Local author releases his third book
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Joe Siccardi, a recent mid-Maine transplant, has completed his third book “My Name is Sam…. and Heaven is Still Shining Through.”
The Dover-Foxcroft resident is a 52-year newspaper publishing veteran, most recently as publisher/editor of the “Reveille/Between the Lakes,” a community weekly newspaper in Seneca County of the Finger Lakes in New York. Siccardi credits the quiet of Maine as the impetus for completing the project. He moved to Dover-Foxcroft four years ago, commuting to and from upstate New York. He sold his publication and retired permanently to Piscataquis County in July 2017.
Siccardi’s first book “Heaven Shining Through,” a novella, was released in March of 2018, receiving four and five-star reviews. It remains available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and is listed at GoodReads.
Siccardi
In November Siccardi released his second book “Wisdom from a Father… One Dad’s Thoughts on Life,” a reflective look at life, segmented into chapters. Content from the book was comprised of posts made on his blog wisdomfromfather.wordpress.com. The 52 essay chapters include reflections on life, love and family. All are written from the heart, sometimes seriously and sometimes with a touch of humor.
Now, in his third work “My Name Is Sam … and Heaven Is Still Shining Through” Siccardi introduces Sam (Samantha), her family and friends in more detail than the original and picks up where the original novella left off. It has already generated pre-release buzz, including one reviewer commenting, “I LOVE the ending of your book. It was probably the strongest ending I’ve read in my entire life!”
The novel is a response to reviewers’ comments “Heaven Shining Through” could have been a full novel with more character development.
“In my entire writing career,” Siccardi laughed, “I had never been told my writing was too short. But I took their constructive criticism to heart.
“My Name Is Sam … and Heaven Is Still Shining Through” is the result. It is written in the first person and reads like a fictional memoir. Siccardi says, “I hope readers get to meet Sam as a friend, a life-long friend.”
As in the novella, the presence of God in an ordinary life is the underlying theme. “I tried to keep it real with appropriate language and activities,” said Siccardi. “I purposely stayed away from being ‘preachy’ but rather told a story that showed the presence of God in everyday, sometimes messy lives. My hope is readers will be able to see that.”
A lot of the early activity inside the pages takes place in the greater Paterson, New Jersey area, where Siccardi called home as a youth. Some of the backdrops will be familiar to fellow Patersonians who grew up in the mid-60s. The later activity takes place in the greater Dayton, Ohio area.
Both e-book and paperback copies are available on Amazon. For a signed copy, contact the author at wisdomfromafather@gmail.com.
Siccardi worked in the newspaper industry all his life including stops in New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Washington, DC, Maryland, New York and now Maine. He and his late wife raised five children and currently have 18 grandchildren and three great-granddaughters.