Eric Van Lustbader

Eric Van Lustbader (born December 24, 1946) is an American author of thriller and fantasy novels. He has published as Eric Lustbader, Eric V. Lustbader, and Eric Van Lustbader.

He is a graduate of New York's Stuyvesant High School and Columbia College, with a degree in sociology, and he has a second-level Reiki degree. He is married to Victoria Lustbader (née Schochet), who is also an author, as well as an editor.

Biography

Lustbader was born and raised in Greenwich Village, where he developed interests in art and writing. He lived downstairs from actress Lauren Bacall, and built orange-crate racers in Washington Square Park with actors Keith and David Carradine. He is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in sociology.

Before turning to writing full-time, he was employed by the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records. Writing for Cashbox magazine, he also covered such acts as Elton John, Santana, Roxy Music, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, David Bowie, and The Who. Lustbader became friends with Elton John and his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, as the first American journalist to predict John would be a huge star, in his column in Cashbox. He went out on tour with John, including the dates at the Fillmore East, Carnegie Hall, and Madison Square Garden in November 1974 when John Lennon guest starred on the third night of the four nights. Several years later, while working for Dick James Music, he wrote and field produced a segment on John for John Chancellor's NBC Nightly News, the first such segment on an entertainer.