The Merchant (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780413516206)

Arnold Wesker is a prolific British dramatist known for his contributions to kitchen sink drama. He is the author of 42 plays, 4 volumes of short stories, 2 volumes of essays, a book on journalism, a children's book, extensive journalism, poetry and other assorted writings. His plays have been translated into 17 languages and performed world-wide. 9781602825598|Julie Smith is a former journalist who began her career at the New Orleans Times-Picayune and then moved on to the San Francisco Chronicle, where she remained for fifteen years, absorbing gritty realism and (hopefully) street smarts, as careful preparation for a life of crime. Crime-writing, that is.
She s the author of 20 adult mysteries featuring three female sleuths and one neglected guy: A cop (Officer Skip Langdon, NOPD), a PI (Talba Wallis, poet and computer genius, also of New Orleans), a semi-amateur detective (Rebecca Schwartz, San Francisco lawyer), and a complete amateur (Paul McDonald, crime writer, also of San Francisco). The first book in the Skip Langdon series, New Orleans Mourning, won the Edgar Allan Poe award for Best Novel.
Cursebusters!, Smith s first YA novel, is also her first paranormal adventure. While writing it, she met a young male editor who gave her the quote she thinks most embodies the spirit of the book and her own philosophy as a YA author. It s this: There s far too much emphasis in YA on the importance of girls getting the guy (or the girlthis is Bold Strokes here!) and not nearly enough on the importance of girls kicking ass. Smith deeply and firmly believes in the importance of girls kicking ass, an opportunity they re seldom afforded in real lifehence, every opportunity must be taken in fiction.