It all started with a 3 year old...
"The Priest and The Peaches" is my first novel. My first published book is a children’s book, "Slippery Willie’s Stupid, Ugly Shoes". The seeds for "Slippery Willie" were planted by a foster son we had many years ago. His name was Brian, he was three years old, and was the most hyper-active, uncontrolled kid you might imagine. He would jump up and run into walls, doors, fall off steps etc. and never get hurt. "Slippery Willie" is not like Brian but that is where the idea first came from. As far as the novel my brothers and sister and I did lose our parents when we were very young and that is where the book had its origin.
He's traditional in every sense of the word...
Traditionally published. Everyone has a personal preference in things and the self-publishing market has become huge. Personally, I always felt that if someone besides me, an outsider, someone I did not know and in the book business, actually liked what I did, I might believe I could write. For me, self-publishing would never validate my abilities. But, that’s me and I know that there is a lot of quality self-published work out there.
His desire to write and his inspiration...
I have always wanted to write, even back in grade school. It just took a VERY LONG time before I actually got to the point in life where I did it. My bio gives a peek into where I have been prior to becoming a writer. The people and experiences that live inside me.
A creature of habit...sort of...
I’m a morning guy. Up at 5:30 or 6. Shower etc, Coffee, boot up PC, check messages, go to 7 a.m Mass, home by 7:45 and try to write until early afternoon. Rarely happens because when you work at home it is like having your cell phone suddenly drop a signal. It is hard to have a consistently solid, clear signal.
A space to write...
I have a bedroom that I turned into an office. That is my upside down corner of the world. My wife gets a headache when she looks in. I have stuff all over the place but I know where everything is. I am actually a neat and tidy guy but when it come to writing I have so many bit and pieces of paper and books strewn about well, I’m sure you get the picture. For me it is IDEAL!
Writing has it's surprises...
As your story unfolds the unexpected things that happen. You think you know what is going to happen but new characters pop in, character traits take a twist, location changes unexpectedly…when that happens it can be an absolute adventure for you.
There are challenges...
The editing process can be very challenging, plus knowing when to say STOP and I'm FINISHED. You have to be ruthless and know when to kill off whole paragraphs and even chapters and characters or—maybe not. Marketing and sales are big challenges as well. The market is so inundated with stuff, especially with self-publishing so readily available and accessible and search engine optimization and tag words‖ so prolific in so many categories. A writer could be the next coming of Earnest Hemingway or Edgar Allan Poe and never get noticed without proper promotional work ---whatever that might be.
He's published now...
Well, I am certainly an unknown quantity and I certainly have not made any money, YET. All of that stuff will happen if it is supposed to. I leave that in God’s hands and I can honestly say, I do not worry about any of that. I do have the luxury of being able to write every day, I am very busy (especially now, doing this three month blog tour) and it is all, as the modern cliché goes, GOOD. I have been blessed.
You just might be surprised by...
Beatrice Amon, the antagonist, might surprise folks. I’ll leave it at that.
What the future holds...
The next book is a sequel. The life of the Peach kids continues. With that said, I think I have blabbered enough. If anyone might have a question(s) for me I would be happy to answer them. Just go to my site or e-mail me. I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. For 15 years I worked in the NYC building trades as a Metal Lather/Reinforcing Iron Worker but had to leave that business when I came down with MS. My wife, Loretta, our three kids and I moved to Florida 30 years ago basically (because of my illness) so I could escape the cold, ice and snow of northern winters.
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