In The Answer to Life, West Virginian Nino Pino makes his way to awe-inspiring New York City to make it big in the competitive music industry. This smart and snarky sequel catches up with him later in life.
We can be honest here-Pino's getting older. He's been frozen-out by ageist agents. He'd like a robot- or somebody-to take out the garbage and turn out the light. Dismissively, "they" even shot down his idea for a gourmet, automated hamburger-meatball joint back home.
As Pino tackles the aging challenges, he reminisces about life as an Italian-American West Virginia Hillbilly. Poignant scenes are back-dropped with warm song lyrics that hang around in his and your head. Anyone who knows how a tune can evoke a nostalgic feeling will identify with Pino's passion for familiar music, especially American Popular Standards-"Stardust" anyone?
James A. Fragale employs a sharp, stream-of-consciousness style in this autobiographical novel. Don't let the laughs throw you. Jim Fragale details his serious struggles as well as triumphs, amid the uncertainty about his drinking. Pino can begrudge growing older, but he will have to choose to grow up.
More than fifty original coveted recipes handed down from Fragale's mother are included!
About the Author: Writer-record producer James A. Fragale has written for Billboard Magazine, GQ, People Magazine, the Writer's Digest, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Huffington Post, the West Virginia Hillbilly, and Newsweek, to name some.
In his career as a songwriter and producer, Fragale worked with Angelo Badalamenti, Melba Moore, and Valerie Simpson, not to mention chart hit arranger Charles ("Four Seasons") Calello.
Fragale won two John Truby Student Screenwriting Awards and then, for Creative Screenwriter Magazine, penned the article-"Who is Syd Field and Why Does Everyone Own his Books?"-on his experiences on expensive screenwriting classes and the movie making process.
Fragale was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He studied journalism at the University of Miami and received his bachelor's in English from Salem College, Salem, West Virginia. He is also the author of "Fellini-esque," and the well-reviewed, The Answer to Life.
