Ralph Albert Gessner

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Ralph Albert Gessner (born December 14, 1960) is the pen name of an American historical novelist, chosen in honor and memory of his maternal grandfather, Albert Gessner. The first name Ralph, inspired by the main character in the 1950's television show The Honeymooners.

Early life

Gessner was born in Houlton, Maine on December 14, 1960 of Acadian and Quebecois descent and can tie his genealogy to Abraham Pineo Gesner, who invented kerosene in 1846. The eldest of three sons, Gessner grew up in Aroostook County, Maine and participated annually in picking potatoes for the harvest season, as well as delivering newspapers, and working at Sampson's as a stock clerk. Gessner attended St Mary's Catholic School and graduated from Houlton High School in 1979.

Beginning of writing career

Having always dreamed of becoming a writer, he first became a barber to earn a living until he could support himself by his pen. His own barber convinced him to instead become a beautician in order to make more money, and also to interact with more women as a means of inspiration for his writing. After graduating from Houlton High School, Gessner attended Bernards School of Hair, which served as the basis for his first novel, Truth & Beauty School in 1980.

Early professional career

Following graduation Gessner worked unsuccessfully at various jobs before realizing that he needed to return to school for writing. While earning a BA degree from the University of Maine at Machias, he wrote his second novel, The Tapir Man in 1984, and married his college sweetheart in 1985.

In 1986 Gessner was employed in publishing at Thorndike Press, the largest publisher in Maine and the second largest publisher of Large Print books at that time. Thorndike was purchased by its rival, GK Hall, then part of Macmillan Publishing. Following years of therapy for ACOA (Adult Children of Alcoholics), Gessner’s marriage unraveled, and the couple divorced amicably in 1992.

Later professional and writing career

In pursuit of a long-distance emotional infatuation with a coworker, Gessner relocated to New Jersey in January of 1994, securing a position with Paramount Publishing, soon to be renamed Simon & Schuster- the largest publisher in the United States at that time. Gessner worked in the Corporate Purchasing department, managing the integration of his old company, Macmillan Publishing, which had just been purchased by Paramount.

In the years to come, Gessner rose to Director of Procurement Strategy & Analysis in the Global Procurement department at Pearson which by this time had purchased all but the trade divisions of Simon & Schuster. During this time, between 1995- 1999, Gessner wrote five novels including: The Wake of Dreams, a novel set in the 1980’s about a psychic who is accidentally emotionally saved by a serial killer; A Different Story, a fictitious autobiography of Jesus called the Christ; Deep In My Heart, a murder mystery set during Freedom Summer in Mississippi; Princess Marin, the retelling of Hamlet with the main character as a woman; and Queen Marin, a novel about King Lear as a woman.

Gessner suffered a brief and tumultuous second marriage in 1999, which was finally annulled due to the wife's documented fraud in 2001 after a long legal process, followed by a broken engagement in 2002. After a bittersweet romance with a lovely Transylvanian woman, who likely would have been perfect for him, Gessner realized he was much more comfortable being by himself.

Becoming largely a recluse, Gessner was diagnosed with Asperger’s and experienced writer's block in the midst of trying to complete three separate works. In 2006 he took to writing again and began working on a complex novel about the first voyage of Captain Cook which he researched for over a decade util putting the project on hold.

Gessner was laid off from Pearson in 2015 when a new CEO decided to gut the company and decimated its workforce, taking the company in a new, far less profitable direction.

While deciding what to do next Gessner wrote a new, very long scandalous novel set-in contemporary times under a different penname of Rita Bell Valet entitled A Star is Falling (a gender swapped A Star Is Born).

In 2015 he entered an essay contest to win the movie theater in his hometown. After the contest was canceled because not enough participants decided to compete Gessner purchased the theater and moved back to Maine to run it. The theater did well until something bad happened, and the theater had to close for months.

During the shutdown he wrote The Great America in 2048 (combining 1984 and The Great Gatsby) envisioning what life would be like a generation hence if a certain coup had succeeded.

After weathering the vicissitudes of the pandemic Gessner decided to retire, write full time, and lease the theater. He is working on his tenth book.

List of works

• liddle baddles & The Tapir Man
• Truth & Beauty School
• Wake of Dreams
• A Different Story
• Deep In My Heart
• Princess Marin
• Queen Marin
• A Star Is Falling
• The Great America in 2048

Notes and References

• Houlton Native Returns to Own Temple
• Houlton Native Buys Movie Theater
• Abraham Pineo Gesner Abraham Pineo Gesner
• Houlton High School
• Bernards School of Hair
• University of Maine at Machias
• Thorndike Press
• Macmillan Publishing
• Simon & Schuster
• Pearson
• The Wake of Dreams Book Reviews
• Deep In My Heart Book Review

External links

• Amazon Listings: Books by Ralph Albert Gessner
• Temple Cinema Website
• Temple Facebook Page

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