Education:
Muscatine Community College, Associate of Arts, 1968
University of Iowa, Bachelor of Arts, 1970
University of Iowa, Master of Fine Arts, 1972
Honors, citations, prizes:
Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comic Arts (1982)
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" Award for best hardcover novel of 1983, TRUE DETECTIVE (St. Martin's Press).
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" nominee for best hardcover novel of 1984, TRUE CRIME (St. Martin's Press).
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" nominee for best hardcover novel of 1986, THE MILLION-DOLLAR WOUND (St. Martin's Press).
Anthony nominee for best short story of 1987, "Scrap."
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" nominee for best hardcover novel of 1988, NEON MIRAGE (St. Martin's Press).
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" nominee for best short story of 1991, "Dying in the Post-War World."
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" Award for best hardcover novel of 1991, STOLEN AWAY (Bantam Books).
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" nominee for best hardcover novel of 1994, CARNAL HOURS (Dutton).
Private Eye Writers of America "Shamus" nominee for best hardcover novel of 1996, DAMNED IN PARADISE (Dutton).
Mystery Writers of America Special "Edgar" Award, best biographical/critical
work, ONE LONELY KNIGHT: MICKEY SPILLANE'S MIKE
HAMMER (1985)
Mystery Writers of America "Edgar" nominee, best short story (for "Louise" in DEADLY ALLIES), 1992
Distinguished Alumnus Award, Muscatine Community College (1985).
Quad City Times "Susan Glaspell Award" for Fiction, 199O.
Author's Achivement Award, FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library, 1992, for "Outstanding Body of Literary Work."
Will Eisner Comics Industry Award nominee, 1992, Best Writer- Artist Team (with cartoonist Terry Beatty, for MS. TREE)
Iowa Motion Pictures Award nominee, Best Screenplay, "Mommy," 1995.
Iowa Motion Pictures Award nominee, Best Screenplay, "The Expert."
Iowa Motion Pictures Award, Best Screenplay, "Mommy's Day," 1996.
Iowa Motion Pictures Award, Best Unproduced Screenplay, "Spree," 1996.
Iowa Motion Pictures Award Nominee, Direction, "Mommy's Day," 1996.
Iowa Motion Pictures Award, Best Unproduced Screenplay, "Blue Christmas," 1997.
Iowa Motion Pictures Award, Best Entertainment Program, "Mike Hammer's Mickey Spillane," 1999.
Iowa Motion Pictures Award, Best Unproduced Screenplay, "Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market," 2000.
Various civic/public service awards for writing of DICK TRACY - including citations
from Reading Is Fundamental, Inc., Crime Prevention Coalition and Iowa Department of
Public Safety.
Experience:
Reporter, Muscatine Journal, summers of 1968, '69, '70.
Musician/songwriter, 1966-1971 (rock group The Daybreakers).
Instructor, 1971-1977, Muscatine Community College (English, Creative Writing, Journalism, Literature).
Musician/songwriter, 1976-1979, 1986 to date.
Freelance Writer, 1971 to date.
Script-writer of DICK TRACY comic strip, 1977 to 1993.
Script-writer for DC comics (BATMAN and others) 1986 to date.
Instructor University of Iowa, Summer Writing Program, 1989.
Workshop leader (permanent staff member) Mississippi Valley Writers Conference, Augustana College, 1973 to date.
Film producer/director/screenwriter, 1994 to date.
Television and other media appearances:
Numerous national and regional television and radio shows. National TV appearances include ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, 2O/2O, INSIDE EDITION, NIGHTLY CBS NEWS, NIGHTLY ABC NEWS, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, TO TELL THE TRUTH (game show), THIRD DEGREE (game show); these were mostly in relation to his then-role as writer of the syndicated DICK TRACY strip. National TV appearance (in 1991) was on GERALDO, for Lindbergh kidnapping novel, STOLEN AWAY. Interviewed in the 1992 documentary film DON'T CALL HIM BUGSY (in relation to Nate Heller novel NEON MIRAGE, about Siegel and the "creation" of Las Vegas).
Hundreds of TV and radio appearances in the midwest - Iowa/Illinois, including Chicago, Des Moines and his home area, the Quad Cities (Davenport/Bettendrof/Rock Island/Moline). Radio interviews by phone all over the country.
Subject of many feature articles in national and regional newspapers and magazines.