that it took personal details to bring a narrative to life, but he said either the names and situations had to be changed or nothing. The idea of someone doing his book was not new. He'd been approached by editors who mostly wanted lots of inside Hollywood gossip. He wasn't interested in the tabloiding of his story. It was to be his way or no way. I acceded. The other problem was that he distrusted my use of the tape recorder and only spoke freely when I used pen and paper. I've never written faster than those times when he lost his self-consciousness and opened up. The details of his early life just flowed.
As a forty something year old parent with bohemian life experiences similar to this executive producer's, I felt I really understood his earlier days, and it was because I identified with his early career struggles, with his search for self, with his quest for meaning in life, themes like those in Homer's Odyssey and Epic of Gilgamesh books, that I repeated them in my book. This producer's first film never became well known. It won a few awards but it was what it was.  Still, it opened the right doors for him.
I was saddened to hear that in 2003 this extraordinary man had succumbed to coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the US.  Still, I feel honored to have been able to document part of his life in the chronicle, Walls of Phantoms.  The story is about the passion needed to overcome formidable odds when reaching for big goals.   It is the timeless tale of fighting for a dream while accepting that the choices one has made may prevent realizing this dream.   Ultimately it is a portrait about the sometimes fruitless search we undertake to find that something which will give meaning to our lives.

What's in the book

  The story: is a love story ∙ is a crime drama ∙ accurately retells the Odyssey ∙ accurately retells the Epic of Gilgamesh ∙ accurately retells La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas, and others ∙ is a completely symbolic religious story ∙ is a manuscript length metaphor of more ∙ is a record of the day-to-day news of 1989 Boston matted to the story in a way never before accomplished in a novel ∙ is a brief record of 5,000 years of world history ∙ documents relevant but ignored aspects of modern day culture ∙ is about much, much more.

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What's coming

  My next book is called: Bohemia: A Discourse. It is a philosophical treatise based on the Platonic dialogues that is guaranteed to stimulate and challenge. It is nearly completed so please check back later for more details. Thank you.