About Giacomo Giammatteo
I live in Texas now, but I grew up in Cleland Heights, a mixed ethnic neighborhood in Wilmington, Delaware that sat on the fringes of the Italian, Irish and Polish neighborhoods. The main characters of Murder Takes Time grew up in Cleland Heights and many of the scenes in the book were taken from real-life experiences.
Somehow I survived the transition to adulthood, but when my kids were young I left the Northeast and settled in Texas, where my wife suggested we get a few animals. I should have known better; we now have a full-blown animal sanctuary with rescues from all over. At last count we had 41 animals—12 dogs, a horse, a three-legged cat and 26 pigs.
Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with me every day and happens to also be my best buddy.
Since this is a bio some of you might wonder what I do. By day I am a headhunter, scouring the country for top talent to fill jobs in the biotech and medical device industry. In the evening I help my wife tend the animals, and at night—late at night—I turn into a writer.
Go check out the website: www.giacomogiammatteo.com. Look around, click some links, and, if you’ve got time, tell me what you think. Contact me at jim@giacomogiammatteo.com.
The Interview
Could you please tell us a little about your book?
This story is about three young boys who swear an oath to be friends forever. As often happens in life, that doesn’t work out. Twenty years later, somebody has to die. The book is portrayed as a mystery/thriller, mob story…but it isn’t just that. This is truly a book that crosses into other territory. One of the agents who turned it down said it was a cross between Stand By Me and Goodfellas…but one of the Amazon reviewers said it better than anyone. I wish I had thought of that and incorporated it into my marketing.
This novel is not just a murder mystery.
This novel is not just a thriller.
This novel is not just a love story.
This novel is not just a life story.
This novel is all in one.” OBI Amazon reviewer
What cause are you most passionate about and why?
Animals…now that my kids are grown. My wife and I have an animal sanctuary, so the animals are dear to us.
They are so loving. So tender. So intelligent. If you spend the kind of time with them that my wife and I do, you would be amazed at their communication and intelligence. Especially the pigs. And yet, we see some pretty horrible things that are done to them.
Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?
Yes, religiously. After the beta readers, I go through and make changes, then read it one more time, which means it’s about the tenth time I’ve read it. Then I give it to the copy editor. She tears it apart and sends it back. I make those changes, and read it through twice more myself, plus I get two or three other proof readers to go through it. At that point, it’s ready to go to formatting and layout.
What are you currently working on?
Too many things. The first book in the Blood Flows South launches in late July or early August. I’m putting the finishing touches on the editing for the second book in the Friendship & Honor Series, Murder Has Consequences.
After that, I’ll be busy preparing for the launch of the first book in the Redemption Series, Old Wounds. In the meantime, I’m having to do major edits for book 3 in the Friendship & Honor Series, Murder Takes Patience, and Book two in Blood Flows South.
Do you have any advice for writers or readers?
I don’t pretend to be an expert at writing, but if anyone wants to listen to what I have to say, here it is. DON’T LISTEN TO ANYONE.
Do what your heart tells you to do. Write what you FEEL. I had several agents, many, in fact, who told me to redo my whole book and not use two different POVs. I do one character in first person POV, and the rest in third person. It is also done in a past and present fashion, it jumps back and forth in time as the detective is working on solving the case.
The feedback I’m getting from readers is that they love the way the story is told, so I’m glad I didn’t listen to the agents.
What are some of your long term goals?
To tell more stories.
No, actually the one thing that I really want to do, more than anything else, is write some books for kids. I’d like to use the animals on our sanctuary, and use their personalities to make the characters just like you would a character in a novel.
That, would be heaven. It would combine both of my passions into one.
Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?
Yes. My son almost died from drug abuse. Going through that, and seeing what he went through to get clean was an eye opener. Prior to that incident, I looked at substance abuse as a weakness; now I see it as a disease. That, in turn, has opened my eyes to other things.
About Murder Takes Time
A string of brutal murders has bodies piling up in Brooklyn, and Detective Frankie Donovan knows what is going on. Clues left at the crime scenes point to someone from the old neighborhood, and that isn’t good.
Frankie has taken two oaths in his life—the one he took to uphold the law when he became a cop, and the one he took with his two best friends when they were eight years old and inseparable.
Those relationships have forced Frankie into many tough decisions, but now he faces the toughest one of his life; he has five murders to solve and one of those two friends is responsible. If Frankie lets him go, he breaks the oath he took as a cop and risks losing his job. But if he tries to bring him in, he breaks the oath he kept for twenty-five years—and risks losing his life.
In the neighborhood where Frankie Donovan grew up, you never broke an oath.
~ ~ ~ iPad 3 GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~
Pump Up Your Book and Giacomo Giammatteo are teaming up to give you a chance to win an iPad 3!
Here’s how it works:
Each person will enter this giveaway by liking, following, subscribing and tweeting about this giveaway through the Rafflecopter form placed on blogs throughout the tour. If your blog isn’t set up to accept the form, we offer another way for you to participate by having people comment on your blog then directing them to where they can fill out the form to gain more entries.
This iPad 3 promotion will run from June 18 – August 17. Winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on August 18, 2012.
Each blogger who participates in the Murder Takes Time virtual book tour is eligible to enter and win.
Visit each blog stop below to gain more entries as the Rafflecopter widget will be placed on each blog for the duration of the tour.
If you would like to participate, email Tracee at tgleichner(at)gmail.com. What a great way to not only win this fabulous prize, but to gain followers and comments too! Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
~ ~ ~ KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~
Pump Up Your Book and Giacomo Giammatteo are teaming up to give you a chance to win a Kindle Fire!
Here’s how it works:
Each person will enter this giveaway by liking, following, subscribing and tweeting about this giveaway through the Rafflecopter form placed on blogs throughout the tour. If your blog isn’t set up to accept the form, we offer another way for you to participate by having people comment on your blog then directing them to where they can fill out the form to gain more entries.
This Kindle Fire promotion will run from June 18 – August 17. Winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on August 18, 2012.
Each blogger who participates in the Murder Takes Time virtual book tour is eligible to enter and win.
Visit each blog stop below to gain more entries as the Rafflecopter widget will be placed on each blog for the duration of the tour.
If you would like to participate, email Tracee at tgleichner(at)gmail.com. What a great way to not only win this fabulous prize, but to gain followers and comments too! Good luck everyone!
Great interview! I can't wait to see more books from this author.