From Tar Beach to Barnes & Noble
Tar Beach: Where It All Began
When I was a kid in the Bronx, my favorite place to read wasn’t a library or a bookstore. It was the roof of our tenement building — what we affectionately called “Tar Beach.”
I’d drag a cheap folding beach chair up there, unfold it on the black tar, and disappear into whatever paperback I could get my hands on. The summer sun baked the roof, the city noise buzzed below, and the smells of street food and laundry hung in the air. I loved the quiet thrill of getting lost in a story while the world went on around me.
I read everything I could get: mysteries, adventures, science fiction, fantasies, historical novels. Paperback novels were among my closest friends. I didn’t even buy my first hardcover until I was 27 — for a kid from the Bronx, hardcovers were a luxury. These books shaped how I saw stories, characters, and the city I lived in.
A Writing Career Full of Surprises
Over the years, I built a long writing career in advertising and fundraising. Along the way, I collected more than 45 industry awards. Some of my favorite projects were the most unexpected. For example, I won an advertising award for Chandon Sparkling Wines, crafting copy about what notes and flavors to savor — even though I don’t drink. That campaign sold a ton of wine and taught me that good writing can connect with audiences in ways you never imagine.
I also worked on campaigns that touched people deeply, fundraising for causes that mattered like Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity — winning recognition along the way. Each project honed my storytelling skills, but nothing prepared me for the thrill of writing a book under my own name, telling the story I wanted to tell.
WORKING STIFF Hits the Shelves
Today, I’m beyond thrilled to share that my novel WORKING STIFF: A Frank Leland Mystery is now available to readers everywhere. This noir crime story takes place in 1970s New York, where my private investigator Frank Leland navigates a city full of secrets, corruption, and danger — and occasionally, a little humor.
You can grab your copy here:
📚 Barnes & Noble – Hardcover & Paperback
🛒 Walmart – Hardcover only
🛒 Amazon – Ebook, Hardcover & Paperback
Holding a book with my name on the spine, knowing it’s out there waiting for readers, is a dream I never even knew I had. From the folding chair on a tar roof to seeing WORKING STIFF in stores and online, it’s a full-circle moment I’ll never forget.
From Tar Beach to Your Bookshelf: Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing
Writing has been my life for decades, whether in advertising, fundraising, or fiction. But there’s something about holding a physical book, knowing someone will open it, read it, and live inside the world you created — nothing compares to that.
If you’d like to grab a copy, see where it’s available, or share in the excitement, click the links above. I’d also love to hear your own “Tar Beach” reading memories — you can send them using the contact page on my website. Your stories might surprise you.