Literacy and Lunch Are on the Menu at Casa Mia Restaurant

Published author and playwright Donna Carbone will once again host A Novel Approach to Literacy, a talkback with local authors. She will introduce four additional writers living in our community who believe in the importance of education and, in particular, literacy. The date is Wednesday, November 8, beginning at noon. The event will be held at Casa Mia Trattoria and Pizzeria, located at 337 East Indiantown Road, Jupiter. Joining Carbone will be authors David Mallegol, Dr. James Casale, Patty Perrin, and Rick Bennette.

This meet and greet is free to the public. Casa Mia owner Stefano Paggetti will be offering samples from his new lunch menu. However, anyone wishing to order a full lunch is welcomed to do so. Reservations are not required.

Carbone is an established writer and serves as The Managing Director of the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre where she teaches screen, stage and novel writing. In January 2016, she published her first book in the Cat Leigh and Marci Welles crime novel series set inside the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Through Thick and Thin introduces some very devious criminals including the Kalendar Killer, the Ribbon Rapist and a lifeguard who used his breaststroke more often out of the water than in the water.

In January of this year, she published the second in the series. Silk Suit/Stone Heart takes readers deeper into the lives of her brave and determined lady detectives and introduces a New Group of clever criminals including a nerdy poet intent on killing politicians and a tall, handsome, imposing organized crime boss whose confident air and casual attitude toward life and death intimidated everyone. Many of her characters and scenarios are based on real people and real events.

In 2016, Donna also published Private Hell, a separate crime novel which uses her own experience with domestic abuse as a focal point. As with all of her writing, keeping women safe in an ever increasingly dangerous world is her goal. In a recent interview, Carbone explained that she writes crime novels because she knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of violence. She knows what it's like to have someone you love survive a violent crime. She wants to spare as many women as possible the trauma of assault. Her goal is to educate through entertainment.

Asked to give a synopsis of her stories, Carbone said, "The stories are dramadies. Yes... people die. But people also live, laugh and love. While the books are categorized as crime novels, they are also about friendship, loyalty, dedication, and values. The stories feature real people... people who are humanized by their strengths and weaknesses."

A prolific writer, just two months ago, Carbone published her first children's book. Lambie and Me is based on conversations she has had with her grandson. She claims that this precocious child has convinced her that reincarnation is real and swears that there is a 40-year-old man living inside that 4-year-old body.

"Lambie and Me is so much more than a trip down memory lane," Carbone said. "This book is a morality tale... one that weaves the importance of good character into the narrative and speaks to adults and children alike about the importance of loyalty, kindness, empathy, and friendship."

Although retired, state and national award-winning educator and principal James L. Casale, Ph.D., has maintained his passion for helping parents succeed in becoming their child's first teacher. His years in both the classroom and on the administrative side of the profession he deeply loves have provided him with valuable insights which he shares in his jargon-free book, Wise Up and be the Solution, a parent-friendly guide to creating a learning culture in the home and helping children succeed in school. Casale will also be discussing his newest book, Family Pledge.

In 1974, Casale was named the first male Florida Teacher of the Year. He followed that success in 1988 by receiving the National School of Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Education. At the time, he was principal of Purchase Elementary School in Harrison, New York. Casale credits the many dedicated teachers and administrators he has worked with over the years for sharing their wisdom, work ethic and dedication with him -- learning opportunities which, he says, can never be acquired in a college classroom.

Casale firmly believes that success in school requires a loving, supportive environment at home. In Wise Up and Be the Solution and in his soon-to-be-released second book Parenting Is Where School Reform Begins, he encourages parents to become more knowledgeable about key school issues and more proactive in their children's education. "A parent affects eternity," Casale said. "No one can tell where his or her influence stops." Casale's goal is to encourage, inspire, inform, and motivate parents to accept their solemn responsibility to educate their children.

David Mallegol, originally from New Jersey, got his start producing Rider College basketball programs. He joinEd Johnson and Johnson in 1965 and spent the next 38 years in marketing. He laughingly states that his achievements include bringing Imodium to the world market. While at J&J, Mallegol also taught a course on marketing to the federal government without defrauding your company for Dartmouth University's Amos Tuck Business School and co-authored the book which became the standard for behaviors for the entire pharmaceutical industry.

In 2005 he retired and moved to South Florida. After five years of volunteer work at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Mallegol returned to his love of writing and published his first novel. The Bronze Horsemen is a trilogy which vividly describes the Bronze Age people known as the Botai. The Botai dominated the steppes of the Ural Mountains in what today is Russia. They are the first race known to have tamed and ridden horses.

Bronze Horsemen, Adventures of the Bronze Horsemen and Hunt for the Wolf Clan are compelling works of historical fiction. three novels portray a gritty, difficult way of life for a prehistoric people who were unknown until recent excavations revealed their life circumstances. In a recent interview, Mallegol said, " Imagine living back then... you were married at 13 or 14 years of age.. you worked from dawn to dusk to survive and died at an average age of just 35 years." He recently published his newest book, Outta Newark, which he will also discuss.

Patty Perrin, who writes under the pen name P.T.L. Perrin, grew up in Europe as a military brat. While she did not have access to television, she did have a vivid imagination. Books were her main source of entertainment. She speaks several languages and enjoys the diversity of people and cultures.

Perrin's first book, Reflections of a Misfit, offers snippets of her life as influenced by the scriptures she reads daily. Her family is a rich source of entertainment and bits of wisdom. Anyone who has ever felt like a misfit will relate to her musings.

Currently, Perrin is writing the young adult SciFi series, Tetrasphere. Terra's Call and Triton's Call are the first two books in the series. The third book in the series will be published shortly.

Perrin has a dual purpose for writing: one is to offer pure entertainment and the other is to answer some of the unanswerable questions about our amazing universe. She has always been interested in the belief systems of other cultures and has often wondered why the creator of this vast universe would limit intelligent life to one tiny speck of a planet. The question then arose, "What if other inhabited planets are interacting with Earth?"

Of course, one question led to another and another and another. When asked in a recent interview to summarize her books, Perrin said, "Consider what would happen if the fate of our planet was in the hands of four young people, each with special abilities, and each with his or her own struggles?"

Rick Bennette is a native New Englander. Prior to moving to South Florida in 2003, he called the Constitution State - Connecticut - home. Before putting pen to paper and becoming a published author, Rick had careers in the fields of electrical engineering and video and film production - a passion he still feeds whenever an opportunity arises. He is also a licensed pilot and an avid boater.

To hear Rick tell it, his interest in writing was born of a seventh-grade short story assignment. An A+ grade and his teacher's enjoyment of his fictional tale lit a fire that has never been extinguished. He finds the world around him fertile ground for the stories he creates.

Rick is partial to writing romantic stories, most of which are inspired by his own life. He met his soul mate while cruising on the TV series Love Boat. Sadly, they lost touch, and it took 30 years before they were reunited in New York's Grand Central Station with hired violins playing their love song. They have been married for seven years.

So far, Rick has published books in a variety of genres including romance, science fiction, and the ever-popular How-to guides. He is the proud author of Take My Heart, My Little Angel and Last Chance just to name a few.

Casa Mia Trattoria and Pizzeria is one of Jupiter's most popular dining establishments. With roots in Florence and a rich heritage in the British Italian restaurant scene, owner Stefano Paggetti learned his trade working in his father Mario's restaurants in the fashionable Chelsea area of London. Mario Paggetti was at the forefront of the Italian restaurant renaissance and taught his son the skills he would need to bring that same level of authenticity and passion to South Florida. Casa Mia redefines Italian cuisine.

Photo: Donna Carbone by RoBert Emmett Fitzsimmons

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