Anthony Delstretto
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I was born in post-WW2 Detroit, the son of an Italian grocer, and grew up among other Italian, Polish, and Irish kids. I always had an interest in genealogy, and after retiring from a career in school administration, I discovered and later visited supposedly long-lost relatives still in Italy.
The experience inspired me to write and publish my first novel in 2020, 'THE LAST ITALIAN-A Saga in Three Parts'. In 2022, the title reached an Amazon category #1 Best Seller ranking and continues to draw readers. In 2024, I published my second historical fiction book on Amazon, 'THE EVER FAITHFUL ISLE', drawing on my wife’s Cuban heritage. We both hold dual United States and Italian citizenships and live along the west coast, close to our family. |
The Last Italian: A Saga in Three Parts
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Historical Fiction
Two interjoined families share triumph and tragedy during the era of the Kingdom of Italy. From Italia's grand villas and bandit-ruled mountains, to colonial north Africa and the immigrant mines of America, on Russia’s sub-zero steppes and the blood-stained stones of the village piazza, three generations of Comos and Vaccis pit their daring and dreams against Fate’s brutal demands. Part I. (1882-1890) Carlo Como sets out to fish like he does every morning. What he brings back that day changes everything. Young Ettore Vacci stakes his future on blasting the King's Road through the mountains near Naples. A band of cutthroat brigands takes murderous exception. Part II. (1911-1913) Brothers Gianni and Renzo Como eagerly join Italy’s glorious colonial conquest of Ottoman Tripoli. Engulfed by savage slaughter instead, Angela’s courage offers one chance for salvation -- on a dark Christmas Eve an ocean away. Part III. (1942-1945) Heartless Pietro Como pursues Nazi promotion as Italy joins Germany's invasion of Russia. After Italian lines shatter near Stalingrad, Donato Como learns who the true enemy is. In Castrubello, fearless Regina stands with her father Ettore as the family, divided like Italia itself, confronts its moment of truth. 
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The Ever Faithful Isle: A Novel of Old Cuba
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Historical Fiction
19th-century Cuba comes vividly to life as the Fortez family fights to maintain its foothold on Spain’s ‘Ever-Faithful Isle.’ Spanish cavalry officer Rodrigo Fortez, in exchange for an impossible vow, claims ownership of a struggling Cuban tobacco estate. As he and his wife Isabella labor to make the farm succeed, Fortez must hunt and destroy a shrewd rebel leader ravaging the countryside. Spirited Gabriella Valdes, a fieldworker at the Fortez farm, catches the eye of Ignacio, Rodrigo’s impulsive youngest son. When the two begin a liaison that threatens the Fortez legacy, matriarch Isabella Fortez aggressively intervenes. Ignacio’s shocking, last-ditch attempt to reclaim Gabriella unleashes a chain of cataclysmic consequences. Egged on by rabid American newspapers, the United States and Spain plunge into war. Karl, a young correspondent, lands in Cuba with the American invasion. While covering the famed Buffalo Soldier and Rough Rider regiments as they battle Spanish forces, Karl becomes inextricably embroiled in the unfolding fate of Familia Fortez. From lush tobacco fields to jungle ambushes, reckless love to savage assault and brazen treachery, ‘The Ever Faithful Isle’ is a stunning epic of love, tradition, ambition, and honor tested beyond all limits by the violent storm of history. 
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