Ask the Author: Frank Racioppi
Answered Questions (10)
Frank Racioppi
As a teen, I was lucky enough to spend summers at the Jersey shore with my two siblings and three cousins. My youngest cousin, Mary, had fallen in love with an inflatable elephant her dad, my uncle, had won for her on the boardwalk. Mary named the elephant Bobo. Mary carried that inflatable elephant everywhere she went for weeks. Then one day, we all woke up to discover that Bobo had deflated due to a large slash on his side. In effect, Bobo was dead. We never did find out what happened? It’s a family mystery.
Frank Racioppi
Useful Delusions by Shankar Vedantam
A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door by Jennifer Berkshire
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
The Midnight library by Matt Haig
Think Again by Adam Grant
The Data Detective by Tim Harford
Win At All Costs by Matt Hart
A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door by Jennifer Berkshire
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
The Midnight library by Matt Haig
Think Again by Adam Grant
The Data Detective by Tim Harford
Win At All Costs by Matt Hart
Frank Racioppi
For me, I'm inspired every morning after I wake up. There's something about spending a night immersed in dreams that enables me -- and I believe many others -- to make associations and have insights that evade us during a normal day. In our daily routine, the logical, rules-driven world takes over. During sleep, the pre-frontal cortex is off. All perceptions are possible. That's writing.
Frank Racioppi
In nonfiction, to explain the world in a very specific way. In fiction, to devise a world where you finally get to make the rules about life and your personal universe.
Frank Racioppi
This is not as specific as others, but I'd travel to any fictional world that had time travel. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and the thousands of other books that followed. The ability to relive the past and then see our future is mind-blowing.
Will cars ever truly be driverless? Will we solve climate change?
What was da Vinci like? How did Einstein develop those thought experiments about relativity?
Will cars ever truly be driverless? Will we solve climate change?
What was da Vinci like? How did Einstein develop those thought experiments about relativity?
Frank Racioppi
What works for me is to work on several writing projects at a time. Right now, I'm working on two novels and a history of the suburbs. For me, if I get temporarily stuck on one project, I just slide over to another where the creative juices flow more freely.
Frank Racioppi
I am working on a book about podcasts. It's not a how-to but an analysis of podcasting trends today, forecasts about the future of podcasts, as well as interviews with prominent podcasters and a healthy dose of reviews of the best podcasts out on feeds right now.
It's called Ear Worthy.
It's called Ear Worthy.
Frank Racioppi
A man who has been poisoned goes into a pharmacy for help. He doesn't have prescription drug coverage.
Frank Racioppi
I worked at a newspaper when I was in my 20s. There, writing needed to be fast and good. There was no time for leisurely rewrites and endless staring at the screen.
So I always advise younger writers and just get words on the screen. A first draft is simply what I call "your throw-up draft." Just let a stream of consciousness flow as you write. Don't worry about punctuation, synonyms, or sentence structure. That comes next when you sit down days later to edit. Then you put on your analytical hat.
So I always advise younger writers and just get words on the screen. A first draft is simply what I call "your throw-up draft." Just let a stream of consciousness flow as you write. Don't worry about punctuation, synonyms, or sentence structure. That comes next when you sit down days later to edit. Then you put on your analytical hat.
Frank Racioppi
In October 2017 a series of 250 wildfires spread across the state of California, throughout Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Mendocino, Butte, and Solano Counties. They were known as the Northern California Wildfires/Firestorm, North Bay Fires and the Wine Country Fires.
They were the most destructive and costliest fires of the 2017 season, totaling $14.5 billion in damages, including $11 billion in insured losses and $1.5 billion in fire suppression costs. The cost to the US economy as a whole was estimated to be at least $85 billion.
Sadly, the human toll was also high. The fires killed 44 people and hospitalized at least 192 others, making this one of the deadliest wildfire events in the United States during the past century.
Towns and communities were destroyed. Families lost their homes and all their belongings. Many family pets and animals were never recovered.
My book recounts the personal stories of six, of the more than 37,000 animals, who were displaced by the fires.
Four cats: Jellybean, Coco, Khan, and Alana; a golden retriever named Rusty, and a parakeet named Skittles. The novel details their journey…away from home.
They were the most destructive and costliest fires of the 2017 season, totaling $14.5 billion in damages, including $11 billion in insured losses and $1.5 billion in fire suppression costs. The cost to the US economy as a whole was estimated to be at least $85 billion.
Sadly, the human toll was also high. The fires killed 44 people and hospitalized at least 192 others, making this one of the deadliest wildfire events in the United States during the past century.
Towns and communities were destroyed. Families lost their homes and all their belongings. Many family pets and animals were never recovered.
My book recounts the personal stories of six, of the more than 37,000 animals, who were displaced by the fires.
Four cats: Jellybean, Coco, Khan, and Alana; a golden retriever named Rusty, and a parakeet named Skittles. The novel details their journey…away from home.
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