About Me...

If you haven't discovered it already, my name is Richard Dean Starr and I'm a  freelance copywriter.  I've written ads, brochures, press releases and other materials for agencies and companies both large and small. 

In addition to my copywriting, I'm a fiction and non-fiction author and editor with numerous publications to my credit, including stories featuring Hellboy, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Phantom, and more.  

 I'm also Special Projects Coordinator for Moonstone Books, heading up new projects such as the first Zorro anthology in five decades and consulting on the newest Doc Savage print project in thirty or so years.  You can read more about my professional credits below.

If that doesn't keep me busy enough, I'm also a Production Coordinator and Assistant Unit Production Manager, and now Co-Producer, on feature films.  You can visit my Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry by clicking here.

I'm a former member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, National Writers Union and the Georgia Press Association, and was one of the youngest members ever in the history of the latter organization.  Last but not least, I spent some time in the early nineties representing artists and illustrators in the science fiction and fantasy fields. Among my clients was the late Von Tipton (art at left; click on image to enlarge). 

Read on to find out more about me, my clients and my professional credentials.  If you're interested, I'll even tell you a bit about my personal interests.  Thanks for stopping by!

My Clients, From A to Z:

My clients span a wide variety of fields, from ad agencies to zoos and everything in between!  I've created advertising, PR, and collateral materials for everything from theme park promotions and industrial ball bearings to greenhouses and legal services.  From small, family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 corporations, my clients depend on me to create ad copy and other promotions that deliver high-impact results. 

Here are just a few of the many companies and agencies I've worked with over the years:

• Disney's Magic Kingdom Club.   (Brochures, Flyers, PR Materials)

• The Jimmie Rodgers Foundation.   (Brochure)

• Ramada Inns and Suites.   (Brochures and Press Releases)

• State of Florida, Int'l Trade & Economic Development Board.  (Brochure and Website copy

• Repair Tech PC.  (Website Copy, Sales Flyers)

• The Walt Disney Company.   (Brochure, Direct Mail Package, Sales Letters)

• City of Avalon, Catalina Island, California.   (Brochure)

• Hilton Hotels.   (Brochure and Press Releases)

• CP Enterprises of Apopka, Inc.  (Brochures, Flyers, Sales Letters, and Website copy)

• Sea Quest.   (Catalog Copy)

• Markstone,  An Agency for Creative Marketing.   (Wide Variety of Projects)

• Walt Disney Imagineering.   (Information Sheets, Bid Response Letters)

• Columbia House Record Club.  (Direct Mail Package)

• Brownie's Third Lung.   (Brochure)

• Marriott Villas.   (Press Releases)

• Walt Disney Imagineering.   (Information Sheets, Bid Response Letters)

• The San Diego Zoo.  (Brochure)

If you'd like to see some samples of my work, click here to visit my Portfolio page.

My Professional Fiction and Non-Fiction:

I first began writing professionally at the age of 17, for a small Los Angeles trade newspaper.  Over the past twenty years, I have published over 200 articles, stories, features and columns.  I'm a former member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and the Georgia Press Association, and was one of the youngest members in the latter organization's history.  My work has appeared in Starlog, Science Fiction Chronicle, and many other magazines.  In addition to my magazine work, I'm also the former Entertainment Editor and film critic for the Southeast Georgian and Camden Country Tribune newspapers, now consolidated as the Tribune & Georgian.

I'm also proud to have recently joined Moonstone Books as an editor and Special Projects Coordinator.  In this capacity, I will be supervising the first reprinting of Jeff Rice's original Kolchak: The Night Stalker novels in more than thirty years.  Featuring cover art by my good friend, bestselling media illustrator and artist Keith Birdsong (Star Trek, Star Wars, Xena, and many more), this landmark publication will be issued in both limited edition and trade states.  I'm also consulting Project Manager on Doc Savage: The Unproduced Radio Scripts, the first new Doc Savage material to see print in twenty years, and will be editing the first original Zorro fiction anthology in half a century.

My Hellboy story, "Unfinished Business", co-authored with New York Times bestselling novelist Ed Gorman (Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: City of Night) appeared in the Hellboy: Odder Jobs anthology, edited by Christopher Golden.  "The Shadow That Shapes the Light", also written with Ed Gorman, appeared in the anthology Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles, which went on to receive a Bram Stoker nomination for best anthology of the year from the Horror Writers of America (HWA).  One of my favorite stories to date, "Fear Itself", appeared in the special Stephen King Halloween issue of Cemetery Dance magazine in October, 2005.

My new Kolchak story, "Bones of the Past", is scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2006 in the inaugural anthology, Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook (Volume I).  My next short story, "Lessons Learned", stars the world's first costumed superhero, The Phantom, and is scheduled for release in early 2007.  This significant anthology marks the first appearance of Phantom prose fiction since the 1970's, when a string of novels, written by Phantom creator Lee Falk, were published.

Personal Interests :

Fortunately, my life isn't all about sitting in front of a computer!  I'm also an avid scuba diver, hiker, and mountain biking enthusiast, and take every available opportunity to travel and experience everything that life has to offer.   To that end, I've traveled through all 48 contiguous U.S. states and extensively in both Mexico and Canada. 

I've hiked to the remote cliff dwellings of the ancient Anasazi in Arizona and New Mexico (Yes, some of them are quite a long hike out; bring lots of water!  I've also visited Acoma, the  famous pueblo known as Sky City (before Caucasians were allowed in only by bus), dove the remote caverns of Florida's famous springs (there's nothing like several million gallons of rushing spring water to get you back on top...literally!), and canoed for a week on the Colorado River (during which I  became violently ill from exposure to polluted water). 

In my younger years, I even found myself less than a fifty yards from the Space Shuttle just minutes after its landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, separated from the spacecraft by little more than an easementt and a twelve foot high chain link fence.  Watching the steam rising from the shuttle as it was hosed down is a sight I'll remember for the rest of my life!

I'm a native of the Los Angeles area and was born at Harbor General hospital in Torrance, the real hospital portrayed on the classic TV show, "Emergency."  I also attended Torrance High School, which appeared as Sunnydale High in the hit TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"  (That's L.A. for you...one big film location!).

I recently returned to L.A. (and copywriting!) after thirteen years in Florida to pursue a career in film.  Copywriting allows me to pick and choose the film projects with which I am associated.  I was recently Production Coordinator and Assistant Unit Production Manager on Wednesday Again, starring Richmond Arquette, Brad Heller, Mick Berry, and Hollywood legend Marty Ingels.  I'm currently co-producing Space Reserved, a feature film scheduled for release in 2007.on occasion.