About the Author

Zin and Michael

About the Author

Michael Daswick wrote a story in second grade about a boy and his dog who shared one another’s people food and dog food. That story earned him a gold star from Mrs. Winters. Years later, Michael’s slightly more advanced stories won both of Columbia’s venerable literary awards: The Bennett Cerf Memorial Prize for Fiction and The Cornell Woolrich Fellowship for Creative Writing. These stories featured the character Chip Rock and were set in the (fictional) deteriorating SoCal beach town of No Palms. Several of these stories may be found in the collection, Hallboys.

Michael grew up in Pasadena, California where he worked in a much-maligned meat market, and played on beaches from Avalon to Zuma. That seedy meat shop and those beaches provide much of the setting for his epic novel, Chip Rock and the Fat Old Fart. Michael’s keen interest in food started in that same meat shop.

Michael and his wife Kim live in Scottsdale, Arizona. They have three children and two happy dogs. Everyone in the family offers a bounty of suggestions as to what direction his plot and characters should take next, and as any honest writer would tell you, this input is always invaluable. These novels would be much less than they are if not for this assistance.

Professionally, Michael has worked in international golf development and owned the leading dog shop in Scottsdale. Today he writes full time.

Michael has always been interested in cooking and fancies himself a flashy cook and backyard barbeque superstar on his 32-year-old Weber grill. “My relationship with food comes through my family and, especially, our daughter with special needs. From her wheelchair, she’s great at ‘helping’ me cook in the kitchen. Nobody is as excited about food as she is, and this passion is contagious. She loves the Food Network and it’s her dream to become a chef.” The Zin Mignon Series is the written manifestation of her dream and the family’s passion.

An avid reader of good books that remain relatively unheralded and apart from the mainstream, he recommends books in his popular blog on Substack called Reading Off the Beaten Path.

Chip Rock - seagull