One of the great joys of writing my first books was interviewing many of the inspiring scientists who were involved in the discoveries, some of whom are no longer with us. Writing helps me take stock of the big picture of this vast human endeavor.

I am the head of life sciences and professor of immunology at Imperial College London, and I want to explain to everyone what we know and what we don’t know about immune health. 

I have been a pioneer in both the women’s and men’s movement. I was elected three times to the Board of the National Organization for Women in NYC and was called by GQ “The Martin Luther King of the men’s movement”.

I realized that boys worldwide are struggling in ways we’ve barely begun to address. I’ve presented my research for The Boy Crisis worldwide, from the White House to the Norwegian Parliament, and it has inspired bipartisan fatherhood legislation in Florida. 

Reading was my one true refuge in a childhood marked by uncertainty and chaos, which was also my gateway to writing; I wanted to create the kinds of stories that also saved me, and I found the novel to be my form.

I was drawn to fierce and outspoken characters, girls and women standing up against powerful forces, and parallel or alternate realities where bad guys are beaten. I hope you’ll find power and inspiration in the badass protagonist of these books! 

As a middle school student in Florida, our librarian displayed a copy of Newton’s Principia on a stand in the library. It was laid open to pages of intriguing, complex-looking geometrical drawings, including Newton’s dramatic illustration of a comet.

I flipped through it every time I passed by, amazed to discover that things I saw in the sky could be known through the language of mathematics, a fact that still endlessly inspires me.

I’ve been collecting records since I was a teenager, and unlike many of my friends, I’ve kept all my records. I love music, but I also love album cover art. I’ve taken my interest and have written three books on album cover art that tell the story of dozens of album covers. I especially like discovering relatively unknown or anonymous artists and designers who created compelling record cover art.

I am constantly looking for interesting records, and I am possessed by the desire to learn more about album cover art. I love to share my passion and let people know about the wide world of vinyl.

I love systems thinking because it explains so much about the world. In the 1960s, my father gave me all of the early systems thinking literature, and I have been on a mission to educate people about systems thinking ever since. I know it has helped me immeasurably. 

My favorite memoirs are joyful, personal, and uplifting, especially those that tell of travel, intercultural understanding, food, cooking, creating art, and personal growth, all subjects for which I am passionate. Years ago, I taught adults cooking, specializing in the food from places I had traveled (India, China, Iran, Denmark, Spain, Afghanistan).

Now, at 82, though I live alone, I still cook every day and collect recipes to try. When I was writing my own travel memoir, I constantly read other memoirs, always searching for the best of the best.  I found I especially loved books that included recipes, maps, or illustrations. These recommendations are only a few of my favorites.

I have been writing for many years, and my main preference is writing political thrillers with criminal overtones inspired by everyday media headlines that expose worldwide government security leaks and corruption.

I spent fifteen years in Washington State looking at a questionable political system. With a further eight years living in Cyprus, I studied the existing political divide of the population before meeting a successful whistle-blower, a banker, who went public about the fraudulent activity orchestrated by Russia to steal billions from a Latvian bank.

I’m a lifelong reader who gravitates toward character-driven stories with a thread of hope. I’m a sucker for a good happily-ever-after, but I will read almost anything that rings true.

I love books that make me feel deeply, and I believe stories are one of the best ways to develop empathy and compassion. I’ve been writing my own stories since I was eight years old making books with notebook paper and cereal-box covers. 

As an English professor, I teach all kinds of literature, but I’m especially drawn to creative and experimental works that cross over different languages, cultures, and geographical regions.