Interview with writer Nicholas Fillmore about true crime memoir Smuggler

Writer Nicholas Fillmore is here today to chat with me a bit about his true crime memoir Smuggler.

During his virtual book tour, Nicholas will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Nicholas Fillmore attended the graduate writing program at University of New Hampshire. He was a finalist for the Juniper Prize in poetry and co-founded and published SQUiD magazine in Provincetown, MA. He is currently at work on Sins of Our Fathers, a family romance and works as a reporter and lecturer in English. He lives on windward Oahu with his wife, his daughter and three dogs.

Please share a little bit about your current release.

Smuggler tells about a trip down the rabbit hole of international drug smuggling. Why, I got involved in this line of work is of course the $10,000 question … which I attempt to answer by narrating events, that is, by attempting to inhabit the logic of my actions. Basically, I was recently out of grad school—I studied with a famous poet—and suffering a kind of postpartum depression. My writing seemed to have lost some of its urgency. Beyond that, some combination of things—temperament, historical moment, socioeconomic state—conspired to create within me the desire to take a burden upon myself. It’s true! All that romantic autobiography, metaphysical poetry and Russian lit in college had done its work. How was one supposed to settle in at a nice temping gig without complaint when Milton, Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky beat down in one’s breast? I’m having fun here … but I’m serious. So I contrived to get myself into as much trouble as I dared….

What inspired you to write this book?

One inspiration was a Chicago Tribune article summarizing my allocution at sentencing. I’ve always kind of hated the sanctimony of cops, in the movies anyway; like, “what’s it to you?” I got the same feeling reading this newspaper article, which talked about a “day of reckoning” and basically made me out to be the groveling penitent under the stern gaze of the law. I suppose that’s good reading and has a salutary effect on public morals, but it’s a gross oversimplification of the facts. And I realized pretty early on that I needed to rectify that. It was a long time, though, before I actually started writing the memoir in its present form. That required a little bit of perspective. About a half a dozen years. And another half dozen to take it through various drafts.

Excerpt from Smuggler:

Judge Norgle, a Reagan-appointee with a sober face, came briskly through the chamber door adjusting the sleeves of his robe and settled himself at the bench.

The principles identified themselves, and Judge Norgle addressed me directly.

“Do you understand the charges being proffered against you?”

“Yes, I understand them, Your Honor,” I said, feeling like I’d spoken too much.

“Do you understand you have pleaded guilty?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you read the court’s pre-sentence investigation report?”

I said I had.

Did I have any objections?

“No.”

Then he asked if I had anything to say.

I stepped up to the lectern and unfolded my sheets of paper and began to read. As he always did, Judge Norgle stared right through me. When I was finished, I folded up the papers and put them back in my pocket. Then my lawyer spoke. Then the Judge asked if anyone else had anything to say, and my parents stepped forward as Sean held the gallery gate for them.

In the cavernous theater of the courtroom, amidst the spectacle of the law, and the machinery of the law, we suddenly seemed small parts—frightened, small-town people whose son had gotten in trouble.

My mother spoke briefly, spreading her manicured hands in front of her and looking at her engagement ring, her wedding band, her mother’s opal ring as if summoning a collective wisdom, a faint, violent shaking of her head.

Then my father spoke a few sentences. “I know Marines aren’t supposed to cry,” he said, choking up.

The room was silent for a moment. Then the judge called on the Prosecutor. This was what it all came down to.

AUSA MacBride actually spoke glowingly of me, lauding me for my cooperation. “Mr. Fillmore has done everything asked of him. He has answered all our questions. He has remained incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correction Center for the last four years.” I looked up now and smiled as kindly as I could after she finished her recitation. Then the Judge began shuffling papers, wrapped in thought.

“I am not unmoved,” he said, still looking down, “but this is a serious offense, and the court needs to impress upon the defendant the seriousness of the offense.”

“Oh-oh,” I thought. Any wayward hope of “time served” dashed on the rocks, I listened carefully now, like someone tuning a radio to some distant signal late in the night. And here it came between little bursts of static….

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m currently working a book called Sins of Our Fathers, which takes as its point of departure a story my father tells of how he returned from two years in the service to find a note taped to the front door: “moved.” That’s something of an exaggeration. My grandparents moved out of state some time after he got back. But the poetic truth, the feeling of abandonment conveyed by the note on the door, (as well as the conceit of self-made man) was compelling. And I decided to construct a story around that moment. (Not a very good elevator pitch, I’m afraid.) That elaboration by my father, though, suggested a method, or rather gave me permission, to reconstruct events around available clues, personalities, hunches. I guess I’d call this personal historical fiction. It’s led me into some interesting places: following my grandfather on a drinking jag, for instance, and encouraged me to enlarge the received picture of our family history.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Freshman year in college, banging away on my Smith Corona late at night on a term paper after everyone else had abandoned campus for Christmas break. I felt a union of physical and intellectual energies akin to horse and rider.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Nooooo. I have day job(s). I generally write late at night when everyone is fast asleep. More factotum than faculty, (though I do do some adjunct teaching).

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I have a polished egg-shaped stone on my desk that I habitually spin around and around.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A Buddhist monk.

Links:

Website | Publisher Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

You’re welcome!

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Interview with author Janet Schrader-Post about The Young Adult Writer's Journey

I have two special guests today. Janet Schrader-Post & Elizabeth Fortin Hinds are here chatting with me about their new how-to book, The Young Adult Writer’s Journey. The book will be $0.99 during the tour.

During their virtual book tour, Janet and Elizabeth with be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit their other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bios:

Daughter of a Colonel, Janet Schrader-Post lived the military life until she got out of high school. She lived in Hawaii and worked as a polo groom for fifteen years, then moved to Florida where she became a reporter. For ten years she covered kids in high school and middle school. Kids as athletes, kids doing amazing things no matter how hard their circumstances. It impressed her, and it awed her. “How wonderful teens are. They have spirit and courage in the face of the roughest time of their lives. High school is a war zone. Between dodging bullies, school work and after school activities, teens nowadays have a lot on their plate. I wrote stories about them and I photographed them. My goal was to see every kid in their local newspaper before they graduated.”

Janet love kids and horses, and she paints and writes. Now she lives in the swampland of Florida with too many dogs and her fifteen-year-old granddaughter. She started to write young adult fiction with the help of her son, Gabe Thompson, who teaches middle school. Together they have written a number of award-winning YA novels in both science fiction and fantasy.

Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds knows kids well. She spent decades teaching teens and adults to write and improve their reading skills. As a literacy expert and certified coach, she helped both teachers from elementary to secondary and preservice graduate students learn to improve reading and writing instruction. She has taught at both the secondary and graduate level, everything from rhetoric, essays, and thesis statements, to poetry, short stories, and how to write a novel. She has learned to use both sides of her brain simultaneously, but enjoys the creative side the most, learning to play piano, draw and paint, and find time for her own writing since retiring from her “day” jobs.

A “true believer” in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, mythic structures, she uses that lens when considering manuscripts for Tell-Tale Publishing Group, a company she founded with some friends from her critique group a decade ago.

Wise Words Publishing, an Affiliate of Tell-Tale Publishing Group, LLC: We are a small press, a traditional publishing company bringing you the best in E-books, print and audio books to feed your body, mind and spirit. Our cutting-edge fiction includes old favorites and edgy speculative fiction for today's eclectic readers. Our stories will grab your attention and take you on a fast, exciting ride that will leave you breathless. WW, our affiliate, publishes select literature under our Cosmos Imprint and nonfiction titles under our Ivy Tower Imprint. www.wisewordspublshing.com

Founded in 2009, in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Our company motto of "excellence in creative entertainment and learning, " informs our artwork, manuscript selection, editing and publishing. www.tell-talepublishing.com

Welcome, ladies, please share a little bit about your current release.

(Janet) I wrote The Young Adult Writer’s Journey with my publisher Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds. She thought the time was right for this book and there was a need. So, we wrote it. At this very moment, I have a 14-year-old grandson staying with me, a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old granddaughter lives with me permanently. I had six kids. I know what’s going on in the minds of teens right now. And that’s the key to writing good fiction for young adults. The world they live in is much different from the world most of us grew up in. It’s so much harder. I hear stories, I understand their hardships and I love them for dealing with school and growing up at the same time every day.

I have a YA Science Fiction series out right now, The Vagrant Chronicles, that has won four prestigious awards. Elizabeth felt like I had the street credentials and the knowledge to write this book and I felt like she had marketing and publishing knowledge to make it better. It’s literally, a dictionary for anyone wanting to write YA, whether they’ve already written books or are just starting.


What inspired you to write this book?

A big push in the back from my publisher Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds who is also my co-author.


Excerpt from The Young Adult Writer’s Journey:

Teenagers make wonderful characters to write about. They are often more uninhibited than adults, braver, more impulsive. Those characteristics can get them into trouble and out of it just as fast. They can be very judgmental and equally self-conscious, hard on each other and themselves. They need guidance, but often won’t listen to it. They fall in love easily, will do anything for those they love, and can show deep compassion for those weaker than themselves. These contradictions are reflected in all great young adult fiction. Katniss Everdeen was so brave in Hunger Games, she offered herself as tribute to save her sister. Teenagers are impulsive. Mare, in The Red Queen, is very hard on herself. She blames herself for her sister’s injury. But when faced with a new world, an outrageous situation, she’s brave and resourceful, accepts her new world, but still remembers those at home she loves.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Elizabeth and I partnered again and are writing a fantasy new adult series called Beauties and the Beasties. The first book is written and being edited. It’s called Annabelle and the Jackal.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I started working as a reporter. You write every day. You get better every day. You learn to accept criticism, edit, write whether you feel like it or not. Since I started as a reporter, covering the high school beat, sports, and school events, in a small town, I discovered I love to write, and I do it every day.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I retired from being a reporter after ten years on the job. My first book was published that year. Alligator Gold is a Cracker Western (Florida cowboys) and was published by Pineapple Press. Since then, I’ve written romance, adventure fiction and young adult fiction. The Young Adult Writer’s Journey was more like writing a very big feature article. I approached it that way. I did my research and consulted with Elizabeth through every chapter. I am lucky. I have enough income to live and write full time.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I hate adverbs, backwards sentences, and I have to write in the morning. If I don’t get it done by noon, I will do something else to forward the work that isn’t actual writing. There are two words that drive me nuts: despite and underneath. They’re both bastard words and make me crazy. My most interesting quirk is water related. I get my best ideas floating in my pool or in my gigantic jacuzzi bathtub.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Free…I really had no goals. My father was a Marine Corps Colonel. I grew up a Marine. If you lived with one, you’d know. When you’re controlled to that point, you take it one day at a time and pray for freedom.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Writing for young adults is so rewarding. If you want to do it, please read our book. It has so many insights into the psychology of the kids in high school today. I learned a lot covering them as a reporter and as a parent, and when I hit a bump writing the book, I went to the source, my granddaughter, Laylany. She’s fifteen and she knows what’s going on.

Links:

Website | Book Trailer | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Thank you for being here today!

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Interview with novelist Leonide Martin

Novelist Leonide Martin is here today to chat with me a bit about her new historical romance, The Prophetic Mayan Queen: K'inuuw Mat of Palenque.

During her virtual book tour, Leonide will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too.

Welcome, Leonide. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Leonide (Lennie) Martin: Retired California State University professor, former Family Nurse Practitioner, Author and Maya researcher, Research Member Maya Exploration Center.

My books bring ancient Maya culture and civilization to life in stories about both actual historical Mayans and fictional characters. I've studied Maya archeology, anthropology, and history from the scientific and indigenous viewpoints. While living for five years in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, I apprenticed with Maya Elder Hunbatz Men, becoming a Solar Initiate and Maya Fire Women in the Itzá Maya tradition. I've studied with other indigenous teachers in Guatemala, including Maya Priestess-Daykeeper Aum Rak Sapper and Maya elder Tata Pedro. The ancient Mayas created the most highly advanced civilization in the Western hemisphere, and my work is dedicated to their wisdom, spirituality, scientific, and cultural accomplishments through compelling historical novels.

My interest in ancient Mayan women led to writing the Mayan Queens' series called Mists of Palenque. This 4-book series tells the stories of powerful women who shaped the destinies of their people as rulers themselves, or wives of rulers. These remarkable Mayan women are unknown to most people. Using extensive research and field study, I aspire to depict ancient Palenque authentically and make these amazing Mayan Queens accessible to a wide readership.

My writing has won awards from Writer's Digest for short fiction, and The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik'nal of Palenque (Mists of Palenque Series Book 1) received the Writer's Digest 2nd Annual Self-Published eBook award in 2015. The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K'uk of Palenque (Book 2) published in 2015. The Mayan Red Queen: Tz'aakb'u Ahau of Palenque (Book 3) received a Silver Medal in Dan Poynter's Global eBook Awards for 2016. The Prophetic Mayan Queen: K'inuuw Mat of Palenque (Book 4) is the final in the series, published in November 2018.

I live with my husband David Gortner and two white cats in Oregon's Willamette Valley wine country, where I enjoy gardening, hiking, and wine tasting.

Please share a little bit about your current release.

Journey back 1300 years to the splendor and intrigue of Mayan civilization, the most advanced in the Western World. K'inuuw Mat, a royal girl who wants to dedicate her life to serving Mother Goddess Ix Chel, instead finds her destiny is marriage into the Palenque royal family, overlords of her region. With her skills in scrying and prophecy, she seeks a vision of her future husband, but upon arriving at his city she realizes the face she saw is his older brother, Kan Bahlam. They are immediately attracted, though she resists and marries the younger brother. As family conflicts, regional politics, and high court dramas play out, K'inuuw Mat shares intellectual and astronomical interests with Kan Bahlam while keeping her distance. He schemes to fulfill his passion for her, assisted by fateful events that bring them together in most unexpected ways.

What inspired you to write this book?
Several years ago when living in Yucatan, Mexico to study the Mayas, I became fascinated by the prominent roles of ancient Mayan women. At the world famous archeological site of Palenque (in Chiapas, MX), after visiting the tomb of "The Red Queen" I wanted to know about her. Studying her history led to learning about the royal women in the Palenque dynasty. Two of these women ruled in their own right, and two others including the Red Queen and K'inuuw Mat were influential wives of rulers. Other ancient Maya cities had "warrior queens" who led forces in battle. I wanted to bring the stories of these powerful women to a wider public, who know nothing about them. Since I knew the most about the Palenque royal women, I developed a historical fiction series about them. All four women married and had children, so the stories of their personal lives were as important as their official positions. This quite naturally leads to their romantic involvements and childbearing experiences. K'inuuw Mat is the fourth queen in the "Mists of Palenque Series" and her story is the final one. Each book in the series stands alone, a complete story in itself, so you can read them in any sequence.

Excerpt from The Prophetic Mayan Queen: K'inuuw Mat of Palenque:
After several rounds of dancing, Tiwol took K'inuuw Mat's hand and they returned to their mat. Her fingers entwined with his; she liked the warmth of his grasp. She felt happy and content, thinking that the Goddess' intentions were surely coming to pass. Tiwol turned to talk with two young men who stood by the mat. Still standing, K'inuuw Mat looked across the patio to watch the more vigorous dancing that had started. She patted one foot in rhythm to the music, until suddenly she caught view of the man who had just entered from the far veranda.

Her heart did a flip-flop and began pounding, while her stomach clenched into a tight knot. Eyes wide in disbelief, she stared at the tall man slowly weaving his way between dancers. Torchlight caught his face and brought his features into sharp focus—the face she had seen in her scrying bowl.

No-nooo! Her mind screamed silently. This could not be happening. The exact face, every feature she had so carefully memorized, of the man who would be her husband. Just when she accepted that her scrying was inaccurate, he appeared precisely as she had been shown. A wave of nausea swept over her and she clutched her stomach, dropping her gaze and collapsing onto the mat.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I'm an admirer of historical mysteries, such as Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series set in early 1900's Egyptian archeological digs. Now I'm thinking about trying my hand at similar mysteries in the Maya regions in the 1920's. During this time women had major breakthroughs and opportunities for adventures. It was rampant with juicy archeological happenings such as tomb robbery and artifacts pilfering. My protagonists would be young women cutting loose and exploring different worlds, with an older female archeologist mentor. Writing mysteries (not involving murders) is branching into a new genre for me, and I've got lots to learn. I'm still in the conceptual and information gathering phase, and not yet writing the stories.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

My earliest memories of writing are during the pre-teen years. I penned (literally) short stories in a spiral notebook, mostly set in the Wild West. At that time I really enjoyed Zane Gray and science fiction. In high school and college I took writing and literature courses, and have always been an avid reader. I loved writing term papers and found it a creative process. Once I'd attained advanced degrees and became a university professor, writing became part of my job, my daily activities. Publishing was required, so I authored numerous journal articles, major textbooks, and popular non-fiction about health. Writing has always been integral to my professional work.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I've never written full-time, though writing was part of my academic career. After retiring, I expanded my interests in ancient cultures, especially the Mayas. Although writing non-fiction was natural for me, I thought that more people could be reached through fiction. I'd spent years studying archeology and anthropology textbooks, and only a seriously dedicated "Mayanist" would plow through such complex details. Although daunting at first, I decided to write historical fiction about the Mayas. When I started this, I was still working in the university and at a medical clinic, where I was a Family Nurse Practitioner. Now I've been retired for over a decade, still continuing to write.

My work day is really variable. I can go weeks without working on a book and then return to the project dedicating hours a day to writing. I'm intensely involved then, virtually ignoring the outside world (much to my husband and cats' annoyance). I write from a detailed outline and set up timelines for myself that drive my writing. Meeting deadlines for editing and publication also keep me on track. Usually I don't write at night; I get tired and feel my concentration isn't good. Mornings are best for creative writing. For editing and cross-checking, most any time works except night.

When not engaged in research, planning, outlining, fact checking, writing, editing, and marketing for my books, I enjoy a number of activities: taking walks, cooking and putting up food, dinners with friends, going to concerts, wine tasting, petting the cats, and various volunteer groups (bane of the retired existence). Evenings I usually read, or watch very selected TV programs with my husband, such as PBS, movies, and football/baseball.

I don't find time to write, I make time as needed.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Editing and re-editing as I write is an interesting quirk. Many writers just let the writing flow and return later to clean up the grammar, language, and word use. Not so for me. If I don't like the sentence when it's finished, I go back at once and re-work it. However, I don't spend too long at that, because I know I'll re-read my work again and again. I'm quite a rapid writer and touch typist, creating on my computer.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be some type of scientist, maybe related to space travel. Then I found I could draw pretty well, but being practical thought I'd be a commercial artist. The one thing I did not want to be was a teacher, so what happened? I had a teaching career, at the university level in health sciences, after nursing education and several advanced degrees.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Be open to branching out in your reading. We all have preferred genres, but exploring new ones can be rewarding in surprising ways. Many books cross genres, as mine do. Be open-minded to cultures and ways of communicating that are different. Be respectful of other cultures, especially when names are strange and hard to pronounce. Mayan names are difficult, you can't tell sex from the name, but they have linguistic beauty and cadence. I provide pronunciation guides in all my books. I've read books using Aztec names, which are even more difficult than Mayan ones. Just read books using full, authentic Hawaiian names if you really want a challenge.

But finally, keep on reading!

Links:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon | Blog

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

You're most welcome, Lisa! Thank you so much for hosting me. I'm excited to be part of my first Virtual Blog Tour. Your blog is so helpful to readers in finding stories that interest them, and gives great exposure for indie/small press authors. For your readers who take the leap into K'inuuw Mat's exotic world, my deepest gratitude. May your reading discoveries continue to inspire and fulfill you.

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Interview with author Bharat Krishnan

Author Bharat Krishnan helps me kick of a new year by talking with me about his fantasy novel, Oasis.

During his virtual book tour, Bharat will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Bharat Krishnan is a philanthropic consultant in Columbus, Ohio. After ten years in Democratic politics, he wrote a memoir about his life on the road as a political campaign manager and just released a fantasy novel called Oasis. He refers to himself as a professional storyteller and amateur cook.

Welcome, Bharat. Please share a little bit about your current release.

Oasis is a desert fantasy novel that takes elements from Korean, Native-American, Indian, Iranian, and Balinese folklore and mixes them together in a revenge tale that includes magic and weird animals. I always strive for authentic diversity, and that’s what I hope I achieved here with a tale that includes voices for adopted siblings, members of the LGBT community, the nonwhite community, and more.

What inspired you to write this book?
I think mankind has always retreated to fantasy in times of darkness to try and process grief and pain. We try to cloak that pain as fantasy so we can write about it authentically without ever having to confront that it exists very much outside of the realm of fantasy. Working in Democratic politics, I was pretty beat up after the 2016 elections and this is what came out. You can see it clearly in the similarities between how the kingdom of Desire handles a refugee crisis and the Muslim ban in America in 2017, for just one example.

Excerpt from Oasis:
Lee thought this seemed like a lot of effort over the stealing of some fruit. Although, he guessed the Mengery were mad he blew up the marketplace in the process. Using the special shoes Asha had given him before he left the Silo, he jumped backwards out of reach of a Mengery’s daga.

“You’ll have to catch me if you want to dance, big boy!”

He jumped away, turning his osmosis shoes on mid-leap so a spurt of water from their bottoms propelled him to the top of a building. The beams of laser shot from their guns were so hot they caused the water in his shoes to evaporate. If there was one thing the resistance needed, it was guns. And food. And water. A place to sleep. Maybe some TV.

As Mengery on the ground shot at him with pistols, another two set a wooden ladder against the building and started climbing up. Lee took a bite out of his apple before throwing it at the armored man scowling at him.

“You are one bad apple.”

The fruit landed hard against the ladder, toppling it over and sending the two guards crashing down. Propelling himself to an adjacent building, he crashed through a window as his fuel gage read empty. His shoes needed water. The resistance could definitely use water.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m workshopping a novella that’s a bit low-fantasy and tackles the idea of white privilege, but I’m also working on a set of short stories as well.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When I published my first book in August 2016, Confessions of a Campaign Manager.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I don’t ever want to write full-time. This is a wonderful hobby for me. It relaxes me, and I can do it when I want and how I want. I’m currently working towards earning my MBA at Louisiana State University. I find time to write the same way anyone makes time for a hobby. Through college and into my mid-20s, there were several things in my life I’d consider important. Now, as I enter my 30s, there are only about 4 things I make time for and writing is one of them.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t know how unique this is, but I turn my phone off and close the windows when I write. Writing time is sacred and, just like time spent with my fiancée, will never be interrupted or sacrificed.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As the child of immigrants, I wanted to do crazy things my parents never could. When I was a kid, that meant singing on Broadway.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Please drop me a note if you like Oasis! You can follow me on Twitter for a free copy of the book I mentioned above, a political memoir called Confessions of a Campaign Manager.

Links:

Amazon | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

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