Book Giveaway & Author Interview: A Spy At Home by Joseph Rinaldo

Welceme to Author Joseph Rinaldo

Bio:

Born in Illinois, I nevertheless spent most of my formative years in Kentucky. I attended The Ohio State University and am an avid Buckeyes fan. I currently work in finance, am married, and am the father of a wonderful young woman with Down syndrome.

Blog: http://wwwjosephmrinaldocom.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.josephmrinaldo.com/ 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jmrinaldo
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joseph.rinaldo



Interview:
If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?
Definitely into the future. Who would go back to a past where things you do and the way you live are harder?

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?
My Kindle, a cache of batteries, and chocolate donuts.

What is one book everyone should read?
Sharp Objects

If you were a superhero, what would your name be?
The Bicep

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?
The ability to make villains disappear.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
I thought chocolate was the only flavor!

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Chocolate donuts and milk

Night owl, or early bird?
Early bird.

One food you would never eat?
Asparagus

Pet Peeves?
When TV documentaries use subtitles even though the people in them are speaking English; slow drivers; inefficiency.

Skittles or M&Ms?
M & Ms

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.
Readers should buy and read my book so I can make lots of money and have it made into a hit movie so I can make lots more money!

Any other books in the works?
My new ebook, Hazardous Choices, will be released before the end of 2011.

Goals for future projects?
I hope to release at least one ebook each year.

What inspired you to want to become a writer?
Money. I know it sounds mercenary, but it’s true. When I read Nicholas Sparks’ Three Weeks With My Brother, and I found out about his million-dollar advance, I said, “Wow! He’s good, but I can write that well.”

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
I guess that would have to be a draw between my first sale and my first positive review.

What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
I have learned that you have to spend a great deal of time marketing your own book. It’s very time-consuming, but when the sales come in, it’s all worth it.

If you could be one of the Greek Gods, which would it be and why?
Zeus, of course, because he was the man in charge!

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
On my own private island with my family, a full staff to take care of our needs, a yacht, and a plane.

How did you know you should become an author?
I don’t guess I did know until I started writing; I realized that I have all kinds of stories and characters in my head waiting to be written – most of the time I feel as though the stories are being dictated to me, and I’m just writing them down.

Who are your favorite authors of all time?
Harper Lee, Gillian Flynn, Alexandre Dumas

Hidden talent?
I’m a Sudoku fanatic.

Favorite Food?
Chocolate, in its many and varied forms.

Favorite Candy?
Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups

What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year?
Are they releasing any more Star Wars movies?

How do you react to a bad review?
If the reviewer is professional enough to offer suggestions about how to make the book better, I learn from that for the next book. If they are just saying something negative without being specific, I ignore it.

If you were a bird, which one would you be?
A hummingbird – they’re fast, and nothing can catch them.

You have won one million dollars what is the first thing that you would buy?
A Corvette for my wife – no, really, she made me say that. I’d probably buy a big houseboat, and we would move onto it to live.

What do you do in your free time?
In warm weather, we go boating every weekend it doesn’t rain. The rest of the time, I read, watch college football, spend time with my family, jog.

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?
One Day I Wrote A Book

Give us a glimpse into a typical day in your day starting when you wake up till you lie down again.
Depends on the day. Weekday: get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner with my family, then either jog, mow the grass, work on a book, read, or watch television. Weekend: in warm weather, get up, eat breakfast, go boating, come home, collapse.

What's your favorite season/weather?
Summer – see remarks about boating above.

Who or what inspired you to become an author?
Money – see remarks about Sparks’ book above.

How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
Cautiously.

What is your guilty pleasure?
MMA fighting on television

What TV show/movie/book do you watch/read that you'd be embarrassed to admit?
If I was embarrassed to admit it, I don’t think I’d list it here, but the one most people who know me would be surprised about would be “Sister Wives”. I find it riveting.

Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is....
Sharp Objects. It’s just the perfect book.

Favorite places to travel?
Anywhere there is a beach.

Favorite music?
My tastes are eclectic and range from AC/DC to Barry Manilow.

In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with?
My wife, but I don’t think she’d go for it. Though she is also a writer, our styles are VERY different.

A Spy At Home

When Dad becomes the lone caregiver for a dependent adult son, Dad has to answer the terrifying question: What happens if I die first?

A retired CIA operative comes to believe he wasted his professional life not only promoting questionable American policies, but missing life with his family. After his wife dies in a tragic accident, he must learn all that she knew about caring for their mentally retarded son. After a life of planning for contingencies, the former spy must deal with the possibility that he may die before his son. Who will care for the son when the dad spent a life out of the country and now has no one to lean on?

Giveaway Details:
3 Ebook copies of A Spy At Home
Open Internationally
Ends 10/19/11

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