After many fruitful years as a business executive, Alan started a new career as a fiction writer at a time some people are retiring. The writer was quite surprised by the success of his first two novels - Goliath's Head and A Fine September Morning - so he kept on writing. Next came Lara's Shadow, then Odyssey of Chaos. By the time he was done, his four novels constituted a chronicle of the Jewish journey through the 20th Century, from persecution to tragedy to triumph. Next he turned to short stories, now compiled in A Collection of Characters. Prior to beginning his writing career, Alan was a marketing consultant, senior corporate executive, university adjunct faculty, corporate board member, community volunteer, and an Army officer. He hails from Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Berwick High School and Dickinson College with honors. Today Alan lives with his wife Ann and their cats, Dolly and Bailey, high on a hill in San Carlos, California overlooking San Francisco.