A Publisher Spotlights a Writer

The following was posted on the Tales2Inspire website recently. I'm proud to have stories selected for publication in this venue. The publisher, Lois Stern, uses a unique method of judging the stories entered in the contests. She allows the competitors, the authors submitting stories, to judge stories on merit and compatibility. There's no more satisfying feeling than having your work judged by your peers. Thank you Lois.

Four Time Winning Tales2Inspire author, Rod DiGruttolo for his inspiring stories: 

Pappy and the Bandleader, Super Heroes & Painting a New House, and Figo

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 Super Heroes is just one of Rod’s inspiring stories. It tells about the day workers from the Allegheny Window Washing Company dressed up as super heroes. Then they staged a day the critically ill children in their neighboring hospital would never forget. These workers suddenly appeared outside the children’s ward windows dressed in super hero costumes. What a treat for such sick little children. They simply couldn’t believe their eyes! That afternoon they could forget their pain as they stared out the windows in disbelief. 

This story is published in Tales2Inspire ~ The Ruby Collection (Gift of Compassion stories).

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 Painting a New House tells the humorous story of two little girls who couldn’t resist the open paint cans the workers left behind on a Friday afternoon. Good thing the foreman had a good sense of humor!

Painting a New House is published in Tales2Inspire ~ The Crystal Collection (Stories to Tickle the Funny Bone).

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Another inspiring story

Figo is the story of an amazing service dog who threw his body between an approaching mini-van and his legally blind partner; saving her life. Figo remained unmindful of his serious injuries to protect his charge from almost certain death.

This story is published in Tales2Inspire ~ The Garnet Collection (Stories in Feathers and Fur).

A collaborative story by Rod and Lois

As wonderful as each of the above stories, Pappy and the Bandleader seems to remain everyone’s favorite.

As a boy, Merle Evans, the bandleader of the famous Ringling Brother’s Circus, was a customer on Rod’s paper route. After explaining how his grandfather was such a fan, Mr. Evans invited them to tour the mini-museum he’d established in his garage. What happened there is beyond wonderful.

Read this all-time winner! ‘Pappy’ is published in 

Tales2Inspire ~ The Sapphire Collection (Stories that Echo in the Mind).

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Living in Sarasota, Florida for nearly 70 years, Rod DiGruttolo says he has enjoyed a life few can only dream of. His tales of growing up in perpetual summer are documented in his book, Snakes, Spiders and Palmetto Bugs, available at CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com.

Rod has experience in several fields. Following in his father’s footsteps, he made a career in the automotive repair field where he was a Certified Master in automobile and truck repairs. While young enough to enjoy these experiences, he also worked in a newspaper pressroom, operated a forklift in a carpet warehouse, and spent one summer as a cowboy on a Florida ranch. Rod later became a radio engineer while helping to design radio stations all over the country.  he also served as an auxiliary law enforcement officer. Recently retired, Rod works at his writing and offers his services as a “Story Doctor” to other authors.

Rod’s latest books are novels, Need To Know - a Charlie Bascomb adventure, Capitol Terror, A Shattered Mirror, and The Devil's Disciple are also available on Amazon.com.

Rod has been the group leader for the Sarasota Writers Group for the past several years, and currently is one of our Tales2Inspire skilled editors

·         See more at: http://tales2inspire.com/?p=1536#sthash.7YtEF4r4.

·         To learn more about Rod, his website rdigruttolo.com

Welcome

Being new at the blogging experience, this may seem to be a childish and ineffective post but, here goes.

My name is Rodney DiGruttolo, I'm a writer. I have two books on the market available thru Amazon as printed media or in ebook form. The first is a collection of short stories about growing up in Sarasota, Florida in the 1950's. These adventures are true although I did change the names to protect the inno... er, maybe not so much. It's entitled Snakes, Spiders, and Palmetto Bugs, Growing-up in Perpetual Summer.

Florida is a great place to grow up. We have summer-like weather nearly all year. The few cold days are seldom close together and often by noon a temperature below freezing at dawn will have risen to the mid-seventies. Because of all this warmth, we do have some insects, arachnids, and several varieties of reptiles including snakes.

Lakes, rivers, and bays are plentiful, the siren call of rippling water or crashing waves beckons to youngsters and adults alike. As a boy, I and my friends took advantage to long warm days, ocean breezes, and a host of nature’s gifts to lead an idyllic life rivaling the adventures of Mark Twain’s days on the Big Muddy. Of course, we didn’t have steamboats or runaway slaves to contend with, but we did have parents and truant officers.

The second is a novel, its designation as a novel tells you it's pure fiction. Need to Know, a Charlie Bascomb Adventure, may indicate the type of tale it is. Charlie Bascomb was on the fast track in the Marine Corps and held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel when he decided to retire after twenty years. When the DEA/Homeland Security Liaison contacts him he’s baffled but curious. A retired General and active Colonel, for whom Charlie has great respect, ask him to undertake a secret mission to discover the identity of a rouge agent or agents in the DEA and flush out a terrorist attempting to enter the U.S.

All hell breaks loose as Charlie and his handpicked team descend on South Florida.

I am the facilitator of a writers group in Sarasota County. We meet at the fire station in Nokomis, FL the first and third Wednesday of each month. Our membership is diverse including writers from the area and a number who winter here. All genres are represented over the course of the year and a contingent of talented poets contribute to the talent pool. You never know what you will hear when attending a meeting.

Each meeting begins with a discussion about some phase of writing, publishing, or a lesser known aspect of the craft. The members dictate the subject and I try to steer the ship, even though at times it feels rudderless.

After the discussion, members read their work, especially pieces which are causing them problems. We all critique the work and offer what we think are workable solutions. I will not allow derogatory or demeaning remarks about the work or its author. The group agrees and I have their backing.

We have fun, learn, and become better writers with each session. If you write, want to write, or have a friend who writes, join us. It’s free. We don’t charge dues, asking only for a donation twice a year. The donations are presented to the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department. We request five bucks from each member in June and again in November but, you can donate at any time. We present the donation around Independence Day and Christmas. The firemen use it as they see fit. We appreciate the use of their training room and do our best to leave it as we find it.

That’s all for now. I’ll have to reflect a while before posting again. It might take a week or so to come up with something useful.

See you soon;

Rod