Phillip Tomasso III is the author the supernatural thriller, Tenth House and the hypnotic mystery Mind Play. He is also the author of more than thirty published short stories and articles. Tomasso works full-time as an Employment Law and Personnel Relations Paralegal and writes regular book reviews and conducts author interviews for BookBrowser.com. Tomasso is married. He and his wife have three children. Living in Rochester, NY, he is currently at work on his next novel.

Coming From Barclay Books in October 2001 . . .

(www.BarclayBooks.com)

Private Investigator, Nicholas Tartaglia, is back . . .

Two men burglarize the home of the city's most prominent CEO, searching for a mystical book. What they don't know is, someone is home when they break in. In the flux of chaos, one of the burglars is dead . . . and so is the CEO's only son.

When Tartaglia receives a call from an old friend, he learns that she has just been assigned to represent the man accused of the burglary and murder. With time being of the essence, the defense attorney needs Tartaglia's help investigating the circumstances in order to establish a defense.

In a desperate search for answers, Tartaglia finds himself submerged in a raging river of deception, evil spells and witchcraft. It quickly becomes apparent that getting a man out of jail might be the least of Tartaglia's concerns as he uncovers an underworld consumed by the use of black magic . . . and a plot that scares the hell out of him.

I first started writing when I was 14. I had some short stories appear in the annual high school magazine, The Myriad. It was a great feeling. I was hooked as a writer from that point on.

Well, it goes back to seventh and eighth grade. I hated books, hated reading. The English teacher made us read The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. She wrote that book when she was 16, she was an inspiration. I gobbled up the other books by Hinton (Tex, Rumblefish, That Was Then, This Is Now). I have been an avid reader ever since - and it was then I decided to try writing. If Hinton could write a book like The Outsiders at 16…

I enjoy horror, thrillers, anything hard boiled. I enjoy Lawrence Block, Steve Martini. Robert Parker, M. R. Sellers, that kind of style.

My favourite author is too hard a question to answer. I mentioned some above, but can add John Saul, Robin Cook, Stephen King, Dean Koontz and writers like Melody Bussey, Ellen Edwards Kennedy, Wayne J. Keeley, Douglas Clegg … I keep finding new writers to read. I keep getting inspired by different writers. If you put all that together, then my influences can go on and on. However, like Robert Parker, I like to keep my chapters short. Like James Patterson, I like to use a lot of dialogue and characterization. Like Dean Koontz I like to start on page one and go to the end of my story with action. Like Lawrence Block, I like the dark side of mysteries. Like M. R. Sellars, I enjoy a splash of the supernatural.

That is a tough one. I think I would like to meet one of two people. Alex Cross from James Patterson's novels. I love that guy, he has family values, he is very smart - and I have been following him around for some time now. Also, Rowan Gant, from the M. R. Sellars novels. Gant reminds me a lot of my own fictional character, Nicholas Tartaglia.

I am actually working on quite a bit. My current novel, Tenth House, seems to be selling well. It is getting some serious movie interest. The producer wants Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman) for the role. They are currently shooting a film together. I love this series with Nicholas Tartaglia. My second novel in the series, Third Ring will be out in October from Barclay Books. The third in the series called Second Thoughts, I am close to finishing and hopefully Barclay Books will be happy with it. At the same time I have finished a stand alone novel, Johnny Blade and have had a few bites on it.

I am holding my breath. I would really like to see that one in hardback. It has that kind of commercial potential, I think. Barclay Books is also looking at a children's book I wrote, called King Gauthier and the Little Dragon Slayer. And I have an outline for another stand alone thriller. Go away, phew!

For me the best way to promote my books has been thorough books signings. I have done nearly 100 in the last year and half. I also enjoy and appreciate this kind of online interview opportunity. I think word of mouth has been going well. One person reads it and shares it with a friend.

My best advice, and advice I stick to is - of you want it, you just can't give up. I could wallpaper my entire house with rejection letters. At first they hurt, but then as a writer you develop a thick skin (which is essential if you are an artist of any kind, I think). Also, I started out writing short stories, built a portfolio in a manner of speaking. Stick with it, keep at it, don’t ever give up if you really want it.

Don't forget to visit Phillip's website here:

http://philliptomasso.go2click .com/

You can email the author here