Born in Brooklyn, Camille Marchetta received her BA in English Literature from the College of New Rochelle, in Westchester County, New York, and later studied fiction with noted writer Anatole Broyard at The New School in New York City. Shortly afterward, on a visit to England, she fell in love with the country, decided to stay, and was fortunate enough to find work with Richard Hatton Limited, a theatrical and literary agency, in a few years becoming a literary director of the company.

The agency was small but powerful, its client list including well-known writers, directors, and actors such as Sean Connery, Malcolm McDowell, and Leo McKern. Among the writers with whom Ms. Marchetta worked were Robert Shaw, author of many award-winning novels and plays (though he is best known in the United States for his acting performances in To Russia With Love and Jaws); the playwright Richard Harris, whose Stepping Outappeared on Broadway; and Anthony Shaffer, who wrote Sleuth, a hit in the West End, on Broadway, and as a feature film.

Returning to the States, Ms. Marchetta went to Hollywood, found herself an agent, and eventually got an assignment on the “Dallas” mini-series. Asked to join the staff, she remained until the series soared to the top of the ratings. With that, her career in television was established. She wrote television movies, pilots for new series, produced “Nurse,” which won Michael Learned an Emmy, and “Dynasty” in the season it finally crept past “Dallas” in the ratings and reached number one. 

In 1985, Ms. Marchetta took a sabbatical from television, returned to London, and, fulfilling a lifetime ambition, wrote her first novel, Lovers and Friends, which was published in the United States in 1989 and subsequently in England, Finland, Sweden, and Germany. Following its publication, Ms. Marchetta co-executive-produced Falcon Crest, co-authored two best-selling novels with Ivana Trump, and worked as a story consultant on the television series, “Central Park West.” St. Martin's Press published her second novel,The Wives of Frankie Ferraro, in 1998. The River By Moonlight is her most recent book.

Books by Camille Marchetta

The River, By Moonlight

by Camille Marchetta

On a rainy April night in 1917, a passing vagrant sees a young woman fall (or is it jump?) into New York City's Hudson River. He tries to save her, but fails. The police tentatively identify the woman as Lily Canning, twenty-five years old, from Minuit, a town in the Hudson Valley. But is it Lily?