The importance of the Outsider.In the clammy coastal SoCal town of No Palms, Chip Rock and his mates have aged out of the slipshod orphanage known as Boys Hall, and set out to find a meaningful place in their world. Chip Rock and the Catalina Kid tells the saga of Chip's lifelong friend, Cal. An industrious yet unsettled burger-artist, Cal shocks the community when he embarks on a daring 27-mile channel swim to Catalina Island.With the help of a dazzling yet mysterious girl ...

With the extraordinary events of Book #2 and the Secret of the Russian Rye behind him, Zin Mignon's quest turns to his shadowy family history. The 14 year-old phenom Chef reaches the squalid peasants’ orphanages in the hinterlands of Russia. But with his pal Jenny, all they find are skinny kids and crushing conditions. Ah, but Zin has fame. And an appetite to help. Thus, he cooks up a daring charitable scheme to feed the planet’s poorest kids. In the globetrotting Book 3, Zin does his fine...

Zin Mignon, the 13 year-old phenom Chef, stumbles upon a scrawled note from his late father. Thus, he embarks on a fantastic quest to uncover the mysteries of his shady past.Master Chef meets Artemis Fowl, delivering a culinary genius.Starting out in his father’s pathetic Brooklyn deli, Zin's world-spinning adventures take him through the alleys of the homeless to the tables of billionaires. Early on, at the finest culinary school in Paris, Zin is in a horrific pickle. He's ...

CHIP ROCK and the FAT OLD FART tells the story of the comic and poignant friendship between 23 year old Chip Rock and a 55 year old, socially-shocking meat cutter, Deacon O'Dell. FAT OLD FART explores the glue which binds together imperfect families and flawed friendships.The novel is set in the fictional and crumbling SoCal beach town of No Palms. The town itself - with all its quirks and changes -- is as much a character as Chip or Deacon or anyone else.This is a coming-o...

In the run-down orphanage known as Boys Hall, 4th grader Chip Rock is handed a daunting task: go downtown, alone, and pay a visit to Mrs. Carruthers, a 75-year-old sourpuss and total stranger. Help her write a letter. There they sit, like two dogs sniffing each other. It's a neighborly assignment but Chip never expected a stinky house, a bad attitude and four-letter words that fly like hornets. As the frightened orphan meets a crabby loner, Chip learns the job has nothing to do with letter...

#2 in the ZIN series.From the filthy streets of Brooklyn to the glam of Beverly Hills, 13 year old wonder Chef Zin Mignon serves a parade of royalty, celebrities and supermodels, all the while overshadowed by a murky family past.The trouble is the old and forgetful Mrs. Pirogi – Zin's sole link to a long-lost family legacy – can’t quite remember much about Zin’s cryptic ancestry. So why is the chef extraordinaire and the sizzling sensation of the Sunset Str...

HALLBOYS is a collection of six linked short stories featuring the dreams and escapades of Chip Rock and his pals (The Hallboys) growing up in the shabby orphange known as Boys Hall, in the broken-down SoCal beach town of No Palms.As with all Michael Daswick fiction, the stories balance comedy and drama, with surprising and memorable endings. They underscore the vivid imagination of children, and their adventures which lead to friendships and the bonds that last a lifetime. These s...