New Jersey stories

My story of a grandmother's special gift to her beloved grandson, Diary Secrets, will be coming out in paperback this winter. It will be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and will cost approximately $11.50. This is my Civil War story although most of my writings touch upon the Civil War or World War II. The story line goes this way. Young Charlotte Frazier escapes Civil War era Virginia with her special needs brother lest their crazy father murder them. They are taken in by a kind but elderly Quaker abolitionist, and from this safe haven, Charlotte eventually goes on to find love and happiness. She wills her old Virginia homestead to her grandson Ken, hoping that he can restore it and find his own happy life.

Coming out in kindle format in the next few weeks is my other story,The Folksinger, which tells of two childhood friends, Jim McFarland and Ted Peterson, who rise to musical fame in the 1960's . Jim remains beside Ted's side through very dark times, and after Ted's tragic death. Jim drops out of the world of music and devotes himself to saving high-risk teenagers. The Folksinger is definitely not light-hearted comedy, but it is also not dismal and depressing. This is my story of the longlasting effects of childhood sexual abuse and it has an underlying theme of the need to carry on no matter what life brings.

My Website!!!

Okay, it won't get awards for greatness, but I worked on it and now I have a website. It is

http://www.jbdinizo.com. Mostly, it tells about books that I will be publishing in the near future. Remember, you can always reach me at adinizo@hotmail.com.

Living beyond Childhood Abuse

I am a survivor. Many of us are, whether of physical, verbal or sexual abuse as children. Sadly, we came from all backgrounds, rich, poor, urban, suburban. Some of us make it and go on to lead productive lives. Others do not fare as well, and end up dysfunctional, sometimes alcoholic, drug addicted or even dead.
What gets the abused child through to adulthood and an enjoyable life are the comfort zones that give hope and support. Consider becoming a positive influence in a small, sad someone's life the next time you find them crying or acting out in strange ways. You can never know how much good you do with a simple act of kindness.

What else have I written?

Next will be Diary Secrets which is the story of a young girl who flees Civil War era Virginia with her learning disabled brother lest they both die at their father's hand. They settle in Philadelphia in the home of a Quaker abolitionist. The girl is forced to flee eventually from what seemed a safe home. She ends up, quite by accident, in Seaside on the New Jersey shore. Many years later, her grandson goes back to the Virginia homestead, now just ruins, and begins life anew.

Sometime in the near future, Without Harry Dean will be in print. Harry Dean Burke is an early aviator. He dies in a senseless crash as did many pilots of those early times. His young bride must continue life without her beloved Harry Dean, and this is her story of how she managed those decades as a widow, enduring loss and finding the love of family in a most unusual way.

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IMPERFECT PAST blurb

It is the eve of World War II, and racial tensions run high amidst an already-tense society. It is this backdrop in which young Annie Phillips Murray finds herself pregnant, broke, and alone after the tragic death of her beloved husband.
Annie soon finds herself on the doorstep of her late husband’s sister and aging aunt, left with nowhere else to turn. As she becomes the caretaker of the house and all who live within it, Annie becomes worried about the safety of her son as her sister-in-law’s raging alcoholism reaches an all-time high. Eventually, her concerns become a reality: Annie’s sister-in-law throws a raucous party which ends in a fiery disaster.
Once again homeless and on her own, Annie meets Policeman Dan Saunders, and the two quickly form a bond. Their love, however, is wrong in the eyes of their racist society: Annie is a young white woman, and Dan Saunders is black.
As Dan becomes immersed in solving a terrifying murder case, Dan and Annie find their brave relationship in peril. As the family becomes irrevocably intertwined with the life of the mass-murderer Dan has been investigating, love once again turns to tragedy, and Dan and Annie face a battle for life or death.

Plainfield, New Jersey, as I see it

Mention the name of Plainfield, New Jersey to anyone listening, and mostly they'll look at you as though you are minus a few or they being to groan in disgust and turn away.

Plainfield, located at the western end of Union County, was once known as the Queen City, for it's numerous and varied lovely old homes lining its many streets. Granted many of those old homes are in disrepair, but many have been restored. The sheer variety of architectural styles range from the many types of Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian to Craftsman cottages and 1950's modern. A drive down any of the major streets will take the viewer's breathe away for each house is different from the one next door.

I wrote about Plainfield in my first novel Imperfect Past, for I love Plainfield for its beauty and its historic past (yes, George did sleep in town), for its magnificent leaders such as the late Dwitt Dukes Barlow, for what it offers to anyone who can see beyond poverty and crime.

Why, oh why, write stories about New Jersey?

New Jersey is not just a state of corrupt politicians and an ugly, factory-filled landscape. It is a state of historic landmarks worth seeing for New Jersey is truly the crossroads of the American Revolution.

Travel on one of those back roads that wind through the Pine Barrens and discover endless acres of beautiful pine forestland, undisturbed over the years.

Get off the Turnpike and ride on an old side road that passes by elegant and somewhat tattered old four chimney homes that were standing over two hundred years ago when Colonial troops passed by on their way into battle.

Spend a day at New Jersey's pristine pure beaches and let the sun and salt water wash away your prejudices. New Jersey is a fine old state.