The Big Oof by Teri Anne Stanley

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Why do people read romance? Well, I don’t know why other people read it, but I read it for the “oof.”

Yeah, the “Oh, my!” parts can be nice, too, when they’re well done and not all throbbing love nubs and dripping lady-flowers. Believe me. I love a good “Oh, my!” as much as the next person.
But it’s the “oof” that makes a romance worthwhile. It’s that feeling in my gut—kind of a solar-plexus spasm (sounds pleasant, doesn’t it?)— when two people connect—usually when the hero lays it all out there, or the heroine sees what he’s unwilling to lay out there—that’s when I get the “oof.”

It’s that part of LOVER AWAKENED by JR Ward, where Bella finds Zsadist in the shower, trying to scrub his own skin off, because he wants to be worthy of her, to be clean enough to be with her. *sigh* Golly, I love a good, screwed up hero, and Zsadist is my all time prize winner on that score.

It’s that part of every one of Suzanne Brockmann’s books, but if you need an example, how’s about  HOT TARGET when Jane realizes that Cosmo isn’t at her house because he doesn’t like her, he’s avoiding her because he does like her?

And just saying it like that—“because he does like her”— doesn’t get it for you, does it? Nope. You’ve gotta read the whole first half of the book. You’ve got to see how much Cosmo and Jane struggle through getting off on the wrong foot, to earning each other’s respect, to seeing big, strong silent Cosmo have to reveal his feelings. That’s where the “oof” comes from.
Tell me what your favorite “oof” moments are. I’m planning to fall and break an ankle so I can spend a month on the couch reading and dissecting books to see if I can find the formula for the “oof.”

Teri Anne Stanley has been writing since she could hold a crayon--though learning to read was a huge turning point in her growth as a writer. Teri's first stories involved her favorite Saturday morning cartoon characters, followed by her favorite teen idols.  She has also authored a recipe column (The Three Ingredient Gourmet), and scientific articles (Guess which was more interesting!).  Now she writes fun, sexy romance filled with love, angst, and nekkid parts.

Teri's career has included sex therapy for rats, making posing suits for female body builders, and helping amputee amphibians recover to their full potential. She currently supplements her writing income as a neuroscience research assistant.  Along with a variety of teenagers and dogs, she and Mr. Stanley live just outside of Sugartit, which is—honest to God—between Beaverlick, and Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. 

 

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Former undercover cop Mike Gibson has been lying low, working as a maintenance man to put his troubled younger brother through college. But when a beautiful scientist enlists Mike’s help to repair the damage done to her lab by a group of vandals, Mike finds that his, and his brother's pasts, are about to be brought to light. 

Laura Kane was happy having a secret crush on the hot maintenance man at Tucker University, but when the drug she was studying is stolen, Laura has a chance to get to know Mike in person. The problem is, he seems to know more about what's going on than any maintenance man should. But then the drug turns up in the wrong hands, and Mike and Laura have to decide if their own chemistry will help, or hinder, the race to save innocent lives. 

Excerpt

He was not for her. Nerdy scientist girls had to stay away from hot guys with big, muscle-y arms and white smiles. So why the heck couldn’t she stop looking back at the biology building?

She shook herself. What was wrong with her? She had to get out of here. She could lust after him from a distance. That would be fine. Safe. He could be her pretend lover. She turned the key and threw the car into gear. With one last glance over her shoulder toward her new imaginary boyfriend, she stomped her foot on the accelerator. And promptly shot backward over the curb, knocking over a trash can, which wound up wedged under the rear bumper.

“Gack!” She put the car in park and jumped out to survey the damage. Rounding the back end and seeing the trash can, she shrieked and stepped out of the way of a family of possums—a mom and three…teenagers? They tottered about, blinking in the bright morning sunshine.

“Whoa, careful!” Maintenance Man Mike was suddenly there, grabbing Lauren’s upper arms and shifting

her out of the way of the scraggly little things. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “But the kids—I ran over their house!” One of the little ones clung to its mother’s fur, but two others careened blindly away from the scene of the home wrecking.

“I tell you what,” Mike said. “You pull your car forward, off the trash can, then we’ll see if we can’t help ’em out.”

“Okay.” Lauren’s heartbeat started to slow and beat a regular rhythm. Except where Mike had touched her arms. There, her skin seemed to be throbbing and tingling.

Sheesh.

She moved her car forward and off of the sidewalk, then went back to Mike and the possum. Fortunately, there were no other faculty members’ cars in the lot yet. What would she have told them? No, I wasn’t texting anddriving. I was mentally undressing a stranger.

Please, God…don’t let it be her drug they were talking about on the news. After Crawford left, Mike stopped fiddling with settings on the centrifuge. He straightened and turned to lean against a clean section of counter. Crossing his arms, he glared at Lauren.

“What?” She realized she’d crossed her arms, too, and stood with a hip cocked out. Defensive much? “Let’s have it.”

“You lied.”

“About what?”

“What’s missing. Those pellet things you showed me yesterday. They’re all gone.”

Damn.

“Yeah. You wanna start talking?” He uncrossed his arms and moved toward Lauren. He smelled of fabric softener again, like the day before. What single guy used fabric softener?

“Are you married?” Ugh. Did she really say that?

That slowed him down, though. “What? No. I live with my brother. I told you that last night.” He took another step into her personal space. “Why did you lie?”

Instead of feeling intimidated, she found herself uncrossing her arms and putting her hands behind her to hold on to the ledge. “How’s the cat doing?”

“Howled all night. Dylan threatened to poison it.”

“Dylan did? But he’s such an animal lover!”

“Shows you how much of a head case that cat is.” He pinned her in place with that dark stare. “Why did you lie?”

He was so close that she could feel his heat. How much closer was he going to get? When she took a  deep breath, her breasts brushed his chest. Which caused her to take another deep breath. Not on purpose, of course. His eyes heated. She could smell coffee now. She licked her lips, and his nostrils flared. He bent his head closer. She needed to answer his question, but what should she say? If she didn’t answer, would he…what, kiss it out of her? He should work for the CIA. Or the FBI. As part of the Threaten to Kiss Information From Witnesses Unit -

Does It Work With a Married Couple as the Hero and Heroine? featuring Susan Rae

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As my bio states, I love writing romantic suspense. I grew up on Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys novels and later moved on to Tom Clancy, James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Mary Higgins Clark, just to name a few of my favorite suspense authors. Add to those my fair share of bodice-ripper reads and I guess it was just natural for me to choose to write in the RS genre where I could combine a passionate love story with a gritty suspense tale. 

However, TRUE blue is not your typical romantic suspense. I had created the characters of Joey and Andi DeLuca in my award winning debut novel, heartbeats.  Both are key figures in the investigations in heartbeats and in book two of the DeLuca Family Series, ICE blue. But, the thing is, when I wrote heartbeats, I had no idea it was going to be the beginning of a series.  After writing it, though, I realized I had created an entire family of interesting characters that was ripe for the picking.

In ICE blue, I chose Angela, one of the DeLuca siblings and a Chicago Paramedic as the heroine. For TRUE blue, I really wanted to tell Joey and Andi’s story.  However, Joey and Andi are married--to each other. Joey is the oldest of the DeLuca siblings. He followed in his father’s footsteps and is now a Lieutenant Detective on the Chicago Police Department. Andi is a tough hitting detective in her own right.

But married? Could I write a romantic suspense novel with a married couple as the main characters? Sure, I thought, why not. I like a good challenge. Besides, some of the most memorable sleuths in movies and television are married couples; dare I say Nick and Nora Charles, or “Hart to Hart,” or today’s Castle and Beckett?  Oh, right…they’re not married yet, but they soon will be.

And yes, that’s all well and good for the movies and TV, but a steamy romance novel? Most romance novels end in “I do,” but I thought it would be fun to explore what happens after the “Happily Ever After.” What if we checked in seven years later? Do married couples still have steamy sex? I certainly hope so! I would even venture to suggest that the need to keep the sex fun and exciting is heightened in a marriage versus other relationships because there is more at stake in trying to keep a marriage together. In TRUE blue, I explore how two police officers with very demanding careers and a three-year-old son keep the fire burning in this frenzied, mixed-up world we all live in. Add to that a childhood sweetheart returned to town and a twenty-four year old murder mystery, shake well, and the sparks begin to fly. 

I truly enjoyed writing TRUE blue and telling Joey and Andi’s story. I think you’ll enjoy it too. I believe I’ve packed in plenty of mystery, suspense, and drama in the DeLuca Family to keep you turning the pages. And in case you haven’t read heartbeats or ICE blue yet, don’t fret.  All the DeLuca Family Series novels can be enjoyed as stand-alone novels.

Thank you for spending this time with me. To read more about my writing and my books, please visit me at www.susanrae.com

Susan Rae grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Columbia College, Missouri with an emphasis in creative writing. She penned her first melodrama in fifth grade for a Girl Scout Drama badge. Complete with hero, heroine, and dastardly villain, it wasn’t so different, really, than the romantic suspense she writes now.

“I love writing romantic suspense because it allows me to combine a sexy, passionate love story with a gritty suspense tale—in my opinion, the best of both worlds.  It also allows me to express my appreciation for the outdoors in the settings that I recreate on the page.”

Freefall,  Susan’s second novel, takes place in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine Forest and beautiful Door County.  ICE blue returns to the busy streets of Chicago and the shores of Lake Michigan to continue the story of the DeLuca family which began in her award winning first novel, heartbeats. InTRUE blue, the third book in the DeLuca Family series, Susan was thrilled when it became apparent that her characters must take a trip to Montana’s majestic Glacier National Park. 

When she is not sketching characters, you might find Susan on the golf course working on her handicap, or traveling around the country seeking out new settings for her novels with her husband and empty nest puppies, Ginger and Nikute. 

Sometimes we must revisit the past to embrace our future.

Twenty-four years ago, the murder of a Chicago police officer changed Joey DeLuca’s life.  He lost his best friend and first love, Meghan McConnell, when her mother whisked her out of town.  Now, on the eve of another officer’s death, Meghan is back and about to step into his life again.

There is very little gray in Joey's line of work as a Lt. Detective--it is either black or white, right or wrong. But Meghan’s insistence on finding answers to her father's murder threatens those beliefs and throws his marriage to CPD Detective Andi, his career, and the entire DeLuca family in jeopardy when new revelations come to light.

Can Joey save his marriage, solve the murder, and keep his family together all at the same time?

The third book in the DeLuca Family Series, TRUE blue can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

5 Things You Should Know About Camp Utopia & The Forgiveness Diet by Jenny Ruden

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5 Things You Should Know About CAMP UTOPIA & THE FORGIVENESS DIET by Jenny Ruden
 
1.   It took an embarrassingly long time to write.
 
2.   Promotes self-acceptance and health among people of all shapes and sizes.
 
3.   Features a really cute guy who appreciates a funny, smart girl who does not wear a size 2.
 
4.   Finds the extraordinary in people and situations that might otherwise be deemed ordinary.
 
5.   Promises at least a 5 lb weight loss by the time you finish the book (not true, but, by the end, you probably won’t care about a 5 lb weight loss anyway!)

Jenny Ruden has published short stories and essays in Nerve, Salon, Eclectica Magazine, Literary Mama and High Desert Journal. She won an Orlando award for creative nonfiction, was named a finalist in Glimmertrain’s short fiction contest, and has been nominated for the Pushcart prize two years in a row. She has worked with teenagers for over ten years as a teacher of Reading, Writing and GED, and has an MFA in Fiction from the University of Oregon. She lives with her husband, two daughters, two basset hounds and cat in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

She does a flawless impersonation of a normal person. Don’t be fooled. She’s a writer.

Sixteen-year-old Baltimore teen Bethany Stern knows the only way out of spending her summer at Camp Utopia, a fat camp in Northern California, is weight-loss. Desperate, she tries The Forgiveness Diet, the latest fad whose infomercial promises that all she has to do is forgive her deadbeat dad, her scandalous sister, and the teenage magician next door and (unrequited) love of her life. But when the diet fails and her camp nemesis delivers the ultimate blow, Bee bids sayonara to Camp-not-Utopian-at-all to begin what she believes will be her “real” summer adventure, only to learn that running away isn’t as easy—or as healing—as it seems.

Her wry and honest voice bring humor and poignancy for anyone, fat or thin, tired of hearing “you’d be so pretty if…[insert unwelcome judgment about your appearance from loved one or perfect stranger].”

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Behind The Children of the Jacaranda Tree featuring Author Sahar Delijani

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In the summer of 1988, the last year of Iran-Iraq war, around 4,000 to 12,000 political prisoners were executed in prisons of Iran by the newly established Islamic regime. The bodies of these prisoners were dumped into mass graves and into oblivion.

An unprecedented political purge in modern Iranian history, this massacre marked the extent of which the regime was willing to go to fully establish power. A dictatorship was born in Iran.

My parents, who had been arrested in 1983 because of their political activism against the regime, were released before this atrocity took place. My father just six months earlier. My uncle, however, was still in prison. He was executed that summer; his body too was dumped into an unmarked mass grave.

My childhood was accompanied by these stories, told in hushed voices, at homes, at night with friends of my parents who had all been cellmates in the infamous Evin Prison. Outside of this circle of shared stories, no one spoke about it. No one mentioned it. No one seemed to know. And us, children of these dissidents, heard these stories. We were never the direct interlocutors, but our nightly games were surrounded by the hum of these murmuring conversations that we knew we could never repeat outside of our houses. For although our parents laughed and smiled and spoke in soft tones to reassure us that everything was fine, we could still sense the fear, the grief and the apprehension in their voices. And we knew we had to do whatever we could to protect our mothers and our fathers.

When I began to write Children of the Jacaranda Tree, I had three very specific children in mind: my brother, my cousin, and I. The three children who were raised by my grandparents and aunt while our parents were languishing in Evin Prison. Then slowly, my thoughts were ridden with voices of other children, all children of revolutionaries soon to become children of the persecuted, the imprisoned, the executed. Some of these voices were based on children I knew, some were rising in bits and pieces in my imagination. But what we all had in common, both the real and the imaginary, was that we were all children without parents. Some for a few months, some for a few years, and some forever.

And yet, I could not speak about the children without beginning with the parents. Our lives were intricately and relentlessly connected. What we are today is a continuation of what our parents were thirty years before on the eve of the Iranian revolution. That is when I began speaking to my parents. I spoke to my mother about my birth in prison, to my father about a bracelet of date stones he had made for me while in jail, about my executed uncle I had never come to know, an uncle whose memory was as undeniable and present as it was silent and subdued. What my parents told me gave me enough ground to speak of them and of us, and of an event that not only changed the life of my family forever but inexorably changed the course of history in Iran.

Sahar Delijani was born in Tehran’s Evin Prison in 1983 and grew up in California, where she graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.  She makes her home with her husband in Turin Italy.  Children of the Jacaranda Tree is her first novel; it has been translated into twenty-seven languages and published in more than seventy-five countries.  Find out more at SaharDelijani.com/en.

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Neda is born in Evin Prison, where her mother is allowed to nurse her for months before the arms of a guard appear at the cell door one day and, simply, take her away. Omid, at age three, witnesses the arrests of his political activist parents from his perch at their kitchen table, yogurt dripping from his fingertips. More than twenty years after the violent, bloody purge that took place inside Tehran’s prisons, Sheida learns that her father was one of those executed, that the silent void firmly planted between her and her mother all these years was not just the sad loss that comes with death but the anguish, the horror, of murder.

Neda, Omid, and Sheida are just three of the many unforgettable characters in Sahar Delijani’s startling debut novel, Children of the Jacaranda Tree. Set in post-revolutionary Iran, from 1983 to 2011, it follows a group of mothers, fathers, children, and lovers, some connected by family, others brought together by the tide of history that forces its way into their lives. Finally, years later, it is the next generation that is left with the burden of the past and their country’s tenuous future as a new wave of protest and political strife begins.

Based on the harrowing experiences of Sahar Delijani, her family and friends, Children of the Jacaranda Tree is a stunningly evocative look at the intimate side of revolution. Told from alternating perspectives that connect to Iran’s current political stirrings while vividly recounting a past that must never be forgotten, it is a moving, timely drama about three generations of men and women moved by love, inspired by poetry, and motivated by dreams of justice and freedom.

Writing a Murder Mystery: 10 Motives for Murder featuring JC Gatlin

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After revealing “Who Done It,” the most important piece of the puzzle in a good murder mystery is “Why Done It.” The Antagonist’s reason to commit murder and hide it must be creative, make sense and be ultimately satisfying to your reader. So, it got me thinking: What are some basic motives for murder?

Here’s the list I started. Feel free to comment and add to the list.

TEN MOTIVES FOR MURDER

1. To hide a secret. This is the most obvious motive. The Victim stumbles upon the Antagonist’s closely guarded secret, and he kills her so she won’t reveal it.

  • A father, scared of losing his daughter’s love if she ever finds out that she was adopted, murders the child’s biological mother when she suddenly reappears in their lives.

2. Greed. The Antagonist wants the victim’s fortune, property or something else of value… and is willing to kill to get his hands on it.

  • The Femme Fatale murders her wealthy, old lover with a heart condition after he names her in his last will and testament.

3. Revenge. The Antagonist wants to even the score for some past wrong doing (which is often detailed in the prologue) and the victim pays the price.

  • The successful computer geek attends his high school reunion and kills the formal popular cheerleader who made fun of him some twenty years ago
  • The successful computer geek murders the red-headed dance teacher who looks eerily similar to that hateful cheerleader who made fun of him in high school

4. Obsession, Frustration & Hate. Have you hugged a sociopath today? This is a great opportunity to expose your Antagonist’s prejudices and/or deep-seeded obsessions.

  • A deeply religious mother murders her son’s college professor because of something taught at school.
  • The shy, awkward boy in the back of class has been sending notes to the popular girl in his Chemistry class. Unfortunately. when she rebukes his advances, he lashes out by killing her.
  • After a lifetime of seething jealousy, the unemployed, divorced, broke older brother finally murders his successful, wealthy, happily married with a beautiful home and three beautiful kids, younger brother.

5. Love, Sex & Jealousy. Maybe this should be motive #1. At least it seems like it in real life if you watch any of the murder investigation documentaries on cable television. Does it even need an example? Pick a love triangle and you’ve got a motive.

  • The Traveling Salesman’s pregnant wife is found dead after he tells his college-aged girlfriend won’t end his marriage.

6. Crime of Passion.  Your Antagonist’s anger gets the best of him, and he snaps in a fit of rage. Generally, everyone is shocked by his actions, as he seems like the last person on the planet who’d ever commit such a heinous murder. Often the Antagonist doesn’t remember what happened, as he was out of his head at the time.

  • A father becomes so enraged at his wife for ripping the family apart when she tells him that she’s leaving him for her personal trainer that he shoots their two children dead before turning the gun on himself. Neighbors couldn’t believe it; he was such a normal, quiet Family Man.

7. Psychosis & Mental Disorders. The Antagonist is detached from society (maybe even humanity) and does something unthinkable, generally for reasons that are just in his head.

  • A mother, who believes voices are instructing her to do bad things, drowns her children 

8. To protect personal status. Your Antagonist is very threatened by the Victim’s success, talents or attention, and commits murder to balance the scales.

  • An incensed, corporate ladder-climber murders her competition for a high-profile, high-paying position.
  • An aging rock star — who is now humiliating reduced to opening act for a new, popular, younger pop star  — plots a stage mishap to get the young phenom out of the way.

9. To protect a loved one. You would do anything for your kids, including murder if someone was hurting one of them. Well, so would your Antagonist. And sometimes loved ones moves beyond family, or even people.

  • A father kills a teacher who was abusing his child
  • An over-protective mother murders the high school student who has been mercilessly bullying her son
  • A deer hunter and wildlife enthusiast murders the CEO of logging company that is decimating his forest. 

10. Empathy or Sympathy. The Antagonist doesn’t have malicious intent; in fact, he’s acting (or believes) in the Victim’s best interest. .

  • The Caregiver gives the ailing, elderly patient a heavy sleeping potion so she slips quietly away in the night.
  • A nursing student helps a dying cancer patient commit suicide so that he can die with dignity.

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JC Gatlin lives in Tampa, Florida. He’s written two mystery-suspense novels: The Designated Survivor and Prey of Desire. He also maintains a blog about the art of spinning a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat mysteries at www.jcgatlin.com.

They said the disappearance of two high school students over 25 years ago was mystery that couldn't be solved. 

No one ever said it shouldn't be. 

Following the abrupt end of a relationship, college student Kimberly Bradford finds comfort in the friendship with her over-the-top neighbor, Mallory. And, Mallory encourages her to get back out there. She would of course if it weren't for the thrilling little love notes and gifts she's been receiving . 

Kim thinks they're from her ex-fiancee, not realizing he's been murdered. Worse, whoever is sending her all the extra attention is not only in her inner-circle, but has a connection to that unsolved murder some 25 years ago. That connection puts her life in danger, and exposes secrets better left buried around her closest friends and family.

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Q & A with Author Mike Domino

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Prior to Park Avenue to Park Bench, you’ve written poetry. Have you shifted entirely to stories and essays?

One day it occurred to me that my poems and prose were, in fact, stories in miniature.  I felt that I had cut my teeth as a writer of poems and decided that I would experiment lengthening my observations into longer pieces. There is no doubt that poetry helped me as a writer of longer stories and essays, mainly by being able to express my thoughts with the least amount of words and in a “poetic” style. I feel fortunate that my evolution as an author occurred this way.

What helps you keep writing?

Writing is the one activity that takes me out of myself more than anything else I do. In many ways, writing is a spiritual experience for me and, when I write, I feel most connected to nature and humanity. I have yet to discover anything more satisfying than holding a finished book in my hands for the first time. When a person combines words that originate from his or her own mind it’s, to me, one of the highest art forms.  A writer’s combination of words and ideas are as unique to the world as every human personality and experience.

What authors have had the greatest impact on your style?

Concerning my style, I was compelled to allow my own unique style to evolve and therefore made a personal pledge that I would just keep writing until I felt comfortable that my voice had evolved into a style that I could truly call my own.  I did not want to copy or "be like " other writers.  For better of for worse, I restrained myself from reading “ How to Write Books “ or go deeply into the works of other poets and short story writers.   After a few years, I began reading extensively again, and what I learned was that much of my artistic self discovery had been experienced by other writers such as Bukowski, Vidal, Tolstoy, Emerson, Celine and Cervantes; just to name a few.  More than having an impact on my style, I believe that they validated the direction and path I had discovered by following my own heart and conscience into the world of words.

Have you stayed in touch with any of the people you’ve written about in your book? How are they doing?

Manhattan is the world’s biggest small town. Some of the people I write about are on the fringes of society and are now either incarcerated, sick, or have passed away.  Since I walk the city, I sometimes bump into people I’ve written about. Usually, they are more interested in telling me new stories about their lives than rehashing the past. So, we talk and I continue on my way into the city — my muse — which offers a bounty of information for new material. All of my characters will be with me for the rest of my life. They become part of my fabric as a man and a writer.  Others are good friends and we stay in regular phone contact or meet for meals at interesting restaurants in the city once in a while.

How has your career before writing influenced your material?

In business I bought and sold plastic scrap. I always thought that my job was more like art, which just happened to be a business.  It took a tremendous amount of creativity to devise ways to recycle old plastics into new and usable products. Decades of training my mind in the world of plastics scrap trading made the transition to creative writing almost seem natural.  In addition, I was always writing letters and did my company’s advertising, public relations, and graphic design-- which to me is all about art and creative thinking--just like writing.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on an outline for my first novel. I recently had an interesting experience that inspired me during a drive around Bear Mountain State Park, about an hour’s drive from Manhattan. I decided to veer off track and see if I could get a glimpse of the infamous Sing Sing Prison located in Ossining New York. I always have my camera handy and I began taking pictures of the draconian fortress. I guess I got too close and a guard rushed out and almost confiscated my camera; he gave me a stern lecture before sending me on my way. I felt lucky he didn't take me inside!  That experience led me to do further research about Sing Sing Prison, which then sparked my imagination and I could feel the creative writing juices begin to flow up the Hudson (up the river to the big house) and toward a story idea. I’m hoping this will be a good story for my first novel. I'm very excited about it and I’ve shared the idea with my writer friends, focus group and editor and they all seem to want to hear more, which is a good sign.

Before you go, for those who are reading about you for the first time, what is something that you want readers to take away with them about you?

Overall, for readers to know me is to know my characters.  I believe that people who have the least to offer in terms of material wealth have the most to offer in terms of spiritual riches.  Plainly put, since they have nothing else to give, they give of themselves, and in my case they offer me the gift of their stories; unguarded by conventions; emotional, social and material fences that many people erect and protect themselves with.

To know me as an Author is to know Hal S., Ricky Glasses and Lenny, in my stories.  Also, as a writer in evolution, it was important to let down my own fences and reveal my personal struggles, insecurities, hopes and wishes.  This was a big break through for me. I needed to write honest and true foremost and not to please an audience for commercial reasons.

Short story writer and poet Michael Domino has lived in New York City for 10 years, and has lived and worked within a 50-mile radius of Manhattan Island for most of his life. Captivated and sometimes overwhelmed by The City, he has come to know that the essence of Manhattan life is contained within its people – from all income brackets, all living situations, and all ages to all backgrounds, personalities, and circumstances. Michael published three books of short stories and a novella. His latest book of short stories is Park Avenue to Park Bench. 

You can reach Michael at: www.MichaelDominowriter.com