Richard Vetere – författare

The Writers Afterlife is the story of Tom Chillo, a 44-year-old writer on the verge of fame, who suddenly dies of a stroke and finds himself transported to a place where all writers are sent after they die. After mingling with “The Eternals” — including Shakespeare, Wilde, Keats, and Tolstoy — he discovers that his true peers in this new world are all haunted by the same regret: they never achieved the fame they felt they deserved during their lifetime. There’s still a chance, though. Every writer has the opportunity to return to earth for exactly one week and convince someone to set the wheels in motion to give their life’s work widespread notoriety. The trick is to come up with the perfect plan the first time. Failure is not an option. The Writers Afterlife is brimming with warm humor, New York street sensibility, and an underlying commentary about the drive for fame in contemporary culture. With a deft hand, Vetere explores the deceptions that people employ to achieve at all costs. A string of eccentric New York characters fly off the page and make for a striking, memorable book that is a delight to read.

New York. Winter. 1980. Behind the glitter of the disco era, the city streets run wild. In countless secret spaces, high stakes poker games fuel an underground economy flush with cocaine, champagne, and call girls. Winners are on top of the world. But no one wins forever, and when aspiring novelist and inveterate card player Danny Ferraro goes "all in"—and then some—he winds up owing the mob big money. And when you owe the mob, you pay—or else. With nowhere to run, Danny is forced to commit unspeakable acts just to stay even. Richard Vetere''s gritty novel strips the gloss of the "Godfather" era and lays bare the gritty reality of the subversive blackmarket as Ferraro struggles to free himself of its grip. Vetere (The Third Miracle, The Writers Afterlife) delivers his most riveting work to date, with page-turning action and an insider''s view of a hidden culture.