Raymond Obstfeld is a renowned author, professor, and screenwriter. He was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1952, and later moved with his family to Loyalsock, where he graduated from high school in 1969. Obstfeld's parents and brother were immigrants from Germany. He developed an early interest in writing and later pursued it as a career, publishing his first novel, "The Goulden Fleece," when he was just 24 years old.
Obstfeld is a versatile writer who has authored or co-authored nearly 50 books, spanning various genres, including poetry, non-fiction, fiction, and screenplays. He has been twice nominated for the NAACP Image Award, winning once, and has also been nominated for an Edgar A. Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America for "Dead Heat." His writing career began with him using several pseudonyms, including Pike Bishop, Carl Stevens, and Jason Frost, to write different genres. After writing over a dozen thrillers, Westerns, and occult novels, he decided to return to mainstream literary fiction.
In addition to his work as an author, Obstfeld is also a professor of English at Orange Coast College and a contributing editor for Writer's Digest. He has published two instructional books on writing, "The Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes" and "Fiction First Aid." Obstfeld is also a screenwriter who has adapted his novels "Dead Heat" and "Warlord" for Michael Keaton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, respectively. He has written original scripts for various genres, from romantic comedy to caper-comedy to teen action to cop dramas.
Obstfeld has also co-authored a number of non-fiction books with former professional basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, including "What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors" and "Stealing the Game." He is also the co-author, with Abdul-Jabbar, of the children's basketball-themed fiction series "Streetball Crew." Obstfeld's writing has been published internationally, and he continues to be a prominent figure in the literary world.