By Robert Eringer    

After experiencing a mysterious vision, high-tech billionaire Jim Riddle is on a mission to find the truth. He is offering megabucks for the REAL story behind everything from UFOs to the Kennedy assassination. Enter Jeff Dalkin, an ex-FBI agent, who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome and looks exactly like Bruce Willis. Hired by the secretive Harvey Kimbach to fulfill Riddle's request, Dalkin soon finds his life complicated by a second assignment.

The assistant director of the FBI has a problem, and Dalkin is the solution. Former CIA official Miles Stolhman has turned up in Havana, suffering from paranoid delusions. Has he been kidnapped? Is he a traitor? Dalkin must risk his life and liberty to find out.

As events reach a climax, Dalkin finds more questions than answers. Why is Kimbach so evasive about the source of the data he gives to Dalkin? Is Riddle hiding a secret of his own? What shocking revelations are contained in Stolhman's diary?

Spurred on by visions of huge financial rewards, Dalkin becomes the target of a global manhunt, with the CIA, the FBI, Cuban intelligence agents, and Libyan thugs hot on his trail.

Spookaroonie is available in a 5.5" x 8.5" deluxe hardcover library edition ($19.95) or a high-quality trade paperback edition ($14.95). Both feature 202 pages and eye-ease, acid-free paper.

Robert Eringer began his writing career as a London-based foreign correspondent for The Toledo Blade and The Toronto Star. As an investigative reporter for British newspapers, Eringer infiltrated extremist groups, including anarchists, neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan. (He still possesses the robe they tailored for him.) Eringer has authored a cluster of absurdist comic novels. As a fiction writer, he inhabits a fantasy world of master spies, billionaires, and delusional schizophrenics. In reality, he keeps the same company. A petition to the U.S. Supreme Court once questioned Eringer's existence. He questions existence himself, usually over a Pinot Noir at the bar in Virgin Atlantic's upper class cabin. Eringer has lived in London, Monaco, and Washington, D.C. He now resides in Santa Barbara, California.

Individuals, groups, and booksellers nationwide may contact the author up to a year in advance to schedule any of the following:

• Lectures and discussions about Spookaroonie and how the author developed the story and characters for his novel. A book signing follows each program.
• Book promotions and signings for Spookaroonie at independent and chain bookstores. The book is available direct from the publisher now. As of January 2002, the book will also be available to the trade through Ingram Book Company and Baker & Taylor.
• Other literary, fundraising, and social events, by arrangement.

Stolhman shook his head. "If I return to the United States, I'm a dead man."

"What do you mean?

"I know too much about too many things-especially one or two major things. And they suspect I'm about to reveal them."

"Not a problem," said Dalkin. "We'll get the studio to hire round-the-clock security for you."

Stolhman smiled, eyes a-twinkle, amused by this naiveté. "You think they can't penetrate security guards?"

"We'll put you up in a secret location."

"Young man, I appreciate your enthusiasm. But the old pickle factory always knows where I am."

"How?"

Stolhman pointed to his head, same as Castro did. "An implant."

"Oh, c'mon."

"Standard procedure for division-chief level and higher on retirement. They do it secretly, of course, while we're sleeping."

"Of course." Dalkin chuckled.

"This isn't funny, young man. It's why I came to Cuba. The pickle factory knows I'm here, but there's nothing they can do about it." He paused. "Oh, yeah, there's something they can do. They send impulses through the implant to my brain. I get them at least once a day."

"What kind of impulses?"

"Suicide. Suddenly, I have an urge to throw myself out the window of my hotel. That's why I moved out of the Nacional. I was on the twelfth floor. The higher you are, the better the impulse works."

• Fiction genre: espionage (humor)
• Author: Robert Eringer
• Official publication date: January 1, 2002. Now available to the public and the trade direct from the publisher.
• Trade hardcover edition: ISBN 1-929175-27-2. 5.5" x 8.5", 202 pp., $19.95.
• Trade paperback edition: ISBN 1-929175-41-8. 5.5" x 8.5", 202 pp., $14.95.
• Publisher: Corinthian Books, P.O. Box 1898, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29465-1898 USA.
• First printing: 10,000 copies.
• Trade book distributors: available now from the publisher. Available January 1, 2002 from Baker & Taylor and Ingram Book Company.
• Bookstore availability: Spookaroonie may be ordered through any independent or chain bookstore in the U.S. or direct from the publisher.
• Internet booksellers: Spookaroonie may be ordered online by clicking on this direct link to Amazon.com
• Publisher's contact: editor@corinthianbooks.com / (800) 876-6202 or (843) 881-6080 / Fax: (843) 278-8456 .