Alan Orloff's debut mystery, DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD (Midnight Ink), was a 2010 Agatha Award Finalist for Best First Novel. He's written two books in the Last Laff mystery series, featuring a stand-up comic with a tragic past (KILLER ROUTINE and DEADLY CAMPAIGN, also with Midnight Ink). Writing as his darker half Zak Allen, he's published three ebook originals: THE TASTE (horror/thriller), FIRST TIME KILLER (thriller), and RIDE-ALONG (suspense). His story, House Call, appeared in the Summer 2013 issue of NEEDLE: A Magazine of Noir.At The Writer's Center in Bethesda, MD, Alan teaches a number of writing workshops, including Fiction I, Writing the Mystery Novel, and Writing the Dreaded Query Letter. He's presented, appeared, and "paneled" at many venues: Library of Congress, Book Expo America, American Library Association Annual Conference, Gaithersburg Book Festival, Library of Virginia, and Fall for the Book, among others.Before Alan stepped off the corporate merry-go-round to concentrate on his writing, he held a variety of positions at a number of prominent companies, including General Electric, The Washington Post, and Arbitron Ratings. In the nineties, he founded Environmental Newsletters, Inc.

to help organizations reduce their negative impact on the environment.Alan earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland and an M.B.A. from MIT/Sloan. He's treasurer of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and a member of International Thriller Writers and SinC.

For more info, visit www.alanorloff.com.