​         Recently I did my first-ever author exchange, with my book, 30 Minutes in Memphis: A Beatles Story, going to Texas, for Patricia Gallo Stenman’s Diary of a Beatlemaniac. All things considered, I think I got the best of the deal!
            Patti’s book is her actual diary which she kept from 1963-1967. Besides giving insight into the complex workings of a teenage girl’s mind, it is a chronicle of the Beatles’ conquering of America from the Ed Sullivan Show in February of ’64 to the groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper album in ’67(BTW, she saw them live THREE times). As the years progress Patti grows up, finding her way in a blue-collar Italian family in Philadelphia, while attending a restrictive all-girls Catholic high school. There are too many poignant moments in the story to count, but I can tell you that although she was a few years ahead of me in school, I laughed out loud at some of our shared Catholic school experiences. I also found many similarities between Patti and her “Beatle Buddy” girlfriends at the time and my Marnie Culpeper character in 30 Minutes. We’re talking total Beatle devotion here, folks.
            But as the reader will see, Patti was no fantasy-crazed airhead. Her entries are insightful, and it’s fascinating to see her naïveté slowly fall away as she matures. One can also understand why a career in journalism was ultimately in the cards for this introspective young lady, and how her determination and ingenuity would lead her to not only befriend a member of the Beatles’ circle (actor Victor Spinetti, who appeared in all three Beatles films) but to have a published column in the Philadelphia Daily News while still a teen.
            When I guess I’m saying here is that if you really want to know (or remember) what it was like growing up during Beatlemania, you’ve got to check out Diary of a Beatlemaniac (Cynren Press, available on Amazon. Also visit the website diaryofabeatlemaniac.com). You will not be disappointed. I’m glad I’ve gotten to make the acquaintance of this fantastic author and fellow Beatles fan!

            In the midst of this current national tragedy, we are all concerned about ways to make things better. Finding avenues to discuss these problems isn’t always easy, but popular literature — especially for our young people — can be an effective and valuable tool. Ideally, a reader should be able to imagine his or herself in the shoes of one or more characters in a book and ask, “What would I do in this situation?” As a longtime educator, I always challenged my students to examine multiple perspectives in literature/social issues, even if it was sometimes uncomfortable. Perhaps this is because I’ve had the opportunity to teach in districts that were vastly different, both financially and culturally.
                This is why I have made it a point to include the theme of understanding and appreciation of other races, creeds and cultures in my stories. If you know young people in the adolescent age group, I would humbly recommend these books from my catalog: Spirits of the Pirate House examines the history of slavery on the idyllic island of Bermuda, and its connection to piracy in the Caribbean; Roberto’s Return centers upon the struggles of acceptance in the U.S. of the famed Latino ballplayer  Roberto Clemente; Curse of the Fairfield Witch deals with religious intolerance in the 1600s; The Voodoo Cult’s Treasure explores the sometimes difficult blending of cultures and religions in New Orleans, going back to the Antebellum Era; and 30 Minutes in Memphis: A Beatles Story contains realistic depictions of both religious and racial injustice in the mid-60s American South. These themes are conveyed through characters such as Veronique “Ronnie” Goodwin in the T.J. Jackson books, and Marnie Culpeper/Myles Goldfarb/Tillie in 30 Minutes.
                It is my hope that the situations presented in these books will make my readers think about things a little more deeply. As I see it, that’s the first step in improving our American society going forward.