Queens Tribune

When Mark Rosendorf was just 8 years old, his mother received some good news: a computer textbook she wrote had just been accepted for publication.

“I barely remember it, but she says the first thing I said to her was, ‘Someday, I’m going to publish a book,’” Rosendorf said.

Years later, that’s exactly what happened.

The Bayside resident, now 34, published his first novel, “The Rasner Effect,” a suspense/thriller that will be released this month by L&L Dreamspell. The book, which skillfully fuses action, espionage and emotion, connects the lives of several multi-faceted characters including Rick Rasner, a therapist with a mysterious past connection to a team of killers called the Duke Organization, disgraced Mercenary Jake Scarberry, Katherine Miller, the steely headmistress at Brookhill Children’s Psychiatric Residence and Clara Blue, a troubled teen with whom Rasner forges a strong bond.

Rosendorf’s quest to transfer his imaginative concepts and characters to paper and then, ultimately, to a printing press, proved an arduous and trying task. In 2004, while working a full-time job as a licensed guidance counselor for the special education district of the New York City Department of Education, he began writing “The Rasner Effect.” Several characters and scenes, particularly those related to the psychiatric residence, were inspired by Rosendorf’s past experiences as a guidance counselor. He described the writing process as therapeutic – a way to control his daydreams. The publishing process, however, was another story.

After eight months of handwriting, typing and obsessing over details, Rosendorf surfaced with a bookcase-ready manuscript. Or so he hoped.

“When I started with this, I thought it would be a piece of cake. I thought – this is a great story, people are going to want to read it, publishers are going to want to see it, people are going to eat it up,” he said. “I had no idea what I was getting myself in to.”

Rosendorf shipped his story to publishers across the country and waited. After six months, he accumulated more than 100 rejection letters, most of which expressed the companies’ reluctance to work with a talented, but green, writer.

“I discovered it’s easier for people who have been published to get published, but what do you do if you’ve never been published?” Rosendorf said.

The freshman writer soon received his answer from a Texas vanguard publishing group. An editor from the group contacted Rosendorf and suggested he work with a professional editor that could help polish his work. After a year and a half of compromise and change, L&L Dreamspell was ecstatic with the new manuscript. The company sent Rosendorf a contract via e-mail and thus, propelled the therapist into a new career as a published author.

“The first thing I did was call my mom. The first thing she did was some research to make sure the publishing company was legitimate,” Rosendorf said. “I didn’t sleep all week.”

In honor of the Jan. 29 launch of “The Rasner Effect,” Rosendorf organized an evening event at the Bay Terrace Public Library featuring refreshments, a question-and-answer session with the author, book signing and entertainment provided by local jazz band, New York City Swing. His debut novel will be available for purchase at the event or through www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www.lldreamspell.com.

In the meantime, Rosendorf has settled back into his old, familiar routine of therapy work and writing. He has recently published a short story entitled “Cat in the Cockpit,” which will be featured in the 2010 Dreamspell anthology, “Cat in the Dreamspell.” He is also in the process of penning a sequel to “The Rasner Effect” and has plans for a third and fourth installment in the Rasner series. His success may even prove to inspire a new generation of writers at his current workplace, the Queens School for Career Development in Jamaica.

“One thing I always try to say to my students is this: if you put in the work, don’t let anything get in the way of your goals. As long as they’re honest, you can accomplish anything,” Rosendorf said. “I feel I can say this now because this was one of my biggest goals and, with a lot of hard work, I accomplished it.”

“The Rasner Effect” book launch will take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29 at the Bay Terrace Public Library located at 18-36 Bell Blvd., Bayside. For more information about Rosendorf, visit www.markrosendorf.com.