Gary Ponzo
Gary Ponzo began his career as a short story writer, acquiring two nominations for the very prestigious Pushcart Prize for best short story of the year. In 2001, Gary decided to work on a novel. The story was born out of personal experiences he had as a teenager working in his father’s candy store. The mafia were part of the patronage and since the Ponzo’s were Sicilian, a bond was formed. Gary felt a sense of protection no other storekeeper could feel. The result of this experience was the 2009 thriller, A Touch of Deceit. The story of a Sicilian FBI agent, Nick Bracco, who used his mafia-connected cousin to help track down terrorists.
A Touch of Deceit went on to win the 2009 Southwest Writer’s Award and garner acclaim from several notable authors, including Stephen Carpenter and Creighton Rothenberger, who wrote the screenplay for Olympus has Fallen and The Expendables 3. There was even some discussion about turning the Nick Bracco series into a USA Network show.
Since then, Gary has turned the Bracco family into a blockbuster series of thrillers, selling over 100,000 copies worldwide, including A Touch of Revenge, A Touch of Greed, A Touch of Malice, A Touch of Defiance, A Touch of Terror, A Touch of Torment, and his latest, A Touch of Regret. Gary enjoys running, golfing and spending time with his family: His wife Jennifer and children Jessica and Kyle. Gary always makes time for his readers and corresponds personally to all his emails.