----E-Mail: michaellarocca@yawweb.org

----I was born in Fayetteville, North

Carolina, USA in 1963. I moved to Tampa, Florida, USA in 1977. I returned to

North Carolina in 1990 and bought a home. In December 1999, I sold my home and

moved to Hong Kong SAR, China. In February 2002 I moved to Hangzhou.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

----I taught at the Zhejiang Institute of

Science & Technology from February 2002 to February 2003. Courses I taught

included Advanced English Writing, Advanced Audio-Visual, Free Selection, VAO/Family

Album USA, CET Band 4 Preparation, English Corner, and Spoken English. My

students have included both English Majors and non-English Majors, Freshman

through Junior. I wrote an educational website for the students of ZIST

(http://michaeljan.topcities.com/), and I helped start student-run English

Corners on both the old campus and the new Xia Sha campus.

----I began editing and proofreading

fiction for Books Unbound (http://www.booksunbound.com), a U.S. publisher, in

November 2001, via the Internet. My supervisor is Leigh Walker,

lmwalker@eclipse.net.

----In November 2001, I was a judge for the

2001 Dream Realm Awards, an annual award to recognize outstanding works of

fiction. I did some preliminary judging for the 2002 Dream Realm Awards in March

2003 and judged the final rounds in June 2003.

----I began working for WordWave

(http://www.wordwave.com), a Hong Kong company, as a legal transcriptionist in

January 2002 via the Internet. They hired me based on an English grammar test,

an IQ test, a typing speed of 120 words per minute, and my ability to

understand spoken English with a "Hong Kong accent." In September

2001 I was promoted to Quality Control. My job includes listening to audio from

court hearings and comparing it with what the transcriptionist has typed. I

also correct all grammar and spelling mistakes. In December 2001 I was given

the authority to evaluate potential employees.

----I worked as a fiction editor for Hard

Shell Word Factory (http://www.hardshell.com), a US publisher, from November

2001 to August 2003. I edited approximately fifty books for them. My supervisor

was Michele Bardsley, thebardsleys@lvcm.com

----I worked as an editor and Author

Development Specialist for CrossroadsPub from December 2000 through November

2001, and edited fifty books. A large part of my job was teaching authors how

to write and self-edit, a skill I use in the classroom and in my current

editorial positions. My supervisor was Samandi Adams, samandi@earthlink.net.

----My career as a fiction writer began in

1981. I won second prize for short story at the National Honor Society's 1981

Florida State Convention, leading to my inclusion in the 1982 Who's Who In

American Writing. To date I have published six novel-length manuscripts. One

was a finalist for the 2002 EPPIE Awards, an annual award to recognize

outstanding works of fiction.

----I worked as a journalist, editor and

proofreader for The English Channel, an English-language educational magazine

published in Hong Kong, from September 2000 through May 2001. The magazine

aimed to educate Chinese secondary students in the use of English, to help them

with their college entrance exams. I was the last person to see the magazine

before it went to the printer, to ensure that it was error-free.

----I was employed at Eastern Instruments

in Wilmington, North Carolina from August 1991 through December 1999. As

Administrative Assistant to the President, I proofread all correspondence and

typed over half of it. As Technical Writer, I took engineering data from

several sources and created cohesive literature that could be easily understood

by the layman (specification sheets, engineering manuals, etc.). I also wrote

and proofread sales literature, and I wrote the website

(http://www.easterninstruments.com). I became a North Carolina Notary Public in

the course of this job, and notarized many of the owner's 13 patent

applications, all approved. My supervisors were Millie Brandt, President,

mbrandt@easterninstruments.com, and Tim Bodemann, V.P., Sales and Marketing,

bodemann@mindspring.com.

----When business was slow at Eastern

Instruments, I left for six months at a time to manage a hog farm with 3500

sows, 98 boars, roughly 10000 piglets, and 12 employees. This happened three

times. The first time, I was the only English speaker and my crew only spoke

Spanish. I taught them my language and they taught me theirs. After that, I

assisted Eastern Instruments in its transition from research and development to

manufacturing so there would be no slowdowns in business. Eastern Instruments'

customer base includes Uncle Ben's in Beijing.

EDUCATION

----ICAL (http://www.teacher-training.net/)

July 2002 - August 2003 Final Grade 93%

TESL/TEFL Certification - Teaching English

as a Second/Foreign Language

----Rockhurst College Continuing Education

Center - Completed October 1999

----Certificate of Continuing Education

----The Essentials of Effective Web Site Development

and Design

----United Electronics Institute, Tampa

Florida USA - Graduated September 1983

----My grade was 3.7 out of a possible 4.0

----Associate of Science Degree in

Electronics Technology

----Re-attended April 1988 through July

1988

----Chamberlain High School - Graduated

June 1981

----My grade was 3.9 out of a possible 4.0

- Top 3% of class

----Top 2% in Scholastic Aptitude Test

----Top 0.25% in Preliminary Scholastic

Aptitude Test

----Advanced Placement / College

Preparatory Course

----9401 North Blvd - Tampa FL 33612 USA -

813-932-6141

----National Honor Society - Beta Club - Mu

Alpha Theta - Model United Nations