Information about Author Neil S. Plakcy

The writer

Welcome! I'm Neil Plakcy, author of more than seventy novels featuring loyal dogs, unlikely heroes, found families, and people searching for connection. My books range from the Golden Retriever Mysteries and Mahu Investigations to romantic suspense, historical romance, and the healing-fiction stories of the Smiling Dog Café. Along the way you'll meet detectives, professors, athletes, spies, bakers, and plenty of golden retrievers. No matter the genre, I believe in compassion, community, and the idea that even in difficult times, people can find hope, purpose, and a place to belong.

I am a native of Yardley, Pennsylvania, and I've been at this writing thing a long time-- I first began writing stories when I was about sixteen. My 10th-grade English teacher, Mr. Norman Haider, assigned us the task of rewriting A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, from the point of view of Finny, the second character. Our teacher, Mr. Hayder, assigned us to "rewrite" the book from Finny's point of view. Not only was this a great lesson in POV, it made a great emotional connection to me, and I began writing seriously after that. A community college course in creative writing followed, and by then the bug had bitten.

Though I majored in English at the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in creative writing, my writing career took a back seat as I went on to get an MBA from Columbia University and embark on a business career. I kept writing and submitting novels and stories, and my first real publication was a piece of erotic fiction called "The Cop Who Caught Me," published by Honcho magazine. I've been writing about gay men and cops ever since!

Since then, I've won numerous awards for my fiction and been included in several "best of" anthologies. Whether I'm writing a mystery, a romance, or a story about healing, you'll find the themes that matter most to me: compassion, found family, second chances, the bond between people and dogs, and ordinary people discovering unexpected courage.

I retired after a 20-year career as a professor of English at Broward College. My husband and I are the proud parents of a pair of white golden retrievers, Brody and Griffin.

I have published a wide range of fiction and non-fiction in mainstream and GLBT publications, both in print and on line. My work has been anthologized in many erotica anthologies. I am a past president of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America as well as a member of that organization's national board, and in addition to my BA and MBA, I hold an MFA from Florida International University.