ISBN 1-58939-885-8. $14.95. Softcover. 326 pages
Suicide can be an alluring option for people with bipolar disorder. Erika Norgren should know. Like Stephen Wright, the gifted young artist she finds sprawled dead behind WellSpring, Erika has experienced the devastating mood swings of the disease.
As Director of WellSpring, the social club that's a safe haven for the mentally ill on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Erika has coped brilliantly - till now. Stephen's death throws the club into turmoil. Then Jeff Archer, another talented artist with bipolar disorder, dies of a drug overdose on the club's front steps. Death by suicide, death by drugs - business as usual, or so the police assume.
Erika suspects murder. But who would want to kill Stephen or Jeff? Could it be one of the club members? The schizophrenic Stan Washington or the edgy, sociopath Arthur Drummond? Or is someone out to shut the club down? Maybe the real estate mogul with mob connections? Or even one of the men in her life - the charismatic activist or the Wall Street overachiever?
With her sanity at stake and only her German shepherd mutt Rishi to guard her back, Erika steps up her sleuthing to save WellSpring and those who need it most.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Lomoe brings a wealth of professional mental health experience to Mood Swing. Her work as an art therapist at a psychiatric hospital inspired her to turn to fiction as a creative outlet. She later founded and ran ElderSource, Inc., a Licensed Home Care Services Agency. A vocal advocate for the rights of mentally ill consumers, Julie is a member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and of the Mental Health Players, an improvisatory theater troupe.
Julie graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College, then received an MFA from Columbia University. A SoHo resident for many years, she exhibited her paintings and prints at the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the 1969 Woodstock Festival, and in many Manhattan galleries. She received an MA in Art Therapy from New York University before moving to upstate New York to pursue a career in mental health.
Julie has published poetry as well as articles on mental health, aging, women's issues and gardening. Mood Swing is her first published novel. Check her website, www.julielomoe.com, to learn more about Julie's work, including Eldercide, a novel of medical suspense inspired by her home health care experience.
