Books
I believe that words have the power to change lives, which is why I contributed to a few of the books listed below pro bono. The book I’ve been writing, Searching for Concezio: The Courage and Endurance of South Italy’s “Birds of Passage,” certainly fits that description. In 2020, I put my freelance work on hold to work on my book fulltime. When I find an agent and publisher who believes in the story I’ve written, I hope to see Searching for Concezio on bookstore shelves.
Here are some of the books I've worked on.
Personal Finance & Investing
Asset Allocation For Dummies®, Dorianne R. Perrucci and Jerry D. Miccolis (John Wiley & Sons) This book, written with wealth manage Jerry D. Miccolis, is part of the popular “For Dummies.” I worked with Jerry from concept to cover on the book, which demystifies asset allocation in terms that a novice investor can understand.
"I know co-author Dorianne Perrucci, and this book is a good reflection of her talent in making the complex approachable. Dori and her co-author, Jerry Miccolis, do a nice job not only in explaining how asset allocation works, but also of telling readers how to apply these concepts to their own situations."
Julie Jason, The AARP Retirement Survival Guide (Sterling/AARP)
Making the Most of Your Money NOW, Jane Bryant Quinn (Simon & Schuster)
Smart and Simple Strategies for Busy People, Jane Bryant Quinn (Simon & Schuster)
Any list of personal finance books has to include the third edition of Quinn’s 1,242-page “bible,” praised by the economist Burton Malkiel (author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street) as “the classbook for practical financial advice.” I contributed original reporting and research to this New York Times best-seller and also to Smart and Simple Strategies published a few years later, which targeted a younger generation too busy to pay attention to their money.
The AARP Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad, Julie Jason (Sterling/AARP) Award-winning author and money manager Julie Jason will tell you that my organizational skills helped her see her way to finishing her manuscript. A joint publishing project between AARP and Sterling, the publishing arm of Barnes & Noble, the book guides readers through the challenge of creating income in retirement.
The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide: Protect Your Savings, Boost Your Income, and Grow Wealthy Even in the Worst of Times, Martin D. Weiss (Wiley) I worked with the author’s senior staff to research this book for New York Times’ best selling author Martin D. Weiss, whose Weiss Ratings built a trustworthy reputation for providing consumers with unbiased information on financial institutions. The covers covers a range of the strategies individual investors need to learn to cope the credit crunch, the housing bust, and the decline of the U.S. dollar. The book hit two best-selling book categories (Business and Advice).
I.O.U.S.A.: One Nation, Under Debt, In Stress, Addison Wiggin and Kate Incontrera with Dorianne R. Perrucci (John Wiley & Sons)
Demise of the Dollar…and Why It‘s Good for Your Investments, Addison Wiggin (Wiley)
I collaborated on two books with Agora Publishing’s best-selling author Addison Wiggin: I.O.U.S.A., which combined original research, interviews, and graphics from the award-winning Sundance documentary; and the second edition of Demise of the Dollar, updated with new research and a revision that read better, the author said, than the first edition.
Weiss Ratings’ Ultimate Guided Tour of Stock Investing, Weiss Ratings (Weiss Ratings, Inc.) Ultimate Guided Tour was the first book I wrote with Weiss senior staff to help the average investor. The book offers novice investors a step-by-step guide to stock investing. The short schedule was greatly helped by the fact that the company rented a red Ford Mustang for me to use during the week I spent on site in Palm Beach, Florida.
"We asked you to meet a nearly impossible deadline to write a simple, easy-to-follow guide on stock investing, and somehow you managed to get it all done. Despite changes in strategy along the way, a lack of theme until the last moment, no dedicated research support or true editorial guidance, and no graphic examples to base a vision of the output on, you stuck with it and made sure you delivered quality work on time. It is a pleasure to work with someone as dedicated as you have been to this project."
Donna O'Rourke, Senior Financial Analyst, The Weiss Group
Social Issues
“Reaching out to High-Risk Adolescents,” published in: Courage to Care, Responding to the Crisis of Children with AIDS, Olga Hernandez and Stephen E. Torkelson (The Child Welfare League of America, Washington, D.C.) I interviewed Covenant House senior staff to write this chapter about the newly-opened AIDS program at Covenant House.
Runaways: Coping at Home and on the Street, Pat Connors with Dorianne R. Perrucci (The Rosen Publishing Group) I interviewed Pat Connors, the director of of Covenant House’s helplineto write this book, working from her notes and adding interviews with Nineline staff and Covenant House street kids. Educational publisher Rosen signed the book, which was distributed nationally to 160,000 public and private school libraries.
It Only Hurts When I Grow: Stories from Covenant House for Hurting Kids, Fr. Kevin Kenny with Dorianne R. Perrucci (Paulist Press) Chaplain Fr. Kevin Kenny had written several versions of this manuscript, based on what he had learned from Covenant House street kids struggling to change their lives. I organized and rewrote his notes and interviews into a publishable, dramatic narrative packed with real-life stories and practical advice for young readers that this leading religious publisher bought.
(The book) is written in the very down-to-earth language of kids today... Dorianne Perrucci of the Covenant House staff served as editor of the book, which will clearly provoke classroom discussions.
Our Sunday Visitor
Covenant House: Lifeline to the Street, Fr. Bruce Ritter (Doubleday) The monthly fundraising letters that Covenant House founder Fr. Bruce Ritter wrote every month to his donors struck a chord with me, which is how I came to develop by first New York Times’ best seller. I edited 15 years of letters that traced the history of the agency and captured a dramatic narrative about the larger story of social changes that were pushing kids to the street. The book also struck a chord with donors and readers, who contributed $10,000,000 to support the agency’s work with runaway and abused kids.
“A moving and startling collection of newsletters.”
Covenant House: Lifeline to the Street
Kirkus Reviews
History
Morris County: The Progress of Its Legend, Dorianne R. Perrucci (Windsor Publications) To make the first history in a century of Morris County, New Jersey, come alive for readers, I wove oral histories, interviews with residents who had priceless memories to share, current news, and researching into the written and photographi archives of the local library that contained information dating back to the Continental Army‘s encampment in Morristown, N.J.
New Neighbors, Old Friends: Morristown‘s Italian Community, 1880-1980, James V. Costanzo (The Morris County (NJ) Historical Society) I managed a pro bono staff of volunteers to edit and produce this award-winning book of photographs and oral histories (First Place, Book Excellence, League of Historical Societies of New Jersey), drawn from a collection of over a thousand photographs and dozens of oral histories the the author recorded with the friends and neighbors he grew up with in Morristown, New Jersey’s early Italian immigrant community.
Religion & Faith
Bloomfield Avenue: A Jewish-Catholic Jersey Girl’s Spiritual Journey, Linda A. Mercadante (Cowley Publications, September 2006)
Victims and Sinners, Spiritual Roots of Addiction and Recovery, Linda A. Mercadante (Westminster John Knox Press)
IDr. Mercadante is a nationally-recognized expert on the “SBNR” (spiritual but not religious) movement. I contributed developmental and content editing on Bloomfield Avenue traces the author’s spiritual journey from the streets of Newark, N.J., where she grew up in an unchurched household, to the halls of Methodist Theological School of Ohio. Victims and Sinners provides a provocative historical and theological analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous, the popular addiction recovery group.
"A thought-provoking work for anyone involved in the addiction-recovery process - counselors, clergy, substance abusers or others who want to examine the cultural and theological repercussions of this pervasive contemporary movement."
Publishers Weekly
I Believe in the Creator, Dr. James M. Houston (William B. Eerdmans)
In exchange for a fellowship to study theology for a year at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, I edited this book that examines controversial areas of the Christian faith from writers of different nations, cultures, and confessional backgrounds.
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