Chris Morkides, a mental health counselor since 2008, has been enriched as much by his clients as he hopes he has enriched their lives. Nobody is braver, Mr. Morkides feels, than people who stare down their mental health issues every day.

Mr. Morkides decided in 2019, though, that he wanted to devote most of his professional life to writing. He already had written about Kobe Bryant, Philadelphia pro, college and high school teams and the occasional zoning hearing board meeting – when he could stay awake – for the Philadelphia Inquirer and various magazines and wanted to tackle writing a novel.

Despite reservations – I don’t have that many words in me! – Mr. Morkides started on his first novel, Trust Me. He finished it by paying attention to the words of one of his few non-family heroes, Thich Nhat Hahn. The late Nobel Prize nominee and anti-war activist told us to eat a tangerine one section at a time. Eating one section at a time – writing a little every day – Mr. Morkides combined therapy, suspense and psychology to finish Trust Me. Mr. Morkides had become a big tangerine fan by the time he finished his first book and went on to write Good Intentions, the second novel in the Alex Johns Series. He recently finished the first draft of the third installment in the series.

Mr. Morkides loves traveling – to Paris, especially -- his Philadelphia sports teams, playing Scrabble on-line, shooting hoops when his creaky knees allow and, especially, spending time with his wife, Alisa, and daughter, Kina.

He also enjoys reading, although Kina is the biggest reader in the family. James Lee Burke, Elmore Leonard and Dennis Lehane are his favorites in the crime/suspense genre. Frederick Backman makes him stray from that genre often, though.

To contact Mr. Morkides, feel free to email at cmorkides@aol.com.