Raymond Obstfeld published his first novel when he was 24. His second novel, Dead Heat, was nominated for an Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America. Forty books and a dozen screenplays later, Raymond is still going strong. Although he has published extensively under his own name, he has also written under the pseudonyms Pike Bishop (the Western series, Diamondback), Jason Frost (the futuristic series Warlord), Carl Stevens (a mystery series), and Don Pendleton (the Executioner series). However, Raymond achieved his greatest success writing as Laramie Dunaway (Hungry Women, Borrowed Lives, and Lessons in Survival). His Dunaway books have been published around the world from England to Korea. His award-winning young-adult novel, Joker and the Thief, has also been published in several countries.

He is also very active writing non-fiction, having written books about Moby-Dick, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Italian Renaissance, world religions, and animal behavior. Aside from his many articles in Writer’s Digest Magazine (where he is a Contributing Editor), he has published two instructional books on writing, including The Novelist’s Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes and Fiction First Aid (Writer’s Digest Books).

Recently, Raymond Obstfeld’s book, co-written with basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, was a New York Times and Los Angeles Times Best-Seller. Kareem and Raymond are currently at work on a new book about the cultural and political rise of African-Americans during the 1960s and 1970s. Raymond currently teaches creative writing at Orange Coast College.