Call Me Piccolo...

So begins the tale of an Italian greyhound whose picaresque adventures were first published by Trevor Lockwood, an equally picaresque publisher of Felixstowe England. Both kind and encouraging, he published three of my YA novels before retiring, including Piccolo an Artist’s Tale (2014)  which recounts the story of  a young Italian greyhound who leaves his native Venice to find his father who has disappeared in the City of York they call New. Eager to make art, he is soon thrown off the scent of his father's trail when he meets a great American artist who offers him space in his Brooklyn-based studio. There, duped by his own desire, Piccolo must labor as an intern for neither fame nor fortune--until his baptism by a hot chili pepper ignites his career.

In Tiepolo's Greyhound (2021) Piccolo returns to his native city where he will encounter the spirits that haunt the Grand Canal to make the greatest discovery in art of all time. Illustrator Veronica Arrigoni, like Piccolo an artist of Italy, pays tribute to the paintings of the Venetian masters in her own simple, evocative style.

"The writing is smart, sly and very effective, and I found myself laughing out loud at the sheer verve and nerve of the narrative and the voice. In a sea of standard mysteries and genre books, this one clearly stands out."  Writer's Digest Review 

"Apart from creating a touching and tender story, the author deserves compliments for the capacity to give us vivid impressions of works of art as seen through the eyes of Piccolo, as well beautiful Venice." E. Bertolotti/Turin, Italy