Our Authors

Jesse Crosson believes in second chances because he needed one. Strung out on drugs and out of his mind, he committed crimes just after his eighteenth birthday. He caused great harm and was sentenced to serve the next 32 years in prison. Through a combination of support and determination, he turned his life around while inside and was offered a second chance. Once out, he was determined to create second chances for others. He took to social media, amassing more than a million people who followed his story and the adventure that is his life. He started the Second Chancer Foundation to provide resources and opportunities for others in the same situation as he was. He is determined to make the best of his second chance and is grateful to see others on that same journey.

Jennifer Crusie is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include Bet Me, Faking It and Don’t Look Down (with Bob Mayer). She is a frequent contributor to the Smart Pop series, and editor of Flirting with Pride and Prejudice and Totally Charmed. She holds an M.A. in women’s lit and an M.F.A. in fiction. For more information visit www.jennycrusie.com.

Csilla Csori is a programmer/analyst at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. She works primarily on database and software development for business applications, and she also moonlights as a gremlin hunter for her colleagues when their computer programs start acting funny. Recently, she released version 5.1 of ProBook grant application software she authored for the University of California. It’s one of those pesky projects that started small but took on a life of its own, and now, like Doctor Who’s Cybermen, keeps coming back to demand more upgrades. She gained an interest in quantum physics in college while interning at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. In her spare time, she enjoys playing softball, kayaking, and any other excuse to be outdoors in San Diego’s perfect weather.

Michelle Cunnah loves and empathizes with Susan more than the other Housewives, because she often feels like Susan’s less wacky, not-quite-as-accident-prone older sister. But in a “Michelle’s life has way less drama” kind of way. Originally from England, Michelle spent six years living just outside Manhattan. She has lived in quite a lot of other places, too. Currently, she can be found weebling ineptly along the cycle lanes in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The award-winning author of 32AA, Call Waiting and Confessions of a Serial Dater, she can also be found on the Web at www.michellecunnah.com.

Don Cusic is the author of 14 books, including Johnny Cash: The Songs. As an author, teacher, historian, musician, songwriter and executive, Cusic has been actively involved in the music business since 1973. He is currently professor of music business at Belmont University in Nashville. In addition to the book on Cash, Cusic is the author of the biography Eddy Arnold: I’ll Hold You In My Heart; an encyclopedia of cowboys, Cowboys and the Wild West: An AÐZ Guide from the Chisholm Trail to the Silver Screen; The Sound of Light: A History of Gospel and Christian Music; The Cowboy Way: The Amazing True Adventures of Riders in the Sky; Music in the Market, Poet of the Common Man: Merle Haggard Lyrics; Willie Nelson: Lyrics 1959Ð1994 and Hank Williams: The Complete Lyrics.

Kyle Dabruzzi is a summer fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Mark Dagostino is a New York Times–bestselling coauthor and former senior writer for People magazine. As a journalist, he was on the scene when JFK Jr.’s plane went down, reported from Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11, and stood witness to the Miracle on the Hudson. He also cut his teeth in the courtroom, learning valuable lessons from the Pamela Smart case in his home state of New Hampshire, covering Rosie O’Donnell’s $100-million lawsuit with publisher Gruner+Jahr, and more. Along the way, he quietly became one of the most respected celebrity journalists in the business. Today, he’s back in his home state, where he lives a somewhat quieter life with his two children.