Top Producer Release Party!

It was a gorgeous late summer evening in New York City, and the
view from the 61st floor of the Empire State Building was amazing. Pity
debut author Norb Vonnegut, who was hosting a book launch party for his
financial thriller Top Producer (Minotaur) -- he was too busy autographing
copies of his book to check out the view!

But RT Book Reviews Mystery Editor Diane Snyder and Managing Editor Liz
French had a little more time to take it all in. The entire floor (empty
except for a few bars, tables and chairs) was given over to Norb and his
fans, and he sure had a lot of them. The signing line never flagged during
the two-hour event, and the crowd differed from the usual book-signing
groupies. Most looked more like they were from Wall Street than Publisher's
Alley, like Norb, who worked for years as a wealth adviser and on the "sell
side" at a white-shoe brokerage.

Thriller writer Emily Benedek was spotted chatting with a friend and looking
out the south-facing window; Minotaur publicity people Hector DeJean, Sarah
Melnyk and Anne Gardner, along with other St. Martin's staffers, mingled
with guests; trays of traveling hors d'oeuvres wafted through the crowd; two
full bars slaked attendees' thirsts; and Norb smiled and signed, smiled and
signed!

Maybe the author was worried that if he stopped, he'd be bumped off in front
of all of his party guests, as the best friend of Top Producer hero, Grove
O'Rourke, is. But that's fiction, and if that's what you're interested in,
read a review of the book in our October issue, log on to www.NorbVonnegut.com.
or, buy Top Producer, it's officially on sale today.

photo credit: Toni Agovino