Armstrong, Richard 1952-

PERSONAL:

Born December 20, 1952; married; wife's name Sharon.Education: Attended Carleton College, Northfield, MN.

ADDRESSES:

Home—2438 39th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20007.E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Copywriter and author.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Two Caples Awards, for direct mail copywriting; Maxwell Sackheim Award, Caples Committee, 1982, for "outstanding achievement in direct marketing."

WRITINGS:

(With Dorinne Armstrong) Leaving the Nest: The Complete Guide to Living on Your Own, illustrations by Doris Reich, Beech Tree Books (New York, NY), 1986.

The Next Hurrah: The Communications Revolution in American Politics, Beech Tree Books (New York, NY), 1988.

God Doesn't Shoot Craps: A Divine Comedy of Dice, Deception, and Deliverance (novel), Sourcebooks Landmark (Naperville, IL), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including the National Review, Washingtonian, and Advertising Age.

SIDELIGHTS:

A successful direct mail copywriter, Richard Armstrong is also the author of several books, including the novel God Doesn't Shoot Craps: A Divine Comedy of Dice, Deception, and Deliverance. Drawing on his expertise in the direct mail business, Armstrong writes about copywriter Danny Pellegrino whose advertising copy makes dubious promises about the various products he tries to sell. When he sets out to dupe people with a pamphlet that offers a foolproof system developed by a mathematics professor for winning at craps, he tests the system out himself and finds that it really works. The astounded Pellegrino then proceeds to work against his mass marketing campaign, which would give the system to countless others, alert the various casinos of its existence, and lead to the banning of the system. When he does not fulfill the orders that his direct mail campaign has garnered, Pellegrino starts to attract the interest of a postal inspector, as well as a member of the Mafia. Writing on the Direct Web site, Richard H. Levey called the novel "a book that for the most part zips along nicely." A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote: "The novel's madcap chicanery, gaming systems theorizing and casino settings will make it [an] entertaining distraction."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2005, review of God Doesn't Shoot Craps: A Divine Comedy of Dice, Deception,and Deliverance, p. 1285.

Publishers Weekly, January 30, 2006, review ofGod Doesn't Shoot Craps, p. 42.

ONLINE

Direct,http://www.directmag.com/ (July 5, 2006), Richard H. Levey, review of God Doesn't Shoot Craps.

God Doesn't Shoot Craps Web site,http://www.goddoesntshootcraps.com (July 5, 2006).

Richard Armstrong Blog,http://www.amazon.com/ (July 5, 2006).