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Jeff's Page
About Imagin8 Press
I started Imagin8 Press in 2016, when I realized there were almost no books available for English speakers learning to read Chinese, except for books written for children and young adults. My good friend and Chinese teacher Dr. Xiao Hui Wang and I decided to write a book that would be interesting to readers of ALL ages including adults, and that would have built-in tools to make learning easier (like pinyin on facing pages, English version in the back, audiobooks on YouTube, and so on). The result of that, Rise of the Monkey King, became a best seller in the Chinese language learning community. After that, one book led to another, and we now have quite a few titles in our library, all available on Amazon and also available in quantity directly from us. Our fiction titles follow the original format of the Journey to the West series, but we’ve also branched out into translations of other classic Chinese books such as Investiture of the Gods, Dao De Jing, The Art of War, and San Zi Jing.
We publish about 5-10 books per year, and welcome submissions from writers. See our Submission Guidelines page to learn what we’re looking for and how to contact us.
Buying Our Books
You can buy our books at a substantial discount, and we do not charge for shipping or sales tax. To order, click the Buy Our Books or JTW Teacher’s Guide links at the top of the page. If you’re a bookstore and are interested in placing an order of $250 USD or more, please use the Contact Us form or just email info@imagin8press.com.
Also, we usually have some extra books in stock (author's copies, earlier releases of books, etc.) and we offer deep discounts on them. Contact us and let us know what you're looking for.
Jeff’s Writing
I write in two genres: Chinese language and culture, and science fiction. You can find my Chinese books on the home page and the Buy Our Books pages.
Just for fun, I also write science fiction in the English language. Here’s a list of my published work:
- Ascent to the Sun, a novel, published by Imagin8 Press, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
- “Harry’s New Pants,” published online in Bewildering Stories
- “Mr. Xing’s Science Class,” published online in Frivolous Comma
- “Spaceship of Fools,” published online in Bewildering Stories
- “The Price of Success,” published in paperback in Professor Feiff’s Trans-Dimensional Travelogue
Other Activities
I’ve done lots of things. Here’s a brief summary.
PickleUP: Founder (2025-present)
The PickleUp Recycling Program is a regional recycling initiative in partnership with Allegheny CleanWays and the RePickle Project that allows pickleballs to be recycled instead of dumped in landfills! We'll make sure your cracked, broken, or worn-out pickleballs are recycled properly. If you’re playing at a court that has our bins, just drop your broken ball in the bin. It will be collected by a local volunteer and taken to a central collection station. Then, it will be delivered to an industrial recycling center to be shredded and recycled. More info here: https://www.alleghenycleanways.org/pickleup.html
Allegheny Cleanways: Secretary and Member, Board of Directors Executive Committee
Allegheny CleanWays is an environmental nonprofit that engages and empowers people to eliminate illegal dumping and littering in Allegheny County. Many of the beautiful river banks, hillsides, streets and even parks of Allegheny County have been illegal dumping grounds for literally tons of commercial and municipal waste. Illegal dumping is not only an environmental issue—it also affects economic development, public health and safety, and the community and self esteem of residents who live in blighted neighborhoods. Since 2000, Allegheny CleanWays has removed more than 7 million pounds of debris, including 45,000 tires from the wooded hillsides, empty lots, alleys, roadways, and riverbanks of Allegheny County.
Tunescribers: Founder and CEO, 2016-2024
Tunescribers is a music transcription service that converts audio recordings into accurate, professional sheet music. Its team of skilled musicians is able to transcribe a wide range of music styles, including classical, jazz, and pop. Tunescribers offers fast turnaround times and competitive pricing, making it a reliable and convenient choice for musicians and educators. Tunescribers was acquired in 2024 by Sam James, who currently serves as owner and Managing Director.
Earth Volunteer Fund: Founder and Executive Director, 2020-2023
The Earth Volunteer Fund provided financial assistance to volunteer organizations in Western Pennsylvania doing work to restore the beauty and balance of the natural world.
Venture Outdoors: Chair of the Board of Directors, 2019-2020
Venture Outdoors is a nonprofit organization that promotes outdoor recreation and environmental conservation in the local community. Through educational programming, guided adventures, and community events, Venture Outdoors encourages people of all ages to explore and appreciate the natural world. They are committed to promoting the health and well-being of individuals and the community through outdoor activities.
Pittsburgh Regional Table Tennis Association: President, 2014-2020
All table tennis clubs in the greater Pittsburgh area are part of the Pittsburgh Regional Table Tennis Association (PRTTA), and all individual members of the local clubs are also automatically members of PRTTA. PRTTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity, and this nonprofit status extends to the local clubs. PRTTA is responsible for promoting the sport of table tennis throughout the region. PRTTA also manages all local social media, including the www.pittsburghtabletennis.com site, as well as the Pittsburgh Table Tennis MeetUp and Facebook page.
Touchtown: Founder and Board Chair, 1999-2019
Touchtown (uniguest.com/touchtown) is focused on improving the quality of life for people living in senior communities. Our products are used every day by hundreds of thousands of seniors in thousands of senior living communities throughout North America, where they keep residents in touch through interactive apps, private channel TV, digital signs, calendars, and websites. Touchtown’s mission has remained unchanged since 1999: to make a difference in the quality of life for seniors and their families, and to provide it in a way that makes business sense for senior living providers. We provide value to our customers by improving operational efficiency, extending marketing reach, and enhancing the quality of life in their communities. Touchtown was acquired in 2019 by Uniguest.
Innovation Works - Technology Commercialization Advisory Board: 2008-2017
The Technology Commercialization Advisory Board (TCAB), part of Innovation Works, was a consortium of PA universities and companies of all sizes focusing on the development of technologies and products in the Advanced Electronics and Robotics industries.
Kokopelli Music LLC: Co-Founder 2005-2008
Kokopelli Music was a web-based iPod repair and accessories store, founded with my son Kris. He ran the office and did all the iPod repairs. My daughter Katelyn was the graphic designer for the website. I handled the financial, marketing and legal stuff. When Kris went away to college, we sold the business to our friends Peter and Gina Lehotay.
Pittsburgh Technology Council: Member, Board of Directors Executive Committee 1997 - 2002
ServiceWare Inc.: Founder and CEO, 1991-1998
ServiceWare was the customer support industry's leading provider of pre-packaged knowledge bases. The company was started as a one-person consulting firm in my basement in 1991, and doubled in size every year for seven years. When the company went public on the Nasdaq in 1998, we had over 200 employees. ServiceWare was renamed Knova Technologies, and was acquired by Consona CRM and taken private in 2007. The company's flagship product, Knowledge-Paks, were acquired by Upland Software.
Carnegie Group Inc.: Product Manager, Senior Software Engineer (1984 – 1990)
Carnegie Group was an early AI spinoff from Carnegie-Mellon University, co-founded by four of the leading computer scientists at the university. I was a software developer for a while, then I led the AI portion of a large project at Ford Motor Company, called Service Bay Diagnostic System (Ford SBDS).
Three Rivers Computer/PERQ Systems: Software Developer, IT Manager (1980-1984)
PERQ developed and sold one of the world's first single-user workstation computers. I was the 9th employee, started off as a computer programmer and later ran the IT department. I designed and co-developed (with Jeff Stehle) the first spreadsheet program to run on a bitmap display.
Carnegie Mellon University: Instructor, 1979-1980
Taught programming in the Pascal language for non computer science majors while an undergraduate in the Computer Science department. Conducted original research in new methods for teaching programming to non-technical students that was published in the American Educational Research Journal and has been cited 45 times.
Brief Bio
I’m a writer and publisher living in Verona Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. My company, Imagin8 Press, has published over 100 fiction and nonfiction books for people learning to read Chinese. Our best sellers are an innovative English translation of the Dao De Jing and a 31-volume retelling, in easy Chinese, of the classic novel Journey to the West.
I’m also a lifelong science fiction fan, and started writing sci-fi seriously in 2024. I am delighted that my first four short stories have all been accepted for publication. “Spaceship of Fools” and "Harry's New Pants" have been published online by Bewildering Stories, “Mr. Xing’s Science Class” has been published online by Frivolous Comma, and “The Price of Success” was included in the anthology, Professor Feiff’s Trans-Dimensional Travelogue.
My first full-length sci-fi novel, “Ascent to the Sun,” was published in 2025 and has been serialized on Royal Road.
Before embarking on my current career, I was in the software business. I founded and led three successful companies: ServiceWare, which began in my basement and went public on the NASDAQ; Touchtown, which was acquire by Uniguest and, most recently, Tunescribers. I have a degree in computer science from Carnegie-Mellon University, where I taught an undergraduate course in computer programming.
When not sitting in front of a glowing screen, you can probably find me playing competitive pickleball.