About the Author

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, D. J. Herda attended St. Rita High School, Columbia College, and DePaul University on Chicago's near North Side. He developed and taught Creative Writing Workshop at several Windy City colleges. He worked for years at The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, and at numerous other Chicago-area newspapers and magazines before becoming an internationally syndicated columnist.During its decade-long run, Herda's column, "In Focus," appeared in more than 1,100 newspapers with a combined circulation of nearly 20 million readers. As a syndicated photo and travel columnist, he developed strong ties to the editorial department of every major newspaper in North America, from The Washington Post and Miami Tribune to the Los Angeles Times and the Dallas Herald, and still sends out interviews, backgrounders, review copies, etc., for both himself and for the client authors he represents as an editor/?ghostwriter/?book doctor.Herda maintains strong editorial ties both in the states and overseas. As an on-screen talent, he is personable and humorous, comfortable around both cameras and microphones. He has worked with and befriended numerous high-profile corporate CEOs, media celebrities, politicos, and sports personalities, from Jim Liautaud (Jimmy John's) and Marc Emory (Heritage Auctions) to George H. Bush, Art Linkletter, and Sammy Davis Junior. The author maintains promotional ties to several public relations firms specializing in the promotion of both fiction and nonfiction books.Besides having published more than ninety books of his own, Herda donates his time to the writing community through his professional mentoring and occasional workshop appearances. He also provides editing, ghostwriting, and book doctoring for select writers with exceptional talent and has helped several dozen fledgling authors get their first books published by mainstream, conventional publishing houses.D. J. Herda has spent much of his life in the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Utah. He is represented by The Swetky Literary Agency. He recently completed the most authoritative biography of former groundbreaking Cherokee Nation chief, Wilma Mankiller, and has moved to Duncan, Oklahoma, in honor of his subject and to complete his research on one of his favorite persons. "Wilma Mankiller was an enigma," Herda said in a recent interview. "Always sacrificing herself and her personal agenda for the greater good of her people, she gave back far more than she took from this world. For that, she will be remembered and revered."Herda, a member of the Author's Guild and PEN America, can be reached through his personal Website at http://www.djherda.org. He looks forward to working with and contributing to the local community of writers and other area artists and hopes to make the Duncan area his permanent residence.In addition to books, the author writes travel and feature artic

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