The Practice of Writing and the Commitment to Running One of the executives at my publisher WildBlue Press is fond of comparing marketing a book to a marathon rather than a sprint. Based on my experience to date, about six months into the process, I would say he’s right. His comparison brought to mind the...Read More

Brett Butler, Manny Ramirez, and AAA Baseball  I wrote the following essay more than a dozen years ago. It was one of a series that I wrote in the summer of 2012 for the baseball section of an online fantasy sports outfit. This particular piece recalls a special night at a minor league game, a...Read More

Establishing a Book’s Purpose in the First Instance In retrospect, I probably should have included an introduction to Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil that reads: “I consulted in excess of 300 potential sources including, but not limited to, thousands of pages of state and federal government documents, more than 120 newspaper and magazine articles, more than...Read More

Looking at 2026 as a Year of Focused Writing Directions I have found that a brisk walk is a great time to think through my writing issues whatever they are. Sometimes the issue needing attention is a plot point. Sometimes it’s a bit of dialog. Sometimes it’s a descriptive passage. Sometimes it’s a character’s backstory....Read More

2025 Was a Year of Personal Publishing Firsts On a professional level, 2025 was an exceptional year for me, a year of firsts. After querying more than 40 agents and publishers, I was offered a publication agreement for Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil, my first work of nonfiction, by WildBlue Press. In late July, after several...Read More

Reacting to Online Ratings and Reviews I don’t know what is was like to be an author 40 or more years ago when reviews came out almost entirely in print or broadcast media. I assume that such reviews were limited to a handful of cultural gatekeepers whose reputations were weighty enough to make a difference...Read More

Christmas and one of the First Nick Temple Files I’ve written six books in the Nick Temple File Series. Each book chronicles a fictional Cold War episode involving Temple and those close to him in the CIA. I began thinking about the character and what he might be involved in when I was stationed in...Read More

A Positive Review for Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil from an Author/Reader on BookBub Author Archibald Fitz has reviewed Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil and given it 4 out of 5 stars on BookBub. Along the way, he had a number of positive things to say about the book starting with it “deserves a space on your...Read More

A Great Interview about Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil As noted here in my most recent post, last week I appeared on Vic Ferrari’s podcast. Vic is a former NYPD officer turned author. He has a wealth of experience and it showed during the podcast. He asked a number of probing questions about Greg Scarpa, Legendary...Read More

Putting a Shine on a Compelling Cover & More Marketing updates: My publisher, WildBlue Press, is in the process of revising the cover of Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil to include the Independent Author Network’s Book of the Year finalist medallion in a nice conspicuous spot. The current, and perhaps final, iteration is on the left....Read More