Giacomo Giammatteo – Eileen Troemel

Jim and I connected through Twitter. He gifted me a copy of No Mistakes Grammar Bites volume 1. I gave him a 4 star review and had this to say

Giammatteo provides simple language to assist someone struggling with proper word usage. He uses simple techniques to help everyone understand how and when to use particular words.

Author Bio

Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books including the No Mistakes Careers series as well as books about grammar and publishing. When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with Giacomo every day and happens to also be his best buddy.

Tell us about yourself.

Not much to tell. I’m 67, and I’ve been married for 50 years to the same lovely woman. We met when we were thirteen.

My wife and I have owned an animal sanctuary for 25 years, and at one time, we had as many as 55 animals.

In 2015, I had two heart attacks and two strokes which left me disabled and unable to do damn near anything. It took me 18 months to learn to type again, but in 2017, I was able to break the world’s record for most books written by a single person in one year. Of course, I was no longer working, so that freed up my time.

When did you know you wanted to be an author?

I didn’t know until I was about 50.

What genres do you like to read? Are these the same genres you write in?

I read a lot of military history as well as biographies, but that is not what I write. I write in many genres: mystery, fantasy, children’s books, grammar, and general nonfiction, as well as books on publishing, writing, etc.

Is your book for adults, young adults or children?

I have books for children but most of my books are for adults.

What is your current release or project?

I have several books going on right now: two mysteries, a fantasy, a book on writing, and one final book on grammar.

Tell us about the key characters

In the two mystery books, the characters are continuations from the earlier books in the series. The same goes for the fantasy book, as it’s the fourth in a series. The grammar book, of course, has no characters.

What is your blurb or synopsis of the book?

If we’re speaking about the grammar book, it will be something like “Simply Put: The Plain English Grammar Guide.” Learn grammar without needing to know grammatical terms.

I just made that up, so it may change.

Share an excerpt.

This is an excerpt from Simply Put. It covers the rules regarding how to use “lie, lay, laid, and lain” successfully. It’s a simple way to learn.

🐗 The first rule is a simple reminder. Never use “laid” or “laying” to mean rest or sleep. If you remember that, all you need to work on are the words “lie” and “lay.”

If you start to say, “I was laying down when you called,” realize that “laying” cannot be used with rest, so use “lying” instead. “I was lying down when you called.”

🐗 If you have a temptation to use the word “laid” associated with rest or sleep, use “lay” instead.

2. If you start to say, “I laid down,” realize that “laid” cannot be used with rest so use “lay” instead. “I got tired last night and lay down.” 

3. Any time that you use “lie” or “lay” meaning to rest, check the tense in your head. If you’re talking about now, the word to use is “lie.” If you’re talking about something that already happened, use “lay.”

That’s it. You’re done. You now are a master regarding the use of “lie, lay, laid, and lain.”

Do you have a favorite scene?

In my book Murder Is Immaculate, it’s when the detective from NY arrives at his childhood friend’s house to help him out of a bind.

What advice would you give a beginner?

Learn how to tell a story and learn enough grammar to help you tell it.