Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I’m a lucky man, because I have a wonderful family and I have so many friends. I’m from Italy, where I lived most of my life. I’ve worked as a nurse for so many years, and I became an author almost for a joke. Once I collected some stories I wrote in my personal diary about people I’ve assisted when I was working as a Nurse. One day I decided to let my friend to read them, and He said: “You should publish them!” I sent the stories to a publisher, and after a couple of months I received a publishing contract. And so started my writing adventure.
Tell us something really interesting that’s happened to you!
One day, after I’ve been in California on vacation, I attended the Green Card Lottery, and I’ve been selected, and now I live here. It’s a bit strange, isn’t it? I have a friend, in Italy he was my neighboor, he tried the Green Card Lottery for twenty years, but he never won. So for me was very difficult to tell him “I attended the Lottery for the first time… and I won” Now I’m here in the States, while he’s still in Italy.
What are some of your pet peeves?
I had a wonderful dog, an English Bulldog, he was handsome! He lived 11 years and when he passed away, it was really painful. Now we just moved to California, and we need to settle in a bit better, before having a new one.
Where were you born/grew up at?
I was born in Treviso, a small town near Venice in north Italy, and I grew there. I spent there most of my life. I miss my friends, but I have to say that I’ve never felt myself “Italian”, just like now I don’t feel myself “American”. I think I’m a citizen of the world, and every place could be my home.
If you knew you’d die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day?
I would spend it with my wife, my children and my best friends.
Who is your hero and why?
I have two heroes: my son Michele and my daughter Giulia. They are my heroes. Because they are fantastic!
What kind of world ruler would you be?
Probably an absolute anarchic. So it’s better if I’m not a world ruler.
What are you passionate about these days?
I’m passionate about music. I have Spotify now in my phone, and I’m listening whole discographies of my favorite musicians. I love reading English books, because I think is a good way to improve my English.
What do you do to unwind and relax?
I love walking. I’m lucky because there are many beautiful places to walk here in Thousand Oaks, and the landscape is amazing. I love walking in the nature, in solitude, meeting animals. I love singing, I love listening music, I love painting, I love spending time with my family. These are things that help me to relax.
How to find time to write as a parent? I don’t know! Really. I have so many things to do, that I think I find the time to write because of a miracle! I love writing, and I think that, in a way or another, you always find the time to dedicate yourself doing things you love.
Describe yourself in 5 words or less!
Reliable, hard worker, kind, generous, but very stubborn!
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Probably, I don’t consider myself a writer even now!
Do you have a favorite singer?
I love all kind of music. My absolute favorite musicians are Johnny Cash, the Beatles, Peter Gabriel and the Italian singer Lucio Battisti. They are the best for me. But I love also David Bowie, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Iron Maiden, Gen Verde, Franco Battiato, Lucio Dalla, Soundgarden, Bjork, Elisa, Pearl Jam, Alanis Morrisette, and many, many others…
Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
My italian novel “Il tempo senza ore” for sure. It’s a story about a famous piano teacher, and choir director who fell sick with Alzheimer. It’s easy for me to image it as a movie, because in Italy they made a theater show from that novel, and they’re performing it around the country.
