Richard Cucarese

I was born in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, and I moved from there at the age of ten. I have been a resident in various locations of Bucks County, Pennsylvania for forty-three years.

First, and foremost (and it remains that way now) I enjoyed reading murder mysteries, the classics, honestly, any kind of fiction, biographies, sports, music, foreign lit; you name it, I have probably read it. I also enjoyed model building, a multitude of athletic endeavors from skateboarding to baseball, sketching everything from album covers to people going about their day, drawing the covers of fanzines, cartooning, spray painting band logos on leather jackets for friends and many other art forms. Listening and enjoying almost every genre of music has been a hobby of mine and remains that way to the present time. I also enjoyed dabbling into writing lyrics for bands that I was in, wrote poetry, short stories and dabbled in novel writing, but initially found myself too impatient for its length.

As I matured, some of my hobbies had disappeared, and some, like photography were added, but when I became an activist for different causes, it eventually led me into the arena of writing political, social and economic related pieces for groups like the Steelworkers Union, even winning their USPA Award for Best News Story a few years ago, and in my early thirties found the resilience and patience required to venture into the world of fiction writing.

As funny as it sounds, I think reading so many different genres of novel writing, immersing myself into the opinion pieces and investigative reporting of the best newspapermen and women from years gone by helped to inspire me, and writers (truthfully, too many to mention), such as Upton Sinclair, George Orwell, Boris Pasternak, John Steinbeck, Eldridge Cleaver and Jack Kerouac fueled my desire and inspiration to become a writer.

I think since I penned my first cartoon at the age of nine, I have wanted to pursue writing in some type of capacity, but if you'd ever told me when I was younger that it would culminate in penning lyrics, social or political essays, or especially a fiction novel, let alone a series, I probably would have died laughing.

For me, it's remaining on topic, and building up strong, central characters around a riveting story line and plot. Although this can be become a more arduous task by 'PUNKS' being a trilogy, I've enjoyed putting my feet to the fire, keeping the readers interest in part one of 'PUNKS' and look forward to staying on point with parts two and three of the story.

I began writing 'PUNKS' in early 2017, with the idea of creating a fictional look at the punk scene in Philadelphia, through the eyes of a young couple with a lot of baggage (some of it very dark), from opposite sides of the tracks, and their rag-tag tribe of loyal friends. I had been dabbling with writing the story since the mid-90's, but felt that at this time in my life (even with juggling a family life consisting of a very supportive wife, five gregarious, busy children, an industrial job with typical 12-16 hour workdays and swing shifts, and my responsibilities as an officer of my local union) it was the right time to sit down and give this first novel the time and care that it needed to grow into a three part series that I hope to have completed over the next few years.

Actually, not very many, considering that I was a punk rock kid who frequented the South Street, Philadelphia area, which was a major hub of the musical, fashion, and even political activity that was taking place in the city at that time for its younger population. There were other pockets of great venues and not very legal, underground events taking place around the city in basements, squats, abandoned factories and the like, and being a singer/songwriter in a band at that time, plus also having acquaintances friends in other bands made it easy to obtain a more authentic feel for what was going on at that time.

The hardest part was trying to nail down musical and other historical events that took place in the city, country and the world to give 'PUNKS' an even more authentic feel for people who were alive during the 80's, and especially for those generations that weren't around yet or too young to remember.

Gemma's complex character is actually a composite of a few young women that I knew at the time in the punk scene, including some who were actually considered street punks; young, teenage girls who were basically runaways escaping some extremely dark and dangerous home lives, and eked out their existence on the streets, doing various jobs, legal and illegal, and living the homeless life in alleys, dangerous shelters, or rat infested squats. Some of these same, young females also had dreams of becoming stars through their various, musical talents.

More than a number of them were into the edginess of punk rock because the lyrical stories and thundering, anarchistic sounds of punk befit their hardscrabble existences, and it showed during their street or club performances around town. I also wanted to have a strong female character as the focal point of 'PUNKS' because in my personal opinion, there are not nearly enough stories that do justice to what adversity young females in punk rock bands faced on the musical scene, and most people do not even know that performers such as Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Siouxsie Sioux, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and so many more females not as well known, cut their teeth in the world of punk rock.

I felt that the fictional character of Gemma 'Swan' Stinson would be a strong tribute and a nod to the hard lives of the street kids and the adversity faced by these stalwart, female performers who paved the way for so many young female rock performers of the present time.

Even years ago, when I devised the initial story line for 'PUNKS' I had Rob Cavelli as a college student who didn't know where he fit into the grand scheme of things. Brought up in a religiously conservative, somewhat racist and homophobic suburban lifestyle, Rob is undergoing a metamorphosis of his own.

The sounds of punk rocks anarchy have caught his ear and even though he's conflicted about if his future will be as a college graduate, or becoming a member of the union, blue collar workforce at a local steel plant, everyone who has seen Rob's lyrical and writing ability has told him that he must continue his talents in some fashion as he grows up, so it felt that having him as the narrative presence in this coming of age look at these two punk rock kids lives and their adventures was the perfect fit for the story.

My ideal book hero, or in the case of 'PUNKS' Gemma Stinson, heroine, is someone who is both book and street smart, and has a strong will to survive when faced with the most adversarial conditions. They are not afraid to have flaws or doubts, and do their best to work through them. The ideal hero/heroine has a heart of gold, will fight continually for what's right and just, and will always protect the frailest of society, even if the cost of doing so might be with their own life.

My writing kryptonite, whether it has to do with poetry, lyrics, political meanderings for a publication, or sitting down to write a novel, is whether my final product is pure perfection for the consumption of the general public, or my peers. My triumph over this has been to realize, especially through maturation, that my writing does not have to be 'the next big thing', but instead should be something that takes the reader on an emotional journey that they do not necessarily want to have end.

The resilience of the human spirit never fails to inspire me, whether it is in the world of sports, academia, science, social justice or advocacy for the less fortunate, observing what people are willing to do on a daily basis to conquer fear, injustice, self doubt, or solve the worlds problems in general, lifts my spirits and returns me to the tasks at hand with even more vigor to complete them.

Even though I'd expected writing to be a fulfilling experience, I never imagined what a journey your creativity could truly take you on. The boundless energy that writing can consume you with is a fantastic, natural high.

My main goal is to have people as excited by my writing as I am to produce it for them. I enjoy the fact that they have become engrossed in the main characters of 'PUNKS', which makes me hopeful that they'll return for the journey that finishes off the trilogy. Knowing that readers can become emotionally attached to both the characters and they story that I'm trying to convey is such a fulfilling experience, and I have no intentions of slowing down.

The only time that writing has become tough is due to the fact that I have to try and squeeze in creating purposeful narrative while being a steelworker in a mill environment, anywhere from 8 to 16 hours a day, sometimes six days a week on rotating, swing shifts. I am also very active in the Steelworkers union in Philadelphia and try to spend as much down time as I have with my wife and five children.

As long as I manage for even a few minutes in my day to write something down, even if its only a few sentences, and allow myself some good, motivational background music (which can consist of punk, metal, classic rock, blues, jazz, classical and even opera) to absorb into my senses, I usually accomplish what I've set out to do.

Well, besides promoting my first published novel, 'PUNKS' from Wordsmiths, Ink, LLC, I am reworking a previously self-published murder mystery titled, 'Black River', which Wordsmiths plan to publish either at the end of this year, or the beginning of 2021.

I am also in the process of finishing and then editing the second novel in the 'PUNKS' trilogy, which will be titled, 'PUNKS' - The Chance. I am hoping to have The Chance ready for the spring of 2021, and then I am planning to begin writing the final book of the 'PUNKS' saga shortly afterwards. I already have a working title, but I have plans to divulge it at the present time.

And when the 'PUNKS' trilogy is completed, who knows, maybe more fiction, or maybe I will delve more into the political and historical realm, possibly a biographical work of a person doing good works? I'm not sure, but the plan is to keep on writing.

It was actually another writer and friend, Shelby Kent-Stewart who introduced me to AllAuthor in 2020, and I have been very pleased with their product. I especially like the Review GIF Maker, which has definitely helped my book receive some more attention than usual in the early stages since its release date. I would certainly recommend AllAuthor to a newwriter such as myself.