I was named for Joseph Conrad, my dad's favorite writer, and write under the name J. Conrad Guest. Major influences include Thelonious Monk, one of the founding fathers of bebop in the 40's — he persevered as his music was often ridiculed, and now enjoys his greatest success posthumously. Gene Wolfe is another major influence — a writer in the sci-fi genre, Mr. Wolfe writes with grace, style and great intellect. Mom and Dad, too: Dad, who hated that I read comic books in my youth; he feared I'd never outgrow the trashy literature of my pre-teens. He now knows differently.

See samples of my work at www.authorsden.com, and my editorials at www.juryfury.com.

I am the author of January's Paradigm, available through BookSurge.com. and Alibris.com. Current Entertainment Monthly (Ann Arbor, MI) wrote: "Personal identity — the slipperiness and malleability of it — make up the major theme of the story... (readers) will not be able to put it down". Look for my second novel, One Hot January, to be released in late 2005 or early 2006. I've worked in radio, acted in and directed numerous plays—drama as well as comedy (no musicals; tone deaf)—and have written theatrical reviews.

Born October 21, 1956. I have no desire to write the All American Best Seller—the first table I bypass in any bookstore I may visit is the Best Seller table. Being a best seller doesn't mean it's the best literature. I want to write what pleases me and hope that my audience will find me. One of my favorite quotes: "Men have called me mad, but the question is not yet settled... whether madness is not but the purest form of intelligence. We will say, then, that I am mad." —Edgar Allen Poe.