The Write Staff

Reading can take you to faraway places—and also very near ones.

Reading can take you to faraway places—and also very near ones. These recently published volumes have local ties, having been written by Bergen County authors. Pick up a copy and check out what your neighbors are up to:

In for a thrill ride? Edgewater’s Jacqueline Simon Gunn recently published Circle of Trust, the second installment of the Close Enough to Kill triology. The novel follows a team of detectives as it tries to solve the murder of a radio psychologist. Gunn, who is a clinical psychologist in Manhattan, is currently working on the final book of her trilogy.

If activity books are your cup of tea, pick up a copy of Alecia Blake’s Color In Fashion: A Stylish Adult Coloring Book. Adult coloring isn’t just a current trend—research shows that it can help a person improve coordination, fine motor skills and memory. Blake, a Park Ridge resident and fashion illustrator, filled her book with 30 fashion prints and patterns (city scenes, paisley and florals, butterflies, etc.) to be colored.

Many wouldn’t guess that Carlstadt resident Vito Quattrocchi is also a writing veteran—his most recent crime drama, The Rise and Fall of the Sewer King, is his 14th book. The literary piece is based on various trips to Sicily and encounters with known members of the Mafia. When he’s not writing, Quattrocchi is cutting hair at his Carlstadt barbershop, aptly named Vito’s.