About me
I’ve been writing since I was a kid and, in the decades since, I’ve been a newspaper reporter, foreign correspondent, magazine associate bureau chief, bestselling author and hit podcast host.
Pulitzer-nominated journalism with ProPublica
In February 2022, investigative journalist Dan Schwartz and I pitched ProPublica an investigation into the railroads. ProPublica assigned a team of eight journalists to uncover what was missing from the industry’s stats: a dangerous pattern of long train derailments and an array of hazards ignored by the railroads. In all, we wrote twelve stories for the series Train Country that shocked readers into taking a look at a world right in front of their noses that they had never had examined.
NYT Best Sellers
I’ve written more than 20 books and four New York Times bestsellers.
I love ghostwriting. Many people tell me that they’ve got a book in them, and I believe them. The problem is getting that book out of them and onto the page. Knowing where to start the story, how to keep it moving and which elements will keep the reader intrigued, are the skills that take a while to develop. That’s where authors can use my help. I’ve been privileged to help some fascinating people — from movie stars, athletes, and politicians to ordinary families facing extraordinary situations — tell their stories.
Hit podcast on iHeartRadio
When my teenage daughter skipped town to hop trains, I was drawn into the secret world of the railroads. My search for why she would be attracted to life on the rails is the subject of my podcast City of the Rails, which reveals an underground world with its own citizens, rules, laws and law enforcement that most of us barely notice. Released in 2023, City of the Rails has more than a million downloads.