J. G. Sandom, often referred to as the “Father of Interactive (Internet) Advertising,” co-founded the world’s first interactive advertising agency, Einstein and Sandom Interactive (EASI), in 1984, before launching an award-winning writing career.
He is the author of twelve works of fiction, including 404 – A John Decker Thriller and THE WAVE – A John Decker Thriller; THE GOD MACHINE – A Joseph Koster Mystery and GOSPEL TRUTHS – A Joseph Koster Mystery; THE WALL STREET MURDER CLUB; THE PUBLICIST (authored under pen name Veronica C. Wright); THE BLUE MEN; plus YA novels dEATH in dAVOS; KISS ME, I’M DEAD; CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BODY SNATCHER; and THE SEED OF ICARUS; as well as a children’s book, A IS FOR ASPARAGUS.
Born in Chicago (December 19th, 1956), raised in Europe, and an alumnus of Winchester College (Hampshire, England) and Amherst College (in Massachusetts, where he won the Academy of American Poets Prize and the Corbin Prize), Sandom moved to New York City in 1979 where, for the next five years, he worked as a freelance copywriter, public relations and advertising executive, and corporate spokesperson trainer for such companies as Hill & Knowlton and Ketchum Inc.
INTERNET PIONEER
In 1984, Sandom co-founded Einstein and Sandom Interactive (EASI), the nation’s first interactive advertising agency. It grew to become the world’s largest digital marketing services firm when it was purchased by D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles in 1994. Sandom continued to manage EASI on behalf of DMB&B through 1996. EASI clients included: Procter & Gamble, General Motors and Mars Incorporated, among others; plus several non-DMB&B clients such as Citibank, Compaq, and Merck & Co.
From January 1997 through October 1999, Sandom served as Director of Interactive at OgilvyOne Worldwide, a division of ad agency giant Ogilvy & Mather, where he grew the company from a loss of $2 million to an estimated $100 million in revenues in North America, and from 12 “permalancers” to 650 digital marketing specialists worldwide and global billings of $300 million in just 30 months. In 1998, OgilvyInteractive was named “Best Interactive Ad Agency” of the year by Adweek, and won two premier Cyber Lions awards at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. OgilvyInteractive’s clients included: IBM, GTE, Ameritrade, and Ford Motor Company, among many others.
From November 1999 through October 2003, Sandom served as President and CEO, and then Vice Chairman of RappDigital Worldwide, the interactive arm of direct marketing/direct response agency giant Rapp Collins Worldwide, an Omnicom Company. Within a year of inception, RappDigital became one of the nation’s “Top Twenty” interactive ad agencies, according to Adweek. Sandom was responsible for executive management of the company, and its growth to more than $40MM in revenues in the U.S., with 300+ employees worldwide, and offices throughout North America, Europe and Latin America — at a time of industry contraction. RappDigital Network clients included SBC Communications, Mercedes-Benz, Philips Consumer Electronics, Pfizer, and Reuters, among others.
AUTHOR
Following the release of THE SEED OF ICARUS (1975) and THE BLUE MEN (1981), GOSPEL TRUTHS – A Joseph Koster Mystery was published by Bantam/Random House in 1992 (and re-issued in 2007). Since then, Sandom has written THE WAVE – A John Decker Thriller and 404 – A John Decker Thriller, THE GOD MACHINE – A Joseph Koster Mystery, THE PUBLICIST (under pen name Veronica C. Wright) and THE WALL STREET MURDER CLUB (optioned by Warner Bros. for a major motion picture).
Booklist called GOSPEL TRUTHS – A Joseph Koster Mystery, “a splendid, tautly woven thriller…(and) an intelligent mystery of tremendous spiritual and literary depth.” Library Journal said, “A masterful first novel, based on a true incident, which spins a complicated web of corruption, greed and deception.” And Mostly Murder characterized it, “A fascinating mystery…captivating and engrossing.”
THE GOD MACHINE – A Joseph Koster Mystery was released in May, 2009. Caroline Thompson (screenwriter of Edward Scissorhands) said, “Move over, Dan Brown…All hail J.G. Sandom…(THE GOD MACHINE) is a thrilling and breathless, rapturously-written and mind-blowing read. It’ll keep you up all night, turning pages as fast as your little fingers can manage.” Bookpage.com said “Sandom has a knack for combining legendary gospels, ancient secrets, star-crossed lovers and Masonic puzzles to create a simmering stew of conspiracy, intrigue and danger that keeps the plot pot boiling until the very end.” And the Historical Novels Review said, “History galore, violence, and intrigue fill the pages of this tightly plotted, twisting and turning adventure story, reminding one of a multilayered Russian matryoshka doll. The reader will also learn a great deal about da Vinci, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and many more historical geniuses…Those who love numbers, physics, and a truly unpredictable, suspenseful mystery will relish the facts and ponderings replete in this well-written, mysterious spin-off of The Da Vinci Code. THE GOD MACHINE is a very impressive historical thriller!” The Spanish language edition of THE GOD MACHINE, LA MACHINA DE DIOS, became the #1 best-selling Amazon Kindle title in Spain when it was released in 2014.
THE WAVE – A John Decker Thriller was published in June 2010 by Cornucopia Press. Kirkus said, “Sandom’s strength lies in the verve of his story, with writing that has both muscle…(and) brains…Races from improbable to crazywild, all in good fun, with Sandom always one step ahead…A story with enough manic energy to be worthy of a nuclear explosion.”
THE WALL STREET MURDER CLUB was published by Cornucopia Press in September 2013 and immediately became an Amazon Top Ten best-selling Thriller/Mystery. Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent and Ordinary Heroes (whose physician father delivered the author!), called THE WALL STREET MURDER CLUB, “A gripping story, well-told…not only a tale of murder and betrayal, but an intelligent exploration of issues of male identity.” Kirkus Reviews termed the book, “A Big Apple Deliverance, endowing New York culture with all the corrosively dehumanizing power of Dickey’s wild nature…Slickly entertaining right down to the last, inevitable twist. (Film rights to Warner Brothers — and there’s no mystery why.)” And Booklist said, “(Sandom) writes with stunning elegance and nearly poetic beauty…A sure hit with any suspense reader.”
404 – A John Decker Thriller was published by Cornucopia Press in November 2014. Ron Jaco, former Special Agent, FBI, said, “Team up with FBI code-breaker John Decker as he tries to stop a mysterious hacker, recently discovered penetrating government defense systems. Now, the cyber villain has set his sights on Decker and his family. As a former Special Agent, I found this novel not only plausible, but riveting and truly alarming. If you care about our nation’s cyber-security, you MUST read this book.”
While known mostly as a writer of thrillers and mysteries, Sandom is also the author of several award-winning Young Adult (YA) novels, including KISS ME, I’M DEAD (formerly titled THE UNRESOLVED and released under pen name T.K. Welsh – August 2006) and CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BODY SNATCHER (formerly titled RESURRECTION MEN and released under pen name T.K. Welsh – Spring 2007), both from Penguin/Dutton. New editions of both books have recently been released by Cornucopia Press in softcover and eBook form under the author’s birth name, and in a new collection titled TWO TEEN TERRORS. Most recently, Sandom released the first book in a new series called The Robin Beauvais Manifestos, dEATH in dAVOS, from Cornucopia Press.
Publishers Weekly called CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BODY SNATCHER, “A haunting tour of London’s underclass during the 1830s…Teens will likely be both captivated by Victor’s harrowing story as well as his ability to prevail in the face of harsh injustices.” VOYA said, “Teen readers will thoroughly enjoy the hair-raising suspense in this historical thriller.” TeensReadToo termed it, “an intense, dark work…I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction.” KLIATT said, “Like M.T. Anderson’s The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, this look at sinister events in history makes the era come alive and lingers in the memory.” Jen Robinson’s Book Page called the novel, “Gripping and fast-paced, filled with intriguing historical details…Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction.” And School Library Journal said, “Part historical fiction and part adventure story, the novel brings excitement to Victorian England…Readers will be on the edge of their seats.” CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE BODY SNATCHER was named a Junior Library Guild selection.
Ranked one of the Top Ten Children’s Books of the year by the Washington Post, KISS ME, I’M DEAD was named a Notable Book for Teens by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, a Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Teen’s Top Ten, and nominated for a Cybils literary award, a Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) by the American Library Association (ALA), and added to Horn Book‘s list of Recommended American Historical Fiction. The Washington Post said, “(J.G. Sandom) writes with a precision and delicacy unusual for YA fiction,” and called the novel, “a subtle gem.” In its starred review, School Library Journal said, “KISS ME, I’M DEAD tells a remarkable story in a remarkable way.” Horn Book Magazine called the work, “A decidedly unconventional ghost story…(and) a tightly wound novel.” Kirkus Reviews termed it, “A remarkable account.” Midwest Book Review called the novel, “a wonderfully different kind of ghost story.” And Romantic Times said, “KISS ME, I’M DEAD is a book you shouldn’t pass up.”
And A IS FOR ASPARAGUS – a Jacques Couteau Mystery is the author’s first and only children’s book to date. MainSail Reviews called the story, “A delightful romp that will not only amuse and captivate your child, but may actually get him to eat those green things on his dinner plate rather than throwing them at you.”
The author is reputed to be working on a new novel tentatively called FOREVER AND A DAY. It’s a love story.
For more about the author, visit his profile at:
Bibliography
- The Seed of Icarus: 1975
- The Blue Men: 1981
- Gospel Truths – A Joseph Koster Mystery: 1992, 2007 [Foreign editions in German, Dutch, Danish and Japanese]
- The Publicist (under pen name Veronica C. Wright): 1996, 2011
- The Wave – A John Decker Thriller: 2002, 2010
- Kiss me, I’m dead: 2006, 2010
- Confessions of a Teenage Body Snatcher: 2007, 2010
- The God Machine – A Joseph Koster Mystery: 2009 [Foreign editions in Spanish and Turkish]
- Two Teen Terrors (Kiss Me, I’m Dead & Confessions of a Teenage Body Snatcher): 2010
- A is for Asparagus by Holland Dayze (J.G. Sandom and Sylvana Joseph): 2011
- The Wall Street Murder Club: 2013
- 404 – A John Decker Thriller: 2014
- dEATH in dAVOS – A Robin Beauvais Manifesto: 2016