STEPHEN SHAIKEN

According to the bio on his website: "I’m a writer of fiction, both short stories and novels. I write in several genres, including humor, literary, historical, suspense, and science fiction. My work is imaginative, based on my life, places I’ve been, and events I’ve witnessed. I love creating characters and dialogue that complement the plot.

I was born and raised in New York City. These days, I split my time between Tampa, Florida, and Bangkok, Thailand.

I graduated Queens College College as a history major and English minor; I considered earning a Ph.D in history and teaching. Instead I traveled throughout Europe and Morocco for six months. When I returned, I knew that I wanted to be a writer, and was accepted into the Creative Writing Graduate Program at San Francisco State University where I received an MA. I had the pleasure of studying with outstanding writers like Kay Boyle and Wright Morris, who became my mentors, advisors and readers for my thesis collection of short stories.

I returned to New York, graduated Brooklyn Law School, and spent over three and a half decades practicing criminal and deportation defense. I started with the Legal Aid Society in Brooklyn, and a few years later, relocated to San Francisco. In retirement, living in Bangkok, I started writing again. Law had its moments, and as time passes, I have been incorporating more of it into my work. I don’t want to be pigeonholed as writing only about lawyers, as I write about many subjects, and have found my voice which comes through no matter what the genre or subject .

I came to Bangkok because I wanted to separate from my life as a lawyer and devote myself to writing. I love Asia, and Thailand in particular. For the next few years I plan to split my time between Bangkok and my current home in Tampa, Florida. Expect to see both locales appear in my work, along with San Francisco and New York. and places yet undetermined. "