Phil Fragasso's Blog: Blogs, Insights & Rants, page 6

I’m Casey, Adam’s Dog

I don’t know about you, but it seems awfully unfair to me that I had to die in the first chapter of Still Counting. I’m not saying Adam’s not a nice person – he was a great owner and we had lots of good times together – but he could have started off with me splashing through the waves on Cape Cod, or maybe told a heart-warming story about that time I finally caught a squirrel and then coughed up fur balls for the next two hours just like some stupid cat or something. (And yes, I said it. Cats...

I’m Casey, Adam’s Dog

I don’t know about you, but it seems awfully unfair to me that I had to die in the first chapter of Still Counting. I’m not saying Adam’s not a nice person – he was a great owner and we had lots of good times together – but he could have started off with me splashing through the waves on Cape Cod, or maybe told a heart-warming story about that time I finally caught a squirrel and then coughed up fur balls for the next two hours just like some stupid cat or something. (And yes, I said it. Cats...

“Going Both Ways” coming on March 18

Now that the release of Still Counting is just 10 days away, I’m delighted to announce that Wild Rose Press will be publishing my next novel, Going Both Ways, on March 18.

Here’s the video teaser.

Novelist’s Parents Discuss Son’s Book

Mary Donatello has just opened an Amazon package containing a paperback copy of Still Counting, the novel narrated by her son Adam.

Mary: Hey, Joey, come here, come here. Adam’s an author!

Joey: A blog about ironic alliteration that no one reads does not qualify him as an author.

Mary: No. It’s a real book. The one about him and Nina. Remember?

Joey: Did he mention us?

Mary: How should I know? I just got it.

Joey: I hope he didn’t say nothin’ about the gerbils.

Mary: Well it would serve you r...

Mr. & Mrs. Donatello Discuss Their Son’s Book

Mary Donatello has just opened an Amazon package containing a paperback copy of Still Counting, the novel narrated by her son Adam.

Mary: Hey, Joey, come here, come here. Adam’s an author!

Joey: A blog about ironic alliteration that no one reads does not qualify him as an author.

Mary: No. It’s a real book. The one about him and Nina. Remember?

Joey: Did he mention us?

Mary: How should I know? I just got it.

Joey: I hope he didn’t say nothin’ about the gerbils.

Mary: Well it would serve you r...

A Paid Announcement from my yellow Lab, Maisy, about “Still Counting”

Do Not Watch This Video

Someone has hijacked my YouTube account and, posing as my nonexistent twin brother, posted this libelous video. I guarantee this cretin will have his day in court. In the meantime, please ignore his entreaties and buy as many copies of Still Counting as you can carry in both arms and a wheelbarrow.

The Fictional Casey’s Real-Life Counterpart

Still Counting opens with Casey, a cancer-stricken Labrador retriever, being put to sleep. As I shopped the manuscript around, I heard a consistent comment about the opening: “very powerful but perhaps too sad for many readers.” My Wild Rose editor felt the same way and asked me to tone it down. Which I did.

I fully understand this emotional reaction because I wrote most of the scene through teary eyes. Two years ago on December 27, 2013, Ruby, my sweet and gentle 12-year-old Lab succumbed to...

A First Line Whose Time Has Come

“The first time I saw her it was raining.”

That’s the opening line of my novel, Still Counting. It’s a line that’s been rattling around in my head for about 20 years, but I’d never found the right place to use it – until I began writing my first romance. I had an idea to write an Erich Segal-like Love Story for the 21st century. I wanted the characters to deal with contemporary issues on top of the usual complications of young love, and I wanted them to be thrown together at a moment of deep...

Guess I’m a “Trans-Genre” Writer

I recently had a new novel accepted by a publisher. When people ask about the book, they usually want to know three things: the title, the plot, and the genre. My response to the first two questions comes fast and easy, but I stumble on the third. Part of the issue is that I hate labels of any kind. I think they’re simplistic and limiting, but that’s not the overriding reason for my hesitation. I feel like I can’t give a simple answer to the question. I have to explain, equivocate and, someti...