I was honored to meet Mike De Lucia at the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards Ceremony. Mike’s book, Madness: The Man Who Changed Basketball, won a Bronze Medal. It’s a pleasure to have him here today on Interview an Author on Jemsbooks.blog.

The floor is all yours, Mike.

Please tell us something about yourself.

I am extremely driven and goal oriented individual; I do not watch TV or do much else besides working as a teacher, spending time with family and friends, and writing. I get up every morning at 4:00 am 365 days a year. I work in every spare minute I’m not occupied with people. When I drive, I either listen to a book on tape or think—no radio. I’ve had a live imagination ever since I could remember. Besides stories and problem solving, I envisioned numerous devices or concepts that came out on the market years after I conceived of them: “Silent” alarm watch, visual baby monitors, blind spot elimination camera on cars, around 1978, the Superman roller coaster where the track is above the car and you get the feeling of flying (mine is better than the Great Flags model), mini tortilla chips/Ritz Bits—the whole mini snack market actually. I also have several ideas now that would be huge if they were able to come out, but I need investors like those on Shark Tank. I have a collection of stories that will take me into the next 10-15 years.2. When did you know that you wanted to be an author?

When I was around 23. I began my latest book, Madness: The Man Who Changed Basketball as a screenplay; I intended to use it “Stallone style,” so that I could act in it. I had every intention of being a film actor in those days. I learned about the story’s protagonist through my father, but when I did the research, I realized that this would be a perfect film. I decided to convert it into a historical fiction novel after I published my first book, Boycott The Yankees: A call to Action by a Lifelong Yankees Fan… I love the Yankees, by the way. The book explains why i wanted to boycott them. 

Jjspina: WOW, you really should go on Shark Tank. Maybe one day we will see you in the movies with one of your books.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m not currently writing any new material, but like I said, I have outlines that would carry me over the next 15 years. My next book is another sports genre that has the possibility of being a trilogy. It’s about baseball and has been bouncing around in my head for over twenty five years. This one is fiction.

Jjspina: Sounds like you will have plenty to keep you busy.

Please share your books with us and a synopsis of each.

​Boycott The Yankees: A call to Action by a Lifelong Yankees Fan: There’s no sport more American than baseball, but has the beloved pastime forgotten its fans? I call on my team to pay more attention to its followers than its cash flow in Boycott the Yankees, a biting critique of the team I worship. I advocate that fans boycott the team until it lowers ticket prices and shows us a little more respect. I rally against an obsession with ego and greed. Like many kids in New York, I grew up playing baseball with his friends and pretending to be a Yankee. I collected baseball cards as tributes to my favorite players, savoring rather than trading them. I cherish the history of the game but trace how corporate America came to be the one cashing in on the home runs, charging higher and higher ticket prices to cover the costs of players and their demands. It’s a labor of love as I call on fans to stand together and force baseball to return to its roots: a game dedicated to the people in the stands instead of the cash in their wallets.

​Settling A Score is a short story that invites readers to the Bronx during the 1960s and into the home of the DeFrancos, where two estranged brothers are forced to play on the same little league team. In the process they learn about life, each other, and the enduring challenges of being brothers.

​Madness: The Man Who Changed Basketball: In the days before the NBA, basketball was a filler sport between baseball and football season. Passing and shooting with two hands was at the center of basketball’s stop-set-shoot philosophy, until Hank Luisetti, a forward from Stanford University, defied the establishment by means of a running one-handed shot. With basketball’s integrity on the line, a promoter from New York arranged a grudge match between LIU and Stanford, in a game that would both test Luisetti’s unorthodox style and determine the unofficial national champion. What followed was a revolution that paved the way to the NBA and the NCAA March Madness competition. Madness: The Hank Luisetti Story portrays the challenges of hall of famer Hank Luisetti to bust past the barriers of haughty basketball purists, as well as his own demons, and usher in basketball’s modern era. Based on a true story.

Jjspina: I will be reading this book soon and will add my review at the bottom of this post.

Please share your links and where to purchase your books.

If you go to my website: booksbymikedelucia.com, you can click on the book you want and it will take you directly to Amazon where the book is sold. 

What advice would you give prospective authors?

Write! If you use “busyness” as an excuse not to write, you will never finish your work. Writing takes discipline  and a solid plan. My plan is to take care of my job, and my family and friends. The “me time” is all about writing. People say you should always keep writing, but I haven’t followed that advice. I work my book until I’ve given it the best chance of success, and then I start a new project. Outlines are okay, but give your book the attention it deserves before you go putting your energies into something else. maybe your current book is  the one that will make you go viral. Oh… and you need a good editor. 

Jjspina: Good sound advice, Mike.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

A tour of the far east.

Jjspina: That would be quite a trip.

If you could have one wish, what would it be?

Besides things like health and happiness for family, friends and me, and other things like world peace and prosperity, I would say to be a writer whose books become blockbuster films, and I’d like to act and direct them as well. I would use the money and fame I have for good. 

Jjspina: I hope you do one day realize this dream.

What would you do if you were not a writer?

An actor and director

Jjspina: With your drive and determination, you may one day do it all.

Do you have any unusual talents? What are they?

I can ride a unicycle. 

Jjspina: That is quite a skill. I don’t think many people can do that.

MADNESS SHORT LINK: https://getbook.at/madnessebook 

SAS SHORT LINK: https://getbook.at/settlingascore

BOYCOTT THE YANKEES: https://www.amazon.com/Boycott-Yankees-Call-Action-Lifelong/dp/0997174102/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=MIKE+DELUCIA&qid=1575317557&sr=8-3

AUTHOR SHORT LINK: amazon.com/author/mikedelucia
Twitter @mdeluciabooks

Facebook: Books by Mike DeLucia

Instagram: mikedeluciabooks

Website: booksbymikedelucia.com

Thank you, Mike, for coming today and sharing your books and a little about yourself with my readers. It was a pleasure to meet you. I wish you much success with your books and all future endeavors.

Thank you, readers, for stopping over to read about this award-winning author. I hope you will check out his books on his links above. Please be kind and leave a review wherever you purchase a book. We authors will love you for your efforts.

REMEMBER: READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY! SOAR WITH JEMSBOOKS.COM ALL YEAR THROUGH! HAPPY READING AND SHOPPING! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Blessings and Hugs!

Janice