MUNSON, Noel J. 1938-

(Noel Carroll)

PERSONAL: Born January 21, 1938, in Philadelphia, PA; married Carol Barr Swayze (a writer), November 20, 1965; children: Kristin Lynn. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Temple University, B.S., 1962; Drexel Institute of Technology, M.B.A., 1965.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Allen-Ayers Books, 4621 South Atlantic Ave., Suite 7603, Ponce Inlet, FL 32127. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Pharmaceutical Data Services, vice president and general manager, 1977-78; Pharmaceutical Card Services, Inc., Phoenix, AZ, chief executive officer, 1978-82; MEDAC, Inc., Albany, NY, chief executive officer, 1982-85; Allen-Ayers Books, Ponce Inlet, FL, publisher.

WRITINGS:

WITH WIFE, CAROL SWAYZE MUNSON; UNDER JOINT PSEUDONYM NOEL CARROLL

Circle of Distrust (suspense novel), Hollis Books, 1999.

Accidental Encounter (science-fiction novel), Hollis Books, 1999.

Never by Blood (suspense novel), Allen-Ayers Books (Ponce Inlet, FL), 2002.

Contributor of short fiction to online publications, including Aphelion, Dementia, and Steelcaves.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Containment Group, a suspense novel, with Carol Swayze Munson, under the Carroll joint pseudonym; research for a novel about post-cold war Russia; short stories; satiric essays.

SIDELIGHTS: Noel J. Munson told CA: "We are avid readers with playful imaginations. Each new writing success spurs us on, reinforcing what has become an untiring need to bring enjoyable stories to life. We are influenced by the kind of writer who does not take the easy road, who does not choose a quick thrill over a lasting memory, who takes care to properly support his plot and his characters."

"Ideas too often come to us in the middle of the night, necessitating pencils and writing paper nearby and an ability to scribble in the dark. Continuing the oddity of our approach, plots are often fleshed out during cocktails or long walks by the ocean, or when fighting an angry ocean aboard our sailboat. We outline, of course, but the plot then as much follows spontaneous inventions of the day as it does the outline. I write and Carol edits, or as she puts it, 'You build it up, I tear it down, then we rebuild it together.' It works."

"Laying a claim to inspiration is risky at best. For the most part, it is done in retrospect, where what best appears to fit is assigned the label. The best we can say is that a thought appears, either out of a dream or from one of the many daily experiences of life, and if it catches us at the right moment, it is carried into a plot. Seldom, however, does the end product resemble the original idea or inspiration."