Earl Merkel

Profile Information:

Hometown:
Chicago
About Me:
Earl Merkel is the author of The Law Of Unintended Consequences (Amazon Kindle Direct, 2015), Fallout (Diversion Books, 2015, Fire Of The Prophet (Diversion Books, 2013); Virgins And Martyrs (Five Star, under the name "E L Merkel"); Final Epidemic (Diversion Books - originally published by PenguinPutnam/NAL), a Barnes and Noble national bestseller; and Dirty Fire (Diversion Books - originally published by PenguinPutnam/NAL).

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 (currently, "The Book, With Earl Merkel", 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 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.

"In my own finances, I'm anything but a good example," he laughs. "But I'm a great bad example."

Earl is also the author of The Infamous Chicken Little Article, which is rumored to have gotten him temporarily banned from the op-ed page of a major American newspaper —but which subsequently has become an underground classic on the Internet among journalists, and which is regularly cited in journalism-school classes when a dose of cold (but —at least arguably— hilarious) reality is required.

As a ghostwriter, Earl has had books published by such major houses as Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins— without, he hopes, these houses ever knowing it.
I Am A:
Writer
Website:
http://www.earlmerkel.com
Books And Authors I Like:
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Harper Lee-- sheer genius.
Anything by James Lee Burke-- if the guy wrote a telephone directory, I'd read it.
Ditto for the Master, John D. MacDonald.
Ditto for Lawrence Block, especially in his Keller series.
Far too many contemporary authors (some of them friends) to list here. And if I'd forget to list any of 'em, I could inadvertently trigger a vendetta wherein the blood would run ankle-deep in the literary streets...

Comment Wall:

  • MysteryDawg

    Welcome aboard. Look forward to seeing you on the boards and in the forums.
  • Beth Groundwater

    Hey, fellow Five Star author! I just sent you a friend request.
  • Earl Merkel

    Hey, Beth-- many thanx, and I'm honored to be added!
  • shirley dicks

    Good to hear from you and I wish you a happy valentines day today. Good luck on your books in this coming year. I'm going to try and do more marketing myself this coming year and already have one college asking if I'd speak and so I'm going to try. Haven't done any speaking since I lost my youngest son three years ago. He and I used to speak out together and he was a great speaker, much better than I am or will ever be, so I know it willl be hard to do so without him. ANyway, good talking to you. Shirley
  • Rick Mofina

    How the heck are you Earl
  • L.J. Sellers

    Hi Earl
    I keep seeing your name on the mystery lists and thought I would introduce myself. You've had quite a career. I'll bet it puts some zing in your stories.
  • Allan E. Ansorge

    Is the boat yours?
    Could you foward a book number for Final Epidemic please?
  • Earl Merkel

    Hey, Allan:

    Yeah, the picture was taken on Day-O, a Sabre 30 I kept in Florida for years, but ended up using only 10-12 times each year when I could get down there. I sold it, transferring my flag to Witchcraft, my Precision 23, which was the largest sailboat I could get on a trailer, and now ply the Chicagoland waters at least several times each week from March through November.
    Final Epidemic is available in hardcover (a relatively recent re-issue, ISBN 13: 978-0-9800977-0-2), and I understand there's a brisk trade in the original Penguin/NAL mass paperback (ISBN 10: 0-451-20730-0).
    My latest novel, VIRGINS AND MARTYRS (ISBN 10: 1-59414-635-7, under the name "E.L. Merkel"), has an April 15, 2008 pub date... so with the marketing and related promo travel, I suspect I'll be seeing less of Witchcraft this spring that I'd prefer. Unless, that is, I can convince the publisher to schedule only port cities on the tours. They'd save on hotel-room costs, for sure.
    Best, and good to meet you.

    --Earl Merkel
  • Jeff Markowitz

    Earl
    I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to interview with you at Love is Murder. The audio is now featured on my website. Good luck with the new release. I hope all is well.
    Jeff