Over the years, I listened carefully to many of my wife’s stories. Her father was Commander Blake Field, a naval academy standout and veteran of the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. I obviously patterned the commander in my story after him.
Prior to her parents’ divorce, my wife lived the typical military lifestyle, with the family moving every couple of years to far off lands. Often, her father went on secret cold war missions and I recalled listening to my wife tell me how frightened she was as a girl that her father would never return. That of course, sparked my interest and was the sentiment I built off of years later when I decided to write this story.
The other major incident, which inspired me a great deal, happened while I worked at a hospital in my early thirties. One morning after my shift was over, a priest I knew at the hospital divulged that a young mother died during childbirth the previous night. He used the term placenta previa and went on to explain what had happened and why he was told the woman passed on.
Together, somehow, over a fifteen- to twenty-year period these stories found their way to the forefront of my mind, and served as the mechanisms that launched my tale. From there, I simply needed to create the right setting and to apply my craft.
Garasamo Maccagnone studied creative writing and literature under noted American writers Sam Astrachan and Stuart Dybek at Wayne State University and Western Michigan University. A college baseball player as 
well, Maccagnone met his wife Vicki as a junior at WMU. The following year, after injuring his throwing arm, Maccagnone left school and his baseball ambitions to marry Vicki. After a two year stint at both W.B. Doner and BBDO advertising agencies, Maccagnone left the industry to apply his knowledge of marketing in a new venture in an up-and-coming industry. Maccagnone created a company called, “Crate and Fly,” and turned it from a store front in 1984 to a world-wide multi-million dollar shipping corporation by 1994.
In the mid 90’s Maccagnone decided to fulfill the promise of his writing career, by first penning the children’s book, The Suburban Dragon and then following up with a collection of short stories and poetry entitled, The Affliction of Dreams. His literary novel, St. John of the Midfield was published in 2007, followed by his For the Love of St. Nick, which was released in 2008. Maccagnone expanded the original version of For the Love of St. Nick and had the book illustrated for a new release in June 2009.
Garasamo “Gary” Maccagnone lives today in Shelby Township, Michigan, with his wife Vicki and three children. You can visit Gary online at www.garasamomaccagnone.com.
Closing Molly and Danny’s love story in Against Doctors Orders, we sighed and relished their happily ever after. Bobbie Leighton, Molly’s live in house keeper and caregiver to her daughter, Amy, was on the mend after suffering an attack from a crazed killer at the book’s conclusion. We trusted that she’d deal with her estrangement from the younger Sullivan brother, Joe, who had not only captured her interest, but had also captured that serial killer who had threatened her life.
K.M. Daughters is the multi-published writing team of sisters Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare. Their penname is dedicated to their parents Katherine and Michael, the “K” and “M” in K.M. Daughters. Their author career began in January 2008 with contracts from The Wild Rose Press for an inspirational romance, Jewel of the Adriatic, and a romantic suspense novel, Against Doctors Orders, Book #1 in The Sullivan Boys Series. Beyond The Code of Conduct, Book 2 in the series, is rated 4-stars, compelling, page turner, by Donna M. Brown, Reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews (June 2009 Issue #304). A contemporary romance, Past, Present and Forever is available in E-book from Sapphire Blue Publishing. Residing in Illinois and New Jersey, the sisters continue to work on The Sullivan Boys Series. Book #3 will release later this year and two additional books are anticipated to complete the series. You can visit their website at 
Years ago, as is still true now, I found I would happen upon some small event or object that would practically insist that it be written about. I’ve always leaned toward short stories because of their urgency and ability to deliver a satisfying beginning, middle, and end in a short period of time.
A few years back I was a single gal who had great friends and worked a bit too much. After many years of setups and dating, I still had not met the right person yet. I had an otherwise great life but didn’t have that special someone to share it with.
Cherie Burbach used her experience with meeting her husband online to pen At the Coffee Shop, a humorous look at the world of Internet dating. Cherie went on over 60 coffee dates in just six months. She met lots of great people and one of those turned out to be the guy she would marry just one year later.
For as long as I can remember, I have been writing. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a notebook and pencil as my constant companions. For some years, I was able to pass it off as homework – until some savvy friends figured out that what I was doing was extracurricular. From that moment on, they tried to get me to show them my writing but in the beginning, it was a very private thing for me. It took some time before I felt comfortable enough to allow anyone to read the words I had written. But with time, I did grow comfortable with the idea, especially when my work was praised, and eventually, I entertained the idea of becoming published.