Friday, May 18, 2012

A Few Bits of Trivia About THE MISSING PIECE

I thought I'd share a few facts about my novel for those of you who are interested.
  • The novel is set in Fredonia, NY, with a few shorter scenes in Dunkirk and Forestville. Jamestown, NY, and Erie, PA, are also briefly mentioned.
  • The novel began as a five page assignment in a creative writing class at Jamestown Community College in the late 1990s. I dabbled with the story for a few years before it was published, and then a couple years later, I attended SUNY Fredonia for my English degree. Talk about putting the cart before the horse : )
  • The book version was originally released exactly nine years ago this past February.
  • The character named Connie in the novel is based on my sister’s vivacious personality. Some of Connie's comments, especially those about cheeses, are exact quotes from Donna's witty banter.
  • Some of Dylan’s struggles were taken from actual experiences in my own life.
  • If you liked the movie Fireproof, you may like The Missing Piece.
  • Jim  Kelly’s (former Bills quarterback) wife, Jill, sent me a thank you note after receiving a copy of my book from the hostess, Linda Pellegrino, when I appeared on AM Buffalo (morning television talk show) in 2003. 
  • A few years later, Jill Kelly spoke at the Chautauqua Suites in Mayville, NY, and I had my picture taken with her (see above).
  • One of the quotes in my book (“Friends don’t let friends wear puffed sleeves”) was featured on a site, alongside a dozen famous people, like Naomi Judd and Bill O’Reilly, who also skewed the original quote of "Friends don't let friends drive drunk."
  • The revised version of The Missing Piece in eBook form contains a few additional scenes and is 40 pages longer throughout. (If it were in book form it would be 280 pages.)
If you have read The Missing Piece (and if you wouldn't mind), I would really appreciate an honest review on Amazon's product page.

Thank you! <3