EARL MERKEL

According to the bio on his website: "Earl spent more than a decade as a journalist, columnist and commentator; today, while he is a full-time novelist, he continues to contribute to a variety of newspapers and magazines— usually after their editors have had time to extinguish the reader-reaction brushfires from his previous submissions. He is also a talk-radio host & producer, as well as an occasional guest of unwary shows on television, radio, and podcast.

During his career, Earl has dodged gunfire, teargas canisters, and verbal brickbats as a journalist (and on occasion as a private citizen, having somehow annoyed armed, gassy, or vocal strangers); spent years "comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable," as an investigative reporter, newspaper columnist and satirist; and as a consultant has advised some of the largest corporations in the world on the merits of open and honest communications — not always with success.

As the "more" on the nationally broadcast talk-radio program Money & More, where he served for nine years through 2012 as co-host and executive producer, Earl left the money-talk to the experts. He admits that he's far more comfortable in other areas —talking with authors like Lawrence Block, Ken Burns, Robin Cook and Neil Gaiman about their books; arguing current events and politics with such guests as Steve Forbes, Jack Welch, Dick Morris, Oliver North and Newt Gingrich; and even cracking-wise with the likes of Mark Steyn, Neal Cavuto and Michael Medved— than he is dealing with financial matters."