My Book Place

Tell us about yourself and your books.:
When I graduated from La Roche College with a B.S. in Advertising Design, I set out to be the best designer in the world and spent my career immersed in the world of advertising and marketing, creating original ideas for some of the world’s largest brands to some of the world’s smallest brands fighting the disease of mediocrity.

In 2001, that same commitment opened many new doors, including the ones to my own ad agency, built on a simple mantra: "Every brand has a soul. But not every agency has the heart to find it. We do." Likewise, I believe every story should possess a soul.

Today's audience are adrenaline junkies looking for original, entertaining, and an unpredictable novel that will take your emotions on a rollercoaster ride that ricochets between loving, crying, loathing, laughing and cheering for the protagonist.

Chasing my dreams has been a lifelong passion the latest involves sharing the Tale of Bronco & The Wizard, published on January 7 of 2020, a lighthearted urban fantasy about friendship, football, and wizards. From the outrageous to the most heartfelt moments we discover a nefarious cult where the game of football is not in the hands of the players, but in the hands of some powerful wizards.

And then there is my dark side. Day One: Birth is a death sentence, was published by The Amusement Park, LLC and released on February 4 of 2019. A wicked fiction thriller and the first of a three-part Kachada Series of the untold story of Kachada Toscano, an unlikely tale where two parallel universes—the chilling ancestral traditions of the Comanche Tribe and the ruthless code of the Sicilian Mafia—mysteriously intersect.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Having spent over forty years in the advertising world creating campaigns, brand strategies, and creative positioning I have learned early on how to identify a good idea from a weak one.

I make an outline and review it over a period of weeks visualizing the story chapter by chapter before I begin to write it. It is a method I used during my ad career that I found focuses me on the overall feel and attitude of the story.

Naturally, like any creative idea, it evolves but at least I know what I want the protagonist’s soul to represent throughout the storyline.

At that point, I begin the process of actually writing. I do not write for others. I write to entertain myself. If I am emotionally moved during the process then I know I have it in a good place.

It usually takes me three weeks to write an entire novel. I never try to make it perfect during that first writing. I just want the story down as a layout so I can evaluate it.

Then I return to it after a week and start the process of refining it. That takes another three weeks. Then I hand it off to a copy editor. Then I rewrite utilizing the notes I agree with. Then I hand it off to a line editor. Once I have those notes I then rewrite the areas I feel need attention. Then I hand it off to a proofreader. I then make those adjustments and hand it off to yet again another proofreader. I make those adjustments and then I publish.

What authors have influenced you?
This is going to sound odd, but I don’t have what I would call a favorite author or book. There are those I admire for different reasons. One such is the raw and honest dialogue writing of Elmore Leonard.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Since I am a new author I’m not sure I qualify to give any such advice. The only thought I would try to pass on is to write for YOU.

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