I'm a first-time writer and a long-time storyteller. My story is called Tales from the Patch.

The story centers around an unconventional young girl growing up in the shadow of the Chicago Outfit and her life during the seventies and beyond. It's many tales of lovers, liars, and clowns come alive in my pages.

By the way, what do Joe Lombardo, Frank Cullotta, Dennis Farina, and Bozo have in common? ME!

Joe Lombardo was my teacher (a.k.a. Jedi master), and I was his girl Friday.

Frank Cullotta taught me how to live and steal.

Dennis and Bozo--well, I guess you'll have to read the book to find out!

Though the decade of the seventies was fun, the eighties start out with me being an unwed mother. This is when I go in search of my ideal man.

They tell me that all the good men are taken, which leads me to believe I might have to steal a married man. My preference is a Russian Jewish New Yorker with a sense of humor. What are my chances of ever finding this guy? Being a bookie's daughter, I peg it at one in a million.

Needless to say, my life will be changed and unhinged when my only child is murdered in Chicago in 2004. I had to withdraw from society to deal with this tragedy until I surfaced to start to write this book in 2020.

Some things may be hard to believe, but it all happened!