Rigolosi, Steven A.

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Rigolosi, Steven A.

PERSONAL:

Male.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NJ. E-mail—srigolosi@yahoo.com.

CAREER:

Writer, editor, and novelist. Worked as an editor in the publishing industry and as a director of marketing research for a publisher of scientific books.

WRITINGS:

Tools for Success: Soft Skills for the Construction Industry, Prentice Hall (Upper Saddle River, NJ), 2001.

Applied Communication Skills for the Construction Trades, Prentice Hall (Upper Saddle River, NJ), 2002.

Who Gets the Apartment? (novel), Ransom Note Press (Ridgewood, NJ), 2006.

Circle of Assassins (novel), Ransom Note Press (Ridgewood, NJ), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Steven A. Rigolosi is a novelist who also knows the publishing industry firsthand. Currently a director of marketing research for a large New York-based scientific publisher, he has more than fifteen years of experience as a book editor. In his debut novel, Who Gets the Apartment?, Corinne Jensen answers a newspaper ad for a New York City apartment being offered at an amazingly low price. She accepts the lease, but on the day she is supposed to move in, she finds herself in conflict with three other people who all say they have a signed lease and claim to the apartment. Ian McTeague, an artist, Oliver Pappas, a computer expert, and Venice Calderon, an assistant district attorney, struggle to figure out what happened in their search for a dream-come-true dwelling place. Soon, the quartet realizes they have been swindled by the rental agent, but the fact still remains that one of them should get the apartment. As the story unfolds, Rigolosi explores four potential solutions to the problem, one designed around the personalities of each of the claimants. In the second part of the book, the author relates the actual outcome and reassembles the quartet in a second adventure that centers around corporate politics in the publishing industry. Rigolosi "writes with gusto about the dirty business of getting a decent apartment in Manhattan," commented Library Journal reviewer Jo Ann Vicarel.

Rigolosi's second novel, Circle of Assassins, also generates its story line from a mysterious ad in a New York City newspaper. Entitled "Revenge Is Sweet," the classified ad seeks people to help administer some pay- back to an unknown source. Though the ad claims to be for entertainment only, the four people who answer it find themselves involved in a complicated plot involving potential murder. By the time they have been thoroughly screened by the author of the ad, they realize that each has been asked to kill someone who has wronged one of the other participants. In exchange, an unwanted or hated person in their own lives will be killed by one of the others. Their relative anonymity will ensure they know only the victim, and will help distance themselves from the other participants. Soon, the time comes to act, and Rigolosi explores in depth the characters of those who will, and will not, commit murder. Rigolosi "has masterminded a new type of mystery, one that is continually developing, not waiting until the finish to enlighten readers, although there is a surprise ending," commented Armchair Interviews contributor Brenda A. Snodgrass. "I don't think I've read such an ambitious and effective genre novel in years," remarked Claire McManus in SpineTingler Magazine. McManus concluded: "I recommend this highly to those who are looking to break out of typical genre fiction."

Rigolosi told CA: "My favorite book to date is Circle of Assassins. While it can be complicated, I think the nonlinear narrative and shifting points of view achieve the intended effect of keeping readers off balance, and I'm proud of the complexity of the characters."

He added, "My hope is that people who read my books will see them as different from traditional mystery novels, whether due to the narrative structure or plot line. I hope readers will think of me as a novelist who takes chances with the mystery genre and tries something different with each book."