Salkin's career takes turn toward writing
Local official's first novel expected to be on shelves this month
BY ELANA ARON
Correspondent

David Salkin

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - Most people in Freehold Township know David M. Salkin as a member of the Township Committee and owner of the Jewel Case, a jewelry store in the South Freehold Shopping Center.

Now, however, Salkin's claim to fame may be his new role as a published author.

Salkin, a lifelong resident of the community, has sold two books to the Berkeley division of Penguin Books, with the first one expected on shelves at the beginning of April.

His first book, a military thriller titled "Crescent Fire," took about a year to write and, according to Salkin, it was a chance conversation with an editor at Penguin that got him his first break.

"Through total fate I met Doug Whiteman from Penguin," Salkin said. "I was talking to him and at the end of our conversation I just said, 'Look, I know everybody probably tells you this, but I'm writing a book. Would you mind just taking a look at it?' Eventually they called me and said, 'Can we make a deal?,' and I nearly had a heart attack. They made me an offer, I signed on the dotted line and I still pinch myself saying, 'Holy cow.' "

Before the sale of "Crescent Fire," Salkin had already written a book, which he is hoping will one day be published.

"When I finished that, I knew I could really write a book," he said. "I managed to crank out 350 pages in a year. Once I finished that one, I had other ideas. I am omnipotent on paper. When I pick up a pen and paper I can kill whoever I want. It's a great release. I can go home and wipe out anyone I want. The pen is mightier than the sword. The pen is my sword."

Salkin, a licensed gemologist who has managed his family's business with his brother since 1989, said he got his first inspiration through his work in jewelry.

"It all started in the late 1990s," he recalled. "I was reading a gemology article on synthetic diamonds and it lent itself to a story. A thousand times I said to my wife, 'I swear I could write a book,' so she said I should write a book! So I wrote 'Hard Carbon.' That's actually my favorite book, maybe because I'm in the diamond industry."

Salkin, who has been an elected official since 1994, said he somehow manages to find time to write, along with his other myriad responsibilities.

"I guess I just prefer to be busy all the time. I'll steal the time when I can find it," he said. "I'll write for a few weeks, then take a break ... I tend to write in sprints, not just one long marathon. When I get an idea I try to get it on paper as fast as I can. I have it humming in my head."

Salkin said research is an integral component to his writing.

"I spend as much time reading as I do writing," he said. "Google is great. There's so much information available, like military secrets, to the point where I actually find it disturbing."

His second book, "Necessary Extremes," which is due out in September 2008, is about Iran's securing of a nuclear weapon with the intention of attacking Israel.

"I wrote that before it was in the news," he said. "People will think I just read the paper and wrote a story, but I made it up a year earlier."

Salkin said his biggest hope is that readers will enjoy his writing.

"My first books are much more story-driven, not character-driven, but I hope I keep people up at night turning the pages," he said. "This is the kind of book you'll read and say, 'That was cool.' It's a plane ride. I hope one day to write something more important. Not everybody wants an action movie, but that's what I've been hired to write right now."

Salkin said he has enjoyed every minute of his budding career as an author.

"It's probably the most fun work I've ever done," he said. "It's all my own. You get a sense of pleasure at reading what you wrote and saying, 'You know, that's not bad.' I just want my friends to read it and like it. That causes me the most stress. I'd like it if people would finish it and say, 'I can't wait for the next one.' "

Salkin said he dedicated his book to his mother.

"My mom, Sylvia, died last year. When we would visit her, we would sit around and she said, 'I can't believe you wrote a book.' We sat around and laughed. That brought her a lot of joy and that makes me happy, that she was so happy. I'm just sorry she never got to see the finished product, but I dedicated it [the book] to her," he said.

Salkin said his father, Joe, remains a resident of Freehold Township, living in the house where Salkin and his siblings grew up.

"I was born and raised in Freehold Township. That's why I got involved in local government. This is my home. I guess I just wanted to make it a better place," he said.

In addition to writing, managing his business and serving in government, Salkin is married and has two children. Despite his busy schedule, however, Salkin said he has never been happier.

"I just laugh and say, 'Thank you, God.' "