Work Shy

James Douglas Rosenthal is an artist/writer who lives in Philadelphia. Like many of his characters, his artwork has been shown locally for years but is completely unknown in the international art world. This upsets him a lot. In addition to fiction, Rosenthal's personal blog, Pocket Intellectual is a forum for quirkier, less formal dialogue that carries the torch for disenfranchised geniuses of the world. Work Shy is his first novel.

After an overdose, the unfortunate painter Edgar Bloom is dead. At the funeral, Douglas Frank (soft-boiled crimewriter) is persuaded to look into his friend's misadventure by Bloom's long suffering widow. Did I mention shewas beautiful? He discovers the artist's diaries buried in the an unkempt studio. Frank's agent, Ron Cranston(Albatross Books) urges him to write a brash expose featuring the dirty side of creative failure so Frank can risein the literary food chain. What better way to get back at the elitist "Art Mob" for neglecting his friend Bloom andmake a bit of cash? Ethical dilemmas multiply.Frank is asked to consult on a big museum exhibition by hard-nosed, curator, Martha Trout and Bloom'sresurrection takes on a life of its' own. Bemused, Frank realizes he's the only one who represents the disaffectedartists of the world. To complicate matters, the success of the "Forgotten Poets" exhibition and subsequent bookWork Shy soon has Hollywood knocking on his door. Publishers are thrilled. Is this a good thing asks the jadedwriter? Sherrie Bloom is upset by the belated notoriety her dead husband receives and spurns amorous Frank.Our reluctant investigator must choose sides, live with the guilt or take the money and run.