Stephan's real life travels - from Europe to Asia, North and South America - could be taken as a chapter from any one of his compelling novels. Instead, the novels reflect the diversity of his experiences - along with a healthy dose of imagination to give credence to the term "fiction."

"Cantara Suhayar in 'No Rapture' came directly from my experiences at Cambridge," Zimmermann confesses. "although unfortunately none of my professors were female ... or Muslim."

The lead character in "No Rapture" is a young, female, Muslim physicist in Damascus, Syria, to attend a symposium on religion and science.

Combining studies from U.C. Berkeley with those of Cambridge naturally led to an acute interest in politics and economics.

"The beauty about fiction is that you can take a logical premise, people the story with credible characters and all their foibles, and place them into an interesting and exciting locale. Bingo - you have a story that readers will enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it. Better, they can easily identify with the characters and the novels should stir some lively discussions."

Zimmermann's earlier novels include "The Christmas Strike," a prescient story pinpointing the ongoing crisis in the oil business. It speeds the reader from oil-rich Sao Tome in Africa to Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

"The Sonja Factor" takes the reader to the former East Germany before the collapse of the Soviet empire. Classical music fans will soon recognize Leipzig, the key setting for the story. 

When asked about "The Dogwood Murders," Stephan Zimmermann grinned. "You won't find the town in the book on any map of Arkansas, but I'm sure readers can readily identify with the folks that people the pages when caught in a strange series of grisly murders."

A former college professor and economic consultant, Stephan Zimmermann is single and currently writing in the north woods of Maine.


All of the author's books are available at

http://www.lulu.com/sonja