Author Garasamo Maccagnone scores twice with “The Affliction of Dreams” and “The Suburban Dragon”.
Garasamo Maccagnone is a unique author with great literary range.
In his two new books he offers an admirable collection of short stories (“The Affliction of Dreams”) and poetry while at the same time delivers one of the best children’s books (“The Suburban Dragon”) of the summer.
In “The Affliction of Dreams” Maccagnone writes with ease. He has a natural storytelling voice that provides a wonderful volume of stories that mirror life and it’s unpredictability. Stories like “Goalie Boy”, “Holy Thursday”, “Customer Three’ and “For the Love of St. Nick” deliver with a simple but substantive writing style. Mixed in with the compilation of short stories are the authors poetry. Excellent poems like “Drives with Dad”, “Twentieth Century” and “The Careers of my Mother” sketches life like a Norman Rockwell painting without interrupting the reader’s imagination. The authors poetry are sandwiched perfectly between his stories allowing the reader to catch a breath before going under again. In a recent interview the author said, “My writing career started at fourteen, right after I finished reading "The Great Gatsby," in Mrs. Balch's fifth hour class. Amongst all my friends in class, I was the only buy who actually read the book. The others simply used Cliff Notes to pass the exam…the characters within the collection (of “The Affliction of Dreams”) suffer from the dreams manifested to them.”
Maccagnone’s creativity and inspiration knows NO limits as he creatively pens the greatest original children’s book of the year
with “The Suburban Dragon.” The author describes this book best when he says, “The story is about a family interacting and having fun on their own, without the aid of a computer, television, or video game. When I was a boy, my father would often disguise himself to scare the kids or to fool my mother. Once, after he darkened his face with my mother's make-up, he slipped out the bathroom window and rang our front door's bell. When my mother answered the door, she met a hobo trying to sell her coupons. After ten minutes or so, as the hobo persisted with his sales spill, we could all see my mother was getting nervous. When she turned to my oldest brother Glenn and asked him to run to the bathroom to get my father, the hobo pulled his ball cap and wig off. As kids we were all relieved to see it was our father. My mother didn't share our sentiments. I believe my mother chased my father down the street swearing in Polish. Obviously, my story doesn't finish that way. In essence, that great family moment was how I conceived the family adventure called, "The Suburban Dragon." It wasn't until I lived in California and was pushed by a neighborhood girl to write a story with her in it that the story came to life. When my sons, who were 5 and 3 at the time, chimed in and pleaded for a role in the book as well, I couldn't let them all down.”
“The Suburban Dragon” is wonderfully illustrated by Al Ochsner a friend and once schoolmate of the author. Ochsner brings the story to life with captivating and delightful pictures that parents and children both will absolutely love. After reading “The Suburban Dragon” I found myself caught up in the artwork and feeling like a kid again myself. Maccagnone and Ochsner are at the top of their game with “The Suburban Dragon” and they seem to sincerely understand the children’s genre – Visual energy with a lovable main character that sets the stage for a family oriented story. Maccagnone says of his illustrator, “ Al is the easiest person in the world to work with. He has no ego. He was able to take my simple story and bring it to life with his incredible talent.”
Writing is difficult, but Garasamo Maccagnone makes it look like a walk in the park on a Sunday morning in spring. He is a multi-talented author who I feel is only stretching before the marathon. “The Affliction of Dreams” and “The Suburban Dragon” are perfect examples of an author who creatively is just warming up and that’s great news for readers. Buy a copy of “The Affliction of Dreams” and “The Suburban Dragon” today. Share with friends and family and keep your literary eye out for author Garasamo Maccagnone.
The Affliction of Dreams by Garasamo Maccagnone
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (March 28, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1419660438
The Suburban Dragon (Paperback)
by Garasamo Maccagnone; Illustrated by Al Ochsner (Author)
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (April 4, 2007)
ISBN-10: 1419660446
About the Author: Garasamo Maccagnone
attended Macomb Community College, Wayne State University, and Western Michigan University (WMU). While attending WMU, Maccagnone roomed with Al Ochsner, the illustrator of this book. Maccagnone and Ochsner have collaborated on other projects, including their cartoon strip, Franco. Maccagnone is also the author of a collection of short stories called The Affliction of Dreams, and he is currently working on a novel entitled St. John of the Midfield. He resides in Michigan with his wife and three children.
