Clarifying What We Mean—When is Midnight? I was doing a book promotion this week and communicating by email—always a dangerous thing. The people running the ad sent me this message: Hi Giacomo, I will be posting your book, Murder Has Consequences, as a bargain book on Wednesday, 7/17. Please leave you book on sale until […]
Mistakes Show Up in Many Ways Imagine buying a new computer only to discover that the percentage key doesn’t work, or that five pixels on your screen aren’t working. Or how about a new refrigerator, and the first time you have guests over you discover the ice maker taps out after half an hour. (I’ve […]
Thumbs Up I was reading a book the other night, and when I finished I went to write a review for it. I wondered, does this get a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down?” Since it was a damn good book I gave it a thumbs up. But did I do right? Whenever I see […]
Memories of a Great Teacher I recently lost two of my favorite people in the whole world: Aunt Margaret, who passed away a few weeks shy of her 91st birthday; and Aunt Rose, a few months before her 97th. They were at the top of my list for a lot of reasons, but one of […]
When I read this article my daughter, Aliza, wrote I knew I had to share it. She is a professional genealogist, and she writes for five Italian American publications as a columnist. If I must say, she is not only a great genealogist, but a magnificent storyteller. I hope you enjoy this. Giacomo Standing on […]
What Her Eyes Have Seen I lost My aunt rose a few weeks ago. Yes, that’s a sad thing, but the saddest thing was that she wasn’t just a dear aunt and wonderful person. What I lost was my own personal time machine, a magic mirror into the past. Aunt Rose was born in 1916. […]
What Are You Afraid Of? I was reading a thriller book a while back and there were a few scenes dealing with snakes that made my skin crawl. No, not in the creepy crawly way you’re thinking of, but in shock that a writer would put such nonsense in a book. All it would have […]
I’ve been on a kick lately to get to the bottom of sayings. After last week’s column I thought I’d tackle a couple of tougher ones. Let’s start with one close to my heart: See Naples and Die. Vedi Napoli e poi Muori “See Naples and die.“ It was a phrase coined during the reign […]
Another Day in Paradise I was working at my computer, doing what writers are supposed to do, when the phone rang. Caller ID showed it was from my daughter-in-law. I grabbed the phone, a little panicked, wondering why she’d be calling during the day while she was teaching. “Someone stole Joey’s phone,” she said. “What? […]
I’m Afraid of ;;;;;; It’s okay for writers to play with grammar. You don’t have to write in complete sentences. Not all the time. Readers know what you mean because that’s the way many people think. Writers can put periods damn near anywhere. Well. Ma.ybe. As the preceding example shows, you can’t get away with […]
