Daniel, John M. 1941–

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Daniel, John M. 1941–

PERSONAL:

Born November 22, 1941, in Minneapolis, MN; son of Lewis (a doctor) and Hannah (a homemaker) Daniel; married Karen Mullenger, 1964 (divorced); married Autumn Stanley, 1973 (divorced); married Susan Plumley (a publisher), July 9, 1987; children: Morgan Neil, Benjamin William Lewis. Education: Stanford University, A.B., 1964; completed Radcliffe College Publishing Procedures Course. Politics: Democrat. Hobbies and other interests: Music, graphic art.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Daniel & Daniel, Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519. E-mail— [email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, editor, entertainer, educator, publisher, and entrepreneur. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, assistant editor, 1968-70; Kepler's Books, Menlo Park, CA, clerk and buyer, 1970-77; John Daniel Literary Services, founder, owner, and operator, 1975—; Capra Press, Santa Barbara, CA, editor, marketing director, and sales manager, 1982-86; Daniel & Daniel Publishers, Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, founder, publisher, and editor, 1985—. Instructor in creative writing at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension, University of California Irvine Extension, University of California Santa Barbara Extension, Santa Barbara Adult Education, and Northern Humboldt County Adult Education. Wilbur Hot Springs, writer-in-residence, 1980.

MEMBER:

PEN Center USA West, Publishers Marketing Association, Sisters in Crime.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Wallace Stegner fellowship in creative writing, Stanford University, 1967.

WRITINGS:

The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company's Author's Guide, Benjamin/Cummings Pub. Co. (Menlo Park, CA), 1981.

Play Melancholy Baby (fiction), Perseverance Press (Menlo Park, CA), 1986.

The Love Story of Sushi & Sashimi: A Cat's Tale, photographs by SuZen, Capra Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1990.

The Woman by the Bridge (fiction), Dolphin Moon Press (Baltimore, MD), 1991.

Structure, Style, and Truth: Elements of the Short Story, Fithian Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1998.

(Editor, with Steve Moss) The World's Shortest Stories of Love and Death (humor), Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 1999.

(Editor, with Steve Moss) QPB Presents the Best World's Shortest Stories of All Time (humor), Quality Paperback Book Club, 2000.

Generous Helpings (fiction), Shoreline Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 2001.

(Editor) Yellow Bricks and Ruby Slippers: An Anthology of Very Short Stories, Essays, and Poems, Daniel & Daniel (Santa Barbara, CA), 2002.

The Poet's Funeral (mystery novel), Poisoned Pen Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2005.

Vanity Fire (mystery novel), Poisoned Pen Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2006.

Also author of One for the Book (self-published memoir). Contributor to periodicals and literary magazines, including Vignette, Fish Stories, Quarterly West, Obsidian, Sequoia, Crosscurrents, Connexions, Stonecloud, New Times, New Horizons of New Mexico, Amelia, Innisfree, Aberrations, Eidos, Meshuggah, Memo, Edge, Tawte, Writing Finger Moves, Wilbur Quarterly, Gorilla Salon, Santa Barbara Review, Santa Barbara Arts, Grapevine, Small Press, Sipapu, and the UCLA Extension Writer's Program Quarterly. Contributor of acrostic puzzles to Tin House Magazine.

SIDELIGHTS:

Author, publisher, and writing instructor John M. Daniel is thoroughly involved in the publishing and book trade from almost every angle. A former bookstore owner, book buyer, and sales manager, Daniel is cofounder (with his wife) of Daniel & Daniel Publishers, a small press that produces several literary works a year. Daniel is also a freelance writer, editor, and publishing consultant who offers editorial services, ghostwriting, and submission guidance. He is a writing instructor associated with several universities in California, and offers mentoring for both beginning and established writers.

Daniel is also the author of several works of both fiction and nonfiction. In his novel, The Poet's Funeral, a murder mystery set at the 1990 American Booksellers' Association convention in Las Vegas, Daniel introduces recurring character Guy Mallon, a poetry publisher based in Santa Barbara, CA. Mallon becomes involved in the investigation of the death of poet Heidi Yamada, a skilled manipulator of men who died of a drug overdose at the 1990 ABA convention. Mallon and Heidi were themselves lovers in 1977 as he helped the fame-seeking young poet establish herself and write her first popular book of verse. She dumped him, however, when she met someone else who could make greater contributions to her fledgling career. Thirteen years on, Mallon has a stable partner in Carol, and Heidi has experienced a tumultuous literary career, marked by frequent ups and downs and a large revolving cast of lovers and ex-lovers. Many of her exes are present at the 1990 ABA convention, leading Mallon to suspect that her death was not an accident. With the help of Marjorie Richmond, a bumbling photographer, Guy and Carol pursue their leads toward a clever and elusive killer. "Nonstop wisecracks and an amiable tweaking of the publishing world add up to a highly entertaining debut," mused a Publishers Weekly contributor. Booklist reviewer Jenny McLarin named the novel "an affectionate look at the publishing industry from one who clearly knows that world."

Vanity Fire places Guy Mallon in the position of being offered a desirable opportunity that he knows he should turn down. When crooked businessman Fritz Marburger offers to fund the publication of a novel by jazz singer Sweet Lorraine Evans, Carol urges Guy to avoid the entanglements that would come from such a business deal. Unable to resist, Mallon agrees to the arrangement, and soon finds himself involved with unscrupulous, even dangerous individuals. To his distaste, Mallon finds himself sharing warehouse space with a dishonest vanity publisher. Since Marburger is providing the warehouse, however, he cannot complain. When Evans backs out of the publishing deal, Guy suddenly finds himself in grave financial trouble. A fire at Marburger's warehouse complicates things even more, but worst of all is the body discovered in the building's charred remains. In the wake of her lost trust, Carol leaves Guy to fend for himself as he searches for the killer, tries to stem his financial losses, and works to recover his battered integrity. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called Mallon a "sympathetic, flawed protagonist." Booklist contributor Sue O'Brien commented favorably on the novel's "fast pacing" and "strong sense of place," as well as its "publishing-business details," in what she concluded was an "engrossing read." with a "likable although flawed main character."

Daniel told CA: "I think the human condition is the only subject there is for fiction, but that allows for a lot of variety. Style is what makes writing fun to write and to read. I spend a lot of time in the persona of a fictional piano player named Casey, but I killed him off last year. I write for the fun of it. My favorite writer is (was) Richard Bissell."