Frequently Asked Questions

When did you start to write?

I started writing in the second grade at Coolidge School in Wyckoff, NJ. I pursued writing as a profession at the age of 27 when I went to graduate school to learn more about it. 

Where did you get the idea for Safe At Home?

I got the idea when I was watching a documentary on Baseball on public television. There was an interview with Jackie Robinson's wife. She said that she knew that Jackie was "safe at home" in heaven and playing baseball. After watching the interview, I ran upstairs to my room and wrote a 1-page story about a boy and his grandpa and the link in their relationship was baseball. The grandpa was known for stealing home in his younger days. The title at the top was "Safe At Home".

Where did you get the idea for Elves Can't Dunk?

I got the idea for this story in 1994 while I was at a very boring New Jersey Nets game. It was Christmas time and I looked at the big screen above the center of the court and said to myself "they should put a cartoon up there to entertain me." Then I asked myself "what kind of cartoon would they show?" Since it was Christmas time, I came up with the idea of a cartoon about one of Santa's elves who loved basketball. I went home and wrote a short story about just that and gave it to my nephew Matthew for a Christmas present. My sister read it and suggested I develop the idea further. I then created an animated teleplay about an elf who wanted to play in the NBA. When it was finished, both me and my agent at the time, sent it to many people in Hollywood who rejected it. I then adapted the story into a book and rewrote it. Six years after the initial story I created for my nephew, ELVES CAN'T DUNK became available at bookstores!

What's your favorite sport?

Baseball... always has been, always will be, but I enjoy basketball and tennis.

Did you play baseball as a kid?

Yes, I played baseball all the time when I was a kid. I also played in high school and in college. Today, I play softball!

Do you always write about sports?

So far, the stories that have been published deal with sports. I do have other stories that are not about sports, but they have not yet been published or produced. 

How many stories have you written?

Counting books and screenplays, I have written about fourteen stories.

What does the dedication in Safe At Home mean?

Safe At Home is dedicated to my first son Trevor who was stillborn in 1996. I wrote the story seven months later. As soon as I named the main character in the story Trevor, something supernatural happened - the story came to me almost Divinely and a ton of passion poured out of me as I created the kind of boy I imagined my Trevor would have been. It was a tremendous healing process as I got to create the boy I held, but never knew. I cried when I wrote the last paragraph of the story and felt a connection between God, Trevor and me. If the story is any good, I believe it is because of the passion that came out of me the moment I named the main character Trevor.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to be an astronaut or a professional baseball player. 

Who are your favorite authors?

Tom Clancy, Lloyd Douglas and Marshal Younger.