Our Authors

Dr. Stephen P. Maran spent more than 35 years in NASA, working on the Hubble Space Telescope and other scientific projects and is the press officer for the American Astronomical Society. His 10 previous books include Astronomy for Dummies® and The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia. His awards and honors include the naming of an asteroid for him by the International Astronomical Union, the NASA Medal for Exceptional Achievement, the George Van Biesbroeck Prize of the American Astronomical Society and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Klumpke-Roberts Award for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy.

Since 1990, Michael Marano has been reviewing movies and doing pop culture commentary for the Public Radio Satellite System program “Movie Magazine International,” syndicated in more than 111 markets in the U.S. and Canada. In this capacity, he has seen and ranted on and pontificated about perhaps more than 1,000 genre movies, and is now unfit for most any other form of employment. His articles have appeared in venues like the Boston Phoenix, the Weekly Dig, the Independent Weekly, Paste Magazine and Science Fiction Universe. Marano is also a horror writer, with stories in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 11 and Outsiders: 22 All-New Stories from the Edge; his first novel, Dawn Song, won the Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Awards. He recently visited the set of the “Batman Begins” sequel “The Dark Knight” for the SciFi Channel and saw a lot of cool stuff that he can’t talk about. He is a bitter old punk rocker, and can be reached at www.myspace.com/michaelmarano.

Lynne Margulies, artist and filmmaker, was Andy Kaufman’s partner, caretaker, and the love of his life until his death from lung cancer in 1984. Courtney Love portrayed Margulies in the Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon starring Jim Carrey. During the film’s production, Margulies worked closely with Carrey, giving him rare insight into the human side of Andy Kaufman. Margulies teaches fine art at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She is the codirector of the documentary film I’m From Hollywood, which chronicles Kaufman’s foray into the world of professional wrestling. Her latest art project is The Book of Steve, a four-foot by three-foot book which tells the story of her brother’s descent into mental illness. Margulies, her musician husband, and their eight cats live on the Oregon coast.

Carlos E. Marin is a highly regarded Executive Leadership Coach. He specializes in helping executive leaders achieve and verify positive changes in their leadership behavior. His work has benefited executives in a wide range of industries including Aerospace, Banking and Financial Services, Biotechnology, Communications, Consumer Products, Hospitality and Entertainment, Manufacturing, Management Consulting, Pharmaceutical, Technology and Utilities. Carlos has a BS in Psychology from Olivet College and Master’s degrees in Educational Psychology and Counseling from Michigan State University. Carlos and his wife Martha live in San Diego, California.

Todd Marinovich was a football media sensation for the last quarter of the twentieth century. In high school, he was the top player in the nation. He was also the star quarterback at the University of Southern California, leading the Trojans to a Rose Bowl victory his freshman year. Selected in the first round of the NFL draft as the first college sophomore in history to declare, he joined the Los Angeles Raiders, playing from 1991 to 1993. Leaving football due to drug addiction, he returned to the sport in 1999, earning Arena Football League All-Rookie team honors in 2000. A man who brings lightness and humor to even the most difficult trials in life, Todd openly shares his story to inspire others. He encourages audiences to embrace their truth, live out loud unapologetically, and pick themselves back up after inevitable falls. A father, coach, and spiritual survivor, Todd resides in California with his son.

Joel Marion is a six-time bestselling author, host of the top-ranked inspirational podcast Born to Impact, and the cofounder of BioTrust Nutrition (the largest eCommerce supplement company in the United States). Additionally, his work has been featured in the pages of more than 20 popular national newsstand magazines including Men’s Fitness, Woman’s Day, Men’s Health, Oxygen, Men’s Journal, and Clean Eating. He resides with his wife, Lisa, and two daughters in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Adam Markel is the CEO of New Peaks (Formerly Peak Potentials) and the author of the forthcoming book Pivot. Formerly, Adam was the senior trainer with Peak Potentials which has delivered training to more than 1 million people in over 104 countries. Adam personally trained more than 100,000 people around the world. Adam has been interviewed by Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal. He holds a law degree from Saint John’s University and an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he graduated magna cum laude. Adam founded a multimillion-dollar law firm specializing in finance, commercial and employment litigation. Over the course of his 17-year practice, Adam represented over 1,000 matters with hundreds of clients including Citibank, Wachovia, and HSBC.