More than you’ll ever want to know about me… (Click on an image to enlarge)

From the time I discovered books in elementary school, I harbored a desire to write stories. I had lots of ideas but never acted on the impulse. I had too many other priorities. Becoming an author would have to wait.

I was born and raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania, a nice town, but one that fell on hard times with the demise of the steel industry during the early 80s. My hard-working father was a 40-year steelworker and he and my mother (the kindest, most loving person I’ve ever known) ran a mom-and-pop grocery store for many years. I came to the family when my parents were in their mid-40s (certainly a surprise, although they’d never admit it), and my two brothers were 14 and 18 years older than I. My parents lived through the depression, and from them I gained a realistic perspective on life’s ups and downs, as well as a strong work ethic.

Growing up, I loved two things, military history (an interest I gained from my oldest brother) and fire trucks. I attended Catholic school through 9th grade, where I learned discipline and developed a life-long aversion to wearing ties. I reveled in books like The Red Badge of Courage, TheHouse of the Seven Gables, To Hell and Back, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Call of the Wild, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. When I was 11, I discovered the Illustrated History of World War Two series from Ballantine Books (which cost a whopping $1 each). With my allowance, I’d send for one or two a week and eagerly await their arrival. I collected the entire series of over a hundred books, which I keep for old time’s sake.

Moving to a public high school, the freedom got the best of me and my grades sagged. I was a bit of a smart ass and was no stranger to the hulking, 6’4” assistant principal and his paddle (corporal punishment was still very much in vogue). For the most part, I was bored, and interested only in girls. On a high school trip to Gettysburg, I fell in love with Civil War history, a passion that has yet to cool.

I turned things around when I entered Youngstown State University, where I was challenged by professors who demanded the best in those years of devastation to the local blue-collar workforce. I began my studies as a history major, but was advised it would lead me to the unemployment line. Meanwhile, my love of fire trucks developed into a keen interest in the public safety field, and I switched my major to criminology (the closest thing to a Public Safety degree one could find in those days). I also joined my local volunteer fire department, beginning a 30-year involvement as a firefighter, fire instructor, and fire chief.

As the end of my college life approached, I burned to get away from my small town. Graduating magna cum laude, but into a recession, I spent two years as a claims adjuster for a major insurance company. I enjoyed the people I worked with but despised the work, which involved negotiating (and often arguing) with claimants and attorneys. Although, for a small-town boy, working on the 42nd floor of the US Steel Building and handling workers compensation and liability claims in downtown Pittsburgh was a pretty cool experience and I wouldn’t trade those years (during which I really grew up).

When I could stand it no more, I indulged another secret desire – to join the miliary. I was accepted into Air Force Officer Training school at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio as a pilot candidate, where I thrived and completed the three month program as a Distinguished Graduate. Unfortunately, my eyes, while 20-20, were discovered not to be “perfect” 20-20 and I was shuttled to navigator training at Mather Air Force Base in California. But it wasn’t for me and the naive young man attempted to transfer to Air Force Intelligence, where I’d be better suited and much more useful. Unfortunately, the Air Force was having none of it and discharged me into the inactive reserve. Devastated but undaunted, I joined the PA Army National Guard as a forward observer for an artillery battalion, and resumed my glorious (ugh) insurance industry career.

During this period, I met the love of my life (a girl who’d followed the same path through the same Catholic School and public high school – one year behind me all the way) and became a father. Personally, it was an amazing time, but professionally, not so much. I yearned for a career I could love and sink my teeth into.

My first big break came when the City of Pittsburgh’s new Department of Public Safety advertised for college graduates with related degrees (Criminology was perfect!). For the next five years, I had a wonderful time interacting with the City’s Police, Fire, and EMS personnel in my work as a safety specialist. The City also sponsored my enrollment to the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). Unfortunately, my time with the City (and my tuition reimbursement) came to an end in a massive layoff as Pittsburgh tottered on the brink of insolvency.

But soon another opportunity arose, and I was scooped up by National Draeger, a German owned manufacturer of respiratory protection and gas detection products. They were looking for someone to market their fire service product line. I started out as a product manager of Self-Contained Breathing apparatus and was later promoted to Fire Service Market Manager. I traveled the country to promote Draeger’s products to fire departments large and small. And I took every opportunity to satisfy my wanderlust by visiting as many interesting attractions as possible. And while I crisscrossed the US on airplanes, I discovered the techno-thrillers of Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, Stephen Coontz, and Larry Bond. Never one to sleep on a plane, my reading light was often the only one lit on red-eye flights full of sleeping passengers. Soon, my dreams of writing fiction resurfaced. I had lots of ideas but didn’t know where to begin, so I put it off again. Besides, I was crazy busy.

Working with fire departments (and climbing the ranks of my volunteer department) fueled a desire to make it my profession. My wonderful wife encouraged me to follow my true passion, and when an opportunity arose, I took the test for the Allegheny County Fire Bureau at the Pittsburgh International Airport. After I found myself unemployed once more by a company-wide layoff at Draeger, my third big break arrived as the airport was waiting in the wings (bad pun intended).

My first years as an airport firefighter consisted of two 24-hour shifts and five days off. I filled my time – and supplemented my reduced income – with a series of fire-service product sales jobs. But more importantly, I began to study the art of writing fiction, and I became absorbed in the intricacy of the craft. In those early days I penned a handful of short stories. I tried my hand at horror, science fiction, historical fiction, and action stories. Those uneven works are long-lost, but in them I discovered a desire to write about ordinary people tested under extraordinary situations (now known in genre fiction as the “action-thriller”). I used those stories as training for a bigger idea germinating in my mind – a novel-length tale about airport firefighters, and I scribbled the early pages of what was to become “Out of the Fire.”

At the same time, I rose through the ranks to Deputy Fire Chief (alas – goodbye to the two day a week schedule). I took advantage of the airport’s tuition reimbursement program for managers, and back to GSPIA and the University of Pittsburgh I went. Thus began a seven-year academic program where I obtained a master’s in Public Policy and Management and a PhD in Public and International Affairs. Academic writing replaced fiction and my dreams of the novel were set aside once again. My research culminated in “Searching for Unity,” a study of collaboration and coordination at the site of large-scale emergency events. It won won the faculty award for outstanding dissertation.

At the airport, I was offered - and I accepted - a promotion to Senior VP of Public Safety. Two months later, I was given the responsibility for operations as well, and as the airport had no Chief Operating Officer at the time, I pretty much supervised everything that moved inside the terminals and on the airfield (except for Field Maintenance). It was another wonderful experience which took me all over the world and served as the pinnacle of my professional career. Not bad for a kid with a C-average in high school.

Career aspirations satisfied, I retired from the Airport Authority, started volunteering to work with grad students and their capstone projects at Pitt, and planned to travel the world with my wife. That plan was delayed by Covid-19, but it wasn’t all bad as we quarantined together and spent much time with our two precious granddaughters. And I returned to the world of fiction, this time determined to write that long delayed novel.

After a year-long deep dive into the art of writing fiction, I restarted work on Out of the Fire. I wrote two hours a day at first, but that grew to three, four, and five or more. When I wasn’t writing, I was researching for the book or learning more about the craft.

In addition to writing, I’ve been a runner for 35 years, and while time has taken its toll on my knees, I still get out every week and my run at least one 5k each month. I’ve had a love affair with second-generation Camaros since I bought one in college and owned another in my mid-twenties. Ten years ago, after a frustrating search, I managed to find one in good shape and with low mileage (a 1980 base model with a 3-speed manual transmission). A month later, I happened upon a 1979 Berlinetta that was in even better shape. So I ended up with two of them!

I’m also into photography, target shooting, and military history, and I’ve learned to play a set of electronic drums (not well). My wife and I love coffee shops, and we’re always on the lookout for new and interesting ones. We also visit many of Pittsburgh’s libraries, bookstores, and parks. But by far the greatest joys of our lives are our son, daughter-in-law, and those two little girls who call us Gran and Pap.

So after two years of writing, and several rounds of editing, beta readers, editors, not to mention anxiety and sleepless nights, my first full-length novel, a book that grew from my experiences and passions, is ready for publication. In Out of the Fire I wrote what I know, as the advice goes, but I also wrote what I love. Is it any good? Who knows, but it’s my novel and I put my heart and soul into it. Will others enjoy it, or even read it? Time will tell.

Next, I’d like to branch out and grow as a writer by writing more action stories (will Tony Moretti return?). In the meantime, I’m going to take some time to appreciate the journey and what I’ve been able to accomplish. Fiction has been a distinct contrast to the academic or business writing I’ve done in the past, and a whole lot more fun!