Everytime I check Amazon to see if I have any new reviewsfor my thriller, The Ninth District, the first two books I see staring out atme from under Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought are, "A Touch ofRevenge" and "A Touch of Deceit", both by Gary Ponzo.
I see Gary once in a while in my Twitter stream and decidedit was time to learn a little more about the author I continually see on myAmazon page. Today, Gary is answering some questions for Thrillers R Us.

Doug: Gary, can you share a little about your journey topublishing the thrillers in the Nick Bracco series?
Gary: When I decided to become serious about my writingcareer I began with short stories.  Ifigured I could make mistakes with the short form and accelerate the learningprocess.  It worked.  I made loads of mistakes that first year, butreally learned my craft.  Somewherearound the end of that first year the acceptance letters began to roll in andit was a thrill.  Three or four yearslater I'd published seven or eight stories and two of them were nominated forthe very prestigious Pushcart Prize. That's when I gained the confidence to write a novel.
My first thought was to write a thriller, since that's oneof my favorite genres to read.  Then Idecided to write about something I knew about. The mafia.  My father owned acandy store in Brooklyn when I was a teenager and the Sicilians used to hangout there.  We're Sicilian, so we weretreated like royalty. That's where the idea of a Sicilian FBI agent who useshis mafia cousin to track terrorists was born.
Doug: What advice do you have for writers who decide topursue publishing? Traditional or Indie?
Gary: I truly believe the most important aspect todeveloping a writing career is to write interesting stories and writewell.  I can't stress that enough.  All the promotion in the world won't help amediocre novel.  I'd also considersubmitting your work to novel contests. "A Touch of Deceit," won the Southwest Writers Contest in 2009and that's where I found my literary agent, who encouraged me to pursue thisIndie path I've been on.  That one eventreally turned my career in the right direction. 
Doug: Are you a plotter or seat of the pants writer?
Gary: I start with a premise, then move on to characterdevelopment within the confines of that premise.  However, somewhere around the first half ofthe novel I need to know the ending.  It'ssort of like being buried in a cave and needing a pinprick of light to peekthrough.  I can maneuver many ways to getto that light, but I need to know it's there. This way I can lay land mines and give the reader misdirection along theway.  If you're reading my novel andyou've figured out the ending before the last chapter, then I haven't done myjob.  Of course this is within the genreof thrillers.  There are many othergenres which probably wouldn't need such rigorous plotting.   
Doug: Where do you do your best writing?
Gary: I could write anywhere, but I do my best work sittingat my desk with a cup of coffee and a quiet house.  I usually wait until the family is asleep,around 9PM, then I crank up the laptop and get going. 
Doug: Have you made any discoveries in marketing yourwriting to readers?
Gary: No.  I reallydon't have any revelations.  Amazon isthe main reason for my success.  Theirinternal book promotion machine is unreal. I think Twitter and Facebook are great for getting your name out there,but I doubt I've sold many books as a consequence of being online.  However, I have met many great people,writers and readers alike, including you, Doug. That's probably the best aspect to social media.  Writing can be a lonely profession, butmeeting peers like yourself and others have made the experience a real joy.
Doug: What's next? Another in the series? Anything else?
Gary: I have the third installment of the Nick Bracco seriesdue out in December.  The title will be,"A Touch of Greed."  I'm alsoreleasing a short story collection in a couple of days titled, "The LastMountain Gorilla."  It will be threeshort stories, two of which have been published in literary magazines and thetitle story which is new.   
Additional Information:
You can find Gary and his books at some of the links below.
A Touch of Deceit
Facebook > AuthorPonzo
www.GaryPonzo.com
@authorponzo - Twitter
Thanks Gary!