[dcs_p]Mob Blog:  Writing Mob Fiction, June 13, 2013[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

I never thought of myself as a mob fiction writer. In fact, when I was younger, I aspired to be a great romance novelist. Mightily influenced by Gone With The Wind, I longed to be a belle of the old south. But, alas, I was an Italian-American girl growing up in the suburbs of Detroit.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

To be honest, I didn’t really want to be Italian. Almost everyone I knew was Italian, or half-Italian, and I wanted to be different. I wanted to be southern, like Scarlett O’Hara. I wasn’t too keen on being Catholic either. But I was Catholic and half-Sicilian and hot-headed and impulsive and way too emotional.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

Fast forward a few decades and guess what? I’m still Catholic and hot-headed and impulsive and way too emotional. But I’ve long since resigned myself to the fact that I never was southern belle material. I’m too independent and opinionated and too much of a Yankee girl. Then again, I’m Italian.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

So why am I writing mob fiction? I certainly didn’t intend to. When I first met my husband in the mid-nineties, I was writing or attempting to write romantic suspense. I was working on my eighth or ninth novel, having written ten books before publishing Stella di Mare in 2010. In these earlier works Louie Morelli was a shadowy side character. Not at all the main player.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

How did Louie become the ultimate bad-boy, the dark hero my female readers love and my male readers admire? I’m fairly sure Louie’s promotion had something to do with my growing up Italian in a very Italian neighborhood. I mean, I’ve known a lot of Louie Morelli’s and wannabe Louie Morelli’s. Because they were so familiar and so much a part of my local scene, I never realized what great characters they were.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

My husband—who is second generation American—and one-hundred percent Sicilian, might even qualify. He’s a good deal older than me, and he certainly is a character. When we were dating, he took me on trips to Fort Lauderdale and Vegas. Sometimes his buddies went along on these holidays. “Boys” trips: Girlfriends only, no wives. When my husband and I were married, I was told—only half-jokingly—that I couldn’t go on the Florida trips anymore. It was girlfriends only. But then somebody must have decided I was grandfathered in because it was never mentioned again.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

For a couple of years I continued to go on trips with the group—which were a blast. And, oh, do I miss them! But one year, when we were down in the Keys, the Feds showed up. Eventually, some of our friends went away and those who didn’t went broke, and now the trips are officially over.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

Life’s a little boring now. I’m writing mob fiction—and make no mistake, it is fiction—and that’s exciting. But I’ve had moments of great inspiration. Therein lies the difference.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

Patricia Bellomo is the author of the crime and mob fiction novels, Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. Patricia lives in the Detroit area with her husband, Vince, travelling frequently to South Florida and less infrequently to New Orleans, the settings for her novels.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]

Books available on Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble. Also in digital format for all e-readers.