does not like to talk about himself —
but he has much to tell.
Beginning at the closing of World War II, The Lives of Felix V weaves romance with little known history into an epic tale of international intrigue and political manipulation spanning seventy-five years, and two continents.
World War II’s forgotten fuhrer, Ante Pavelić, the great tenor Beniamino Gigli, and Pope Pius XII are among the historical figures described in The Lives of Felix V.
From the ancient streets of Malta to the secret Roman catacombs, whether at Interpol, at Belmont Park, at the UN in New York, or staring up at a larger-than-life opera impresario, there is no denying that Nestor Picol is hard to miss.
Throw in the mysterious archbishop, the cheeky Vatican altar boy, the flying bananas, and the former army special forces operative fired from the Postal Service for atomizing a cat with pepper spray, and you find yourself in the unpredictable, genre-bending universe of The Enormous Undertakings of Nestor Picol by Joseph Orbi.
-- Maestro Monticelli tells a story: from Solace in the Pampas --
Cenacolo, a refectory or dining-hall and the principal setting for this historical fiction novel about three dangerous, and frantic weeks in the life of Leonardo da Vinci, while he worked on his famous mural, at Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan.
A story of suspense and court intrigue, Cenacolo employs drawings by Leonardo that reveal the real "artist;" a man with only three things in mind, none of them a brush.
The cast includes Niccolo Machiavelli, Duke Ludovico Sforza of Milan, Pope Alexander VI, Çesare Borgia, and his sister Lucrezia; men and women struggling to survive the extraordinary, but unforgiving times of the Italian Renaissance.
Not a Matter of Faith is a call to arms; a warning for parents to safeguard their children's sense of critical appreciation and judgment so they do not become targets of charlatans and smooth-talking psychopaths eager to exploit their willingness to believe nonsense.
It is a book that describes how peddlers of divine snake oil pick peoples' pockets, and what you, the reader, can do to fend them off.
Concise and focused, Not a Matter of Faith is a hole-puncher for religious arguments, fallacies and contradictions quoted by "those smiling others" who, empowered by psychotic belief, challenge our intelligence with: "It is a matter of faith."
A recent widower, and prominent US Senator, marries for a second time. Bennett Collingwood, former director of the CIA, reads about it in the papers, and being well acquainted with the bride, raises the alarm.
"Hence it is that which none in the whole army are more intimate relations to be maintained than with spies. None should be more liberally rewarded. In no other business should greater secrecy be preserved."
— Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Based on a true story, A Lady of Influence is an international thriller.
Beginning in 1947, the novel describes an investigation by FBI counterintelligence, as it follows former DCI Collingwood's lead into 70 years of political operations by the CIA against the People's Republic of China, and the unforeseen consequences of a particular operation that turned out too good to be true.
It has been said that Joseph Orbi has led an interesting life, or he suffers from delusions.
In truth, no one else can claim to have played a clown in a three-ring circus, breakfasted with Argentina's exiled Juan Perón, sold his first TV script to Columbia Pictures when he was 18 years old, tweaked Johnny Carson's forehand, played fetch with Rin-Tin-Tin, predicted Pope Leo XIV in 1998 (The Lives of Felix V), warned a DoD spokesman against selling F-14s to pre-Islamic Iran, appeared twice as principal guest on the Phil Donahue Show, attempted to buy the entire Air Force of the Dominican Republic, and served as consigliere to an opera company in New York.
Those were some of the unconventional life experiences that shaped Joseph Orbi's unpredictable, genre-defying style that somersaults between historical drama, comedy, and political thriller in his novels, short stories, plays—including a musical—and films.
While in college in California, Joseph Orbi developed a passion for history, philosophy, deviant psychology, and international politics—themes he combines with remarkable flair in his work.
