Jonathan Dyer's Blog: The Nick Temple Files

(Author’s note: I’ve posted this before. I was reminded of it as I watched the Yankees lose, and badly at that, to the Tigers last night. During a 9-run 7th inning, the Tigers’ designated hitter, Kerry Carpenter, hit a triple, my favorite moment in a major league baseball game. So, here’s the article that I wrote for a fantasy sports website more than a dozen years ago once again.)

During a night game on April 20th, the Oakland A’s Jemile Weeks hit a triple against the Cleveland Indians. I watc...

Facing the Facts

I’ve noted in a few different places in this blog the years that I’ve spent writing and the type and number of works I’ve produced during those years. Those efforts have resulted in some moments of satisfaction but they have never resulted in commercial or literary success. I turned 68 recently, an achievement in and of itself. Having said that, it’s also time to say that decades of dismal to nonexistent sales of my work are impossible to deny. My attempts to break into the wo...

The Life of One FBI InformantDyer’s Greg Scarpa Biography

I don’t usually venture into politics on this blog, but every now and then an item pops up that has a ridiculously close relationship to what I’ve been working on, so here goes.

I ran across the following item while sipping my morning coffee today. Yesterday, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, claimed that the president acted as an FBI informant in the Epstein matter “to try to take this stuff down.” A...

“4.5 out of 5 Stars”Dyer’s Greg Scarpa Biography

I just ran across a review of my new gangster bio that was posted on August 5th. It’s entitled “Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil: The Many Faces of a Mafia Killer – A Comprehensive Review.” It is indeed comprehensive.

The review covers, “Summary of the Plot, Main Characters, and Setting,” “Writing Style,” “Character Development,” “Literary Themes and Motifs,” “Pacing and Structure,” “Author’s Use of Language and Vivid Imagery,” “Emotional Impact,” “...

I Have Never Used, Nor Will I Ever Use, AI to Write AnythingDyer’s Greg Scarpa Biography

It’s a hot topic and I hesitate to jump in, but jump in I will. First things first. I have never used AI to write anything. I mean it. Not an email, not a social media post, not a paragraph of any one of my 12 books, not a line of any one of my screenplays. Never. Nothing. Nada! I don’t know how to use it, and I don’t want to learn. Honestly, I don’t even like auto correct and I usually turn it off if I’...

Setting the Pace with Five-Star Reviews of Scarpa BiographyDyer’s Greg Scarpa Biography

In addition to the statements made by a number of podcasters as noted in the book’s “Editorial Reviews” section on Amazon, readers’ reviews are starting to trickle in for my biography of notorious Mafia killer and FBI informant Greg Scarpa published by WildBlue Press. I initially thought I’d comment on the early reviews, but then decided a sampling of them would be better. Those samples, all five-star rat...

The Relationship between Bigamist Greg Scarpa and his Gumar, Linda SchiroDyer’s Greg Scarpa Biography

One of the many fascinating aspects of Greg Scarpa’s life was his 32-year relationship with Linda Schiro. Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil takes a critical look at that relationship, one that produced two children, endured a sham marriage for Schiro and a second marriage for Scarpa, and featured a Schiro affair which Scarpa preapproved! Below is an excerpt (annotations omitted) from that part of ch...

Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil Garners a 5-Star Rating on GoodreadsDyer’s Greg Scarpa Biography

The recently-released biography Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil from WildBlue Press has just scored its first rating on Goodreads. Five stars! Damian Miller, who did a great job of reading for the audiobook version, wrote, “it was well researched and an interesting story that no one ever talks about. It’s insanely bonkers, well written, and the voice actor for the audiobook isn’t too bad either (that’s me...

From Money to Murder – Scarpa Manipulated the FBI as he Betrayed the Mafia

 The following excerpt from chapter 2 of Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil provides some insight into Scarpa’s earliest attempts to determine what criminal behavior by a Top Echelon Criminal Informant might be tolerated by the FBI. I’ve removed the annotations for ease of reading. Enjoy!

“Scarpa’s financial probing was not the only test he had for the FBI in 1962. Less than three months after convincing the FBI to pay him $3...

Holding the Result of Close to Three Years of Effort I received my author’s copies of Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil published by WildBlue Press today. Before today, my exchanges with the publisher and editor have all been electronic. Those exchanges have certainly been gratifying. However, being able to put my hands on the thing they and I have been working to produce occupies a different emotional level from accessing electronic files. There’s something viscerally satisfying about picking up th...