Ronald R. Koegler Honored by National Indie Excellence Awards

The Indie Excellence Awards are reserved for the “best of the best” in books published in various genres. The criteria for recognition are stringent and include overall excellence in presentation. This award celebrates the highest achievements in independent press and self-publishing, a sector of the industry that has grown exponentially in recent years. Winners and finalists were announced on Sunday, May 15.

About the book

You’ve seen Steve Buscemi in his award-winning role as Nucky Thompson in the Boardwalk Empire series on HBO. Now read about real-life Nucky Johnson, crime boss of Atlantic City, in this exciting new novel by Ronald Koegler, Chasing the Stargazer: With Help from Luigi Pirandello, Nucky Johnson, and Thomas Wolfe.

Former lifeguard Don Carter returns to his hometown of Atlantic City to look for the “stargazer,” a man he arrested under the Boardwalk three decades earlier. He finds a deserted, ruined city, with none of the vitality it had in earlier times, when Nucky ran the show. As Don digs into his own history, he is swept up in a criminal world he does not understand. In desperation, he turns to a man he has deliberately avoided for years—his wife’s uncle and a leader of the Philadelphia Mafia. Don’s past catches up with him in the mountains of North Carolina and brings his search for the stargazer to a dramatic conclusion.

About the Author

Psychiatrist Ronald R. Koegler spent summers as a lifeguard in his native Atlantic City while attending Stanford University and Temple Medical School. He lives in Santa Barbara, has written or edited five books and more than 50 articles, studies karate, and once discussed guns with Elvis Presley.